The positive things I have going for me as I enter 2014 are that I am pretty well rested and uninjured. The negative things I have against me are that my recent extended semi-rest period over the last two-ish months has let me lose a bit of overall fitness and get out of the regular habits I had established in my fitness program. Overall, I believe those positives are more powerful than those negatives. Looking past the immediate present, let's examine my goals for the new year.
1. Do at least one event for the sheer fun of doing it.
With the rise of various themed events there is an abundance of unusual themed events around and all I have to do for this items is complete one with nothing more than the idea of fun in mind.
2. Get back into effective training shape and PR for at least one running and one triathlon event.
I am not planning a race intensive schedule over this coming year, However I will give myself opportunity to complete a few triathlon and road races with an emphasis on optimal performance.
3. Volunteer for a major racing event.
I am truly indebted to the many volunteers that have assisted with the many races I have completed . It is more than time for me to return that favor and make myself the volunteer helping out the many racers.
4. Finish the year in shape to do the Disney Dopey Challenge in January 2015.
My schedule may not have allowed me to make the Dopey Challenge for 2014 but I am committing to be ready for 2015.
5. Remember to enjoy the process and share my training time with friends.
I think this item is pretty self-explanatory. I want to be able to enjoy my training time by sharing it with friends and teammates while I am also improving myself with training.
6. While I am trying to emphasize fitness and fun for the year, I'd be lying if I left this last item off the list: to find my way back to a podium finish again during the year.
2012 was a breakthrough year for me and I went from an athlete who was content to find personal improvement to one had his first three podium finishes in that year when I wasn't even close in previous years. In 2013, I managed to come back a few more podium finishes in spite of my injury recovery. While my races of choice might be different in many ways in 2014 than in past years, I would still like to find a podium finish among those races.
7. Finally, I need to do the hard work of curtailing my wayward diet and getting my weight back into the mid-170 range where I was before my October 2012 injuries.
My diet laziness has helped my add 10-15 pounds at times and I am still in the mid-180 pound range. I know from experience that I am stronger and healthier in the mid-170's.
Now that I have written these out, I will leave them posted and we can revisit them at the end of 2014 and see how I have done.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
2013 Goals in Review
From the start, 2013 was never going to be the year I had hoped it would be. Coming off of serious late year injuries in 2012 may have made for rescaling of 2013 but I refused to let those injuries stop me from doing the things that I loved. Here is a summary of the goals I posted from myself in January and how I did in the efforts throughout the year.
1. Complete my third Ironman race on May 18, 2013.
I registered for this race last summer in the first moments that registration was open. In 2012 I set a PR of almost three hours from the year before and I was hoping to aim for cutting another hour or two off of that time. However, getting hit by a car and having surgery to reconstruct my collarbone led to serious doubt that I might even be able to do this race--certainly my surgeon told me it was possible but he didn't seem too confident until April came and my recovery continued to move forward. On May 18, 2013, I started and completed my third Ironman race. It wasn't the smashing PR that I would have originally liked but it was a glorious day to prove that I was still able to be able to complete this wonderful event.
2.With no real idea how long my recovery will take I will forgo my general desire to PR every race and set a more realistic PR goal for 2013. In this case I will attempt to set a PR for at least one running event and one triathlon event.
For the most part, I never did get my 2013 race times to beat my 2012 race times. However, my PR time at the Olympic Distance triathlon was beaten at the USAT National Championship race in August. In addition, in the run portion of that race I beat my 10K PR time and ran 10K in under an hour for the first time in any race.
3.Do at least one very unique race event. I'm not going to place too many restrictions on this, just something out of the ordinary.
Given the loose requirements for this, I am going to claim that it was accomplished by participating in a national championship race (I finished way in the back--but I was there!) last August.
4. This year I hope to be more mindful of not letting my training schedule monopolize my overall schedule.
During this year's Ironman training I was able to keep more time set aside for my wife than in previous years. In addition, I learned to take more time off near holidays for my family.
5. Find ways to be helpful to others in these sporting activities and follow through with helping them.
During 2013 I was able to continue my work with a group dedicated to helping junior high students run their first 5K race. I was also blessed this year to do may training activities with friends that I hadn't done much or training with in previous years. In some cases I was able to help advise them as they worked towards their own Ironman races.
2013 managed to have its share of surprises for me, in mostly positive ways. I wasn't just able to return to racing but I even managed to find my way to 3 podium finishes in a few low profile races. I entered the year on little more than faith and hope but I finished the year knowing that I was strong enough for the challenges I faced. I'm not quite sure what goals I will have for 2014 but I will go into the year confident that I can overcome the obstacles life places in my way.
1. Complete my third Ironman race on May 18, 2013.
I registered for this race last summer in the first moments that registration was open. In 2012 I set a PR of almost three hours from the year before and I was hoping to aim for cutting another hour or two off of that time. However, getting hit by a car and having surgery to reconstruct my collarbone led to serious doubt that I might even be able to do this race--certainly my surgeon told me it was possible but he didn't seem too confident until April came and my recovery continued to move forward. On May 18, 2013, I started and completed my third Ironman race. It wasn't the smashing PR that I would have originally liked but it was a glorious day to prove that I was still able to be able to complete this wonderful event.
2.With no real idea how long my recovery will take I will forgo my general desire to PR every race and set a more realistic PR goal for 2013. In this case I will attempt to set a PR for at least one running event and one triathlon event.
For the most part, I never did get my 2013 race times to beat my 2012 race times. However, my PR time at the Olympic Distance triathlon was beaten at the USAT National Championship race in August. In addition, in the run portion of that race I beat my 10K PR time and ran 10K in under an hour for the first time in any race.
3.Do at least one very unique race event. I'm not going to place too many restrictions on this, just something out of the ordinary.
Given the loose requirements for this, I am going to claim that it was accomplished by participating in a national championship race (I finished way in the back--but I was there!) last August.
4. This year I hope to be more mindful of not letting my training schedule monopolize my overall schedule.
During this year's Ironman training I was able to keep more time set aside for my wife than in previous years. In addition, I learned to take more time off near holidays for my family.
5. Find ways to be helpful to others in these sporting activities and follow through with helping them.
During 2013 I was able to continue my work with a group dedicated to helping junior high students run their first 5K race. I was also blessed this year to do may training activities with friends that I hadn't done much or training with in previous years. In some cases I was able to help advise them as they worked towards their own Ironman races.
2013 managed to have its share of surprises for me, in mostly positive ways. I wasn't just able to return to racing but I even managed to find my way to 3 podium finishes in a few low profile races. I entered the year on little more than faith and hope but I finished the year knowing that I was strong enough for the challenges I faced. I'm not quite sure what goals I will have for 2014 but I will go into the year confident that I can overcome the obstacles life places in my way.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Catching Up
I've fallen behind in my race reports and want to catch up before finishing out the year.
Back in mid-November I did the Conroe Turkey Trot. This was the goal race for a group I volunteer with called Healthy Youth. For the past school semester our group has been working with junior high students to teach the to run a 5K and to also teach them healthy life habits. This was our third group and was once again a big success. During the 5K I ran with several of the students and kept them motivated. As I did this I finished my race in 24:42 and also finished first in my age group.
Early in December I completed a 20K trail run in Huntsville State Park in 2:20. This fell just short of a PR for me, but I ran this race for fun and not to be fast, which was perfectly fine with me.
Hopefully, now that I've caught up I can stay better on track with my blog in the future.
Back in mid-November I did the Conroe Turkey Trot. This was the goal race for a group I volunteer with called Healthy Youth. For the past school semester our group has been working with junior high students to teach the to run a 5K and to also teach them healthy life habits. This was our third group and was once again a big success. During the 5K I ran with several of the students and kept them motivated. As I did this I finished my race in 24:42 and also finished first in my age group.
Early in December I completed a 20K trail run in Huntsville State Park in 2:20. This fell just short of a PR for me, but I ran this race for fun and not to be fast, which was perfectly fine with me.
Hopefully, now that I've caught up I can stay better on track with my blog in the future.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
A Wonder-ful Time
Recently my wife and I had the opportunity to take a cruise on the Disney Cruise line ship. We were on the Disney Wonder and sailed out of Galveston, Texas, for a 7 night eastern Caribbean cruise. During this cruise we visited ports in Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico.
The first two days of the cruise were days at sea. We had some rough water, which took a bit of getting used to, but also allowed us the opportunity to become familiar with the ship's amenities, including a gym, theaters, and live shows. We even learned to draw a few Disney characters.
While hitting the ports on days 4, 5, and 6. In Jamaica we shopped in the local port area. This area had a variety of shops in the immediate area of the ship. As you can see in this photo below, the ship is immediately behind one row of the shops.
In Grand Cayman, we needed to ride small tender boat to shore from the ship. My wife, Darcy, took this photo with the Disney Wonder in the background as we went ashore. In Grand Cayman, we did some shopping and exploring in the local area.
In Cozumel, we took advantage of the local scenery and spent some time on a beach area excursion that included spending time in clear plastic kayaks that allowed us to see clearly in the water below. We also snorkeled in the clear waters which allowed even better opportunities to see the local fish and coral.
On board ship the entertainment was very good and we had plenty of food available, ranging from freely available ice cream and soda (including tea, coffee and hot chocolate). Meals included buffet meals, counter service burgers, sandwiches and pizza as well as the stereotypical fine dining expected on a cruise. I won't say that I always ate healthy but I could if that was what I wished to do, and I did include healthy options in most meals.
We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and found it well worth the cost. We will look forward to another Disney cruise some day in the future and would highly recommend it to anyone asking us about taking one of their own.
The first two days of the cruise were days at sea. We had some rough water, which took a bit of getting used to, but also allowed us the opportunity to become familiar with the ship's amenities, including a gym, theaters, and live shows. We even learned to draw a few Disney characters.
While hitting the ports on days 4, 5, and 6. In Jamaica we shopped in the local port area. This area had a variety of shops in the immediate area of the ship. As you can see in this photo below, the ship is immediately behind one row of the shops.
In Grand Cayman, we needed to ride small tender boat to shore from the ship. My wife, Darcy, took this photo with the Disney Wonder in the background as we went ashore. In Grand Cayman, we did some shopping and exploring in the local area.
On board ship the entertainment was very good and we had plenty of food available, ranging from freely available ice cream and soda (including tea, coffee and hot chocolate). Meals included buffet meals, counter service burgers, sandwiches and pizza as well as the stereotypical fine dining expected on a cruise. I won't say that I always ate healthy but I could if that was what I wished to do, and I did include healthy options in most meals.
We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and found it well worth the cost. We will look forward to another Disney cruise some day in the future and would highly recommend it to anyone asking us about taking one of their own.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
CASA Superhero 5K
This 5K was going to be my PR effort weekend race. However, recent events--mainly a recent car crash--had left me not quite ready to put out a PR effort. The recent week of rain leaving a muddy and mucky course also left the conditions shy of PR worthy. In the end this was still going to be a hard race effort but also one that I wanted to enjoy with some friends.
While this was not a first year race, it had first year race directors--and it showed. Fortunately, this is a smaller event with just a couple hundred runners or the general disorganization would have been a complete mess. This overall disorganization included parking mixups in the state park, not having a good setup in the race area, not being prepared to post run times, no preparations in being able to announce the winners during the awards ceremony and perhaps worst of all an improperly marked course that led to the leading runners running an extra two tenths of a mile before the organizers realized the problem.
As for myself, I ran a mostly even race this time around. I kept from going too hard the first mile out and this enabled me to keep a good pace throughout. Even though I was one of the runners who ran too long, I don't think it led to a different finishing place in the case of the 8-12 runners that it affected. I finished with a second place finish in my age group and 8th place overall. I think the special part of the race came by finishing just behind and just in front of tow great training partners, who finished overall women's winner and master's woman winner. The three of us are pictured below.
Next up for me is off season, beginning with a cruise on the Disney Wonder cruise ship. I have another 5K later this month and maybe I will go after that 5K then, or maybe it will be just for fun. Until then, however, I will have some fun.
While this was not a first year race, it had first year race directors--and it showed. Fortunately, this is a smaller event with just a couple hundred runners or the general disorganization would have been a complete mess. This overall disorganization included parking mixups in the state park, not having a good setup in the race area, not being prepared to post run times, no preparations in being able to announce the winners during the awards ceremony and perhaps worst of all an improperly marked course that led to the leading runners running an extra two tenths of a mile before the organizers realized the problem.
As for myself, I ran a mostly even race this time around. I kept from going too hard the first mile out and this enabled me to keep a good pace throughout. Even though I was one of the runners who ran too long, I don't think it led to a different finishing place in the case of the 8-12 runners that it affected. I finished with a second place finish in my age group and 8th place overall. I think the special part of the race came by finishing just behind and just in front of tow great training partners, who finished overall women's winner and master's woman winner. The three of us are pictured below.
Next up for me is off season, beginning with a cruise on the Disney Wonder cruise ship. I have another 5K later this month and maybe I will go after that 5K then, or maybe it will be just for fun. Until then, however, I will have some fun.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Finding the Silver Lining
It was just this past weekend that I had my one year anniversary with a serious auto-bike crash that left my body broken and my spirit battered, but it was also a point from which I refused to back down and give up. With several months of recovery I began to live a normal life again, with several months of training after that I managed to complete an Ironman race, with a couple more months of training I managed to make it to the podium of a couple small races and finally began to believe it was going to come back to me.
It didn't seem to take too long after that to become the victim of a likely intoxicated hit and run driver who ran a red light at high speed and T-boned my new car just behind the driver's seat. I was spun several times and came to a stop just out of the intersection and facing the opposite direction of traffic in a road perpendicular to the one on which I had been travelling. A whirlwind of a night in the emergency room and following visit to my own doctor revealed I had some muscular damage and a concussion but seemed to avoid more serious injury. Air bag deployments may have also helped me escape more serious injury as well.
Even though I have only had this vehicle a few months, it is just a thing that can be repaired. Even though I was injured I can recover. I could have been seriously hurt and was not. I will recover in time and go on.
It didn't seem to take too long after that to become the victim of a likely intoxicated hit and run driver who ran a red light at high speed and T-boned my new car just behind the driver's seat. I was spun several times and came to a stop just out of the intersection and facing the opposite direction of traffic in a road perpendicular to the one on which I had been travelling. A whirlwind of a night in the emergency room and following visit to my own doctor revealed I had some muscular damage and a concussion but seemed to avoid more serious injury. Air bag deployments may have also helped me escape more serious injury as well.
Even though I have only had this vehicle a few months, it is just a thing that can be repaired. Even though I was injured I can recover. I could have been seriously hurt and was not. I will recover in time and go on.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Running of the Bulls 2013 5K
The Running of the Bulls 5K is the official 5K race of the Houston Texans football team, with the bull as the team mascot and hence the race name. It seems the only bulls I saw all day were mascots and none of them raced.
I went into this race with the idea to lay it all out effort-wise and go for max effort. I figured a strong effort would put me in striking range of my PR, and perhaps a really good race day effort could push past that. I lined up pretty near the front of the pack since there was a beginner feel among many of the racers. The day was a bit humid and warm but not too bad. Although I was going into this race rested, I wasn't feeling at my best today and had an elevated heart rate as well.
I ran this race on a pure heart rate goal plan. I opened with a strong opening mile around 6:44, in which I hit my target heart rate around a half mile and then worked on not going too hard after that. Mile 2 went by at a slower pace in the mid 7:30 range. By the time the second mile was done I was feeling like I was just hanging on for dear life. Mile 3 went by at a slightly slower pace in the mid 7:40 range and I really did feel like I was giving it my all. I pushed past the finish line in a time of 22:46.
22:46 really did feel like all I had in me on this day, at least following the plan I followed. On this day it was good enough for 5th place in my age group, and I just missed my PR by 3 seconds. I'm not disappointed by just missing my PR as I gave my all and just didn't have more to give on this day. Certainly it is also a positive sign in my overall recovery that I posted a second best effort and a competitive time in a large field. I left this race feeling very positive about the next race or two a few weeks ahead of me before looking at an much needed and welcomed upcoming off season.
I snapped one quick photo of myself from the field after I had recovered enough to walk off from the finishing area to show that I was down on the field (at least without having to buy one of the expensive professional race photos).
I went into this race with the idea to lay it all out effort-wise and go for max effort. I figured a strong effort would put me in striking range of my PR, and perhaps a really good race day effort could push past that. I lined up pretty near the front of the pack since there was a beginner feel among many of the racers. The day was a bit humid and warm but not too bad. Although I was going into this race rested, I wasn't feeling at my best today and had an elevated heart rate as well.
I ran this race on a pure heart rate goal plan. I opened with a strong opening mile around 6:44, in which I hit my target heart rate around a half mile and then worked on not going too hard after that. Mile 2 went by at a slower pace in the mid 7:30 range. By the time the second mile was done I was feeling like I was just hanging on for dear life. Mile 3 went by at a slightly slower pace in the mid 7:40 range and I really did feel like I was giving it my all. I pushed past the finish line in a time of 22:46.
22:46 really did feel like all I had in me on this day, at least following the plan I followed. On this day it was good enough for 5th place in my age group, and I just missed my PR by 3 seconds. I'm not disappointed by just missing my PR as I gave my all and just didn't have more to give on this day. Certainly it is also a positive sign in my overall recovery that I posted a second best effort and a competitive time in a large field. I left this race feeling very positive about the next race or two a few weeks ahead of me before looking at an much needed and welcomed upcoming off season.
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