12-15 mph makes for a fun day

This past Saturday, I finally took the bike of the trainer and hit the road. It seems like its quite a few weeks later than last year. I decided to head out on my normal route. That route (according to the new cycle computer) turns out to be 47 miles and some change.

I felt great heading out. I was averaging 20+ mph. I was feeling good about all the indoor trainer work I had down as well. That is.. until I turned around. I was hit with a 12- 15 mph wind straight into my face. No wonder the ride out was 'easy'.

I made it out in 1 hour and 15 minutes, but it tool me 1 hour and 30 minutes+ to get back. That headwind was as brutal as I can recall during any outdoor rides. What was supposed to be a nice, get out ride, turned out to be very tiring endeavor. I was feeling it as well.

I probably should have known better. Just like running indoors on the treadmill, its nothing at all like running out of doors. I guess I thought the trainer would be different. Its good that I got out though. Now I know I have more work to do....

Peace

Race photo's are in

It has been one week since the end of the Great Western Trail 1/2 marathon. The Race photos are starting to come in. This is a shot on the left was taken at about the 5.5 mile mark. Thanks for the great shot J!

So how did I feel after the race?

Recovery went pretty smoothly. Sunday itself was a wash, despite walking an extra 4 miles in a parade that afternoon. I did have a wicked headache, but it was gone by Monday morning. Monday was a complete rest day. Tuesday I was back at it with a "Cardio Challenge" at work. A 1 mile sprint (5:57), 1500 meter row(6:12), 50 floor stair climb (6:30), and an 8 mile ride (11:35). So I must have been feeling good. Ahhh no.. I was wiped out, big time, afterward. Wednesday and Friday were off days again. I did attend a spin class on Thursday, but was not able to go as hard as usually.



All told, it was a good experience. We will see how it translates when the Spirit of Race 1/2 Ironman comes along. Finishing that race is a goal of course. I have to come up with a concrete goal for the race. I do not think its safe to believe I can hold a 7:39 pace for a 1/2 marathon after a 1.2 mile swim and a 56mile bike ride.

The interesting part of that Spirit of Racine race, is that 14 days later I will be participating in the Copperman sprint triathlon. The Copperman is quite likely to be a "just for fun" race. It complete depends on how fast I recover from the 1/2 ironman.

The photo at right, was taken at the finish line. Not a bad shot. It seems most finish line shots with me in it are dreadful. This shot also has a good view of the Team World Vision race shirt.

Now, its back to the training. More on that in the next post...

Great Westeran Trail (completed)

Today was the Great Western Trail 1/2 marathon. This was not only my first 1/2 marathon, but actually my first run-only race ..ever.. My goal was to finish in under 2 hours. So how did it go?

Awesome. I finished with a time of 1:40:19. That far exceeded not only my expectations, but even what I thought I had in me. 1:40:19 ends up being a 7min 39sec pace per mile. This morning, before the race, I was hoping for about an 8min 30 sec per mile.

1 hr, 40 minutes, and 19 seconds was good enough for:

• 20th in my age group (35-39) out of 66 runners
• 94th overall for male runners out of 327
• 109 overall out of 662 race participants

I am personally very pleased, and the post race cramps, stiffness, headaches.. well that just comes with the territory. As stated on my blog's welcome page and my sponsorship page, I'm not doing this for me. I am doing if for the children and families of a community in Ethiopia in called Quacha Birra. Today, I feel pretty good, that I helped to make a small difference.

Peace

p.s.
I'll post some race pictures in a day or so. Also, a big update on "Destination ??????", the paperwork has been sent, and the destination is known. More to come.

Alas poor "sleep", I knew you well

It is not the most positive news, three days before the 1/2 marathon, and I am dog tired. I've allowed myself to be spread to thin, and the result is a noticeable lack of sleep. With a busy Friday and Saturday, I am not sure where I am going to catch any extra Zzzzz's

I may need to put a Coffee IV into my arm soon, or else I could be running on fumes on Sunday. Maybe there is still time to turn it around.

Inspirational Song for the Day:
"We Remember" from Jeremy Camp's album, "Beyond Measure (Special Edition)"

We worship you, Lord in the splendor of your holiness
In the beauty of your righteousness, holy, holy
We offer you thanks, for the endless love you have displayed
For the sacrifice you freely gave, worthy, worthy

[chorus] You are holy, precious lamb of God
Forever you will reign, forever you will reign
King of glory, risen son of God
Forever you will reign, forever you will reign

Father of light, your radiance and majesty
Set your son to set the captive free, holy, holy
Infinite love on the cross, you saved us from our sins
Conquered death and returned again, worthy, worthy

[chorus]

We remember, we remember the cross
...

[chorus]

New Swim drills

I just read a new article from D3multisport.com. They put out a nice Tri newsletter every so often. This most recent article has a segment on swim drills. It included the standard:

• catch up drill
• closed fist drill
• finger-tip drag drill
• single arm drill

But it included a couple that I have not heard of that sound quite good. They brought up the:

• three/six drill
• sculling

For all of you out there looking to make improvements in your stroke, you might want to check it out. You can find "The Extra Mile" article from D3multisport.com at this link.

4 Days and counting

As I look to the counter on the right hand side of this blog, I am reminded that I've got just short of 4 days until my first ever, running race. While I have been jogging and running on my own for years, I've never entered or competed in a running even.

So why start small with a 5k? Lets go for one of the big dogs, a 1/2 marathon. 13.1 miles. I think I'm ready. Certainly ready as I'll ever be. Most of my long runs over the past two months are already in the 12 to 13 mile range. So finishing is not an issue, its just trying to finish in under 2 hours.

2 hours or less, that's the goal. I can hold a 6 min/mile pace for 1 mile. In last years Accenture Chicago Triathlon, I held a 7:46 min/mile pace for the 10k. But holding those paces for a full 13.1 miles is a completely different story. To achieve a sub 2 hour 1/2 marathon, I need to essentially hold a 9 min/mile pace.

As I'm tapering this week and stuffing myself with pasta, we'll see how well the preparation pays off. The 3 weeks of vacation layoff, and the post vacation haze is finally worn off. Hopefully its impact will be minimal.

If you're the praying kind, say a prayer for me. After all, its not for me that I'm running. Its for the Kids (see my "Welcome Message" for more info)

Peace

Pool time trial, times two

Its been a bit slow going in the pool. I have no excuses except being lazy. I finally hit the pool yesterday. It was time for a time trial, and I needed to get some solid distance as well. So I sorta went off the deep end (ha ha..)

I warmed up for 400 yards, then I did my 1st 1000 yard time trial. Next, I did 400 yards of mild recovery speed drills, then I did a 2nd 1000 yard time trial. Finally I had 200 yards of cool down (though I was sort feeling a bit ill at that point). All told, it was 3000 yards (about 1.7 miles).

The first 1000, I finished in 17 minutes and 13s, for an average of 1m 43s per/100 yards
The second 1000, I finished in 18minutes and 37s, for an average of 1m 51s per/100yards

Not to bad for having about 6 weeks since the last time I was in the pool. That last time, I swam a 1m 42s average per/100 for the 1000 yards. I am not the fastest swimmer, and I certainly do not have the good form, but it gets the job down. And in race conditions, I can get that 100 yard time to just a little under 1m 30s. Although, that's only for a short race.

Peace

A Day "Beyond Measure"

After last weeks terrible "long run" I was not sure what to expect this week. The strength training was tough as usual, and the time trials were a bit of a surprise. As I gear up for tomorrow's "long run", I decided to go out for a "Bluebird Trail" run. Its a 5.24 mile circuit near work.

The weather was awesome (maybe mid 40's), the sun was rising, no real wind to speak off. Perfect, at least for me, running weather. After I warmed up, it was beautiful. On top of that I felt great. I believe I was running at a race pace, so it was not an easy run. As I finished the 5.24 miles and checked my watch I came in at a hair over 40 minutes. That comes out a speedy 7 min 38sec mile pace. Even faster than my best recorded 10k speed.

I felt so good, as some of my favorite songs played just as I hit the 1 mile to go mark, I darn near sprinted all the way in. A Great feeling. On top of that during the cool down, I was further lifted up by a great song on the mp3 player.

Inspirational Song for the Day:
From the title track to Jeremy Camp's newest album, "Beyond Measure"

I know that I’ve been,
Given more than beyond measure,
I come alive when,
I see beyond my fears
I know that I’ve been given more than earthly treasure,
I come alive when
I’ve broken down and given you control

There are 15 days left prior to the Great Western Trail Half marathon. It may come as a surprise to those that know me, but this will be my first ever official running race. I've jogged for years, but never entered a race. Not a 5k, 10k, anything. Nothing like jumping right into the deep end eh!

Peace

Its Time trial time

Because of the long vacation I've somewhat gotten away from the 3 weeks build up, and testing on the 4th week. To get back on schedule, it decided this week would be time trial week. There were some difficult tests, the 12.75 mile run on Saturday really crushed me. Even still, the time trials showed improvements.

In the bike, I my average and peak HR were basically the same at 168 and 187 respectively. What really changed was the average speed, cadence, max speed and the distance. The previous time trial had an avg speed of 17.45 mph, a max of 19.86 mph, a cadence of 91 rpm, with a distance of 5.91. This time the average was 23.21 mph, a max of 24.67 mph, a cadence of 101 rpm, with a distance of 7.86.

For the run I went from a 173 AVG HR, 193 MAX HR to 174 AVG HR and 197 MAX HR. The distance remained about the same. Just about 3miles. I need to be careful about how I'm recording the distance on the run time trials, since I'm not sure if I included the build up period in the first ten minutes, or just the distance of the final 20 minutes.

Bottom line however, I've appeared to make some noticeable gains on the bike. All those body sculpt classes and the new weight training might be paying off. We'll see soon, since the first event of the year is coming up in just over 2 weeks. More on that in the coming days..

Peace

Hola!

It would be easy to say that I've lost 3 weeks of training as a result of our vacation. Although, the altitude in Cusco, Peru is 11,200 feet. If you factor in that the Inca ruins we were climbing around (with a extra 30 lbs on my back carrying our son) were anywhere from 8,000 to 13,000 feet above sea level, that high altitude hiking is a serious workout. Point being, while I did not run, bike, or swim in the past few weeks, I had some significant length strengthening experiences.

This is a picture of us climbing down a path as the Inca ruins at Pisac.

Back to reality now. It is just under 4 weeks until my first official event of the year. The Great Western Trail 1/2 marathon. This will be my first official 1/2 marathon race. That is to say, I've run 13.1 miles before, just never in a timed raced.

So its time to get back into it..

Peace!