It has been the better part of a week since I have posted anything and that is probably because I haven’t had any good news to share. Last week I spent recovering from the triathlon and didn’t do any workouts at all. In fact, I think I have done some damage to my lower shin or ankle or something. It continued to get worse day by day until this morning. This morning it feels better, but not good enough to run on. But I am hopeful that this is a sign of the turnaround. With the marathon only 74 days away, I am chomping at the bit to get back out there!
Archive for September, 2009
I’m still here
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009One of Many Special Places During the Blue Ridge Relay
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
one of many!
2009 Cane Creek Triathlon Race Report
Monday, September 21st, 2009One week after running with an ultra team in the Blue Ridge Relay, I raced my last triathlon of the year. During the week I did zero training to allow my legs some time to recover. I felt that they had recovered well, so I set my sights on a respectable time in the race.
The Swim
This was my first swim in a wetsuit, so I didn’t know quite what to expect. The suit did make me feel lighter in the water. It also made the slightly chilly water a bit more comfortable. I am not a strong swimmer at all and I felt especially slow on this one. I had expected a time of 19 minutes on the swim and I crossed the mat at 25:27.
Glad to be out of the water!
The Bike
After a slow swim, I looked forward to getting on the bike. I passed several people on the bike and that felt good. I don’t think anyone passed me that kept the lead. There were a few that would catch me on the up hills and I would pass them again going down. I forgot to start my Garmin watch until about mile 5, but here is the last part of the ride. Total time was 46:41, I had anticipated 45, so not too far off.
Going into transition after the bike
The Run
As soon as I got off the bike, I knew my legs were going to hurt. My hamstrings and calves started to cramp. As I changed into my running shoes, I stretched a little and my wife walked over to the fence and reminded me not to overdo it since I had to cut the grass later. I thanked her for that and went on the run. About a quarter mile in, my legs were yelling at me to stop. I did some more stretching and continued on. I managed to keep a decent pace for the rest of the run, walking at the water stops. The last quarter mile was full of pain! My final run time was 29:46, I had hoped for 27. Here are the Garmin’s stats on the run.
Heading to the finish line - that is the biggest smile I could give!
All in all it was a fun race. I shouldn’t have raced a week after the Blue Ridge Relay, but it was still fun. The lake was beautiful and the bike course was scenic too. The run was a very boring out and back two laps though. They should think about changing the run route to something more interesting. My final time with transitions was 1:46:34, good enough for 227th out of 296. I ended up 31st out of 35 in my age group. So nothing extraordinary or anything, but I finished. The best thing was seeing my people that came to watch me as I am heading to the finish. Mia yelling “Go Daddy go!” is always wonderful and my wife and Sadie were there too. My sister, Melissa and her husband Jeff and my Mom and Dad came out too! It is always wonderful when your friends and family come to watch. And now two days after, my right calf is cramping and telling me I was stupid for doing that. I got some IcyHot patches and hopefully that will help! Thanks to Melissa for the pictures! Check out her blog post here.
shifting gears
Thursday, September 17th, 2009After not doing any training for the past 5 days to recover from the Blue Ridge Relay, I am now focused on this Saturday’s triathlon. Most people would not have scheduled a triathlon a week after a race like the BRR, and I wouldn’t have, except I had already signed up for the tri when Alex invited me to run with him in the relay race. Not being someone who likes to waste money, I am doing both!
When I asked Jason Sutton about recovery after the BRR, he told me not to do anything at all for a week and a half or so, then build back slowly. So when I told him I had a race next Saturday, he said, “well, good luck, your probably gonna feel it on the run”
My legs feel about 95% recovered now and I am hoping it won’t be too bad. It is a sprint triathlon with a 750 meter lake swim, 14 mile bike and a 5K run. After the tri, I can then focus on marathon training.
a race of a lifetime
Monday, September 14th, 2009You all know that I ran with Team 4tunate (to have 2 more runners) in the Blue Ridge Relay race last weekend. It was an experience that I will never forget. I will try to recap the adventure as best as I can, but I am sure to leave out many, many things that were certainly of value. I had full intentions of bringing pen and paper to document things that I would want to include on the blog, but I forgot to bring them and I am not sure if I would have had the time to do so anyway!
Friday, September 11, 2009
2:25 AM – I woke up to take a quick shower and get dressed. I went downstairs and packed the few things that I had thought of as I was tossing and turning during the 4 hours of broken sleep the night before. What a time for Mia to decide to cry twice during the night! Chris made sure I was up and we got the car packed.
3:15 AM – Chris and I left my house to rendezvous with Alex and the Jasons. We arrived at Alex’s house was dark and the Jasons were not there yet, but we were early, so we just waited.
3:30 AM – Alex came out and offered his bathroom, which I took him up on. Then the van came around at about 3:40 and Jason Sutton was driving. Apparently Jason Martin had forgotten a few things and he was to meet us in Charlotte. We drove to Charlotte and picked up Whitney at her hotel and then picked up Jason Martin at a parking garage he has access to. From there, we hit the road towards Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia.
The team - ready to go!
7:20 AM – Our team’s start time. Jason Martin starts us off and at a very fast pace. He arrives at the first exchange zone way before I expected!
Let's get it started!
From this point on, everything sort of runs together in a sweaty, sleep deprived delirium. I remember some details from each of my six legs which I will share below:
Not a terribly difficult run, but along some gravel roads that on a few occasions scare me that I will roll my ankle on the rocks. I did feel a little pain in my left ankle, but it worked itself out. First run of 5.2 miles down, 5 more of over 20 to go.
This leg was almost completely flat for the first 4 miles or so. Then the course turns onto Big Hill Road and things got interesting and hard! A big hill climbing up from the river I had been running along.
This run started at the gates to Grandfather Mountain Park. Jason Sutton had the task of running the 10 miles straight up to this point and I almost felt I was cheating since all I had to do was run 2.4 miles down. It was my first night run, so I was in the van putting on my reflective vest and getting my two blinking red lights and headlamp on and Jason Martin came up to the van after changing clothes. It was getting dark and I was very sleep deprived and I thought it was Jason Sutton. I panicked thinking I was supposed to be running already. I say to him, “You’re back already!?” and he says, “back from where?” I am confused and thinking he is messing with me, but I can’t figure out why he would mess with me and cause the race to suffer. It doesn’t make sense to me and I think he realized that I was confused and he explains that I am okay, that Jason Sutton is still running. I calmed down and realized that the mental game is a part of this whole thing. When Jason Sutton did actually come in, I ran down and enjoyed a good pace on the downhill run. It certainly was eerie running in the dark of the night, but it was an experience that was serene as well.
getting ready to run in the dark
Another short and downhill night run. This run took me through downtown Spruce Pine. The town at this early hour was deserted except for a few runners and their support vans. Again, I feel like I am cheating with my short downhill runs, but the team tells me they are nice and easy, but they still have to be done, so I am contributing.
nightime in the van
I am now back to the 5.2 mile distance again. This run was mostly a slight uphill and at this point I started to notice the effects of all that was going on. The run seemed pretty difficult to me and I know that it shouldn’t. A guy passed me and I attempted to keep up with him for a bit. I could not keep his pace. A little while after that, I heard a voice come from behind after a dog started to bark and it was a female asking if she could run with me because she is afraid of dogs. I said sure and she sprinted ahead to catch me. We ran the rest of the leg together and I think she felt like I slowed down to keep her company, but in truth she probably kept me going a little faster than I would have on my own. When I finished, I found the van and curled up in the back seat to attempt my first real sleep in over 27 hours. I slept for about an hour while Alex was running and felt a little better. We had stopped at the next exchange zone and I had to pee, so I got out of the van to find the port-a-johns. A step or two into the walk I realized that my legs from my thighs down were in a world of hurt. My right knee had the worst pain and this was the first time that I doubted my ability to finish. I knew the run that I had coming up was a terribly difficult one and here I was having trouble walking 50 feet down a slight incline to the bathroom. I decided to walk around a bit to try and loosen up and it felt a little better, but still extremely painful to walk. At the next exchange area, there was a nice river that Alex suggested we go soak our legs in. I thought he was crazy at first, but he convinced me and to my surprise it helped a great deal! My legs were still fatigued, but the knee pain was gone and I felt much better.
Alex soaking his legs - I had just gotten out
Leg 33 – my sixth and final run
This is the only leg of the race that I had run prior to the race. I knew what to expect and that was on one hand nice to know what I have before me, but also intimidating because I knew just how hard it was! I started the run at the bottom and took advantage of the slight uphill and ran a fairly good pace. I hit the steep part and walked. A guy did pass me while running, but he may have only gained about 20 feet on me before he started to walk too. It was so steep that you really do walk as fast as you can run. It made me think that whoever decided to pave this road so steep either did so with no intention of anything non-motorized ever attempting to go up it or with a sadistic humor that they knew someone would try. I reached the top and my team had stopped to cheer me up the hill. I enjoyed the cheers and the 10 feet of flat before the road goes right back down the other side. I ran down at a pretty good pace before I started cramping. My legs from my hamstrings to my calves were seizing up at this point. I stopped and stretched with about 1.5 miles to go. I started to run again, but the cramps came back. I ran it out, but in extreme pain. I had set a goal for myself to complete this run in less than 1 hour and I cam close with a time of 1:00:34.
they should add "only attempt to run if you are nuts"
me walking up the extreme incline - the photo does not do it justice!
running down the other side
Chris finished the last leg of the relay about 32 hours after Jason Martin had started. We were all extremely exhausted, but completely proud of our accomplishment. We all also had the opportunity to witness the first solo completion of the course. How amazing is the determination that would have to take place to run 211 miles in 3 days!
the man in the white hat ran the entire course!
Melissa, Jeff and my parents came to Asheville to cheer us in. It makes such a difference when you have support from your family and friends at a race. Melissa, Jeff, Chris and I grabbed some burgers and beer in Asheville before heading to my in-laws cabin to discuss the events and to get some real sleep.
the team running the last few feet
2009 Team 4tunate (to have 2 more runners)
Read Jason Sutton’s blog post on the race here.
Read Chris’ post here.
Read Melissa’s post here.
From another team’s perspective here.
You can see all of my pictures here and Jason Sutton’s here. I do have some video footage and will get on YouTube soon.
getting nervous – less than 3 days!
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009This week is all about rest. Don’t get me wrong – rest is easy, but it also makes me nervous about the upcoming 208 mile relay race that I will run with 5 others. When I am actively training, I reassure myself that I CAN do it. While resting, I have to hope that I can. The things that scare me the most are injuries & running too slow. The team element is a bit different too. My times do not reflect solely on me, they reflect in the team’s time as a whole. I am counting on them and they are counting on me. Kind of fun in a way, but also brings with it more pressure. Let me hear some words of encouragement and wish us luck as we prepare to torture ourselves for 30+ hours this weekend!
help me help muscular dystrophy!!!
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
I want to post a recent e-mail that I sent to several of my contacts for all to see. Please consider a donation of any amount. Please let me know if do decide to donate by commenting on this post. Thanks!
You may or may not be aware, but next Friday, I will participate in the Blue Ridge Relay race that is a 208 mile course that stretches from Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia to downtown Asheville, NC. The run is split into 36 “legs” that the runners complete in succession. I am running with 5 other team members and I will run in the 3rd position and run a total of 6 of the legs that will account for over 25 miles of the course. The race starts Friday morning and we will run throughout the night and finish sometime Saturday afternoon.
Our team decided to put our training and running madness to work to help a good cause. My brother-in-law, Alex Sullivan, is one of the team members that will run with me. He suggested that we raise money to benefit Muscular Dystrophy. He is being “locked up” and needs to post “bail”. His bailout will go to benefit MDA. Please see his message below and consider donating to this great cause. If you do decide to donate, please let me know so that I can thank you, as I won’t have a way to track donations on his website.
Thank you for your time!
Kevin
I’m proud to tell you that I’m being locked up…that’s right, I’m going behind bars to help Jerry’s Kids© and MDA. To be released on good behavior I have to raise bail and I need your help! Alex
P.S. I’m counting on you, click here to donate.
All you have to do is click here to make a secure, online donation before 09/23/09. Your donation will help families living in our community and help guarantee me an early release. I can’t wait to add you to my list of contributors.
Thanks in advance for your help. Don’t hesitate to call or email me with any questions.
Together we’ll make a difference,
If the link above does not work, please cut and paste the address below into the address bar of your Internet browser.
https://www.joinmda.org/rockhill2009/alexsullivan/
back from vacation
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009After a week at the beach, it is back to reality for me. I was able to get a few runs in while there. I did 4 miles in the rain last Thursday, 3 on Friday and 4.78 on Monday. I know, you will say “just go for five!” But let me tell you, I was nearing heat stroke!
This is week 4 of marathon training and I have gotten a bit off schedule, but it is also only a week before the Blue Ridge Relay. I don’t want to overdo anything at this point. I did get a 3.5 mile run in this morning in the fresh cool air which was a stark contrast from Monday’s run.
Now I want to shift from training to what got me into this whole thing to begin with – weight loss. With the beach trip come pictures, more specifically pictures of me with my shirt off. My dad recently uploaded his pictures from last year’s trip to his Facebook page and I looked at them a few weeks ago. I wondered how this year’s pictures would compare, because I was far from proud of the way I looked last year. I am pleased with the transformation and look forward to next year’s pictures being even more pleasing. I share this with you for your own motivation as it is certainly motivation for me to wake up and run! Tell me – what is your motivation?
Motivation!