Yorktown Runner

The Heat

2010-08-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

I skipped running a couple of days last week because it was just too damn hot. Now that I am older and hopefully wiser, and the fact that I have several training mesocycles under my belt I have a new philosophy. "It isn't about the single workout or single effort, but is the culmination of all of the workouts or efforts that creates the summation of the improvement." This is my creed for this training session.

So what does that mean to me you ask? Well, let's say the boys head down to the ole high school track for a session of mile repeats. You know the boys, your usual training buddies that like to run their big mouths. You have a plan and you are going to stick to that plan. You know your pace, you figured it out last night. You memorized your splits, you even wrote them on your arm so that you would nail them.

Your off and there you are hanging right there with the boys. I mean you have too, you don't want to be the wimp of the group. You round the last turn of the first quarter and hit the straight away. You feel your legs getting tight and you know your breathing is just too fast. As you cross the 1/4 mark you glance at your watch, whoa! way too fast. But do you slow down? Hell no, your not gonna be that guy. You finish the first mile 35 seconds faster than planned. The tall guy says "How was the pace?" Everybody in the group is bending over trying to find their left ventricle. Everybody says, "Pace is fine, no problem."

What a bunch of idiots we are. Cause next week we are so burnt out that I end up skipping a few days and the rest of my week is shot because I had to keep of with the fellows. Not this season no way. If I have to run on my own with my buddies this whole season, so be it. I'm older, wiser and more disciplined and I'm not gonna get sucked into that whole Saturday morning macho vortex. What is important is looking at the whole week as one long workout. Put enough effort into todays workout to get a good training effect but you have to leave enough in the tank so that you can hit all of your workouts for the entire week. Recover on the recovery days. Rest on the rest days. And push it on the hard days, but not race effort. One days effort doesn't make us 3:00 marathoners. One years steady efforts will make us a 3:30 or less marathoner.

So, I have really been trying to watch my paces and hit the goals but honestly, it just ain't happening. I don't know if I'm just slow or if I have too many miles on my legs, but I want to think it's the heat. The Pftitz plan that I am using this cycle calls for 18 miles w/ 12 at marathon pace. Sorry Pete but it's not gonna happen. I mean there isn't any way I can run 4 miles at marathon pace in this heat and humidity. Does that mean that I am be too aggressive with my attempted marthon pace? Don't know but I guess we'll find out soon enough.

I ran 17 miles the other day and the start temp was 74 and the ending temp was 82. I thought I was gonna die. I mean it was really tough. 2 weeks earlier I ran 21 with a starting temp of 67 and an ending temp of 72. Great run, great day, great recovery. Can 7 or 8 degrees really make that big of a difference? What about 30 degrees? What can I really expect if marathon day is in the high 40's or low 50's?

You know what? There isn't anything that I can do about any of it except get out there and run today and tomorrow and the next day after that. So, I'll just stay out there and keep hitting the pavement and and lying to the guys about how great the pace is and keep smiling. Cause I can run and that's all I need.

End of a great week

2010-07-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

Saturday was an off day. Not really planned but we had the wife's parents in town and the boys had an early morning swim meet and I never did get a run in. It was supposed to be 4 to 6 miles of recovery so I didn't feel guilty about missing the day. The boys both did great at the meet, the younger son finished butterfly for the first time without a disqualification. Not DQing when you are 7 is a big deal in butterfly. Normally if you can just finish legally you can place. Great job little buddy. The older son is 10 and is just a bundle of muscle. He literally has no fat on him and is solid as a rock. When he swims he just tries to power through the water. For 2 years I have been working with him to just slow down and glide through the water. I told him that swimming is all about technique and he finally had a breakthrough day. He looked smooth and even. He had powerful pulls underwater and man he was cruising. Slow, easy, and powerful got him a first place finish. It really is about technique. Cool job big man.

Sunday was a 15 miler scheduled. I ran with my Doctor training buddy and no one else showed up. The weather was mid 70's at the start and around 86 at the finish. Legs felt good as well as energy levels but I could tell that it had been a long week. There wasn't any pep in my step and I kept telling myself that there shouldn't be any pep left after 50 miles in a week. There shouldn't be any pep left during the race at mile 23 either and that was the purpose of the training. To push through and carry on when you are tired and fatigued.

I am feeling fitter and stronger than I have in years. The consistency and the volume of training is really naking a difference. 5 miles isn't even enough to get going anymore and 10 or 11 seems like a normal days work. The last remaining bits of fat around my stomach is really hard to lose but it does seem to be slowly melting away with the long runs. My core is definitely getting stronger and I can really tell that I am engaging it a lot more during hard efforts of long runs because I am sore the next day. I can tell that after hard and long tempo runs my ribs and sides hurt from the prolonged hard breathing and the use of my core muscles to keep my form erect and strong.

The hills definitely seem easier and I don't even notice them unless they are major hills. I am looking forward to a few sessions of hill repeats in the near future. This should be the last week of my Endurance Mesocycle. Next week will begin the Lactate threshold + Endurance Mesocycle and that's where the real fun should come in. I hope this will be a big week mileage wise, we'll see how the dedication goes. I am taking a rest day today, not because I feel that I need one but because I had to take Big buddy to summer camp for the week. I wanted him to know that he was more important than running so I stayed home and helped him get ready. I guess when I start winning prize money we might evaluate the priorities but I don't really see any Nike contracts in the future, unless they want to sponsor a good looking man......?

Running Camp

2010-07-16T14:05:00.000-07:00

So several of the guys in the neighborhood run for the High school track and cross country teams. They are away this week at Running camp. Before they left we talked and they told me that they were scheduled for 55 miles for the weeks. Little girls. I told them that my Docotor friend was off this week and we were going to have our own little running camp this week and really get in some miles. So they old man training camp has went well and we have had some great fun. We should both hit the low 60's and I can feel it.

This morning consisted of an 8 mile run with 3 1/2 miles of tempo. The air was thick and humid but we had yesterday off and were ready for the challenge. The first three miles were nice and slow with around a 8:30 pace. The plan was to run a 45 minute tempo run at half marathon pace. Problem was we weren't that great at communicating to each other exactly what that pace was going to be. So we hit our start mark and we were off.

Now the route was my normal battlefield tour road loop which would consist of a 3 1/2 mile lollypop loop that had some decent rolling hills. We took off at a 7:30 pace and were superisingly consistant. My friend and I both are very good at maintaing even paces so they was no pulling or tugging on the pace. Basically stride for stride smooth running. The thing that I did notice was the difference in the breathing techniques that we both had. I breath faster almost in cadence with my stride while my buddy breathes deeper and slower. I mean how many variables are there really in this equation, is fast breathing better than slow? Mile 1 of the tempo portion, 7:29 split. I felt the effort but I still felt strong. The rolling hills seemed to glide under my feet. Mile 2, 7:31 spilt. Everything was fine until we hit that last long slow grade. It was about mile 2 1/2 and I just went anerobic. My breathing went nuts but I would slack off on the pace. That's what's greater about running with an evenly matched buddy, you can really puch each other. I finally made it to the top of the hill and tried to recover but it wasn't happening. It was about a mile to the end of the loop and I was just hanging on. I would glance over and I could tell that my friend was hurting but he wasn't goning to slack off. (NOTE: My friend is 10 years older than I am and he is an awesome athlete.)

When I saw the bridge that served as the end of the lollypop loop I told him that was it. I knew that another hill was around the turn and there was no way. We eased up and walked and I thought I was going to pass out. I could just feel the mitochondria growing in my cells. I am getting stronger with each workout and it's really cool feeling the difference. We slowly jogged the last mile and a half in and I was literally craving my Endurox.

Great run Doc!

Shoeless?

2010-07-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

6 miles recovery today. The temps were around 77 but the humidty was like 95%. You could cut the air with a knife. Ran with a friend today because he is off all week. He said it was going to be his running summer camp. After the easy six at around 8:40 pace, we headed to a grassy community field near the house. He wanted to get me running some plyometric drills, barefoot. I really liked them, I just hope that I won't be sore tomorrow. Some gentle 50 yards jogs to get started, then some strides, all barefoot mind you. Then some high knees, some but kicks, sideway slides, and lunges. The lunges hurt. Everything was 50 yards down and 50 yards back. Then I walked the 1/4 mile home barefoot. They felt good. I could feel the stretching with the drills. All the long distance has me tight and I know I need to work on the flexibility.

The Garmin 305 quit working today and I freaked out. I couldn't get it turned on. I really have gotten dependent on it to help me with my pace. Got online and found out that it had just locked up during charging and needed to be reset bu holding down the mode and reset button and then hitting the power button. Whew! cause I really didn't want to spend $200 to get a new one.

Tomorrow, 12 miles middle distance around 8:30 to 8:45 pace.

Monday July 12

2010-07-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

11 miles with my friend this morning. Last 3 were fast, 7:40 down to 6:40 pace at the finish. Got caught in a 2 to 3 mile downpour. Felt great. Starting to feel strong and get my lungs back. Trying to bike 30 miles tonight with an easy recovery run tomorrow. No deep thoughts today but I am going to try to at least start logging my workouts here to keep me honest.

How do I know that the color blue to me is the color blue to you?

What to write about

2010-07-07T10:06:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have really been crazy. My business is going really bad, running has been great but not steady as I would like. The weather has been hot, the kids have been so much fun. There's just so much that I want to get at that I don't know where to begin. So I think I'll just make a list about topics that I want to talk about in the future and then I'll pick a day and work on knocking them off the list.

Being proud and in love with my family.
Business and the economy suck.
What is truly being happy?
What I experience during a run, the five senses.
Short haircuts - buzz cuts
Watering the lawn? How much water is green grass really worth?
Good friends
The perfect pork barbeque
Nothing stays the same.
4th of July Yorktown 8K
Swim team summers with the kids
Fall marathons
Job search - What do I want to do?
Backpacking
Making memories with the kids
How did I get this old?
The whole country is spoiled rotten
What really is the point of having all this stuff
Working with my brother and father
Quiet mornings on the back porch
My Girlfriend - Jill
My new bed - the floor, and my back has never felt better
I'm not a triathlete

9 is the New 5

2010-05-07T08:58:00.000-07:00

Our life is made of of routines, standards constants. When I started running again 10 years ago my standard run was a 3.2 mile loop around a nearby neighborhood. Some days I would do the loop twice or add onto the loop but when I review my log books from back then I repeatedly see 3.2, 3.2 , 3.2. When you come around the corner and see the car there and you know that you don't have to run anymore it is really tough to keep going, so you stop and write down 3.2.

Then I moved to the other end of the city, only 2 miles from a National park. My new standard became a 5.1 mile loop. I love loops because once your 2 miles in, there isn't really any turning back. I'd park my car and run my old standby, the Surrender Road 5.1 mile loop. This became my new minimum, my new standard. Oh there were lots of days that I'd run more, but the go to favorite, the workhouse run, became the 5.1 loop. No more 3.2's, I had advanced past that meager distance, I wasn't a beginner anymore, I was a 5.1er.

Several weeks ago I started run from my home to the park, running my 5.1 loop and then home again. It was cleaner, simpler, easier. No cars no mess, just out the door and start running. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Some days I'd add on the French loop for 3 more miles but manly just the run to the Park and then my old friend the 5.1 loop.

I reviewed my schedule this morning and noticed that there weren't anymore 5.1's in my log but a bunch of 9's and 12's. The 2 miles from my house to the park and then the 2 miles back streched my runs to 9 miles. I still get to see my old friend everyday but after I get a good warm up. My relationship with 5.1 was always casual and the first mile or 2 were always slow and easy. Now I have a feeling that we are going to get serious a lot more often.

Keepin My Sanity

2010-05-05T07:17:00.000-07:00

Life as I know it is completely upside down. My professional life that is. I am in the commercial construction industry an well simply put there isn't any commercial construction going on. My company has little to no work. We have laid off hundreds of good people because we simply don't have anything to do. The phone barely rings. The inbox stays empty. My days last forever and the boredom has become emotionally draining.

During my entire 18 year carrer I have never experienced anything like this before. Nothing to do, how do you fix that? We're behind schedule or the vendor screwed up the order, that I can fix. We'll move men from this project to that, we'll work more hours, add a sceond shift. You need me to work 14 hour days, no problem. 7 days a week, I understand, let me call my wife so she can handle the kids. Shut down over Thanksgiving weekend, yes sir, I know this client is important, I'll make it happen. That's my job, my responsibility, I do miracles for a living.

But nothing to do? How do you fix that? How do you make people build 100 million dollar projects? You can't. And the worse thing is that I really believe that my industry is about to get even worse. Even with the economy improving, commercial construction is so overbuilt, and the banks have been burned so bad, that I really believe that it will be several years before the industry recovers.

So what am I doing to keep from going completely insane? I started a 24 week marathon traing plan for the Baltimore Marathon in October. I had already increased my mileage and have been averaging 50 plus miles a week. I'll be using the Pfitzinger 70 miles plus, 24 week schedule. The only thing that ever kept me from a high mileage cycle before was time, but know that seems to be the one thing that I have in excess.

So, go ahead and us why running is keeping you sane, blah blah blah. Give us all that runners hokey pokey about how it makes you feel. That's not it. I need a purpose, a reason to get out of bed in the morning, a goal, something to focus on, an end to the road. The training plan has become my purpose. No matter what I've gotta hit that mileage, perform that workout. My training plan is my responsibilty. It is what I have to make happen today. As trivial as it may be, checking off that days workout is what I have to accomplish today, this week, this month. It gives me purpose. How? We'll it effects everything that I am doing. I need to eat this at that time or I won't have any energy to make 11 miles tonight. What is the weather for this weekend? Should I run my long run on Saturday because it's supposed to rain on Sunday.

Does it make me feel better during this depressing point in my life, yes it does. Since I have increased my mileage this year I have really dropped some pounds, about 15, and I wasn't big to begin with. I'm 5'11 and I currently weigh 163 lbs. I have dropped at least 2 inches from my waist. I still have some fat to drop around my mid section but I am really toning up. The most important thing is that I feel a lot stronger. My core is really starting to strengthen and that has helped my speed.

And speed, I have gotten a lot faster this year. I sure dropping the pounds helped, so did the increase in mileage and the increase in strength. I really am a super positive person and I always stay positive during a run. Right now my favorite thing to do is a hard tempo run. I tell myself during the run, you can hold this pace because you ARE STRONG. You can make it through this run and you can make it through tommorrow, and you'll make it through this week. You'll make it through this economic mess just like you're gonna finish this workout. Quit! Quit! If you quit this workout then you'll be quitting on yourself. Just a mile farther, 7 more minutes, 4 laps of the track, 3 laps around, 2 laps, 1 more lap, just a 220 left, push it, finishing kick! I knew that you could do it! You are strong, you're a finisher!

Last week I ran a hard tempo run, 8 miles. I pushed it way too hard. I was so sore I couldn't run for three days. I am working on running those easy days easy and the hard days a litttle less hard. The goal is to finish the workout everyday, all week, not just have one super good workout a week.

I haven't blogged in a while becasue, well I didn't have anything positive to say. But I think I've come round the turn and the wind is at my back now. It's not gonna be easy, but nothing is easy that's worth the effort.

New Training Run Route PR

2010-03-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

I started running again 9 years ago. I ran around a neighborhood walking trail that was 3.2 miles. That was my normal steady eddy run, 3.2 miles. I might run more but never less, 3.2 miles was the minimum. Then I moved to Yorktown, Va. My house is about 1 mile from the Yorktown National Battlefield. This is an awesome place to run.

Well my new steady minimum run is Surrender Field 5 Mile Loop. It's a little over 5 miles, the Garmin has it at 5.1 miles. I've never broken 40 minutes on this loop. I would always go out to fast and crash and burn or would start out too slow and would never be able to make up the time. I can run faster than 8:00 per mile for 5 miles I just couldn't get things right. In half marathons I have ran more than five miles at sub 8:00 pace, but there was something about this loop.

It's not flat. It definetly has some pretty good hills and maybe that's one reason I couldn't break 40 minutes, I don't know. But something cool happened Monday.

I ran 13 on Sunday. I was scheduled for 18 but I felt really tired and drained and since I am just base building there wasn't any need to push it. Monday was a scheduled rest day but the weather was just awesome, low 60's, first warm day of the year. So after work I got dressed and headed out for an easy 8 miler. Felt a little slow and stiff at the begining, put started too pick up the pace after the first half mile. Slow uphill and heard the watch beep at the mile marker, 8:08, wow not bad for a warm up mile.

Mile 2 is a slight downhill at the beginning and then a long uphill so I started to lengthen my stride and pick up my knees. I didn't really force the pace I just focused on my stride, long and smooth. My breathing felt good and I noticed that my heart rate was increasing a little but was definitely under control. The Garmin beeped and I checked my split, 7:31. Didn't feel that fast. But mile 2 has along steady uphill, how did I get a 7:31? I don't think I've ever run a 7:31 on this stretch without blowing up. Oh well.

Mile 3 is flat and downhill, no uphill at all. This should be a fast mile but hey idiot your running 8 today. Well maybe I'll just skip the three mile French Loop and try to break the All Time Land Speed Record. I'll just float though the third mile and see what happens. If I'm below 8 minutes then I'll skip the loop and try to break the record. Anyway, mile three is usually where I crash so I just focused on holding pace. Beep, beep, beep, 7:17, Oh Man I've really got a shot here.

Mile 4 is uphill, followed by a flat followed by a uphill followed by a overpass uphill. Here it is, how good of condition am I really in. Can I really push the hills and hold onto an 8:00 pace. I really focused on my form and on my effort. I knew that I can't hold pace uphills but I needed to hold the effort. If my heart rate shot up then I wouldn't be able to get it back down and i would crash and burn. I worked my arms and really focused on the road before me. 7:24, no friggin way, I'm gonna break this sucker today. Just don't blow up.

Mile 5 is off the overpass and then turns through the woods onto a small stone trail. The trail has a fairly decent uphill that normally sucks the last bit of life out of me but not today. No way, I'm too strong. I'm the man, I've got this. Out of the woods and out onto Surrender Field. This is the actual field where the British Surrendered to George Washington and here was where I was gonna break my Record. The Field is stine flat and after the field there is only a 1/4 of mile of flat road. Mike you just gotta hold on. Keep pushing your arms, lengthen your stride. Beep, Beep, beep, 7:20.

I can see my car, just push the last 300 yards. Less than one trip around the track. 220 yards. You can do this, push it hard. You're not gonna die, aren't gonna have your heart explode just keep pushing. Move your arms pick up those knees. There's the line and I hit the stop button. I looked at my total time. 38:17 new Record and yes kids Daddy is the Man.

No Body Ever Said it was Going to be Easy

2010-03-04T08:18:00.000-08:00

Work is just awful right now. My brother and I own a commercial construction company and well there's nothing to do. I mean no one is building anything. There are a few jobs out there but they are going for so little money that we would go broke even trying to do the work for those crazy prices. So what do you do, worry.

How do you change the economy? How can I make the banks loan more money so that developers will start to build again? How can I get the state to build more schools when the budget is undefunded by billions? Answer to all of these questions is that I can't. So what can I do to effect my own destiny? Stay positive.

I have a lovely healthy family. I'm still in my home and we have food on the table every night. I can be thankful for what I have. I don't have any major bills or debts other than the mortgage. I have a supportive extended family and all of the members of that extended family are well. We have so much more than others in the country and in this world. We are blessed.

I can be thankful for having a strong and healthy body and I can do everything that I can to take care of that body. I can watch what I eat and understand that everything that goes in my mouth effects my entire body. I can run and swim and bike and they are all free activities. I can lift at the gym and feel my body getting stronger every day. I can take my children to the gym and teach them that keeping their bodies strong and healthy is as important as going to school and working their brains. I can work with my kids on their swimming technique. I can coach little kid soccer. I can do all of this for no money other than the monthly gym fees.

I can not want. I can understand the difference between my needs and my wants. I can understand that I really don't need anything. I have enough clothes to last me for years before they actually wear out from use. The radio is free. I don't need any new electronics or gadgets. I need food. I need shelter. I need to spend quality time with my family. I need to spend the day at the public beach with my family next to the house. I need to take the kids on a hike through the park. I need to teach my four year old little girl how to kick the soccer ball. I need to spend a week this summer in the national park backpacking with the boys. I need to teach the how wonderful the outdoors can be. I need to enjoy what I have and what God has already provided me.

No body ever said that life was going to be easy. It's like a really great hard long run, some parts are smooth and easy, some parts are uphill, some parts really heart and you just want to quit, but when your done, you know you are stronger and better for the work and effort that went into the journey.

New Year - New Plan - New Goal - Same Awful Economy

2010-02-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

I just finished two great weeks of training. The first week of February was 55.5 miles and last week I hit 55 miles. I am trying to follow a Pfitz 12 week 70 miles and under training plan. This would make my goal race the Frederick Marathon. I haven't signed up for the race yet and I'm not sure I'm going to but I can't train without a goal. Here's last week.

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 8 miles, last 3 @ 7:30 pace
Wednesday - 11 miles, last 5 @ 7:30
Thursday - 5 miles, easy 9:00 pace
Friday - 11 miles, last 5 @ 7:30
Saturady - 5 miles, easy 9:00 pace
Sunday - 15 miles, steady avg 8:15 pace

Sunday's long run was great. Ran the first 8 miles with two friends. It's always easier running with someone, especially if your the one pushing the pace. The last 5 miles was a little tough. Not the distance but pushing the pace. I think my nutrition was off. I gave Hammer Nutrition Perpetutum a try again. After a really great session with Perpetutum last week I think it gave me some problems. Last week I ran my last 8 miles on the treadmill and used the Perpetutum. I was able to sip the concoction and it worked so well. This week all of the miles were on the roads and I ran the first 8 with no fluids or nutrition. I had made two bottles, one for after the first eight when we came back to the cars and I had a second bottle in my amphipod. I think I drink too much of the first bottle too fast. The entire remaining 7 miles I felt sluggish and bloated.

I really believe that the key distance running or endurance events is proper fueling and nutrition. The trick is getting your nutrition right so that you get the correct amount of calories and electrolytes so that you can keep going. The weather definitely plays a factor on mixing your nutrition.  Things tend to go sour in 100 degree days in your stomach.

I'm not sure if I'm going to run any races this spring. They have gotten so expensive that it almost takes the joy out of running. I mean $120 for a marathon is just crazy. Especially if the weather is really bad you feel forced to get out there and race in the bitter cold and rain because you shelled out so much cash. I enjoy running because I like the way it makes me feel while I'm running and how I feel after a good long or hard running. I call it pleasantly sore. I love the way my legs "hurt". If you don't run you wouldn't get it.

I can do a lot right now for $120 bucks. I don't need any more shirts or hats. I normally bring my own GU and other nutrition. Water I do get from a race course but come on it's almost free. I've done a few Rock-and-Roll races and the commercialisim is just crazy.  The bigger races have soley become about the money, not the sport. Right now the only reason I'd run a race is one where I think I can BQ, otherwise I'll just train.

May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.

May those who love us, love us.
And for those who don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if he can not turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we may know them by their limping.
May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.

Rock-N-Roll Half Marathon

2008-09-14T09:27:00.000-07:00

Woke up at 4:00am. That right there should tell you how the day was going to turn out. Got dressed and grapped a cup of coffee and out the door I went by 4:30am. Stopped by WAWA and picked up a bananna nut muffin. If that muffin doesn't guarantee a PR I don't know what will.

Made it to VA Beach I good time. Found a parking lot on 25th and Pacific that was $7 to park. Decided to walk to the convention center.
Meet some people from NC and Charlottesville and walked with them.
Arrived at the Convention Center at 5:50am. The porta-jon line was short so that was good news. I headed over to the start and found a good place to sit down and just watch the people as they went by.

The start was right on time. I was in the second corral so I went off at 7:02am. Last year there were a lot of slow people in the front corrals but not this year. I had a good first 2 miles. The pace was fast but I felt relazed and strong. Was breathing was comfortable and controlled.
During the 3rd mile I could tell that the temperature of the engine was climbing rapidly. I was sweating profusely now and could tell that it was just too hot. I crossed the 5k mat at 22:20 and began to have serious discussions between Actual Mike and Mike 2.0. Mike 2.0 wanted to try to push on and hold the pace for two more miles. Actual Mike didn't think it was going to happen but agreed to hold pace till the next water stop and then they would decide what to do.

Warm or even hot Cytomax just doesn't work. I couldn't even get a mouthful down. I grabbed 2 waters and slowed to drink them all. That was it. It was over.

My heart rate was racig due to the heat so the plan quickly became to finish and live to fight another day. I decided to hold between 7:50 and 8:00 pace and walk all of the water stops. If I didn't get 2 to 3 glasses of water in I figured I wouldn't make it. By mile 5 I was literally dripping wet. But so was everyone else. Even the girls were soaked. I saw girls holding their shorts up for miles because they were soaked and kept falling down.

I hit the 10k mark at 48:06 or 7:45 pace but the heat was getting worse.
There was no breeze at all and you could cut the air with a knife it was so humid. Honestly if it wasn't for the hot chicks in spandex I would have stopped. But they just kept bouncing ahead and I kept following in a stupid heat induced trance.

By the 10 mile mark, I was and 1:20:46 seconds into the race and my pace had slipped to 8:05 miles, mainly because the walking breaks had lengthened to get in more fluids and try to get my heart rate down.
Mile 10 was right before the Rudee Inlet bridge.

By mile 11 the carnage began. Nearly everyone was walking the water stops now. The entire field would get to the station and just stop as if Joe's happy noise went off and we all had agreed to stop. About a
1/4 mile further I started seeing people sitting on the curbs. Medical people were running around now. I saw a woman with her boyfriend that was completely out of her head. He was literally holding her up and she was just mummbling gibberish. What a romantic weekend those two were going to have.

We turned onto the boardwalk at mile 12. People were dropping like flies. I saw a lady fall down about a 1/4 mile from the finish. She was out for the 10 count. The medical guys were running like mad now.

I finished in 1:48:28 with an average pace of 8:17. I was 1129th out of
16336 total finishers, or in the top 6.9%. I was 145th I my age group out of 1129 finishers, or in the top 12.8%. Last year I finished in
1:44:23 with an average pace of 7:59. Last year I was 1366 out of 17025 finishers, or in the top 8%.

This year I was 4 minutes slower and finished 1.1% higher in the standings. The heat and humidty affects the whole crowd not just you.
Running distance races isn't just against the clock. It's a race against the heat, the humidity, and the terrain. Times don't correlate against all courses. You've got to know when it's your day and when it's not. I was disappointed with my time but it was all I could do that day.

The Rock-N-Roll is a great race to run for a cool experience. It really is a huge crowd with tons of spectators. The bands are fun but I find them distracting. And on the glass is half full side of things, the heat makes all of the hot chicks come dressed in the coolest outfits. I think this was probably my last Rock-N-Roll, it is just too hot.

Garbage In Garbage Out

2008-08-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

I have had some problems in the past with fueling my engine. Several years ago after running quite a bit during the heat of the summer I started having chest pains. Now chest pains at 31 are pretty dang scary. It was July 4th and the family and I had just gotten back from a parade and I was sitting in my recliner around 3:00pm. My heartbeat started racing. I mean like 160 to 170 beats a minutes. I was seated with my legs elevated in the air conditioning. There was no reason for my heart to be racing. After 20 minutes it had not stopped. An overnight trip to the hospital and several IV bags of potassium and I was ok. From that day forward I realized that distance running was something to be respected and that I had to be extra careful of how I fueled my engine.

Since I have upped my mileage and have also been swimming and biking several days a week I am learning the importance of nutrition. Not just what I eat but what I eat before a workout, what I eat during a workout and what I eat post workout.

During the last few years I have been reading everything that I could get my hands on about runners nutrition. They drink gatorade and swallow GU's. They eat some carbs and try to eat a balanced diet high in protein. But then I entered the "DARK ZONE", the world of TRIATHLON. Now marathons last for 3 or 4 hours but triathlons can last anywhere from 8 to 17 hours. Now fueling for an event like that is serious science. I started reading and searching for information on tri fueling strategies. It was like someone had just opened a magic book up for me.

My training had suffered in recent mesocycles due to fatigue issues. I had blood work performed and was instructed to start taking iron supplements. This really made a difference. Today if I have a bad workout, chances are I forgot to take my "pills" the night before.

I also sensed that I wasn't getting enough calories. I quitting worring about weight issues and just started trying to fuel my engine with good high quality jet fuel. The problem quickly became that it isn't easy getting top grade food into your body in enough quantity between and after workouts. The only time left is during and right after workouts.

I have switched up my training nutrition from water and GU to Perpetutum and Endurolytes and have started taking Endurox 4 for my post workout recovery drinks. I really believe that this has made my workouts of a higher quality. I have been able to push harder and last longer during intense workouts.

One downside to hard workouts is that I am able to go 100% for a longer time. The next day I have been pretty wiped out. Even if my plan calls for a 6 mile recovery run and I am dead, I just skip the workout. How much will I really get out of a 6 mile easy run? Is the point of the workout to help my body recover? If the result of the recovery run on makes me more fatigued haven't I defeated the purpose of the day, to recover from yesterday's hard workout. I am recovering faster and I am not skipping all recovery runs just the ones after really hard efforts and where I feel completly wiped out.

I am working on designing a diet for all of my meals and snacks. I let you know how it's coming. Definitely not going to be easy with a wife and 3 kids.

Lost and Found

2008-07-24T16:08:00.001-07:00

I guess I got lost that must be why I haven't been posting for a while. Nah. Really I've just been so busy with all of the summer time activities that I just haven't had much time to write anything. Summer is half way over and it has been a blast.

My two boys have been swimming on the neighborhood swim team this summer and I really have enjoyed working the meets. I trained as a stroke an dturn judge and worked almost every meet. I really learned a lot about swimming stokes this year. It's also amazing at how much you can learn while watching kids swim for 3 hours twice a week. I have been amazed at how much my kids have improved during the summer. My 5 year old couldn't swim 25 yards in June and now he has a decent looking freestyle stroke and can swim a 50 without stopping.

My training has been going very well during the last few weeks. I have really upped my mileage and it really seems to help. It's still been hard for me to run every day, life always gets in the middle but that's OK. My running is important to me but not as important as my family and my work. Running is a part of me, not who I am.

The weather has been very hot here the last few days. It has really affected my nutrition while running. This has forced me to really examine how I have been fueling and replacing my electrolytes. One thing that I have learned is that marathoners think they know nutrition but that Triathletes really know nutrition. I mean it's one thing to fuel during a 3 1/2 hour marathon, but it's one a whole new level to fuel for a 10 hour marathon. So, I've been studing alot about tri fueling and what the top tri guys use. Someone put me onto Hammer Nutrition products. I ordered a few things last week and we are going to give them a try.

Several weeks ago I rode my bike with the guys on a long 57 mile ride. It was great! It didn't take but 3 1/4 hours and the effort wasn't that bad. Since then I have rode the "loop" 2 more times and I am scheduled to ride it again this weekend. On these long rides fueling really is important and I am startingto get the right prescription dialed in. One of the best things about the bike is that I get a great cardio workout without killing my legs. My quads hurt some the next day but usually after a couple of miles of slow running I'm good to go.

The biggest improvement that I have noticed is my recovery rates. Last year after a 20 miler I would hurt for several days and be wiped out. After increasing my mileage if I run 20 miles Sunday on Monday I'm good for another 8 miles. Instead of my muscles hurting it seems that my energy levels are what is holding me back. If I have 3 hard days in a row I will be wiped out on the 4th and usually end up skipping a day. Getting enough of the right type of calories to keep my energy levels up is as much work as training. I'm learning a lot and I guess that's what makes the whole thing so much fun.

Messing with a Man's Masculinity

2008-06-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

In high school they used to call me Chicken because I had chicken legs. You know lean long runners legs. Well all those guys are fat as hell now and I'm 163 lbs at 5'11. But I digress. It's summer and I am working out one or two times a day and sweating like Frosty the Snowman in Hades. I have hairy legs and man are they breaking out. Now that I'm a "Triathlete" I have toyed with the idea of shaving my legs but I just can't bring myself to do it. I mean, I have zero fat on my legs but shaving them is just crossing some imaginary man line.

So I go to the gym and pull off my jeans and there I am with these shaved legs. What do you do or say. I mean where do you stop shaving. It looks like a lot of work to keep them shaved and damn, I feel like I am always in the shower anyway with all of these workouts. I mean chick stubble is one thing but man stubble is just bad. I think I'm going to be sick just writing about this. See writing this stupid stuff sometimes help work the answer to the problem out. When I start placing in my age group I'll think about shaving my legs. Until then I'll just have to deal with breaking out.

Training - Saturday I went on a 30 mile bike ride with 3 other guys instead of a 6 mile easy day. It was a great ride and we went out pretty hard. Nobody every says that they are tired or hurting during the workout but talking to some of the wives later that day I found out that they were all spent that night. "All he did was lay on the couch. You guys must have went out really hard yesterday." Yea as hard as I could.

Sunday was scheduled to be a 17 mile long run. I was supposed to go at a nice easy pace. I received an email from my buddies that they would be running 3 miles easy, a one mile time trial hard, and three miles easy for 7 miles total. Perfect, I could run down to the waterfront to meet them and back and tack on 7 more miles. I could find 3 more miles somewhere and have my 17.

Well, I guess I miscalculated the distance to the waterfront and had to running a lot harder than I wanted to so that I wouldn't be late. Mistake #1. Then the 3 mile easy warm-up became a hard 3 mile test of manhood after the bike ride on Sunday. The one mile time trial was where I was supposed to let them go and show some maturity. I must be a child because after the first quarter I was at an all out sprint and finished around 6:45, and this mile had some big hills to boot. The last 3 miles was easy because the guys were spent by now but I still had to run home. The 3 1/2 miles home were rough because it was getting hot by now and all I had was Gu and water. I needed some electrolytes but there were none anywhere. I made it home but paid for it all day. I was tired and worn out all day.

Lesson learned. If you want to be successful, find a good plan and stick to the plan. By running like an idiot yesterday I missed my mileage goal and am so tired and beat today that I probably won't run today. If you go out to hard one day it could affect you for multiple days and cause more harm than good. Steady work wins the race. Every workout should have a purpose and you have to stick to that purpose.

Long Run - On a Thursday Morning

2008-06-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

I am following the Pfitz 70 plus plan which calls for weekly long runs in the middle of the week. Yesterday, I just couldn't get out of bed. I skipped running and stayed in bed. I felt guilty all day but I am glad I did it because I feel a whole lot better today.

So this morning I went out for 15 mile run and it went great. I felt really strong until the last 2 miles and my hips started getting sore. Not the muscles but the bones. I was glad to be home.

The weather was high 60's and was perfect. I never run with a shirt except in the winter so it was almost chilly the first couple of miles. The birds were out in full force and their songs were so nice to hear today. Why anyone would listen to an ipod I'll never know. The sounds of my footstrike, the noise of my breath, and the song from the birds made me really thankful to be alive. God has really blessed me and my family and this morning I was so happy that I am strong and healthy and able to run for 2 hours in God's beautiful outdoors.

Lunchtime Swim

2008-06-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

So I took lunch at the YMCA around the corner from the office and swam 2000 yards. I have swam 2000 yards in a single workout before but today I didn't stop at all. I didn't warm-up or anything. I just jumped in and started swimming. It's mostly boring but I can really tell that my upper body is getting stronger. I focused on good even strong pulls with each stroke. The tiles on the body seemed to fly by and it seemed that the overhead flags were almost always coming by.

I really need to learn how to do flip turns. I think that they would make my workouts go faster and I would look like i knew what the heck I was doing.

17 WEEKS Till BALTIMORE

2008-06-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

I ran 6 miles this morning. I felt really strong and ran much faster than I should have. Last week wasn't so great. I am switching over to morning runs and I had a really hard time getting up. I am not going to quit waking up early. I know that when I make getting up at 4:45am a habit my training will show it.

I really have been feeling much stronger. All over stronger not just my legs. I guess all of this swimming and biking is starting to pay off. I swam 2000 yards yesterday and don't even feel it today. My legs feel recovered after a couple of hours.

I still have a little belly fat around the middle that just will not go away. I am bring my food to work now and I am really focusing on cutting my fat intake. Between that and 70 miles a week, plus swimming and biking, if I don't loose it this summer then I don't know what I will do.

Completed First Triathlon

2008-06-03T03:37:00.000-07:00

Let's get this straight - I am a runner. I grew up swimming but never competitively. I surfed in the Ocean and swam at the pool but I never, ever swam laps. Around Christmas of '07 for some crazy resaon I decided that I was going to compete in triathlons. I couldn't swim more than 50 yards without a break and didn't own a bike. The goal was to race an early summer sprint.

After buying a bike, and teaching myself to swim laps I attempted my first Tri on June 1st, 2008. What follows is my account of that race.

PRE-RACE - The alarm clock went off at 4:00am. I hit snooze once. I don't care if this was my first tri or not, 4:00am is too early for law abiding citizens and yes I hit snooze. I had packed the car the night before so all I had to do was eat and leave. I made a bowl of real oatmeal, not that instant crap that my kids eat, but real like grandma used to make oatmeal. I sprinkled some brown sugar, walnuts, and honey on top. After a couple cups of coffee and a trip to the bathroom I was off.

It's about a 45 minute drive from my house to the Naval Base. I was sipping coffee and gatorade, (No not mixed together, that's just gross, but from two different bottles.) I had planned to stop at WAWA to buy a bannana nut muffin, but I was too excited and just drove to the base. I live on the Peninsula and had to drive across the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel to reach Norfolk so I would have a good view of the conditions of the Bay. Yesterday the race site was whitecapping with 2 foot waves. As my car exited the tunnel I saw..............flat, calm water. Thank you Lord!

The directions to the base were perfect and I breezed through the gate check in. I followed a car in front of my with a bike on the back so I assumed they were heading the right way. The transition area, finishing area, and parking area was on a giant helicopter tarmac right on the shore of the Bay. I was able to park about 100 yards from the transition area. This was perfect! I unloaded my bike and headed over to the transition area to check in my bike. I was so early it wasn't even open yet and I had to wait about 5 minutes until 6:00 to rack my bike. When the area opened I was the third one in on my row and I got to pick a premium end of row spot. It pays to get there early.

Now what. It's 6:03 and the race doesn't start for 2 hours. What am I going to do? I went to the car and listened to the radio, I walked around and made sure that I knew where the transition exits were. I got my chip, ate a powerbar, and looked around.

SWIM - I got my wetsuit on right before they closed the transition area. It was getting warm and I didn't want to be in that hot thing any longer than I had to be. My wave 35-39 year old males was the 4th wave to start. There was a giant concrete boat ramp, maybe 100 feet wide, that we all walked down. This was an open water start so they had us wade into the water and swim out until we were all grouped up. We treaded water for a couple of minutes and off I went. There were about 60 guys in my wave and they went off like gangbusters. I stayed calm and smooth and started my stroke. I knew the swim was my weakness and my goal was to finish the swim with a respectful time and not drown. If I came out of the water without a lifeguards assistance I would be a winner. The turn buoys were spaced about 300 yards apart and that is a long way. The water was calm so that helped. My sighting was poor and the whole race was a series of arcs. I probably swam an extra 200 yards with all of the zig zagging I was doing. (Note to self, fastest way to pick up time, swim straight) I never got kicked or kicked anybody. I did flip over on my back about three times and rest for about 20 seconds. I knew that the fastest and most economical way for me to get out of the water was to swim an easy, but strong freestyle. I kept my mind focused on what I was doing and stayed pretty calm. The wetsuit helped a lot but my time was much slower than I hoped. I exited the water after 1K in 27:20, 52 out of 58th. At least I exited the water.

I'm walking so my heart won't explode in my chest!
T1 - This transistion went well. No problem getting the wetsuit off. I had a water bottle and rinsed my mouth out. I was actually really taking my time because I was lightheaded from the swim and my heart rate was pretty high. Since I was on the end my kids were right there and were able to talk to me throughout the transition, that was really cool. My wife and family are really supportive so this really helped. I think it's important to teach my kids how to compete and I want them to see me try as hard as I can. They always ask why I don't win the races that I enter. I tell them that I win just by entering and finishing. My 8 year old son is starting to get what I mean.

BIKE - I ran through the chip mat and hoped on the bike. I had a little trouble getting my shoes on and I had to reach down twice to get the tongue pulled out. I started peadling and tried to get my cadence up. It was taking a lot more effort than normal to get to my standard 90 plus rpm's. After about a mile I realized that it wasn't me, it was my front tire! My front tire was really low, not where I was riding on the rim but it was close. I didn't have a repair kit on my bike and I wasn't gonna quit, so I put my head down and just pedaled. After a few gear changes I just knew it was going to be hard work, but I kept going. About mile 9 I decided that I needed to get some Gatorade in me, so I slowed down a bit and really worked on getting some Gatorade down.

I was never so happy to see that last turn into the transition area. I slowed down and swung my right leg over the pedals like a pro. The bike was really hard to handle with the flat front tire and I almost lost control, but I dismounted and ran across the timing mat.

T2 - I had a really fast transition here. But I noticed something that really upset me. Most of the bikes in my age group were already racked. That's what happens when you suck on the swim and have a flat tire on the bike. I slipped my shoes on and said "HI" to my kids and off to the run.

RUN- The legs were a little stiff, but started to loosen up a bit. I looked at my Garmin and it said I was running right at 7:00 pace. What? 7:00 minute pace. No way. I kept pushing for the first mile and realized that the bike had screwed up the Garmin's averaging and it wasn't giving me an accurate reading. OH well. Everything was going pretty good but it was really getting hot. I noticed that my heartrate was getting really high, like over 170 and I knew I was in trouble. I walked through the water stop to try to get my heart rate down but it didn't really help. I slowed my pace down to around 8:20 and decide to just cruise in and call this thing over.

RESULTS-

SWIM Time 27:20 RATE 2.2mph Rank 52/56
T1 Time 2:31
BIKE Time 44:36 RATE 16.7mph Rank 50/56
T2 Time 1:07
RUN Time 26:13 RATE 8:27 Rank 33/56
Total Time 1:41 Rank 48/56

Conclusion: I guess I should just be happy that I finished but I was really destroyed by my results. It comes down to this, Triathletes don't play. They are serious about their sport and they show up to race. Running races has so many people that just show up to finish. I would really like to do so more tri's but I will definitely swim a lot more and will pay my dues on the bike. The race was really well organized and I did have a good time.

BEST OF ALL...........NOW I CAN CALL MYSELF A TRIATHLETE!

Great OWS Today!

2008-05-30T17:01:00.000-07:00

Yorktown Beach with Coleman Bridge

So a friend of mine didn't have to work today so we decided to try another open water swim this morning. This time the water was calm and the conditions were perfect. We changed into our wetsuits and got our googles on. I waded into the water and let the 64 degree salt water run down my back. After a moment I was getting warm and I took a breath and pulled my head below the water. THERE WE GO! After a second I dove under the swimming area ropes and start my swim.

Starting Point

I focused on steady strong strokes. I focused on my breathing and heart rate and I was going great. I am a left side breather so the near shore was on the wrong side so every dozen strokes I would look up to see where I was going. I found that I was pulling to the left, probably beacuse that was the side I was breathing on. After a few minutes I had reached the pier and knew I was halfway done. My buddy was ahead of me, he was swimming much straighter, so he was waiting for me. He said hey you can stand up here, so we took a few minutes to rest and then we started back.

The Pier Marks the Halfway Point

On the way back the shore was on my breathing side so I was able to keep a check on where I was much better than during the first half. I also noticed that the current was behind me and I was really moving now. This was pretty cool. I stayed with a slow and strong stroke and my breathing was really good. Everyonce and a while I would start thinking about the water and start freaking out but I would start focusing on my stroke again.

When I ducked under the swim area rope, I saw that my wife and 2 1/2 year old daughter were playing on the beach watching me swim. It was pretty cool coming out of the water with my wetsuit on and googles. I felt like a real triathlete!

I had a really good time and think that I could get into this open water swimming thing this summer. It's so different than swimming laps. It's outside, there's the beach, and it's cool actually getting somewhere because your swimming. I mean you are moving, traveling, it's really cool.

My first race is Sunday and I'm really excited. Hopefully the water will be calm, but if it's not I know I can cover the distance if I stay strong and steady.

Mindless Taper Babble

2008-05-28T15:03:00.001-07:00

Well I am resting for a couple of days to get ready for my race this weekend. http://www.breezypointtri.com I have determined that I like training better than racing. The whole tapering thing just blows, especially for a marathon. Two days without working out and I feel like a slovenly pig. Why do I feel like I am getting fat over night?

So, I really like eating and I think that is one of the reasons that I enjoy endurance sports; guiltfree eating. There is nothing like the feeling of being hungry because you actually worked up an appetite and food always tastes so much better when you worked hard for eat.

Tomorrow, I'm going to swim and maybe run 5 miles just to get ready. This will probably be the last swim before Sunday, well maybe another open water swim Friday morning. I'm going to run 5 miles Thursday and Friday and take all day Saturday off. Then Monday I can start training everyday again, yeah.

First Open Water Swim

2008-05-24T10:23:00.001-07:00

I got a call from my group that they were going to head down to Yorktown Beach and swim about 1200 yds open water. Perfect! My first OW Tri is next weekend so this will be great practice. I grabbed my bag and my wetsuit and got ready to go. The wife and kids were going to meet me and I was excited. This will be my first time in the water with my wetsuit and my first open water swim without a surf board.
We got to the beach around 10:20 and watited for the whole group to show up. The plan was to swim outside of the beach goers swim area. We were going to go 400 yards down and then turn around and come back. We would do this a couple of times.
I put on my new Blue Seventy Reaction wetsuit. It was tight but the girl a the store swore that it was just right. The water temperature was 64 degrees and man was it cold. We waded out into the water and then it was time to start.
Well the waves were bigger in the water than I had expected, around 18 inches tall. I faced down and started swimming and then I couldn't breathe. Between the wetsuit, the cold water and the waves I just couldn't get my breath. I tried again and it didn't work. I started swimming breast stroke with my head out of the water. I tried freestyle again. One stroke, breath, OMG I gonna die. I rolled onto my side and started sidestroke. A couple of guys yelled at me and I said that I was ok I was going to cut the whole thing short. I tried freestyle without putting my head in the water. Ok that's too exhausting. I gave up and headed in towards the beach.
After a few moments on the beach, I regained my composure and tried again closer to the shore. I finally was able to get about 15 strokes together before having to stand up, but this sure isn't swimming in a pool.
So I was completely humbled but not broken. I am determined to get this OWS thing down. I'll be heading down to the beach every day this week to try to get comfortable with the swim. At least I know what to work on.

Fueling the Furnace

2008-05-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

I had a pretty decent week of training last week. Recap:

Monday - 2000 meter swim, 2.5 mile run

Tuesday - 15 mile run

Wednesday - 1200 meter swim, 5 mile run

Thursday - 11 mile run

Friday - Hard day of outside yard work

Saturday - 12 hours of outside yard work

Sunday - 9.5 mile run, 1000 meter swim

The yard work days really screwed me up. I had planned on running both days but ran out of time and energy. I'm not sure if it was the sun or the work but Sunday was awful. I was so tired I didn't know what to do. I tried eating but that wasn't it. Finally after swimming Sunday I just rested on the couch.

When I woke up Monday I was so tired I was delirious.

Springtime in Virginia

2008-05-15T17:49:00.000-07:00

Man has the weather been nice this week. The afternoon runs have been perfect. I ran 15 on Tuesday with a buddy at a casual conversational pace. It was the first time in 20 years that he had ran that far. He has only been running for 9 weeks! He's really doing great.

Wednesday was a 5 mile tempo run. I still haven't got those things figured out yet. I run easy the first mile and then mash the pedal down. Normally by the end of the third mile the gas is running out of the tank and by the end of the fourth mile the engine is just puttering. I need to learn the correct pace and stick to it. I want to be able to warm up during the first mile and then get 4 good hard miles in with a walk and a jog for the 6th mile. I'll get it right soon.

Ran 11 by myself today and felt really good. Miles 3 through 8 were unbelievable. I really felt strong and fast. I was clocking 7:30 to 7:40 miles and felt pretty good. At mile 8 I really felt my blood sugar dropping so I took a GU and decided to slow down and cruise in the last 3 miles around 8:10's.

This season I am really working on increasing and maintaining 60 plus miles a week. I am also working hard a making sure that each and every run has a purpose and that I stick to that plan. Lastly you've got to be able to live to fight another day. If you work so hard that you are out of commission for 4 days then the whole workout was for nothing.

At least that's my current theory. Run hard. Have fun.

Today I did my Own Triathlon - Sorta

2008-04-30T19:04:00.001-07:00

Woke up and ran 4.2 miles with the guys at 6:00am. It was cold, 48! They wanted to go fast so off I went with no warm up straight to 7:15 pace. Last mile around 7:05 pace.

Went in the house to warm up and get caffinated. Went for a 10 mile bike ride after coffee. Legs were tired and hurt, but they should be tired after last night's run and the tempo run this morning. MPH slipped on the way back but I kept pumping and felt good about the effort when I got home.

Ate like a fiend all day. Had to go to a trade show and buffet lunch with some co-workers. They sat opened mouthed watching me eat plate after plate of food. Gotta fuel the furnace baby, fuel the furnace.

This afternoon went to the gym for a swim. Did 7 X 50 of warmup and drills. Then swam 1 X 1500 at a pretty good pace. My effort is strong but my efficency in the water is poor. Gotta get some lessons and quick.

Scheduled for a 30 mile ride tomorrow with a friend. Should be a lot of fun.

9 Miles

2008-04-29T17:08:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start posting everyday only if it's a few sentences to track my workouts. I don't need to write a novel each post.

Today's Workout
Weights at the YMCA, mainly arms and chest
Core work, hanging crunches, sit ups
9 miles at 9:15 pace
Ran with a buddy, the time flies when I run with friends

50 Miles - But Not at One Time

2008-04-20T08:16:00.001-07:00

I had to attend a 3 day conference last and it really screwed up my schedule. On Saturday 2 of my running buddies planned on running a 50 miler at a local part. The event is an annual 24 hour run for charity. I decided that after my conference I would stop by and finish the race with my friends.

I arrived at the park at 6:30pm. I met my friends at the car where they were resting and eating. During an endurance race fueling is key. My friends plan was to run one loop, or 3.5 miles and then head to the car to eat and drink for about 10 minutes. My friends were scheduled to have one lap left at 6:30pm.

When I arrived my buddies had 13 miles left and they looked beat. I quickly saw why these things are called endurance events.

IT'S 5:00AM - WHERE ARE YOU?

2008-04-07T18:22:00.000-07:00

The alarm clock rang at 5:00am.
I am an athlete. Athletes get up and workout everyday whether they want to or not.

But it sounds like it’s raining and it’s supposed to be in the mid 40’s. This bed sure is warm.

Get out of bed right now! We’ve got miles to run! We’re never gonna make it to Boston if we sleep all the time.

Hold on a minute. There I hit snooze. I think about what you said and get back to you in 9 minutes.

The alarm clock rang at 5:09am.
Get UP NOW!

Listen, we have our Monday morning meeting today at 9:00am. Unless we get up right now and really get moving we will never get our miles in and make it the office by 8:00am. I’m gonna hit snooze and we’ll try again tomorrow.

Let me tell you what we’re going to do. We are getting up right now and get dressed fast. We are heading outside no matter what and we are running at least 5 miles. Don’t you do it! Stop don’t hit the button.

See ya in 9 minutes sucker!

The alarm clock rang at 5:18am.
Look it’s too late. I’m not even arguing with you anymore. These covers are too warm. See ya in 9 minutes. Click.

This went on until 6:45am. I don’t know how I can hit the snooze but for an hour and forty five minutes but I can. And by the way, my alarm clock is across the room. I have to get out of bed to hit snooze. I can promise you that this whole operation does not make my wife happy at all.

So soccer practice was canceled due to bad weather. Yea I can go to the gym and get my miles in. I am still trying to get back in shape after the 3 ½ weeks off so most runs are just easy until I get the mileage up. I couldn’t remember what I was scheduled for today but I knew it was at least 5 miles. I ate a Snickers Marathon bar before coming to the gym. It sat in my stomach like a load of bricks. After two miles I thought I was going to die. I walked for 30 seconds and tried again. A guy I grew up with got on the treadmill beside me and we started talking about the economy. Before I knew it I was at 7.5 miles. Well you can’t stop on a treadmill on an uneven number. I hit 8 miles and 1000 calories. ( I like to track calories because it tells me how much cake or cookies I can eat later and not feel guilty. I’ll talk about that another day. I run, so I can Eat!)

I have been reading a couple of guys blogs. Both guys are weeks away from sub 3:00 attempts and both guys are 10 years younger than me. They are also both injured right know and that really scares me. I stretched real good tonight and I’m going make a serious effort to stretch everyday.

Pretty good day. Tomorrow, I hope to get up early. We’ll see.

IT DOESN'T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE ALONE

2008-04-05T14:33:00.000-07:00

I ran 5.2 miles today through the Yorktown Battlefields. I ran around a 9:00 pace and stopped nearly every mile. It was a great run!

Not because of my performance, the pace was slow and I felt really strong. I didn’t need the walk breaks my heart rate never got going really. What made this run special was that I ran with one of my good friends that’s just getting back into running. My buddy used to be a College XC runner so he knows what to do, it’s just been a matter of doing it. Two kids and a lot of years latter and he’s just getting started again.

Running is definitely an individual sport, but I really love an easy recovery run with a good friend, or even a newly made friend that I know nothing about. I have meet people in a parking lot at 6:00am and by 8:30 and 17 miles later I end up knowing stuff about these people that their close friends never had the time to ask.

I ran all summer with a group of guys from my neighborhood. By fall these guys were close friends. We all decided to travel one weekend and run the Kiawah Island Marathon in Charleston, South Carolina. Due to too much racing last fall, (3 marathons in one month and Kiawah a month later) I had to DNF at the half marathon point. I waited for two of my friends to finish and it was very emotional. One guy was trying to break 3:40 and he was so close. I was screaming at him during the finish you would have thought that I had a thousand on him to win the Kentucky Derby it was great. My other friend had always grown up in his big brother’s shadow. His brother had run a 4:00 marathon and that was his time to beat. After several attempts and at the age of 50, he beat his brother that day with a 3:50. For the last ¼ mile I kept screaming you’re gonna beat NED! It was very emotional and a great feeling.

Sometimes it’s not about the performance but about the experience. Running for me isn’t a sport but a lifestyle. And I really enjoy sharing that lifestyle with new and old friends.

First Day Back

2008-04-02T17:17:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my first run in 3 1/2 weeks. I have never had a flu that kept me down like this thing did. I ran my normal 5.2 mile loop through Yorktown. I started slow and steady and I felt really good.

Yorktown is a great place to run. It's a natioanl park where Washington beat Lord Cornwalis and where America won it's independence. The park has nearly 20 miles of paved asphalt tour roads. These are asphalt one ways roads that are about a car and a half wide. On a normal 6 mile run I might see one car and they are only driving around 15 miles an hour.

The tour roads are mostly covered by large trees so they are great to run in during the summer heat. The roads take you through the actual battlefields and the encampments where the French and American soilders fought the British. Today the area is large fields with green grass. Since the entire park is protected the area is full of wildlife. It is common to be running at dusk and look out across a field and see a herd of 30 or 40 deer.

Running through the battlefields is so peaceful. It is always time that I can spend with my thoughts. The only sounds are the wind and birds in the trees. When work is just terrible all I want to do is put my shoes on and run through Yorktown.

The terrain is rolling and there are several decent hills. It is a great place to run. The national park backs up to a city park that has miles of dirt trails. I can go out and run 25 plus miles and never cross the same path. Oh and this is only a mile from the house. I'll post some pictures soon.

The FLU

2008-03-27T18:23:00.000-07:00

I have had the worse case of the flu. This is the end of three weeks of being sick. I missed a whole week of work and had a fever for 5 days. I've never had anything like this in my life. I lost almost 8 pounds and I really didn't have it to lose.

Three weeks without running has almost killed me. I have gotten mean and all I think about is running or working out. I dream about running. This has almost gotten crazy.

I tried riding my bike Tuesday and it wasn't pretty. I made it about 30 minutes but I had to pull over three times with severe caughing fits. When I got home from the head down I was great but my head almost exploded with my sinus pain.

Tonight I biked for 45 minutes and didn't really have the cough as much. I had 2 fits but didn't have to stop. Tonight my sinus pain hurts so bad I can't even eat. My doctor said that my flu gave me a sinus infection. I have some meds but it isn't helping enough.

I'm going to run this weekend no matter what. I just can't stand it anymore. I've missed my spring marathon and my first triathlon is Saturday. There is no way that I can compete in a race right now.

This is a part of running. There are ups and downs. There is health and sickness. In my glass is half full way of thinking, the flu is better than IT band or pulling a muscle or an ACL tear. I'll get over the flu.

What are you doing now? I'm going to Disney World

2008-03-14T20:33:00.000-07:00

I took my kids to Disney World last week. It really was a lot of fun but it definitely wasn't a vacation. My wife planned the whole trip and really did a great job.

We were scheduled to fly from Virginia to Florida direct on Airtran at 12:30 on Saturday. We arrived at the airport at 11:00am. When I walked into the terminal the Airtran there must have been a hundred people in line. What is going on? Someone told me that the flight had been canceled. Are you kidding what am I going to do with my kids? The wife an dkids found a seat and I waited in line. After about 10 minutes my oldest son comes over and says, "Mom says call the airlines like they do on the Amazing race." Sounds good. I called the airlines and finally got us booked on an 8:30pm direct flight with 5 seats together. Almost everyone in front of us got booked on a 5:30am flight the next day. UGHHHHHHH! Good call dear.

Spending a whole week with my family was great. I had so much fun with them and it was great to see the excited and really happy. Discipline in a family theme park is the easiest thing to do, and my kids quickly figured it out. Everyday the boys stretched their boundaries until waiting in line became a Little Rascals episode.

I only ran twice during the week. 5 miles both days.

The family was shark bait at Epcot.

All of us for a photo.
My little monkies.

The monkies outside of Magic Kingdom. Don't let the cute little girl fool you. She can hold her own with the two brothers.

Who Am I

2008-02-27T17:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, there isn't anything to watch on television and I don't even have anything saved on the dvr worth watching so I decided to ramble for a while.

So who am I. I am 36 and a father of 3, a son 7, another son 5, and my little girl is 2. I've been married for 11 years to my college sweatheart. I live in Yorktown Virginia and have lived here all of my life except when I went out of state to college. I own a contracting business and it is a lot of work.

I started running in 7th grade and have always been pretty good at it. In 8th grade I was fast enough to go up to the high school and run cross country and track. Probably one of the worst things that I ever did. I was talented enough to hang in there and finish all of the workouts but I ended up spending more time in the trainers room than anywhere else. I had stress fractures in both feet, hip flexior problems, IT band issues, and even a broken arm that required surgery and a screw in my wrist. I was tripped while running the freshman mile and broke my wrist. Even then I ran the rest of the season with cast. By the end of my sophmore track season I was done. My coach had completely burned me out. He knew how to get us to peak each season, he just didn't know how to keep us healthly so that we could peak as seniors.

I went to Clemson University and studied Construction Science. I did my share of partying and trashing my aerobic systems. After college I went to work for an industrial construction company. We worked in the areas shipyards and coal plants. Breathing that mess all day on top of the 2 packs of ciggarettes that I smoked for 10 years and I was a walking time bomb. I always kept my weight in check. At my largest I weighed 185 lbs and I am 5'11.

My wife told me one day that she wasn't going to get pregnant if I was still smoking. And she really meant it. We went on a week long cruise that summer and during that week I went "cold turkey." A year later my lungs had cleared and I started running again. It was really tough. I would run 800yds and then walk 200 yards. Soon the miles increased and one cold February day I ran 24 miles in our local park. I was hooked again. I loved how I felt running long. I loved laying in bed a night and my legs felt spent. It's great.

That was three years ago. I ran my first Marathon in March 2007 and then ran 3 more last fall. This year I am going to really work on my training and see how my speed improves.

Got a Call from the Doc

2008-02-27T08:14:00.000-08:00

So I have felt like I have been running on fumes for the last month. I mean tired. So tired I can't hardly even get out of bed in the mornings. So tired that I don't think I have the energy to keep my eyes open. Not sleepy muscles nut like I am completely running on empty.

Then I got the flu. I have 3 kids and they just bred disease and sickness. The little suckerbaits are like petri dishes that go to school and coleect every nasty disease culture that they can find nd bring them home. The flu this year was some evil stuff. I ran pretty good on Wednesday night but by Thursday morning I had a fever and a bad case of the chills. I went to work for a few hours and then came home to get in bed. I put on thick socks, sweat pants and a hooded sweat shirt and got under the covers. And shivered for hours.

Anyway, I stayed home Friday and didn't have anything to do so I started looking at my running journals. I track everything I eat, the weather, my runs, how I feel and other stupid stuff. I was trying to figure out why my performance was off and why I felt so bad. I noticed that I was eating a whole lot more during the summer. During the summer I drank a 32 oz Gatorade after every run. During the winter I drink water. I was eating smoothies with protein at night, now I was drinking a cup of hot tea before bed. I was eating a bagel, 2 scrambled eggs, cheese and 2 slices of ham or turkey for breakfast. Now I am eating one package of instant oatmeal. So I came to the grand conclusion that I need to up my calories.

Great News! Eat more! Yea it isn't that easy. I figured I am only eating about 2000 calories and I need between 3500 and 4000 calories a day. So I have started drinking Gatorade after workouts. I started eating big breakfasts again and trying to eat more during the day. After a week or two of this diet I would have thought that my energy levels would perk up. No such luck. In fact I feel even worse. My wife told me that I needed to get a physical and get a full blood work up. I actually listened to her and made an appointement.

So I went to the doc's office and he checked me out. My blood pressure was great. They weighed me with my clothes on and I got a lttle perturbed. I mean I'm a distance runner. Weight is a big deal for us. They just thought I was crazy. I looked at the nurse and told her that I run marathons, of course I'm crazy.

Then the masochist nurse stuck me with a bunch of needles and drew a bunch of blood and I was done. The doc was supposed to call me the next morning. He called and said that everything looked real good except for my hemoglobin count was 13. Ok Doc, what does that mean to me. Well he said that hemoglobin is how the blood carries oxygen to the muscles. If my hemoglobin is low then I can't get as much oxygen to my muscles. My performance will suffer and I would feel tired. I might look pale. Hey Doc that's me! I feel like that. He said that he was going to run a few more tests and call me later. He said not to worry because it is a fairly common occurance in distance runners.

Hopefully this at least explains some things. Now I just gotta fix it.

MAN - I'M TIRED

2008-01-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

I had a great week, until Saturday. I had been running in th evenings and ran great all week. I had a long 10 miler Friday afternoon and was scheduled to run with my running group on Saturday. My group starts at 6:00am and they meet about 15 minutes from my house. I normally get up at 5:00am to meet my group. The alarm clock went off and I couldn't get up.

My legs just hadn't recovered from my 10 miles that I had run only 12 hours earlier. I layed in bed and heard the cold wind howling. I just felt so tired..............I turned the alarm clock off and went back to bed. I woke up later at around 7:00am with my two boys yelling, "Yea Daddy's here! Get up and make us breakfast!." I spent the rest of the day doing stuff with the boys. It was good having a guy day.

But this meant that I missed my mileage for the week and my 6 day streak. I feel really bad and disappointed in myself for missing this critical workout so early in the training cycle. Sunday afternoon I spent some time thinkng about the week and how I could make next week more successfull. The main thing I decided was that just because a mileage is written down on my weekly plan doesn't mean that I am going to run the plan. I have to schedule the run into my life.

I am a busy businessman and I schedule my entire life. From now on I am going to schedule my runs just like I would a meeting. I am going to think about my next day's workout and I am going to think about recovery time and rest time. Good plan, now I just have to stick with it.

Last week was really warm outside and I took full advantage of the weather and ran outside everyday. This week is really cold and in Virginia the low 30's is really cold. I decided to hit the gym and run on the treadmill's and stay warm. I ran 10 miles yesterday and it wasn't so bad. I ran the first 4 in front of the tv and the last 6 with the ipod. Today I ran a 6 mile tempo run and I really think that the treadmill might be the way for me to get my speed and endurance up. I ran 7:30's tonight and they didn't feel that tough. I ran the last mile in 7:00's and the last 800 in 6:40. The people in the gym thought that I was crazy.

Two days down and four to go. Scheduled for a 20 miler this weekend. Need to start thinking about that run and how I am going to make it a successful run.

ENDURANCE MESOCYCLE

2008-01-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow morning is a long run and completes my first week of serious training in 2008. I haven't ran 6 days in row in a long time. I have felt that my legs were a little tired and sore in the mornings but all and all I have felt exceptionally well. My ankle joints have hurt more than anything but no serious problems just soreness. I have had a time getting out of bed a couple of days this week.

My goal is qualifying for the Boston Marathon. When the 2009 race occurs I will be 37. My qualifing time will be 3 hours and 15 minutes. That averages 7:20 for 26.2 miles. My training and goal pace is to break 3:00 hours or a 6:52 pace. I want to train so that I can maintain a 6:50 pace. If something happens during the race and I slow I should still be able to finish in 3:15. At least that's the plan right now.

Sounds simple enough on paper. Last year my PR was a 3:45 at Richmond. It felt painful and I walked an awful lot during the last 8 miles. I know I have an 3:30 in me right now if I can just get it out of me. The Shamrock Marathon is on March 16, 2008. I am training using a short 12 week plan that should get me to the finish line in under 3:30. This will serve as my baseline for the summer training and will help me determine my starting point for a fall sub 3:00 attempt.

My Shamrock training plan will peak at 70 miles per week. That will serve as a good test for what kind of mileage I can handle during the hot summer months. I should have around 40 weeks after Shamrock until a December attempt. Right now I am thinking about spending 20 weeks building up my endurance, strength, and speed while continually keeping my mileage around 70 miles per week. Then I am planning an 18 week training plan that will take me straight to Boston.

Last year I ran one day a week speedwork sessions. I am planning on twice a week speed or hill workouts. The problem is that all of the running clubs do intervals on Wednesday nights, and that just makes scheduling a second hard week difficult. I've got plenty of time to figur that out.

The key to being succesful this year is going to be consistancy and sticking to the plan. No sleeping in, no skipping days. The only way to Boston is with mileage, lots of mileage. I am going to use the hard day easy day technique. And every third week is going to be a fall back week where I cut my mileage back.

New Year - New Goals - Same Older Body

2007-12-31T15:57:00.000-08:00

This time of year is always a time of reflection and a time to set new goals for the upcoming year. All runners and endurance athletes are completely obsessed with goal setting so this is a really important time for me. What do I hope to accomplish this year? Let's see:
5k - Break 20:00 minutes. I just want to be in the 19's. I know that I have the speed it's just picking the right race on the right day.

10k - Break 43 minutes. I don't race many 10k's so I don't even know if I will have a race to reach my goal but if I do run one my goal will be to run it in 43.

Half marathon time: 1:35:00. Ok this one is important if I'm going to even have a shot at my next goal.

Mararthon time: 3:15:00. This is my Boston Qualifier time. I know that I have the ability and the talent it is just a question of having the discipline to put the miles in. If I can consistenly run 60 to 70 miles a week for most of the summer then I should be able to BQ. If I don't hit the miles then it just isn't going to happen.

Training - Run every day, at least one mile for all of 2008. My problem with training is that I start missing days and then I keep missing days. If I get a streak going then it will be really hard for me to break that streak. I would also like to work up to 70 miles a week and keep it there. I regularly get 50 mile weeks in so getting up to 50 shouldn't be that big of a deal.

Swim Training - Swim three days a week.

Bike Training - Bike three days a week.

Triathlons - Compete in a sprint, an olympic and a half iron man this year. Not worried about times I just want to experience the sport this week and learn a lot so that I can really focus on the sport next year.