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back to talking about training

Thursday, February 11th, 2010

After dealing with the wreck and finding a new car, I can focus on training and the rest of my life.

I did run my first 5K of the year last Saturday and it felt good to be in a race again. It was the Alyce T Guettler Hunger Run in Rock Hill, SC and I mainly raced the event because they were doing it to raise money for a good cause. It was cold and drizzling that morning, but it didn’t keep 100 people from showing up. After I finished, I noticed that there weren’t many people cheering for the others as they finished. So I stayed around and cheered people in, then went home to spend time with Jenn, Mia and Sadie. As it turns out, I finished second out of four in my age group and missed out on collecting the award. Oh well, hopefully there will be others.

Unfortunately, I think racing came at a price. On Sunday, my back started to hurt pretty bad and after visiting the Chiropractor on Monday, I messed my back and shoulders up pretty bad in the wreck. So I am forced to take it easy for a bit while I recover. Hopefully the Chiropractor can work his magic the way he did before the marathon and I will be back at it real soon. I will keep you guys posted!

Tags: Jenn, Mia, running, Sadie
Posted in Race Reports, Triathlon Training | 2 Comments »

PR for 10K and a race from a new perspective

Sunday, November 8th, 2009

I PR’d my 10K race time on Saturday at the Run Like a Nut race in Florence, SC. It was a fun event, but mostly because I ran it with 4 other friends. The event staff and volunteers were less than “fun”. I should say that all I needed to be entertained was the boy at one of the turns that was ”dancing” the left turn indicator and the lady giving out pecans (it was a part of Florence’s annual pecan festival) from in front of her house.

The best thing was giving a good effort, relatively pain free (a little sore in my right knee) and finishing with a 10K PR of 55:35.

The crew (Brandi, Karen, Ryan, Crystal and I) - ready to rock!

Crystal & Brandi before startBrandi bringing it home!

Brandi rockin' her first 5K!

First 5K in 30 minutes! You go girl!

Karen heading to the line!

All smiles!

Great job Karen!

Me heading in!

I was trying to pass this guy the whole race!

He took off in a sprint and I couldn't catch him!

It's all good, still a PR!

Ryan & Crystal (she's behind him) about to fight it out

Ryan & Crystal starting full out sprint!

Ryan blocked her out to take it!

Karen & Brandi after race

Group after race

Group after race photo by London (Brandi's 3 year old daughter)

Brandi London & Crystal after race

After the race in the car minus Karen

Crystal in the car on the way to the race and wearing $400 sunglasses!

Ryan & Crystal

Karen & Crystal

Also, this weekend, I was fortunate enough to be able to give back to my fellow runner/multi-sport athlete community and volunteer at a local event. It was the Inaugural Recon Double Trouble Off Road Duathlon at Anne Springs Close Greenway. I had a blast working the event, but it takes just that – work. There were several volunteers and they could have used more. To all of those that compete in these types of events: volunteer all you can. It makes the event not only more enjoyable, but even possible. I hope I helped out with some great photos as I became a sort of unofficial event photographer and even helped hand out awards at the finish. I provided all 1275 photos that I took of the event to the race director, Marcus Barton, so that he could use at his discretion.

I wanted so bad to race this event, but given the injuries I sustained after the BRR and Cane Creek, I have decided to keep my races to running only in an effort to continue on and finish my first marathon in December. The next two Saturdays are preview runs so I will see what I am up against!

Tags: Brandi, Crystal, Greenway, Karen, Mountian Biking, Race Reports, running, Ryan
Posted in Race Reports, marathon training | 6 Comments »

2009 Cane Creek Triathlon Race Report

Monday, September 21st, 2009

One 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 227^th out of 296. I ended up 31^st 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.

Tags: Jeff, Jenn, Melissa, Mia, Race Reports, Sadie, Triathlon
Posted in Race Reports | 4 Comments »

a race of a lifetime

Monday, September 14th, 2009

You 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:

Leg 3 – my first run

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.

Leg 9 – my second run

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.

Leg 15 – my third run

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

Leg 21 – my fourth run

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

Leg 27 – my fifth run

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.

Tags: Alex, Chris, Jeff, Melissa, Race Reports, running
Posted in BRR training, Race Reports | 8 Comments »

Assault on Cherokee International Triathlon Race Report

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

This past weekend was another to remember. On Saturday morning, I kissed my girls goodbye and headed to Melissa and Jeff’s house to pick up Jeff. We went to TrySports so the bike fit master could make some last minute tweaks. The guy there was amazing. He analyzed my pedal form while on the bike trainer and made minor, yet noticeable adjustments to my seat position and aero bar position.

After that, we headed to Inside Out Sports and picked up my race packet. They made sure that I knew that shoes are required to get from the lake to T1. I asked what the deal was with that and they told me that the transition area was a little ways along a gravel path from the lake, so shoes would keep your feet from getting injured.

Jeff and I made our way to Kings Mountain State Park where I had registered for a campsite. We found the site, set up the tent then drove back out to scope out the bike and run routes. The first half of the bike course was pretty straight forward. Then, the road turns to a narrow road that is poorly maintained and very hilly. It continues to be very hilly the rest of the way back to the transition area. The run is also pretty hilly, using the road into the camping area as part of the course.

I was then not only intimidated by the longest swim of my life of 1300 meters, but of a difficult bike of 27.5 miles and a hilly run of 6.2 miles! I changed my official “goal” from finishing between 3 hours and 3.5 hours to “just finishing” with no regards to time.

Andrew and his daughter, Breanna, arrived early that evening and we all sat around and talked for a while.

That night I hit the hay early and tried to sleep in the muggy conditions. We had a thunderstorm in the middle of the night which brought the temperatures down, but made everything wet.

I woke up around 4:45 and caught a shower. I got changed and did some last minute prep for the race. I mixed up my HEED and made sure everything was in my transition bag. I drove down to the race area and unloaded my bike, walked over to the transition area and set up my area.

From there, it was mainly a wait as I was set up around 6:30 and the race did not start until 7:30. I did get my timing chip and the body markings with my race number and age. I found a toilet and did some last minute “prep” there too.

The Swim

At 7:15, I headed down to the lake. When I was told “transition area was a little ways along a gravel path from the lake” I did not expect it to be mud and rock down a steep slope for about 1/3 mile! That would surely be a tough climb after swimming that far.

I got into the water and did a little warm up. I felt a lot of algae under the surface which would prove to be a problem in the water. The race director made some last minute announcements, one of which was to warn us that he would have to consider the bike course “a little cruel, so have fun with that”. We started in 3 waves, 3 minutes apart. I was in the first wave. I got in the back of the pack because I knew that I would be slower than the rest. When the second wave passed me, I knew I was going to have a slow time. I had such a hard time with breathing and the algae, that I spent the majority of the time on my back doing a backstroke just trying to calm my breathing. I knew it was bad when someone swimming past me before the halfway mark asked, “Hey are you okay?” I answered, “I’m fine”, but I knew that if I looked that bad, I am just hoping to finish!

I made my way from buoy to buoy until I was on the homestretch. When I finally got out of the water, I realized there were only a few others still swimming and I had a 6 minute head start on some of them! I ended up in 59^th place out of 60 that swam the course. So not last, but close to it! Then I grabbed my Keens and made my way up the hill. I walked most of it, but when it flattened out, I started to jog. Just before the transition area, I saw Jeff, Andrew and Breanna cheering me on! I got to the transition area and dried off, changed into my bike shoes, put my helmet on, ate a Hammer Gel and took some Endurolytes. I grabbed my bike and headed out on the course.

The Bike

The bike portion started off as I expected with it being relatively what I am used to. It was just slight ups and downs, but nothing too crazy. The one thing that I did not expect was that I was alone! I was so slow in the water, that all but 3 others had a huge lead on the bike already. In fact it took me 8 miles or so to catch up to someone! I passed several people before I saw the first accident. A guy took a wet turn too fast and wiped out, apparently slamming his knee and hitting his head too. After I passed them, more ambulances passed me and were on their way to tend to him. Although I did not see any others, there were apparently 3 accidents that resulted in DNFs for the participants.

The rest of the ride was very challenging with lots of hills. I passed several more in these sections and had a good enough ride for 29^th out of the 57 that completed the course.

As I approached T2, I saw that Melissa and Great Mia had arrived and joined Jeff, Andrew and Breanna to cheer me on. That people are there to cheer for you is a mental motivator more than anything else.

I spent the majority of the time in T2 changing shoes, trading my helmet for a HeadSweats visor and trying to get the cramping that had begun in my quads to stop. I stretched for a bit and then headed out for the 6.2 mile run.

I ran by my “support crew” again and managed a smile and wave, although my body is already yelling at me to STOP! As soon as I got around a bend and they could not see me, I started to walk while I ate another Hammer Gel. Then I cam upon the race camera man and I told him, “If you are going to take pictures, I’d better run!” So I did for a while and started to get into a rhythm. Then I came across the hills at around the halfway point. I finished the rest of the race walking up the hills and running down. I was not alone. Everyone that was around me did the same on the difficult course. I finished the 10K, quads burning and cramping, with everyone cheering, with a time of 1:01:47, good enough for 43^rd out of the 57 that finished.

Overall, I placed 44^th, so I am not at all unhappy about it, but elated to have finished at all. And to have my soon to be 93 year old grandmother see her first triathlon and my first of this distance was priceless.

You can see the event results here. I will add pictures to this post as I receive them.

I am all smiles on the outside but inside is a different story... Photo by Andrew

finishing the bike - photo by Melissa

photo by Melissa

the campers - Jeff, myself, Breanna and Andrew - photo by Melissa

more support crew - Melissa, myself and Great Mia - photo by Jeff

Tags: Andrew, biking, Great Mia, Jeff, Melissa, Race Reports, running, swimming, Triathlon
Posted in Race Reports | 5 Comments »

Recon Off-Road Triathlon Race Report

Monday, July 6th, 2009

This Independence Day weekend was one to remember. On Friday, I was a spectator for the first time at a race. Melissa and Chris ran in the Miles For Marines 15K. My feet were certainly itching to run, but I didn’t want it to interfere with my performance at the triathlon the next day. So I sat that one out and cheered them on with Mia, who played on the playground the whole time they were running.

Melissa & Chris Before Start

Melissa & Chris Start

Melissa & Chris

Melissa & Chris Finish

That afternoon, I went to Omega Sports to pick up my triathlon race packet and spoke to the event organizers who told me they were going to have a race briefing that evening and that I could come. I figured since I was camping at the site anyway, it would be great to see what they had to say. They went over all race logistics and gave us some good info and pointers for the course.

That night, Jeff, Melissa, Chris and I camped out and I slept in my bivy sack for the second time. The night was fairly uneventful, with only one critter that decided to visit us around 3AM. It rummaged through the trash and woke us up and Jeff made some noise and it ran off.

bivy sack!

That's right, # 13!

morning lake

: morning lake

morning lake

calm before the storm?

At around 6:30AM I woke up, took a shower to warm the muscles, stretched some and went to set up my transition area. It was nice to have a 2 minute walk to the race site. I was early enough to get the second best spot on the bike racks. It helps to get a spot that is close to where you exit and enter on the bike. That way you don’t have to run very far with your bike.

After that was all set up, I went and got body marked. They draw your race number on each arm, and your age on the back of your leg. The numbers are the only identifier you have in the water and the age tells other competitors if you are in their age group or not. If you are, they will be more inclined to try and pass you as you are categorized within your age group for awards.

I went back to the campsite and sat and went through the bike course in my head. I know the trails well and I put visual images in my head of the turns and spots to be careful. I have suffered some falls a couple of times and I remember those areas all too well!

After that, I stretched some more and went to the water for a warm up swim. The first thing I noticed about the open water lake swim as opposed to the pool is dirt. The lakes smell and taste (yes taste, I tried not to get any in my mouth, but it is impossible) like dirt. I assume that is because it is full of dirt!

The Swim

I got out of the water and with less than 10 minutes until race start, I consumed some Hammer Gel and took a few sips of water. I walked back to the lake and most everyone was in the water at this time. It was an “in-water” start, meaning that everyone got in the water before the start siren went off. They announced a few last minute directions and then said “swimmers on your mark” and the siren went off.

I knew from reading about triathlons that when a bunch of racers are standing in the water in relatively close proximity to each other, that when they start swimming and go from a standing position in which they are taking up about a square foot of water surface area and go to a horizontal position taking up 6 feet in length and a foot or 2 in width that people are all over each other. I tried to avoid that by starting about 5 feet behind the mass. That still wasn’t enough. After the start legs and arms were hitting mine and I was doing the same. There were just too many people around to be able to do a normal stride. I made my way to the outside of the pack and got a little more room. The other issue with an open-water swim is that the people are creating waves in the water which will splash you. This makes breathing difficult to say the least. I choked a few times during the swim because of that. I spent a lot of the swim doing a backstroke so that I could breathe more easily, but this slowed me down considerably. I exited the swim at 11:29, good enough for 33^rd place out of 39 finishers.

About to start!

People everywhere!

The Bike

After exiting the water, we had a ¼ mile run up a grassy hill to the transition area. I got on my bike and had a fast transition so I passed a few of the people that had beaten me on the swim. I figured my best chance to get a decent time was on the bike. I passed a few more people when I decided to ride through Steele Creek instead of walking my bike across the bridge. Once we entered the woods, on a narrow trail, it made it quite difficult to pass people. I did pass several people and had a respectable pace going.

It all started to fall apart when I realized I missed a turn and did an extra mile or so that apparently no one else had. Like I said earlier, I knew these trails well and had studied the maps they provided. I did what was mapped out. Apparently they decided to cut the trail short and cut off an entire section. That was fine, but they marked the turn with two small arrows off the side of the trail, which I missed until I came back through the area and saw that people had made tracks in the grass between the two sections of the trail. At that point it was a mental struggle. I was mad at the race directors for not disclosing the accurate maps and for not being more obvious with the trail markings. Then I was mad at myself for not paying enough attention to see the arrows. I tried to push a little harder to make up the time. I did pass some of the people that I had already passed, which was frustrating too. It was like doing the work twice! I finished the bike with a bike split time of 1:34:45, which includes the two transition times. That was good enough for 26^th out of the 39 finishers.

The Run

After pushing myself a bit too hard on the bike, I was exhausted for the run. I knew this was bad. I have read that having a slow bike and a strong run is much better than having a strong bike and a slow run. I had made that mistake. The mental game was on again. I was still mad at myself and it was hard to push myself when I am fairly confident I am not going to have a good time anyway because of my mistakes.

My calves cramped up a little bit, but not as bad as my first triathlon and I simply stopped and stretched them a bit. I walked too much on the hilly 3-mile trail run and I finished with a time of 38:47, good enough for 32^nd place on the run.

Even though I was disappointed with my time, it was still a very fun race and will do it again next year. As always, the best moment comes when I see the finish line and I hear Mia yell “GO DADDY!” and I see her waving her pom-poms that she always remembers to bring.

You can see the official results here. I wore the Garmin for the bike and the run.

Starting the run, about to realize that isn't water that is going to get in my eyes...

Just starting the run

Almost there!

On the way to the finish line!

Post Race Fun

After they gave out the awards, they decided to have some more competition. They had 6 $50 TrySports gift certificates to give out. 3 to female winners and 3 to males. The first contest was a pushup contest. Needless to say, I lost out to a Special Forces Marine who could probably do 200 push ups without breaking a sweat. The second contest was a Gatorade chugging contest and I didn’t even finish half of mine before two others were finished. The last contest was where I shined. The director called out, “Okay, for our last contest, whoever is the first female and first male to get back here after completely submerging themselves in the lake wins. Go!” I took off down the hill towards the lake about ¼ mile away. I got about ¾ of the way down and looked back as I could hear people behind me. To my surprise there were two girls and no other guys! I win! I dunked myself and jogged back to the top of the hill to collect my prize!

Melissa and her dog, Chris and I chillin after the race

I am done already!

After dunking in the lake going to get my prize!

Tags: Greenway, Melissa, Mia, Mountian Biking, Race Reports, running, swimming, Triathlon
Posted in Race Reports | 7 Comments »

Great Weekend!!!

Monday, June 15th, 2009

This weekend was my first official 10K race. I ran the Lake Wylie Splash Dash 10K. When I first mentioned to my brother in law, Alex, that I was thinking of run it, he said “Oh, it is pretty hilly, are you sure?” I was worried after that comment, but determined. I found out what the race course was and I convinced my sister, Melissa, to come try the run with me. We did it and we thought it was tough, but we made it. So we signed up!

We arrived a little later than we wanted, and the line for the bathroom was longer than we would like, but it worked out okay. I had already relieved myself and went to check on Melissa who was still waiting. She was about 7th inline and someone came up and said, “Don’t worry. They won’t start until you are all done here.” That made us feel better!

We were walking to the starting line and we saw our grandmother! We had thought she was going to come, but we weren’t sure. We gave her a hug and continued to the start line. There were about 260 people that were starting, about half doing a 5K distance and the others doing the 10K. They announced to us that we could decide to opt for the 5K if we wanted to, and just let them know so they would put you down for the correct race. I did not want to know that I had an easy out, so I turned to Melissa and said “We didn’t hear that did we?”

We started out strong, but the first hill came quickly. Melissa had already mentioned that her heart rate was unusually high. I checked mine and it was kind of high too. It must have been the race excitement. I figured I would have to walk some along the hilly course, but I didn’t want to have to walk before the first mile, so I kept running. Melissa had to fall back to try to keep her heart rate down.

Most of the run was nice and shaded, but it was already hot. I was glad that I had decided to carry my own fluids so I could drink whenever I wanted. I used my new hydration pack for the first time and it was great! Very little bouncing and for the most part I forgot that I was carrying it. I carried two 10 oz bottles with Lemon Lime HEED and a flask of Apple Cinnamon Hammer Gel. I also wore my new compression sleeves for the first time and they were great too.

The people stationed along the route were mostly in good spirits, which makes for a good run. I always enjoy joking with people along the way as it makes you forget you are tired. One of the volunteers said to me “You make that look easy; you are having too much fun!” I replied back, “This is fun! Almost there!” I kept thinking that I wish I had worn the Beer Helmet because that would have encouraged some laughs for sure.

I felt like walking at a few of the hills, but I kept thinking, you know I am almost halfway; I don’t want to walk yet. Then it was I have come this far, I don’t want to have to walk now! To my surprise, I was able to keep I run stride the entire way! I went down to a slow pace on several of the hills, but that’s okay. As I came to the finish area, I saw my grandmother, Jenn, Mia, Sadie and Jeff. I heard Mia say her “Go Daddy go!” And that was all I needed to speed up and finish fast. My official time was 57:43. That was good enough for 72^nd out of 122. I did finish last in my age group, which bummed me out. I told myself that it was because of the challenging course, more experienced runners were most likely prevalent. I was happy to have met my goal of finishing under 1 hour. Melissa came in with a time of 1:08:40, which is certainly respectable on the hard course. That was good enough to beat two others in her age group. Check out the results here. You can also see the run as captured by the Garmin here.

We stayed around to see the awards given out and then went to breakfast. I was very hungry so I ate pancakes, eggs, bacon and grits! We went home and got the girls to bed for their naps and I got a crazy idea and called Melissa to see if it would be okay if I rode my bike to her house instead of driving to meet her at her neighborhood pool for a swim. She said sure and I got dressed and headed out.

It was very hot by this time and all I could think about is how nice the water in the pool will feel! I made good time and rode the about 10 miles to her house in around 35 minutes. See the stats here.

When I got there, she asked if I wanted to go for a short ride with her so she could see how it is to ride on the roads. I said sure and after I adjusted her bike and filled the tires with air, we headed out. We rode about 5 miles and ended at the pool. She said she enjoyed the ride, but was uncomfortable when we had to make left turns. When you make a left turn, you have to check behind you to make sure there are no cars. This is difficult until you get used to it. See those stats here.

We had a short swim because the pool was crowded and adult swim only lasted for about 15 minutes. One the kids got in the pool again, there would be no way of swimming laps. Jeff arrived and we sat around and discussed possible future tattoo designs for triathlon, “26.2″ after we run the marathon, “70.3″ for after a half Ironman and finally the “140.6″ that I want after the full distance Ironman. Those numbers are the distance in miles for each of the events. Anybody have any ideas for designs? Andrew, you are a talented artist, any thoughts?

The ride home was even hotter than the ride there. And there was no pool waiting at my destination. At about this time, I felt the day’s events take their toll on my legs. I was fatigued and just ready to get home and be lazy. I did not make great time on the way back as you can see here.

All in all it was a great Saturday and Sunday all I did was mow the lawn and watch the Yankees win 15-0 over the Mets! I will take Monday off too and get back to training on Tuesday.

Tags: Alex, Andrew, biking, Jenn, Melissa, Mia, Race Reports, running, Sadie, Yankees
Posted in Race Reports, Triathlon Training | 2 Comments »

Go Mommy Go!

Monday, June 8th, 2009

This past weekend was fun. It started early with a sick Sadie who decided she needed to get up at 4:45 on Saturday morning. We had planned on getting up at 5:00 anyway to get ready for the race, but that 15 minutes seemed to be a lot lost!

I had planned on taking both girls and pushing them in the stroller for the race, but on Friday night, we decided Sadie would be better off if she stayed home. Jenn caller her sister, Stacy, and she agreed to come Saturday morning to stay with Sadie.

I had to wake Mia up from a deep sleep at about 6:30 and she looked at me with groggy eyes and said, “I’m sleepy.” I said, “I know, but do you want to go to a race?” Her reply was an enthusiastic, “YES!” So we got her dressed and fed her a quick breakfast and got into the car once Stacy came.

We arrived at the race site at about 7:15 and I thought we were going to be hard pressed to find a parking spot, knowing that the lot had limited spaces and they had designated another area for overflow parking. Once we arrived, we had plenty of spaces to choose from. At that point it was apparent that the event was going to be of a smaller scale than I had gotten used to. It turned out there were only about 50 people or so that ran.

Jenn did great, she ran the entire 3.1 miles and Mia didn’t even fuss while in the stroller. She did decide to take her shoes off about halfway, so I had to reach down and get those before they fell out of the stroller, but other than that there were no issues that I had worried about. I had been afraid that she would pitch a fit and I wouldn’t be able to finish!

Jenn finished 2^nd in her age group with a time of just over 34 minutes. Granted there were only 2 runners in her age group, but she still got a medal in her first race! I finished right behind her with Mia yelling, “GO MOMMY GO!!!” and actually placed 3^rd in my age group. Yes, I believe that is out of 3 total, but I still got a medal too! I let Mia wear mine and we all went home. You can see the race as captured by the Garmin 405, but keep in mind I was so excited when we finished that I forgot to stop the timer!

All in all it was a great experience for me and I think my wife was surprised at her ability to run the whole way. Hopefully she will be as inspired as I was to keep going!

Tags: Jenn, Mia, Race Reports, running, Sadie, Stacy
Posted in Race Reports | No Comments »

Watch Out For That Tree!

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

I have not written anything for several days, but I have good reason. Last week my training was only so-so, but I had a blast at the ASC Greenway Trail Run.

The morning started off well, I woke up, showered and stretched a little. I went downstairs, got some water and took my vitamins. Fed the dogs and apologized to Althea that she couldn’t come with me. Diego said never mind, I’ll stay here. I left the house before anyone else was awake, so it was a calm and quiet morning.

I drove to the race site, about 10 minutes, and got there at about 6:35. The half marathon race planned to start at 7:30, and my race, the 5 miler, to start at 7:40. I picked up my packet which turns out to be nothing more than a number, which was disappointing, but for only $10, what could I expect? And apparently $5 goes to the ASC Greenway. I was not too bummed. How many race tees do you really need?

I realized that I am very early and there is not much to do to get ready since things are so simple, so I took a walk to warm up. I walked down to the lake to take in the beauty of the morning. I then realized that the running route will take us along the lake. Should be pretty. I decided to follow the trail to see the condition of the trails as it has been raining all week. The trails here really weren’t too bad, but I was concerned because I had read that some were on horse trails. I got about 20 feet into the woods and I was hammered by spider webs! Good thing I won’t be first! I made a good loop around and back to the registration area to see what was going on. More people are showing up and I look for anyone I know. I didn’t see anyone at all that I know. I figured I would have seen someone I know, but oh well.

I stood around for a while then decided I should go pee one last time (about 7:15 now). I went to the bathhouse and there was a long line! Well, it looked like a woods pee for me. So I followed an empty trail until no one can see me and I went. At about 7:25 they gathered the half marathoners to the starting line. I can’t tell a lie, a part of me wanted to be in that group. But, I was to be satisfied with 5 miles today.

They fired the gun for the half marathon group precisely at 7:30. But not before warning the group that there is a creek crossing about .25 miles down the trail. They told them that there is a swinging bridge for those who would like to postpone getting their feet wet by running through the creek, but if they crossed on the bridge they were to walk for safety reasons. I started to wonder if we were going the same way and which way I would go if we were.

At about 7:35 they gathered the 5 milers. They told us the same thing and the creek crossing. I could not decide what to do. I finally decided that I would just see what it looks like when I got there. But I knew what creek they were talking about and I knew that it could run pretty high after rains like we had. I did some last minute stretching and ate some Hammer Gel.

Promptly at 7:40, they fired the gun for us. Off we were. The pace started off pretty slow like it does in most races with a group of people, but this was relatively small, with only 92 runners. Pretty soon I settled into my pace. Then the creek came into view. It was running pretty high as I expected, but people are running through it. Then I looked at the bridge. There was a line of people that were stopped waiting to get on! I said to myself, “Screw it!” and ran through the creek. It was about 10 to 15 feet to the other side and about 2 ½ feet deep in the middle. At that point I was having fun. My legs were wet from my thighs down and I was making a squishy sound with every step, but I didn’t care. It was fun!

Now we made our way down a gravel road by some horse and goat fields and it was still a beautiful morning. I said hello to the goats that were staring at us like we were crazy. Perhaps we were.

We crossed a highway where they had people stationed to stop the cars, but it was not busy at all. After that, we ran through a field and back into the woods. Now we were on a mountain bike trail and one I knew well. We had a gentle downhill at first, but I knew we would be coming back up. We passed by the first water station and I keep going. I had my water belt with HEED in, so I was good. I took the cue and pulled out the bottle and took a few sips, but I was able to continue to run. I passed a few people that way.

Then I settled into a real nice pace. I was feeling great and enjoying the woods in the morning. It made me wonder why I don’t do more runs on the trails. Then we came to where the half marathon trail and the 5 mile trail split up. There were people stationed there to help us out. We crossed over a swinging bridge and were now on a horse trail. I have always hated hiking on the horse trails. Were you are not dodging shit, the trails are so muddy that it makes it no fun. The conditions today were no different. In several spots, I had to jump over mud puddles or found myself slipping around in muddy areas. I think I even splashed a girl that was running behind me although I didn’t realize it at first. I heard her yell, “Oh yuck!” and I looked back, but for some reason I thought she splashed herself, but thinking about it afterward, I must have splashed her, because it hit her in the face and I don’t think that would be possible from your own feet when you are running forward. Sorry about that! I think she had good spirits about it though.

At one point, I was avoiding a muddy spot by running along the edge of the trail. I must have been looking down and looked up just in time to catch a pine branch to the face. Ouch. I could tell that something had hit me in the right eye, but it just stung a little. I kept running and a few minutes later, it was fine.

I went on to finish strong. I was able to sprint past a few people at the end and finished with a time of 48:16, with a pace of 9:40/mile. That was a little slower than my normal race pace, but this was not a normal race! I finished 40^th out of the 92 that ran and I actually placed 2^nd in my age group. Okay, there were only 3 runners in my age group, but I wasn’t last!

I went to my car and drank my Recoverite and did some stretching. I walked back over to the finish area to see some others come through the finish line. Most had finished by now, so I walked down to the lake again to see the half marathoners come through. I waited for about 20 minutes and I saw them on the other side of the lake. About 10 minutes later they came through. The lead pack included two men and one woman. About a minute behind them another guy runs past. I walked back up to the finish line to see how they finish. A minute later, they came into sight. The woman is in the lead! You go girl! She finished in 1:41:13 with a pace of 7:44. I thought that was pretty impressive.

A couple of hours after I got home, I realized there was a problem. I could not keep my right eye open and it kept getting worse! It was very, very painful and extremely sensitive to light. I finally got Jenn (only at her urging though) to take me to urgent care and they dyed my eye and looked at it with a special light. I had a corneal abrasion directly in the center of my pupil. I could not sleep at all on Saturday night and I could barely keep my eyes open on Sunday even with all the blinds closed and sunglasses on. I had to go to work on Monday and sat in my office with sunglasses on and was still pretty painful to look at the computer screen.

Tuesday everything was much better and I think my eye will make a full recovery. But remember, watch out for that tree!

Tags: Althea, Diego, Greenway, Race Reports, running
Posted in Race Reports | 4 Comments »

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