This week has another 15 mile run at the end and it has new years in the middle. should be a tough one... January is the make or break month for me to see if I can hit my 4:20 goal. There are 4 tough weeks this month with one recovery week. Hopefully the weather will cooperate with my schedule...
Monday: Was supposed to swim, but got home late from Virginia and was worn out so I skipped it.
Tuesday: Today was a tempo run, after my last few workouts and all the traveling I wasn't expecting much, but it ended up being a really good run. Met Tim and Frank at Shelley lake and did the 1 mile warmup together. Tim had 4 miles at 8:30 and Frank said he would hang with me as long as he could. At mile 1 Tim took off and Frank and I increased to 9:10 pace, took my sweat shirt off at 1.5 and felt much better. My tempo pace for 5 miles was to be between 9:00 and 9:20. Mile 1 of tempo was 9:11 and I felt really good. Shelley lake is really flat so I'm sure that had something to do with it. mile 2 of the tempo was 9:10, still feeling good so I decided to pick it up a bit to 9 min pace and lost Frank. Mile 3 was 8:58, this was harder, but I still felt really good so I kept this pace for mile 4 and an 8:59. Mile 5 of the tempo had a short steep hill right where I dropped my sweat shirt that I had to pick up so I wanted to keep my 9 min pace going so after picking it up I sprinted to the top and still had dropped to 9:30 pace from 8:56 and was way out of breath. I kept a decent pace going until I could breath again and picked it up for the final quarter to finish mile 5 @ 9:03. then did a 10:14 cool down. total for the run 1:05 and a 9:23 pace for 7 miles, tempo part was 9:04 pace for 5 miles.
Wednesday: Coach changed my schedule to be a cross train at the last minute from a run so I did a swim today.
warmup:
5 swim, 5 pull, 5 kick w/fins
mainset:
12 mins pull & paddles @ 2.3
3 min swim at 2.3 :30 ri
2 min swim at 2.4 :30 ri
1 min swim at 2.5
cool down:
5 mins easy
Thursday: Very cold new year's day run. Wore my new tights and socks and shorts with an old long sleeve shirt and heavy fleece sweat shirt on top, skiing gloves and a hat. Had my heavy metal play list shuffled on my iphone and took off early. It was close to 30 degrees, I think I overdressed, but running into the wind I was cold with the wind chill, but when the wind was at my back it felt hot. Either way I felt fairly good and stong on this run, a little sore from the 3 hours of ice skating the day before, but since it was an easy run I took it easy. Did 5 miles in 52 mins for a 10:16 pace...
Friday: day off - woo hoo, but spent day taking down chritmas gifts and starting on a hopefully consistent resistence training plan.
Saturday: 15 miles at comfortable pace - um remember not to start resistence training day before 15 mile run. This 15 miler was better than the last 15 miler, while last time I was coming down with a cold, this time my energy level was good, but my muscles were sore. My running partners were resting injuries and my other running buddies were either too lazy to get up or had to watch the kids so I was solo this week. I setup a playlist for the iphone and headed to umstead. Started off cold, I was wearing long tights and shorts and a long sleeve running shirt and fleece pullover. no gloves or head gear. My paces were slower to start than last time, but overall my pace at the end was better. I did run the last 3 miles without walkbreaks but man my quads were killing me.
stats: 15 miles in 2:42:00 for a 10:47 pace, ave hr 144 max 162. spent most of the time in zone 3 1:54:45, and some in zone 4 ( 40:06 ).
Sunday: Swim - legs were really sore today so just did an easy swim and no kicking.
miles for the week 27
looking forward to getting back to a normal schedule...
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
National Marathon Week 9
These next two weeks are going to be odd with Christmas and New Years and the kid off from school and us off from work so I told myself to make sure to get the runs in and try as best I can to do the rest...
Monday: I had a 3 mile recovery run with strides after, but decided to skip it since I was still recovering from a cold and it was 23 degrees in the morning, the only time I had to run and I just felt too crappy to get out of bed.
Tuesday: Feeling better today but decided to do an easier track workout today to keep recovering from my cold. Did 1.5 mile warmup followed by a 3 mile run alternating 400's fast/recovery ( 2:10 / 2:20 ). Ran with Cindy and Frank and this way of doing 3 miles on the track was better than the way I did it last time as the change in pace broke up the monotony, but since I had company that probably had something to do with it as well.
Wednesday: Today I had swim/kick with fins in the morning and mtn bike at lunch. Did my swim and more kicking than normal and felt really good, but had to skip the bike as the park was closed and had to do some last minute shopping
Thursday: day off
Friday: Today was the long run day as Saturday is a travel day. This is a recovery week so I only had 10 miles, but they were to be done at ~9:30 pace. Met Erin and Rob at Lake Benson and ran towards downtown Garner and did a loop back. This one was tough. We started off around 10:30 pace for the first mile, but then gradually sped up until we were doing 9:30's. The course was sidewalks and roads and rolling all the way. At mile 7 we were at 9:37 ave pace for the whole run so we were right on pace, but even though the next two miles were flat, I couldn't get the pace any lower so at mile 9 we were at 9:35 and I decided to slow down and do a cool down back to the car. Ended up with 9:37 ave pace for 9.61 miles
Sat: day off, but I did play some sand volley ball for 1.5 hours
Sun: had a 6 mile easy, run, it wasn't easy, I was tired from travel and staying up really late for me. Did 6.1 miles in 1:02:43 for about a 10:20 pace.
Next week is going to be tough again, but then hopefully will be back to the normal routine.
weekly mileage: 22
Monday: I had a 3 mile recovery run with strides after, but decided to skip it since I was still recovering from a cold and it was 23 degrees in the morning, the only time I had to run and I just felt too crappy to get out of bed.
Tuesday: Feeling better today but decided to do an easier track workout today to keep recovering from my cold. Did 1.5 mile warmup followed by a 3 mile run alternating 400's fast/recovery ( 2:10 / 2:20 ). Ran with Cindy and Frank and this way of doing 3 miles on the track was better than the way I did it last time as the change in pace broke up the monotony, but since I had company that probably had something to do with it as well.
Wednesday: Today I had swim/kick with fins in the morning and mtn bike at lunch. Did my swim and more kicking than normal and felt really good, but had to skip the bike as the park was closed and had to do some last minute shopping
Thursday: day off
Friday: Today was the long run day as Saturday is a travel day. This is a recovery week so I only had 10 miles, but they were to be done at ~9:30 pace. Met Erin and Rob at Lake Benson and ran towards downtown Garner and did a loop back. This one was tough. We started off around 10:30 pace for the first mile, but then gradually sped up until we were doing 9:30's. The course was sidewalks and roads and rolling all the way. At mile 7 we were at 9:37 ave pace for the whole run so we were right on pace, but even though the next two miles were flat, I couldn't get the pace any lower so at mile 9 we were at 9:35 and I decided to slow down and do a cool down back to the car. Ended up with 9:37 ave pace for 9.61 miles
Sat: day off, but I did play some sand volley ball for 1.5 hours
Sun: had a 6 mile easy, run, it wasn't easy, I was tired from travel and staying up really late for me. Did 6.1 miles in 1:02:43 for about a 10:20 pace.
Next week is going to be tough again, but then hopefully will be back to the normal routine.
weekly mileage: 22
Sunday, December 21, 2008
National Marathon week 8
Week 8 was a struggle, really only Tuesday went well, but I managed to get through it and am looking forward to no work for two weeks and having a recovery week during Christmas.
Monday: Recovery Run 4 miles: Did 4.3 on the flattest course available which really isn't flat but does have a nice middle section that is flat. legs felt really heavy and tired at the beginning, finally started feeling good around mile 2.5 just in time for the hilly section back to work.
Tuesday: Track Day, This was a great day for me, did a 1.5 mile warmup, then
2000 at 9 min pace, 6 x 800's starting at 4:20 and getting faster by 5 seconds rep. then a 1 mile cool down, beat all my goal times and felt good doing it. big confidence builder.
Wednesday: was supposed to do core class and 20 mile easy bike, wasn't able to do either as we were driving up to Virginia for dinner with Lilyan's grandpa. So it was leave at 3, drive 3 hours, eat dinner and open presents, drive 3 hours home, this after getting up at 5 to get my work hours in. At least she got a wii out of it.
Thursday: I had a 6-7 mile steady run on the schedule, but instead did a 1 mile warmup, 3 mile tempo at 9:15 pace, 2 mile cool down. This was tough and did more walking than I would like, but I needed to save my legs for saturday's 15 miles and was tired from yesterday.
Friday: This was an off day, but since wednesday got screwed up, I did an easy 35 min swim. It felt great swimming but still mentally tired.
Saturday: Woke up with a head cold, felt really tired and congested, but had to meet Erin and Rob for 15 miles. Luckily the weather this week was in the 50's and dry. We did a route that started at starbucks, ran 2.5 hilly miles to a greenway, then did a 5 mile out and back on the flat greenway. taking walk breaks every mile to drink or eat. I felt tired and drained the whole time but the fueling strategy kept me going and I made it through, the first half was at 10:25 pace, the second at 11:15 to ave 10:50 for the whole route.
Sunday: still feeling the headcold, but wanted to get the legs and shoulders loosened up so did an easy 30 min 1 mile swim.
Looking forward to next week's reduced mileage, but more travel at the end of the week.
Weekly mileage: 25
Monday: Recovery Run 4 miles: Did 4.3 on the flattest course available which really isn't flat but does have a nice middle section that is flat. legs felt really heavy and tired at the beginning, finally started feeling good around mile 2.5 just in time for the hilly section back to work.
Tuesday: Track Day, This was a great day for me, did a 1.5 mile warmup, then
2000 at 9 min pace, 6 x 800's starting at 4:20 and getting faster by 5 seconds rep. then a 1 mile cool down, beat all my goal times and felt good doing it. big confidence builder.
Wednesday: was supposed to do core class and 20 mile easy bike, wasn't able to do either as we were driving up to Virginia for dinner with Lilyan's grandpa. So it was leave at 3, drive 3 hours, eat dinner and open presents, drive 3 hours home, this after getting up at 5 to get my work hours in. At least she got a wii out of it.
Thursday: I had a 6-7 mile steady run on the schedule, but instead did a 1 mile warmup, 3 mile tempo at 9:15 pace, 2 mile cool down. This was tough and did more walking than I would like, but I needed to save my legs for saturday's 15 miles and was tired from yesterday.
Friday: This was an off day, but since wednesday got screwed up, I did an easy 35 min swim. It felt great swimming but still mentally tired.
Saturday: Woke up with a head cold, felt really tired and congested, but had to meet Erin and Rob for 15 miles. Luckily the weather this week was in the 50's and dry. We did a route that started at starbucks, ran 2.5 hilly miles to a greenway, then did a 5 mile out and back on the flat greenway. taking walk breaks every mile to drink or eat. I felt tired and drained the whole time but the fueling strategy kept me going and I made it through, the first half was at 10:25 pace, the second at 11:15 to ave 10:50 for the whole route.
Sunday: still feeling the headcold, but wanted to get the legs and shoulders loosened up so did an easy 30 min 1 mile swim.
Looking forward to next week's reduced mileage, but more travel at the end of the week.
Weekly mileage: 25
Sunday, December 14, 2008
National Marathon Week 7
Week 7 looked like this
M - Recovery Run ( 5 miles easy )
T - Track ( 1.5 warmup, 3 miles @ 9, 2 miles @ 8:45, 1 mile @ 8:15 - 8:30, .5 cool)
W - Mountain bike morning, back to core class lunch
T - Negative Run ( 6 miles last 2 @ 9:30 pace )
F - Off
S - 13 miles on flat roads
S - Cross train
Monday: started off ok, I had a race on Saturday but still felt fairly good today, did 4.7 miles in 49 mins for 10:30 pace.
Tuesday: was great, it was a long track day, but I was looking forward to it since I saw it on my schedule. 3 miles ( 12 laps ) on the track is not that exicting so I was happy to have my coach run part of it with me as part of her cool down. Hit my paces right on or a little better, so very happy.
Wednesday: nothing went right, raining so trails closed, rfc staff had holiday lunch, so no back to the core and my last ditch plan to spin at home just wasn't appealing enough so I skipped it. No work out today but the rest was needed after Tuesday.
Thursday: Should have run in the morning, but was still feeling lazy. The rain stopped at 10 and I thought I could get an hour in before it came back so I headed out. Made to mile 4.5 before I got hit by a downpour. With only 15 minutes to go I figured I would just suck it up and get wet, but then the lightning started so I took the short cut back to work and ended up with 5.5 miles instead of the 6.2 planned and my pace at the end while faster was not quite the 9:30 on the schedule
Saturday: Was supposed to be flat, but my running partners had to stay close to home so we did loops around my extremely hilly neighborhood. Did 13 miles at 10:30 pace with walk breaks on the miles. It was cold, but little wind and the sun felt really good.
Sunday: Did a quick easy swim to loosen the legs and get the blood flowing. Quads are hurting, but not too bad.
31 miles this week, haven't done that many in a long time...
M - Recovery Run ( 5 miles easy )
T - Track ( 1.5 warmup, 3 miles @ 9, 2 miles @ 8:45, 1 mile @ 8:15 - 8:30, .5 cool)
W - Mountain bike morning, back to core class lunch
T - Negative Run ( 6 miles last 2 @ 9:30 pace )
F - Off
S - 13 miles on flat roads
S - Cross train
Monday: started off ok, I had a race on Saturday but still felt fairly good today, did 4.7 miles in 49 mins for 10:30 pace.
Tuesday: was great, it was a long track day, but I was looking forward to it since I saw it on my schedule. 3 miles ( 12 laps ) on the track is not that exicting so I was happy to have my coach run part of it with me as part of her cool down. Hit my paces right on or a little better, so very happy.
Wednesday: nothing went right, raining so trails closed, rfc staff had holiday lunch, so no back to the core and my last ditch plan to spin at home just wasn't appealing enough so I skipped it. No work out today but the rest was needed after Tuesday.
Thursday: Should have run in the morning, but was still feeling lazy. The rain stopped at 10 and I thought I could get an hour in before it came back so I headed out. Made to mile 4.5 before I got hit by a downpour. With only 15 minutes to go I figured I would just suck it up and get wet, but then the lightning started so I took the short cut back to work and ended up with 5.5 miles instead of the 6.2 planned and my pace at the end while faster was not quite the 9:30 on the schedule
Saturday: Was supposed to be flat, but my running partners had to stay close to home so we did loops around my extremely hilly neighborhood. Did 13 miles at 10:30 pace with walk breaks on the miles. It was cold, but little wind and the sun felt really good.
Sunday: Did a quick easy swim to loosen the legs and get the blood flowing. Quads are hurting, but not too bad.
31 miles this week, haven't done that many in a long time...
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Run at the Rock
Last race of the year. This was a 7 mile trail run. I haven't been having the best of luck with trails lately, so I wasn't expecting much in speed and I didn't disappoint.
The day started off ok, went to starbucks to meet Tim to make the hour drive to the race site. It was cold, but the truck was warm. Got there with plenty of time to get our race bags minus the normal t-shirts, and do a short warm up. They were playing 80's rock music like Van Halen and Ozzy. The race started off with a canon shot, Tim told me I should put this in my report so he would remember it.
It was in the 30's, I was wearing thin gloves, long sleeve under shirt, running tights, an old sweatshirt and a thin headband. I thought I was going to be ok since I started off really cold, but soon found out I was over dressed. The headband came off at mile 1, and the gloves at mile 2. Then I was still hot the rest of the way. Mile 1 was ok, we started on roads, the eased into a dirt trail until we came to a stop at the bridge to the single track. Waited about a minute, then started the trails. Mile 2 was ok as well, people were passing me left and right, but it didn't bother me as I was more concerned with not twisting my ankle or falling on the rocks. Mile 3 sucked as my legs were hurting and the hills were tough. I think I was at an 11:11 pace at mile 2, but by the time we got to mile 3 my ave dropped to 12. When we came out of the first set of trails I started feeling better and my speed started picking up. When got to the final section, I was just starting to feel good, and was getting the hang of the ups and downs over roots and rocks. I picked up a good pace setter and followed her the rest of the way in. There was one more big hill before the end which came at mile 6.6 on my watch, not that I wanted to go another .4, I was ready to get back in the truck and warm up.
It was a fun course, easier than the trails I trained on, so I enjoyed it more than I expected and saw a bunch of people I knew so it was fun. I do like trail running, but I also hate it because I suck so badly at it...
The day started off ok, went to starbucks to meet Tim to make the hour drive to the race site. It was cold, but the truck was warm. Got there with plenty of time to get our race bags minus the normal t-shirts, and do a short warm up. They were playing 80's rock music like Van Halen and Ozzy. The race started off with a canon shot, Tim told me I should put this in my report so he would remember it.
It was in the 30's, I was wearing thin gloves, long sleeve under shirt, running tights, an old sweatshirt and a thin headband. I thought I was going to be ok since I started off really cold, but soon found out I was over dressed. The headband came off at mile 1, and the gloves at mile 2. Then I was still hot the rest of the way. Mile 1 was ok, we started on roads, the eased into a dirt trail until we came to a stop at the bridge to the single track. Waited about a minute, then started the trails. Mile 2 was ok as well, people were passing me left and right, but it didn't bother me as I was more concerned with not twisting my ankle or falling on the rocks. Mile 3 sucked as my legs were hurting and the hills were tough. I think I was at an 11:11 pace at mile 2, but by the time we got to mile 3 my ave dropped to 12. When we came out of the first set of trails I started feeling better and my speed started picking up. When got to the final section, I was just starting to feel good, and was getting the hang of the ups and downs over roots and rocks. I picked up a good pace setter and followed her the rest of the way in. There was one more big hill before the end which came at mile 6.6 on my watch, not that I wanted to go another .4, I was ready to get back in the truck and warm up.
It was a fun course, easier than the trails I trained on, so I enjoyed it more than I expected and saw a bunch of people I knew so it was fun. I do like trail running, but I also hate it because I suck so badly at it...
Sunday, November 30, 2008
inside out sports turkey trot 8k
When I left the house this morning it was cold, but the forecast called for temps in the 40's at the start. I was a bit tentative about this race, as my tuesday run felt really tough and I had rolled my ankle on Saturday at mile 1 of an 11 mile run so it wasn't feeling all that great. This race for me is all about just getting out and exercising so I can eat more so there is little to no pressure.
Showed up at the race, got my chip and stuff then headed across the street to wait for warmup time. The 1 mile fun run started so I waited a couple mins after that, then followed the course for my warmup, then did a couple strides after. I had a fleece sweat shirt, long warmup pants, and gloves. After the warmup, I was starting to sweat, so I shed the warmups and fleece and just had shorts, long sleeve top, gloves, and my new running bee hat. Did a little stretching and it was time for the start.
mile 1:
Started near the front and the first mile went by fairly quick at 8:34 pace. I was shooting for a 8:45 pace so I felt good about my start. Average hr was 156 and just about all in Zone 4
mile 2:
This is the 2nd hardest mile on the course, so I wanted to try to maintain a 9 min mile pace. I did a 8:50 with an average hr of 165, mostly zone four with 1/3 in zone 5, so the effort was picking up.
mile 3:
This mile was the really the only mile to cruise in. It is rolling with no big climbs, so I wanted to do an 8:45. I managed an 8:41 with an ave hr of 168. times in zone 4 and 5 flip flopped on this one, with 1/3 in 4, and 2/3 in 5.
mile 4:
This mile is the easiest and really wanted to do a fast mile here to take advantage of the long downhill and put some time in the bank for the last and hardest mile. Did an 8:21 with ave hr of 168, so picked up the pace but kept same effort as mile 3 with about half zone 4 and half zone 5. At this point I was on target to break my goal time of 44 fairly easy, so it gave me some inspiration to really keep pushing up the long hill at the start of mile 5.
mile 5:
The hardest mile on the course, and even though it's listed as an 8k, my watch had it as 5:02 miles. Picked up the effort and tried to keep my pace under 9 for the first half of this mile. It was all uphill with a couple steep sections. People were dying out and walking alot here. I was passing a bunch of people that had started too fast and were paying for it on this hill. I really started hurting at the top of the hill and hit my max hr for the race of 176. I just kept hearing my coach's voice in my head saying it's ok to hurt and that kept me going. I recovered on the short downhill before the next climb then was able to push up the last hill before the short downhill finish. 8:51 - ave hr 171 - all but 1 min in zone 5.
totals
5:02 miles / 43:18 / 8:37 ave pace / ave hr 166 / max hr 176
Felt really good about this race, and beat my nephew's time from last year by 1 second. woo hoo!
Showed up at the race, got my chip and stuff then headed across the street to wait for warmup time. The 1 mile fun run started so I waited a couple mins after that, then followed the course for my warmup, then did a couple strides after. I had a fleece sweat shirt, long warmup pants, and gloves. After the warmup, I was starting to sweat, so I shed the warmups and fleece and just had shorts, long sleeve top, gloves, and my new running bee hat. Did a little stretching and it was time for the start.
mile 1:
Started near the front and the first mile went by fairly quick at 8:34 pace. I was shooting for a 8:45 pace so I felt good about my start. Average hr was 156 and just about all in Zone 4
mile 2:
This is the 2nd hardest mile on the course, so I wanted to try to maintain a 9 min mile pace. I did a 8:50 with an average hr of 165, mostly zone four with 1/3 in zone 5, so the effort was picking up.
mile 3:
This mile was the really the only mile to cruise in. It is rolling with no big climbs, so I wanted to do an 8:45. I managed an 8:41 with an ave hr of 168. times in zone 4 and 5 flip flopped on this one, with 1/3 in 4, and 2/3 in 5.
mile 4:
This mile is the easiest and really wanted to do a fast mile here to take advantage of the long downhill and put some time in the bank for the last and hardest mile. Did an 8:21 with ave hr of 168, so picked up the pace but kept same effort as mile 3 with about half zone 4 and half zone 5. At this point I was on target to break my goal time of 44 fairly easy, so it gave me some inspiration to really keep pushing up the long hill at the start of mile 5.
mile 5:
The hardest mile on the course, and even though it's listed as an 8k, my watch had it as 5:02 miles. Picked up the effort and tried to keep my pace under 9 for the first half of this mile. It was all uphill with a couple steep sections. People were dying out and walking alot here. I was passing a bunch of people that had started too fast and were paying for it on this hill. I really started hurting at the top of the hill and hit my max hr for the race of 176. I just kept hearing my coach's voice in my head saying it's ok to hurt and that kept me going. I recovered on the short downhill before the next climb then was able to push up the last hill before the short downhill finish. 8:51 - ave hr 171 - all but 1 min in zone 5.
totals
5:02 miles / 43:18 / 8:37 ave pace / ave hr 166 / max hr 176
Felt really good about this race, and beat my nephew's time from last year by 1 second. woo hoo!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
National Marathon
I've signed up for the National Marathon in DC
http://www.nationalmarathon.com/home.asp
last year there were about 1400 marathon finishers and 2600 1/2 marathon finishers, so much smaller than the marine corps but you still get to see all the sites of DC.
here is a link to the marathonguide page where you can read comments from past runners.
http://www.marathonguide.com/races/racedetails.cfm?MIDD=2453090321
and this is my long run schedule which started last weekend
Saturday, November 1, 2008 9
Saturday, November 8, 2008 7
Saturday, November 15, 2008 10
Saturday, November 22, 2008 11
Saturday, November 29, 2008 12
Saturday, December 6, 2008 9 Run at the Rock
Saturday, December 13, 2008 13
Saturday, December 20, 2008 15
Saturday, December 27, 2008 10
Saturday, January 3, 2009 15
Saturday, January 10, 2009 16
Saturday, January 17, 2009 12
Saturday, January 24, 2009 18
Saturday, January 31, 2009 20
Saturday, February 7, 2009 13
Saturday, February 14, 2009 20
Saturday, February 21, 2009 14 Coach Bubba's 20K
Saturday, February 28, 2009 22
Saturday, March 7, 2009 13
Saturday, March 14, 2009 8
Saturday, March 21, 2009 26.2 DC National Marathon
http://www.nationalmarathon.com/home.asp
last year there were about 1400 marathon finishers and 2600 1/2 marathon finishers, so much smaller than the marine corps but you still get to see all the sites of DC.
here is a link to the marathonguide page where you can read comments from past runners.
http://www.marathonguide.com/races/racedetails.cfm?MIDD=2453090321
and this is my long run schedule which started last weekend
Saturday, November 1, 2008 9
Saturday, November 8, 2008 7
Saturday, November 15, 2008 10
Saturday, November 22, 2008 11
Saturday, November 29, 2008 12
Saturday, December 6, 2008 9 Run at the Rock
Saturday, December 13, 2008 13
Saturday, December 20, 2008 15
Saturday, December 27, 2008 10
Saturday, January 3, 2009 15
Saturday, January 10, 2009 16
Saturday, January 17, 2009 12
Saturday, January 24, 2009 18
Saturday, January 31, 2009 20
Saturday, February 7, 2009 13
Saturday, February 14, 2009 20
Saturday, February 21, 2009 14 Coach Bubba's 20K
Saturday, February 28, 2009 22
Saturday, March 7, 2009 13
Saturday, March 14, 2009 8
Saturday, March 21, 2009 26.2 DC National Marathon
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Pinehurst Triathlon Race Report
First the results
swim 28:24
T1 3:15
bike 1:14:42
T2 1:33
Run 1:07:31
Total 2:55:22
Woke up at 4am so I could eat breakfast and finish packing up the car for the 5 am departure time. Arrived in pinehurst at 6:30. The race was to start at 8, and my wave goes at 8:18. The sun was not up yet, but with all the lights in the transition area you could see the fog/steam on the lake. Parked the car, packed everything up and realized I had brought my long run shoes and not my race shoes with the quick lases on them. Doh! Walked through the lot to the street for the 1/2 mile trek to transition from parking and went to get on my bike and found my chain was off. I love starting the day with grease all over my fingers... Arrived at transition with freezing fingers thinking I should have brought gloves.
Line #1 - Packet pickup - Many people did not have either or both of their required cards, Photo ID and USAT card, so this took a while and they were still signing people up since the race hadn't sold out.
Line #2 - Port a john - decided to go to this one before the number marking line since the line was already long and getting longer
Line #3 - body marking - whew, finally no more lines. Walking back to transition I find someones chip on the ground. So I scoop it up and bring it back, the guy at the chip tent says give it to the guy on the mic, the guy on the mic says give it to that guy over there and he will give it back to the chip buy. I chase that guy down and tell him the guy on the mic says to give it to you. OK 20 minutes later I here the guy on the mic say #624 we have your chip, duh...
I finish setting up my transition area and go for a quick warmup jog. I see a guy warming up ( jogging ) in his full wetsuit and flip flops, I think this is a little odd... Back to transition I put on my wetsuit and head down to the lake for a quick swim. The water temp 68 degrees, air temp 50 something. Water feels good, and it's cleaner than I remember. I could see the bottom at points. But, it is covered in Fog and it's not easy to see the first buoy and cannot see the turn buoy at all. My warmup jog took my along the lake so I kinda new where it was.
The Swim: Took off fast and found some feet to follow, as in the previous waves, people were going all of the place due to the fog so as soon as my draftee veered left, I let him go and kept going straight. I was following some trees and for the first two buoys I was right on, but then I lost the trees and was swimming blind. Ended up going to far left and when I saw the girl in the kayak I headed toward her, Since all the other kayaks had been right on the buoy I thought that's where I should go. Alas when I got there she was yelling "the turn is over there" over and over again, so I had to swim perpendicular about 15 yards to avoid cutting the turn. I noticed a bunch of people just keep going and not go back for the turn and I have to admit I thought about it, but if I ended up having a great race, it would be tainted and I didn't want that. After that first turn, it was much easier has the sun was not in our eyes and it was easier to see the buoys. Finished 4th in my division for the swim.
T1: A long uphill run combined with taking off my wetsuit led to this 3:15 transition, but I was closer to the fast people than the slow as the fastest time was 1:40, slowest 6:07. Ate a gel, put the other in my race suit, put on my socks, it was still cold, helmet, glasses, and headed out.
Bike: Turns out I didn't need those gloves as the sun was warming it up nicely. Started off easy, it was mostly uphill to start and my legs needed to warm back up. Wanted to average about 19 mph, and did 18.7 for the first 5 miles, then started to pick it up. Felt easier than previous years, but I've made some good strides on the bike this year and chalked it up to that. This a fairly hilly course, with the way out harder than coming back. I think there are 3 tough hills and a lot of rollers. Finish my aero bottle of gatorade by the water bottle hand off at mile 15 and refilled with water. I was at 19 mph ave now and still feeling really good, so focused on pushing on the downhills and staying steady going up. I only stood up once and that was for just a minute to get over a short steep section without losing speed. At mile 20 I took my second gel so it would kick in for the run. The wind must have been with us going back as my average picked up to 19.4 by the end. Good enough for 8th on the bike.
T2: Grab my jelly belly beans and finished off my water in the aero bottle, changed shoes, got some more shammy butter for the friction and headed out in 1:33.
Run: Run did not start out great, but I just kept going until I started feeling ok. The first hill my right ankle was killing me so I walked it until the pain went away. Mile one was a respectable 9:55, mile two started feeling better, but the ankle still throbbed every now and then but not as bad and only had to walk once on this one for a 9:45, mile three was great, I was getting into a rhythm of pushing up the hills and recovering down as most were short enough not to punish you. There were water stops every mile and I was drinking a cup at each one. Mile 3 9:20 and I felt the best on this one. Then at about mile 3.5 my right hamstring cramped up so bad I almost feel over. I veered to the right and screamed in pain. Finally I was able to stretch it out and walk a bit without pain, but every time I started to run it would come back. two and a half minutes later I could finally run again, but as soon as I came up on the mile 4 water stop, my left hamstring cramped up, not as bad as the right one did, but still enough to stop me from running. mile 4 - 13:00. I took some Heed sports drink instead of water this time since I figured I had nothing to lose, normally I don't try new things at races and I've never had Heed before. the next mile I walked/jogged/stretched, I knew after mile 4 that my breaking 1 hour on the run was over, but I still had the 2:56 time from two years ago to beat and I didn't want to give that up without a fight. got to mile 5 water stop and chugged some more Heed and started jogging again. mile 5 13:00, I was at 55 minutes with 13 minutes to go for a 2:56. I guess the Heed helped as I was able to jog all buy one of the hills on this mile and actually run the down hills. Finished up at a 10:00/mile pace and a 67 minute 10k, but 1 minute faster than two years ago on this course. It was 8 minutes slower than I thought I could do, but in some ways still a victory. This is tough run course, with mile 4 and 5 being the toughest. Not sure what caused the cramping, the cold I just got over, not drinking enough, although I think I did, or it just wasn't my day. I'll never know, maybe I'll come back next year and try again...
swim 28:24
T1 3:15
bike 1:14:42
T2 1:33
Run 1:07:31
Total 2:55:22
Woke up at 4am so I could eat breakfast and finish packing up the car for the 5 am departure time. Arrived in pinehurst at 6:30. The race was to start at 8, and my wave goes at 8:18. The sun was not up yet, but with all the lights in the transition area you could see the fog/steam on the lake. Parked the car, packed everything up and realized I had brought my long run shoes and not my race shoes with the quick lases on them. Doh! Walked through the lot to the street for the 1/2 mile trek to transition from parking and went to get on my bike and found my chain was off. I love starting the day with grease all over my fingers... Arrived at transition with freezing fingers thinking I should have brought gloves.
Line #1 - Packet pickup - Many people did not have either or both of their required cards, Photo ID and USAT card, so this took a while and they were still signing people up since the race hadn't sold out.
Line #2 - Port a john - decided to go to this one before the number marking line since the line was already long and getting longer
Line #3 - body marking - whew, finally no more lines. Walking back to transition I find someones chip on the ground. So I scoop it up and bring it back, the guy at the chip tent says give it to the guy on the mic, the guy on the mic says give it to that guy over there and he will give it back to the chip buy. I chase that guy down and tell him the guy on the mic says to give it to you. OK 20 minutes later I here the guy on the mic say #624 we have your chip, duh...
I finish setting up my transition area and go for a quick warmup jog. I see a guy warming up ( jogging ) in his full wetsuit and flip flops, I think this is a little odd... Back to transition I put on my wetsuit and head down to the lake for a quick swim. The water temp 68 degrees, air temp 50 something. Water feels good, and it's cleaner than I remember. I could see the bottom at points. But, it is covered in Fog and it's not easy to see the first buoy and cannot see the turn buoy at all. My warmup jog took my along the lake so I kinda new where it was.
The Swim: Took off fast and found some feet to follow, as in the previous waves, people were going all of the place due to the fog so as soon as my draftee veered left, I let him go and kept going straight. I was following some trees and for the first two buoys I was right on, but then I lost the trees and was swimming blind. Ended up going to far left and when I saw the girl in the kayak I headed toward her, Since all the other kayaks had been right on the buoy I thought that's where I should go. Alas when I got there she was yelling "the turn is over there" over and over again, so I had to swim perpendicular about 15 yards to avoid cutting the turn. I noticed a bunch of people just keep going and not go back for the turn and I have to admit I thought about it, but if I ended up having a great race, it would be tainted and I didn't want that. After that first turn, it was much easier has the sun was not in our eyes and it was easier to see the buoys. Finished 4th in my division for the swim.
T1: A long uphill run combined with taking off my wetsuit led to this 3:15 transition, but I was closer to the fast people than the slow as the fastest time was 1:40, slowest 6:07. Ate a gel, put the other in my race suit, put on my socks, it was still cold, helmet, glasses, and headed out.
Bike: Turns out I didn't need those gloves as the sun was warming it up nicely. Started off easy, it was mostly uphill to start and my legs needed to warm back up. Wanted to average about 19 mph, and did 18.7 for the first 5 miles, then started to pick it up. Felt easier than previous years, but I've made some good strides on the bike this year and chalked it up to that. This a fairly hilly course, with the way out harder than coming back. I think there are 3 tough hills and a lot of rollers. Finish my aero bottle of gatorade by the water bottle hand off at mile 15 and refilled with water. I was at 19 mph ave now and still feeling really good, so focused on pushing on the downhills and staying steady going up. I only stood up once and that was for just a minute to get over a short steep section without losing speed. At mile 20 I took my second gel so it would kick in for the run. The wind must have been with us going back as my average picked up to 19.4 by the end. Good enough for 8th on the bike.
T2: Grab my jelly belly beans and finished off my water in the aero bottle, changed shoes, got some more shammy butter for the friction and headed out in 1:33.
Run: Run did not start out great, but I just kept going until I started feeling ok. The first hill my right ankle was killing me so I walked it until the pain went away. Mile one was a respectable 9:55, mile two started feeling better, but the ankle still throbbed every now and then but not as bad and only had to walk once on this one for a 9:45, mile three was great, I was getting into a rhythm of pushing up the hills and recovering down as most were short enough not to punish you. There were water stops every mile and I was drinking a cup at each one. Mile 3 9:20 and I felt the best on this one. Then at about mile 3.5 my right hamstring cramped up so bad I almost feel over. I veered to the right and screamed in pain. Finally I was able to stretch it out and walk a bit without pain, but every time I started to run it would come back. two and a half minutes later I could finally run again, but as soon as I came up on the mile 4 water stop, my left hamstring cramped up, not as bad as the right one did, but still enough to stop me from running. mile 4 - 13:00. I took some Heed sports drink instead of water this time since I figured I had nothing to lose, normally I don't try new things at races and I've never had Heed before. the next mile I walked/jogged/stretched, I knew after mile 4 that my breaking 1 hour on the run was over, but I still had the 2:56 time from two years ago to beat and I didn't want to give that up without a fight. got to mile 5 water stop and chugged some more Heed and started jogging again. mile 5 13:00, I was at 55 minutes with 13 minutes to go for a 2:56. I guess the Heed helped as I was able to jog all buy one of the hills on this mile and actually run the down hills. Finished up at a 10:00/mile pace and a 67 minute 10k, but 1 minute faster than two years ago on this course. It was 8 minutes slower than I thought I could do, but in some ways still a victory. This is tough run course, with mile 4 and 5 being the toughest. Not sure what caused the cramping, the cold I just got over, not drinking enough, although I think I did, or it just wasn't my day. I'll never know, maybe I'll come back next year and try again...
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Wilmington YMCA Race report
First the results
Official results master Clydesdale division
overall place swim rank/time t1 bike rank/time t2 run rank/time total time
10 WILLIAM REID 10 23:46 1:35 6 35:31 1:54 15 26:35 1:29:20
watch results
swim t1 bike t2 run total
21:12 4:46 34:51 1:55 26:35 1:29:22
This was one of my A races, and I had 4 goals for this race.
1. Swim straight and fast
2. Bike at least 21 mph ave
3. Run the last mile faster than the first
4. beat 1:30 total time
What a great day, started off at 4:45 with the alarm going off. wanted to hit snooze, but couldn't find it so I hit every button I could find until the damn thing stopped beeping. by this time I couldn't go back to sleep if I wanted to so I got up.
ate breakfast, took a shower to warm up the body, packed all my stuff into the back pack and headed out.
We were staying at the residence inn landfall which was about 2.5 miles from the race site, so instead of driving I just rode my bike. It was 5:30 and pitch black. I bought a light set from Dick's yesterday so the cars could see me and I figured all the cars on the road would be going to the race and not want to kill me :-). Got to the race all warmed up, setup transition, got chip and body marked, then did a quick 5 min run warmup before getting on the bus. This race is a point to point swim and they bus you to the start. Once at the start I had an hour to wait until my start time, so I sat down, ate half my power bar and chatted with some other waiters. Two coworkers found me and I had some people to pass the time with. About a half hour before my start was the official start so I wanted to get in the water and warm up before that. the water temp was about 80 and felt so good compared to the air temp of 60. After warmup I had to get out again and freeze for 20 minutes before getting back in for the last 10 mins before my group started.
The swim: my goal, swim straight and fast. Let the shoulders burn. Started off in front and when the gun went off followed some feet for a while, but they were going right so I let them go and stayed on my line. There was a big boat I wanted to head for and was not going off course. Most people were on my right which is good for me as I like breathing right and it helps keep me in line. I guess they were all following someone or the current was taking them because the big pack kept drifting right. I stayed on course and headed for my boat. As we got closer, I could see the big pack having to adjust course and when we rounded the boat, I was in front.woo hoo. This is a little over half way and my shoulders were feeling the burn, but didn't want the pack to catch me so I just kept pulling hard. Next you have to swim to the dock. Couldn't see it yet, but I knew it was a slight right followed by a left to get around a small Island. There is a marker that you can sight on. Once again a big pack started going right and I gained some more ground. Hit the ladder in 20 something, got out and started the long run, about 1/4 to 1/2 mile to transition. Took about 3 minutes and my feet were not happy about running on the road without shoes.
T1: After the jog to transition, I changed quickly and headed out on the bike. Sucked down a gel as well, just in case. There were 1300 athletes in this race, so transition was huge, and at 6:15 when I left my spot it was till dark. Luckily I scouted the area out and found my bike and stuff easily.
Bike: It was windy today but luckily the wind was at our backs to start so transition from swim/run to bike went well. You start off going over a drawbridge, and you don't have room to pass. They tell us over and over don't pass and every year I see some dufus passing on the bridge. Amazingly, not this year. Last time I did this race, there were potholes galore after the left turn as you come off the bridge, Amazingly again, they were filled. That was where I got my flat last time and I took these two things as a good omen for the bike and tried to get into a rhythm. Unfortunately, it was crowed on the bike, and they was a lot of traffic for 7 am on a saturday morning, so dodging cars and other bikers meant the first part was out of my aero bars. Finally we hit Oleander and I could get into them and really go. when we made the turn into the wind I had been averaging 23 mph, that didn't last long. The wind was brutal at one point and I was red lining and looked down to see I was doing all of 17, but I was still passing people. The wind finally let up and I rolled into transition with my 21 mph ave :-), two down, two togo.
t2: nothing to see here, move along...
Run: This report is too long for my coach to read ;-), so I can tell you she called me during the week. I was having a nice stress free week, not worried about my big race and she apparently thought I was taking it to easy. With words like "This is a big race for you" ok, so now I'm all nervous. I started running and wow, this isn't too bad, so let's go faster. I wanted to do about 9:15 to start and then get faster as I went and of course run my last mile all out. I got to the mile 1 marker and my watch said 9:35, now I wasn't going fast, but I wasn't going that slow either. later I would realize that this marker was long. I picked up the pace and was actually passing people on the run which gave me more adrenalin. At the last waterstop I grabbed a cup and walked for 5 seconds to get some down then started my final push. Went over the last bridge and every time someone passed me I would try to pick up the pace, eventually I felt like I was at my 400 pace on the track and I had about half mile to go. When we hit the final turn into the finish area, the guy at the corner said 1/4 mile to go and just then a MC went by me. I tried my best to stay with him, but I was at the limit and he was still pulling away. They moved the finish around the corner from last time so when I made that turn to where the finish used to be I was all like where the hell is the finish. Luckily it was just one more turn and then finish. If I had to guess I would say I did 9:15/9:00/8:21.
I was definitely euphoric after this race as I hit all 4 of my goals and they had these amazing brownies at the finish. Three brownies later I was on my bike for the short ride back to the hotel. My legs were spent and riding back was tough with the 20 lb back pack, but the legs did feel better by the time I got to the hotel so it worked out well.
If you do this race I would highly recommend the Residence Inn landfall and biking to/from the race. It was much easier not having to deal with traffic and parking getting to and leaving the race. And the hotel has a full kitchen and fridge, and a hot tub :-).
up next Pinehurst, Can't wait :-)
Official results master Clydesdale division
overall place swim rank/time t1 bike rank/time t2 run rank/time total time
10 WILLIAM REID 10 23:46 1:35 6 35:31 1:54 15 26:35 1:29:20
watch results
swim t1 bike t2 run total
21:12 4:46 34:51 1:55 26:35 1:29:22
This was one of my A races, and I had 4 goals for this race.
1. Swim straight and fast
2. Bike at least 21 mph ave
3. Run the last mile faster than the first
4. beat 1:30 total time
What a great day, started off at 4:45 with the alarm going off. wanted to hit snooze, but couldn't find it so I hit every button I could find until the damn thing stopped beeping. by this time I couldn't go back to sleep if I wanted to so I got up.
ate breakfast, took a shower to warm up the body, packed all my stuff into the back pack and headed out.
We were staying at the residence inn landfall which was about 2.5 miles from the race site, so instead of driving I just rode my bike. It was 5:30 and pitch black. I bought a light set from Dick's yesterday so the cars could see me and I figured all the cars on the road would be going to the race and not want to kill me :-). Got to the race all warmed up, setup transition, got chip and body marked, then did a quick 5 min run warmup before getting on the bus. This race is a point to point swim and they bus you to the start. Once at the start I had an hour to wait until my start time, so I sat down, ate half my power bar and chatted with some other waiters. Two coworkers found me and I had some people to pass the time with. About a half hour before my start was the official start so I wanted to get in the water and warm up before that. the water temp was about 80 and felt so good compared to the air temp of 60. After warmup I had to get out again and freeze for 20 minutes before getting back in for the last 10 mins before my group started.
The swim: my goal, swim straight and fast. Let the shoulders burn. Started off in front and when the gun went off followed some feet for a while, but they were going right so I let them go and stayed on my line. There was a big boat I wanted to head for and was not going off course. Most people were on my right which is good for me as I like breathing right and it helps keep me in line. I guess they were all following someone or the current was taking them because the big pack kept drifting right. I stayed on course and headed for my boat. As we got closer, I could see the big pack having to adjust course and when we rounded the boat, I was in front.woo hoo. This is a little over half way and my shoulders were feeling the burn, but didn't want the pack to catch me so I just kept pulling hard. Next you have to swim to the dock. Couldn't see it yet, but I knew it was a slight right followed by a left to get around a small Island. There is a marker that you can sight on. Once again a big pack started going right and I gained some more ground. Hit the ladder in 20 something, got out and started the long run, about 1/4 to 1/2 mile to transition. Took about 3 minutes and my feet were not happy about running on the road without shoes.
T1: After the jog to transition, I changed quickly and headed out on the bike. Sucked down a gel as well, just in case. There were 1300 athletes in this race, so transition was huge, and at 6:15 when I left my spot it was till dark. Luckily I scouted the area out and found my bike and stuff easily.
Bike: It was windy today but luckily the wind was at our backs to start so transition from swim/run to bike went well. You start off going over a drawbridge, and you don't have room to pass. They tell us over and over don't pass and every year I see some dufus passing on the bridge. Amazingly, not this year. Last time I did this race, there were potholes galore after the left turn as you come off the bridge, Amazingly again, they were filled. That was where I got my flat last time and I took these two things as a good omen for the bike and tried to get into a rhythm. Unfortunately, it was crowed on the bike, and they was a lot of traffic for 7 am on a saturday morning, so dodging cars and other bikers meant the first part was out of my aero bars. Finally we hit Oleander and I could get into them and really go. when we made the turn into the wind I had been averaging 23 mph, that didn't last long. The wind was brutal at one point and I was red lining and looked down to see I was doing all of 17, but I was still passing people. The wind finally let up and I rolled into transition with my 21 mph ave :-), two down, two togo.
t2: nothing to see here, move along...
Run: This report is too long for my coach to read ;-), so I can tell you she called me during the week. I was having a nice stress free week, not worried about my big race and she apparently thought I was taking it to easy. With words like "This is a big race for you" ok, so now I'm all nervous. I started running and wow, this isn't too bad, so let's go faster. I wanted to do about 9:15 to start and then get faster as I went and of course run my last mile all out. I got to the mile 1 marker and my watch said 9:35, now I wasn't going fast, but I wasn't going that slow either. later I would realize that this marker was long. I picked up the pace and was actually passing people on the run which gave me more adrenalin. At the last waterstop I grabbed a cup and walked for 5 seconds to get some down then started my final push. Went over the last bridge and every time someone passed me I would try to pick up the pace, eventually I felt like I was at my 400 pace on the track and I had about half mile to go. When we hit the final turn into the finish area, the guy at the corner said 1/4 mile to go and just then a MC went by me. I tried my best to stay with him, but I was at the limit and he was still pulling away. They moved the finish around the corner from last time so when I made that turn to where the finish used to be I was all like where the hell is the finish. Luckily it was just one more turn and then finish. If I had to guess I would say I did 9:15/9:00/8:21.
I was definitely euphoric after this race as I hit all 4 of my goals and they had these amazing brownies at the finish. Three brownies later I was on my bike for the short ride back to the hotel. My legs were spent and riding back was tough with the 20 lb back pack, but the legs did feel better by the time I got to the hotel so it worked out well.
If you do this race I would highly recommend the Residence Inn landfall and biking to/from the race. It was much easier not having to deal with traffic and parking getting to and leaving the race. And the hotel has a full kitchen and fridge, and a hot tub :-).
up next Pinehurst, Can't wait :-)
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Flying Frog Adventure Race - Race Report
This may get long as the race took almost 7 hours and it contains explicit material that may not be suitable for young children.
This race was billed as follows ( taken from website )
The 2008 Flying Frog Adventure Race includes a 5-10 mile Mountain Bike course, 5-10 mile Trail Run and a 2-5 mile Paddling course.
It was supposed to be a 3 - 6 hour race and looking at results from previous years, the winners were right around 3 hours. I was expecting about 4 - 5 hours. when they announced the course at 9:30, it was to be 28 miles, 4.2 mile canoe, close to 15 mile single track mtn bike, and almost 9 miles trail running. I looked at Tim and Eric and they had that deer in the headlights look about them. I think it was 9 miles of trail running that did it. I was most concerned with the technical single track mountain biking as I have done 1 session of mtn bike on single track in the last 4 years, but more on that later.
part 1: 1:06:01 - The race started with a challenge. We had to pick a canoe, turn it over and untie all the knots in a rope that was tied to the canoe. For some reason we were like the last team to get the knots undone. We started out in the canoe with Tim in front and me in the back. after a couple minutes and near collisions with a couple teams that were literally paddling in circles, we got free and into a good rhythm. We came around a bend and there were four canoes a head of us but I saw up ahead a group headed to the left and one group way to the right. Most of the boats were following the left but I was a little concerned so I had Eric consult the map and he determined that the right was the correct way so we headed towards the lead kayak on the right. The teams were in canoes and the solo's were in kayaks. We made the right decision and passed two more canoe teams on the way to the turn around. At the turn around Eric wanted to paddle but Tim didn't want to give up his spot so I took the easy way back. I was a little concerned at first with Eric's steering ability, but he caught on and other than a couple minor issues did a great job on the way back. I think we came in 2nd or 3rd team for the canoe.
part 2: mtn bike - 3:00:40 - Without a doubt this course killed half the field. It was extremely muddy and technical. We started out and within half a mile I went over the handle bars and scratched up my leg. This was to set the tone for the team for the rest of the 3 hours. We came up to a bridge and Eric was standing on the other side telling us to walk across, it was too slippery and he just fell of it. I took up the rear since I was being chicken and Eric and Tim were going real well. I hit a tree, then one more, it was great. Finally we got past the mud, but the roots, rocks and trees never ended. It took about an hour for the first trail and we headed down the greenway to the 2nd trail that was billed as the most technical trail in Greensboro by some of the other teams we talked to. I think we had been passed by 3 or 4 teams at this point and thought we were in 5th place. I don't think we ever really concerned ourselves with finishing place, we just wanted to finish. The second trail was not nearly as bad as the first. It was dryer, but still tough as hell. I think this trail is where Tim went over his handle bars. later we thought it probably would have been a good idea to bring more fluid and food on the bike as the 2 hours we thought it would take to do this was going to be three since the 2nd trail took an hour and the we still had to do the first trail again to get back. So back to the first trail. It started off OK, I was in front and keeping a nice slow pace. After picking up a little speed I slammed into my 3rd tree. This was the hardest one and stopped me dead in my tracks. Tim commented, through uncontrollable laughter, that he was impressed that I stayed on and said it probably hurt the tree more than me. I don't think so, and today I know the tree feels better than my shoulder. After a couple more rough patches including one where I had to get off my bike and push Tim up a hill so he didn't slide back down onto the rocks, we finally got to the end. Right at the end there was a tree across the path and I started to go over it when my peddle got caught on one of the knots that were sticking up. Bike stopped I kept going. Didn't go over the handle bars so I was all happy, but when I went to get back on the seat I racked my testicles extremely hard. That was it, no more bike for me. I limped back the 100 yards to where Tim and Eric were waiting barely able to stay on foot and using the bike as a crutch. Tim asked if I broke something, but luckily my balls were still intact. It was downhill to transition and we rode in to a thundering round of applause. Didn't look at the leader board at this time, we didn't even think we were close. I knew on the last section we had passed two teams and that one of them was going to drop out due to injury.
bike to run transition: 15:10 At this point looking at Tim and Eric I didn't think we were going to continue on, so I suggested that we start walking the trail, get to the first navigation challenge and see how it goes. This seemed to work, we took our time, 15 minutes worth, got food and drinks and a quick dip in the lake for me and Eric. I changed my socks and shirt and put on my ankle brace for the trails ahead. I really didn't expect to finish the race at this point, but really wanted to get to the orienteering challenge. Before we started the winner of the race came in, probably about 4:15. Considering last years winner was just under 3 hours I would say this year was much more difficult.
part 3: 2:35:27 - We started off walking and after a short 2 or three minutes we were at the challenge. I was surprised to see so many teams were still there. The two guys monitoring told us not to follow the teams out there as they were seriously lost. After a shaky start we figured out the paces that we were given needed to be doubled, and we made it through the course finding the flags fairly quick. We all seemed to be feeling better after the long transition and the break at the challenge so we kept going. I was concerned that I didn't have enough fluid for a 3 hour hike with just 20 oz of gatorade and 12 oz of water and was trying to save some for later, but my quads were cramping going up some of the tough hills. We tried to run down and jog some flats, but my legs were not agreeing. At the one hour mark of the run I said if we didn't get to the half way point by 1:30 we should just turn back. I said if there was a water fountain or something to refill our water bottles with I would go on, but without water we needed to go back. About 5 minutes later we got to the end of the first trail and my saving grace was that there was a big water cooler there. I downed about 20 oz of water and then refilled my water bottle with cold water. About 2 minutes later I started to feel good again. This next trail was not as long and it was more flat. We had a couple good runs on the first half and made some good time. We got to the next challenge and there was once again water for us to refill with. Tim volunteered to do this one. He had to wear a tied thera band around both his ankles and waddle to the next check point about 500 yards away. This was also a good chance for us to rest and get some more fluids in. The second half of this trail was still not bad so we had a couple more runs until we got to the greenway. Once on the greenway I started running and was so freakin happy that I could run without looking down and to lengthen my stride and actually feel good. I think we ran about a quarter mile and Eric looked like he was ready to stop. I said you can make it to bridge? he said sure, once we got there I said let's goto that shade. Tim then says "You're trying to pull that psychological shit you always use on Cindy". Yes you caught me, but it worked and stopping in the sun was not what I wanted to do. Once in the shade my plan was to say we can make it to the next challenge which was really just 200 yards away, but Tim foiled my plan. So we walked it. I was able to get a little more water at this stop, but not a complete refill as they were running low. This next challenge was a bow and arrow. Eric took this one and after three shots hit the target and we were off. I found out that we were not in last, and had about 2.3 miles to get back to the finish. This pepped us up and we started with some good runs. We were still walking the uphills and this section had some nasty ones. About a half mile to a mile from the end Eric started getting chills. That is usually a sign of severe dehydration so I said we needed to walk it in. He finished his water and had some of Tim's. I could tell he was hurting as he went to the back after staying out in front for most of the trail. After about 10 minutes we were getting close and Tim and I gave him one more swig of our remaining water and he seemed to pick back up, or just wanted to get it over with as he moved back to the front and was setting a good walking pace. I'm not much of a fast walker so I was drifting off the back. When we finally got to the orienteering section I had to jog to catch up and it felt so good to jog again that I just kept going. The thrill of the finish rubbed off and we all jogged into the finish area. I was looking around when Tim yells from up ahead, what are you waiting for. I was like I didn't know you were going to sprint, relative term ;-), and caught up so we could all cross the line at the same time.
overall 6:57:20 - 3rd place all male team - amazing...
This race was billed as follows ( taken from website )
The 2008 Flying Frog Adventure Race includes a 5-10 mile Mountain Bike course, 5-10 mile Trail Run and a 2-5 mile Paddling course.
It was supposed to be a 3 - 6 hour race and looking at results from previous years, the winners were right around 3 hours. I was expecting about 4 - 5 hours. when they announced the course at 9:30, it was to be 28 miles, 4.2 mile canoe, close to 15 mile single track mtn bike, and almost 9 miles trail running. I looked at Tim and Eric and they had that deer in the headlights look about them. I think it was 9 miles of trail running that did it. I was most concerned with the technical single track mountain biking as I have done 1 session of mtn bike on single track in the last 4 years, but more on that later.
part 1: 1:06:01 - The race started with a challenge. We had to pick a canoe, turn it over and untie all the knots in a rope that was tied to the canoe. For some reason we were like the last team to get the knots undone. We started out in the canoe with Tim in front and me in the back. after a couple minutes and near collisions with a couple teams that were literally paddling in circles, we got free and into a good rhythm. We came around a bend and there were four canoes a head of us but I saw up ahead a group headed to the left and one group way to the right. Most of the boats were following the left but I was a little concerned so I had Eric consult the map and he determined that the right was the correct way so we headed towards the lead kayak on the right. The teams were in canoes and the solo's were in kayaks. We made the right decision and passed two more canoe teams on the way to the turn around. At the turn around Eric wanted to paddle but Tim didn't want to give up his spot so I took the easy way back. I was a little concerned at first with Eric's steering ability, but he caught on and other than a couple minor issues did a great job on the way back. I think we came in 2nd or 3rd team for the canoe.
part 2: mtn bike - 3:00:40 - Without a doubt this course killed half the field. It was extremely muddy and technical. We started out and within half a mile I went over the handle bars and scratched up my leg. This was to set the tone for the team for the rest of the 3 hours. We came up to a bridge and Eric was standing on the other side telling us to walk across, it was too slippery and he just fell of it. I took up the rear since I was being chicken and Eric and Tim were going real well. I hit a tree, then one more, it was great. Finally we got past the mud, but the roots, rocks and trees never ended. It took about an hour for the first trail and we headed down the greenway to the 2nd trail that was billed as the most technical trail in Greensboro by some of the other teams we talked to. I think we had been passed by 3 or 4 teams at this point and thought we were in 5th place. I don't think we ever really concerned ourselves with finishing place, we just wanted to finish. The second trail was not nearly as bad as the first. It was dryer, but still tough as hell. I think this trail is where Tim went over his handle bars. later we thought it probably would have been a good idea to bring more fluid and food on the bike as the 2 hours we thought it would take to do this was going to be three since the 2nd trail took an hour and the we still had to do the first trail again to get back. So back to the first trail. It started off OK, I was in front and keeping a nice slow pace. After picking up a little speed I slammed into my 3rd tree. This was the hardest one and stopped me dead in my tracks. Tim commented, through uncontrollable laughter, that he was impressed that I stayed on and said it probably hurt the tree more than me. I don't think so, and today I know the tree feels better than my shoulder. After a couple more rough patches including one where I had to get off my bike and push Tim up a hill so he didn't slide back down onto the rocks, we finally got to the end. Right at the end there was a tree across the path and I started to go over it when my peddle got caught on one of the knots that were sticking up. Bike stopped I kept going. Didn't go over the handle bars so I was all happy, but when I went to get back on the seat I racked my testicles extremely hard. That was it, no more bike for me. I limped back the 100 yards to where Tim and Eric were waiting barely able to stay on foot and using the bike as a crutch. Tim asked if I broke something, but luckily my balls were still intact. It was downhill to transition and we rode in to a thundering round of applause. Didn't look at the leader board at this time, we didn't even think we were close. I knew on the last section we had passed two teams and that one of them was going to drop out due to injury.
bike to run transition: 15:10 At this point looking at Tim and Eric I didn't think we were going to continue on, so I suggested that we start walking the trail, get to the first navigation challenge and see how it goes. This seemed to work, we took our time, 15 minutes worth, got food and drinks and a quick dip in the lake for me and Eric. I changed my socks and shirt and put on my ankle brace for the trails ahead. I really didn't expect to finish the race at this point, but really wanted to get to the orienteering challenge. Before we started the winner of the race came in, probably about 4:15. Considering last years winner was just under 3 hours I would say this year was much more difficult.
part 3: 2:35:27 - We started off walking and after a short 2 or three minutes we were at the challenge. I was surprised to see so many teams were still there. The two guys monitoring told us not to follow the teams out there as they were seriously lost. After a shaky start we figured out the paces that we were given needed to be doubled, and we made it through the course finding the flags fairly quick. We all seemed to be feeling better after the long transition and the break at the challenge so we kept going. I was concerned that I didn't have enough fluid for a 3 hour hike with just 20 oz of gatorade and 12 oz of water and was trying to save some for later, but my quads were cramping going up some of the tough hills. We tried to run down and jog some flats, but my legs were not agreeing. At the one hour mark of the run I said if we didn't get to the half way point by 1:30 we should just turn back. I said if there was a water fountain or something to refill our water bottles with I would go on, but without water we needed to go back. About 5 minutes later we got to the end of the first trail and my saving grace was that there was a big water cooler there. I downed about 20 oz of water and then refilled my water bottle with cold water. About 2 minutes later I started to feel good again. This next trail was not as long and it was more flat. We had a couple good runs on the first half and made some good time. We got to the next challenge and there was once again water for us to refill with. Tim volunteered to do this one. He had to wear a tied thera band around both his ankles and waddle to the next check point about 500 yards away. This was also a good chance for us to rest and get some more fluids in. The second half of this trail was still not bad so we had a couple more runs until we got to the greenway. Once on the greenway I started running and was so freakin happy that I could run without looking down and to lengthen my stride and actually feel good. I think we ran about a quarter mile and Eric looked like he was ready to stop. I said you can make it to bridge? he said sure, once we got there I said let's goto that shade. Tim then says "You're trying to pull that psychological shit you always use on Cindy". Yes you caught me, but it worked and stopping in the sun was not what I wanted to do. Once in the shade my plan was to say we can make it to the next challenge which was really just 200 yards away, but Tim foiled my plan. So we walked it. I was able to get a little more water at this stop, but not a complete refill as they were running low. This next challenge was a bow and arrow. Eric took this one and after three shots hit the target and we were off. I found out that we were not in last, and had about 2.3 miles to get back to the finish. This pepped us up and we started with some good runs. We were still walking the uphills and this section had some nasty ones. About a half mile to a mile from the end Eric started getting chills. That is usually a sign of severe dehydration so I said we needed to walk it in. He finished his water and had some of Tim's. I could tell he was hurting as he went to the back after staying out in front for most of the trail. After about 10 minutes we were getting close and Tim and I gave him one more swig of our remaining water and he seemed to pick back up, or just wanted to get it over with as he moved back to the front and was setting a good walking pace. I'm not much of a fast walker so I was drifting off the back. When we finally got to the orienteering section I had to jog to catch up and it felt so good to jog again that I just kept going. The thrill of the finish rubbed off and we all jogged into the finish area. I was looking around when Tim yells from up ahead, what are you waiting for. I was like I didn't know you were going to sprint, relative term ;-), and caught up so we could all cross the line at the same time.
overall 6:57:20 - 3rd place all male team - amazing...
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The non yoyo yoyo diet
So a couple months ago I decided I wanted to lose 5 - 10 lbs for my race next month. The only way I have been successful lately in losing any weight was to track my calories in and calories out and make sure there was enough of a deficit to actually lose weight. So for two weeks I wrote down everything I ate and logged all my workouts calorie expenditures and had 500 - 1000 less taken in then going out. I should be about 3 lbs less, but to my dismay I was the same body fat % and weight. After all that time and energy into planning meals, eating the right kind of foods, cutting the calories. Nothing, nada, nicht, mola. So for the next two weeks I decided to not count calories or plan or keep track of anything. Just eat when I was hungry and eat what I felt like eating. I didn't go out of my way to over eat, or eat junk food. I normally eat fairly decent anyway, but there was no deprivation. If I wanted M&M's, I ate them. It was great, I had more time, did less thinking, wasn't hungry when I went to bed. After two weeks, same body fat % and weight. I just don't get it.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Separated
It's not you, it's me... At least that's what I told her. I just think we need some time apart, maybe see some other people or something. For the next 8 weeks I'll be taking a speed and agility pliometrics class instead of going to the track. It was a hard break up, we've been going steady for 5 years now and it's been great, but lately I just feel like I need a break. So when this class popped up on the radar I went for it. I've been wanting to try a pliometrics class for a while, but they always seem to be on track day. As I left the track on tuesday after a hard workout I heard her whisper "You'll be back..."
I'm sure I will :-)
I'm sure I will :-)
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Comfort Zone
I used to live up in North Raleigh and would love to ride my bike around Falls Lake. After moving South about 3 years ago I hardly ever get back up to that area, but when I do it brings back all the old memories. Today was one of those days. The plan was for me to drive up to Durant and Falls of the Neuse, ride my bike to a friends house, pick him up and then ride back to my car and then drive up to do a 1 hour kayak trip down the neuse river. Usually I don't enjoy riding my bike alone as it's boring and sometimes dangerous, but this morning the first half of my bike was great.
After a short stretch on Durant I turned onto Honeycutt road and was treated to a couple huge castles. Probably an acre or two of land and all brick houses that looked to be 8000 sq feet or so. I was going up hill so I got a good look at both and I swear I saw some motes around them... At the top of the hill a squirrel ran across the street followed closely by a hawk or falcon or some kind of bird of prey, I think the squirrel got away, but not sure. Then a few more houses and there is this deer walking in the front yard eating plants and stuff, he paused briefly to look at me after I said hello, then he walked on. I couple of hills later I was on pleasant union and saw my first human. He looked, smiled, waved, and said hello. Amazing, usually humans don't like bikers, but this is North Raleigh and not South. Less than a mile later a lady up ahead is crossing the street with her dog and she turns to look at me, smiles and waves good morning. Now I am amazed, she was way up ahead and didn't have to even acknowledge my existence. This is getting weird, I never get this many friendly people. I travel down some of my old favorite hilly roads and pass more friendly people. I knew I had to be at Ray rd and Norwell by 7:50 so I could meet up at 8:15, and my memory seemed to fail me as I misjudged the distance so I had to really pick up the pace, I somehow managed to make it at 7:52. this is when I met the first person who didn't wave, and the only one on the ride. He was riding his pro bike with his pro shirt on and just too busy to notice. I speculated it was the husband of someone I know who lives in that area, but I wasn't sure. Anyway, ray road is great until you get to lake lynn and I had never rode south, so the next hill took my by surprise and kicked my butt. After that I was able to cruise to Tim's house and take a powerbar break. We were on a tight schedule so we headed out. Tim started to sandbag me with his "I haven't been on the road bike in a while so if you drop me, I know where you car is" routine. but I knew better, and I was already on 22 miles so I told him not to worry. I thought I would drop him on some of the hills, but he surprised me and was able to keep up until the very end. There was one hill on 6 forks where I was dying and I thought there was no way he is still back there, but I looked back, and there he was. We got to the top or at least to where it wasn't as steep and he yelled something at me, so we stopped for a second to rest. I never thought of that, it's hurting I'm dying, why not just stop and recover, that thought never seems to enter my oxygen deprived mind. We passed the first human that waved at me this morning again, I guess he was on his way back home after a long walk, but he was still very cheerful. Finally we got to the last hill, and it was a killer, it was at the bottom of a hill where there was a 4 way stop and we had to make a left turn, then go straight up. I shifted to the small ring in the front since I had gone down it to start and knew what was coming, and it still took a lot out of me to make it up that one. But at the top I was able to recover and peddle back to the car. Two iced mocha's later and we are on the way to Kayak.
I have never kayaked before, but I have been in a canoe a lot when I was a kid. The people at paddle creek were assured me that if I could handle a canoe I would have no problem in the kayak on this trip. We started off and for the first 15 minutes my shoulders and arms were burning as I criss crossed back and forth across the river trying to figure out how to steer one of these crazy things. But eventually I figured it out and was able to kinda keep a straight line. I found that paddling backwards was easier as long as there wasn't something to run into, and even just floating with the current took skill. My hip flexors where killing me from the seated position, but when I would bend my legs my left inner thigh would cramp up. the most comfortable position seemed to be hanging my left leg over the edge. I was just getting the hang of the steering when the trip was over. I think some lessons would be a good idea, then some faster rivers would be really fun.
Then we headed back to Tim's, I got changed and went to get an iced white lightning and pick up the girl at her friends birthday party, got there just in time for the cake. Sweeeeet! After a half hour of crazy screaming kids we headed home. I had one final job of cleaning the garbage can, then off to the shower and a much needed nap.
If you think it took a long time to read this post, you should try living it ;-)
After a short stretch on Durant I turned onto Honeycutt road and was treated to a couple huge castles. Probably an acre or two of land and all brick houses that looked to be 8000 sq feet or so. I was going up hill so I got a good look at both and I swear I saw some motes around them... At the top of the hill a squirrel ran across the street followed closely by a hawk or falcon or some kind of bird of prey, I think the squirrel got away, but not sure. Then a few more houses and there is this deer walking in the front yard eating plants and stuff, he paused briefly to look at me after I said hello, then he walked on. I couple of hills later I was on pleasant union and saw my first human. He looked, smiled, waved, and said hello. Amazing, usually humans don't like bikers, but this is North Raleigh and not South. Less than a mile later a lady up ahead is crossing the street with her dog and she turns to look at me, smiles and waves good morning. Now I am amazed, she was way up ahead and didn't have to even acknowledge my existence. This is getting weird, I never get this many friendly people. I travel down some of my old favorite hilly roads and pass more friendly people. I knew I had to be at Ray rd and Norwell by 7:50 so I could meet up at 8:15, and my memory seemed to fail me as I misjudged the distance so I had to really pick up the pace, I somehow managed to make it at 7:52. this is when I met the first person who didn't wave, and the only one on the ride. He was riding his pro bike with his pro shirt on and just too busy to notice. I speculated it was the husband of someone I know who lives in that area, but I wasn't sure. Anyway, ray road is great until you get to lake lynn and I had never rode south, so the next hill took my by surprise and kicked my butt. After that I was able to cruise to Tim's house and take a powerbar break. We were on a tight schedule so we headed out. Tim started to sandbag me with his "I haven't been on the road bike in a while so if you drop me, I know where you car is" routine. but I knew better, and I was already on 22 miles so I told him not to worry. I thought I would drop him on some of the hills, but he surprised me and was able to keep up until the very end. There was one hill on 6 forks where I was dying and I thought there was no way he is still back there, but I looked back, and there he was. We got to the top or at least to where it wasn't as steep and he yelled something at me, so we stopped for a second to rest. I never thought of that, it's hurting I'm dying, why not just stop and recover, that thought never seems to enter my oxygen deprived mind. We passed the first human that waved at me this morning again, I guess he was on his way back home after a long walk, but he was still very cheerful. Finally we got to the last hill, and it was a killer, it was at the bottom of a hill where there was a 4 way stop and we had to make a left turn, then go straight up. I shifted to the small ring in the front since I had gone down it to start and knew what was coming, and it still took a lot out of me to make it up that one. But at the top I was able to recover and peddle back to the car. Two iced mocha's later and we are on the way to Kayak.
I have never kayaked before, but I have been in a canoe a lot when I was a kid. The people at paddle creek were assured me that if I could handle a canoe I would have no problem in the kayak on this trip. We started off and for the first 15 minutes my shoulders and arms were burning as I criss crossed back and forth across the river trying to figure out how to steer one of these crazy things. But eventually I figured it out and was able to kinda keep a straight line. I found that paddling backwards was easier as long as there wasn't something to run into, and even just floating with the current took skill. My hip flexors where killing me from the seated position, but when I would bend my legs my left inner thigh would cramp up. the most comfortable position seemed to be hanging my left leg over the edge. I was just getting the hang of the steering when the trip was over. I think some lessons would be a good idea, then some faster rivers would be really fun.
Then we headed back to Tim's, I got changed and went to get an iced white lightning and pick up the girl at her friends birthday party, got there just in time for the cake. Sweeeeet! After a half hour of crazy screaming kids we headed home. I had one final job of cleaning the garbage can, then off to the shower and a much needed nap.
If you think it took a long time to read this post, you should try living it ;-)
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Mossman Tri race report
This was a great race for me. It was very painful but I managed to beat my old international distance PR by 3 minutes.
unofficial times
Swim T1 Bike T2 Run Total
25:42 1:56 1:12:41 1:43 1:01:21 2:43:25
Official results are in *************************************************************
25:57 1:36 1:12:51 1:36 1:01:20 2:43:22
bike pace 20.4 mph
swim pace 1:43 / 100 meters
run pace 9:53 min/mile
*************************************************************
Swim: the swim was in the long island sound and this morning it was in the 70's and flat as a pancake. wetsuit legal and the water was pretty clean. It was a beach start and we started by running down the beach about 50 yards before heading out towards the first bouy. I stayed to the left and out of the main action, but did manage to draft a few times. Felt like I was going too easy, so either it was short or I'm a bit faster than I thought...
T1: hate running in the soft sand, but it wasn't that far. Saw the kid and wife and yelled, but the wife is deaf and the kid looked at me like I was a wetsuit green cap blue goggled alien.
Bike: about 21 mph ave - I had planned to go conservative on the bike, but it was flat and not much wind, so when I did the first of 5 laps in 14:30 minutes, I decided to crank it up for the next 3 and did them in under 14. the last lap I backed off for a 15 so I could get my legs ready to run. Being a 5 lap course, I saw the kid and wife 3 times playing on the rocks by the car and yelled and finally got some waves :-).
T2: legs were realing from the bike and my back was hurting from all the driving but I hoped they would feel better as I got into the run. The wife walked up while I was putting on my running shoes so i got a kiss before heading out to run, the kid said I was too dirty.
run: 9:52 / mile - Ran the first mile in 9:12 but didn't think I could hold that for 6 miles with my back, leg, neck, ankle, hamstring and etc pains but I was going to try as long as I could. Managed to just keep going the first loop and did the 3.1 in 27:30 so i was on a really good pace, then I got to mile 4 at 38 so i was still on a 9:30 pace, but then I started to fall apart. Took my first walk break at 4.2 or so then managed to run to the final turn around before walking again and got some water and gatorade. Started running again, but only to mile 5 before it was walk or puke time. I chose walk, I still wanted to break 1 hour for the run so after I felt less puky, I started again, but could only do 2 mins before walk time again, this went on to the finish so I didn't break an hour, but close enough.
Then after the race, the battery in my car was dead, tried to get a jump, but apparently my cables were no good and had to call for a jump, then went to a firestone where they told me it was my alternator. Waiting till tomorrow to goto a Toyota dealer because we didn't trust them.
unofficial times
Swim T1 Bike T2 Run Total
25:42 1:56 1:12:41 1:43 1:01:21 2:43:25
Official results are in *************************************************************
25:57 1:36 1:12:51 1:36 1:01:20 2:43:22
bike pace 20.4 mph
swim pace 1:43 / 100 meters
run pace 9:53 min/mile
*************************************************************
Swim: the swim was in the long island sound and this morning it was in the 70's and flat as a pancake. wetsuit legal and the water was pretty clean. It was a beach start and we started by running down the beach about 50 yards before heading out towards the first bouy. I stayed to the left and out of the main action, but did manage to draft a few times. Felt like I was going too easy, so either it was short or I'm a bit faster than I thought...
T1: hate running in the soft sand, but it wasn't that far. Saw the kid and wife and yelled, but the wife is deaf and the kid looked at me like I was a wetsuit green cap blue goggled alien.
Bike: about 21 mph ave - I had planned to go conservative on the bike, but it was flat and not much wind, so when I did the first of 5 laps in 14:30 minutes, I decided to crank it up for the next 3 and did them in under 14. the last lap I backed off for a 15 so I could get my legs ready to run. Being a 5 lap course, I saw the kid and wife 3 times playing on the rocks by the car and yelled and finally got some waves :-).
T2: legs were realing from the bike and my back was hurting from all the driving but I hoped they would feel better as I got into the run. The wife walked up while I was putting on my running shoes so i got a kiss before heading out to run, the kid said I was too dirty.
run: 9:52 / mile - Ran the first mile in 9:12 but didn't think I could hold that for 6 miles with my back, leg, neck, ankle, hamstring and etc pains but I was going to try as long as I could. Managed to just keep going the first loop and did the 3.1 in 27:30 so i was on a really good pace, then I got to mile 4 at 38 so i was still on a 9:30 pace, but then I started to fall apart. Took my first walk break at 4.2 or so then managed to run to the final turn around before walking again and got some water and gatorade. Started running again, but only to mile 5 before it was walk or puke time. I chose walk, I still wanted to break 1 hour for the run so after I felt less puky, I started again, but could only do 2 mins before walk time again, this went on to the finish so I didn't break an hour, but close enough.
Then after the race, the battery in my car was dead, tried to get a jump, but apparently my cables were no good and had to call for a jump, then went to a firestone where they told me it was my alternator. Waiting till tomorrow to goto a Toyota dealer because we didn't trust them.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Muddy Buddy Race Report
This was a lot of fun. It was a low key, low pressure, low stress event :-).
I actually was woken up by the alarm at 5 AM. I always wake up before the alarm for other races and that normal nervousness wasn't there. My Buddy already told me not to expect to win or anything so that took all the pressure off me.
Tim and I got up early and let the girls sleep in and headed over to the event around 5:45 and got there at about 6:15. Parked, unloaded and headed to the start. It was already very crowded when we got to the race site and there were some interesting costumes and helmet dinosaurs.
The race format is two team members doing the same course, one does a Bike/run/bike/run/bike, and the other does a run/bike/run/bike/run. you share the same bike and at each transition you have to complete an obstacle before moving on.
I had the run/bike/run/bike/run part.
Run1: 11:47, I thought each leg was going to be 1 mile, but this first one was probably closer to 1.3, we lost the bike computer on leg 3 so we have no clue how far any of the legs were or the total distance. The bikers started first, then they made the runners wait a minute before they could start the chase. The beginning was really the only time it was crowded on the course for us as we went first so there wasn't anyone on the course yet. The first part I just hung behind and paced off a group until it got stung out enough and I was warmed up enough to pass. I felt like I was running close to a 9 min mile and then picked it up near the end and was passing some of the started too fast people up the last hill to the first transition.
T1: did not time my transitions. The first one was a climbing wall that was about 5 feet high. There were plenty of hand and foot holds so it wasn't difficult but getting down the other side on the rope ladder was a little dicey but made it without any problems.
Bike1: 9:47 including transition. I was hoping to catch Tim about half way, but didn't see him until the very end. At least he didn't have to wait for me to get the bike. I passed about 10 bikers on this leg. Felt really good on the bike and didn't need to get off and push like some were. There was one long up hill near the end that I probably should have gone easier on as it didn't help with the next obstacle to have all that acid built up in my legs.
T2: balance beam. the beam was about 4 feet off the ground and 20 feet long. Just getting on was a problem as my legs were a little wobbly from that last hill on the bike. I heard Tim yell at me on his way out when I was about 1/2 way done so I knew I was going to have to do a fast run to make up some time so he didn't have to wait too long at the end.
run2: 10:54 (including T3) This was a good one for me as I passed a few more runners and was able to keep a steady pace up the hills and on the rougher terrain. I think this leg was probably the hardest for the bikers as part was off the packed trail and there was one tough hill that I passed many bikers pushing their bikes up the hill. I found out later that Tim lost his chain at close to the top of the hill and had to get off and pull a branch out of it.
T3: Over/Under/Over: This one was an A Frame structure with 3 cross beams going up to the peak that you were supposed to go over the first, under the second, then over the top, without touching the ground. I saw many guys going over the first, stepping on the ground and going under the second, then climbing up and over the top. I was tempted, but stuck to my principles and actually did it the hard way without touching the ground.
bike2: 6:45 Wished I could have had some more time on the bike to get ready for the next run, but once again I got to pass a whole bunch of people and was flying down the hills.
T4: This was the best one, up a 10 foot rope ladder then slide down the blow up slide on the other side. When I got to the bottom I couldn't stand up on the base so I just rolled off onto the ground. grabbed some water and headed off for the last run.
Run3: 16:10 ( including T4 and mud pit ) This was the hardest and longest of the legs. there was a long downhill to a water crossing. It was up to my waist and very muddy. I had thought about taking my shoes off, but was very glad I didn't after feeling the ground under the water, very rocky. Then after getting out and adding 5 lbs to each foot you had to go up a long steep climb to get back to the road. Once again I passed about 7 bikers who were pushing their bikes up the hill. I have to admit at the top I took a 30 second walk break to catch my breath before the final push to the finish. Tim passed me with about a quarter mile to go and gave me a water bottle to drink and dump on my head, then took off to the finish. He only had to wait about 2 minutes or so, so we had really good timing. of course if he didn't lose the chain it would have been a little longer, but still not too much.
Mud pit: I got to the pit and was ready to crash, but still had to bend down and climb under a net to get into the pit, then crawl across to the finish.
Our total time was 57:08 and we came in 21 out of 51 in the beast division. Knowing the course and obstacles will be a big advantage next year as you can start to prepare for the obstacle and next leg before you get there. we probably could take a couple minutes off our time.
All and all a great race and a fun stress relieving time.
I actually was woken up by the alarm at 5 AM. I always wake up before the alarm for other races and that normal nervousness wasn't there. My Buddy already told me not to expect to win or anything so that took all the pressure off me.
Tim and I got up early and let the girls sleep in and headed over to the event around 5:45 and got there at about 6:15. Parked, unloaded and headed to the start. It was already very crowded when we got to the race site and there were some interesting costumes and helmet dinosaurs.
The race format is two team members doing the same course, one does a Bike/run/bike/run/bike, and the other does a run/bike/run/bike/run. you share the same bike and at each transition you have to complete an obstacle before moving on.
I had the run/bike/run/bike/run part.
Run1: 11:47, I thought each leg was going to be 1 mile, but this first one was probably closer to 1.3, we lost the bike computer on leg 3 so we have no clue how far any of the legs were or the total distance. The bikers started first, then they made the runners wait a minute before they could start the chase. The beginning was really the only time it was crowded on the course for us as we went first so there wasn't anyone on the course yet. The first part I just hung behind and paced off a group until it got stung out enough and I was warmed up enough to pass. I felt like I was running close to a 9 min mile and then picked it up near the end and was passing some of the started too fast people up the last hill to the first transition.
T1: did not time my transitions. The first one was a climbing wall that was about 5 feet high. There were plenty of hand and foot holds so it wasn't difficult but getting down the other side on the rope ladder was a little dicey but made it without any problems.
Bike1: 9:47 including transition. I was hoping to catch Tim about half way, but didn't see him until the very end. At least he didn't have to wait for me to get the bike. I passed about 10 bikers on this leg. Felt really good on the bike and didn't need to get off and push like some were. There was one long up hill near the end that I probably should have gone easier on as it didn't help with the next obstacle to have all that acid built up in my legs.
T2: balance beam. the beam was about 4 feet off the ground and 20 feet long. Just getting on was a problem as my legs were a little wobbly from that last hill on the bike. I heard Tim yell at me on his way out when I was about 1/2 way done so I knew I was going to have to do a fast run to make up some time so he didn't have to wait too long at the end.
run2: 10:54 (including T3) This was a good one for me as I passed a few more runners and was able to keep a steady pace up the hills and on the rougher terrain. I think this leg was probably the hardest for the bikers as part was off the packed trail and there was one tough hill that I passed many bikers pushing their bikes up the hill. I found out later that Tim lost his chain at close to the top of the hill and had to get off and pull a branch out of it.
T3: Over/Under/Over: This one was an A Frame structure with 3 cross beams going up to the peak that you were supposed to go over the first, under the second, then over the top, without touching the ground. I saw many guys going over the first, stepping on the ground and going under the second, then climbing up and over the top. I was tempted, but stuck to my principles and actually did it the hard way without touching the ground.
bike2: 6:45 Wished I could have had some more time on the bike to get ready for the next run, but once again I got to pass a whole bunch of people and was flying down the hills.
T4: This was the best one, up a 10 foot rope ladder then slide down the blow up slide on the other side. When I got to the bottom I couldn't stand up on the base so I just rolled off onto the ground. grabbed some water and headed off for the last run.
Run3: 16:10 ( including T4 and mud pit ) This was the hardest and longest of the legs. there was a long downhill to a water crossing. It was up to my waist and very muddy. I had thought about taking my shoes off, but was very glad I didn't after feeling the ground under the water, very rocky. Then after getting out and adding 5 lbs to each foot you had to go up a long steep climb to get back to the road. Once again I passed about 7 bikers who were pushing their bikes up the hill. I have to admit at the top I took a 30 second walk break to catch my breath before the final push to the finish. Tim passed me with about a quarter mile to go and gave me a water bottle to drink and dump on my head, then took off to the finish. He only had to wait about 2 minutes or so, so we had really good timing. of course if he didn't lose the chain it would have been a little longer, but still not too much.
Mud pit: I got to the pit and was ready to crash, but still had to bend down and climb under a net to get into the pit, then crawl across to the finish.
Our total time was 57:08 and we came in 21 out of 51 in the beast division. Knowing the course and obstacles will be a big advantage next year as you can start to prepare for the obstacle and next leg before you get there. we probably could take a couple minutes off our time.
All and all a great race and a fun stress relieving time.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
great raleigh road race 5 miler - race report
I usually like to write my race report the day off or after the race, but for this one I needed a little perspective so I decided to wait a while.
Race morning was going well, except for the 73 degree temps and high humidity that showed up after the stupid weather guys kept saying 66 degrees. family got up and ready on time and we had no problem finding a good parking spot. Made our way to the start and easily found Cindy and family and Frank. After getting my chip and attaching the kids, Lilyan and Mia, we headed out for a warmup jog. The weather didn't feel too bad in the shade and standing still, but once you got moving you could feel the moisture in the air. It was a short warmup of about 8 minutes, but we warmup quick in the heat.
I was planning to do the following for my splits
8:45 to 9:00 for the first mile between 9 and 9:15 for the next two then for the down hill finish on hillsboro 8:30.
Mile 1 - started off well at 8:59, kept the pace in check and was thinking about the hills so I didn't get too far ahead of myself. But when we made the turn off hillsboro the sweat was already dripping off my hat. This was not boding well...
Mile 2 - missed the mile marker so my watch said 9:37 for 1.04, but the pace was 9:22. Not too bad, but still slower than I wanted. I should have gotten some more water at this stop, the half cup on my head and half in my mouth probably wasn't enough. The hills had started and it was getting tough.
Mile 3 - Since I was late on mile two, mile 3 was fast at 9:03, but my pace actually dropped to 9:25 for the .96 miles. I still thought that was ok because I knew the hills were finally ending and there were some tough long climbs. I was ready for it end at this point. I think 5k is probably the longest one should run in the summer. I need to remember that :-).
Mile 4 - my best mile since the start 8:57, but for how much it hurt and the fact that is was mostly downhill, the 8:57 was not a good sign of what was to come. Once again, did not take full advantage of the water stop, and the fact that there was no shade on Hillsboro wasn't helping.
Mile 5 - 9:13, This was the hardest mile, it was downhill, but every time there was a little bump it felt harder and harder to get over and I just wanted to stop. But I knew Cindy was back there and if I slowed anymore than I already did she would fly by me. I saw the coach near the finish and waved, then listened to she if I could hear her shout to Cindy, but nothing. As soon as I crossed the finish I feel a tap on my back and it was Cindy. I think we were all of two seconds apart.
Total time 45:51 9:10 / mile - I relize I wasn't tapered for this race, but still I wanted to go a bit faster. Somehow I always forget that I can't go fast in the heat. Then after the finish when we were standing around, that confused, dizzy, nausous feeling came on and I knew that I was going to the ground one way or another so for once I chose the better way and sat myself down on the road easy. After a few minutes I finally started to feel better and was ready to watch the kids.
This race was an eye opener for my tri next month in Connecticut. I really need to work on my hydration and heat management for that race or it will end up in the bad category. Also need to adjust my expectations and use that as more of a training race for Pinehurst and not as a big goal race. because I don't do well in the heat. now if I can just remember that...
Race morning was going well, except for the 73 degree temps and high humidity that showed up after the stupid weather guys kept saying 66 degrees. family got up and ready on time and we had no problem finding a good parking spot. Made our way to the start and easily found Cindy and family and Frank. After getting my chip and attaching the kids, Lilyan and Mia, we headed out for a warmup jog. The weather didn't feel too bad in the shade and standing still, but once you got moving you could feel the moisture in the air. It was a short warmup of about 8 minutes, but we warmup quick in the heat.
I was planning to do the following for my splits
8:45 to 9:00 for the first mile between 9 and 9:15 for the next two then for the down hill finish on hillsboro 8:30.
Mile 1 - started off well at 8:59, kept the pace in check and was thinking about the hills so I didn't get too far ahead of myself. But when we made the turn off hillsboro the sweat was already dripping off my hat. This was not boding well...
Mile 2 - missed the mile marker so my watch said 9:37 for 1.04, but the pace was 9:22. Not too bad, but still slower than I wanted. I should have gotten some more water at this stop, the half cup on my head and half in my mouth probably wasn't enough. The hills had started and it was getting tough.
Mile 3 - Since I was late on mile two, mile 3 was fast at 9:03, but my pace actually dropped to 9:25 for the .96 miles. I still thought that was ok because I knew the hills were finally ending and there were some tough long climbs. I was ready for it end at this point. I think 5k is probably the longest one should run in the summer. I need to remember that :-).
Mile 4 - my best mile since the start 8:57, but for how much it hurt and the fact that is was mostly downhill, the 8:57 was not a good sign of what was to come. Once again, did not take full advantage of the water stop, and the fact that there was no shade on Hillsboro wasn't helping.
Mile 5 - 9:13, This was the hardest mile, it was downhill, but every time there was a little bump it felt harder and harder to get over and I just wanted to stop. But I knew Cindy was back there and if I slowed anymore than I already did she would fly by me. I saw the coach near the finish and waved, then listened to she if I could hear her shout to Cindy, but nothing. As soon as I crossed the finish I feel a tap on my back and it was Cindy. I think we were all of two seconds apart.
Total time 45:51 9:10 / mile - I relize I wasn't tapered for this race, but still I wanted to go a bit faster. Somehow I always forget that I can't go fast in the heat. Then after the finish when we were standing around, that confused, dizzy, nausous feeling came on and I knew that I was going to the ground one way or another so for once I chose the better way and sat myself down on the road easy. After a few minutes I finally started to feel better and was ready to watch the kids.
This race was an eye opener for my tri next month in Connecticut. I really need to work on my hydration and heat management for that race or it will end up in the bad category. Also need to adjust my expectations and use that as more of a training race for Pinehurst and not as a big goal race. because I don't do well in the heat. now if I can just remember that...
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Kure Beach Race Report
Results as recorded by my watch....
Swim1: T1: Run1: T2: Bike: T3: Run2: T4: Swim2: Total
6:30 3:08 11:47 1:30 34:13 1:29 13:30 2:39 7:27 1:21:47
The official times will not include Transitions and mine were slow since it was the only time I had to catch my breath :-).
Official Times:
Swim1: Run1: bike: Run2: Swim2: Total:
7:54 14:39 35:39 13:31 10:04 1:21:45
so the day before the race I'm a little nervous/anxious for some unknown reason. I usually don't feel that way until the morning or just before bed, but I guess I was putting some pressure on myself to do well in this race and redeem myself from the last time I did this one and did so poorly. Of course last time I ended up having Lyme disease from some tick, but still logic doesn't always work when trying to convince oneself of things. To make matter worse my easy brick Saturday morning to wake my legs up didn't go so well. My legs were just not in the mood, so that added to the nerves.
Prerace: Things went fairly smoothly, got my bike transition setup and started warming up. fortunately my legs felt better today on my warmup jog and bike but it was humid and warm for 6:45 AM in the morning. at least there was a breeze. I had my normal breakfast, but forgot to eat my powerbar and didn't realize it until I got to the swim/run setup area and it was too late to go back. So I setup my shoes on the sand and went to go for a swim. The water was not too rough, and the current was real strong so I knew it was going to be a fast swim and not much chance for separation with the sand bar going over half way out to the buoy there would be a lot of walking to start. This did not bode well.
Swim1: As predicted, there was a lot of bunching and not much separation leading to the first buoy and once we started swimming it was rough. After rounding the buoy and heading with the current it started getting easier and I was able to get some good drafting. It only seemed like a minute before it was time to turn into shore and then there was the stupid sand bar again.
T1: Got out of the water and ran up to my shoes, dropped my cap and goggles and headed to the street. jumped in the kiddie pool to clean off the sand and put on my Vaseline coated shoes and started the run.
Run1: the beginning was tough, but after a few minutes I got into a good groove. Near the beach there was a breeze so I felt good and was able to push a descent pace and even passed a few people.
T2: not much going on here except I didn't run out with I bike, I walked to catch my breath. and I put on my socks so I wouldn't get blisters running back like years past.
Bike: the bike course is an out and back done twice. So it's like 4 x 3 miles with about 15 seconds recovery when making the turn arounds. The first part the wind was at our backs and it was easy going. Was doing around 24 mph most of the way and was passed by the first MC I had seen so far. He was cruising at 26, stayed with him for a few seconds, but knew I couldn't keep that pace so I had to let him go. The way back was into the wind and much harder. But I still managed 20 mph most of the way. Was still feeling good on the next out section, but when I made the turn around and started into the wind on the way back I got a huge cramp in my left calf. I quickly finished off the rest of my gatorade in hopes of warding off any more cramps, but every time I started pushing it would come back so I had to resolve myself to just doing what I could do and keep moving. I wanted to break 34 on the bike and would have if it weren't for the cramps, but was still fairly close.
T3: more walking on this one and drinking. I was sweating up a storm but had to keep going so I drank two cups of water and dumped a couple on my head. unfortunately the water was warm. I don't think the know what ice is in Kure beach as I didn't see any the whole time I was there until the refreshment area that you had to walk a half mile to get to after the finish.
Run2: this one was really tough. A couple residents were out with sprinklers and that definitely helped. I managed to make it to the water stop without walking, but when i got there and grabbed two cups I walked to drink and it was really hard to get running again, but I did. Finally the run finish was there with more warm water to drink and dump.
T4: dropped the shoes and socks, grabbed the cap and goggles and started the beach run to get to the swim start. Luckily the tide was out and it was nice to run on the hard packed sand.
Swim2: Getting out to the buoy was about the same as last time, a lot of walking through the water, but it was harder this time with tired legs, once I got going it was ok, except this time I kept getting run over by people who couldn't swim straight. about half way through my arms started to really feel tired. I was about done, but then the buoy was there and it was time to head in. Rode a couple waves, got run over again, then the sand bar was there and I stood up and attempted to run in, but I just couldn't get my legs out of the water. Finally the beach and the finish was only about 20 yards up the beach. I heard people saying finish strong run to the finish, so I started to run buy my legs were dead, some how I managed to make it over the finish line and did not die.
I can honestly say I gave all I had for this race. I think with the heat I probably should have had some more of my own cold drinks at the bike transition for before and after the bike, but live and learn...
Swim1: T1: Run1: T2: Bike: T3: Run2: T4: Swim2: Total
6:30 3:08 11:47 1:30 34:13 1:29 13:30 2:39 7:27 1:21:47
The official times will not include Transitions and mine were slow since it was the only time I had to catch my breath :-).
Official Times:
Swim1: Run1: bike: Run2: Swim2: Total:
7:54 14:39 35:39 13:31 10:04 1:21:45
so the day before the race I'm a little nervous/anxious for some unknown reason. I usually don't feel that way until the morning or just before bed, but I guess I was putting some pressure on myself to do well in this race and redeem myself from the last time I did this one and did so poorly. Of course last time I ended up having Lyme disease from some tick, but still logic doesn't always work when trying to convince oneself of things. To make matter worse my easy brick Saturday morning to wake my legs up didn't go so well. My legs were just not in the mood, so that added to the nerves.
Prerace: Things went fairly smoothly, got my bike transition setup and started warming up. fortunately my legs felt better today on my warmup jog and bike but it was humid and warm for 6:45 AM in the morning. at least there was a breeze. I had my normal breakfast, but forgot to eat my powerbar and didn't realize it until I got to the swim/run setup area and it was too late to go back. So I setup my shoes on the sand and went to go for a swim. The water was not too rough, and the current was real strong so I knew it was going to be a fast swim and not much chance for separation with the sand bar going over half way out to the buoy there would be a lot of walking to start. This did not bode well.
Swim1: As predicted, there was a lot of bunching and not much separation leading to the first buoy and once we started swimming it was rough. After rounding the buoy and heading with the current it started getting easier and I was able to get some good drafting. It only seemed like a minute before it was time to turn into shore and then there was the stupid sand bar again.
T1: Got out of the water and ran up to my shoes, dropped my cap and goggles and headed to the street. jumped in the kiddie pool to clean off the sand and put on my Vaseline coated shoes and started the run.
Run1: the beginning was tough, but after a few minutes I got into a good groove. Near the beach there was a breeze so I felt good and was able to push a descent pace and even passed a few people.
T2: not much going on here except I didn't run out with I bike, I walked to catch my breath. and I put on my socks so I wouldn't get blisters running back like years past.
Bike: the bike course is an out and back done twice. So it's like 4 x 3 miles with about 15 seconds recovery when making the turn arounds. The first part the wind was at our backs and it was easy going. Was doing around 24 mph most of the way and was passed by the first MC I had seen so far. He was cruising at 26, stayed with him for a few seconds, but knew I couldn't keep that pace so I had to let him go. The way back was into the wind and much harder. But I still managed 20 mph most of the way. Was still feeling good on the next out section, but when I made the turn around and started into the wind on the way back I got a huge cramp in my left calf. I quickly finished off the rest of my gatorade in hopes of warding off any more cramps, but every time I started pushing it would come back so I had to resolve myself to just doing what I could do and keep moving. I wanted to break 34 on the bike and would have if it weren't for the cramps, but was still fairly close.
T3: more walking on this one and drinking. I was sweating up a storm but had to keep going so I drank two cups of water and dumped a couple on my head. unfortunately the water was warm. I don't think the know what ice is in Kure beach as I didn't see any the whole time I was there until the refreshment area that you had to walk a half mile to get to after the finish.
Run2: this one was really tough. A couple residents were out with sprinklers and that definitely helped. I managed to make it to the water stop without walking, but when i got there and grabbed two cups I walked to drink and it was really hard to get running again, but I did. Finally the run finish was there with more warm water to drink and dump.
T4: dropped the shoes and socks, grabbed the cap and goggles and started the beach run to get to the swim start. Luckily the tide was out and it was nice to run on the hard packed sand.
Swim2: Getting out to the buoy was about the same as last time, a lot of walking through the water, but it was harder this time with tired legs, once I got going it was ok, except this time I kept getting run over by people who couldn't swim straight. about half way through my arms started to really feel tired. I was about done, but then the buoy was there and it was time to head in. Rode a couple waves, got run over again, then the sand bar was there and I stood up and attempted to run in, but I just couldn't get my legs out of the water. Finally the beach and the finish was only about 20 yards up the beach. I heard people saying finish strong run to the finish, so I started to run buy my legs were dead, some how I managed to make it over the finish line and did not die.
I can honestly say I gave all I had for this race. I think with the heat I probably should have had some more of my own cold drinks at the bike transition for before and after the bike, but live and learn...
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel
So I have been struggling with this right leg/hip pain since February, it's not debilitating, but it is very annoying and at times hurts like hell when driving. It starts in the back of my hip and will radiate all the way down to my feet. I have been searching all over the place to find out what it could be. I had finally convinced myself that it was bursitis in my hip that was causing this as only anti inflammatory drugs have been able to relieve it. Then Friday morning I was flipping through the new runner's world and I see this butt, so I look closer, and I see a muscle in red that is in the same spot as where my pain is starting. So I read and the symptoms and it fits exactly to what I am experiencing. Now I am getting excited, I take it with me to work so I can do the stretch and exercise listed and after lunch try it out, and it seems to be working. Of course what is causing the performis muscle to get so tight to make this happen is still a mystery, but I suspect it's the bike fit on my tri bike being a little low, so I need to get that adjusted and keep doing these stretches and exercise, but at least I have a plan now other than taking alleve...
Sunday, June 8, 2008
The 2008 Great Chesapeake Bay Swim result
I'm home, and I'm burnt, by the sun and by my wetsuit, and extremely tired, so forgive any bad grammar, typing, etc...
total time was 2:40:22, unofficial, I just went to the website and there was a link to the results for today. I was amazed, didn't think they were that efficient. Then I clicked on the link and I got a page that said "results will be posted here". At least I got a good laugh out of it.
Mile one: 25:37 - This mile was good, nice and easy to warm up, pretty much swam straight to the bridge, then through the pillars and between the two spans. During the pre race meeting the guy said we should stay to the right on the first half since the current would push us left in the beginning, but when I got between the bridges, I saw that up ahead it curved to the left so I decided to stay left until the curve ended, then move to the right. Bad move as you will see in mile two...
Mile Two: 43:06 - This mile sucked, I spend most of my time trying to stay between the bridges since the current kept pushing me out. I was waiting for the bridge to straighten out, but that never seemed to happen. I guess it was just a perspective problem, but my time would have been much better spent swimming all the way right and then swimming straight and letting the current push me left gradually instead of swim, swim, swim, oh crap I'm almost out of bounds, swim perpendicular towards the middle, I guess that's close enough, swim, swim, swim, oh crap I'm almost out of bounds, repeat for 40 minutes of mile 2.
Mile Three: 31:41 - Somewhere around mile 2.2 or so I got a bad foot cramp and had to stop and work it out, but after that, the current seemed to let up and I was able to get into a real good groove of 3 stroke breathing and staying parallel to the bridges and made some real good time and was actually passing some people. there were supposed to be two food boats, I saw the first one, but it was 100 yards to the right of me at mile two and I would have had to swim against the current to get to, so I just let it go. There was supposed to be another one at mile 3, but I didn't see it, I was probably still too far left, but I was swimming in a groove so I didn't bother looking too hard.
Mile Four: 38:47 - I was still in a groove, but this mile the current returned and was pushing us right. This was good as I was still way left, so I started moving right and gradually working my way that way. I was still swimming in my groove, but I could tell I wasn't going as fast as the pillars started slowing. A couple times I worked on catching some swimmers ahead, drafting for a while, then passing them. This kept me occupied and my mind off the incredible burn that was working it's way up my arms to my shoulders and into my back and chest. finally I saw the 4 mile buoy and thought it was almost over and man was I freaking hungry now.
last .4: 20:10 - two more pillars and then head out of the bridge. I was thinking the current was going to help me in since we were now swimming with it, but then we turned left and headed towards the marina and it was back to slow going and I was about ready to die. I adopted my Dori technique of just keep swimming, it felt like for ever, but finally I could see the exit and finish. Stopping swimming was great, but standing up and walking, not so good. I almost fell over a couple times on my way up the hill. Luckily the volunteers were well versed in stripping off wetsuits since I don't think I could have reached behind me to get the zipper down.
Overall it was a good experience, but I doubt I would do it again as the race site and logistics were just not all that great. If they were to switch the start and finish I would consider it. The start was at a state park with plenty of parking and beach area and bathrooms for spectators and racers. But the finish was at a marina with minimal parking within reasonable walking distance and it was too tight. After the race it was really hard to find anything and there was no room at the finish for anyone to be present. It was just kinda lame. The volunteers were great though and everyone was very friendly and helpful.
oh, and I reserve the right to edit this post later after I can think straight again ;-) and when the spell checker is working again
total time was 2:40:22, unofficial, I just went to the website and there was a link to the results for today. I was amazed, didn't think they were that efficient. Then I clicked on the link and I got a page that said "results will be posted here". At least I got a good laugh out of it.
Mile one: 25:37 - This mile was good, nice and easy to warm up, pretty much swam straight to the bridge, then through the pillars and between the two spans. During the pre race meeting the guy said we should stay to the right on the first half since the current would push us left in the beginning, but when I got between the bridges, I saw that up ahead it curved to the left so I decided to stay left until the curve ended, then move to the right. Bad move as you will see in mile two...
Mile Two: 43:06 - This mile sucked, I spend most of my time trying to stay between the bridges since the current kept pushing me out. I was waiting for the bridge to straighten out, but that never seemed to happen. I guess it was just a perspective problem, but my time would have been much better spent swimming all the way right and then swimming straight and letting the current push me left gradually instead of swim, swim, swim, oh crap I'm almost out of bounds, swim perpendicular towards the middle, I guess that's close enough, swim, swim, swim, oh crap I'm almost out of bounds, repeat for 40 minutes of mile 2.
Mile Three: 31:41 - Somewhere around mile 2.2 or so I got a bad foot cramp and had to stop and work it out, but after that, the current seemed to let up and I was able to get into a real good groove of 3 stroke breathing and staying parallel to the bridges and made some real good time and was actually passing some people. there were supposed to be two food boats, I saw the first one, but it was 100 yards to the right of me at mile two and I would have had to swim against the current to get to, so I just let it go. There was supposed to be another one at mile 3, but I didn't see it, I was probably still too far left, but I was swimming in a groove so I didn't bother looking too hard.
Mile Four: 38:47 - I was still in a groove, but this mile the current returned and was pushing us right. This was good as I was still way left, so I started moving right and gradually working my way that way. I was still swimming in my groove, but I could tell I wasn't going as fast as the pillars started slowing. A couple times I worked on catching some swimmers ahead, drafting for a while, then passing them. This kept me occupied and my mind off the incredible burn that was working it's way up my arms to my shoulders and into my back and chest. finally I saw the 4 mile buoy and thought it was almost over and man was I freaking hungry now.
last .4: 20:10 - two more pillars and then head out of the bridge. I was thinking the current was going to help me in since we were now swimming with it, but then we turned left and headed towards the marina and it was back to slow going and I was about ready to die. I adopted my Dori technique of just keep swimming, it felt like for ever, but finally I could see the exit and finish. Stopping swimming was great, but standing up and walking, not so good. I almost fell over a couple times on my way up the hill. Luckily the volunteers were well versed in stripping off wetsuits since I don't think I could have reached behind me to get the zipper down.
Overall it was a good experience, but I doubt I would do it again as the race site and logistics were just not all that great. If they were to switch the start and finish I would consider it. The start was at a state park with plenty of parking and beach area and bathrooms for spectators and racers. But the finish was at a marina with minimal parking within reasonable walking distance and it was too tight. After the race it was really hard to find anything and there was no room at the finish for anyone to be present. It was just kinda lame. The volunteers were great though and everyone was very friendly and helpful.
oh, and I reserve the right to edit this post later after I can think straight again ;-) and when the spell checker is working again
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Woodlake Sprint Tri
So I had to go back into the archives to see how I did last time I did this race way back in 2005. I knew the final result was 1:36:28 and I finished 18 out of 33 in the 35 to 39 age group. This was a last minute addition to my race schedule and I told my coach not to build in any taper and I was just going to take the 35 mile bike that was originally on my schedule and instead do this race as a brick training session. This meant no taper and best of all no pressure. I didn't want to add pressure by looking up my splits since they don't do splits at this race I have to do them manually on my watch. So now that it's over, the splits from 2005 were
Swim: 10:24
Bike: 55:33 19.4 mph ave
Run: 27:38
total: 1:36:28
I didn't write down my transitions, but total they must have been
2:53 total
This year the run was different then 05, but the swim and bike were the same, but the splits were
Swim: 9:11
T1: 1:52
Bike: 53:32 19.6 mph ave
T2: 1:28
Run: 25:12
Total 1:31:19 - unofficial
I'd say that was a big improvement :-)
I'm a little tired, so I won't get too wordy today as everything went fairly well.
Swim: Started way to the left and tried to stay in front to avoid the churn. No problems swam fast to start, then eased into a 1:30 pace.
Bike: It was raining so I had to take corners easy. I started in the last wave, so I got to pass a lot of people. That was fun and I didn't get passed by too many so I didn't get a lot of spray in my face. This is a long bike for a sprint at 17.5 miles so I was trying to hold back at the beginning. It was a rolling course with a couple tough hills, but some nice descents to fly on. One thing I wanted to remember was a saw one guy on the bike who had on flip flops. I at first thought it was someone just out biking on the course, but then I say the number on his leg and the race bib.
Run: The run was weird. When I started I had a new feeling in my legs, not the usual heavy I just rode 17 miles feeling, but a let's do a quick turnover feeling. So I kept the stride short and just kept going. At one point I was starting to ease into a rhythm and my breathing and pain started to go away so I said to myself, "maybe I shouldn't ease into anything and if doesn't hurt I'm not going fast enough". This was about mile 1, so the next two miles I kept up an uncomfortable, but doable pace. Luckily there were no hills on the run course and most of it was on trails. I was ready for it to be over so I guess I gauged my effort fairly well :-)
Swim: 10:24
Bike: 55:33 19.4 mph ave
Run: 27:38
total: 1:36:28
I didn't write down my transitions, but total they must have been
2:53 total
This year the run was different then 05, but the swim and bike were the same, but the splits were
Swim: 9:11
T1: 1:52
Bike: 53:32 19.6 mph ave
T2: 1:28
Run: 25:12
Total 1:31:19 - unofficial
I'd say that was a big improvement :-)
I'm a little tired, so I won't get too wordy today as everything went fairly well.
Swim: Started way to the left and tried to stay in front to avoid the churn. No problems swam fast to start, then eased into a 1:30 pace.
Bike: It was raining so I had to take corners easy. I started in the last wave, so I got to pass a lot of people. That was fun and I didn't get passed by too many so I didn't get a lot of spray in my face. This is a long bike for a sprint at 17.5 miles so I was trying to hold back at the beginning. It was a rolling course with a couple tough hills, but some nice descents to fly on. One thing I wanted to remember was a saw one guy on the bike who had on flip flops. I at first thought it was someone just out biking on the course, but then I say the number on his leg and the race bib.
Run: The run was weird. When I started I had a new feeling in my legs, not the usual heavy I just rode 17 miles feeling, but a let's do a quick turnover feeling. So I kept the stride short and just kept going. At one point I was starting to ease into a rhythm and my breathing and pain started to go away so I said to myself, "maybe I shouldn't ease into anything and if doesn't hurt I'm not going fast enough". This was about mile 1, so the next two miles I kept up an uncomfortable, but doable pace. Luckily there were no hills on the run course and most of it was on trails. I was ready for it to be over so I guess I gauged my effort fairly well :-)
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Surf and Turf Results
Results are in...
for the master Clydesdales
Swim rank/time - 1 13:44
Bike 1 rank/time - 3 13:27
Run 1 rank/time - 4 16:46
Bike 2 rank/time - 2 11:51
Run 2 rank/time - 4 9:33
total rank/time - 3 1:05:19
Once again, couldn't stay for the awards, although this time I actually had a valid reason other than I was cold or didn't want to stay...
I was putting my bike on my car when I over heard someone ask "So how was your race?", then I heard a young boy answer, "I did the best I could, so I'm happy with it." I turned around to see how old he was since he sounded really young, but that answer showed a maturity well past that age, and I saw he was wearing the #1 bib. That means it was Mason Boyles, Don't know that name? Well I suspect he will be making waves in the triathlon world in the future. He is 15 years old and two weeks ago he won the white lake sprint. This week he came in third 35 seconds behind the winner.
I was packing up my transition area and getting ready to go when Stacey Richardson, the winner of the women's race and winner of the st croix half ironman amateur division a few weeks ago was walking through, but still found the time to encourage all the athletes that were still on the course and working hard. She several times had to ask other age group athletes to get out of the way. Note to age group athletes, take some lessons from the elites, it's not just about YOU and respect the other competitors.
Coming in third feels great, but the other two experiences helped to restore some of my faith in the human race and means much more...
for the master Clydesdales
Swim rank/time - 1 13:44
Bike 1 rank/time - 3 13:27
Run 1 rank/time - 4 16:46
Bike 2 rank/time - 2 11:51
Run 2 rank/time - 4 9:33
total rank/time - 3 1:05:19
Once again, couldn't stay for the awards, although this time I actually had a valid reason other than I was cold or didn't want to stay...
I was putting my bike on my car when I over heard someone ask "So how was your race?", then I heard a young boy answer, "I did the best I could, so I'm happy with it." I turned around to see how old he was since he sounded really young, but that answer showed a maturity well past that age, and I saw he was wearing the #1 bib. That means it was Mason Boyles, Don't know that name? Well I suspect he will be making waves in the triathlon world in the future. He is 15 years old and two weeks ago he won the white lake sprint. This week he came in third 35 seconds behind the winner.
I was packing up my transition area and getting ready to go when Stacey Richardson, the winner of the women's race and winner of the st croix half ironman amateur division a few weeks ago was walking through, but still found the time to encourage all the athletes that were still on the course and working hard. She several times had to ask other age group athletes to get out of the way. Note to age group athletes, take some lessons from the elites, it's not just about YOU and respect the other competitors.
Coming in third feels great, but the other two experiences helped to restore some of my faith in the human race and means much more...
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Surf and Turf Race Report
Alarm went off at 3:45, snooze, 3:54, ok I'm up...
Hit the road at 4:55, arrived in Surf City at 6:55 after one pit stop. Got a good escape parking spot and unloaded the car. Went to check in, got marked and my chip then headed to transition. By the time everything was setup it was 7:30 so I didn't have time to do a bike warmup since I really wanted to do a short run so I could stretch out my legs after being in the car for 2 hours. After the 1/2 mile run, got my wetsuit on and started the long walk to the swim start. I figured I might as well do my swim warmup on the way and got in and swam against the current for a while, it really wasn't bad at all so I rode some waves in and headed to the start. The weather was perfect, mid 60's, hardly any wind and the ocean was flatter than anything I can remember.
The Swim: As mentioned above the ocean was mostly flat with a few waves rolling in every now and then. The first wave went out and although the announcer kept telling people to look how they were being pushed by the current, I knew better so I lined up close to the bouy so I could get a straight line to it. When the horn sounded, headed straight for the bouy and had no issues with current, made the left turn at and headed north. At the first bouy, my goggles fogged up and I no longer could see the next bouy, I tried to site off the people around me, but I couldn't shake the feeling I was going the wrong way so I let some ocean water into my goggles to clear the fog and I was right, I was off course, luckily, not much, now I had salt water in my goggles, but at least I was swimming straight again. Finally hit the last bouy and headed into shore, hit the beach and went over the mat around 13:40.
T1: transition area was a little crowded and I had to jump over a few boneheads who wanted to sit in the MIDDLE of the row taking off their wetsuit. No problems in transition, got my wetsuit off and helmet and glasses and started out for the bike, once again having to dodge people in the way.
Bike 1: The bike was about 3.7 miles and as soon as my legs started responding, it was time to get off and run. If you ever do this race I highly recommend the bike warmup as I never got into a groove on the bike since both were so short.
T2: Not much going on here, off the bike, rack the bike, helmet off, go run...
Run1: This was an out and back run, about .5 miles on pavement to the beach, then .5 or more miles out on the beach, then turn around and run back on the beach to the entry point. When we got to the beach I was starting to get my running legs, but then the sand arrived. the tide was in, so running in the soft sand was not fun, and after the turn around, my lower back started hurting and running back my right ankle was buggin me because of the slope of the beach. Finally after the beach ended my legs and back started feeling good again, but then the run was over. About .25 before the end of run one, the first guy in my category, Master Clydesdales, MC, passed me. I stayed with him until transition.
T3: Once again, not much going on, helmet on, get bike, head out. Passed the MC going out of transition woo hoo.
Bike 2: About 1 mile into the bike the MC guy blew by me, I was going to chase him, but since he flew by me, I decided to keep my pace and not chase. 1 mile more and I was catching him again. He later told me it was a mind game, but I guess that back fired on him. At the turn around for the bike I had caught him so after the U turn, I hit the accelerator and left him in the dust, but that's when I saw the other MC right on my tail, so the 2 miles back really hurt, but I wanted to pad some time for the run.
T4: After the bike dismount, the MC I saw at the turn around was right behind me, so no time to dawdle, but he ended up passing me as we left transition.
Run 2: This was only 1 mile, so it took me about 1/2 mile to get my legs back after the push on the bike, but at least this one was all pavement. I never saw the first MC again and the second MC passed me right at the turn around and finished probably 30 seconds ahead of me.
Finished in 1:05:2? I'll post the final results with whatever splits they post when the come out. Don't know how I did yet as I had to leave early to get back for my crazy girl's ballet recital, which was definitly worth the rush :-)
Hit the road at 4:55, arrived in Surf City at 6:55 after one pit stop. Got a good escape parking spot and unloaded the car. Went to check in, got marked and my chip then headed to transition. By the time everything was setup it was 7:30 so I didn't have time to do a bike warmup since I really wanted to do a short run so I could stretch out my legs after being in the car for 2 hours. After the 1/2 mile run, got my wetsuit on and started the long walk to the swim start. I figured I might as well do my swim warmup on the way and got in and swam against the current for a while, it really wasn't bad at all so I rode some waves in and headed to the start. The weather was perfect, mid 60's, hardly any wind and the ocean was flatter than anything I can remember.
The Swim: As mentioned above the ocean was mostly flat with a few waves rolling in every now and then. The first wave went out and although the announcer kept telling people to look how they were being pushed by the current, I knew better so I lined up close to the bouy so I could get a straight line to it. When the horn sounded, headed straight for the bouy and had no issues with current, made the left turn at and headed north. At the first bouy, my goggles fogged up and I no longer could see the next bouy, I tried to site off the people around me, but I couldn't shake the feeling I was going the wrong way so I let some ocean water into my goggles to clear the fog and I was right, I was off course, luckily, not much, now I had salt water in my goggles, but at least I was swimming straight again. Finally hit the last bouy and headed into shore, hit the beach and went over the mat around 13:40.
T1: transition area was a little crowded and I had to jump over a few boneheads who wanted to sit in the MIDDLE of the row taking off their wetsuit. No problems in transition, got my wetsuit off and helmet and glasses and started out for the bike, once again having to dodge people in the way.
Bike 1: The bike was about 3.7 miles and as soon as my legs started responding, it was time to get off and run. If you ever do this race I highly recommend the bike warmup as I never got into a groove on the bike since both were so short.
T2: Not much going on here, off the bike, rack the bike, helmet off, go run...
Run1: This was an out and back run, about .5 miles on pavement to the beach, then .5 or more miles out on the beach, then turn around and run back on the beach to the entry point. When we got to the beach I was starting to get my running legs, but then the sand arrived. the tide was in, so running in the soft sand was not fun, and after the turn around, my lower back started hurting and running back my right ankle was buggin me because of the slope of the beach. Finally after the beach ended my legs and back started feeling good again, but then the run was over. About .25 before the end of run one, the first guy in my category, Master Clydesdales, MC, passed me. I stayed with him until transition.
T3: Once again, not much going on, helmet on, get bike, head out. Passed the MC going out of transition woo hoo.
Bike 2: About 1 mile into the bike the MC guy blew by me, I was going to chase him, but since he flew by me, I decided to keep my pace and not chase. 1 mile more and I was catching him again. He later told me it was a mind game, but I guess that back fired on him. At the turn around for the bike I had caught him so after the U turn, I hit the accelerator and left him in the dust, but that's when I saw the other MC right on my tail, so the 2 miles back really hurt, but I wanted to pad some time for the run.
T4: After the bike dismount, the MC I saw at the turn around was right behind me, so no time to dawdle, but he ended up passing me as we left transition.
Run 2: This was only 1 mile, so it took me about 1/2 mile to get my legs back after the push on the bike, but at least this one was all pavement. I never saw the first MC again and the second MC passed me right at the turn around and finished probably 30 seconds ahead of me.
Finished in 1:05:2? I'll post the final results with whatever splits they post when the come out. Don't know how I did yet as I had to leave early to get back for my crazy girl's ballet recital, which was definitly worth the rush :-)
Monday, May 5, 2008
White Lake Sprint - results and random thoughts
The results are in...
for master Clydesdale's
place name swim T1 Bike T2 Run total
8. WILLIAM REID 4 16:09 2:10 6 39:53 1:43 14 27:31 1:27:24
Numbers above are out of 23, except the bike which for some reason a whole bunch of people didn't get a bike split so that is out of 14. I think they went over the wrong mat on the way out of transition...
Overall I was 145 out of 375, 97 for the swim, 96 on the bike, and 255 on the run.
in 2006 I was 232 out of 374, 130 for the swim, 226 on the bike, and 312 on the run.
Random thoughts.
1) at first glance it looks awesome for the bike, but I have to remember the there were about 60 people that didn't get ranked on the bike. Even still, the bike improvement was really good.
2) My concerns about the swim were unfounded as I did improve on the swim.
3) I still need to work on my run. It's getting better but I can't get complacent.
4) After comparing the years, I feel even better about the race.
5) I am really sore this morning :-)
I spend some time near the finish line while the novice women were finishing and if you really want some inspiration, that's a great place to be. One woman came across the line and proclaimed as loud as she could. "YES, I DID IT!" the look on her face was priceless. One mom came across and her two kids both around 10ish came running up to hug and congratulate her. The boy high fives her and gives her a big hug, then her daughter starts to give her a hug, but then draws back and starts trying to rub all the sweat off, it was really funny, you could see both kids were amazed and impressed that their mom could actually finish this race. I heard so many responses to "how was your race? that were like, it could have been better, I would have like to go faster. I think I'm guilty of the same thing. We have to remember that just finishing is an accomplishment in itself. With all the things that could go wrong, making it across that line is a great accomplishment.
Things to remember for next time.
1) Don't park on site is you want to leave early.
2) Line up to the left on the swim. This really worked out great.
3) Shammy buttr...
4) Get more water in me on the run and less on me :-)
for master Clydesdale's
place name swim T1 Bike T2 Run total
8. WILLIAM REID 4 16:09 2:10 6 39:53 1:43 14 27:31 1:27:24
Numbers above are out of 23, except the bike which for some reason a whole bunch of people didn't get a bike split so that is out of 14. I think they went over the wrong mat on the way out of transition...
Overall I was 145 out of 375, 97 for the swim, 96 on the bike, and 255 on the run.
in 2006 I was 232 out of 374, 130 for the swim, 226 on the bike, and 312 on the run.
Random thoughts.
1) at first glance it looks awesome for the bike, but I have to remember the there were about 60 people that didn't get ranked on the bike. Even still, the bike improvement was really good.
2) My concerns about the swim were unfounded as I did improve on the swim.
3) I still need to work on my run. It's getting better but I can't get complacent.
4) After comparing the years, I feel even better about the race.
5) I am really sore this morning :-)
I spend some time near the finish line while the novice women were finishing and if you really want some inspiration, that's a great place to be. One woman came across the line and proclaimed as loud as she could. "YES, I DID IT!" the look on her face was priceless. One mom came across and her two kids both around 10ish came running up to hug and congratulate her. The boy high fives her and gives her a big hug, then her daughter starts to give her a hug, but then draws back and starts trying to rub all the sweat off, it was really funny, you could see both kids were amazed and impressed that their mom could actually finish this race. I heard so many responses to "how was your race? that were like, it could have been better, I would have like to go faster. I think I'm guilty of the same thing. We have to remember that just finishing is an accomplishment in itself. With all the things that could go wrong, making it across that line is a great accomplishment.
Things to remember for next time.
1) Don't park on site is you want to leave early.
2) Line up to the left on the swim. This really worked out great.
3) Shammy buttr...
4) Get more water in me on the run and less on me :-)
Sunday, May 4, 2008
White Lake Sprint Triathlon
I did this race in 2006, my times were
Swim T1 Bike T2 Run Total
00:14:52 00:02:37 00:42:52 00:01:43 00:28:55 01:30:55
this year according to my watch which is not quite accurate
16:08 2:32 39:24 1:46 27:33 01:27:26
that's 3:29 faster woohoo! Not sure what happened with the swim, but after some research, it appears the swim in 2006 was a little short as the times from 2007 of some of the people who did it in 2006 were slower even though their overall time was faster. anyway on to the race report.
Set my alarm for 3:45 AM, woke up at 3:40 AM 5 minutes before the alarm went off. Ate some cereal, feed the cats, finished packing the car up then took at nice warm shower. Left the house at 4:48, arrived at the race site at 6:20. Should have parked on the road so I could have left early, but I needed to use the bathroom and having the car right there was too appealing to turn down. Nothing exciting happened during setup, got everything setup and ate some more then walked around waiting for 7 am so I could start my warmup. Warmup felt really good first ran for about 1/2 mile, then took the bike out for a short spin. I don't usually ride, but my chain feel off this morning so I wanted to make sure everything was working and get it in a good gear and make sure it would not de chain itself again, especially since last time I did this race, my chain fell off. Finished the bike warmup and reset my transition and then grabbed the wetsuit and headed to the lake. It was about 72 degrees and really clear today. I Think they added some sand as the water was only waist deep at the start and I remember it being close to head high in previous years.
On to the race.
The swim. Lined up to the left and tried to stay out of the mess and keep a good line to the first buoy. Felt really good on the swim. I sighted often and finally kept a straight line. Only got bumped once or twice by someone swimming off line. I didn't want to go too fast while trying to keep my effort high. Got out of the water and my watch said 15 something, a little depressing as I was comparing to last time, but the swim is the easiest thing for them to mess up so I put that out of my mind and started to concentrate on transition and the bike coming up.
T1: I had my wetsuit halfway off by the time I got to my bike and kept focus while getting ready for the bike
Bike: This time on the bike I really wanted to push the whole way and see how my legs would do on the run, so the first lap I tried to keep my speed over 21 as best as possible and except for the one really bumpy part I was able to do that. First lap was 19:50 and my goal was under 40 so I was right on track, the second lap I wanted to push a little more so kept the speed over 22 and finished with an average speed of 21.7 and my bike computer said 40:10, but watch said 39:24 so I suspect it's somewhere in the middle but I did break 40 ( I hope ) like I wanted.
T2: 1:46 nothing exciting to report here.
Run: The beginning was really tough, my legs were spent from the hard bike, but I knew if I just kept going I knew they would come back. The course was not marked correctly, as at mile 1 my watch said 7:15, when I got to the turn around I was at 14:11, then I got to mile 2 marker and my watch said 20:14, but the mile 2 marker was right at the mile 1 marker so I knew I only had about 7 minutes to go. the last half mile was really tough to keep the speed up, but somehow I managed until the very end when I turned to go over the bridge my right hamstring started to cramp, but it went away, then I made the left turn for the finish and wanted to sprint, but the hamstring started up again and I didn't want to have to limp across the line so I just kept my pace consistent and only had to hop a couple times. Hopefully my pictures show some of that. It had started to get hot and I was sweating up a storm on the bike and on the run.
All in all a good effort and the nice cool lake after was awesome.
Next up Surf and Turf on 5/17
Swim T1 Bike T2 Run Total
00:14:52 00:02:37 00:42:52 00:01:43 00:28:55 01:30:55
this year according to my watch which is not quite accurate
16:08 2:32 39:24 1:46 27:33 01:27:26
that's 3:29 faster woohoo! Not sure what happened with the swim, but after some research, it appears the swim in 2006 was a little short as the times from 2007 of some of the people who did it in 2006 were slower even though their overall time was faster. anyway on to the race report.
Set my alarm for 3:45 AM, woke up at 3:40 AM 5 minutes before the alarm went off. Ate some cereal, feed the cats, finished packing the car up then took at nice warm shower. Left the house at 4:48, arrived at the race site at 6:20. Should have parked on the road so I could have left early, but I needed to use the bathroom and having the car right there was too appealing to turn down. Nothing exciting happened during setup, got everything setup and ate some more then walked around waiting for 7 am so I could start my warmup. Warmup felt really good first ran for about 1/2 mile, then took the bike out for a short spin. I don't usually ride, but my chain feel off this morning so I wanted to make sure everything was working and get it in a good gear and make sure it would not de chain itself again, especially since last time I did this race, my chain fell off. Finished the bike warmup and reset my transition and then grabbed the wetsuit and headed to the lake. It was about 72 degrees and really clear today. I Think they added some sand as the water was only waist deep at the start and I remember it being close to head high in previous years.
On to the race.
The swim. Lined up to the left and tried to stay out of the mess and keep a good line to the first buoy. Felt really good on the swim. I sighted often and finally kept a straight line. Only got bumped once or twice by someone swimming off line. I didn't want to go too fast while trying to keep my effort high. Got out of the water and my watch said 15 something, a little depressing as I was comparing to last time, but the swim is the easiest thing for them to mess up so I put that out of my mind and started to concentrate on transition and the bike coming up.
T1: I had my wetsuit halfway off by the time I got to my bike and kept focus while getting ready for the bike
Bike: This time on the bike I really wanted to push the whole way and see how my legs would do on the run, so the first lap I tried to keep my speed over 21 as best as possible and except for the one really bumpy part I was able to do that. First lap was 19:50 and my goal was under 40 so I was right on track, the second lap I wanted to push a little more so kept the speed over 22 and finished with an average speed of 21.7 and my bike computer said 40:10, but watch said 39:24 so I suspect it's somewhere in the middle but I did break 40 ( I hope ) like I wanted.
T2: 1:46 nothing exciting to report here.
Run: The beginning was really tough, my legs were spent from the hard bike, but I knew if I just kept going I knew they would come back. The course was not marked correctly, as at mile 1 my watch said 7:15, when I got to the turn around I was at 14:11, then I got to mile 2 marker and my watch said 20:14, but the mile 2 marker was right at the mile 1 marker so I knew I only had about 7 minutes to go. the last half mile was really tough to keep the speed up, but somehow I managed until the very end when I turned to go over the bridge my right hamstring started to cramp, but it went away, then I made the left turn for the finish and wanted to sprint, but the hamstring started up again and I didn't want to have to limp across the line so I just kept my pace consistent and only had to hop a couple times. Hopefully my pictures show some of that. It had started to get hot and I was sweating up a storm on the bike and on the run.
All in all a good effort and the nice cool lake after was awesome.
Next up Surf and Turf on 5/17
Sunday, April 20, 2008
wondergirl 5k
This race was on my schedule more for the little one than for me. She has been asking me constantly if she could race with me all year and finally her chance arrived. She woke up early and got ready, then we got in the car for the one hour drive to the race site. She didn't want breakfast, but I brought along a granola bar for her because I knew she would get hungry. When we got to the race site, everyone kept saying how cute she was and she was just soaking it all up. I didn't expect her to run that much since the last few times she would ride for a long time, then run a little before getting back in to ride again. We were in the last group which was supposed to start 3 minutes after the group before ours so we were cheering on all the Girls on the Run girls from the front, then we went to get in line for our start, but there was no one there, I guess then just let all the rec runners just go when ever. So we got to the start and she was ready to run, she got out and ran across the start line, which brought a huge applause from all the people watching, her friend was there as well and all the people were screaming how cute they were and saying run girls run! This overwhelmed them a little and they ran to their parents, but did not get in the joggers. After about 100 yards she was ready to ride, but after 10 seconds she wanted to get out and run again. This time she ran for a really long time before saying she was thirsty. She got back in, had a couple sips of her vitamin water then was ready to run again. This went on for the next two miles. I was really amazed how long she ran, and all the volunteers were so great encouraging her at all the turns, she was loving all the attention. After about 2.5 miles I could tell she was getting tired as her breaks were getting longer and her runs where getting shorter. But still she persisted in getting out to run, I think I had one downhill with her in the jogger that I could stretch out my legs but the rest was slow jogs or fast walks to keep up with her pace. Then we came to the final stretch and she got out with about .1 to go and ran the rest of the way to all the cheers and applause from the crowd and hit the finish. I think she ran about 2.5 miles of the 5k but was still ready to bounce in the castle they had setup.
The next morning her feet were sore and told her mom she couldn't walk because she was too tired.
The next morning her feet were sore and told her mom she couldn't walk because she was too tired.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
FSSeries Sprint Tri Race Report
This race was more of practice then a race, but still I wanted to do well. My primary goals were to go hard in all three, remember how to transition, and have fun. The morning started off cold and I really didn't want to get in the water to warm up before the swim, so I only warmed up the run, my knees were bugging me in the cold until I started to warmup but still I didn't feel like I was ready to race, but without a taper it was probably to be expected.
Total time 1:22:36 ( I think )
Swim - 13:58 - should have warmed up first it wasn't as cold as I was expecting and after jumping in and redlining right away, I finally relaxed and tried to get into a rhythm and remember to sight as I was all over the place the first 200 yards or so but eventually got going.
T1 - 3:49 - There was a really steep long hill just after the swim exit from the water and then a short jog to the transition area, then I had a small problem with my wetsuit so 3:49 is pretty good.
Bike - 34:27 - 18.6 mph - Bike went fairly well, still need some work on it though. Started off great with a nice down hill, but then it was up for like 2 miles to tryon this part was really hard, but then it was fairly flat for a while so I got to recover a little before the rolling section, and then a wonderful downhill finish except for the .3 miles back up to transition that I will have to do again on the run. I think I could have done better on this, but I backed off a couple times on the downhills so I could recover a little.
T2 - 1:30 - This was smooth and easy, found my spot, off with the helmet and shoes, then on go the running shoes and grab the number and I was off.
Run - 28:46 - Mile 1 was 8:30, coach said I should save some for the end so I backed off the second mile, and because it was mostly uphill :-), and did 9:07, then I thought I was going really fast on mile 3 as it was all downhill until that final uphill to the finish. I heard it might have been a little over a 5k, but either way I think it was a decent time for the hilly course it was.
All and all it was a good race, don't know my official results yet since I didn't want to hang out another hour to find out but I might update this post later with them if they are good ;-)
********************************************************************
Update I got 3rd out of 19 in the clydesdale division, woo hoo
ends up the run course was 3.3 miles, so I averaged an 8:45 / mile pace. Now I feel better, I knew I wasn't going that slow
Official splits
sw T1 Bike T2 Run Total
William Reid 15:29 2:14 34:56 1:14 28:55 1:22:46.1
Total time 1:22:36 ( I think )
Swim - 13:58 - should have warmed up first it wasn't as cold as I was expecting and after jumping in and redlining right away, I finally relaxed and tried to get into a rhythm and remember to sight as I was all over the place the first 200 yards or so but eventually got going.
T1 - 3:49 - There was a really steep long hill just after the swim exit from the water and then a short jog to the transition area, then I had a small problem with my wetsuit so 3:49 is pretty good.
Bike - 34:27 - 18.6 mph - Bike went fairly well, still need some work on it though. Started off great with a nice down hill, but then it was up for like 2 miles to tryon this part was really hard, but then it was fairly flat for a while so I got to recover a little before the rolling section, and then a wonderful downhill finish except for the .3 miles back up to transition that I will have to do again on the run. I think I could have done better on this, but I backed off a couple times on the downhills so I could recover a little.
T2 - 1:30 - This was smooth and easy, found my spot, off with the helmet and shoes, then on go the running shoes and grab the number and I was off.
Run - 28:46 - Mile 1 was 8:30, coach said I should save some for the end so I backed off the second mile, and because it was mostly uphill :-), and did 9:07, then I thought I was going really fast on mile 3 as it was all downhill until that final uphill to the finish. I heard it might have been a little over a 5k, but either way I think it was a decent time for the hilly course it was.
All and all it was a good race, don't know my official results yet since I didn't want to hang out another hour to find out but I might update this post later with them if they are good ;-)
********************************************************************
Update I got 3rd out of 19 in the clydesdale division, woo hoo
ends up the run course was 3.3 miles, so I averaged an 8:45 / mile pace. Now I feel better, I knew I wasn't going that slow
Official splits
sw T1 Bike T2 Run Total
William Reid 15:29 2:14 34:56 1:14 28:55 1:22:46.1
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Training at Altitude
The altitude today was sea level :-).
On the schedule for today was a 30 minute ocean swim followed by a 3 mile run on the beach.
We arrived in Daytona at 11pm last night and I must have been really tired since I slept in until about 7:30. Ate breakfast and woke the family so we could all goto the beach. Got to the beach around 9 and I put on my wetsuit and got ready to swim. The water temp was 72 degrees, the waves were 2 to 4 feet and my Dad tells me there was a shark attack two days ago about 10 miles south of here. Sound like fun? So I head out into the water and the waves look a lot bigger when they are crashing down on you. It takes me 6 minutes to get past the breakers and the surfers, somehow my goggles stayed on, but the left side was filled with water. Drained the goggles and started to swim into the current. I swam about .25 miles ( measured it later while running) in 16 minutes, dodging pelicans and surfers and waves that kept crashing on my head, then turned around and swam back. The current was very strong as it only took me about 6 minutes to get back, once again I had to dodge the surfers that kept looking at me funny. Then I got to body surf back into shore. When I got out I was tired, my legs were tired, my arms were tired and my lower back was tired. It is much harder swimming in the ocean with all the different forces pulling you this way and that. Luckily I avoided all the sharks, but I have to say there were a couple times while I was out there that I thought about it...
After changing out to the wetsuit and into my running shoes, I headed south into the wind. I was supposed to run 3 miles at 9:30 pace, but into the wind the best I could manage was 9:45 after a mile I turned around as I didn't want to make the family wait too long for me and I was ready. Running back with the wind was much better, I was doing a consistent 8:45 pace and feeling much better. It is much harder running on the beach and my hamstrings were telling me all about it. Finally I saw the end. Then I did a couple of sprint races with the kid, to the life guard, she won, then back to grand pa, she won again.
It was a tough workout, but I really enjoyed it.
On the schedule for today was a 30 minute ocean swim followed by a 3 mile run on the beach.
We arrived in Daytona at 11pm last night and I must have been really tired since I slept in until about 7:30. Ate breakfast and woke the family so we could all goto the beach. Got to the beach around 9 and I put on my wetsuit and got ready to swim. The water temp was 72 degrees, the waves were 2 to 4 feet and my Dad tells me there was a shark attack two days ago about 10 miles south of here. Sound like fun? So I head out into the water and the waves look a lot bigger when they are crashing down on you. It takes me 6 minutes to get past the breakers and the surfers, somehow my goggles stayed on, but the left side was filled with water. Drained the goggles and started to swim into the current. I swam about .25 miles ( measured it later while running) in 16 minutes, dodging pelicans and surfers and waves that kept crashing on my head, then turned around and swam back. The current was very strong as it only took me about 6 minutes to get back, once again I had to dodge the surfers that kept looking at me funny. Then I got to body surf back into shore. When I got out I was tired, my legs were tired, my arms were tired and my lower back was tired. It is much harder swimming in the ocean with all the different forces pulling you this way and that. Luckily I avoided all the sharks, but I have to say there were a couple times while I was out there that I thought about it...
After changing out to the wetsuit and into my running shoes, I headed south into the wind. I was supposed to run 3 miles at 9:30 pace, but into the wind the best I could manage was 9:45 after a mile I turned around as I didn't want to make the family wait too long for me and I was ready. Running back with the wind was much better, I was doing a consistent 8:45 pace and feeling much better. It is much harder running on the beach and my hamstrings were telling me all about it. Finally I saw the end. Then I did a couple of sprint races with the kid, to the life guard, she won, then back to grand pa, she won again.
It was a tough workout, but I really enjoyed it.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Inside Out Sports 10k race report
Personally I think they should call this the Inside Out Sports 10k from hell, but that's just me ;-). I've run this course as part of the 1/2 marathon so I knew what I was getting myself into and really I did it on purpose to force myself into getting better running hills and thus get stronger. Mission accomplished :-). My 10k pr was in 2004 at the Old Reliable 10k in downtown Raleigh. That course is much flatter/easier than this one so I wasn't expecting to get a pr today. I think when I did that race my time was 55:51 or 8:59 per mile pace. My plan today was to start off around 9:15 pace and see how it goes. This race features many hills and new this year to go with the uphill finish was a nice uphill start. First the numbers...
according to my watch
totals:
Distance 6.27 total time 56:30 Ave pace 9:00 / mi, ave hr 161, max hr 171
If this was really 10k, my pace was 9:05 / mi
I did my splits on the signs on the road so
mile 1 - Distance 1.02 miles, total time 9:20, pace 9:10 / mile, ave hr 157
This was mostly uphill from IO sports to just past CVS, felt good on the hill, tried to keep my speed under control to not burn my legs out too early.
mile 2 - Distance 1.00 miles, total time 9:03, ave hr 153
this was all downhill and felt good, I was still keeping my speed under control and people were passing me, but I didn't mind as I knew what lay ahead...
mile 3 - Distance 1.01 miles, total time 9:11, pace 9:01 / mile, ave hr 160
Now the fun starts, this mile included the first big climb of the race and my first peak at zone 5 at the top of that hill. I passed a whole bunch of people on this one still feeling good. my ave hr was 160 up 7 from the last mile.
mile 4 - Distance 1.01 miles, total time 9:11, pace 9:03, ave hr 164
this mile included two climbs up to Norwell, first on the way out, then after going down the other side, you turn around and get to go back up again, what fun, passed more people, and had some more zone 5 fun
mile 5 - Distance 1.00 miles, total time 8:53, ave hr 161
Yes, the best mile of the day, down hill to evans, then flat for awhile and then only a slight incline towards sheldon. Was pacing off one guy who was very animated and entertaining, so it went by quickly with my ave hr dropping and my speed going up I was feeling good.
mile 6 - Distance 1.01 miles, total time 9:07, pace 9:03, ave hr 169
This was obviously the hardest part of the course with my ave hr way up and two thirds of this mile was in zone 5, but the end was near and I was careful to not push too hard and blow up
final .2 - Distance .22 miles, total time 1:47, pace 8:15, ave hr 170
that was all I had left, legs were now on fire, but with less than a 400 to go I knew I could increase my pace up the last little bit to CVS.
It felt great to finish. I waited a short time to see Marian finish, but that was I could wait for as I started to get real cold, so I did my 1 mile cool down back to my car, changed out of my sweaty shirt, went to starbucks for my triple Mocha and cranked the heater in the car.
Very happy with the results as I felt really strong on the hills and was happy to be once again passing people at the end of the race :-)
according to my watch
totals:
Distance 6.27 total time 56:30 Ave pace 9:00 / mi, ave hr 161, max hr 171
If this was really 10k, my pace was 9:05 / mi
I did my splits on the signs on the road so
mile 1 - Distance 1.02 miles, total time 9:20, pace 9:10 / mile, ave hr 157
This was mostly uphill from IO sports to just past CVS, felt good on the hill, tried to keep my speed under control to not burn my legs out too early.
mile 2 - Distance 1.00 miles, total time 9:03, ave hr 153
this was all downhill and felt good, I was still keeping my speed under control and people were passing me, but I didn't mind as I knew what lay ahead...
mile 3 - Distance 1.01 miles, total time 9:11, pace 9:01 / mile, ave hr 160
Now the fun starts, this mile included the first big climb of the race and my first peak at zone 5 at the top of that hill. I passed a whole bunch of people on this one still feeling good. my ave hr was 160 up 7 from the last mile.
mile 4 - Distance 1.01 miles, total time 9:11, pace 9:03, ave hr 164
this mile included two climbs up to Norwell, first on the way out, then after going down the other side, you turn around and get to go back up again, what fun, passed more people, and had some more zone 5 fun
mile 5 - Distance 1.00 miles, total time 8:53, ave hr 161
Yes, the best mile of the day, down hill to evans, then flat for awhile and then only a slight incline towards sheldon. Was pacing off one guy who was very animated and entertaining, so it went by quickly with my ave hr dropping and my speed going up I was feeling good.
mile 6 - Distance 1.01 miles, total time 9:07, pace 9:03, ave hr 169
This was obviously the hardest part of the course with my ave hr way up and two thirds of this mile was in zone 5, but the end was near and I was careful to not push too hard and blow up
final .2 - Distance .22 miles, total time 1:47, pace 8:15, ave hr 170
that was all I had left, legs were now on fire, but with less than a 400 to go I knew I could increase my pace up the last little bit to CVS.
It felt great to finish. I waited a short time to see Marian finish, but that was I could wait for as I started to get real cold, so I did my 1 mile cool down back to my car, changed out of my sweaty shirt, went to starbucks for my triple Mocha and cranked the heater in the car.
Very happy with the results as I felt really strong on the hills and was happy to be once again passing people at the end of the race :-)
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Bike Friendly?
I haven't been writing much about my workouts but something happened Sunday during my bike that I felt I should.
Earlier in the week I had riding in self proclaimed bike friendly Cary, NC. I went out Monday before lunch for a 20 mile bike, it usual takes me about 1 hour 8 minutes of total time including stop lights, but this time it took me 1 hour and 17 minutes. I got stuck in two left turn lanes with no cars in the lane to tell the light that it needed to give me a left turn signals. Then I got stuck at a light where I was going straight, and there was a car in the left turn lane, so the light gave the car a left turn signal, but never turned green for straight. This being the third time I got screwed, I was not happy. Fast forward to Sunday, I had a 28 mile ride mapped out, with about 8 traffic lights, compare that to my 20 mile Monday ride with about 20 lights. I rode the first 18 miles before actually getting stopped at a light. It was a left turn light at hwy 50 and hwy 210 in Johnston county. I was in the left turn lane and thought I was going to have to run it, since there were no cars to trigger the light in my lane, but image my surprise when I got a left turn signal. Here I am in Johnston county and they have their sensors setup to know when a bike is waiting. Wake up Wake county, you are supposed to be pushing for less pollution and bike lanes, adjust your lights already. When I went to college in Gainesville, Fl my junior year the changed the lights to be more sensitive for bikers, and here we are 20 years later and we can't do that here? Anyway it was a pleasant surprise and made the cold ride feel much better :-)
Earlier in the week I had riding in self proclaimed bike friendly Cary, NC. I went out Monday before lunch for a 20 mile bike, it usual takes me about 1 hour 8 minutes of total time including stop lights, but this time it took me 1 hour and 17 minutes. I got stuck in two left turn lanes with no cars in the lane to tell the light that it needed to give me a left turn signals. Then I got stuck at a light where I was going straight, and there was a car in the left turn lane, so the light gave the car a left turn signal, but never turned green for straight. This being the third time I got screwed, I was not happy. Fast forward to Sunday, I had a 28 mile ride mapped out, with about 8 traffic lights, compare that to my 20 mile Monday ride with about 20 lights. I rode the first 18 miles before actually getting stopped at a light. It was a left turn light at hwy 50 and hwy 210 in Johnston county. I was in the left turn lane and thought I was going to have to run it, since there were no cars to trigger the light in my lane, but image my surprise when I got a left turn signal. Here I am in Johnston county and they have their sensors setup to know when a bike is waiting. Wake up Wake county, you are supposed to be pushing for less pollution and bike lanes, adjust your lights already. When I went to college in Gainesville, Fl my junior year the changed the lights to be more sensitive for bikers, and here we are 20 years later and we can't do that here? Anyway it was a pleasant surprise and made the cold ride feel much better :-)
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Run for the oaks 5k
Good news and bad news...
I got a new PR! but didn't come close to my goal time...
Old PR was at 2nd empire in 2006 26:06, my time at this race 25:48 so I beat it by 18 seconds. I really wanted to break 25 minutes, but a number of things I have been dealing with the last two weeks are probably to blame...
anyway
prerace, woke up, felt fine, warmed up a little in the shower and stretched out and put some cream on the ankle so it wouldn't be a factor, and it wasn't, ate my normal prerace breakfast of grapenuts and raisins, relaxed a bit and headed out early. Made it to the race site and got a situated before starting the warmup. I started my warmup jog at 8, ran up the start of the race course to Krispy Kream, then turned around and did a job/strides on the way back to get my body ready for the race. I was a little sluggish on the warmup, but everything felt ok.
race start. I started off near the front so I didn't have too many people to get around and was trying to hold back per Coach's advise, got to Krispy Kream, about .5 miles and my watch said I was on 8:10 pace so I was right on, but then the course started downhill and when I got to the 1 mile split I was at 8:04, still feeling good, but not as confident as I should. the first half of mile two was great, downhill, but then we did a turn around and headed back up. Went by the water table and there was no water, they were a little behind in setting the water on the table, I really just wanted to splash one over my head, but none available, so just kept going. Right after the two mile split, which was 16:30 I knew 25 was out of reach and I saw one guy throwing up on the side walk so I backed off just a bit so as not to end up like him. If I wasn't going to make 25, it wasn't worth it. The road back just kept going up hill, mile 3 wasn't as bad as the second half of mile two as we were back to downtown and the roads were more level with some short ups and downs, then when we finally hit mile 3 and the home stretch, it was all downhill and I was able to fly in at 7 min/mile pace, it felt really good, wish there was a little more of that and a little less of that long climb. I think the old course is better since you get more breaks from the climbing, it's not all down, then all up. On the way to the race I told myself I would be happy even if I didn't break 25 as long as I gave it all I had. I don't think I did that, since I backed off at the 2 mile mark, up to that point I was giving it everything and was still at 16:32 so realistically I don't think the 25:30 I could have gotten if I kept up the faster pace would have been worth it for me and I really need to get my body back to feeling like it should so backing off was probably the right decision. It was nice to have some left for the finish and it felt good to run that fast at that time, so I do have some hope to breaking that 25 but it will have to wait :-)
I got a new PR! but didn't come close to my goal time...
Old PR was at 2nd empire in 2006 26:06, my time at this race 25:48 so I beat it by 18 seconds. I really wanted to break 25 minutes, but a number of things I have been dealing with the last two weeks are probably to blame...
anyway
prerace, woke up, felt fine, warmed up a little in the shower and stretched out and put some cream on the ankle so it wouldn't be a factor, and it wasn't, ate my normal prerace breakfast of grapenuts and raisins, relaxed a bit and headed out early. Made it to the race site and got a situated before starting the warmup. I started my warmup jog at 8, ran up the start of the race course to Krispy Kream, then turned around and did a job/strides on the way back to get my body ready for the race. I was a little sluggish on the warmup, but everything felt ok.
race start. I started off near the front so I didn't have too many people to get around and was trying to hold back per Coach's advise, got to Krispy Kream, about .5 miles and my watch said I was on 8:10 pace so I was right on, but then the course started downhill and when I got to the 1 mile split I was at 8:04, still feeling good, but not as confident as I should. the first half of mile two was great, downhill, but then we did a turn around and headed back up. Went by the water table and there was no water, they were a little behind in setting the water on the table, I really just wanted to splash one over my head, but none available, so just kept going. Right after the two mile split, which was 16:30 I knew 25 was out of reach and I saw one guy throwing up on the side walk so I backed off just a bit so as not to end up like him. If I wasn't going to make 25, it wasn't worth it. The road back just kept going up hill, mile 3 wasn't as bad as the second half of mile two as we were back to downtown and the roads were more level with some short ups and downs, then when we finally hit mile 3 and the home stretch, it was all downhill and I was able to fly in at 7 min/mile pace, it felt really good, wish there was a little more of that and a little less of that long climb. I think the old course is better since you get more breaks from the climbing, it's not all down, then all up. On the way to the race I told myself I would be happy even if I didn't break 25 as long as I gave it all I had. I don't think I did that, since I backed off at the 2 mile mark, up to that point I was giving it everything and was still at 16:32 so realistically I don't think the 25:30 I could have gotten if I kept up the faster pace would have been worth it for me and I really need to get my body back to feeling like it should so backing off was probably the right decision. It was nice to have some left for the finish and it felt good to run that fast at that time, so I do have some hope to breaking that 25 but it will have to wait :-)
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