Running Into Life

Walt Disney World Marathon 2012

2012-01-26T17:06:00.000-08:00

As with the half marathon on the day before, Day 2 of the Goofy Challenge comes early with a wake-up call just before 3 a.m. As yesterday, I quickly get dressed, grab my stuff and head down to the bus in front of the hotel for the trip to the starting area. After arriving I look for some friends near the bag check tent, although today I was unable to find any of them. Today I check in at the information tent and use a time from a previous race to get myself moved up to Corral B so I can better get out ahead of the crowds at the start of the race, using the logic that if I stay ahead of as many people as I can then the lines for photos will be shorter.

With a bit of fanfare the race begins early in the morning. I start trying to keep a moderate pace without pushing too hard, and I mix in 2 minutes of walking with every 10 minutes of running. Our first destination today is Epcot as the race runs through the front of the park and then out a side service exit near the World Showcase.

After that we are on the road towards the Magic Kingdom. For me this seemed like the longest distance between any two parks for the day. However, there were a number of entertainment choices in terms of characters, school bands and cheerleaders out to support the runners today. The weather was a slight bit cool, but very comfortable for running, especially for long distance running today.
Just before arriving at the Magic Kingdom we are running past the Disney World Speedway, where you can drive a racing car (for a price). All I got to do today was pose by the cars!

Given that the Magic Kingdom is later in the race it is light out when I come through on this day. I take the opportunity to slow down in this park to take several photos on my way through--and even see my friend Jeff on the way down Main Street.
After running through the park, and especially the castle, we make our way back out through the same service entrance as we did yesterday. However, unlike yesterday, we are heading all the way to the Animal Kingdom park. This route takes us along a long back service road which includes a backstage storage area for the Magic Kingdom, as well as several more photo opportunities to pass the time.

As I run into the Animal Kingdom I have two competing thoughts going through my head, the first is hoping that I will be able to ride the Expedition Everest roller coaster that I also left the course for 2 years earlier, the second thought is the realization that I am entering the park about 5 minutes before its projected opening time. This is a big surprise to me as I had never considered that I could have gotten to this point this early in the morning! As luck has it I am allowed into the entry gate as I approach Expedition Everest and join up with 3 other runners as we ride on the first ride of the day.

After finishing the coaster ride, I am off to run through the rest of the Animal Kingdom and then back out along the roads towards the other long portion of the race that is out of the theme parks, pausing for one photo just outside of the Animal Kingdom parking lot that I just had to have, although I do have to wonder just why my daughters think this was my best photo.... In any case I take this photo somewhere around the 18 mile mark and after I get back up to run I realize that I am feeling good and am still having a great time. In fact, I have never felt this good on a run of this length...ever. As I am running along up ahead I have a chance conversation with another runner, who was dressed as Tinker Bell. She noticed my Ironman Texas visor and told me she had done the race as well. It turns out that I had come all the way to Florida to run this race and randomly meet up with someone who lives almost down the road from me that I did not previously know. Here are Erin and I in front of a mile marker. We ran virtually all of the rest of the race together just chatting along with each other, as well as other runners, and just generally enjoying the race. Having joined up with Erin, and her friend Jerry that she was pacing through his first marathon, it made the next miles go by so much faster with the good company. Fortunately they shared my goals of having a fun time and we all stopped at all the photo opportunities along the way.

As we turn into the Hollywood Studios park we know we are getting into the last few miles of the race. In the Studios park the photo opportunities are fairly numerous and and can be easier to get as some of the other runners are just trying to get through the race. They are also, obviously, themed towards the movies.
Leaving the park means that we are entering the home stretch of the marathon. This is also the toughest part of the race for several reasons: it can be starting to get warm (though this day is not a bad day), you are pretty tired around 23 miles into the race (I'm still doing pretty good), and the crowd of many now walking runners clogs a narrow course path (OK, this one is still true). This part of the course runs along the path that connects Hollywood Studios to Epcot, by way of the Boardwalk and Beach Club Resorts. This area is full of supportive cheering crowds offering support to the tiring runners. As we make our way into Epcot and around the World Showcase, we all know are race is coming to a close soon. Around the 25 mile mark I run into my one problem on race day, which is some minor hamstring cramping. After a moment of walking and self massage, I resume running slowly and just try to enjoy the rest of the race. As we come towards the front of Epcot and pass the mile 26 marker we are ready to close out the race. I let Erin and Jerry go on to the finish as I pause for one last "must-have" photo of the Gospel Choir near the race finish.

Having just about concluded the most fun race of my life, I officially make it to the finish with an easy run for the last couple hundred yards and claim my finisher medals for the marathon and the Goofy Challenge. I finish the race in 5:30:45, improving my marathon PR from 6:11:36 from November 2009. More importantly, I had a great race with tons of fun on a wonderful day. I certainly hope I am able to do the Goofy Challenge again some day.

I save my last bit of Goofy Challenge fun for when I arrive home by adding a new sticker to my car window to help me remember all of the fun.

New Year, Next Ironman

2012-01-22T17:50:00.000-08:00

Even though I am in the midst of several early season running events, I am also beginning training for my second go at Ironman Texas. With this changed perspective my early training is including a greater emphasis on running for several other events prior to IMTX. I really feel like I am entering into these early IMTX preparation sessions having a better overall fitness level than I did last year. In the last 3 weeks I have included long runs of 26.2 and 18.1 miles, my cycling is ahead of last year in terms of speed across a distance (today's ride averaged 19 mph over 48 miles) and my swim times and swim distances are also ahead of where I was last year at this time. Overall, I should be looking at solid improvement across my Ironman training and racing compared to last year.

One of the big question marks is how I respond to the Rocky Raccoon 50 mile event in 2 weeks--an event which I have wanted to do for a few years, but also an event which I can honestly say that is tough enough that there is no guarantee of success, especially considering I will be cautious enough to try to not ruin my IMTX race preparation with this event. Even so, I am looking forward to this effort to continue to broaden myself and see how far I can stretch my abilities.

Coming and Going (with photos) -Year 5

2012-01-20T14:27:00.001-08:00

Part 5 of a continuing series...(I had posted this a short time ago, but am having to remove and repost due to a technical issue.)

Last July, while I was continuing through my physical and mental recovery following Ironman Texas, I began a series of posts where I reviewed my fitness progress and achievements throughout each year since I made an effort to return to an active lifestyle after a long period of relative inactivity and weight gain. These posts can be found here, though you will have to scroll down to the bottom of the page and work your way up to follow the chronological order of the posts.

January brought some big changes to my life and training. First, I got under 200 lbs for the first time in over 10 years and maintained my sub-200 lb weight for first time in nearly 20 years. In addition, January brought an uptick in my training schedule as I began ramping up for Ironman Texas. My training ranged from schedules of roughly 9.5 to 15.5 hours as I began the mental and physical preparation for the Ironman. As February came along it seemed that 16+ hour training weeks were becoming normal for me. By this point a recovery week had close to 13 hours of training--a volume of training I might never have even had prior to the start of my Ironman training program. Looking back from my current point of view I wonder just how I stood up to adjusting to that schedule, but it is something that I did manage to handle. I expect most of that was having the mental attitude of planning to complete the journey I was on.

March brought some big training firsts, such as a personal long 112 mile bike ride for the first time. I also used some time to take a bit of a "break" by participating with a team in the Texas Independence Relay. The TIR is a 203.2 mile relay race from Gonzales, TX to the San Jacinto Monument. The course covers 203.2 miles in remembrance of the Texas fight for independence from Mexico in 1836. I used the term "break" partly in jest as I ran over 20 miles in 5 or 6 run segments during the 31-ish hours our team was running. I can be seen in the back of this photo with a few of my teammates as we stand in front of the San Jacinto monument.

April brought me the peak of my Ironman training as I covered over 554 miles of combined training. Ironically, I probably would have had even more training if not for racing early in the month. One of the unique features of the Kemah Olympic Triathlon is jumping off of a boat and swimming back to shore. I really thought this race was worth doing for this experience alone!

In the end, I had a good day at Kemah, even though I was a bit disappointed with my swim and bike times, each of which was more likely due to the windy conditions than due to any shortcoming on my part. I came away with my first PR of the year--over 12 minutes since last doing this distance the previous September. By the time I was done with the Kemah race, Ironman Texas was looming even larger on the schedule. Before the month ended I was hitting my longest week, with around 18.5 hours of training and doing my longest sessions of each discipline. I was also hitting the wall and beginning to burn out on training just as I was getting to the 3 week taper point before the race.

May brought with it the prime event of my year--Ironman Texas. I had a good start on the day of IMTX but that gave way to some problems late in the bike and on the run portions of the event that hampered my performance on that day. Even so, I persevered and made it to the finish. Even with those problems that I had on that day, it was still a great event for me and I was glad that I had done it. One of the most surprising things that happened to me during Ironman training was the loss of about 17-18 lbs, from the start of the year until race day.

My post IMTX rest continued into June, but by the end of the month I felt ready to get going again. Although I was not quite fully recovered I returned to triathlon by entering a relay with my friend, Karen, as she got her first taste of triathlon. We participated in the Mixed Relay Division of the Y Freedom Tri in Pearland, Texas. We each had a good day and scored a first place finish on our division. This was my first and only athletic award in my 5 years of being active, and while that felt good it felt better to share the experience with a good friend.

It was during these summer months where my training had wound down from the Ironman training levels that I experienced the mental growth that followed my physical loss. By that I mean that I still mentally envisioned myself as the much heavier version of myself from several years earlier. To be truthful, this was a hard thing to reconcile as I had been in the 250-270 lb range or more for a number of years before taking on an active lifestyle, and I suppose I had long been used to the idea of how I once looked and likely I mentally assumed that I would always look that way. To some degree, I am still surprised by my current image in photos and reflections as being "me". I guess I am still getting used to that image of myself, and am maybe not entirely convinced it will be permanent. As a matter of comparison let me share two photos taken almost 4 years apart on separate vacations to Disneyworld. One is from the early morning hours of January 1, 2008, where my daughters and I stayed until the park's 4 a.m. closing and the other is one of my photos from the Disneyworld marathon just a few days ago. The difference in weight in these two photos is probably about 85 lbs (I almost can't believe I am actually posting the older photo online! However, if my posting helps convince just one person that they can go from looking like I did to being able to reclaim a healthy and active lifestyle, then posting this is worth it.).

In August I was back at triathlon fully as I did the Bridgeland Sprint Tri for the second straight year. I think it may have actually somehow been hotter than the previous year but I was much better prepared this time around. My final time for this race was 1:27:00, beating out last year's time of 1:34:14 by over 7 minutes, even with the run lengthened by 0.15 miles. It may have been the first time that I ran every step of the run part of any triathlon and it definitely was the first time that I finished in the upper half of my age group in any running or triathlon event, something that I am happy to say that I continued for the remainder of the year.
In September I ran the Houston Olympic Distance Triathlon. This time I was on a specific mission for my first sub-3 hour finish at this distance. Even though the day was warmer than expected, I set out to beat my goal time. I followed my plan and though I had some issues (worse than expected swim, better than expected bike) I came through in a time of 2:58:12 to meet my goal.

As October rolled through I was well into preparation for my early November half iron distance triathlon at Oilman, but I took a break for a fun sprint tri with a few friends to do the first year Oktoberfest Tri in Fulshear, Texas. I went there to have fun, and ended up having a great race. I finished 9th in my age group and 22nd overall while doing this fun, local event with several friends from my tri group, OutRival Racing. To finish up my racing in October, I did a local 10 miler called the Ten for Texas. This is a generally well run event (though I had my issues with it this year) that I seem to manage to only be able to run every other year for various reasons. I was looking to run under 1:40 this year, which would have dropped over 15 minutes off my PR off this distance. Since running a time of 1:40 would equate to a 10 minute per mile average pace, I set out to start at a pace of 9 minutes per mile and expected to have some extra time in reserve as I slowed down. As it turned out I stayed close to the 9 minute average pace and with a fast 10th mile I finished in 1:29:50, well faster than my own expectations on this day.

In November I started with my second most important event of the year for me, the Oilman Half Iron Distance race. I came into this race trained, rested and ready to go. I was looking to put as much distance as I could between this year's finishing time and last year's finishing time of 7:07:43. I improved in each area from last year, including both transition times. I had some cramping issues late in the run and had to walk much more than I planned in the final loop of the 3 loop run, however, this year's time was still 6:21:22.5, 46:20.7 ahead of last year's finishing time of 7:07:43.2.

Finally, to close out my racing year, I ran the Run The Woodlands 5K on Thanksgiving weekend. I ran this race last year on Thanksgiving weekend and set a new PR of 27:05. Given all the training I've done this year I figured a new PR was close to a sure thing today.

My goal was to get under 25 minutes and possibly even under 24 minutes with my finishing time. I ran hard and steady, trying to run as hard as I could maintain without faltering over the distance.I found my time to be quite a surprise as I would not have anticipated that I would have been able to run a 22:43 5K, but I did it. This is a time that takes me back to my 20's in terms of speed, though I have far more endurance training now than I ever did then.

In the end I can only say that this was a fabulous year for me. I successfully completed new events, most notably the Ironman, and reached a lot of self-improvement milestones along the way. In addition, I redefined my sense of who I was and I got to know a lot of great friends along the way. I also managed to maintain my early year weight loss and build on it so that I finished the year just under 180 lbs (even with some weight gain during Thanksgiving and Christmas) for a weight loss of almost 24 lbs on the year. Also notable for the year was that I gained a new PR in every event I did this past year. My only regret for 2011 was that it had to end, since it seemed that I hopped from one success to the next.

Walt Disney World Half Marathon 2012

2012-01-14T19:40:00.000-08:00

The Walt Disney World Half Marathon is the first half of the Goofy Challenge, with the second half being the Walt Disney World Marathon on the following day.

The day of the half marathon starts with an alarm just before 3:00 a.m. I quickly get dressed, grab my stuff and head down to the bus in front of the hotel for the trip to the starting area. The advantage of staying at a Disney hotel is that they will bus you from the hotel to the starting area. After arriving I look for some friends near the bag check tent. Although I am unable to find any of them, my friend Corinna sees me and we head to the starting corrals together, where we come across a couple other friends. From the left, that's Debra, Diane and Corinna in the photo with me. I position myself at the front of my starting corral as we get close to the race start so as not to get caught up with all the other runners. The race starts with a bit of fireworks and celebratory fanfare with the race mascot, Donald Duck, and then we are off.
The weather was cool this early morning, but good for running. Given the early 5:30 a.m. start of the first wave it was going to be dark for a good part of this race. After several miles we approached the vehicle entry going towards the Magic Kingdom. Coming up to the Magic Kingdom brought us to the best part of the race--running through the parks! We were able to run down a dark, but crowded Main Street with lots of cheering spectators urging the runners along. After clearing Main Street, we were able to run through much of the park, including Tomorrowland, Fantasyland and Adventureland. During these areas there were numerous other photo opportunities as well. Finally, we exited the Magic Kingdom through a rear service exit and took a company road to head back towards Epcot. Along this road we traveled through some back areas and then alongside some of the resort hotels before making it back to the regular roadway system. Along that route we came across several other photo chances including these here.
As we head along the road back to towards Epcot I can see daylight arriving in the distance. During this run along the roads back towards Epcot there were a variety of entertainment options including characters, scenery and music. Here I am posing with the not often scene character Scrooge McDuck. Finally, we're getting back to Epcot for the last part of the race, which includes a short out and back through the park with an eventual exit through a side service exit and the finish line just after that. During this last bit I manage to get one last stop for a character photo before I make my final run towards the finish. At this point I probably have a bit more than a half mile left and realize that a PR is still possible for me and I stretch my legs out for a good finish. As it turned out my math was off a bit and that was a bit unnecessary as I finished with a time of 2:24:01, a PR of 2:44 from the Run Wild Half in February 2010.

Later that afternoon I met some friends for Dole Whips at the Magic Kingdom
and then later on I meet some more for ice cream at Beaches and Cream at the Yacht and Beach Club Resort before meeting up with my family for some time in the theme parks before heading back to the hotel room to prepare for the marathon the next day.

Goals for 2012

2012-01-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

Coming up with goals for 2012 has been a bit of a challenge for me, at least in terms of finding that appropriate balance that goes beyond simple training. The items that follow are my attempt to ensure that my athletic life does not completely overrun my regular life while I also continue to seek improving myself towards reaching my full potential.

1. Complete the Disney Goofy Challenge in a manner that follows through with my goal for having a fun time during the event rather than having a speed goal for the event.

2. Complete my longest run event in February, the Rocky Raccoon 50 miler.

3. Set new PR's in at least 6 different events/race distances. My intended races include 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, 50 mile, multiple sprint triathlon distances, half Ironman (70.3) and Ironman distances. If I had to pick one goal for my primary time-based goal this year, it would be to finish the 70.3 mile half iron distance in under 6 hours. That would be an improvement of over 21 minutes from last November's Oilman Triathlon time.

4. Work on improving my weaknesses. When I look back at my relative position finishes in triathlons, my weakest finish relative to the competition is typically the run. Therefore, I am going to include some effort to improve my running throughout the year. Some of my other training weaknesses that I also plan to spend more time improving are strength and flexibility training.

5. Participate in at least 10 events throughout the year, with at least 4 being running events and at least 4 being triathlon events.

6. Keep my life open to other possibilities that might add to my overall well-being.

2011 in Review

2011-12-31T18:07:00.000-08:00

Now that 2011 is wrapped up, I want to take a bit of time to look over the year and see how I did in my training and racing.

In 2010, I ran 626.2 miles, biked 2060.8 miles and swam 69.5 miles for the year (a total of 2756.6 miles). In addition, I logged a total of 20540 minutes of training activities for the year. This was certainly a surprising figure for me and represented a lot more training than that which I had been used to doing. I knew that my goals for 2011 would require an increase, but I had no idea just how much that would be!

In 2011, I logged an amazing 30,265 minutes of training (over 21 full days!). During this time I logged 2,425.39 bike only miles, 948.79 run only miles and 161.42 swim only miles. In addition to these, I had 86.83 miles of brick workouts logged (a combination of 2 training disciplines back to back) and 206.84 triathlon miles (swim, bike and run) logged. This represents a total of 3,829.27 miles. All of these were significant increases from the previous year.

For this I will merely say, "Wow!" one more time.

All of this training does come at a serious personal cost in terms of lost opportunity to do other things with my time. However, this training did come with other significant benefits. One of these is that I entered at least 10 races where I can take measure of myself. In each case, I saw a PR where I had previously done that distance. In all the other races, I set a pace that was above a level compared to paces of previous years. Another of the benefits is that I spent a lot of time training with friends--I made a lot of new friends and got to know some previous friends even better. I spent a lot of time training together with these people and a lot more talking over food and drink after workouts as well. I found this social time to be valuable to keeping a positive mental state in all of these experiences. I also saw a corresponding in increase in my health. My test results from a late year physical exam were very good and I saw a decrease in my weight from 202.8 lbs to 179.2 lbs from January 1 to December 31 over the year. As a matter of comparison, I the last time I was 180 lbs before this year was probably in the late 1980's when I was in the Marines. Along with this, I've dropped from wearing 33 inch waist size pants to 30/31 inch waist size pants. Finally, all of these, plus the fact that I finally mentally accepted the entirety of the race schedule of my year (i.e. primarily completing Ironman Texas) had the combined effect of giving me an enormous boost of self confidence. At the beginning of the year I never quite accepted that I belonged in the same group with most of my teammates in my training group. The truth is that I came to realize later that this was really just in my head and I lacked the self-confidence to accept that I was a "real" athlete alongside these other athletes.

Of all the changes I went through this past year, I would have to say the mental growth and realization of who I really was that was hiding behind my poor mental self image was the most important growth that I experienced this year, and I suspect that it will be the most important and long lasting of these changes. A few years ago I got into triathlon thinking it would be fun and would help me overall with my training and weight loss. Little did I know that it would become a springboard to change my life for the better in so many ways.

2011 Personal Training Goals vs. Reality

2011-12-22T21:52:00.000-08:00

Instead of setting a litany of race-based goals at the start of 2011, I attempted to set goals that included a sense of overall balance with my annual priorities. Looking back over these goals I found that I had largely forgotten about them in the process of pursuing them. Let's look back and see how I did.

1. Get to the starting line of Ironman Texas trained and ready to race.
From a competitive perspective my Ironman Texas effort fell a bit short of race day hopes, but looking back I need to remember that I was taking on a task that was so far ahead of anything I had done previously that one of my chief concerns was even making it through the training process healthy. Generally speaking, I had a good training sequence leading up to the race and got to the IMTX start healthy, trained and ready to race.

2. Spend more time with my wife.
This one sounds so easy and yet can be so difficult to quantify. My wife and I share a number of interests, however the physical events of triathlon are not among them. Even so, I think I was able to keep enough room in my life for my wife while maintaining my training. I don't know that the distractions of work, training and life in general will ever really allow me to spend as much time with my wife as I might wish, but I will try to keep this in mind going forward into 2012.

3. Find a better balance between training, work and family.
I think the answer to #2 also pretty much applies to #3 as well..

4. Training and Race Goals.

IMTX - (Finish the race in the official 17 hour time window.) Even with my IMTX day falling short of race day expectations, I still met this goal.
Half Marathon - I had hoped to do a half marathon in fall and finish in the 2:00 to 2:15 range, however I did not do a half marathon this year.
5K - (25 minutes was my 2011 goal as set back then.) Never would I have expected That I would run a sub 23 minute 5K back then. Heck, I did not even think it was possible the day before I did it! That week before my friend Karen was challenging me to run under 24 minutes, and I thought even that time was questionable.

Overall, I think it is pretty safe to conclude that I had a successful year with respect to my goals. Beyond that I have to say that I feel the year was also wildly successful for a few additional reasons. First, I did quite a few races last year, sometimes doing the same distance more than once during the year. In each case, in each and every race that I did, I set a new race PR for that race distance. The totality of being able to race well and to continue to advance my fitness that much is something in which I take a good deal of pride. Second, I have been through a complete paradigm shift in my expectations. In terms of endurance and speed, in terms of strength and overall fitness, and in all other terms I can realistically apply, my views of what are possible have changed well beyond where they were a year ago. In response to these changes I am having to relearn what expectations I should have for myself. I also had to recognize that these changes included the physical as well as the mental. During the year I dropped sizes in clothing and had to adapt to changes in my physical appearance. It is even fair to say that I have had trouble recognizing my own reflection at times due to these changes. Finally, I learned during the year there were those who had seen what I had accomplished over recent years and thought of me as an inspiring example. I found that to be quite humbling then, and still do. However it does give me an additional incentive to live up to the example I have tried to set for my family, and apparently, the example being taken by a few others around me as I head into 2012.

147 days until Ironman Texas....

Merry Christmas to you all!

Counting....

2011-12-17T15:33:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy with the effects of the Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year's holidays compressing my work schedule over the last few weeks that I have not really had much time to even think about my blog for too long. This coming Monday will mark my effective end of the business year from the standpoint of major deadlines and I finally am starting to have time to think over my past year and look forward to my next year....

Speaking of next year, let's see what is already on the schedule for me (my apologies to Kelley who doesn't want to be reminded of how fast IMTX is coming up):

Leaving for my Disney trip next January, 18 days
Disney Half Marathon, 21 days
Disney Marathon, 22 days
Rocky Raccoon 50, 49 days
The Woodlands Marathon, 77 days
Texas Independence Relay (March 31- April 1), 105 days
OR
Ironman 70.3 Galveston (April 1), 106 days
CB&I Triathlon, 140 days
Ironman Texas, 154 days

After that will come some real, well-earned rest before I pick up doing whatever I feel like doing at the time.

Escape from Huntsville 20K

2011-12-03T18:06:00.000-08:00

Today I took a step back towards my running roots and did the Escape from Huntsville 20K today in Huntsville, Texas.

I did not really "race" this event today as it was part of a planned training weekend, enabling me to regain some familiarity with trail running--and I will say there are a lot more ups, downs and roots sticking up than I remember from a few years ago! I ran this at a quick endurance pace without letting my heart rate get above the aerobic endurance training zone (upper zone 2 of 4 heart rate training zones).

I had a lot of fun and enjoyed this run and it brought back some memories of why I loved trail running so much. I really enjoyed the scenery and the variety that trail running brings, plus I had forgotten how much of the time you feel alone in the woods, even though others are not far away.

I finished in 2:14:01, easily my fastest trail run pace. I suppose this is technically a PR as it is also my first 20K distance for any type of run.

A Bit of Inspiration

2011-12-02T19:57:00.000-08:00

Looking for a bit of inspiration?

Check out this article on the Ironman website about a friend and fellow member of OutRival Racing. In November Chris Gause became the oldest woman to ever finish Ironman Florida (in any year) and I have also been told is the oldest female finisher of any full Ironman race in the continental U.S.

You might be thinking that an athlete of this distinction has a lifetime of athleticism behind her. However, that's not true as she really began her training and racing in 2005.

Way to go, Chris!

Thanksgiving Weekend and 5K

2011-11-26T18:46:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving for us generally means having a lot of family around and this year was no different. We rented a lakeside condo and had 18 of us together for the holiday. It was very nice to have so many us together for this time.

However, I also took time this weekend to run a small local race. Just as I did last year I ran the small local Run The Woodlands 5K. It is a small, no frills, local race that costs $1 and features stopwatch timing and clipboard record-keeping of runner times.

Today turned out to feature cool weather with a steady light to moderate rain, which was quite out of places in this very dry year we have been having. In spite of that I was resolved to go out and give my best in search of a new 5K PR. I ran this race last year on Thanksgiving weekend and set a new PR of 27:05, given all the training I've done this year I figured a new PR was close to a sure thing today.

My goal was to get under 25 minutes and possibly even under 24 minutes with my finishing time. There's not a lot of detail to write about for this race which is a single loop 5K along bike paths in the local neighborhood. I ran hard and steady, trying to run as hard as I could maintain without faltering over the distance and saving just enough to have a finishing sprint. I was able to following this plan to success for the day and I was the 12th finisher of the 65 or so runners today. I found my time to be quite a surprise as I would not have anticipated that I would have been able to run a 22:43 5K, but I did it. In fact, as of thirteen hours later (as I write this) I still have trouble believing it--but I did do it! Who could have guessed this would be possible back on March 3, 2007, when I entered my first local running event with a 38:45 time in the Spring Fever 5K. Interesting is that, although I did not know anyone else there at the time, now when I read over the race results from that day I see so many friends included among those names.

With this finish I have to admit that I have come a long way and achieved one of my long sought-after goals. This time puts me back in the finishing range that I had for most of my time in the Marines many years ago (20 years out as of next month). In recognizing this I finally have come to understand that the last few years of feeling like I was haunted at times by the long-lost faster times of my youth have been misunderstood by me. Perhaps, all this time, those times were not sad reminders of lost youth, but foreshadowing of a bright future that just needed some dusting off and polishing before I could realize it.

I heard a song yesterday with some words that sum it up nicely for me (Life's a Happy Song from The Muppets):

Everything is great, everything is grand
I've got the whole wide world in the palm of my hand
Everything is perfect, it's falling into place
I can't seem to wipe this smile off my face

Also, I highly recommend the movie....go see it!

Off-Season "Training"

2011-11-13T17:22:00.000-08:00

Finally, I have reached a week of off-season non-training. What did I do this week? Let's see....

I spent more time in the hot tub than the swimming pool. I think I swam a total of 900 yards in 2 separate swim sessions of 450 yards, whose sole purpose was just to keep me loose and retain some semblance of muscle memory. I spent 10-15 minutes on a spin bike for the same reason on one day. Finally, I ran an easy 4.26 miles this morning and felt pretty good at that, I felt even better enjoying breakfast with friends afterward.

I also took some time to spend some extra quality time with my Golden Retriever, Coco, who has had to put up with less play time with me during some of my extra training periods. We hung at the Woodlands Waterway for awhile yesterday afternoon along part of the Ironman Texas run course.

Then this afternoon I had a 3 scoop waffle bowl sundae at Marble Slab Creamery to celebrate the end of my tri season. So maybe I did eat pretty freely this weekend, and maybe I did pack on a few pounds. I am no longer afraid of that anymore.

Up for me next week is easing back into some training and returning to a normal diet for me.

:-)

188 days until Ironman Texas.....

Oilman 2011

2011-11-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

Oilman Triathlon is the renamed version of the Iron Star Triathlon that I did last year, with a blog post here.

While packing for race day I watched the online feed of Ironman Florida, as well as Facebook posts, to follow a couple friends in the race. One of my friends, Chris Gause, was competing in her first Ironman race. Most notable about her entry, which neither she nor her friends knew previously, is that no female of her age or older had ever completed Ironman Florida. Chris had a steady and consistent race effort all day and became the first female in the 70-74 age group to complete Ironman Florida with a time of 16:45:40, and qualifying for the Ironman World Championship next year in Kona, Hawaii, as well! With my motivation complete, I got some sleep for my race the next day.

Pre-Race: I had written down a nutrition plan about a week before the race and followed it pretty closely. Overall, I thought it did OK for me, other than if I could have done more to prevent the cramping that I experienced. I will be giving this a lot of thought in the near future since, as you will read, cramping did become an issue for me like never before.

Swim: Thirteen months of drought had taken its toll on the lake and a new swim course was created to account for the low lake levels, which included about 75 yards of walking/running up to shore in addition to the swim distance. I started in the front and outside, though this ended up putting me in the middle of the action fairly quickly on this course. For about the second 100 yards I thought it was rougher than IMTX. I made an effort to try to go at a strong and steady pace, but not too hard. I think I found my rhythm about 1/3 of the way into the race and tried to stay with it. I could have gone faster although that might have cost me later. Overall, I was happy with the swim. Swim time was 39:20.7, which included running out of the water and back to shore (the real shore, not the drought-effect shore).

Bike: This ride became my new longest bike ride on my new Orbea Ordu tri bike by abiout 8-10 miles. I tried hard not to go too hard and stay around an average heart rate in the mid 150s for the first half of the bike ride, after that I allowed myself to push it a bit harder. My average of 151 for the entire ride includes the periods where I was under less effort on downhills. I generally sipped on my nutrition about every 15 minutes and I tried to sip water more frequently. This was my first race with my new Speedfil A2 bottle (mounts on aero bars) which I found easy to use and refill and made it easy to take on water periodically. (I also drank several ounces right before leaving T1.) The bottle holds 24-28 oz of water and it never emptied, though I did refill it every time I could. I estimate that I drank 18-20 oz each hour on bike, especially a few times when I though my mouth was feeling a bit dry. The most surprising things about my bike ride were that I felt I held back some so I could have a good run and that this bike climbs hills very well. It wasn't that I was trying to push really hard to pass people on the hills, it just seemed they all slowed down a bunch when we got to a hill. (Did that make sense?) Bike time was 3:01:17.6, I could have pushed to get under 3 hours but that was not my goal so I did not do so.

Run: In addition to my previously stated nutrition, I was carrying 1 endurolyte capsule to take each mile in addition to a handheld bottle with enough liquid calories for the distance.. The run was approximately three 4.35 mile loops, which I will report to you individually. I started off watching my heart rate to try to keep it in upper 160-low 170 range for the first 2 laps and go from there for lap 3.
Lap 1: approximate time 44 minutes, I felt good but knew I was pushing myself today as I followed my plan, I think it was near the end of lap 1 that I could feel the little twinges of possible cramps hiding out there. I did have a moment around mile 3.3 where a cramp tightened up my right leg, but I loosened it up and it did not bother me right after that.

This photo appears to have been taken at the very beginning of lap 2.

Lap 2: approximate time 48 minutes, My Garmin gave out about halfway through this lap, the previous 3 miles before that were 10:58, 11:03 and 11:06. I was making more of an effort to stay on pace and watch heart rate. After the Garmin gave out I went on how I felt and how my pace felt. I think I pretty maintained my pace for the rest of lap 2, though it was definitely getting more tiring and I could feel more of the cramps to come that were hiding below the surface, which I had been managing by trying not to go at a pace that would not cause them to act up. About halfway through lap 2 I made an effort to drink some extra water at each aid station.
Lap 3: approximate time 61 minutes, early in the lap I could tell the cramps were more likely to be an issue. Up until now I only stopped to take in water while walking aid stations, now I also walked a bit at the miles to take in endurolytes each mile. I think I might have even pushed myself a bit harder pacewise to keep going in my determination, I can't really be sure. Around mile 10 I walked up one hill to avoid a possible cramp issue and took in the 4 endurolytes I had left.. After that I pretty much maintained myself until around just before mile 11 where I could feel the cramps starting to come. At this point I just tried to keep going as best I could. At the aid station turnaround at mile 12 is when my leg cramps spasms really became bad. At that point it seemed I could only get a few yards after one cramps subsided and another spasmed, even while walking. Another runner stopped and gave me a band to wrap around the cramp to help alleviate it--I asked her number as she ran off and she told me not to worry about returning it. I remember thinking at that moment she was like an angel sent to help me. The band did help with the cramping, however that led to cramps in other areas stopping me momentarily. So, for the next mile I ran as far as I could and switched the band between right and left legs, and between positions on the upper and lower legs. I made the last tenth of a mile on sheer determination that I would not let my legs buckle out from under me. Run time was 2:33:33.6.

This photo was taken just yards before the finish.

Overall: I improved in each area from last year, including both transition times. This year's time was 6:21:22.5, 46:20.7 ahead of last year's finishing time of 7:07:43.2.

In the end I obviously could have done better, but there is no way I consider this race anything less than a major success. In time I hope to take some lessons forward and think about something that was once truly unthinkable for me at this race distance: finishing with a sub-6 hour time next year (especially when you consider the two previous attempts to last year's 7:07:43 time were 7:52:07 and 7:58:38).

This ends my triathlon season for 2011. I expect to write an end of year post to sum up my 2011 experiences, however for now I will just say that it was a great year of triathlon for me in more ways than one.

Ironman Texas 2012

2011-10-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

I said I was going to take 2012 off so I could watch the race as a spectator. However, as time went on my desire to do the race again increased. Last week it was announced that there were less than 70 spaces left, and I felt like I had to register to preserve a spot for myself.

After my race experience with friends this past weekend, and a conversation with a friend who excitedly believed that I had registered for the race, I knew I had to do it again, even if it costs me one of my events from my spring schedule. To some degree, this surprises me. However, I think it surprises none of my friends, some of whom seem to know me better than I know myself.

So, Ironman Texas 2012, here I come.

Last time I counted down the days until the race in my Ironman Texas posts. Should I continue with that? Let me know.

206 days until Ironman Texas......

Oktoberfest Triathlon

2011-10-25T18:35:00.001-07:00

I selected the Oktoberfest Triathlon a while back to be a fun, late-season race; which is exactly what it turned out to be. This was the first year for this race.

I planned to do this race pretty much all out and see where my training has gotten me this season. Fortunately a sprint triathlon (400 meter swim, 14 mile bike, 3 mile run) affords an athlete the opportunity to go full speed for the whole way.

The swim was a 400 meter point to point swim. I started out on a tight inside line with the marker buoys until I got to the first (and only) turn about 150 meters into the swim. After that I drifted off to the right a bit before correcting my course. My swim time was a bit slower than expected at 9:10 for the 400 meters. However, I was 6th in my age group for the swim, so I can't complain about it (perhaps their measurement of the distance was off). This is the best I've ever placed in a triathlon swim in my age group.

The bike was a 14 mile scheduled ride along local roads. It was actually somewhere between 14.7 and 14.9 miles based on the records of others I know doing the race. This was my first race on the new tri-bike and it did no disappoint me. I completed the bike in 41:09 (avg 21.65 mph over 14.85 miles as I recorded it). There were some issues with rocks and glass and narrow points on the course, however I think this is a good course that will be better next year as the races matures. I can see where I will continue to improve as I become more experienced with my new bike. My short-term assessment of the bike at this point can be summed up in one word---AWESOME!!!

The run was a 3 mile run (which I found to be accurate) through the local residential trails. My goal here was to run as hard as I could maintain and attempt to max out my effort at the end. I ran each mile progressively faster by a small bit, including running the last 2 miles at and under the 8 minute per mile pace. The time for the 3 mile run was 24:10, which completely surprised me--I was hoping to be under an 8:30 pace for this run and ended up much better than that.

The final result of my race was a finishing time of 1:16:39, good enough for 9th of 22 in my age group and 22nd of 269 overall. This became just the 3rd triathlon of the 15 that I have completed in which I finished in the top half of my age group (yes, the last 3 races in a row!). In addition, I have never come close to finishing in the top 10 percent overall.

Finally, as we know, one of the most important aspects of a triathlon is the post-race party. The Oktoberfest Triathlon had a very good post-race party for a first year event. My Fit Foods and the No Label Brewing Company provided food and drink following the race. My teammates and I had as much fun post-race as we did racing. I competed in this race with my OutRival Racing teammates Kelly, Tammie and Egin, all of whom won awards on this date!

My triathlon season ends in almost two weeks with the Oilman Triathlon (formerly know as Iron Star) in Conroe, Texas. I did this race last year and look forward to seeing how much I have improved for this year's race.

Ten for Texas 2011

2011-10-14T19:01:00.001-07:00

The Ten for Texas is a local ten mile running race event in my community that is, generally, a fun and well run event. It seemed to me that this year's race management left a fair bit to be desired in several areas (T shirt sizes, aid station management), however it was still a fun and well-supported event.

This event is a very personal one to me, this was one of the earliest race events I did--and the first I did where I knew other runners from my local community. It is also the primary race that I use to judge how I have changed physically and how I have improved as a runner over these several years.

Ten for Texas 2007 - After coming off a winter and spring where I started running on my own, I joined a local fitness group (Woodlands Fit, a local group of USA Fit). It was during this period where I first did the Ten for Texas race and it was the first time a race was also a social event for me. I finished the race in 2:01:11. I was hoping to get under 2 hours but was still happy with my time. Here is a photo of me coming across the bridge after mile 9 of the race.

Ten for Texas 2008 - The local cleanup efforts following Hurricane Ike forced the 2008 race into the same week as Rock n Roll San Antonio, so I had to wait until 2009 to do this race again.

Ten for Texas 2009 - At race day on 2009 I was just coming off of a knee injury. I did put a solid effort forward, although I was not quite up to pushing my hardest for that distance. I finished in 1:57:54, and was a bit disappointed with that time as I had hoped to do a bit better. Here is a photo of me in practically the same spot as the previous time.

Ten for Texas 2010 - I sat out the 2010 race to concentrate on the half iron distance race a few weeks later, although I did go and watch the race and cheer on my friends.

Ten for Texas 2011 - I came into this year's race determined to give my best effort and see just what I could do. As I thought about my race goals in the days leading up to the race, I was thinking that beating 1:45:00 would be a good goal. After talking over with a friend in the coming days, that goals moved under 1:40:00. I later started thinking that I might even be able to get under 1:35:00 with a near-perfect day. Well, the day was not perfect. The recent weather had gone from cool and dry to warm and humid on race day, however I was not going to let that deter me from my goal. I started the race with a plan to try to run 9 minute miles and see if I could hold that pace long enough so that when my pace slowed it might be enough to still be under 1:35:00.
Mile 1 - this was one of the tougher miles due to the large race congestion. I had forgotten how many slower runners put themselves up front in a running event. Mile 1 goes by in 9:08.
Mile 2 - The field is starting to spread out a bit, although the aid station near the end is far too small and unprepared as runners largely went behind the table to grab their own water as there was almost none on the table or being handed out by volunteers. Mile 2 went by in 8:54.
Mile 3 - Now we are finally getting spread out enough that I hardly had to jostle my way by other runners. 9:02.
Mile 4 - We are starting to see solid signs of community support cheering runners on in areas, though my pace slowed a bit after I felt some soreness that subsided when I slowed a bit. 9:10.
Mile 5 - As I get to the halfway point, I know that I have slowed a bit but also know that I am feeling faster and stronger than expected. I am thinking that sub 1:35:00 seems pretty good if I keep holding up. 9:14.
Mile 6 - The course takes a northward turn as we begin the return half of our course. There is good crowd support and I see some friends cheering. I feel strong enough to pick up the pace a bit. 9:01.
Mile 7 - I have a strong mile as we head back up and see a couple more friends. I start thinking I might have a chance to get under 1:30:00 if I can hold the pace. 8:49.
Mile 8 - I can start to feel the fatigue, though I also know I just have a few miles to go and I slow a slight bit to be ready to concentrate on the last 2 miles, including the bridge at mile 9. 9:16.
Mile 9 - I push my pace and feel good, though I am also cautious to not push so hard that I can't maintain the pace. I try to be ready to smile for the photo op after the bridge. I know getting under 1:30:00 is going to take a good last 2 miles and I make the effort to try to do it. 8:49.
Here is my photo on the mile 9 bridge.

Mile 10 - I push myself, and as I get closer to the end I push harder still. Looking at my Garmin Forerunner 305 during the middle of the mile, it looks like I am going to fall a bit short of being sub-1:30:00 but I still go hard and finish with an all out pace over the last minute or two. Mile 10 goes by in 8:21.
Finishing time: 1:29:50 (I had 1:29:53 on my Garmin and was sure the official time could not be far off.) Yes, I had done it! I actually ran the race in under 90 minutes, under a 9 minute per mile average pace! Me....the guy who couldn't break 2 hours a few years back..... :-)

What made these differences? Lots of training and obviously losing some extra weight. My approximate weights at the time of each race:
2007 - 265 lbs
2009 - 220 lbs
2011 - 175 lbs
I didn't notice until I just wrote these that I had similar weight loss over each two year period during the last 4 years. I know it didn't really come off that evenly throughout this for year period.

All in all, I have to say that the Ten for Texas was an enjoyable and successful event for me this year.

Gear Upgrades

2011-10-09T19:54:00.001-07:00

I've been working on upgrades of two pieces of training gear this week.

The first is upgrading my understanding of the Garmin Forerunner 305 unit that I have had for several years. In addition to learning to reprogram the run and bike screens to display in a way that I find preferable. In addition, I have added a speed and cadence sensor for my bike to supplement the Garmin's data.

The second upgrade is a bit more significant. I have added a new bike to my equipment list. Here is a photo of the bike leaning up against the back of my car:

I took it for a short jaunt around the block yesterday to check the pedal/shoe cleat connections and then for a 31 mile ride early this morning. It is going to take a bit to get used to a tri-bike as opposed to a road bike, but I can see that I am going to like this new bike. One thing is for certain, it sure can move down the road!

Becoming the Other Guy

2011-10-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

The last week has held a few realizations for me, and probably only show my view of myself catching up to the image that others actually see of me.

When I started running in late 2006, and training for triathlons in the middle of 2008, I always envied the other guy. It seemed almost every other guy was in better shape, knew what they were doing and were confident about what they did. Of course just being around them made me even more likely to seem, or at least feel, overweight, slow and inept (or at least unfamiliar with what I was doing). Yet, I still kept with it because I had a dream in my mind that I wasn't letting anyone take from me.

That dream was that one day I would be better, faster, stronger and, most of all, healthier. All of these began to come true at excruciatingly slow paces, but they did happen. The other thing that happened is that I earned the respect of my fellow athletes. Often I thought them being more kind than truly respectful, but even that concern for my feelings (as I perceived it) was welcome.

In the last week several things happened in close order that got my attention. It's not that some of these things had not happened before, but those that did never quite resonated with me at those times. These recent events include another triathlete at last week's race coming up to me after the race and telling me that with under 2 miles to go on the run he saw me about two minutes behind him and because he said I was a better runner than him, he made it his goal to stay ahead of me through the end of the race (which he did, crossing the finish line about 30 seconds before me). [Fortunately, for me he was in an age group that started the race ahead of mine.] I have done this with other athletes before and took this as a huge compliment, especially since he came up to me and told this to me after the race. Another such instance was one of the faster runners I know telling me I needed to come run with their group more often. The slow runner does not get asked by such people to run with them, and I know I am not so slow any more, but I didn't really think anyone ever noticed me. Another thing is that I have had several of the newer athletes in my training group asking me questions about this race or about my opinion of this piece of equipment or some specific technique...... I had always been the guy with the questions and not the answers. I still have a lot of questions, but I have learned that I do know quite a few answers as well.

So, I am not the best athlete, and I am certainly far from the fastest athlete, but I never wanted to be those things. Somewhere in these last few years I did manage to become the athlete I wanted to be: I am in better shape, I can keep up with the groups (well, most of them) and I generally know what I am doing most of the time. I've also learned what it was like to be the guy I once was and to watch out for him (or her) and be able to help them when they need it now and then; and I have realized that maybe, just maybe, some of those "other guys" that helped me out before really did know what it was like to be me and really did respect me for the athlete that I was, regardless of how slow or far back I was.

Houston Triathlon - 2011

2011-09-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

This year I did the Houston Olympic Distance Triathlon earlier today. An Olympic Distance Triathlon is a 1500 meter swim (.93 miles), a 40K bike (24.85 miles) and a 10K run (6.2 miles). I went into today's race determined to set a new PR for this distance (3:06:14 last April). I knew going into this race that I should have the ability to make these goals, at least on a good day, but the truth is that I was having a few doubts about my ability to put such a race together--however I wasn't about to let my doubts keep my from trying. Here is my report of the good and the bad from this race.

I went into this race day morning knowing the weather would not be at its best, and that was the way it turned out. A warm and muggy morning later became quite windy during the bike and run parts of the triathlon, and the run was under a hot and sunny late morning sky. All that said, it is one of those days that you can always have in south Texas and was not that far out of normal, even for early Fall. Race check-in went well. I arrived early since this race did not have assigned spots within the transition area, but rather assigned you to a general area for your whole swim wave starting group and you selected your specific spot. I was early enough to select a prime spot that was at the far end of the rack but as near to the bike exit and entry point as possible. After that I set up my area as I desired and left to meet at the OutRival Racing team tent with friends and then walked out to the swim start area.

Swim - Since the sprint races began first I had to wait for all of those swim waves to start and then they began to start with the Olympic swim waves, and mine was in the middle of those. Therefore, although the races began at 7:00 am, I waited almost an hour before my race started. There was a break between the sprint and Olympic swim waves starts, and I used that time to get in a short warmup swim. Unfortunately, I stepped on something under the water and felt sometthing hard under my foot and almost instantly remembered the Clear Lake Olympic Triathlon 2 years ago where I ended up with 2 slices into the sole of my foot before the race began. Fortunately, this did not feel that bad and I even forgot to check my foot after exiting the water. I did discover after the race that i had a large scratch mark and sever spots were slitly cut, but this never bothered me during the race and i never thought about afterwards during the race.The swim was a two loop swim where we exited the water and ran a few yards back near the swim start and swam a second loop. I had never done a race with this style of swim before and looked forward to trying it. Eventually my race started and I went off with my group. It was a fairly tight group for the first 100 meters or so before we started to spread out. I had a lot of jostling off and on for a good amount of the time but thought I was swimming pretty well and stayed generally on a pretty decent line with the course. I exited the first loop just under 18 minutes, when I was expecting in the 15-16 minute range. I told myself I would apply a bit more effort this loop and dove back in the water. I did concentrate on a stronger stroke this time around, although there was also a lot more traffic with other swimmers. I was seeing a lot of colored caps not matching my wave as all sorts of swim waves were now mixed together. In a way it was a mess or swimmers, but it was also a glorious mess in its own way. I exited the water and hit the timing mat at 36:24.2--several minutes more than the time I had hoped to have in the low 30 minute range or faster-- and began the long (quarter mile plus) run back to the transition area.

T1 - It was a good long run to the transition area and I used the time to wonder how I had such a slower than expected swim and griping how my sub-3:00 goal was likely gone but determined to stay on the goal of a new PR. I was surprised to see o many bikes still in the transition are near my bike and only then started to realize that even though my swim time was slower than I expected, i was still out ahead of most of the swim wave. I concentrated on being quick and deliberate in transition and moved fairly quickly about my business leaving in a slightly faster than expected 5:02.6, even if I was slowed by a minor issue with my bike shoes..

Bike - The bike was basically a big square roughly around the blocks that housed the community college hosting the event, with a separate long out and back along one side. The wind was fairly strong and my speed range from the mid to upper teens to the low to mid 20's depending on the wind and the direction I was heading. However, I also noticed as I went on I was getting stronger. I finished my front mounted bottle early in my second loop and was glad I had packed an extra bottle in the main bottle holder on the bike frame as I seemed to be thirstier and needing extra nutrition today, and I wonder if that might have been related to my pushing harder than normal or if it was due to the tougher than expected weather conditions. In any case I was prepared for it and as I pushed my pace a bit a also took in some extra food calories as I biked the last few miles with the wind. Finally, I came around the last turn and headed back to transition feeling strong and trying not to go too hard at the end. I finished the bike in 1:14:41.9, which was 19.3 mph over the distance. I was surprised by this strong ride and looked forward to keeping going.

T2 - I was back in and out of transition in 1:13.3, which really surprised me as fast given how far I had to run with the bike. As I left transition I noticed that if I could just improve slightly on my April 10K 1:03:21 run time (I later worked it out to a 43 second improvement needed) I still had a chance to get under 3 hours.

Run - I could feel the sun and could feel it getting hot as I ran, but I also committed to myself that I was going for broke to hit that goal today. I hit the ground running hard and ran that first mile around 8:35. I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep up that pace, but also knew that I didn't have to. I turned in a second mile around 9:15 and decided to try to hold that pace. I also started, at the Mile 2 aid station, walking a bit at the aid station. I walked 20-30 seconds at Mile 2 and then decided to walk a minute at each of the remaining aid stations. Mile 3 came and went, my body wanted a break and I told it to keep going. Miles 3 and 4 were tough as we left a residential area and ran towards the college football stadium. As we got to the stadium, we ran along one side of the field, then we ran up the ramps to the top of the stadium, then we crossed over to the other side through an internal passageway, then we ran back down the stadium ramps, and finally we ran along the other side of the field and back out the stadium. It might not have been easy to run through the stadium, but it was a bit of fun and was certainly different. Running away from the stadium brought us to Mile 5 and during that last walk break I gathered my mental strength to push myself forward to finish strong. I knew the last few miles had slowed me a bit with the walk breaks included but I also knew I was still looking as getting under 3 hours. Then I made that final push and it hurt, and I ran, and I wanted to slow down, and I ran, and I wanted a short break, and I ran, and I ran, and I ran. Finally I turned the corner and saw the finish line ahead of me. I really thought I was going as fast as I could move, though somehow as soon as I hit the start of the finish chute I found a new gear and sprinted out the end. I ran that last mile in just under 9 minutes. and finished the run in 1:00:50.2. I originally thought I had gotten the run under an hour but had unknowingly hit the lap button on my watch during the run and had "lost almost 2 minutes".

In any case, I knew my total time, and my watch quite clearly showed 2:58:12, and I later found out that the official finish time was 2:58:12.3. Yes, I had made my goal of getting under 3 hours!!

I am really proud of what I accomplished today, not because I broke a 3 hour time goal. Goals like that can sometimes depend on events beyond my control. I have more pride in things that may not be so evident as a finish time number. I put out a hard, sustained effort and kept with it and saw the results of it work out. I finished in the top half of my age group for only the second time, and more than that, I finished with each event finishing in the top half of the field (something I had not yet done)--out of the 48 in my age group, my swim ranked 18, Transition 1 ranked 20th, bike ranked 24th, transition 2 ranked 10th, and my run ranked 17th, for 20th in my age group. I also saw that my efforts and my struggles, while personal, can affect others in a positive way, and that sometimes they might even help be an example for those who I would never guess would ever take anything from it, sometimes even other athletes I know who are far more talented than I ever will be and sometimes for those who wish they were able to do some of the things that I have been blessed enough to be able to do.

Mid-September Update

2011-09-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

I've been gone a few weeks from posting.....busy with work and life and stuff like that....

For the most part my September training schedule has been plugging along nicely, actually it has been going along better than just "nicely". It has been going very well with my longest weeks and workouts since my Ironman race in May. Each of the last 6 weeks are in the top 6 weeks of workout time since May (10:25:11, 11:10:30, 11:28:08, 8:44:07, 11:38:23, 11:29:23). I knew I was in a peaking phase of training, but I had not realized to what extent I was peaking--in this case even my last recovery week made the list. I finally got around to purchasing a bike trainer and brought it and my bike along and set up my bike on the trainer in the hotel room. Perhaps most surprising to me is that I maintained this while traveling for work last week. This streak is about to come to an end as I have a pre-race recovery week coming up for this next week.

Next Sunday I have the Houston Olympic Distance Triathlon. The Olympic Distance is a 1500 meter (0.93 miles) swim, 40K (24.85 miles) bike and 10K (6.2 miles) run. My main goal for this race is to go at my maximum effort and see how I perform. My PR at this distance came last May with a time of 3:06:14. I would certainly like to beat this time, and hopefully come in under 3 hours as well; however the course design has some quirks that may hinder those goals (like a half-mile+ run from the swim to the transition area). In any case, I am going to lay it all on the line effort-wise and see what happens.

For now, let me leave you with the video from last month's Bridgeland Triathlon where I am shown at 8:38 starting to stand up in a tub of ice water--which felt really good on that very warm morning.

August Numbers

2011-09-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems that I have not posted a "totals" type of blog entry since the Ironman race. Now that things have gotten close to some vague semblance of....ahem....normal, I guess it is time to resume some logging of the totals, even if only for my own use.

Swim 29,265 yards (16.63 miles)
Bike 250.68 miles
Run 73.57 miles
Total 340.88 miles

Total Time of Workouts: 42:07

Weight Loss for the Month: 7.6 lbs (186.8 to 179.2 pounds) Truthfully, several of those pounds were an uptick at the end of July that dropped off real fast in early August.

I have been using the Training Peaks website for over a year to record my training and finally spent just a short bit of time this past month looking at some of the features that I have not been using. One of those tracks my estimated caloric expenditure. apparently my peak day was 4,952 calories (for reference it says that I expended 16587 calories during the Ironman Texas race, whew!). There seem to be a lot of good features that I might do well to learn.

The highlight of my month was a big improvement over last year at the Bridgeland Sprint Triathlon as I cut my time to 1:27:00 from 1:34:14, and they even added a little bit to the run course (0.15 miles was added).

Next up for me, race-wise, is the Houston Triathlon (Olympic distance) on September 25th. I am looking at making it under 3 hours as my race goal for this event.

(Man's) Best Friend's Birthday!

2011-08-28T18:17:00.000-07:00

One of the things that got pushed aside in Ironman training earlier this year was doing extra things with Coco, my Golden Retriever. Since then this summer has been hot enough that it also limited our outside activity a lot. Recently, I have been feeling bad that I have not been spending enough outside time with her. Since her 11th birthday is this week, I decided I needed to make the time to do something.

Today we spent an hour at the local dog park. It was 102 degrees at 6 pm, but we went and tried to play easy. Mostly playing easy meant Coco got pet by people, one of her favorite activities, and laid around in the wading pool, which is another one of her favorite activities. Afterwards, I tried to get her a bit dry by letting her poke around in other areas of the dog park and she seemed to enjoy her time exploring for a while and then playing a bit with other dogs.

At times she still has the heart and wonder of a puppy, but sometimes I can see the years catching up with her. However, the look of pure joy that came over her face when she saw me holding the leash before we left was enough for me to know this was going to be a good outing for us both--and it was!

Happy Birthday, Coco!

When a Dream Can Come True

2011-08-21T17:39:00.000-07:00

Several years ago the prospect of getting my weight down to where it was in my mid-20's seemed so unlikely that I set my goal just to get from the 260 pound range to being under 200 pounds. I really dreamed of doing better than that, but I just could not see it happening from that point of view. It took over 4 years until this past January to get under 200 pounds, and I didn't always think it would happen. After that I wondered if I could get under the 190 pounds, which I managed pretty quickly during my early Ironman training. Since then I seemed pretty well within the 180's, up and down a bit but solidly within that range, which was a happy improvement from those several years ago. Since then I have started to become adjusted to the fact that I am entering a healthy weight range that will allow me to live a happier and healthier physical lifestyle.

Things are going pretty well around here lately for me. We have had some family turmoil, but nothing that isn't being worked out. I've gotten into a good training cycle and have gotten in my 2 highest training weeks these last 2 weeks--and the training I am doing all seems comfortable. Even work is busy, but that good sort of busy where a lot is getting accomplished and old projects are finally coming together.

My last training week breaks down as follows:
Swim: 6300 yards
Bike: 56.5 miles
Run: 24.18 miles
In addition I also did a few strength and stretching workouts. Earlier this summer I started trying to do pull-ups on the bar at the college track where I do my weekly group track workouts and have myself up to 8 pull-ups at a time. This week I also started to incorporate pushups into the training mix. In my first, and so far only, pushup effort I managed to do 34 good pushups where I hoped to do 20. Clearly, I am seeing the all around benefit of other parts of my training.

However, the highlight of my week came on Saturday, when the scale showed my weight as a number in the 170's. I don't think I have been in the 170 range since I was married in 1990, and certainly not since I left the Marines in 1991. Since I have only just barely hit the top of the 170's range, I can expect that I will likely bounce between the upper 170's and lower 180's for a while, and hopefully make a more permanent home for myself within the 170's. However, regardless of anything else, I have accomplished what I once considered the ultimate, end all be all goal, that I only dreamed of achieving.

Similar....and Different

2011-08-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about the "before" vs the "after" recently as it relates to myself....a lot! I realized that I often viewed myself differently than others view me, and that I am unfairly hard on myself. I have finally come to terms on a personal level that I really am no longer anything like the "before" version of myself from 2006/early 2007, even though I would still view myself more as that version than as the person I truly am.

On December 28, 2006, I began training for the Big D Half Marathon.
95 days later I completed my first half marathon, with this photo being taken just before the finish.

Another 1,512 days when by until I completed Ironman Texas, with this photo being taken just before the finish.

I never thought the journey to this point would be so hard, take so long or be so rewarding. I have a hard time recognizing the person I was then from the point of view of now, having now freed myself of a lot of the insecurity, unhappiness, unhealthiness, etc... that I had then, a lot of which I did not even know until I was free from those negative elements.

I still have many things that I plan to do to take myself to new heights and I'm not sure how many days it will be until the next time I feel an image redefines myself, but I can only hope it is as positive as the one I now use!

Return to the Bridgeland Sprint Triathlon

2011-08-07T15:26:00.000-07:00

Last August I did the Bridgeland Sprint Triathlon, a first rate sprint distance triathlon in the greater Houston area--and my blog entry for that race can be found here.

It was been hot this summer and today was no exception. I was sweating before I got out the door and to the car this warm and humid early morning, but that is what this summer has been like here. I was looking forward to this race and the chance to make an effort to go "all out" for a change in a way that longer distance events do not allow.

I got out to the race site early and set up my transition area. This year the race changed the transition area site to allow for more entrants (1500 in this race). This change also was one of the reasons the run distance increased by 0.15 miles. After this I was able to walk over to the area of the swim start and wait for the race to begin while I socialized with friends and teammates.

For the swim I began the race wide to the out side and attempted to swim a line that would take me to the inside by the turn buoy several hundred yards away. As a whole this strategy worked and I found myself surprised to be in fairly open water for most of my swim, or at least until I had to swim between the slower swimmers I caught from the 2 waves ahead of me. I had a good swim and only once got slightly out of line with my desired path. I finished in 10:21 vs 12:16 last year.

After leaving the water I ran all the way through transition to my bike and then ran it out to the road. The transition are was much larger than last year, but I had a decent location just about in the center of it all. My first transition time was 2:00 vs 2:18 last year.

This year my goal on the bike was to go out and maintain a hard pace, and then worry about the run when I got to it later. Overall, I did pretty much just that. In retrospect I could have gotten a little more speed out of my effort, but I took a bit of time to test the best mix of gears versus the cadence count I could maintain in those gears.

In the end I must have been successful as I averaged my best race bike speed ever in a triathlon at 20.8 mph. I passed so many more people than passed me, and I passed some of those guys later. I finished with a bike split time of 39:09 vs last year's time of 42:37.

As I arrived in the transition area for the second time, I also ran in and back out again, and I felt that I moved pretty well in moving from the bike to the run. My second transition time was 1:28 vs 1:56 last year.

I was very proud of my run effort today. I ran a hard and consistent pace, even when it was not easy to do so. I slowed my sprint to the finish a bit as I started to cramp entering the finishing chute, but I still felt that I had a solid effort on a hot day.

I ran every step of this run from within the transition area until the finish line. Once again I passed more people than passed me. I completed today's run in 34:01 vs 35:07 last year, and as I mentioned before this year's run was 0.15 miles longer.

Immediately, after the race I hopped into one of the many large tubs of ice water and sit inside and cool down for a minute or two--this felt absolutely great after this event! I spent some post-race time cheering in finishers, eating some of the great post-race snacks and visiting with my friends and teammates. On my way home I stopped for a special, personal post-race treat and had a peanut butter ice cream sundae.

I really feel like I am seeing improvement in my performance. I think this was the first time I finished in the upper half of my age group--certainly for a large triathlon event and I had a faster time than several people I know that I would expect to have beaten my time (although such comparisons are truly difficult if I don't really know what their motivations were for today's race. My final time for this race was 1:27:00, beating out last year's time of 1:34:14 by over 7 minutes--and I felt great and had a fantastic time doing it!

Coming and Going (with photos) - Year 4

2011-07-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

The year 2010, my fourth year of returning to an athletic lifestyle, built upon the successes of recent years and ultimately took turns towards new and unforeseen directions by year's end.

My race year gets off to an early start on a cold January weekend in Orlando, Florida. I was taking on the Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World. The Goofy Challenge is composed of the Saturday Half Marathon and the Sunday Full Marathon. Doing these races provided me the unique opportunity to meet some of the people that I had previously only known through the world of blogging, such as Amanda pictured with me here.

It was a cold weekend that brought sleet to central Florida as I ran Saturday's half marathon and temperatures so cold that ice formed in the cups waiting on the aid station tables during Sunday's marathon. In the end, however, I found the experience of running this event quite thrilling--and I never would have thought the cold, wet experience of the Decker Challenge the month before would have been as good training as it was for the weather of this weekend. I nearly felt hypothermic after the half marathon and even after the full marathon I was still bundled up in my layered clothing (as seen in my photo to the left following the marathon). Even with the cold weather I had a great time meeting friends and running these races for fun and a great overall experience rather than trying to set new personal records (PR's).

In February, I set out on a local half marathon on a new challenge, not just to set a PR but to also break the 2:30 time that had eluded me for quite a while. My target race was the Run Wild Half Marathon in and around downtown Houston, a small but well run race. The day was a bit warmer than I would have hoped for, but it did not disappoint either, as I found the steady pace that I could push and follow throughout the race. In the end I beat last December's time by nearly 5 minutes with a 2:26:45 finishing time. This race began a steady string of improvements for the year which showed up in improved race times across the board.

April brought two races to my schedule. The first was the Muddy Trails event where I ran the new 10K race (which they added to last year's 5K on the schedule). This race brought me a new 10K PR of 1:08:25. However my big target race for the early part of the year was a few weeks later near the end of April. I was looking for a big improvement on my half Ironman time from last October. Race day came and brought with it improved swim and bike times, however my run was close to a disaster with much time spent just being able to walk forward. In the end I did get my PR, by several minutes over last fall's time....but it felt like a hollow victory when I felt that I should have been capable of better. It led to my decision to get some coaching advice and later to join with a training group--which I regard among my better decisions regarding my training.

Five weeks later, I entered the Combat Triathlon on Memorial Day weekend. This is a sprint distance triathlon where I attempted to right my perceptions coming off of the previous month's half Ironman race. In the end I put together a solid effort and felt very good with my race, certainly much better than after the previous race. I really felt like I put together a complete race effort across the board on this day.
A month later I returned to the Y Freedom Tri, anxious to see how my training would hold up compared to last year. By the end of the race I had rattled off a PR of 15:01, with nearly half of that coming off the 5K run time and having improved across the board.

My last sprint distance triathlon of the year came in early August at the new Bridgeland Triathlon. This was a good event, and was the first triathlon where I was with a number of friends and training teammates. My swim was a bit slow, and for a moment had a hint of slight panic, but then I got on with the race and was fine. I am pictured here exiting the bike and entering the second transition. A solid bike effort and run effort gave me faster speeds than in past triathlons for each portion. Completing these shorter summer races had given me confidence as I now aimed for longer distance races for the rest of the year.

Labor Day weekend brought with it a trip to Austin and my chance to redeem myself from last year's effort at the Olympic Distance Triathlon where I ended in 4:29:00 after two flat tires and a bad run. I was coming off shoulder and hamstring injuries over the last month but was just feeling healed up for this race.

The race opened with a good swim effort which exceeded my expectations coming off the shoulder injury. The bike was a triple loop through downtown Austin, and was slowed a bit by both hills and rain, though still went well. Since my hamstring felt good from the bike, I went out with a good run effort. In the end I held a solid pace for me on a hot morning and ran the 10K run portion of this race just 5 minutes off my 10K PR time. I completed the race in 3:18:31, without problems and well ahead of last year.

From this point I concentrated primarily on being ready for a return to the half Ironman distance, and to make a solid improvement on my PR time from this past spring. However, I also had a fun race planned--the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon, which was a nighttime race at Disneyworld, where I met a bunch of friends and had an awesome-tastically good time.

After that all my attention turned towards the Iron Star half iron race. After two previous efforts at this distance that were less than I had hoped for, I was coming into this race better prepared than I had been previously. I had an outstanding swim, going just under 40 minutes for the 1.2 mile swim (where my best previous swim for this distance had been around 53 minutes). Then came the bike ride, which was more difficult than I expected but not more difficult than I was prepared for, and I finished with my best time for a half iron bike ride. I would have liked a faster time on the bike, but I was following a heart rate based plan that was designed to keep me from working too hard before I completed the bike.
It had been the half marathon run that had been my previous half iron race undoing. However, today I was able to keep my run under control and my training got me through the day with my best half iron race run time. For my race, I finished in 7:07:43, a 44:24 improvement over my previous best time at this race distance last April, easily ahead of my expectations as I capped off an exciting and fulfilling race day.

I had one last goal for my year that remained unfulfilled, I ran in a post-Thanksgiving 5K to attempt to fulfill that goal--to run a sub-30 minute 5K. The previous 5K race where I set my 30:20 PR was in April 2009, and I had not run a 5K since then. This local race was a no-frills local race put on twice monthly by the local running store for a $1 entry fee (yes, $1!). I ran in in 27:05 (and wearing my race shirt from the Disney Marathon).

With the completion of this race I wrapped up a successful year. I was successful in my many of my race goals during the year. Beyond just race goals I also learned a lot about improving my training in both method and volume of training over the year. Finally, I kept up with a slow, gradual weight loss throughout the year. I lost weight in 11 out of the 12 months, only gaining 0.2 lbs for my December 1 weigh-in. I did not lose a lot of weight, I did manage to lose 8.5 pounds as I dropped from 211.4 lbs to 202.9 lbs; and after four years of trying, my long-held goal of getting back under 200 lbs was within reach.

All in all, I finished this year much better than I started it, and I was looking forward to continued improvements in 2011 (aka Year 5) as I was registered for a new challenge.....the inaugural race of Ironman Texas.

Coming and Going (with photos) - Year 3

2011-07-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

Part 3 of a series...

2009 was another in a consecutive series of big years of change for me. In fact, until I went back and really gave the year a good look in review it is only in retrospect do I really give this year of my life the respect it deserves. I opened the year around 233 lbs and coming off a good year for me with regard to weight loss and PR's. 2009 seemed positioned for a lot of hope in my eyes--I am glad to say that it did not disappoint me in that regard, although the events of that year proceeded in ways I would not have envisioned at the year's beginning.

The year's races begin in mid-January with the Houston Half Marathon. I ran 2:37:16 and, while this is not a PR, it represent an improvement of over 10 minutes from the previous year and I was happy with that outcome. My thanks to Heather for the photo!
Two weeks later was my first 5K of the year. I ran a 35:22 at the Bill Crews Remission Run. I had a good run in pretty cool weather, though I could not do my best for not feeling fully recovered at this point--recovery is still something of a mystery to me at this point, although a mystery I am trying to figure out. Perhaps the truth is that I enjoy running these events so much that I want to do them all!

Two weeks later I am in Austin for the Austin Half Marathon, an event I decided to do for the opportunity to enjoy this race with friends. I ended up finishing in 2:40:16, which was 3:57 slower than the easier course in Houston last month. Overall, I had hoped for a faster time but I was satisfied with my effort. One interesting thing about this race is that it is the only road event I have done where I have gotten blisters. Anyway, I had a great time at this event regardless of anything else. This photo shows myself, previously mentioned Heather and Cassie prior to the start of the Austin race.

March and April bring a few more 5K races. This time I am ready for each and work hard at giving my best effort. In March I ran my third Spring Fever 5K in a time of 31:09, cutting 2:10 off of last year's PR time (not to mention comparing it to 2007's time of 38:45). In April I ran a new local race, the Muddy Trails 5K. As implied in the name much of this race is run on trails (although not really muddy) and I ran in a time of 30:20 for another new 5K PR time! However, I can't properly write about the events of the Muddy Trails 5K without the proper context. About 2 weeks before the Muddy Trails 5K my daughter was involved in a terrible auto collision that just rocked the stability of my family's world. While my daughter was largely unhurt, her good friend and passenger Allison was knocked out and never regained consciousness before being removed from life support. It is something that still rattles me to my core and I expect that it always will. You can read about that story at this blog post. Perhaps it was fitting, and helped with the mental recovery, that Allison's father and brother also ran in the Muddy Trails event and I was able to enjoy this day with some of her family that attended the event.

In the meantime, my training had been shifting over the last few months. I had registered for the CB&I triathlon, local to my neighborhood of The Woodlands, Texas, and I was on target for my completing my first triathlon.
While I looked forward to this triathlon, I also feared the event in the sense that I was about to do something that was unknown to me. In the end I took a deep breath, entered the water with my swim wave and then did what I set out to do. I even beat my personal goals for each of the 500 meter swim, 15 mile bike and 5K run events. My stated goal for the race was to be under 2 hours, and I had really hoped to beat 1:50:00. In the end, my official finishing time was 1:43:54.5; perhaps more importantly, I walked away from that first triathlon looking forward to my next one!

The rest of May 2009 was busy with events as well. The week following the CB&I triathlon I made a late decision to enter a local YMCA 5K trail run. It was your typical south Texas hot and humid weather, and I was sweating long before the race ever started. I was a bit disappointed with my results at the time (34:21) as it was about 30 seconds slower than the 5K at the end of the previous week's triathlon. However, it also was not a fair comparison of races, not to mention that I really did not plan to do this race until a day or two before. Two weeks later I did the Hog's Hunt 25K trail run at Huntsville State Park. This is basically the spring version of the Rocky Raccoon 25K I did in the past 2 fall seasons. This ended up being a race where I got off to a good start, maintaining a sub-13 minute per mile pace through the first 10 miles. However, after that I had several problems. These included a water-only aid station without water when I was just running out of water in the bottle I carried with me. Fortunately, there was a full aid station less than 2 miles ahead and I took it easy in that distance to try to avoid dehydration. About half a mile after I was refueled, I began to have cramping issues which stayed with me for most of the rest of the race, which I think were caused by dehydration. I finally got past these cramps with about a mile remaining in the race, which I finished in 3:38:09. In spite of my issues of that day, I still had a new 25K trail race PR.

June 2009 brings with it my second triathlon, the Y Freedom Tri. This turned out to be a great race experience for me. My race went pretty much as I would have expected, allowing for the warm weather; although the race experience also also had some surprises such as a better than expected swim and receiving a frozen towel at the end of the race. In the end, this race cemented my desire to continue doing triathlons as I began to look forward to a late August Olympic distance triathlon.
However, I had a lot of summer training to do as preparation for my fall schedule, which was going to become more full of races than I would have even expected at this point.

My next race was the late August Clear Lake Olympic distance triathlon. This race was easily my worst triathlon experience. I cut open the sole of my right foot in two places because of sharp underwater rocks that were not cleared out by the race crews. I experienced two flat tires that cost me a lot of time. Perhaps worst was that after all that, my finishing time (4:29:00) was not officially captured by the timing system. On the other hand, I learned a few hard lessons about determination, including that no race course will beat me if I just keep moving forward. It was shortly after this race that I bought my new road bike and started increasing my training towards a new goal of completing a half Ironman triathlon in October.

As October rolled around I was nursing a nagging thigh/hamstring injury that was just about healed up--although it was not so bad that I had to stop my training. On October 13 I ran the Ten for Texas 10 mile race, repeating the event from two years earlier.
This race is a fantastic local event that I enjoy tremendously. Even taking an easier approach this year to ensure I don't re-injure my hamstring and allowing that I had a half Ironman race in 7 days, I still ran to a 3+ minute PR time of 1:57:54. The next week was one of basic preparation as I looked forward to the Austin Longhorn 70.3 Triathlon. This was a great race experience for me even though it was a difficult race overall.
I stayed with friends for this weekend and learned a lot just by being around more experienced triathletes. Race day came and went with varying degrees of success. My swim and run times were each a little longer than my goal times, but my bike was faster by a larger margin. In the end I finished in 7:58:38 on a tough, warm day, just ahead of my modest 8:00:00 goal time.

At this point I could have rested following a busy and successful year, however I had other plans. Three weeks after the half Ironman race I was in San Antonio for the Rock n Roll Marathon. I had intended to cut the race down to a half marathon (at a Rock n Roll event you can do this just by running the half course and they will adjust your registration for you after the fact), however I was feeling good at the split point around the 9 mile mark and I decided to go the full distance. I had a progressively tough time on the second half of the course, and ultimately finished in 6:11:36 for my first marathon finish. I learned a few more lessons about needing to give myself more recovery time between races, but I was also glad to have completed my first marathon.

I was back in Austin three weeks after the SA RnR marathon for the Decker Challenge half marathon. It was a cold race, and the slightly below freezing temperatures with a light misting rain were a stark change from the races I experienced in recent months. However, it was still a good day (in fact it was my birthday!) and I felt up to trying to keep a solid pace for the day. This was likely the toughest course I had run for a half marathon--and certainly the hilliest--but the day went well and by the 10K mark I knew I was on a PR pace, at least as long as I did not start to tire too much. By mile 10 I realize that a new PR is likely, and with a solid finish I complete the race in 2:31:24, trimming over 2 1/2 minutes off my previous best time for a half marathon.

So sums up a rather busy and successful year. By year's end I had gained confidence as a runner and budding triathlete, though more importantly my hard-fought athletic successes brought with them the weight loss I had been looking for as I ended the year at 211 lbs (losing 22 lbs this year) and having me feeling that I had indeed reclaimed some of my lost health of year's past. I felt short of some of my quantifiable goals for the year (sub 30 minute 5K, sub 2:30 half marathon, getting under 210 lbs) but I only barely missed those 3, and what I gained during the year was of much greater value to me.

If anything I hoped and expected the stage was set for a bigger year in 2010.

Coming and Going (with photos) - Year 2

2011-07-04T18:39:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of a series...

2008 followed a life-changing year that had a lot of successes and got me to a lot of places that I never would have imagined at the start of the year, but it also didn't get me going in the right direction with regard to losing weight, and ultimately regaining my health and setting the example that I wanted to set for my family. However, 2008 held more promise and more hope for a shining future than I had seen in a long time. One of the hardest things writing about the years 2008 and 2009 is that I did not keep as good records of those periods and am relying on my memory for some of the key points. I am sure that even if my memory is off, it is close enough.

I set 5 goals for myself in 2008:
1. Run a sub-30 minute 5K
2. Run a sub-2:30 half marathon
3. Complete a full marathon
4. Run the SunMart 50K again
5. Lose 25 lbs

I felt that since I had been running for a year I knew what I was doing and had set reasonable goals. The truth is that these goals may not have been unreasonable, but I still had a lot to learn that year. In fact, as each year has gone on since then I learn more and more and I feel like I know less and less about running.

The year began with a New Year's trip to Disneyworld (and might I add the New Year's Eve fireworks there are a wonder to behold!). Here is a photo from the dinner on New Year's Eve showing how I looked hours before the start of 2008.

In January I enjoyed the Houston Marathon as I ran the half marathon, and dreamed of doing a marathon. When I went down to the race expo, I learned of--and registered for--the San Antonio Rock n Roll Marathon that would run its inaugural race in November....and I kept training.....anyway let's get back to the Houston Half Marathon that was the reason I was down in Houston to begin with. I ran the half marathon in 2:47:19. This was a great race and I was thrilled with the experience, but I was disappointed in finishing about 12 minutes slower than a half marathon from last October. The truth is this was a large race with a congested course, and it was not a day for me to set a PR, but this was not yet something I really understood.

In March I entered the Spring Fever 5K for the second straight year. In this race I took advantage of my improved fitness and finished in 33:19, cutting off 5:24 from the 2007 time! I can telly you this had me feeling good as I saw some positive results.

The rest of my spring races would not be so kind to me. In March I ran the the Seabrook Lucky Trail Half Marathon in 3:06:46. It was a warm day and I spent most of the night before dealing with family problems, but I still had fun and enjoyed the day. In April I ran the Hog's Hunt 25K (essentially the same as the Rocky Raccoon 25K last November) in 4:46:45, or 1:00:19 more than November's time. I seem to recall I may have had ankle issues or maybe was just over-confident that I could do everything I wanted, but it was certainly not a banner day for me. In May I ran two more 5K's a week apart in 38:02 and 38:25. This was pretty consistent pacing, but by now the Texas weather was heating up and PR's were no longer realistic. As the spring racing season ended I took stock of my races (and what I perceived as partial failures where my times had slowed down) and worked to improve myself. I also learned of a local triathlon and was intrigued and would have entered if not for it selling out, but I went to watch the local CB&I Triathlon and hoped to do it one day.

In late May/early June my plans took an abrupt change when I was rear-ended in an auto accident. Fortunately, I was not seriously injured. However, I was injured enough that I had to take several weeks away from all exercise. After that I was able to return to walking and began physical therapy. I'm not quite sure my doctor knew how much walking I was doing, as I was trying to get back onto a plan that would allow me to enter the Houston Half race in October again. I worked hard on the physical therapy exercises and I branched out into less rigorous exercise that I was approved to do (such as swimming, cycling and light weight-lifting). Also during this period, I worked hard to maintain my diet so I would not begin to put on some of the pounds that I had lost during the first part of the year. At the time I was rear-ended I was around 240 pounds and I was actually able to maintain that and get down into the upper 230's as I resumed some exercise.

I think it was around mid to late September that I was cleared to begin running again. I set my sights on completing a series of races designed to prepare runners for the Houston Marathon in the following January. These races run through the fall and are made up of a half marathon, a 25K and a 30K race. In addition, I was still registered for the San Antonio Rock n Roll Marathon in November.

When late October rolled around I was ready for the Houston Half and I clocked a new PR with a time of 2:33:57, clipping almost 2 minutes off of last year's best time for this distance. Two weeks later was the HMSA Classical 25K in Houston. I ran a good race for my expectations and finished in 3:28:26, which is still my PR for the distance (and my only non-trail 25K). A week later was the San Antonio Rock n Roll race where I downgraded to the half marathon and ran in 2:59:09. Admittedly I was running for fun and dancing to the music at times at the band locations. Finally, I rounded out the year's racing a month later at the Lakes of Williams Ranch 30K. This was remarkable for me in several ways that were unexpected to me. First, I had a bad day. This was most likely due to not quite being prepared for the distance and being worn down by an active fall season. Second, I made a great friend who helped me enter the next phase of my racing in 2009. I met Heather (as pictured with me finishing to the left) on the course, as it seemed we were frequently near each other, so we decided to run the rest of the race together and had a good long conversation during our run. That conversation--and the friendship that followed--set the stage for many greater things for me to come.

So, I put the cap on a big year with a less than stellar finish, but it was a finish that taught me lessons and gained me numerous friends, such as Adrienne who is sneaking into this next photo. Most importantly, I learned more about testing my limits, and how to judge the reasonable expectations from the unreasonable expectations.
I made many strides (no pun intended) in 2008. I don't know how easy it is to see in these photos but I dropped almost 30 pounds in the the year. I finished the year around 233 lbs after having been as low as 223 lbs in October, but it still finished off a great year for me in so many ways. Even though I failed to achieve four out of my five early years goals, I learned how to deal with setbacks and successfully come back from adversity. Perhaps more importantly, I set the stage for the next few years in ways that I did not yet understand.

Coming and Going (with photos) - Year 1

2011-07-02T15:43:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has read a decent number of my blog posts has an idea of where I started from and where my journey has brought me, but after talking with a friend of mine recently the idea of putting together a different kind of post came to mind. This is my first attempt to put together that post that currently exists in my mind. I originally intended for this to be a single post but as I have progressed through my first year I have realized that this is going to take some time--and several separate posts.

It was in December 2005 that I turned 40 years old and realized that I should spend more time worrying about the things that I could control than the things I could not control in my life. One of those was to work to regain my health. I was grossly overweight and my doctor was concerned enough about my health that he believed there was a good chance that a future diagnoses of diabetes and other chronic conditions was a distinct possibility. These are some photos from a vacation (Disneyworld) from New Year's week 2006, showing how I looked around that time.

While the desire was there, for some reason the motivation to actually begin a workout program eluded me for some time. I did some reading and thinking on the subject and I even went to the gym on occasion, but I never really did anything significant. Finally, by the time my 41st birthday rolled around a year later I found that motivation. Maybe it was losing a year of good intentions, maybe I was finally fed up with the status quo or maybe it was my desire to set a better example for my family, but in November 2006 I took the literal first steps on that journey by walking for exercise. One of the books that I opened during that past year, a book that I have since passed on to a fellow runner trying to transform their own life, was John Bingham's Marathoning for Mortals. It was in this book that I learned about local races such as 5K's, 10K's and half marathons. I knew about the existence of marathons, though not much more than that they existed, and I also knew that I had once desired to run a marathon and I adopted that as my goal—although I was realistic enough to understand that the marathon would have to wait a while and I set out towards the half marathon as a stopping point on the way to that goal.

I put together a plan to move forward towards the Big D Half Marathon in Dallas on April 1, 2007. The log I kept for this period had the following as my stated initial goal:

“INITIAL GOAL: Participate in the Big D Half Marathon on April 1, 2007. Primary goal is to finish and collect finisher’s medal. Secondary goal is to finish in less than 3:30:00 hours (The Big D Half Marathon Allows a finishing time of up to 7:00:00 hours, which is twice the standard for most half-marathons, due to the fact that it shares the course with the full marathon finish.).“

My program began on December 28, 2006, and I wrote the following log entry:

“Thursday, December 28, 2006 – After having been walking for exercise for a couple months, I started to include a running element. Today I started by walking for 5 minutes slowly to warm-up, then alternated 3 minutes walking at treadmill speed of 3.5 and running 2 minutes at a treadmill speed of 4.5 for a total of 25 minutes, then followed up with a 5 minute slow walk as a cool-down period. I traveled a total of 2.0 miles.
The following morning my legs were slight bit sore and my knees were a little stiff in the morning. I think I will try a rate of 3 minutes walking and 1 minute running (3W+1R) for a couple weeks before going back to 3W+2R pattern.“

As the next months went on I slowly expanded on training and I set about learning about running at a serious level—or at least at a level that felt serious to me. On March 3, 2007, I took my training to a new level when I did my first 10 mile run and my 5K on the same day.

“Saturday, March 3, 2007 - Plan: Endurance run using 3W+2R pattern for 10 miles , with 5 minutes each for warm up and cool down. Run Spring Fever 5K in The Woodlands, TX as part of today’s running in a time of 38:26.5, an average rate of just under 12:30 per mile. I worked to keep my pace down, but let my speed carry me in the last mile. I finished 297th overall and 19th in my age/gender group. I ran 0.8 miles before the race and the balance of 10 miles after the 5K race (after staying for awards and snacking on food and drink. Overall, 1 ran the 10 miles in 2:20:21, an average rate of 14:02 per mile. Some of the later miles had to be pushed a bit; it was probably not a good idea to have eaten between the run periods.”

I remember that day fairly well. I felt out of place and awkward, especially since I felt like the only slow, fat guy there; but I was also determined to successfully run this race. It was not an easy race for me, as evidenced by the nearly 39 minute race time; but it was also a good day. I felt like a real runner having done this race. On March 16, 2007, I ran the Bayou City Classic race in Houston, TX. I completed the race in 1:16:45. I remember it being a good experience, but I also learned a lot about doing a longer event and pacing myself as I ran a negative split that day. Finally, April 1 rolled around. The reason I chose this event as my half marathon was that it was the last half marathon of the season that I could find. Fortunately this late season event worked (barely) with my training plan. As an added benefit, my brother who lived outside of Dallas joined me in the event.
My log post reads as follows for that date:

"Sunday, April 1, 2007 – Plan: 13.1 miles at 3W+2R rate in Big D Half Marathon. Pick up rate near end of race if I can. Do not start out too fast. Remember the original primary goal is to finish in any time and the secondary goal is to finish in less than 3:30:00 hours. The goal set just before race day is a finishing time of less than 3:00:00 hours.
Actual: Ran the 13.1 mile half-marathon in 2:58:23.95, meeting all goals for completion and time. Ironically, there were many troubles at the start…befitting the date of this event."

On the morning of the event there were several issues that came up. As we neared the race site, all traffic on the freeway came to a halt when a tanker truck turned over. We eventually made it through, parked and got to the start line about 25 minutes late. They had already shut off the timing mats and most of the runners were long gone, and we were far from the only runners still arriving. In the end I asked which way the course went and I headed that direction. In a couple miles we hit the first aid station, where they were surprised to still be seeing trailing runners coming along, and I followed the trail of discarded cups along the road that were being picked up. Every now and then we would pass another runner and my confidence would pick up a bit more. In the end we successfully completed the event, although my official time was based on the true race gun time and was almost 3.5 hours, however I recorded the time of 2:58:24 on my own. The other thing that happened that day was that I was hooked on a lifestyle that would lead to many more races in the coming years. The photo to the side was taken just before I approached the finish line.

As summer approached I stayed with my running program and kept the fitness I had gained. During this period I learned more about running and discovered the USA Fit program and its local chapter, The Woodlands Fit. I joined this program which had coached groups based on ability and goal races. I entered with a goal of completing the Houston Half Marathon in January 2008, but left far exceeding that goal. During that late summer through winter that led up to the Houston Half Marathon I entered and completed a series of events throughout the rest of 2007. In September I completed the Chevron Houston Marathon Kickoff 5K in 38:38, a slight improvement over my earlier 5K on a hot and humid evening. In October I completed the Ten for Texas 10 mile race in 2:01:11 (pictured left). Later that year I was introduced to trail racing in the Huntsville state park with the fall Rocky Raccoon 25K, which I completed in 3:46:26 (pictured right). Completing these races, plus the urging of a friend encouraged me to enter a December race for which I was not prepared, the Sunmart 50K on December 8, 2007. Up until this date I had not gone farther than 25K at all, and only once a few weeks before at Rocky, but I was excited to be trying a really long event about which I had heard a lot of positive things. The day was long, and it was warm for December (in the 80's). I had a great time that day, but was also ill-prepared for the distance. However, I had all the determination in the world and I continued, mostly walking with blistered feet through the last 8 miles or so so of the 50K (roughly 31 miles). I finished the event as the next to last finisher at 10:19:52, certainly much slower than I had expected and having had a much harder time than expected. However, in completing this event I learned a lot about completing distance events that still serves me well through today, starting with believing that there isn't any event that I can't complete if I try hard enough.

While the year was filled with numerous successes and a lot of personal growth, it also held a big lesson learned through failure. I had gained about 8 - 10 pounds from the start of the year as my weight had gone from 255 to the mid 260 pound range. When I took stock of the reasons for this failure I had to come to terms with the fact that my belief that running many miles gave me a license to eat anything I wanted. I had proved this to be a false premise and resolved to make improvements in my diet for 2008.

Y Freedom Tri

2011-06-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

The only race I repeated in my two years of triathlon competition is the Y Freedom Tri in Pearland, Texas. So it is no surprise that I might consider doing this fun local race again this year. I watched the race website this year as the race registration stayed open longer than it had in past years. Meanwhile I was slowly but surely continuing my recovery from Ironman Texas. As the last weeks before the race were rolling around I became more certain that I might not be fully recovered from Ironman Texas but I still felt up to doing the race. At the same time I had been talking with Karen, a running friend of mine who had been considering attempting a triathlon. In the end we came upon what might have been the obvious match for us, which was to enter the triathlon as a relay team. After some coordination and explanation, we had a plan and went with it on fairly short notice.

We arrived early enough to meet, get checked in and set up the transition area with time to spare. Karen and I discussed how the race would progress and where we each needed to be and at what time. I was doing the swim and bike and Karen would be doing the run in our relay effort. As the race got near I lined up for the pool swim in my time-seeded location and waited for my turn to go. My swim went well and I finished on my plan schedule, I could have gone a bit faster, but being a pool swim there are certain difficulties in trying to pass the swimmer ahead of you and I was happy with my pace and still held a bit of effort in reserve. I exited the pool and moved towards the transition area. I left the pool area in a time of 6:30 (about 6:00 of swimming and :30 of running out of the pool area). I moved quickly through transition and exited in 1:11--dropping 1:04 from last year as I had the energy to move quickly. Then I moved on to the bike. This was where I wanted to hammer out some hard effort and work on my time to be as fast as I could be. Last year's time was 36:14 and I wanted to be at least 3 minutes faster and hoped to be less than 33 minutes (20 mph pace). I was able to keep up a solid effort for the whole ride as I hoped and maintained a true race pace cadence. When pedaling got harder I shifted down and when it got easier I shifted up, but I held my cadence pretty good. I got passed by 4 riders and passed more than I could count in that time (including passing one of those that passed me!). I can easily say this was my best bike performance on any triathlon! In the end I made it back to transition with a time of 32:40 (20.2 mph pace), making my time goal. I parked my bike and handed off the ankle band and chip to Karen and away she ran. It was a warm and humid morning already and she had a pretty sunny run, but she did well and ran a personal best 3 mile time around 24:15-24:30 (the actual time is not yet posted due to a timing issue).

We finished in 1:05:55 and had a great time, and Karen enjoyed her first-time triathlon experience as well. However, there was a special surprise in store for us as we were the first place finishers in the Mixed Relay Team Division, with a great presentation by a cool-looking George Washington.

In the end, you would think winning my first triathlon award would be the special part of the day, but the truth is sharing this experience with a friend for her first time really made me feel better than taking home an award. This day reminded me in a special way of why I really do these events and why I really enjoy them.

Readjusting to Normal

2011-06-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

It seems the more I wish for my training to get back to normal, the more it seems normal is now different.

This week I had a couple good run workouts. First a track-based speed session and second a weekend long run. Since my Ironman training was almost exclusively based on endurance pacing, I did not get the chance to really stretch out my legs and my pace for a long time. As I approach the end of the recovery period I am able to see the signs of improved fitness based upon my performance, while also being reminded by my fatigue that I am not quite fully recovered yet. Still, I like what I see at this point from a performance point of view.

The mental part of my program has been a bit different of a type of recovery. First, I dealt with the desire to quickly get back to training too quickly. I had been so long in a training mode that I seemed to lack the ability to relax and not train. When I realized that I did not have the physical stamina to return to full training I was better able to make that adjustment. Now that I am four weeks out of Ironman Texas I am able to begin a greater level of workout effort, while still realizing that I am also completing my recovery and am not yet ready for workouts longer than 2 hours or so. However, the hardest part of my readjustment was more perception-based. I did not bargain on becoming an example to others with my completion of an Ironman race. Of course part of this is likely because it is easier for them to recognize the physical changes I have been through in this process since I see myself every day and they may only see me periodically. It seems that to some of these friends I have become their example of success in triathlon. It has taken a bit of time, but I have become okay with that. If I can be a positive force for someone else to become motivated or inspired by what I have accomplished, then I have succeeded in ways that I never expected when I began doing running or triathlon events. That is a thought that gives me both personal peace and satisfaction in a way that is hard to describe--and it is probably quite appropriate considering I have friends that that have been my inspiration as well.

As I go forward in my training and competition, I only have two primary goals for my future. Those goals are to do the best I can and be the best example I can be for others.

I am fine if this is what normal means for me now.

Let's get moving forward again.

I am more ready now than ever.

Tuesday Night Track Workout

2011-06-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

Tonight was my first effort at a speed workout doing 800 meter (half mile) repeats with 2 minutes rest in between. With the early summer heat setting in the evening temperatures were in the mid-90 degree range at the start.

My early warm up mile went well, too well in fact as I did the first mile in 10:14. Following that I did some warm up drills with my training group. After that we did the 800 meter repeats with a 2 minute rest between sessions. I completed 4 of these with times of 3:48, 3:50, 3:45 and 3:54. I think this is a good bit faster than I would have expected to have done a year ago. When I went back in my log to last June the most comparable workout that I could compare this one to was a 2 Mile Time Trial where the first mile was in 8:35 and the second mile was in 9:30.

Although I can tell that I am not fully recovered from the recent Ironman race, it did feel good to be getting back into a real training workout.

There's no telling how sore I will be feeling tomorrow...

Final Post Ironman Thoughts

2011-06-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

Now that I have had 3 weeks to recover from my Ironman adventure, I have also had time to think about my experiences leading up to, during and following Ironman Texas. From my perspective of hindsight I can only now truly understand why my friends who had previously completed Ironman races were so enthusiastic to see me take on this effort, and why they described this undertaking in such glowing terms as a transformational process.

I would encourage anyone wanting to take on the challenge of completing an Ironman to do so with one caveat, that caveat would be that they should truly want to take on this goal. The process of preparation will not be easy, but by race day a proper training program will have you both physically and mentally prepared. The importance of the mental preparation is not to be underestimated in this process.

During my own race I experienced problems of a sort that I did not experience in training, however I always felt confident of my ability to overcome those issues and complete the race. Of course part of that could have been my own innate stubbornness that refused to allow me to fail.

There were a couple things for which my training did leave me completely unprepared. The first was the emotional feelings associated with receiving the cheers of support from the many friends and family members that I saw along the race course. Racing in and completing the Ironman was emotional in itself, but being able to do it with so many friendly faces around made it truly special. It was not long after I had finished that I was virtually surrounded by excited friends. The second is the admiration I have earned from friends because of my Ironman finish. In this regard I am a bit embarrassed with the feeling that I am being placed on a pedestal in such a way. However, I have come to feel that this is not necessarily a bad thing. I feel that with this I can be a positive example to those who wish to also take on the challenge of the Ironman and may feel less confident of their own abilities at the time they register. For those who may feel inspired by my story, I hope I can be up to being the example that helps them achieve their own success. In a way, I am only
just learning what it means to serve as this example and hope I prove to be up to the challenge.

Finally, moving forward I know that I want to take on the challenge of Ironman again. I am not sure when this will be, and my race schedule is already too full for it to earlier than the second half of 2012. The question of which race really has me wondering and will have to wait for some time to come, especially since most Ironman races need to be registered for almost a year in advance.

Getting Back Into Things

2011-06-05T16:19:00.000-07:00

Fifteen days after Ironman Texas finds me having taken some time to spend time with my wife, having spent some time resting and sleeping in and also enjoying an occasional off-diet treat. Somewhat surprisingly I have maintained my pre-IM race weight and even lost an extra couple of pounds (not counting the piece of cheesecake that is waiting for me following this blog post!). In short I have taken some time to stop and smell the roses, and to remember some of the good things that make life worth living.

My post IM period has had it's great moments. I have realized that I have trouble recognizing my own reflection. That is probably more due to my self-image of how I see myself not yet catching up to my actual weight loss and actual physical image. I still keep running into friends for the first time following my IM race and have gotten to enjoy explaining my Ironman stories to them when they ask--and they all do ask. So many people have told me how I have inspired them with my Ironman journey (and believe me it is pretty powerful when people whom you respect a lot call you inspirational!) that I not only feel good for having done something worthy of being a positive example for that many people but I also feel good for having done it for myself. I'd always thought that I had a pretty good self-image of myself, but clearly this process has forced an expansion of that self-image...even if it is still lagging reality a bit.

After a couple weeks of rest, I feel like I am ready to start getting back into some training activities again. I have started to feel restless and done a few light workouts consisting of things that I did because I felt like doing them. Next week has a schedule with a variety of decent workouts, although nothing like my Ironman training period. While nothing I have done recently has really pushed distance or pacing, I have seen flashes of what I expect are signs of how the Ironman training program has improved my overall fitness.

With the extra time that I have had to think recently, I have given thought to my motivations that have propelled my to today. So much of my motivation has been pushed by fear. Fear of losing ground on my program and regaining some of my lost weight, fear of losing the advanced fitness I have gained. In a way, I have always been haunted by the ghosts of wondering what things would have been like if I had always stayed in shape and never gained those 80 some pounds and stayed that way for so many years. I have decided that it is time to lay those ghosts to rest and concentrate on forgetting the things that I cannot control in my past and work towards improving the things I can control in my future. To tell you the truth realizing and deciding this really feels quite liberating, in a way I finally feel like I am going to get to live for myself.

I really do look very forward to the future!

Ironman Texas Wrap-up

2011-05-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

Strangely, writing this final report to wrap-up some items feels bittersweet. For almost a year, Ironman Texas was my one real goal race where everything else was merely a part of building towards this race. I certainly leave this experience better off because of it-- I have made some great new friends and gotten to know other friends better, I have improved my fitness by any standard I can think of, I pursued and achieved a difficult goal and (regadless of whether it was my first or only Ironman race--hopefully first of several/many) I had the experience of a lifetime throughout the process.

What Did I Do Right?
1. I did the training. I was prepared for this race and told myself--and others--that I was only coming off the race course one of two ways: running across the finish line or being dragged off by events entirely beyond my control. I am glad to say that it was by crossing the finish line!
2. I entered the day with a plan and followed it for the most part. Things went well where I followed my plan and I spent most of the day on or ahead of schedule with my plan. Where I went off plan...well, that is below this section.
3. I picked a great race for my first Ironman experience. Sure the weather was tough, but I always knew that was a likelihood. By my doing a local event, I found that I had friends all over the place. It was definitely a great motivator seeing them out there along the course and at aid stations. When I crossed the aid stations that had a volunteer that I knew, one of them would often walk with me for a moment to make sure I had everything I needed and grab it for me if I did not. The other benefit of a local event was being able to stay at home and save money on not having travel costs.
4. I put Body Glide into every transition and special needs bag. By doing this I had access to Body Glide at several points during the race and was able to prevent additional chaffing issues when they started in a location where I had not previously chaffed--and while chaffing was never an issue during my training, it became one during the race....fortunately, a problem that was marginalized because of my preparation.

What Would I Do Different Next Time?
Not much, I had a good plan and had problems with it's execution, so I think I would largely work on improving those things for next time. As far as specifics:
1. Don't deviate on the nutrition plan! I made one minor change that I thought was inconsequential, but it looks like it could have been the cause of my upset stomach. In brief, I had trained to sip one aero bottle (mounted to the front of the bike) with a solution of electrolytes over the entire ride while also taking in one bottle of water plus other nutrition each hour. What I decided to do at almost the last minute for convenience was to put drink each hourly water bottle through the aero bottle and dissolve the electrolyte tablets for an hour at a time. What I did not consider was that the electrolyte solution was a moderate acidic solution and I spent 7 hours consuming this solution where I had been used to my primary method of fueling being near a neutral pH.
2. I found that my wet feet during the bike ride were uncomfortable at times and I wished that I had an extra pair of socks to change into in the second half of the bike ride. Other than feeling uncomfortable, I don't see that this cost me anytime. I have some friends who ride without socks and that may be a potential solution as well.
3. Swim without the tri top on if I wear the two piece tri suit in the future. For some reason the tri top was chaffing around the front of my shoulders and had not done this before. The time saved by not having to put on the top in transition was minimal and I could have saved myself some minor discomfort issues early in the race.

All in all, the positives far outweighed the negatives in my race experience and I accomplished the goals I set forth for myself. I am looking forward to my next Ironman race experience even though I have not yet decided where and when it will be. A return entry to IM Texas is not likely due to other races already on my schedule, so perhaps another 2012 PIM race location or even the 2013 IM Texas event will be selected.
Strangely, writing this final report to wrap-up some items feels bittersweet. For almost a year, Ironman Teaxs was my one real goal race where everything else was merely a part of building towards this race. I certainly leave this experience better off because of it-- I have made some great new friends and gotten to know other friends better, I have improved my fitness by any standard I can think of, I pursued and achieved a difficult goal and (regadless of whether it was my first or only Ironman race--hopefully first of several/many) I had the experience of a lifetime throughout the process.

What Did I Do Right?
1. I did the training. I was prepared for this race and told myself--and others--that I was only coming off the race course: running across the finish line or being dragged off by events entirely beyond my control. I am glad to say that it was by crossing the finish line!
2. I entered the day with a plan and followed it for the most part. Things went well where I followed my plan and I spent most of the day on or ahead of schedule with my plan. Where I went off plan...well, that is below this section.
3. I picked a great race for my first Ironman experience. Sure the weather was tough, but I always knew that was a likelihood. By my doing a local event, I found that I had friends all over the place. It was definitely a great motivator seeing them out there along the course and at aid stations. When I crossed the aid stations that had a volunteer that I knew, one of them would often walk with me for a moment to make sure I had everything I needed and grab it for me if I did not. The other benefit of a local event was being able to stay at home and save money on not having travel costs.
4. I put Body Glide into very transition and special needs bag. By doing this I had access to Body Glide at several points during the race and was able to prevent additional chaffing issues when they started in a location where I had not previously chaffed.

What Would I Do Different Next Time?
Not much, I had a good plan and had problems with it's execution, so I think I would largely work on improving those things for next time. As far as specifics,:
1. Don't deviate on the nutrition plan! I made one minor changes that I thought was inconsequential, but it looks like it could have been the cause of my upset stomach. In brief, I had trained to sip one aero bottle (mounted to the front of the bike) with a solution of electrolytes over the entire ride while also taking in one bottle of water plus other nutrition each hour. What I decided to do late for convenience was to put drink each hourly water bottle through the aero bottle and dissolve the electrolyte an hour at a time. What I did not consider was that the electrolyte solution was a moderate acidic solution and I spent 7 hours consuming this solution where I had been used to my primary method of fueling being near a neutral pH.
2. I found that my wet feet during the bike ride were uncomfortable at times and I wished that I had an extra pair of socks to change into in the second half of the bike ride. Other than feeling uncomfortable, I don't see that this cost me anytime. I have some friends who ride without socks and that may be a potential solution as well.
3. Swim without the tri top on if I wear the two piece tri suit in the future. For some reason the tri top was chaffing around the front of my shoulders and had not done this before. The time saved by not having to put on the top in transition was minimal and I could have saved myself some minor discomfort issues early in the race.

All in all, the positives far outweighed the negatives in my race experience and I accomplished the goals I set forth for myself. I am looking forward to my next Ironman race experience even though I have not yet decided where and when it will be. A return entry to IM Texas is not likely due to other races already on my schedule, so perhaps another 2012 IM race location or even the 2013 IM Texas event will be selected.

Ironman Texas 2011 Race Report

2011-05-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

Last summer when the registration for the inaugural Ironman Texas opened up, I was refreshing the computer screen until I could register---and I was registered within minutes! I knew this was going to be an adventure, but little did I know just how much of an adventure it would be!

I started a 20 week training program for my race that coincidentally began January 1st. Steadily the training weeks got longer and longer and longer, with an occasional recovery week thrown in after 3 build weeks. I remember that February through April had many long and dark workouts, and many times I felt like I was still asleep when I got to the gym to swim or ride. In time I was also so tired that I was not always sure I could complete a workout without falling asleep. There is a lot of stress that goes with training for an Ironman, but I also feel like it was worth every minute of effort I put out. I have so many good memories that I could never remember them all at the same time if I tried.

Anyway, on with the race report.....
I set 3 alarms to be up at 3:30am and within minutes I was packed up and ready to head out the door. Technically virtually everything was packed up the night before--and unpacked and repacked..... Since bikes and transition bags were turned in the day before the race all I had to do was get myself there ready to race and turn in my special needs bags (one bag for each the bike and run that was available at key points in the race in case there was something I thought I might want or need). I head out, get parked near the race and get to transition by 4:30am (I have to love being so close to this race--2.5 miles from the start line!). I check my bike, set up my nutrition on the bike and head out towards the swim start area. As I walk along I bump into various friends and talk about the race. By the time I get down there and get all ready to go it is about 30 minutes until race time. As I am standing around with friends waiting to enter the water, we realize we are only several feet away from one of the male pro racers, Tim O'Donnell and his girlfriend Mirinda Carfrae. Tim goes on to take the Men's 2nd place in this race and Mirinda is the reigning Women's World Champion. In a few minutes we are in the water, I find a place to hang onto a nearby dock to avoid using energy treading water before we start as the final minutes tick down.

At 7:00am the gun goes off and the race begins. I was caught in a tight-ish pack for most of the first part of the swim and held back by so many slow swimmers that started at the front of the line. I also wanted to try to swim at the outside to start, but there were still athletes getting into the water when the gun went off and they blocked that route for me. I expected bumping and jostling and was not surprised at the swim being rough at times and did not think it was that bad. The next day I heard several multi-time IM-er's describing it as worse than their other IM swims, so maybe I was better off being planned to expect worse than it was. Here is a photo showing a sample are of the swim start.

Being my first Ironman swim, I projected a 1:40 swim time and was clocked at 1:40:03.

As I make it in, I get to the ladder at the swim exit and pick up my transition bag on the way from the water.

I had a good bike ride for the first half, but started having problems early. For some reason my bike computer was not registering out of transition (and I did check it before the race) so I made a very early quick stop to realign it. All was good for the first hour and a half as I was pretty much on pace and then little things went wrong. First, the screen showing my speed went blank and never came back on, so I biked on heart rate and perceived effort as my guide, which is what I use for my effort level anyway. About an hour later the zipper broke on my nutrition box and I had try pry it open. Still, I made it through the first half of the bike ride about 7 minutes ahead of my goal range. However, I started feeling nauseous around mile 60 and by mile 70 was in urgent need of a rest stop. After a longer stop than I wanted at the porta-potties and making sure my feet were OK in my wet socks (next time I am considering a mid point sock exchange), I then got back on the road. I did not time my stop but it probably got close to 15 minutes. I did feel better for the next 20 miles but then the nausea returned around mile 90 and stayed with me all day. Seeing friends late on the bike course did perk me up a bit but my stomach was not happy.

I did finish the bike in the back end of my (7 to 7:30) target zone with 7:24. I thought my T2 was slow but it was faster than I thought it was, I headed out on the run. I really did enjoy the run course, and was almost always near someone cheering or volunteering, but my stomach kept bothering me. I walked the first half mile to get started and when I saw a friend who motivated me to start running. The best run I could manage was a 3 minute run/2 minute walk on this loop--however that still got me around loop 1 in approximately 2:02 on my watch when I hoped to average around 2 hours per loop.
It did feel good to run but I was always so close to being sick when I ran. By the time I got to mile 12 I was realizing that even this effort level was pushing me to nearly vomiting and I feared that might push me too close to dehydration, as I saw a number of runners go down from dehydration and heat exhaustion. I decided at that point that I would rather walk and guarantee a finish than push my pace and risk failure, so I walked much of the rest of that second loop and just ran where there was better crowd support. About a mile into the last loop I was feeling somewhat better and wanted to try to run some more, but the guy I was walking with kept wanting to drop out so I stayed with him and talked him through the last loop until we got around the mile 25 marker. At that point I told him he had about 45 minutes left with a 20-25 minute walk ahead of him and I started running again until near the end. I waited near the finishing entry to Market Street for a minute or two to get a place with no other athletes in the finishing chute and then went for my finish.

I was glad to have the chance to go in and high-five a bunch of people on both sides and really have fun with my finishing run before I crossed the line.

It was not long until I saw friends and fellow OutRival Racing members come up and hug me and tell me how happy they were for me and want to ask me all about the race. That really made me feel so great to share those moments with friends!!

Finally, before I drive away from the race area to head back home, I am adding the new distance sticker to my car!

Ironman Texas was an awesome experience! I may have had things go wrong, but I also was well enough prepared to overcome those problems and succeed in finishing. In the end, I was able to endure and still enjoy my race. A friend of mine had once told me that there is no real plan for Ironman because things will go wrong. I remembered this statement during my race and told myself that I would be fine---and I was. This Ironman journey was the adventure of a lifetime and I would not trade it away for anything! As difficult as this was, I can't wait to do it again!

I...AM...AN...IRONMAN!

Ironman Texas 2011

2011-05-21T23:40:00.001-07:00

My day at IMTX was full of problems--and a full race report will be forthcoming....eventually. However for now here is all you need to know: I completed Ironman Texas 2011 in 16:35:49!

IMTX Training Totals

2011-05-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

Here it is, we have reached the end of the training program.

I will leave this 20 week program better than when I started it. I am fitter in both terms of physical ability and leanness. I have lost around 18-19 pounds from January 1 through a weigh-in 2 days ago. Given the expected weather I have been taking in extra water over the last few days to make sure I don't get caught dehydrated, although I suppose that also means I will go into this race a pound or two heavier than I was a few days ago.

I have completed my training and here is a basic summary of my workout totals over this period.
Swim 141,990 yards (80.68 miles)
Bike 1,662.55 miles
Run 468.09 miles
Total 2,211.32 miles

While I can't say for certain at this point what I expected 20 weeks back, this was certainly my expectations. At this point, my bags are packed up and turned into the race or sitting by the door ready to head out with me at a very early hour in the morning. Throughout all this training I was buoyed by the support of friends from all corners of my who lent words of support, many times coming at points were I was feeling down for one reason or another. These words of support provided me great encouragement and motivation to continue to press forward through the darker days of my training.

Now, I am here, and Ironman Texas is........tomorrow!

Prelude to Ironman Texas

2011-05-17T19:13:00.000-07:00

Before I go off to race at Ironman Texas I wanted to write a note of thanks to the many friends, family and supporters I have had help me over the last several years of training that have brought me to this point. There is no way that I could ever remember every name, and so few of those names read this blog (much less know about its existence), but still there are so many who have been a part of helping me get to where I am now.

It has been over five years since I made the decision to embark on a path that has ultimately led me to this point. In fact, it took almost a year before I to start running once I made the decision that I would do it, and even then in that next year I managed to gain 10 pounds thinking that I could eat anything I wanted because I was running. (Was I ever wrong!)

Much of those five-plus years I wandered in the wilderness of the athletic world like a young child lost in the mall as I was overcome by the wondrous assortment of training and racing options. Ever so slowly, I learned more through experience and through the friends I made as I shared their experiences--runners and triathletes are among the kindest people, and so many of them are among my dearest friends! I saw many others around me have more apparent success than I, but that was most often measured in their goals and not mine...and I continued on my path...

The worlds of running and triathlon have given me great joy and many friends, but perhaps their greatest gift to me is their part in helping to transform a very overweight, pre-diabetic 40 year old with multiple borderline results on his physical exam to a healthy, vibrant 45 year old who is at his former high school and Marine Corps weight and whose most recent physical exam was noted as having the blood pressure of an athlete and had lost over 30% of his former weight.

No single event--not even Ironman--was ever more than a temporary stop along the way to my real goals. Those goals were always to lose weight, reclaim my health and life and to to have some fun along the way. I am happy to announce that I have accomplished those goals!! Regardless of anything that happens on May 21, no matter what the finishing time is or is not, I have already!

Thank you for being a part of this journey with me. I look forward to our continuing the adventure!

IMTX Training Week 19

2011-05-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

Last week was Week 18 of Ironman Texas Training. It was the first full taper week and I was still feeling tired, although I could tell that I was getting rested as my times were improving without trying to go harder/faster. I did drop one bike and one swim workout on Wednesday due to a combination of a busy work schedule and general tiredness.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 6,500 yards, 2:25:09
Bike - 43.47 miles on trainer and roads, 2:39:48
Run - 22.0 miles, 4:18:46

Overall training time: 9:23:43

In a way I am relieved that I am done with the bulk of my training. I know that I am done with the heavy part of my training and mostly need to rest and stay limber and in shape at this point. I feel that there is not much more I can do to improve my conditioning this close to the race, but if I am not careful I could undermine my conditioning.

During this past week the signs of the Ironman race coming to my neighborhood have become obvious. First, a fleet of trucks is parked along a utility easement that is central to a large part of the run course. Second, tents have started to be set up in an open area that will be central to some of the pre-race festivities. Finally, actual signs stating about race day traffic delays have started to appear.

Tonight my training group had a panel discussion and Q&A session where several local athletes who had each done several Ironman races discussed various aspects of race day expectations and planning. I think I am in for the experience of a lifetime this week!

There are only 6 days until Ironman Texas.....

IMTX Training Week 18

2011-05-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

Last week was Week 17 of Ironman Texas Training. This week was transitioning from the build phase to the taper period. I missed two training sessions this week, one swim and one bike, just because I was too tired to get up and out of the house early in the morning (not to mention sleeping through my alarms!).

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 6,400 yards, 2:20:54
Bike - 60.80 miles on trainer and roads, 3:28:59
Run - 26.36 miles, 5:25:09

Overall training time: 11:15:02

In a way I am relieved that I am done with the bulk of my training. I have never been this consistently tired since I was in basic training back in 1985--and at least then I had the benefit of youth! I figure that my two lost workouts cost me about 3 hours of training time, but also pointed out that I dearly needed the rest as well. After that, I am looking forward to race day so I can be done with this whole thing--I am ready to done and for this whole thing to be over! I have enjoyed the process even though it has not been easy, but it is time to be finished.

Overall I am feeling really good right now-still tired but good. This week's workouts have shown me signs that my training has gotten me to where I want to be and I do feel ready for the coming race.

Next week is a full blown taper week and then comes race week. At this point I can taste the excitement and anticipation of the race ahead of me. Last night I watched a few hours of the finish line video from Ironman St. George and I am really feeling psyched up at this point.

From this point on I am going to redouble my efforts at the base of my plan (diet, rest and other non-training items) while concentrating on training effectively without overdoing anything. I feel that there is not much more I can do to improve my conditioning this close to the race, but if I am not careful I could undermine my conditioning. I have come a long, long way over the past few months and I am close to enjoying the race for which I have so long prepared.

Only 13 days until Ironman Texas.....

IMTX Training Week 17

2011-05-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

This was Week 17 of Ironman Texas Training. This week was the last of the big training weeks and ended the final build phase of my 20 week training program.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 10,100 yards, 3:58:09
Bike - 100.24 miles on trainer and roads, 6:00:18
Run - 32.40 miles, 6:31:32
Other - stretching specific or other training workout, including race transition times, 0:30:00

Overall training time: 16:59:59

Yes, that was my actual total time. Just think I could have a 17 hour week if I only worked out 1 second longer. ;-) This week was my third-longest workout week in terms of time trained, although this was definitely a better week than the second-longest week of training time.

This was another good week in terms of how I felt about my overall performance in training. I felt I was stronger and faster in each sport this week--even when my bike training ride on the race course was into a strong wind I was able to hold my goal pace without blowing up my heart rate. I definitely went through this last build week tired most of the time, but I was still able to find the effort level to put out good workouts for those times where I was exercising. I did have a one hour bike workout that I canceled due to tiredness early in the week, but aside from that it was a good week. Mostly it was the rest of my life that had to deal with the "tired all the time" version of me.

Next week is the beginning of the pre-race taper period. I am so excited that I can hardly believe the race is finally getting here!! Of course, I already know my coach's thoughts of a pre-race taper are far more active than what I would schedule--then again she has gotten me this far, so I will be staying on-plan through the race.

I can tell that I am far from the only one concentrating on the short time left before race day. Yesterday there were quite a few others riding most or all of the Ironman Texas bike course, and I had the opportunity to chat with a few other cyclists from around the greater Houston area. Today I ran with some local friends on a good portion of the Ironman Texas run course and saw a lot of runners dressed in various tri gear practicing their on-course running.

Only 20 days until Ironman Texas.....

.....and I am ready!

April Training Recap

2011-04-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

Here is my recap for a very tiring month of April which was, as expected, even more tiring than the month of March.

Total Swim Distance 38,740 yards (22.01 miles) in 15:02:46
Total Bike Distance 431.09 miles (including spin bike sessions) in 27:40:40
Total Run Distance 100.93 miles in 20:38:17
Total Training Distance 554.03 miles (wow!)

The end of April nearly coincides with the end of the main portion of my training program with the pre-race taper beginning after the May 1st run workout. Next month's schedule begins with tapering my way into the Ironman Texas race. Part of me feels like it is about time the race got here and part of me can hardly believe it is almost here. My main observation about my April training is that even though I was quite often tired, I also seemed to be able to find the energy to put together faster workouts.

Instead of an end of month summary for May, I hope to post a summary for the 20 week training program which began on January 1, 2011.

21 days left until Ironman Texas....

Hitting the Training Wall

2011-04-27T06:40:00.000-07:00

I am hitting the end of the final build phase of my training this week--and I sure can feel it. I feel as if I have hit a wall and am still pushing to go right through it.

It's no longer just waking up tired most of the time, these last two weeks I have slept through my alarm more than once (and had to move a morning workout to a time later in the day). However, when the actual workout comes along, I seem to have no problem setting aside (mentally and physically) everything else in order to put together a quality workout.

I go through these strange phases where I have no hunger, and then am starved to the point of almost not being able to be satiated, and then go a long period without being hungry again.

After several weeks of feeling just about perfect I seem to be having the occasional aches and pains that are fairly typical of training. If anything I should probably be surprised that my body has held up this well for this long. Over these last few months I have gotten my body into the best conditioning it has had for close to 20 years, if not a few years longer, and have had a minimal amount of problems along the way. However, I may be reaching as far as I can go before the cumulative effects of my training program begin to weigh me down. My response this week has been to pull out any trick I can think of to help out--squeeze in some more sleep, greater use of compression gear, ice bath, whirlpool treatment, massage appointment later this week food overall and eating more quality. In addition, my coach and I have selectively skipped a couple workouts to try to avoid hitting that over-training point that might cause actual injury. I should also try to keep in mind the positives I have gained over this training period already. These include making new friends and training partners, losing 20-25 pounds that moved me off of a stubborn weight loss plateau that I had been near previously and gaining great confidence in my abilities to swim, bike and run anywhere at anytime.

Next week starts my pre-race taper period. Although my training will start to reduce, I suspect it will hardly be a restful week. More likely it will just be a bit less intense and not quite so long as recent weeks, but that is still a start.

I think the key thing for me to remember right now is that my training is mental preparation as well as physical preparation. Theses tough periods will help make sure that I have the right mental preparation for a long race day. How long? Well, that is a question that will be answered in 24 days......

IMTX Training Week 16

2011-04-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

This was Week 16 of Ironman Texas Training. This week is to be the next to last of my heavier training weeks before entering the taper period.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 10,400 yards, 3:52:18
Bike - 94.20 miles on trainer and roads, 5:12:31
Run - 24.82 miles, 5:19:32
Other - stretching specific or other training workout, including race transition times, 0:00:00

Overall training time: 14:24:21

This was my best week so far in terms of how I felt about my overall performance in training. I felt I was stronger and faster in each sport this week--I even swam 700 more yards more than last week in less time this week. I really would have thought that my overall time for training would have been higher, but I think a large part of that is that almost every workout was done in less time than expected this past week. In some ways I really feel like everything is beginning to come together for me in this training program! I am still frequently tired, but I seem to be able to dig down inside and find the strength to pull out the effort needed for each workout. Fortunately, I am also feeling generally healthy as I have gotten to this point; I have occasional aches and pains, but no real injuries.

Still it was not a perfect week, I missed a bike workout early in the week when I was so tired I slept through my alarm the second day in a row (fortunately I managed to get up a bit late the previous day and still got that workout in). I think my coach took this as a sign that I needed the rest and did not want me to make it up later in the week. Best of all, I was still able to schedule around my anniversary and have a great night out with my wife, who had been very tolerant of my training schedule so far even though I know she would like to see more of me these days.

Next week is the last building training week of my program before beginning the pre-race taper period. I am so excited that I can hardly believe the race is finally getting here!!

I am 80% done with my training and have 27 days until Ironman Texas.....

IMTX Training Week 15

2011-04-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

This was Week 15 of Ironman Texas Training. This week was leading into the big groups training ride of the IMTX bike course this weekend. Presently, I am in the peak training period for the 20 week IMTX training program.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 9,700 yards, 3:54:31
Bike - 134.0 miles on trainer and roads, 8:13:05
Run - 30.44 miles, 6:20:25
Other - stretching specific or other training workout, including race transition times, 0:00:00

Overall training time: 18:28:01

This was my biggest week so far in terms of total training time, as well as training time and distance for each event, excepting 1 week where my swim distance was slightly longer by 900 yards. The big items this week were my longest run to date in the program, 17.52 miles on Thursday, and then Sunday's ride of the IMTX bike course (aka the "Got 112?" event). I went into the ride with a goal to ride in heart rate Zone 2 as much as possible, which I did almost exclusively. I also hoped to be able to ride close to 7 hours, which I did at 6:58:46.

Next week won't be much easier. I will have slightly reduced workouts overall, however they culminate in my second longest swim on Friday afternoon, and then follow-up with a 75 mile bike/8 mile run brick workout on Saturday. On the plus side I do get Easter Sunday off as a rest day and a relatively easy day on Thursday for my anniversary.

34 days until Ironman Texas.....

Richard's Laws of Training

2011-04-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

Being 100 days into my 20 week (i.e. 140 day) training plan, I have had a lot of time to dwell on my training--although most of that dwelling on my training has been during my training as my mind wanders beyond the workout that is underway. During this time I have developed my personal Laws of Training, which were unwritten until now. As I inadvertently quoted one of them to my training coach today, I figured it was time to put them into writing.

Richard's Training Law 1: Don't be afraid to question the coach.
The coach is not God and therefore above being questioned, whether it is because I happen to disagree with what was assigned or (more likely) I just want some clarification on the goals/purpose of the workout.

Richard's Training Law 2: Be willing to change the workout when necessary.
I am the one paying the coach. It is my decision to do the workouts planned by the coach how I see fit based on how I feel and the other conditions in my life. However, I must also remember that going "off plan" is not to be done lightly as I then lose the benefit of the coach's experience and training.

Richard's Training Law 3: Don't be afraid to succeed.
Just because a workout looks hard or goes beyond what you might expect is your limit is no reason to not try to do it. In this way the fear of failing to succeed in a tough workout could actually prevent you from expanding your personal limits through new and unexpected successes.

For what it's worth, it was # 3 that I quoted to my coach today as I was assigned a swim workout beyond any distance that I have completed to date. In the end, I completed the 4700 yard swim in 1:47:31, which was also a good bit faster than I would have expected.

IMTX Training - Weeks 13 & 14

2011-04-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

Due to my other blog posts last week (and my busy schedule) I am reporting on the last 2 weeks of training in this single blog post.

Two weeks back was Week 13 of Ironman Texas Training. This week was leading into the Kemah International Triathlon on the last day of the training week.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 7,640 yards, 2:56:17
Bike - 47.8 miles on trainer and roads, 2:45:34
Run - 19.2 miles, 3:36:01
Other - stretching specific or other training workout, including race transition times, 0:44:49

Overall training time: 10:02:41, which includes race time.

If it were up to me, I would have put together a regular training week and gone through the motions of the race at the upper end of my heart rate training zone and been happy to call it practice. However, my coach had other ideas. She assigned me a decreasing schedule for the week leading into the race, and then told me to "go for it!" I did as she told me and was happy with a 12+ minute PR, over 10 minutes of which was improved run time--not to mention setting a 10K run PR on the run portion of the triathlon.

Week 14 began with some recovery time as I got back into training following the race at Kemah.
Swim - 6,100 yards, 2:25:17
Bike - 102.55 miles on trainer and roads, 6:29:47
Run - 12.0 miles, 2:40:50
Other - stretching specific or other training workout, 0:15:00

Overall training time: 11:50:54

Generally speaking, I end this week feeling much better than I started it. My coach dropped one running workout due to my fatigue levels late in the week. I also got a bit more rest when I had to cut my Sunday long run from 10.0 miles to 7.25 miles due to a minor emergency at my father's house (a plumbing repair which I was able to remedy for him). I considered a second run later in the day to finish out my 10 miles, although in the end I decided not to do so as I would hate to push myself and cause an inadvertent injury.

So, now I am heading into Week 15 looking at my longest training week yet. Among this week's assigned workouts are my longest run to date for this program (17 miles) and another 112 mile bike ride--this time a semi-supported team bike ride on the entire IMTX course. I guess you will have to check back here in a week to see if I survive!

41 days until Ironman Texas!

Kemah International Distance Triathlon

2011-04-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the Kemah International Distance Triathlon (formerly known as the Gateway to the Bay Triathlon). I went into the race primarily as a practice tune-up for Ironman Texas in 7 weeks, but also hoping to set a new PR while following a heart rate goal. My personal goals for the race were to use my planned Ironman nutrition strategies and to finish between 3:00:00 and 3:10:00.

I spent the night at the local Holiday Inn and was less than 2 blocks from the transition area. After getting ready in the evening I had trouble sleeping for no specific reason. Right before midnight I suddenly think that I did not get my swim goggles out and realize that I do not have them. Apparently I left them at the gym during a final warm up swim that morning. Fortunately, I have a backup pair in my swim bag in my car. These were a pair I tested a few weeks back that work okay, but sometimes didn't quite seal perfectly. In the end they are better than nothing.

I wake up early--as usual on race day with 3 alarms--though the first one is enough. I make it out to the transition area just after it opens and get set up pretty quickly. After it nears transition closing time I walk over to the big paddleboat that they are going to use to take us out to the swim start. This start is one where they take us straight offshore.

Once the race started I had about 30 minutes until my wave went off and then I stayed farther back in my wave to take my time. Overall, I felt I did pretty well. The water was choppy and there was a bit of cross-current, but I kept a pretty straight line all the way to shore. I posted a time of 33:06, which is a few minutes slower than I had hoped, however it was still about 30 seconds faster than last September's Austin Triathlon time which was under much easier swim conditions. However, comparative swim times for most people were several minutes slower for Kemah compared to Austin for most so I must be showing personal improvement to buck that trend and have a faster time.

As I moved on to the bike I noticed that the wind had definitely picked up, I estimate around 15 mph for much of my time on the bike. This led to slow times into the wind and fast times with the wind. Overall I posted a time about 1 minute slower than in Austin, which did disappoint me slightly, but considering the wind that may have been the best I could do that day and stay within my heart rate guidelines. I did have one mishap on the bike, which was fortunately not a problem with me.
As I was mounting my bike and before I clipped into the pedals I got pushed from behind by a guy not watching and had to find the pedals before I fell over as I moved slowly forward. Fortunately, I kept control and was fine, however from this photo you can see the guy standing sideways across the path as he tried to reposition himself and was blocking the way of others.

Coming into the run I knew that my two good transitions were the difference in my time being slightly under Austin's previous time. However, I was still on my plan and I felt as good as I have in any triathlon at this point. As I set out on the run I try to move smoothly and not push too hard. It turns out that I push through Mile 1 in about 9:30, which was a pleasant surprise. Then around the 1.5 mile mark I had a chance conversation with a fellow runner coming up from behind and realize that it is someone I know. Ingrid and I spend a mile or so together chatting before she pulls ahead of me. Anyway, as Mile 2 rolls by I realize that is another 9:30 mile. By this time I am running by the Kemah Boardwalk area with the roller coaster and the Bay around me. Miles 3 and 4 get a bit tougher but go by around 10:00 each. Finally, comes the last part of the run which takes us over the BIG bridge linking Kemah and Seabrook across the Bay. This is one tall bridge to run over--and I do run over it. I am able to pass quite a few runners who are humbled by this bridge, which pleases me to no end. I love this photo where I had just blown by this guy from Bay Area Multisport (aka BAM!) who was suffering as I was smiling for the photo! Finally, after going up the hill, down the hill, looping around and back up and down again.....I am about 2/10 of a mile from the end. I try to pick up my pace a bit and head on through the finish in 1:03:21, which actually represents a 10K PR time for me as well.
In the end I finish in 3:06:14, over a 12 minute PR time for the distance (powered mostly by a 10 minute run improvement!).

March Totals

2011-04-01T19:18:00.001-07:00

Here is my very brief recap for a very tiring month of March (as I look forward to an even more tiring month of April!).

Total Swim Distance 32,800 yards (18.64 miles)
Total Bike Distance 359.15 miles (including spin bike sessions)
Total Run Distance 111.11 miles
Total Training Distance 488.90 miles (wow!)

Next month's schedule includes increasingly long training runs and a bike ride of the complete Ironman Texas course, plus a lot of swimming as well. If I am fortunate enough to survive the month of April, it will be just about time to start the pre-race taper period.....

Victory!

2011-04-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today (i.e. April 1, 2007--quite appropriately on April Fool's Day) I ran my first half marathon with my brother, since that time I have finished nearly 50 running and triathlon events. It is only recently that I figured out that I have achieved victory over the lofty goals I set for myself, and then I just kept on moving forward even more--all with the support of my family and the many friends I have picked up along the way.

Back in my first blog post for this blog (way back in September 2007) I was at a major transition point in my life and hoped that, among the many other things that I hoped to accomplish, I could "lose the 80 or so extra pounds I have gained over quite a few years".

I have had good and bad training sessions and good and bad events, and have no idea how many miles I have covered--although I could eventually figure this out as I have them logged! Many of these times I was driven mostly by the desire to try to regain my life from the nearly 270 lbs (or maybe more since I rarely stepped near--much less on--a scale) I weighed at one time.

I started out hoping the long held and deeply repressed dream of running a marathon one day could be enough leverage to get me beyond the initial training events of my first few months (a 5K, a 10K and a half marathon in the first 13 weeks). What happened was that a wonderful world of new friends opened up that was always right in front of me, but yet I had always failed to notice. I am not fast, but I am no longer slow; I can equally look forward to a 3 or a 13 mile run with friends; I often enjoy the socializing more than the actual training I do with friends.....but most of all, I really have found that the friends I have met along the way are some of the most wonderful people in the world and that much of what I have been able to do would have been impossible to do without their support.

My dreams have moved on; these days I dream of Ironman and multiple marathon events, and laughingly think of this coming weekend's Olympic Distance triathlon as a training race, but rest assured that I understand that I know I move forward buoyed by the support of my friends and family--even if many of them don't truly understand how much I appreciate their support and how important it has been to me over these years.

For what it's worth, my old adversary the bathroom scale now seems a bit more friendly as I regard him with less importance. I choose instead to gauge myself by fitness than by weight--and I could certainly afford to about 10 lbs more from my midsection. However, after years of trying, and sometimes not believing I would succeed, I have gotten under 185 lbs and am wearing the same size pants I wore as a Marine over 20 years ago.

My friends, there has always been at least one of you there to share my running ups and downs, from helping me up from injury or holding me in my tears as I was unable to run after experiencing the loss of someone close and in the successes of completing tough events and setting new race PRs; and for these things I am most grateful! Thank you one and all!

IMTX Training - Week 12

2011-03-27T12:43:00.000-07:00

This past week was Week 12 of Ironman Texas Training. This end of this week was a start to cutting back for recovery/taper before the Kemah International Triathlon the following weekend.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 5,100 yards, 2:02:32
Bike - 73.55 miles on trainer and roads, 4:36:05
Run - 24.82 miles, 5:11:26
Other - stretching specific or other training workout, 0:15:00

Overall training time 12:05:03

I started this week feeling strong but was also tiring as the week went on. This week would have normally been a recovery week. However with a taper scheduled for the following week, Week 12 stayed a regular training week at the front and started a recovery/taper period with the end of the week.

As last week ended I was feeling some discomfort in my left calf and I made a point to enter my first run of the week on Tuesday very carefully. In the end I felt no continuation of that discomfort and had an easy, but very good, training run. By the time Friday rolled around I could really feel the fatigue setting in. I woke up early Friday morning to swim and could not get myself to get up and out to the gym. I went to the gym later on after work to get in my swim. While I was scanning through my email before going in I dozed off in a light sleep and woke up when my cell phone rang. Finally, when I did get going on that swim, I felt so tired after warming up that I canceled the workout due to the tiredness I was feeling--to which my coach replied that I was ready for my taper week. Apparently the simple act of resting instead of swimming, added to a decent night's sleep, allowed me to put together a solid run the next morning where I stayed in my heart rate zone target and kept up a faster pace than I had in a few weeks for a run of over 6 miles. My bike ride on Sunday was similarly successful as my Saturday run. Just two days into the taper period and I am already starting to feel much better!

Next weekend brings with it the Kemah Olympic Distance Triathlon which follows what should be an unusually easy week at work for me. I am coming off of an extended period of long hours and deadlines, most of which reach their end point this coming week and follow a very difficult, though very successful last week.

While I am looking very much forward to doing the Kemah race next weekend, both as a distraction from Ironman Texas on the horizon and to see how much improvement I show. However, I also know that I do not expect this to be at true race level effort as I am still training with a higher priority in mind, and that higher priority race does not go off until May 21st.

65 days until Ironman Texas.....

IMTX Training - Week 11

2011-03-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

This past week was Week 10 of Ironman Texas Training. This week was a continuation of my current build phase, as modified to allow for a taper before the Kemah International Triathlon in 2 weeks.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 8,500 yards, 3:25:43
Bike - 104.3 miles on trainer and roads, 6:43:34
Run - 29.05 miles, 6:15:52
Other - stretching specific or other training workout, 0:30:00

Overall training time 16:55:10

This week pushes into the second half of my training cycle of my training program. The highlights of this week included an increase in my running mileage (including my longest run so far of this training plan--13.6 miles) and completing a 70 mile bike/3.25 mile run brick workout. The low point of the week is that I shortened my planned 90 mile ride/3 mile run brick workout earlier today due to some calf soreness (shortened to the previously mentioned managed 70 mile bike/3.25 mile run brick workout). I had first felt the calf soreness during the 13.6 mile run on Thursday and then again in Saturday's 6 mile run. Fortunately, it did not seem to be a factor during my brick run following the bike ride today. If I had gotten in the full ride distance, I would have had my first 18 hour week of training, however I still think it was the right decision to shorten the ride as a potential injury concern. During the last week I have often felt generally weary and tired, but I was able to take advantage of some extra sleep on Saturday to feel a bit more rested at the end of the training week.

I also had a big moral victory this weekend. I cleaned out my closet of any old clothes that did not fit. As I got farther back I could see hoe the sizes changed. I could see how much difference there was in the biggest clothes (wow!) and found a few that remained from years gone by (um, like since 1992/1993) that fit now. It looks like a local charity is about to get a large clothing donation soon. I took the time to buy a few items that fit properly, and I am thrilled to be at the same waist size I had when I was back in the Marines (although I still need to get rid of this extra stomach area weight I am currently carrying!).

62 days until Ironman Texas.....

Texas Independence Relay

2011-03-14T18:10:00.001-07:00

A couple of weekends back I participated in the Texas Independence Relay (TIR). The TIR is a 203.2 mile relay race from Gonzales, TX to the San Jacinto Monument. The course covers 203.2 miles in remembrance of the Texas fight for independence from Mexico in 1836.

The TIR is a challenging and wonderful event where you spend much time time in close contact with your team as you work to pursue your race goals. Most of my running was done in fairly secluded Texas country, often with only the cows and horses on nearby land as my company. My first leg was on isolated dirt roads where the support vehicles were not allowed to travel. In this area it was just myself and the the countryside, although I happily enjoyed an almost all downhill run with the wind at my back! I think my favorite leg came around 2:25 in the early morning as I ran down an empty stretch of Texas highway mostly alone, able to enjoy the stars and the sounds of the owls in the night. For the most part the only signs of other runners were the faint signs of scattered blinking lights strapped to runners in the distance ahead of me and the occasional support van driving by. The best view during this dark run had to be while crossing the Brazos River and I could see almost nothing but dark countryside and a star-filled sky in almost every direction. In the span of this relay leg I only crossed the paths of 2 or 3 runners in the 45 minutes inspect running, and I enjoyed every minute of this nighttime run! I thoroughly enjoyed TIR. While it is not easy, it is a very rewarding effort. I was surprised by how many runners I knew on the various teams and by how easy it is to make new friends as you interact with all the other teams around you. I often run events for enjoyment rather than speed, and I have to say that this was the most fun I have ever had at a running event.

One commonality shared by most of the teams is a desire to have fun and a strong feeling of camaraderie runs through the teams. In addition, it seems the desire to have fun is also a shared trait as shown in particular (almost to an extreme) by some teams. A friend of mine ran for Team TAGND (The Athletic Girls Next Door) and wore matching Catholic schoolgirl type costumes. Another Team named The Mullets has created their own Facebook page which also lists themselves as professional athletes, and they certainly displayed their unique hairstyle during the event. Other teams had names such as Wolverine Express (a member of this team serenaded a member of my team at a relay exchange point while they were waiting for their team's runners to come in), Most Likely to Secede, and 2 Slow 2 Win 2 Dumb 2 Quit give you an idea into the state of mind of some of the competing teams.

For anyone desiring to put together a relay team for this (or a similar) event, my best advice is to understand the logistics needed to move runners ahead on the course to be in the right place at the right time. However, the trouble is well worth going through for such an incredible experience.

In this photo I am at the base of the San Jacinto Monument with several of my teammates just following our successful completion of the event in 31:24:59.

IMTX Training - Week 10

2011-03-13T18:06:00.000-07:00

This past week was Week 10 of Ironman Texas Training. This week was a chance to settle back into my training plan. This week had me getting back into the build phase of my training cycle.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 9600 yards, 4:10:46
Bike - 127.2 miles on trainer, 8:23:07
Run - 18.0 miles, 3:48:07
Other - stretching specific or other training workout, 0:45:00

Overall training time 17:07:50

This week marks the halfway point of my training cycle as I completed Week 10 of a 20 week training program and the busiest (in terms of workout time) week yet. The highlight of this week was completing a planned 110 mile bike ride, which I extended a bit to 112.2 miles. It was a long and hard ride with a lot of riding into a headwind, but I managed to complete the long training ride in 7:22:12. An additional highlight for the week was getting the lab data back from last week's annual physical, which was filled with good news. It was good to see the rewards for living a healthier lifestyle. The low point of the week is that I managed to gain a few pounds during and following last week's relay, so I will need to concentrate on my diet plan a bit better going forward. On the schedule for next week are several slight increases, except my long bike ride becomes a 90 mile ride/3 mile run brick workout. While I end this training week a bit stiff from the 112 mile ride earlier today, I also end it feeling better from the injury perspective--a bit of soreness here and there during the week, but no injuries!

69 days until Ironman Texas.....

IMTX Training - Week 9

2011-03-07T17:03:00.000-08:00

This past week was Week 9 of Ironman Texas Training. This week was a radical departure from recent weeks. This week would have normally been part of my current build phase, however this past weekend included my participation in the Texas Independence Relay. While I will save the bulk of my comments on the T.I.R. for a separate post, for now let's just say that I had fun. Not your run of the mill level of fun, but LOTS of fun concentrated into somewhere around 37 straight hours of traveling fun that left me as exhausted as I have been in a long time!

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 8600 yards, 3:23:03
Bike - 35 miles on trainer, 1:53:03
Run - 28.3 miles, 5:16:11 (mostly, though not all, at T.I.R.)
Other - stretching specific or other training workout, 1:45:00 (I did lots of stretching at T.I.R. to help prevent injury and to try to keep from being too tight)

Overall training time 12:17:17

Well, this was not too much of a build for the build week, although I think things worked out well for unintended reasons. Starting on Tuesday it seemed I had a strange spell of minor injuries over 3 days. I think it started at my annual physical on Tuesday (btw, my lingering concern from previous years had been blood pressure inching up to the top of the normal range, it has finally come down to the range expected of an endurance athlete and while I am still awaiting lab work, everything seems great). Anyway, he gave me a sample of some allergy medicine to try out which worked very well to clear up my symptoms quickly, however I did feel some otherwise unexplained joint pain over the next few days which made moving a bit uncomfortable, though was not enough to prevent me from doing any workouts--although I did take it easy and also skipped a workout during those days. By the time Friday rolled around I was feeling fine and beginning to also feel rested for the coming weekend.

As I said before, my T.I.R. weekend was great and will be the subject of a future blog post, however I do believe that doing the T.I.R. gave me a bit of a break from my grueling training routine and reinvigorated my desire to train, which had been slowly waning a bit over the last few weeks. My next training week brings with it my longest planned bike ride to date of 110 miles. It also brings with it the halfway point of my IM training program.

75 days until Ironman Texas...

February Recap

2011-03-01T18:55:00.000-08:00

This will just be a short post to cover my month of February.

The month marked the second month of my Ironman training program. So far, so good, is an accurate assessment of my Ironman training progress. My training has seen some ups and downs, but so far I have been able to keep with my training program, despite a few aches and pains. In February I swam 16.70 miles (an increase from 14.86 miles in January) and ran 90.71 miles (compared to 103.85 miles in January). I did not track all of my bike miles due to spending some of my bike time on a trainer or spin bike instead of riding on the road; however based upon the training time I estimate around 421 bike miles during the month (compared with 325 bike miles during January). My mileage in each of swimming and biking is the most I have done in a single calendar month, while my running totals are pretty close to last month, especially considering the fact that February is a short month. All of my hard work did not go unrewarded as I continued to lose some weight, dropping under 190 lbs (187.6 lbs on March 1 weigh-in) for the first time since late 1991/early 1992.

Finally, I will enjoy a unique diversion in early March as I run the 203 mile Texas Independence Relay with a team of 12 this weekend, and then I start to look forward to my pre-Ironman tune-up race--the Kemah International Distance Triathlon 4 weeks later.

IMTX Training - Week 8

2011-02-27T08:20:00.001-08:00

This past week was Week 8 of Ironman Texas Training. This week included my new longest bike ride of 101.4 miles, beating out last week's 80.4 mile ride. This week was a recovery week, so my workouts were curtailed a bit to allow some extra rest time for my body. Even so, it was still a solid workout week, coming in at just under 13 hours.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 5700 yards, 2:17:48
Bike - 101.4 miles on roads, 6:14:34
Run - 18.4 miles, 3:51:34
Other - stretching specific or other training workout, 0:35:00

Overall training time 12:58:56

You might be thinking that this seems like a lot for a "recovery week" and I would be inclined to agree with you. I did drop one bike workout to get some extra rest during the week. Also, my longest run workout was just over 7 miles this week. The highlight of my week was my first scheduled 100 mile bike ride. Starting out at the house of a training partner who lives just off of the Ironman Texas bike course around mile 8 of the course, we rode primarily on the course for about 40 miles and then we looped back to do a second 32 mile loop around the toughest part of the course (i.e. most of the Iron Star half iron bike course) before riding back to the start point. The weather was good, though the wind picked up in the last hour or two, and I held a better than expected pace through the ride at an average speed of 16.25 mph, not fast by most triathlon standards but good for me at this distance (a pace which would actually yield a PR for me on a 56 mile half-iron course!) Unfortunately, I really pushed too hard for a long training ride because I felt good, so as a result I took it easy on Sunday's training run due to some light muscle soreness.

This week completes 40% of my training program. Next week is the start of the next 3 week build/1 week recovery cycle. I think these next 4 weeks may be the toughest mental part of my training because they will include some increasingly difficult workouts--though not the toughest of the program, but my race is still too far out to be my sole focus. In addition, the next build cycle will also include my tune-up race at the Gateway to the Bay Olympic distance triathlon (technically now renamed to the Kemah Triathlon) which will help divert my attention during that period.

However, I do have one side event coming up next weekend. I will be running the Texas Independence Relay from some close family friends next weekend. The race website describes the race as "The course starts in Gonzales, TX, where the Texas Revolution began, and it finishes at the San Jacinto Monument, where Texas Independence was won!". Ironically, this may be the easiest weekend workout I have had for a while.

On a side note for my Ironman training, I am coming closer to working out the details of my final nutrition plan. Some experimentation over the last few weeks has led me to calculate that I will be better off to put all (or at least almost all) of my bike nutrition in bottles in liquid form. Specifically, I am looking at carrying 2 bottles with enough calories for 4 hours in each bottle--not that I plan to be on the bike for that long, but partly as a hedge against not wanting to lose my only bottle with any nutritional calories if one bottle should manage to fall or otherwise get lost.

83 days until Ironman Texas...

IMTX Training - Week 7

2011-02-20T17:50:00.000-08:00

This past week was Week 7 of Ironman Texas Training. This week included my new longest bike ride of 80.4 miles, beating out last week's 79.4 mile ride, and also included my longest swim of 4100 yards, which is just short of the Ironman swim distance of a bit over 4200 yards. These growing workouts included getting in more than 16 hours of workouts for the second straight week (although just barely over 16 hours!). This week was the last build week of the current phase of training before I start a recovery week next week.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 9500 yards, 3:45:38
Bike - 80.4 miles on roads plus time on spin bike or trainer, 6:32:58
Run - 25.2 miles, 5:26:38
Other - stretching specific or other training workout, 0:15:00

Overall training time 16:00:14

This finished out the current build phase of training. Although my scheduled workouts had me believing that my training time would increase over last week, I actually had a slight decrease in training time. I think this was due to increased speed in several long workouts.

I was feeling really good following my longest ever swim workout of 4100 yards this week. I put off the swim until the evening hours, which is not when I do my best swimming, and maintained a great (for me anyway) pace finishing in 1:31:44, including the rest interval breaks. In addition to my successful long swim workout I also had a great long bike workout. I rode almost the same route as last week with a teammate, covering an additional mile in 27 less minutes. The increased speed was partly due to better weather and partly due to holding a better level of effort throughout the workout. I also made a point not to push my knee too hard this week and it seems to be feeling fine.

90 days until Ironman Texas...

IMTX Training - Week 6

2011-02-13T18:06:00.000-08:00

This past week was Week 6 of Ironman Texas Training. This week included my new longest bike ride of 79.4 miles, beating out last week's 70.0 mile ride and continuing a string of growing workouts. These growing workouts included getting in more than 16 hours of workouts for the first time. Next week will be the last build week of the current phase of training before I start a recovery week.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 8100 yards, 3:23:04
Bike - 79.4 miles on roads plus time on spin bike or trainer, 7:17:49
Run - 24.0 miles, 4:55:25
Other - stretching or other training workout, 0:30:00

Overall training time 16:06:18

This week had me in the middle week of the current build phase of training as I increased slightly ahead of where I was last week in terms of total time trained. I learned a bit of a lesson this week as I pushed my pace during two of my training runs this past week, and while it was nice to run faster than I had in a long time...I also stressed my left knee a bit more than I intended and could feel that extra stress (although not so much that it feels injured). I will drop back a bit in pace and remind myself that my goal is a quality finish, not a fast finish.

Today's 79.4 mile bike ride was a bit of an adventure. Last night's low was supposed to be in the upper 30's with 40 degree temperatures expected 8 a.m. However the reality was temperatures in the upper 20's when the ride began at 7:30 and staying below freezing until at least an hour into the ride (brrr!!) To make matters worse there were about 10 mph winds during much of this time. Fortunately, the day warmed by about 40 degrees by the end of the ride, even though the wind picked up as well. The temperatures and wind made this ride more challenging than originally expected, however I also feel that this gives me a good baseline for lower-level expectations for race day as most of this ride was on the Ironman Texas course. One especially positive note was that a good part of this ride was also over most of the Iron Star 70.3 distance course that I did last November. I definitely felt much better today than I did last November over this more challenging part of the course.

Week 7 brings more of the same as the build phase continues, including another 80 mile bike ride, my longest planned swim ever of just under the Ironman swim distance and the longest run of my training plan to date (13 miles) planned for next week.

97 days until Ironman Texas......

100 Days

2011-02-10T06:05:00.000-08:00

100 days from now is the start of the inaugural race of Ironman Texas.

Somehow it seems close and far away at the same time! While I have done a lot of training recently, the majority of my training plan still lies ahead of me. I have learned a few lessons in recent weeks about fitting in workouts and handling longer distances, and while it has been hard work I have also had good times with my coach and training group.

It seems my biggest issue right now, at least as far as things that I did not consider potential problems up front, has been the recent cold weather. Tonight's 12 miles might be run on the gym treadmill just to avoid weather in the mid-20's. However, before long we will be plenty warm enough for most people so I will continue to make the best of it--although I seem to have gotten less tolerant of the cold in the last year.

Given normal weather patterns for southern Texas in late May, I may just be wishing for cooler weather in 100 days!

IMTX Training - Week 5

2011-02-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

With the end of week 5 of Ironman Training I am 25% of the way through the training program. This week of training brought more firsts for my training. My most notable workouts this week included my two longest swim workouts ever (each over 2 miles long) and my longest bike ride ever (70 miles). Given the continuing nature of my training, I suppose that new personal highs will be the normal course of events for me over the near future since I am training for doing a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride (plus a 26.2 mile run) in the same day.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 7100 yards, 2:59:08
Bike - 70.0 miles on roads plus time on spin bike or trainer, 7:00:08
Run - 27.0 miles, 5:42:16
Other - stretching or other training workout, 0:15:00

Overall training time 15:56:32

This week had me back into the build phase of training as I increased to about a half hour ahead of where I was 2 weeks ago in terms of total time trained. I am still surprised by my ability to keep up with this level of training, both from a physical point of view as well as being able to keep up with work and family obligations.

Week 6 brings more of the same as the build phase continues, including an 80 mile bike ride planned for next week with my training group.

104 days until Ironman Texas......

January Totals

2011-01-30T16:20:00.000-08:00

This will just be a short post to cover my month of January.

The month marked the beginning of my Ironman training program. As such it meant an increase over my previous "normal" training levels. In January I swam 14.86 miles and ran 103.85 miles. I did not track bike miles due to spending most of my bike time on a trainer or spin bike instead of riding on the road; however based upon the training time I estimate around 325 bike miles during the month. My mileage in each of the swimming, running and biking categories is the most I have done in a single calendar month. All of my hard work did not go unrewarded as I finally dropped under 200 lbs on the scale after 50 months of working towards that goal since I took up running in December 2006.

Finally, I closed out the month by attending the Kickoff Party for the Inaugural Woodlands Marathon, which goes off March 3, 2012. Ryan and Sara Hall were in attendance as part of the official festivities and were very much available to meet and talk with. However, my highlight of the night was not meeting the Halls but was winning a free entry into the race next year! I will be doing the full marathon in March 2012, which will be my 4th or 5th full marathon (counting IMTX in May and maybe Disney 2012 next January).

An unexpected benefit of the Woodlands Marathon kickoff party was seeing some of my local running friends that I had not seen in several months or more. It was strange (in a strange way heartwarming) to not be initially recognized by some of them because of the weight I have lost (although growing out the beard may have had something to do with it as well!).

IMTX Training - Week 4

2011-01-30T10:16:00.000-08:00

With the end of week 4 of Ironman training also comes the end of my first recovery week at the end of the first 4 week cycle of 3 build weeks plus 1 recovery week. I won't say I feel entirely recovered at this point, but I do feel more rested than I did at the start of this week. I also took the opportunity this week to bring some foods back into my diet that were more calorie dense, even if only in controlled portions (then there were the 2 large slices of pizza I had yesterday!!) I still end the week weighing 2 pounds less than I started it--and nudging that scale below 190 lbs., so I believe I had the room to spare for the extra food.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 4900 yards, 2:02:11
Bike - 25.8 miles on roads plus time on spin bike or trainer, 2:52:52
Run - 18.35 miles, 3:52:44
Other - stretching or other training workout, 0:45:00

Overall training time 9:32:57

This week had decreases by about 1/3 across the board as it was a recovery week, designed to let my body get some rest and still not lose any of the recently gained fitness levels. Although I am training for overall endurance and not speed, I must be improving in both because I can feel my moderately-paced treadmill workouts getting easier at the same paces I ran previously.

Week 5 brings a return to the building phase. Included with my increased workload will be the longest swim and bike distances that I have ever done in a single workout for each. With swim distances of 3500 and 3600 yards planned, my biggest problem way be fitting them into my schedule time-wise; especially considering my preference for early morning swimming, opening time at the gym, and when I have to be at work. A planned 70 mile bike ride will beat my longest previous training ride of 62.5 miles (aka 100km) and will probably take me around 4.5 hours depending on road conditions.

Sometime tomorrow I hope to look over my monthly totals for an overview of how Ironman training is shaping up.

111 days until Ironman Texas......

IMTX Training - Week 3

2011-01-23T13:02:00.002-08:00

With the end of week 3 of Ironman training also comes the end of my first build phase of training. I leave week 3 feeling tired and just a bit sore, however I am also feeling on a personal high from doing several increasingly long and hard training weeks. In addition, I have gotten my weight down to an area (191.8 lbs this morning) where it has not been in about 17 - 18 years.

Here is how this past week of training breaks down:

Swim - 7800 yards, 3:08:08
Bike - all on spin bike or trainer, 6:19:52
Run - 24.33 miles, 5:13:10
Other - stretching or other training workout, 0:56:02

Overall training time 15:37:12

This week had slight increases in running and biking, even though I shorted one running workout a couple miles because I was not feeling up to it. This week also included a large jump in my swimming yardage and an increase in the speed of many of those yards.

Week 4 brings a recovery week with the chance to get a little rest on a slightly reduced workout load, which is also very timely with a busy work schedule ahead this week.

118 days until Ironman Texas......

Lunchtime Ramblings on the iPad

2011-01-19T10:23:00.000-08:00

I decided to take a much needed and (IMHO) well earned break from the office to eat lunch out-although I am staying with a healthy option. It is interesting in that many places I would have gone before were not even considered due to their less healthy fare. These days my appetite is quite strange, I can quickly go from famished to full and back to hungry again quickly at times, other times I have to make myself eat a healthy snack periodically or I won't eat at all for many hours. I suppose it is all the training and stress on my system these days. It seems my biggest trouble in my immediate future is going to be eating ENOUGH calories! Please feel free to laugh with me over that ironic predicament.

I am in the midst of IMTX Week 3 of training, which is my last build week before a recovery week, although "recovery" is relative in that case. Today was the first day this week with only one scheduled workout, although it was a good brick workout (1.25 hours on the bike and a 2 mile run). this morning was the first morning my body has felt any fatigue going into the workout, which has my coach instructing me to cut short tomorrow's first workout if that is still the case in the morning.

Things are going pretty well at work considering I lost my Operations Manager to his new job this week, leaving me to do all the supervision until I hire his placement-although providing me with ample excuse to tackle some overdue reorganization.

Finally, let me respond to my friend Rae, who several weeks ago told me she wanted to see me at 195 lbs after I posted about making it under 200 lbs for the first time in years. Well, Rae.....today's look at the scale first thing this morning was......194.8 lbs.....look out 180's, I am coming for you!

IMTX Training - Week 2

2011-01-16T17:23:00.000-08:00

It appears that I survived Week 2 of Ironman training. Here is how my training for the week breaks down.

Swim - 4800 yds, 2:00:38
Bike - all on spin bike or trainer, 6:17:48
Run - 23.16 miles, 4:57:44
Other - stretching or other training workout, 0:30:00

Overall training time 13:46:10

This week added about an hour to the overall training time from last week, pretty much all in the bike category, while the run time was down a small bit.

This week's toughest workout was the 3 hour bike ride that ended up on a spin bike due to poor weather. Fortunately, I was spotted by a friend and called over to where a group of triathletes had put a few spin bikes in a circle to ride together. I ended up doing all but the last 40 minutes with someone else for company. One good thing about doing this workout on the spin bike was that I was able to maintain a high cadence pedal rate at all times, without having to stop for traffic or lights on the road.

So far my body is still holding up fine. I am trying to pull out all the stops in the area of recovery, using whirlpool, compression, stretching, recovery drinks, etc... as I go the post workout periods.

This next week adds in increasing workouts with another build week before I have a scheduled recovery week. I am really interested in seeing how far I can push myself and still hold up effectively through these workouts. Also up next week is a group run with my training team OutRival Racing on the Ironman Texas run course.

My most interesting personal thought this week was wanting to know when a short week became 6 miles. Also this week I kept up with the diet as well as all the exercise, weighing between 195 and 199 pounds all week.

125 days until Ironman Texas!

IMTX Training - Week 1

2011-01-09T13:05:00.001-08:00

Week 1 of training for Ironman Texas is in the books. Here is how my training for the week breaks down.

Swim - 5000 yds, 1:56:24
Bike - 41.1 road miles plus two spin classes, 5:00:28
Run - 24.0 miles, 5:26:23
Other - stretching or other training workout, 0:30:00

Overall training time 12:53:15

My body had held up fine this week, even running 3 consecutive days at one point (which is not something I will normally do). I am making a point not to try to do too much in my workouts as I know I have a lot of training ahead of me and know that I will need to pace myself. Some heavy, cold rain on Sunday drove me indoors for my 10 mile long run. Fortunately, I saw a few friendly faces and grabbed a treadmill next to some of my teammates, which allowed me to enjoy some good conversation, before I set up my iPad to catch a movie while training as well.

An extra plus was also attending the OutRival Racing team event held at The Goose's Acre, a self described bistro and Irish Pub as well as a popular spot for local athlete's to gather. It also happens to have a patio area adjacent to the run course of Ironman Texas. I got to meet several new people and also got to know a few others better.

Week 2 will look a lot like Week 1 with respect to planned training numbers.

The Road Ahead for 2011

2011-01-09T12:50:00.001-08:00

I have been giving a lot of thought to my plans for the year 2011. I am torn being two competing lines of thought for my annual plans. Normally, I would set some specific quantifiable goals such as new race PR's , specific race time goals, etc...but for me this year is already going to be far different than recent years, so I have decided my training and racing goals need to be different, too. So here is a look at my personal training goals for 2011.

1. Get to the starting line of Ironman Texas trained and ready to race.
Sure, I really, really want to run a successful Ironman race on May 21st, but this is a journey into uncharted territory for me. I am committed to try to enjoy the entire journey towards Ironman, and the actual race is more the reward for successful training than a goal in itself.

2. Spend more time with my wife.
My wife is a very understanding and supportive woman who has every reason to think my, I don't even know how many...say 30-40 races over the last 3-4 years, is a sign that I have gone off the deep end. Instead, she supports a not very athletic husband who attempts athletic feats. My time with her will be somewhat hampered by my Ironman training for the first 5 months of the year, but I will make the effort to spend more time with her as I can, and even more after the Ironman race. In some ways this will get easier as I only have one daughter left at home, and that is likely to change in just a few months as that daughter gets her job situation settled.

3. Find a better balance between training, work and family.
Actually I feel like a have a pretty decent balance of things here, but I want to make sure I take other people's concerns into account as I try to make sure I find the best balance in life. As part of this balance, I want to make sure that I take the time to enjoy the things that make life worth living while I move from point to point through life.

4. Training and Race Goals.
Did you think I would really go through a set of yearly goals without setting a quantifiable goal? I suppose I could but where would the fun be in that? In any case, here are some basic race goals for me for 2011.
IMTX - Finish the race in the official 17 hour time window. I figure I could finish in the 16 to 16 1/2 hour range at my current fitness level (assuming I had trained for it) and had the best possible day in each event. We will have to wait almost 5 months (actually, 132 days from the day I post this blog) to see how my race preparation helps me to be ready for race day.
Marathon - none planned
Half Marathon - I'll probably try to do a fall half marathon at some point. Ultimately, I would like to do a sub-2 hour half marathon, although since I just got under 2:30 last year, sub 2 hours is a tall order for this year but 2:15 might be doable.
5K - I hope to enter several 5K races this year. My best time last year was 27:05, so let's set 25 minutes as a goal to beat for this year.

I hope everyone has a good year!

200 no more!

2011-01-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

If you will indulge me for a moment of me thinking solely of myself......
In the years since my mid 20s, I have always seemed to have a tough time keeping my weight under control. Aside from a very brief period in my mid 30s where I was down to 199.5 lbs, I have always been over 200 lbs-and often well over, having been up to 266 lbs and 263 lbs at two different times.
Today that dynamic changed as I weighed in at 199.4 lbs, the lowest I have weighed in at in many years. I would like to take a moment to thank the many people who have been a part of supporting my running, triathlon and dietary goals over the recent years. No matter how small you might think your support was, it was valuable to me to have that encouragement.
I still have weight I want to lose, and I have other athletic goals ahead, but today it feels like an extra weight has also been removed from my shoulders.
Thank you!

Reviewing 2010

2011-01-01T15:10:00.000-08:00

Now that 2010 is in the books, I want to take a bit of time to review my
goals from last year and see how I did.

1. Run a sub-30 minute 5K. I've been after this one for a while and really feel I can do it this year.

I only ran one 5K this year, but I beat the old 5K PR of 30:20 with a 27:05 in late November.

2. Run a sub-2:30 half marathon. Just like #1, I really am going after this goal this year.

While I ran 3 half marathons this year, 2 were run for the fun of doing a Disney event; however the only one was run for time. In February I knocked almost 5 minutes off of my half marathon PR with a finish time of 2:26:45.

3. Participate in at least 4 triathlons this year. I did 4 last year, so I don't see why I can't do at least that many again.

2010 was a full triathlon year for me as I entered and completed 6 triathlons.

4. Get my weight under 200 pounds and keep it there.

I started the year around 212 lbs and finished around 202 pounds, never quite getting under 200 pounds, but I was successful at keeping my weight down and not regaining any of my previously lost weight.

5. My goals for individual activities: Running 600 miles, Biking 1500 miles, Swimming 60 miles and Total Exercise Time 17,500 minutes.

Well, I have looked over my log for the year and was quite surprised with my training totals for the year. It's not that I did not know that I had done a lot of training, but I had not been watching the monthly or annual totals for at least several months. I ran 626.2 miles, biked 2060.8 miles and swam 69.5 miles for the year (a total of 2756.6 miles). In addition, I logged a total of 20540 minutes of training activities for the year. (for which I say "Wow!")

In summary, I made 4 of the 5 goals while narrowly missing the remaining goal. All in all, I have to call 2010 a successful year...with any luck (and a lot of effort) hopefully 2011 will be as good or better! My thanks to all of you give up a bit of your time to read my ramblings in this blog.

Preparing...

2010-12-23T12:21:00.000-08:00

These last couple of weeks I have been slowly increasing my distances as I get closer to the "official" start of my Ironman training. Weekday training runs are now nearly twice what they were a few months ago and my swim distances are increasing beyond my half Ironman distance preparation distances, while my long bike distance training is still down around the 2 hour timeframe, but this will change soon.

In the meantime, I get to enjoy some recovery time over Christmas weekend with a few lighter workouts and some family before I turn up the training a notch.

149 days until Ironman Texas...

Merry Christmas, everyone!

IMTX Run Course

2010-12-05T18:31:00.000-08:00

Today was my first run on the Ironman Texas run course. I ran one loop of the main part of the course (right at 8 miles today). I ran based on my heart rate, staying at the top of Zone 2 (approx. 75% of max heart rate) for most of the run. It wasn't my best performing running day, but it was fine for a training day.

The course is about half through residential areas near (and sometimes in view of) Lake Woodlands and about half through the shopping corridor along the Woodlands Waterway (with nearly all of this part being run along the path alongside the Waterway. I think it is a good run course for the coming race, with the potential for outstanding race support along the way. The map image below that shows the course is from the race website.

I am sure I will spend a lot of time running this course over the next 5+ months!

In other events, my youngest daughter moved out of the house this past weekend. She's only about 10 miles away but it's a big step for her (and us as well). Seeing some items getting pulled out into the open (old artwork, toys, etc...) seemed to carry bittersweet feelings along with them. For what it's worth, she's about 3 months older than I was when I left home, which seems somehow appropriate. However, she did make it back here tonight for dinner to celebrate my birthday (a day early due to the weekend and our schedules)!

167 days until Ironman Texas...

Closing Out November

2010-12-02T20:34:00.000-08:00

November was a banner month in several ways.

First, I opened the month with a huge PR in the half iron triathlon distance while feeling good all race.

Then, after taking some good recovery time I had a 3+ minute PR at the 5K distance, where I managed to get my time down to its fastest since 1991.

The only downside was that November was the first month this year where I had a weight gain. However, since the weight gain was at 0.1 lbs, I can't really consider this too much of a negative--especially since I had just followed a recovery period and the Thanksgiving holiday.

If I remember correctly, I have achieved all but one of the goals I set out for myself for the year in my January blog entry. The one remaining seems out of reach, although I will still strive for that goal before my year-end accounting of my goals.

As we enter the last month, I am shifting my goals towards completing Ironman and focusing my attention on that goal.

170 days and counting....

Countdown

2010-11-29T08:47:00.001-08:00

I had a good time yesterday surrounded by real friends in an online virtual room. We shared our notes, our thoughts, and our comments as we watched the Ironman Cozumel results update and heard (via Twitter and Facebook) from a few who were watching the race in person.

My 6 friends times, ranged from a blazing fast 10:53:25 for one friend who was slowed by injury to a 15:43:21 for another friend who had a rougher than expected day, which still easily beats anything I can do right now.

While I expected to be excited for my friends, I was also inspired by their efforts. Race day often brings its own surprises, and this day was no different. Equipment problems, physical ailments and warm weather were all part of this day. However, in the true spirit of the Ironman, not one of them gave up. Some beat their goals and surpassed their expectations and some missed their goals (and even narrowly missed their dreams of a Kona championship slot), but to me they are all heroes. They have completed the Ironman distance (as many as 5 times), which is something I have only aspired to do at this point. From the examples of Heather, Del, Ingrid, Sheri, Ana and Karen I have drawn tons of inspiration as I followed them before, during and after their races, as I virtually watched them do something I cannot do--at least not yet...

I am already registered for the inaugural race of Ironman Texas on May 21, 2011, in The Woodlands, Texas...let the training begin...

I am on the clock now...173 days...and counting...

A Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

2010-11-28T17:59:00.001-08:00

This was a nice weekend for me for several reasons.

I did not have to work this weekend, which is a rarity. If I eliminate weekends that I took off of work for races, then I can't tell you the last time I had the whole weekend off.

This was the last Thanksgiving weekend before my daughters move away from home. They are old enough to be moving out (22 and 20), but it was nice to have a long holiday weekend with them first.

I am watching several friends compete in Ironman Cozumel through the magic of the internet. So far, so good for them all (although I am a bit concerned about one of them at this point).

We got a new refrigerator delivered today. So we will have ice and water on the door again for the first time in years.

Finally, I ran in a post-holiday 5K this weekend to attempt to fulfill one of this year's remaining goals--to run a sub-30 minute 5K. The previous 5K race where I set my 30:20 PR was in April 2009, and I had not run a 5K since then. This local race was a no-frills local race put on twice monthly by the local running store for a $1 entry fee (yes, $1!). I ran in in 27:05. :-)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Iron Star Triathlon (70.3) Race Report

2010-11-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was the Iron Star Triathlon, which is a half iron distance race (i.e. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run).

I went into this race with high expectations of having a good race, though I was a bit unclear of how to quantify those expectations. After a bit of thought during the pre-race taper period, I decided upon a way to put my expectations into numbers for comparison purposes.

I considered what would be a best case scenario race (it pretty assumes that I had the best race possible in each event) and I also considered a secondary scenario in which I assumed a slight improvement in each event from my best previous effort in each event (for reference my best half iron run time was in my first 70.3 race and my best half iron swim and bike times were in my second 70.3 race). From these I calculated a time in the middle of those two to be a reasonable, though still difficult, target goal time.

...........BEST CASE.......SAFE GOAL.......TARGET GOAL
SWIM............42:15..........52:48.............47:31
T1....................3:30............5:30..............4:30
BIKE...........3:17:39........3:35:00.........3:26:20
T2...................3:00............5:00..............4:00
RUN..........2:43:45........3:03:24..........2:53:34
TOTAL.......6:50:09........7:41:42..........7:15:53

With a PR time of 7:52:07 each of these represented a PR time for me, some of them by a wide and ambitious margin. Still this gave me a starting point for my expectations; and the truth was that while I felt mentally ready to make that goal, I questioned whether I was physically up to that challenge at this point. The good thing is that I do not let the difficulty of a goal get in the way of trying to reach that goal.

When race day arrived, I was also armed with my retooled nutrition strategies: bike bottle of unflavored Perpetuem in between the 2 - 3 hour period before the race and a Hammer Bar about 45 - 60 minutes pre-race, 1 bottle of Heed/Perpetuem mix or a flavored Perpetuem mix for each hour on the bike with 1 Endurolyte capsule each 20 minutes on the bike, and finally a bottle of Heed/Perpetuem mix for run hour #1 and then Heed/Accel Gel for the rest of the run as well as 2 Endurolyte capsules each 2.5 miles. Overall my nutrition worked out well, with 2 small issues which I will get into later.

Race morning proved to be cold (around 40 degrees) and the water was fairly cool as well. The biggest issues on the swim were low lake levels--I had to get up and walk in two areas for a combined total of around 150 - 200 feet (which I don't thin had any significant impact on my time.) and that visibility was low in areas. Due to some fog it was occasionally difficult to see the buoys. After hanging with the bustling crowd for a bit, the pack thinned out and I felt like I had a good, strong swim. In actuality, I had an outstanding swim where I finished in 39:55, which is the fastest long swim I have had.

I started the bike feeling strong and working on keeping my heart rate within a target range to avoid over-doing things on the bike and not having anything left for a decent run later. I had a strong first hour, even working to hold back a bit so I could stay in the right area heart rate-wise. In the second hour I could tell I was working harder and my pace slowed slightly. By the third hour the hills seemed steeper and the wind was definitely a stronger headwind, but I kept going according to plan. Finally, the last half hour was returning back to the starting point, which still had some hills, though less wind. I'd say I probably passed more people in the last 30 minutes on the bike than I did in the 3 hours prior. I expect that this was due to their using up too much energy up front and they were effectively limping back in at that point. My bike time was 3:30:45, which was slower than I'd hoped but still acceptable.

I knew all along the run was the "do or die" segment for me. Each of my last two half iron attempts resulted in much more walking than planned where I effectively only had the energy to just try to finish the race. I opened up with an attempt at a moderate pace and held a 12:02 pace for each of the first two miles. At this point I was holding strong and went into my plan to walk for a minute under 3 circumstances:
a) while I take in 2 Endurolyte capsules every 2.5 miles
b) while I go through aid stations
c) when my heart rate exceeded 165 bpm
This plan seemed to work well for me because, while I did not run fast, I did keep a fairly steady pace throughout as I finished with a 12:54/mile run pace with a time of 2:48:59. This was apparently a new run course (3 loops throughout the La Torretta Resort vs. an out and back course). The run was very-well supported by spectators and had 4 aid stations for each loop.

To wrap up my race, report I enjoyed the course. The bike route was more difficult than I expected, but not more difficult than I was prepared for. Most of the bike was pretty lonely other than the other riders, aid stations and cows, although a few dedicated souls did drive out to spectate the bike ride (like my OutRival Racing coaches!!). I have to believe that the overall success of my run may have partly hinged on not going out too hard on the bike as I followed the heart rate goals mapped out by Coach Michelle, as I had the energy to keep moving pretty consistently throughout the entire run. I found the run well organized and very well supported. All in all, I think this was a great race and would recommend it to others.

As to my time, I finished in 7:07:43, a 44:24 improvement over my previous best time at this race distance last April, easily ahead of my expectations as I capped off an exciting and fulfilling race day.

In looking back at my race experience, I learned a couple good lessons. The first is that I felt really good after the race (tired and exhausted, but still good) where in my previous 70.3 efforts I was run-down and and just happy to be finished and off the course. I feel that between my better preparation and my previous experience that I have learned how to run the race without blowing up before the end. The second was learned during the run. I ran almost 2 of the 3 laps of the run with Carol, a woman wearing a Houston Racing and Triathlon Club jersey (one of the clubs of which I am a member). We ended up next to each other by chance as she started her first lap while I started my second lap and found that we were running the same pace. We kept each other company over that time with occasional conversation. Somewhere in our second lap together Carol told me that so many people were cheering my name that I must know everyone out there. While I certainly did not know anywhere near "everyone", I did realize that there were a lot of people out there that knew me from various local groups (OutRival Racing, Team Strive and Houston Racing Triathlon Club), and their effect was magnified on a looped course. I came to realize that I was truly blessed by the support I receive from my friends.

In the past several months, I've given up a lot of sleep and family time with early morning workouts, though I still feel better for the efforts I have made this past year. Next year I raise the stakes by aiming at the Ironman distance, and I know the personal costs will seem high at time. However, I also know the reward of finishing will be worth it as well.

Iron Star Triathlon

2010-11-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

Due to some technical difficulites (i.e. the untimely crashing of my laptop computer while I was watching the IM Florida webcast Saturday night), the race report will have to wait. However, I can go ahead and give you some basics.

I finished in 7:07:43 (a PR by 44:24!). My swim time was 39:55, which astounded me as my previous best swim time in a half iron race was 53:49. My bike ride was a slightly disappointing 3:30:45. However on a hilly and windy course this still beat my previous half iron best time of 3:33:08. More importantly, since I was going by heart rate I did not go too hard on the bike and saved some energy for the run (which has been my previous downfall at this distance). I posted a 2:48:59 run time (which beat my previous best half iron run of 3:09:22 from my first half iron race, unlike the swim and bike times which were from my second half iron race).
So this race is not only my new half iron PR, but also reflects my fastest time for each event within the half iron race.

My post race day celebrations will inlcude a Chick-fil-A shake and a McRib sandwhich today as a bit of personal reward for a hard fought race effort.

Iron Star Practice Swim, and more...

2010-10-31T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I am coming off a VERY long week as I enter my final prep for the Iron Star half iron distance race. Last week was spent in Austin for occupational training classes, specifically so I can be a certified training provider for water and wastewater utility operators in the state. This was definitely not a class for the faint of heart, with 40 hours of classroom time--and it seemed nearly that much time on homework as well, however I persevered.

Yesterday was the practice swim for the course. This was definitely the most unique swim practice I have attended--primarily due to the low lake levels. First off, it was about 42 degrees, but with low wind, low humidity and some sunlight it did not feel too bad (at least, after getting in a wetsuit). Due to the presence of nearby boat traffic, the swim went out and back from the expected race finish. There were some areas of low depth, as you can see from the following photos. However, I did manage to get in some decent swimming. After the swim I ran a lap of the run course with some OutRival Racing teammates at a pretty good clip for me (something like a 9:39 pace).

Credit for all photos goes to Coach Michelle LeBlanc.

Today's workouts left me with a bit of a surprise, I had a good early run this morning. However, after my near 2 hour bike ride, I saw that I had cracked my bike shoe cleat where it secured to the bike. This led to a trip to the bike store and a last minute change this afternoon of something that I have never done before. Initial tests appears that I was successful, but I'll put in another bike ride during this week to make sure I'll be OK on Sunday with my handiwork, as I'd sure hate to have this go wrong on the race course. On the plus side, the weather is looking perfect for race day as of now!

This next week will include lighter workouts and some extra rest to show up prepared on race day, plus whatever problems show up at work...

Richard's Nutrtion Experiment Part 1

2010-10-16T16:56:00.000-07:00

In the movie Back to the Future 3 when Doc Brown and Marty McFly hijack a train we get the following dialogue:
Doc: Reach!
Engineer: Is this a holdup?
Doc: It's a science experiment!

Well, this weekend I began field trials of my own "science experiment" regarding my racing nutrition strategies for bike training.

With the aid of my training coach, I developed a base nutrition goal of 280 calories (including an as yet undetermined amount of protein), 700 mg sodium chloride and 24 liquid ounces per hour. I employed 4 variations on a 62.56 mile training ride this weekend that lasted nearly 4 hours (3:49:35).

Formula 1 was basically my current training strategy of 24 oz. of Cytomax with 2 gels (Hammer gels for today) and 2 Endurolyte capsules. This contained a total of 270 calories with 340 mg of sodium chloride, although no protein was included in this sample. The main drawback I experienced with this sample was opening the gel packets and dealing with the stickiness with getting some of the gel on my fingers..

Formula 2 was 24 oz. with a double serving of Cytomax with 3/4 of a serving of protein powder and 2 Endurolyte capsules. This contained 270 calories with a 2:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein and 590 mg of sodium chloride.

Formula 3 was 24 oz. with a combination of HEED and Hammer Sustained Energy, plus 2 Endurolyte capsules. This contained 277 calories (with a 12:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein) and 296 mg of sodium chloride.

Formula 4 was 24 oz. with a double serving of Accelerade and 2 Endurolyte capsules. This formula had 240 calories (with a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein) and 580 mg sodium chloride. I found this mix least pleasing from a taste perspective.

Overall, I did not have any digestive troubles with any of the formulas. Each was close to the calorie goal and there was a variety of carbohydrate to protein ratios. Each was below my target goal for sodium chloride, though this is easily adjusted by an increased Endurolyte capsule intake. At the moment I am leaning towards a greater experimentation with Formula 3, starting with my next run.

From the perspective of the evening following this bike ride. Although I had a PR effort through the 56 mile mark, I have no soreness from this training ride. This may be because my better recent training, although it may also be because of my increased attention to today's nutrition.

On Sunday morning, I continued my experiment by using Formula 3 (melon-flavored HEED + Hammer Sustained Energy) for the first hour of my run. In the second hour I used water and 2 packets of Accel Gel. Each of these was well-received by my body. I found the taste of the Accel Gels to be sharper than that of most gels, though I found the taste pleasing and they were easier to swallow than most other gels.

My next step will be to experiment with alternative HEED flavors and to attempt to mix in Hammer Perpetuem in place of Hammer Sustained Energy and see how that works for me as well.

Disney Wine and Dine Trip Report

2010-10-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

This blog post is about the non-race portions of my recent Disney trip.

This trip became one of several “firsts” for me. This was my first solo trip. I did really miss having my wife along, and know I would have had a better time with her there. However, I did have an outstanding trip nonetheless. I learned how to better watch the small details that I might have missed before, as well as not having family around gave me the opportunity to spend more time with the friends with whom I met up with over the course of this short trip.

Friday
My trip over to WDW was a good one; I woke up early and arrived around lunchtime. I tried a remote parking service for the first time, “The Parking Spot”, which I ended up liking. They literally picked me up right at the back of my parked car and dropped me at the terminal faster than if I had parked in the main airport garage--and a lot cheaper as well! The only real problem with my trip occurred somewhere in the parking/loading process where I lost my iPod Nano (grrr!). I thought about it when it was too late to leave the airport terminal thinking I had placed it on my car as I gathered some things together, but hoped that I had just left it in the car. Because of the short nature of this trip I chose to rent a car, my first time for doing this in Orlando. I had little trouble navigating quickly to the Walt Disney World Resort area due to bringing my Garmin car GPS unit along. While in the WDW area I did have the occasional trouble with directions and turns, but no major problems were had (although I did end up at the Animal Kingdom or Animal Kingdom Lodge an extra 3 or 4 times during the first 2 days. It’s not that diving at WDW is overwhelming, just that you have to pay a lot of attention to where you are going. Overall, I thought the car rental was a net positive for me, especially since I was able to get a $15.95/day rate through Hotwire on short notice for what turned out to be a Dodge Caliber from Avis.

I had done the online check-in process through the WDW website, although it was not ready when I arrived about an hour ahead of schedule. Fortunately, there was no wait at check-in and I was quickly taken care of. Unfortunately, that seemed to be the last of the really good service I would receive at the All Star Music Resort. It’s not that service was bad there, just that getting anything done was either slow or seemed unusually cumbersome in where I did not get the service I expected from the staff (which might be more of a policy issue where the cast members could not provide me with what I thought they should be able to provide). The cast members themselves were very nice and professional, in many ways they were better than those in the parks. My main disappointment was with the food court where even a short line seemed like it moved unnaturally slow. In about 4 attempts to eat at this food court I always became frustrated with the long wait for short to fairly short lines and grabbed something like an apple/banana to eat instead of ordering food.

After getting situated for that first day there, I got a snack at the Downtown Disney area to tide me over for a few hours before heading over the Magic Kingdom for the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party that night. After that I attended the live podcast of the Be Our Guest Disney Podcast and got to tour the very nice 3 bedroom Treehouse Villas. (If anyone reading this happens to be a DVC owner and wants to get one of these for a group, I’ll be very happy to come over and help occupy the unit!) Then I headed over to the Magic Kingdom Park where I was able to enter the park just after 4 P.M. even though the party did not begin until 7 P.M. This provided me the opportunity to pretty much just walk onto many prime attractions a bit later. I took in the sights and smells of Main Street as I walked my way into the main part of the park. I also took this early time to get dinner at the Plaza Restaurant, where I have wanted to eat but never got to over past trips. I had the Rueben Sandwich (and their homemade potato chips), which was good. Now that I was prepared for the night I started doing some rides. I was able to get on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Tomorrowland Transit Authority People Mover, Space Mountain (with the new music playing), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise in not much more than an hour, certainly much less than 90 minutes. By this time the Halloween Party was close to starting and the theme of the park was adjusting as well. I got a candy bag for some in-park trick or treating, which was done at numerous booths set up across the park and also did the occasional additional ride throughout the evening. I also made sure to catch the special parades, fireworks and castle stage shows (including catching the parade twice from 2 different locations. I now count this Halloween Party as a “not to be missed” event if I get to go back during Halloween season in the future. While I am sure my legs were not helped by the 7 hours I spent in the park this evening, I still had a great time.

Saturday
On Saturday, I was up for breakfast around 700 to 730 A.M. due to the noise of other hotel guests even though I had hoped to sleep in a bit longer. I took my time getting up and around before I made another frustrated breakfast attempt at the food court before I headed over to the expo. There were a ton of cars at the expo, which was held at the Wide World of Sports complex, but there did not seem to be so many people ahead of me. I was able to check in easily and spent plenty of time going through the expo at a leisurely pace—and I even picked up a few items. Before leaving I grabbed a decent lunch at the on-site restaurant. At this point I went back to my room to go through my race packet and rest for a while. I met up with some friends I have made through the DISboards.com WISH (We’re Inspired to Stay Healthy) Team for ice cream at the Beaches and Cream restaurant at the Beach Club Resort. The ice cream—I had a pineapple sundae with vanilla ice cream-- was great and the camaraderie was even better as I met with these team members and their families. I also think I might like ice cream as a regular pre-race snack. Afterwards, it was back to the hotel for some more rest until I got ready to dress for the race and catch the bus to the starting area, back at the Wide World of Sports Complex. At this point, if you want to read my race blog post you need to hop back to the previous post before this one.

Sunday
Picking back up after the race, I got back to the hotel room around the 415 to 430 am range. After attempting a short ice bath and cleaning up, I was not able to get more than a couple hours of sleep before I was ready to go around 730 am. After grabbing a banana and muffin (i.e. another failed breakfast effort) at the food court I head out to the Animal Kingdom Park, primarily to ride the Expedition Everest roller coaster (in the front seat) and a few other rides as well. The park is pretty much empty this early and I am easily able to get on everything pretty fast, which is good as I am moving fairly slow with some sore legs. After this I head over to EPCOT, where I hit the main rides without much wait (with a FastPass on Soarin’). I also am able to take in the Captain EO film, which is replaying as a tribute to Michael Jackson, and which I had never seen as I made my first trip to EPCOT in 1997 (yes, I was deprived of Disney at a young age, although I did make a lone trip to WDW in 1972 growing up). Following the rides, I do get to walk a bit around the World Showcase to get a taste (pun intended) of the Food and Wine Festival.

After this it’s time to head over the Wilderness Lodge for lunch with friends at the Whispering Canyon Café. Lunch was good, I had the all you could eat skillet with BBQ ribs, chicken and sausage, and some iced tea. Now the Whispering Canyon Café is known for the “attitudes” of the waitstaff, and we certainly got some attitude in our service. After quickly drinking tea glasses of tea, my refill came in a large glass about 2-3 quarts in size (which I did eventually finish). When I asked for more splenda, I was brought a shipping carton of it—and later our server was bringing me sugar caddies from around the restaurant to refill. After a great lunch, our group splits up for a while, although many of us meet back up at the Magic Kingdom Park in several hours.

Having really enjoyed the Halloween Party on Friday, I jump at the chance to attend one more time during this trip, this time with friends. I am able to do some light trick or treating, watch the fireworks and parades, and do various rides with my friends. Perhaps most notable was that the Haunted Mansion had a “live” spirit on the lawn doing improve comedy, and was good enough that the ride cast member had a hard time keeping the line moving at times. Of course, all good things must end and as I closed the park with Amanda and Jeff, it was time for us to head back to our resorts for the night. We were certainly all exhausted as we had all been up early in recent mornings and to bed late each night in addition to finishing the half marathon less than 24 hours prior. I do manage to get several decent hours of sleep late that night.

Monday
Monday means it is time to head back home, and I quickly pack up and head out around 800 am that morning and get checked out. For breakfast I head over to Port Orleans French Quarter resort to get some beignets for breakfast. My wife and I used to often eat these for breakfast after my weekend morning runs before the restaurant we loved shut down some time back. The beignets were quite good and I enjoyed my last meal for this trip. Finally, it is time to head to the airport. While I have a bit more trouble navigating to the airport than I did coming in, I do manage to get back with little trouble. My main issue was following the signs to the rental car check-in, which seems a bit unclear at times, though I did make it back with only a bit of trouble. Rental car check-in was little trouble and I easily got to the terminal to check in for my flight. At check-in I was offered a low cost upgrade to first class, and I took them up on the offer. The flight back was nice (how could it not be in first class?) and soon I was back to Houston—and with it I was back to reality.

As I made it to the pick-up area outside the terminal, I did not have to wait long for the shuttle back to the remote lot. It is upon returning to my car that I get my most pleasant surprise from this trip—my iPod is sitting on top of my car right where I had thought I had left it, apparently undisturbed and still working perfectly!

All in all, I had a fantastic trip. Although I wish my wife had been able to make it with me, I undoubtedly was able to spend more time with friends because of my solo status on this trip. I am already looking forward to both my next Disney trip and my next Disney race, although I am uncertain when they will be. I very much recommend the Wine and Dine Half Marathon to anyone interested in doing this event.

Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon

2010-10-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

Disney’s Wine and Dine Half Marathon is a nighttime point to point course on Disneyworld property. I got out to the Wide World of Sports complex pre-race area by about 7:30 P.M. By this time there were already a ton of runners around and many more were on the way.

I walked around a bit to see the area and meet up with some friends also doing the race. It took me a little while but I finally locked onto some familiar faces together (Jeff, Rae and Amanda--all pictured in last photo in the same order) who were fellow bloggers and runners on Team Voice (a group of Disney oriented running friends I know through the internet) as they were standing together in the larger group. I hung around with them for about a half hour before walking off to meet with some other friends for a short time. In a bit I get in line to get my pre-race photo with Mickey (back with Team Voice friends again at this point). A bit later I also got a nice photo with Jeff Galloway after he spoke to the crowd. Finally, we are getting close to time to line up in the race corrals, so everyone walks over to wait in the corrals for a while. Eventually, we get a countdown and fireworks before we start.

My plan for this race was always to have fun, however when the gun went off I covered the first 2 miles in about 21 minutes running through the crowd. Around the Mile 2 marker I started walking with another online friend (Lisa) who I had coincidentally just come upon. Lisa and I spent the next 9 or so miles walking quickly but casually. We enjoyed catching up on real life conversation with each other as well as talking with fellow runners. We took the opportunity to stop at virtually every photo opportunity, danced around a bit to the music at some of the live bands, and just generally found about every possible opportunity. Just after the Mile 11 marker Lisa (with me in the photo just above) and I lost track of each other and I ran the last 2 miles in about 22 minutes through the walking runners. I finished in 3:31:39, easily an hour and maybe 80 to 90 minutes slower than the time I might have gotten had I really “raced” this event. However, my time on this night was measured not by hours, minutes and seconds, but by fun—and I had tons of fun on this night, although the excitement was far from over.

The biggest problems with the race were in the after-race party. As I cleared the finish area and got my post-race photos, I noticed a complete mess if the bag claim area (fortunately I had not checked any bag on this night!). After I got into the EPCOT party area I noticed very long lines for the various food and drink items, after walking halfway around the park looking for a decent bite of food I headed off to the restroom. It was shortly after this point that the lack of post-race food, plus the heat from waiting in line in a tight and poorly ventilated area culminated in a dizzy spell as I started to leave the area (a condition from which I was not the only one to suffer). Fortunately I had the sense enough to sit down and had some good friends around to watch over me until I felt better. We all sat around and talked for a good while before heading out in search of food and to find the bus back to the hotel. I ended up primarily eating the banana and gronola bar I got from the race, with only a small taste of the special Wine and Dine food offerings but what I did have was really very good. If Disney can improve these long lines for the runners, it will be much better next year.

All in all, I had a great time with this event and would highly recommend it to anyone, with any luck I’ll be able to do it again some day--and hopefully I'll be able to do it with some great friends again as well.

Disneyworld Wine and Dine Half Marathon

2010-10-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

I am back home from a completely exhausting and thrilling race weekend. I had a great time with some great friends over the weekend as well.

I'll be posting a real race report in a few days after I can really recover and organize my thoughts and photos along the way. The race was not perfect, but it was still a fabulous event and I think it has a lot of potential once Disney can make a few adjustments for next year.

Based on the way I ran out the first 2 miles and the last 2 miles, I am convinced that I could have made this a PR time race. Instead, I spent the intervening miles having great conversation with other runners, stopping for many photo opportunities, and concentrating on just having a fabulous race event. This was easily my slowest official half marathon run time (and I don't even know what it was!), but it was also the most memorable and enjoyable--and that was what mattered for this event.

Getting Back to Full Speed

2010-09-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

My shoulder injury from last month seems to have become a non-issue by this time. I can't quite say it is all healed up, but it is not holding me back. My knee situation is a bit more clear. The knee has not entirely healed, still sore at times and stiff at times, but it also is not holding me back from either long or intense workouts. At this point I guess I am just hoping that it finishes up healing while I continue to train and race.

Meanwhile, the training has been pretty good of late. This was the first week I have been back to hard training consistently since my injury. I got in 9.1 miles running on Saturday and 58.45 miles on the bike on Sunday. While neither was done for time, both went well at reasonable pacing. The bike was slower than I had expected, but I was trying to keep the heart rate from going too high for that particular workout and partly due to the course having more hills than I normally get to ride on this side of Austin. This week has a full schedule of workouts planned, so I will see how things go for me this week.

The Austin Triathlon

2010-09-07T09:06:00.000-07:00

I spent the midday period Sunday at the triathlon expo getting my race packet and looking around. During this time I had the good fortune to be able to meet and talk with 4 time Olympian (in three different sports!) and Olympic gold medalist Sheila Taormina. She was selling her book (which I gladly purchased and had autographed) on swim technique. She even posed for a photo with me and placed her gold medal around my neck for the photo!
I decided to go to her hour long talk which would start in about 15 minutes. I pick up a lot of good bits of information on swimming while listening to her talk--she is a very informative and enthusiastic speaker!--and hope that some of it will rub off on me in the long run. After the talk I have to head out to bring my bike to the transition area.

I get in a good early dinner that evening and set up my stuff for the next morning, then double and triple check everything before I set 2 alarms and call the hotel front desk for a wake up call. Before bed I went online to read posts from friends who had ran the Disneyland Half Marathon earlier that morning, and then I tried to think good thoughts forward about my race in the morning....

In the morning I am up and awake early with my alarm (the first alarm was sufficient). Instead of walking the 1.25 miles to the race site I grab a cab from the hotel (it seemed silly to drive myself and maybe have to pay more for parking than I would pay a cab!) which gets me to the transition area for final setup in plenty of time. I get everything set up and set out to look over the bike and run exit areas and calculate the best way to sight my return to my transition spot. Then I eat a bit of breakfast and take in some sports drink and water to keep hydrated while the time to close the transition area arrives.

I meet up with a few friends while waiting the 40 minutes between race start and the start for my swim wave (swim waves start 5 minutes apart). Mostly I am trying not to dwell on my recovery from recent shoulder and knee injuries and hope they do not negatively impact my day. My goal for the day had always been to beat a 3:30 time, but I was questioning how my body would hold up from the recent injuries (right shoulder and left knee). I felt like I was recovered enough to race, but you never really know until you go all out at race effort.

Finally, the time for my wave comes and I get in near the back of my swim wave group, as my plan is to find a comfortable pace that does not risk hurting my shoulder and concentrate on technique more than speed. I fall into a comfortable rhythm and feel really good early in the swim, none of the "what am I doing here?" type of thoughts even come into mind as I make progress. Somewhere between 1/4 to 1/3 of the way into the race I notice something uncharacteristic for me--that I am passing a number of other swimmers (I am quite used to being one of the last few swimmers in longer distance triathlons). By the halfway point I have passed at least one swimmer that started 2 waves ahead of me and realize that I had not seen anyone from the swim wave behind me come by yet either (which does happen in about 200 more yards). At this point I realize that I am having a really good swim (at least for me) and I keep concentrating on just doing what I have been doing up until now. Eventually I get out of the water and hit the lap time on my watch as I cross the timing mats on the way into the transition area with a 33:23 swim time, which is an awesome time for me, especially in light of the recent injury recovery. I quickly get into the transition area and take right at 5 minutes to get out onto the road. Shortly into my bike ride the skies open up with an unexpected rain--sometimes pouring rain--for about 25 minutes. With this rain my thoughts of pushing the fastest possible pace on the streets go away as I ride at a bit of a slower pace for safety, and even then slide through one turn but I maintain control and do not go down. Don't take this top mean that I went slow as I still got into the low 30 mph range on some downhills (although I was holding on for dear life as I did!) but I did not push as hard as I could go and let those riders wanting to go full speed go right on by me. By the end of my 3rd and final lap on the bike the roads are draining a bit and I go a bit faster in some areas before I need to come back to the transition area. My bike ride time is just under 1:23:57 at 17.7 mph, which is a bit slower than I would have originally liked but faster than I expected due to the wet roads. As I get through the second transition in 2 1/2 minutes I realize that I am well within the reach of my original goal of getting under three and a half hours as I am currently around 2:05 on the clock and can almost run 14 minute miles to make my goal., While I would have normally expected to run around 11 minute miles before my injury, I try to run a comfortable--though solid-- pace and walk every 5th minute to avoid pushing myself too hard. This works well early and I feel really good for about 2 to 2.5 miles. After this point I am starting to feel things get tough, so I take in a little extra race nutrition and try to push through it. After a tough mile where my friend Jon Walk caught this photo,

I start to feel better as I come near the finish area and head out on the second lap. By this point I have gone through the first 5K in about 36 minutes and know that I am well within my goal range. I keep on going, being buoyed by friends and others cheering me on. I am feeling good as I prepare to come up to the last hill for the day when I run by my old coach and friend Bill Dwyer who takes this photo.

It was just after this point as I headed up the bridge that I felt a bit of pain in my knee momentarily, so I decide to take an extra minute walk up the hill to ensure a solid finish as I am less than a half mile from finishing. I test the knee on the level road at the top of the bridge and it feels OK, but I still take my minute walk on my regular every 5th minute schedule. When I start running again the rest of the way to the end is either level or downhill and I run a nice easy run in from there, pausing briefly in front of a bunch of kids at the "super soaker zone" to get sprayed down with water and then head in for my final sprint. I finished with a run time of 1:13:39, about an 11:53 pace per mile and I finished the race in 3:18:31, which completely shattered my expectations and completed a great race experience for me.

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Edited to add in response to Rae's post.

This was an Olympic distatance triathlon, which means 1500 meter swim, 40K bike ride and 10K run. I am a new user of KT Tape (though a satisifed one) and am definitely a bit sore today!

Returning to Running

2010-08-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

This morning marked my return to running after an August 10th knee injury. While I had done a couple short runs to test the knee since that injury, this really felt like a "real" run to me.

I set out with a 1 hour run time goal early this morning and got through with a slow, but successful run today. I started with a walk to make sure I was warmed up for ten minutes. Then I ran a couple miles utilizing the run walk method to make sure I did not strain anything, specifically I would alternate running 3 minutes and walking 2 minutes. Finally, I ran the last mile (plus a bit more) back home to see if I could really run without problem, which I did at an 11:08 pace. Finally, a cool down walk and I made my goal with 4.33 miles in 1:00:46.

Certainly, I have faster and better runs, but this run today gave me additional confidence that I will be able to complete next weekend's Olympic distance Austin Triathlon (assuming my shoulder injury is better as well!). I'd been training with high goals for the Austin Triathlon, but now feel like I am limping to the starting line...at least I'll be ready to test the old adage about it being better to show up for a race under-trained versus over-trained.

This and That

2010-08-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

Just a few things to post about...

My knee is still injured, but is improving. I ran a mile today without major trouble and had limited discomfort during the day. Hopefully, I can try a run again later in the week and see where I am. Fortunately, I was able to bike a little over 40 miles in just under 2.5 hours Saturday, with almost no effects from the knee! Hopefully my training frustration will end this week.

Speaking of my bike, I added a rear-mounted bottle holder to help me carry more fluids for my longest rides (especially since it does not seem the hot weather will be letting up any time soon!). I can now carry 5 bottles (1 aero bottle on front, 2 on the frame and 2 in the rear-mounted bracket) to ensure I will have plenty of fluids for any ride in the next few months.

I replaced broken laptop computer last weekend, Fortunately all my data was intact, it was the computer that died, and there no issues getting all the data moved over to the new computer.

Finally, I realized earlier today that my diet was bad all week without my really paying attention to it. I think I was effictively trying to medicate my disappointment over my knee with food.

Hopefully, by next week I'll have a more upbeat post about resumption of all training...

Temporarily Out of Commission

2010-08-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

I am temporarily out of commission for a bit.

No, not a training injury (well, I do have a slight knee issue that I am taking a few light-impact days to resolve...), but a computer issue. My laptop has died (motherboard issue) and is more expensive to repair than replace. I will be looking for a good replacement deal in the next few weeks, but until then my online time will be limited.

On the plus side I did a 2100 yard swim last night with my fastest time for that distance, so maybe a few personal and work frustrations were helped as I do feel less stressed this morning.

The following was added 08/15/2010.
Ironically, the title of this post is even more appropriate. I am back up and running with a new notebook computer, however I have slightly injured my knee and may need to take off some time from running. It does appear that I may be able to keep up my swimming and (probably) my biking at this time. I am hoping I'll just need a few more days off, however I tried to run earlier today after taking off Wed- Sat from running and I only got in a mile before discomfort set in. :-(

Bridgeland Sprint Triathlon

2010-08-08T12:41:00.000-07:00

The Bridgeland Sprint Triathlon proved to be a well run event. The race organizers did a great job putting on a fun event.

The day before the race I attempted to get fully hydrated and consumed water all day, plus 96 ounces of Gatorade G2 as well. I was quite surprised that this did not force me to take additional bathroom breaks during the day or night, which I concluded to mean that I was already dehydrated and needed all this to catch up to where I needed to be. From Saturday morning to Sunday morning I gained about 5 pounds, which I concluded was pretty much the extra fluid my body needed to have that I had been missing. By the end of my race I will feel very happy about going through the extra effort to rehydrate my body.

The 500 meter swim was a point to point lake swim, ending in an area adjacent to the transition area. The water was warm but well marked with big orange and yellow buoys. Given the course layout, many early swimmers swam too the first buoy and then along the aligned buoys, which actually lengthened their swim. I started out far to the left and just swam straight towards to distant yellow buoy that marked a right turn to stay clear of the pack. Unfortunately, I twice got boxed in by swimmers that could not swim a straight line and wasted a bit of time getting away from them (although at one point I slowed a bit to let them clear me and saw them swim their heads into each other in an almost Three Stooges kind of way). For some unknown reason I felt a moment of slight panic during the middle of the race, but calmed myself by remembering that I have done longer swims under worse circumstances just fine. I've never felt that way before during a swim, but am glad I got past it...especially since I was out in the middle of the lake at the time! In the end I finished the 500 meter swim in 12:17.

While the transition are was well laid out, they had to cram some unfortunate people way up in the grass on a hill adjacent to the parking lot used for transition that was way out from the bike entry and exit. I was one of the unlucky that got that area. Still, I had a decent 2:18 T1 time.

I had a pretty strong bike ride, if you go by that I passed so many more people than passed me--and generally the ones that passed me were pretty awesome cyclists with awesome bikes. My average speed of 19.7 mph was right around where I hoped to be, and I think represented pretty much my best effort for the course. I worried a bit that going hard on the bike might negatively impact my run, but I felt I needed to put out my best effort to see how my body would react on the run to somewhat tired legs. I finished my bike ride in 42:37. Unfortunately, the posted race times did not show a record of my bike time (in fact around 1/3 or more racers lacked a bike split) and showed an excessively long T1 time instead, so I calculated my speed based upon my watch split and the 14 mile known distance.

Transition 2 was about as good as it was going to get for me as I had to cart my bike way across the transition area and past the run start, before trekking back to the exit...but I still managed a 1:56 T2 time, so I really should not complain much.

My run was looking to be my biggest question mark going into this race. I have never run the whole course as part of a triathlon before (though I have run all but the aid stations), but I planned to run every step of today's run. The biggest complication today was the early heat, which I expect was in the mid-80's by then and very sunny. Fortunately, once we got past the first half mile there was occasional shade from trees, and most of mile 2 was on a tree-covered path. I covered mile one in 10:08, which I consider to be a solid time for any mile for me in any race, then I covered miles 2 and 3 in a combined 20:30 (I did not see the mile 2 marker.) which surprised me even more. I was definitely pushing a pace that took real effort for me, but I felt good while doing it. As I passed the Mile 3 marker I knew that there was only a half mile to go and I had been running alongside another runner from my age group that I had been determined not to let get away from me, so I pushed the pace for the last bit and with about 150 yards to go I ran all-out. I figured if I was going to get passed, it would not be easy on anyone to do it. I held off my challenger and beat him by 6 seconds, so I have to guess he didn't have what it took to stay with me at the end. My time over the final half mile was an amazing 4:30, for a 35:08 total run time. I held on to a volunteer for support while they took my timing chip and gave me a cold water bottle and an ice-cold, wet towel, before finally walking off to stretch out and meet up with my coach at the finish.

My stated goal for this race was to finish in the low 1:40 range (1:40 to 1:45), but I really hoped to get into the 1:30's. In the end I finished in 1:34:16, which happily beat my goals. More important to me, though, was that I gave a hard effort the whole race, which is what gave me ability to surpass my goals.

My next race is The Austin Triathlon on Labor Day, where I intend to settle an old score with the Olympic distance that still bothers me from last year.

70 days until IM Longhorn 70.3!

Recapping July

2010-08-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

After 3 months of incremental weight increases, I lost 5.4 lbs in July. This gets me back to where I was around a week into the month of March earlier this year weight-wise (and down 3.4 lbs for the year). It's good to see that 2.5 months of slow gain can be undone by a good month, just like I've seen the opposite where 3 months of weight loss is undone by one month of gain. In the end, this is still a long process where the important thing is to stay on-track in the long term and not worry about the short term.

This month of training proved to be a long one. I ended up logging in 2431 training minutes for the month easily my highest training time since I started running again back in late 2006. I ran 65.3 miles during the month for my second highest run mileage of the year (and above average for me). The 225.2 miles on the bike and 12.7 miles of swimming each represent a personal monthly high for me as well. In addition these represent an amount of training that I likely would not have pushed myself to attempt without the advice of coaching--at least not at this point in my training schedule. While there are too many variables to guarantee that I will beat my previous best in my coming Olympic and Half Ironman distance races, I am certainly going to be entering them much better prepared than I was for them last year.

With the Longhorn 70.3 and IM Texas on my longer horizon as my main events, and shorter "training" races such as the Bridgeland Sprint Tri (8/8) and The Austin Triathlon (Olympic Distance 9/6) along the way, I have been writing posts about some of my specific training experiences to record my training process for later review, and any constructive criticism anybody out there might have to offer to me. One thing is certain at this point, my training volumes will have to increase when I kick into IM Texas specific training late this year/early next year.

Continuing Longhorn 70.3 Preparation

2010-08-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

As of this writing I am 11 weeks (77 days), less 7 some hours from the start of the Longhorn 70.3 race in Austin, Texas. As part of documenting my training from time to time, here is an overview of the last week of training. FWIW, this was not a "typical" week, but a week with some increased training time before entering this coming week. This coming week is a scheduled lighter recovery week, with a bit of a taper for next weekend's Bridgeland Sprint Tri.

Monday-Swim 2200 yards in 55:39. This workout included the full workout from warmup to cool down including associated rest between drills, with the primary element of this workout being 500 yard drills.

Tuesday-Ran 3.9 miles in 46:12. This was an organized track workout with my tri training group, OutRival Racing . The main element of this workout was 1600m-1200m-600m-300m tempo drills with a short, light jog in between running to allow for heart rate recovery. Also on this day was a 15 minute basic core workout.

Wednesday- Morning Workout Swim 2250 yards in 58:09. This workout included the full workout from warmup to cool down including associated rest between drills, with the primary element of this workout being a tempo ladder drill. Evening Workout An 11.8 mile bike ride around some local hills in 45:33. I had hoped to get in an hour of riding but called this ride a bit short due to darkness.

Thursday- Morning Workout 58:45 spin class at 24 Hour Fitness Gym.
Evening Workout Run 3.61 miles on local hills in 53:42. This includes about 15 minutes of walking to get my legs loose at the start of the workout before running up and down some hills in my neighborhood.

Friday- Morning Workout 2.4 miles in 37:17. This was an easy workout with a ten minute walk to start around the flatter roads of my neighborhood.
ALso today was a 15 minute basic core workout.

Saturday- I kicked off the weekend with the OutRival Racing group bike ride, covering 39.32 miles in 2:27:40 (16 mph avg pace), plus some good social time at Starbucks afterwards. The ride included about 15 miles that I anticipate has a good chance of being part of the IM Texas route.

Sunday- Long run day, 7.2 miles in 1:31:08, including a combined approximately 12 minutes and .6 miles of warmup and cooldown. After the run I got to sit around with my friends from The Woodlands Running Club for breakfast at the local bagel shop.

As I said before this was a high volume workout week for me, but it was good to see that I could hold up for nearly 10.5 hours of workouts in a week, at least once! This coming week will be a lot easier on me timewise, and I'll enjoy a bit of rest this coming week as well.

Track Night 7/27/10

2010-07-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight's track night felt like a breakthrough performance for me on a night that was not quite as hot as normal, though definitely a very humid, steamy night. I ran a set of 1600 - 1200 - 600 - 300 on a school track, with 2 - 3 minutes of recovery jogging between each set. All running was to stay below lactate threshold heart rate. My surprise was an 8:09 1600 meters (mile), a speed I likely have not seen around 20 years, and afterwards I maintained a steady 9 min/mile pace through the balance of the running part of the workout.

I certainly consider this workout to be showing me a breakthrough after I have been at a training plateau for a good while.

I celebrated with a small serving of lowfat frozen yogurt and granola at Orange Leaf .

Coming up tomorrow are 2400 yard swim and 60 minute bike workouts.

Longhorn IM 70.3 Countdown...82 days to go!

ORR Group Bike Ride

2010-07-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

Today was my first group ride with OutRival Racing, actually it was ORR's first group ride that I am aware of period. In any case it was also my first group training ride as well. Yes, I have been training this long on my bike just riding solo!

We covered about 28.64 miles in 1:45, for a speed of almost 16.4 mph, which included slowing and waiting for traffic along the route. Today's ride was scheduled to be part of a recovery week for me and this ride worked out well for me. I did ride at a faster speed than I usually go, partly due to our route getting me out of the normal traffic I experience where I go on my own and partly due to the effect of other riders setting a pace that I do not drop down unintentionally. While I was inexperienced in group riding I did enjoy the camaraderie of other riders and look forward to future group training rides. While I was somewhat afraid of being well in the back of the pack, I actually finished closer to the front than the back of the group...so maybe I am a bit better of a rider than I had envisioned myself to be.

In addition, last night was the first get together for the the IM Texas Hometown Athletes Facebook group, meeting at The Goose's Acre in The Woodlands. While I thought I would either skip this or just pop in for a short bit, I hung around for quite awhile talking with many other triathletes who are also registered for IM Texas, some of whom came up from the other side of Houston. So I send out a bit of thanks to Coach Michelle for prodding me to attend.

Next up for me later tonight is a time trial swim workout...

Meanwhile I am 12 weeks out from the Longhorn Triathlon/Ironman 70.3 Austin and 43 weeks out from Ironman Texas with lots of training to be done before each of them.

Track Night 7/20/10

2010-07-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night means an hour at the track with OutRival Racing. Tonight's weather was warm and humid, though not hot due to some rains and cloud cover earlier in the day.

Tonight's workout (after an extended warm up period) was a 2 mile time trial, which I ran in 17:48 at a fairly steady pace throughout as each half mile split was within 6 seconds of the average pace. I ran this same run about a month ago and was 9 seconds faster but with a higher heart rate.

Overall, I'd have been happier to have beaten the previous time (just my competitive nature, I guess!), however I have to be happy to repeat a workout with an average pace under 9 minute miles.

Rolling Right Along

2010-07-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying that it is just under 13 weeks until the Longhorn Triathlon (aka Ironman 70.3 Austin) and 44 weeks until Ironman Texas. Sure, I have other events before and between these...an August sprint tri, a September Olympic distance tri, one or two half marathons over the winter months....but these are the two events that are dictating my training schedule.

Of late it seems that my various schedules are dictating my days, instead of me dictating my own schedule. Work moves along on a recurring monthly schedule, with no major problems coming up right now things just keep moving along steadily from month to month. My home life is on a similar schedule, with 2 young adult daughters (19 and 21) they are somewhat independent in their lives, and my wife is spending lots of extra time with her father while he heals up from his injury and surgery from April...he is healing and making steady progress, he is now able to walk with assistance from a walker, and should walk normally again in time. While I miss having my wife around all the time, I know her father needs her more right now.

Without any significant events sticking out in the short term, time just seems to be passing steadily, though I know better than to wish for something interesting to come up as "interesting" is often more bad than good, and for now everything is OK here. The lack of anything big going on virtually guarantees me the time I want for training with little to no interruption, which is good considering the volume of my training that has recently shifted to early morning hours.

This relative bit of quiet will work for now, certainly there will be something interesting pop up in my life eventually which will make me yearn back for these quieter times.

Rolling into July

2010-07-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

I am heading into July with some renewed energy, some of it quite literal as I am getting my diet back on track (it's amazing how addictive junk food can be sometimes, as I will sometimes eat it knowing full well that it is bad for me and will slow me down!). Fortunately, when I can finally get it out of my diet, the inertia of getting on track makes it easier to stay on track. Also, I seem to have adapted to my new training schedule (the quite literal doubling of my training time--and then some). Plus it helps to see the light at the end of the tunnel for my father-in-law getting his health back. He's still a low way from regaining his full abilities, but he is getting around at work with assistance and continues to progress his recovery...though I still need to expect to keep helping out with his company for another couple of months, it helps to know things are getting better. Finally, I am inspired by the recent progress of friends like Rae who have fought through their plateaus.

As I was was ending June, I was feeling tired and worn down and not seeing the progress I had made. It was only after fully taking stock of what I actually accomplished during the month--plus seeing the comments left by several of you--that inspired me by showing me how good June really was for me (as I mentioned in the training details I posted previously).

As I have headed full steam through early July I am feeling like I am still picking up momentum for what I can accomplish during the second half of 2010--and feel like I will be able to meet some very healthy expectations for some solid PRs by year's end.

Ironically, when I was starting this post I had intended to partly gripe about the summer weather, where I am outside in 80+ degree and 80%+ humidity, which is normal for summer mornings in south Texas, but in the end I felt so much more upbeat that I had no interest in complaining.