I Won! (sorta...kinda)

This morning was the annual Jungle Jim's 5k Splash at Jungle Jim's Waterpark. It's a popular race because the water park opens for the runners after the race, so there's a lot of water sliding and lazy rivering.

I started out way too fast and had a 6:06 first mile, so I slowed it down a bit, knowing that I wouldn't be able to maintain that kind of pace. I gave it my all and ended up with a 19:55 finish - just 3 seconds off my PR from last Sunday.

When they posted the results, I found that I was 13th overall, and even though I had the second fastest time in my age group, the guy who was first received the Masters champion award which bumped me up to first. So I won....kinda.....sorta.

After lots of stretching I felt pretty good. And after a shower, an omelette, hash browns, bacon, and toast, I'm feeling much better!

I'm going to nap and prepare for a big training day tomorrow.

Damn Kids

Tonight was the regular Wednesday Night Intervals. The workout? 10-14 400's with 2 minutes passive recovery between each.

I was joined by regulars Liz and Doris...and three newcomers - all Rehoboth Beach lifeguards with an average age of about 20.

I started out ok, and stayed within 2 seconds of the youngin's, but during the 7th 400 I had difficulty breathing and got very light-headed when we stopped. I was out. It felt awful to see the others finishing the workout, while I stretched and cooled down, but my health is more important than finishing a workout at this point.

But then my coach told me that I ran those seven 400's about 10-12 seconds faster than the last time. Guess the kids helped push me faster.

Still....damn kids!

Morning Run

I woke up before the alarm this morning - a clear and not-yet-sunny 5:15am.

It was a perfect morning to run, and by the time I hit the boardwalk the sun was coming up. As I made my way toward North Shores, my right knee started hurting again - just like it did during Eagleman. I decided to be safe and walk/jogged it and eventually decided to cut the run down to 45 minutes instead my intended 90.

But the walking part gave me time to enjoy the scenery and I noticed small bungalows and gardens on the north side of town that I hadn't seen before. And it confirmed my notion that moving to Rehoboth Beach was the best idea Meyer and I have ever had.

So this morning's training didn't go so well. I move past it, and know that tonight's swim will be better.

12 Weeks

Lately it seems like I've only been posting after races, and I guess today is no different.

Last week I felt pretty good after Eagleman. My training was a little sluggish, though, until Saturday when I went running with Meyer. Yes, Meyer. After seeing Eagleman, Meyer decided to start running, so Friday night we went to the Rehoboth Beach Running Company to get him shoes and Saturday morning we went for a run. I was supposed to do a 10 minute warm-up, 5-mile test set, and 10-minute cool-down. My Garmin's batteries were low, so I wasn't going to be able to do the test set and record my mile splits or heart rate, so I decided to do the warm-up with Meyer (who did very well and went 2 miles) and the stepped it up for the next 5 (in the rain) and then the cool down (also in the rain.)

Today I ran the Father's Day 5k. I was feeling a little tight (not enough stretching after yesterday's run) but surprised myself. I held a great pace and ended up with a Personal Record, going under 20 minutes for the first time. 19:53 was good enough for 3rd place in my age group (the trophy is on my desk) and 18th overall (out of I'm guessing about 270).

I wrote a couple emails tonight to start assembling my moral support team for Ironman which is only - holy s#%@ - 12 weeks away!

Time to get crackin'!

Eagleman 70.3

PRE-RACE
All of the usual pre-race “administrative” stuff – packet pick-up, bike racking, scouting the course and transition entrances/exits, etc. was taken care of Saturday which made things much easier for Sunday morning. Meyer and I got to the race site around 5:30, and I got my transition area set up. I went for a short jog to wake up, warm-up, and clear my head. The clearing the head part didn’t work because it was then that my jitters started getting the best of me. My stomach was telling me it didn’t want to race.

SWIM
We had an in-water start, which I much prefer to a beach start. The pros went off at 6:40, followed by the 55+ men, 50+ women, and paratriathletes at 6:45. My wave was next at 7:00. My friend Russ was in the same wave, and just before we went into the water, I saw another old friend whom I hadn’t seen in about 5 years. There were about 200 or so men in my wave and I positioned myself so that I wouldn’t get caught up in the flailing arms and legs chaos that always goes on. But within the first 100 feet my stomach started screaming at me and I almost tossed it right in the water. Instead, I got psyched out and nearly hyperventilated. The only way to catch my breath was to roll over onto my back and backstroke. I never regained my composure in the water and spent nearly the entire 1.2 miles of the swim on my back. I slogged through it and finally reached T1.

BIKE
The bike started out completely opposite the swim. The sky was overcast and there was almost no wind, which made for a very good pace. Meyer and I had driven the course the day before so I knew what to expect. My only problem was that my stomach was still acting up and could only tolerate one bar and two gels during the entire 56 miles of cycling. I started passing a few of those people who’d passed me in the water, so I felt pretty good about that. I also started to learn to hate the “whooomp, whooomp, whooomp” sound of disc wheels coming from behind and passing me. (When I mentioned this to my friend Rick after the race, he said, “Yeah, but isn’t it great when you pass them?” Ummmmm yeah, Rick. Like that really happened to me.) About halfway through the bike, the wind decided to pick up and my speed dropped, but luckily so did everyone else’s. Right around mile 40 both of my knees and my right ankle began to hurt. With only 16 miles left, I figured I would just have to “get through it.” Which I did, finishing the bike in a respectable 3 hours (give or take a few minutes.)

RUN
The skies had cleared up and the sun was shining, so it was going to be a hot run. I started out fine, but the right knee pain flared up again – right away. So most of the run was done as a jog/walk – jog until the knees hurts too much, then walk until it doesn’t. It made for a much longer run time than I had planned on, but it was the best way to finish without causing serious damage. The run course was an out-and-back, so I was able to catch Rick, Patrick, and Russ on the way out and Jesse, Amy and Mary Beth on the way back. Somehow I missed Liz, Erik, and Tara. The highlight of the run was the front yard party (obviously the 20 or so spectators there had been partying since the race began) at mile 2 and 11. They had a big slip-n-slide that they were trying to get racer to do. And a few did, much to the drunken delight of the partiers. I passed on it, fearing that once I did it, I wouldn’t want to get back up. I kept up my jog/walk to the final turn and could hear the cheers of Meyer and all the other Tri-Delaware folks who’d finished before me. Crossing the finish line was a great feeling, even though I hadn’t finished in the time I’d wanted.

POST-RACE
My stomach slowly returned back to normal, and I was able to down some food. Surprisingly, the part of me that hurt the most was my sunburned skin (since my sunscreen was all either in the Choptank River or on the inside of my wetsuit and I didn’t take the time to reapply). After cheering in the remaining Tri-Delaware members, I collected my things from the transition area and we made the long drive home, which actually seemed pretty short for me since I slept most of the way.

This morning I woke up expecting to be sore and barely able to move. Much to my surprise, I wasn’t nearly as sore as I thought I’d be. Granted, I do feel a bit beat up, but not as much as I did the day after last November’s marathon. This time I can actually go down stairs facing forward!

Next up……Ironman!

Getting Ready

I just finished packing my stuff for Eagleman. I'm ready.

This week has been a little weird. After a couple great training sessions last weekend, I must not have stretched enough. I woke up Monday morning a little stiff in the neck and shoulders (4 hours in the aero position on the bike will do that to you.) And at work that morning, I turned my head to sneeze and felt a sudden sharp pain in my left trapezius. For three days I worked on it - ibuprofin, massage, sports cream, heating pad - and after having the tightness move up the neck, I finally was back to normal on Thursday. 30 minutes in the pool made me feel more comfortable.

Now I'm all set. Meyer and I leave for Cambridge tomorrow morning for all of the pre-race things: packet pick-up, pre-race meeting, bike racking, driving the course, hotel check-in, and dinner with the Rehoboth triathlon gang.

Two-Week Recap

I haven't posted in two weeks so here's the down and dirty:

After the Masser 5-Miler I had a rather sluggish week. I'm not sure if it was lack of sleep or what, but I woke up feeling "not right" and that continued through the day...for several days.

Then Meyer and I headed to Miami for the World Spinning and Sports Conference - three days of sessions and rides with Spinning Master Instructors and other instructors from around the world. I was able to get a few good rides in, but there was no lap pool available and running didn't happen either.

This past week has been better. I've been doing my swimming and this weekend I had a great ride - to Seaford and back totaling 70 miles in 4 hours - and a great run this morning: 13 miles with Bruce, a fellow runner, at about an 8:20 pace. I had a little bit of knee trouble towards the end, but quickly walked it off and I feel fine now.

Now there's one week left until Eagleman. The weather forecast for race day has changed from 70s and scattered thunderstorms to partly cloudy and low 80s so who knows what it is going to be like next Sunday.

Masser 5-Miler

Another Sunday in Rehoboth = another race.

Yesterday was the annual Masser 5-Miler, one of the more popular races in the Seashore Striders series because in order to complete the series, you have to run one of the two 5-mile races (in addition to running a number of their 5k's). Since the other 5-miler is always the last weekend in July - one of the hottest of the year - a lot of people do the Masser.

I felt ok before the race, although it seemed like the air was a little heavy. When everyone lined up to start I placed myself in the middle of the pack which was a mistake. When the gun went off I spent the first 1/8 of a mile or so trying to get around runners in front of me. I finally got free and settled into a pace, which was - as usual - too fast. My first mile was 6:35. I would have loved to keep that pace for the entire race, but my legs just wouldn't go. I kept it steady and finished in 34 minutes, 30 seconds - good enough for 33rd place overall (our of 224 runners) and 10th in my age group. And for the second week in a row, I achieved a personal best - beating my 5-miler time from last year by nearly 3 minutes.

Now the training push continues for Eagleman on June 14. No races between now and then, so all of my energy will be focused on that.

Sometimes Stupidity Pays Off

Today was the running of the Delaware Half-Marathon, and I was all set to compete in it until last Thursday. That's when I realized that I hadn't registered for it. I looked online and saw that the race was full and registration was closed. Ugh!

I figured I could just go out and run 13 miles at race pace, but after talking with my coach, I decided to run a 5k race, with a 1-mile warm up and 3-mile cool down as my Sunday workout.

So this morning, in a steady drizzle, I joined about 100 other runners and walkers in the first Diamondback Dash to help raise money and awareness to help protect the Diamondback Terrapin, which lives in the area and around this time of year tries to cross the very busy Route 1 to lay eggs.

I positioned myself right at the front for the start and after about the first quarter mile, I was surprised to find myself in 3rd place. I went out a little too fast on the first mile (6 minutes, 19 seconds) and as I slowed down a bit, a couple other runners caught me. I held my place through the rest of the race, covering each of the 2nd and 3rd miles in 6 minutes, 40 seconds. I poured it on at the end and finished with a time of 20:12 - 6th place overall and 3rd in my age group.

This is the first time I've placed in the top 3 in my age group and is a personal best time for me for a 5k (at least since high school, but who remembers back that far?).

My coach noted in my training program that the next 12 days are going to be very tough and I need to get all the sleep I can get. I think I'll start now with a well-earned nap.

Pool Time

I got in the pool twice so far this week...which is more than any week of the past month or so.

My coach had been wanting to do another session with me in the pool, so we scheduled it for this afternoon. I got in for 30 minutes or so yesterday just to make sure I wouldn't completely embarrass myself today.

Much to my surprise, my form has improved since our last session two months ago. How'd that happen? Honestly, I don't think I've been in the water enough to make any improvements, but it felt better and Kevin said it looked better too.

He gave me more drills to do and stressed the importance of hitting the pool as often as possible, stetching, and reducing tension in my shoulders and my neck. Guess it's time to start getting regular massages again. Yipee!

So I'll be in the pool again tomorrow, along with doing a 90-minute bike ride and teaching a cardio/core circuit class at the Y. Looks like it'll be another full day!

Chugging Along

Once again, I've let a couple weeks go by without a post.

Last week I was in Orlando for a YMCA conference. The conference was great, but the lap pool at the hotel was always crowded and the temperatures were in the mid 90's so it was difficult to get any kind of training in.

Sunday I went for a 3 1/2-hour bike ride (60 miles) followed by a 40-minute run (only got in about 4 miles). I did a simple out-and-back for the ride. I had a headwind on the first 30 miles so I only averaged about 15.4 mph. On the way back, I averaged over 20 mph. It felt really good, although I had to take a nap afterwards.

Tonight, being Wednesday, was another speed work night. The workout was 8 half-mile repeats, with 2 minutes recovery between each. The idea is do the first one at a moderate pace and decrease the time on each one, with the last one being the fastest. I did well, and my 6th was actually my fastest - 2 minutes, 54 seconds.

My left calf has been a little tight, even with lots of stretching, but we'll just see how that goes.

Picture from Nationals

I know it's a huge racket, since the photographers charge a ridiculous amount for each photo, but I bought it anyway.

Wednesday Night Intervals

It's Wednesday, and that means it's time for running intervals.

Tonight's workout was 1/4-mile repeats with 90 seconds recovery in between each. We did a total of 10. Tonight it was just the women (4 of them) and I. My best time was on the 8th one - 1 minute, 20 seconds. I wanted to beat it on the 9th and/or 10th, but my heart rate skyrocketed and I couldn't get my breathing down, so I ended with a 1:27 and a 1:24.

Overall, it was a good session. And I followed it up with a long soak in the tub. Amen!

Morning Ride

What a beautiful morning!

I was up and on the bike by 5:30 this morning. It was a comfortable 64 degrees, although by the time I finished going to Ocean City and back (40 miles) it was already 73!

I rode at a steady pace and kept my cadence around 85-90. 250 calories from a Clif Bar and two water bottles later, I arrived home with my legs feeling good and my glutes feeling not as good.

All in all, a good ride on a beautiful morning.

Duathlon Times

The times got posted:

My 10k run was 46:04, or 7:25 per mile
My first transition was :45
My 38k bike was 1:20:31, or 17.6 mph
My second transition was :52
My 5k run was (and see below for an explanation of why this number is so bad) 29:49, or 9:36 per mile.
Total time: 2:38:01