Sunday, July 26, 2009

MIBM recap

Well, it is another race that has been placed in my record books. Alot of ups and downs during this event. When I got there, I had eaten some PB&J's for supper. I told Mandie before the race that I might try and go for the win tonight. If I got into trouble I was at least going to get 1st place in the men's division. I was going to put into use what I have been learning from RC.

Time 8:12 and quick time for some pre-race pictures and then it was off and running. I tried to play it conservative and just learn the course at first while we still had some light. Andrew did a good job with putting out the directional signs with glow sticks on them. I was running with a map and trying to remember trees at the times where we should turn but then when it gets dark, you cant see the trees.

Lap 1 was about 51 minutes of heat and hills. For the entire 13.1 miles, there is about .3 miles of flat roads. The rest is nothing but HILLS. I was feeling good but had to make a pit stop to the potty which took me about 3 1/2 minutes. Then it was to pick up some fluids and get back on the road. I met up with a gentleman by the name of Andy. I think he said he was from Ft. Walton FL. We would run downhills and flats and walk most of the uphills. We talked alot about the course and just running stuff. It was then I decided to try and talk to most of the runners tonight to try and met some new friends. I was going to have a good run but most of all I was going to have fun.

Lap 2 was about 58 minutes but I was feeling good except for the friction burn where I forgot to put some body glide. I was asking for some Vaseline and could not find any but then I found some Gold Bond lotion in my truck and used it. OMG it burned. I should just have run with out. It was in for a quick splash for water and power aide and then off for the final lap.

Lap 3 was about 50 minutes and now I was through. The finish line was some glow sticks laid across the road with glow sticks curved into a ball. My wife was there to get photos of hot and sweaty tired runners. My legs were feeling good but I was glad to be finished. When I went past the aid station at mile 11, I grabbed a water bottle to help me get through the heat. I passed Deb Botkin about a half mile later and she did not see the station. I stopped and went back to give her my water bottle and we had the general discussion " No you take, no you take it". I then told her to take so that it would make me run faster knowing that I have to make it back to the finish line to get fluids.

Well I did it with a time of 2:35:42. It was not a PR night but a great night to run with new and old friends. I did finish 1st in the men's division and missed 1st overall by 2 minutes. Yes 2 minutes and I could have won. Oh so close but no cigar.

I was able to met some more Marathon Maniacs. # 107 Dave I believe was his name from Florida, there was a guy there who once ran a 50K warm up before running the 50K route and one man was there from Florida. We had a coast to coast running community last night. Also Donna from the Macon Tracks club was there to finish her 1st marathon with a time of about 7:52. It was a hard course to run the first. I picked a much easier course to do my first one. Donna my hat goes off to you.

A special thanks to Andrew for putting on another great and fun race. Also I would like to say thank you to his wife for allowing me to jump in there shower to cool off and put some dry clothes on. Thank you to the gentleman for telling me and Andy that we almost missed our turn on the course. We were talking and almost missed one of the signs. It is another one to put in the books and I will looking to do this one again next year.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Well here we go......

I think I have finally gone CRAZY!!!!!!!!

I for some reason have decided to try and train for a Sprint TRI.

YES, I SAID IT

I went today and bought some Nike eye goggles that are a little larger than the normal goggles. I googled and some people said they help give you more visibility than the normal ones. I am going to go to the pool next week and see how I like it before I make any final decisions. I am very nervous about this. It is kinda of funny cause I was not this nervous running my first marathon. I am treading into new waters.

I have an instructional video on the proper way to swim and I was doing it the wrong way the whole time. I just want to be able to swim the 1/4 mile and not drown. I can swim enough to get by but I want to be able to exit the water relaxed enough to keep going and have fun with it.

Any help or pointers would be very helpful. I am willing to take any help to get me through this. I only have about 5 weeks to get ready. If not I will probably have to wait until next year to give it a try.

Tomorrow night I will be at the Make It By Midnight Half-marathon. It is a race that is through a HILLY neighborhood. Last year was the first year for the race and I hope to CRUSH my time from last year. I thought about doing the full but I am just going to try and beat my PR on the half. Then I am planning on running about 6 miles Sunday morning and then going for a 37 mile bike ride.

More later as I try and come back to the computer.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Tempo run complete

YES, I DID IT!!!!!!





I completed my first complete tempo run. I have tried before in the past to do one or two but just never really had it in my heart to do it. I don't know why it just seemed like it was one of the workouts that I need to do. So just go do it.





Well I finally did it.







I was not sure at first how I would do but it finally hit when I was trying to help a friend met his goals. I was putting down some figures on paper and it finally hit me like a left hook. My tempo run speeds are less than I do on a race and less the time. YO STUPID that is what you are already running. So I decided to go the track last night and try it out. And it worked.

Grasshopper, Amy, went and ran her MP while I ran my tempo pace. She was talking to me the whole time to try and get my mind off of it. Well it worked. And I was actually talking back and started talking back to her. I could not believe it when I looked down and saw the times getting faster. My target HR was in the limits of where it should have been.

When we got through, we went out to run my cool down mile lap and Amy asked me what my time should be. I told her that it was normally around 11 and she laughed. She asked if we could pick it up and little bit. So off we went and averaged at 9:37 with a HR at 152.

WOW, WOW and WOW. I still cant believe I did it. I cant wait until track workouts tonight to see what I can do now.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Report from the Bragg Jam

Home recovering from the race and I can say it was not a PR course. I was upset with myself at first but now that I look back at it, what do I have to be mad at? I can tell that the hill workouts have paid off. The race had 2 big hills and I went up them, called them some names and then looked back and said goodbye.

The race started a little late at 9:15 but it was still somewhat humid. I went out for my prerace warmup and ran the course. When the race started I tried to watch my watch to make sure I did not go too fast. Here are my splits:

Mile 1: 8:52 HR 159

Mile 2: 8:48 HR 167

Mile 3: 8:50 HR 171

Last .08: 8:48 HR 175


I think I was about 2 seconds from passing out. I can honestly say I gave it my all. I did not get a PR but I did so much better on the hills.

Congrats to Michelle Archer and Sam for new PRs tonight. It was a hard course and the hard work has paid off for some people. I am still trying and hoping for cooler weather.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Resting before a race

This is totally different for me because I normally run in the early morning or when I get off from work. I am usually in bed by 9 at night but tonight I will be racing a t 9 o'clock. Yes at 9 at night in the pitch dark. I have done a race before in the dark and I did not place very well. I was constantly trying to look at the ground to see if I could see anything that I might trip over. Luckily tonight the race in on regular streets and I hope I don't have to worry about tripping up and falling.

I am up in the air about my time for this race. I want to try and PR but this course has 2 big hills in it. I hope that my hill training will pay off and help me to push my way to a new PR. The finish of the race is about .3 miles downhill right after you finish the second hill.

Well I am off to wash some cars and then sit back by the pool and rest up for my night race. I will try and get a race report tomorrow if all possible. Have a great day.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

My first 1/4 Century ride

Tonight I ventured out into a new world. I decided to not run ( sorry RC ) but instead I laced up my bike shoes and went out for my first 25 miler. OMG I wished I would have done this sooner. I had sooooo much fun tonight. I will not lie and say it was easy because it was not. I can say it was just a great feeling to be back on a bike again.

I met up with Kenny and Stef at the Warner Robins bike store. There is a group of riders of all classifications that meet on Wed night and ride 25 miles. There is always someone to ride with the fastest person and one with the slowest person. No one gets left behind. I really liked that.

It was a challenge for me tonight. My legs were screaming, my muscles aching, sweat pouring off my head and then I put my other foot into the clip. Ha-Ha but really my body was put through the test. From my feet to my head and everything in between. My butt is so sore. I need some time in the saddle to get back used to it again.

I went 25.8 miles with an average speed of 15.28 mph and my fastest speed was 38.13 mph. The total time was 1 hour and 46 minutes. We had a couple of times that we stopped for a while. One rider feel down after being nearly attacked by a dog, we waited for Kenny while he helped others including me and just some times while we all gathered back together as a group.

Tonight was the first time I ever used clipless pedals. I was told to unclip a while before coming to a intersection and coast to a stop. I can say I was nervous about using them for the first time but I did good. I was nervous about riding tonight. I didn't want to mess up in front of a bunch of people that I have never meet before. I told Kenny that I did not know if I was more nervous tonight or when I ran my first marathon.

All in all I had a great time and I am so glad I went. I cant wait until I go again.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

I GOT IT



I finally got it. Madone 4.5

The next thing is to learn how to swim better.

I have got clpis on it and now it is time to learn how to use them.

Getting ready for the Bragg Jam

Yesterday I went out and ran the Bragg Jam course. Michelle Archer went out with me so that someone could be there to push me through it. Normally I take Mondays off from running but today was different. I wanted to see how long the course was actually going to be and to see the hills.

And boy were there some hills. This is not a flat course. I don't think this will be a PR course. I am going to try and run negative splits. That is going to be my biggest goal so I can get it through my mind and run like that every time.

I got a chance to go to the bike store and look at my new bike. It is a Madone 4.5 and it is pretty. It is powder blue and white. I told the salesman just as long as it is not red and black. I am a GT fan and I could not be seen in something that is UGA colors. He got the bike out and put road clips on it for me to ride around the parking lot. It felt great. I feel in love with it. I asked him about clips, shoes, shirts and shorts, tires. I mean we talked about everything. I am brain fried. All I know is that I am going back today and picking it up. The only problem is that I am trying to find some shoes to fit my big footed self.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

TIRED, enough said

This morning my alarm clock went off at 5:00 a.m. just like I set it. It was time for me to get up and go run my long run. I was not feeling good so I went back to sleep. I was having some cramps behind my left knee so I did not get a good rest. So I decided to go ahead and get up and head off to the loop. I made my peanut butter sandwich and sat down and thought about going back to bed.

BUT I DID NOT.

I got dressed and headed out to run. I was dressed and there was no turning back. I got there and noticed I was about 15 minutes late. I was going to run completely by myself. I wasn't sure how this was going to work.

I got about 1/2 mile and I saw someone running. YEAH, I thought it was going to be lonely. Then a big field rat came out of the grass beside me and then I realized I was not alone. Ha-Ha. I went out and started to see familiar faces going back to the cars and then it hit me, stupid you should have over slept. I could be running with everyone else.

I made it to the 1/2 point at 4.5 miles so I stopped at our water stop and got a drink.

BIG MISTAKE

Reminder to myself. Don't stop for long. Grab the water and go. Just like in a race the clock does not stop. My HR went down and so did the morale. Next time it will be a splash and go. So I was off to get back to my truck but I was not a fast or consistent on my journey back. But I did it. I made it back.

9 miles on my long run. My longest run in a long time. After running hills yesterday and my long run today, I am a little tired and sore. So off to bed I am going.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Hill workouts

Well I did it and I am glad I went. I was told to be there at 7:15 and I got there about a minute early to see that everyone else had just left on their warm up lap. I quickly gathered my stuff and went to join them. I only got about 1/3 mile out and everyone turned around so that everyone would run together.

Now that we are warmed up with the sun peeping through the tree tops, it is time to run some hills. Normally we have a small mud hole that we have to run around where David Tinkey's dogs sit but it was dried up. Instead there was a tractor there for us to run around. It was like passing someone in a race. I always try to picture myself in a race during everyone of my runs.

7 repeats today so that I can run more than I did the last time. I should keep my times around 2 minutes on my splits and that I did. I keep them around 2 minutes for most of the laps. Some of them got up to 2:05 but I was tired. It was now time for me to run my last lap and Sam said to put it on the line. And that I did.

Michelle asked me not to pass her but I could not resist. Off we went and I caught her around the 200M mark. We went around the tractor and I turned it on. I laid it out for the world to see. I struggled up the hill to the finish line with a time of 1:54.

Thank God by now it was over. I was spent. Now it was off for the cool down mile run. It was funny but we were still running hills on the cool down lap. I know that all this training will pay off when it comes time to hit the BIG HILL at Labor Day. I will be able to look back at it and say "That was not all that bad".

Friday, July 10, 2009

Shocked

I could think of alot of names for today's title but I think this was the best one. Lately I have had alot of things going on that has made my rethink about life. I did not know if I wanted to continue to run competitively or not until today. I have not been running long but I guess talking about running and somewhat knowing about some facts have paid off.

I WAS ASKED TO HELP SOMEONE RUN TODAY

Yes, I could not believe it myself. I have a friend who is trying to get a job but he has to pass a physical exam with a 1.5 mile run in a time of 12:59 or better. It has to below 13 minutes. I have been training for the Labor Day 5K and want to run it with a time of a sub 26. Well if I help my friend with his goal, it will help me with my goal. It is amazing how things just work out in the long run (or a short run).

I am going back to the hill workout to get back on track. I am starting to get a little nervous about my new goal because I thought someone who weighs 260 pounds could not run a race in the 25's. Well I am hoping to change my view and alot of others also. I want to show people that with a lot of training, you can reach your goals no matter what physical distractions you might think you have.

Well it is off to sleep to rest up for tomorrow. Have a great day.

Tempo runs

I have been on vacation this last week so I have not been running like I should have. I did manage to get 2 days in but that is just not enough. I missed out on Tuesday's track workout so I decided to last night to go for my first tempo run.

I am suppose to be running 20 minutes at a pace of 8:55. I was told since I have not done this before that I could break the runs into 2 10 minutes sessions until I get use to it. So it was off to the track to attempt my first run.

It was warm with the temps around 89 with no breeze. I decided to run a 5 minute run and then a 10 minute run. My first run was for 5 minutes at a 8:44 pace. I could not believe how effortlessly it came to me. I really thought I could go further. So I did.

The second run was for 10 minutes at a 8:38 pace which was a lot faster than what I was suppose to run. I have to run more of these to get my pace down like it is suppose to be at. I was pouring sweat but my HR was at 151 which is where it is suppose to be. It was actually in range. I could not believe it.

I DID IT!!!!!!

I really thought it was going to be something I was not going to accomplish. But then I thought about my last 5K run and I told myself it was like running a half 5 K at the same pace. So I did and it worked for me. I need to keep this up so that I can reach my goal of a sub 25 PR at Labor Day road race.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Packing up

I have had a wonderful week here in Panama City Beach. I had a chance this morning to end a great week by eating breakfast with my son on the balcony of the condo. We have played games, built sand castles, swam in the pools and eaten some great food.

I went out this morning for another 4 mile run and it was hot. It was 84 with 100 percent humidity. I had trouble breathing with snot flying everywhere. I have to get back into the routine of running more. I am just waiting on the cooler weather.

Well it is time to start packing for our road trip where tomorrow we leave from the West coast and head to the East coast of Fl and then to Savannah. It should take us about 7 hours but we are going to surprise Austin with a tour of the JCB plant. I called the PR of the plant and she is suppose to meet us and give Austin a wonderful surprise.

I will try and post some photos when I get home.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Happy 4th of July

I would first like to say THANK YOU for all that have served and are now serving for our country. I is an honor for me to say that I am very proud to be an American where we have so much freedom. I want to say Thank You to my grandfather for serving this great country and for surviving being a MIA during WWll.

I went out for a run this morning on the beach and got in 4 miles. I have not run much this week due to the mental anguish that I have been through. Every time I hit the floor, my mind started playing tricks on me. I got word last week that I was not sure if I was going to keep my job or not. I am still not sure what they are going to do with my hours if they are going to change them again or not. Any way enough of that cause I am on vacation in Panama Beach looking at the ocean.

When I went out this morning, I had to think really hard if I wanted to actually go or not. Well I went and got it over with.

YES, I GOT IT OVER WITH.

I don't like the sound of that. I am trying to get my mojo back into running. I hate the hot weather. I love running in the cold weather and not this sticky humid weather we have right now. Hopefully this will all pass and I can get back into the rhythm of things.

I hope I have not got you down during this wonderful holiday. Have a wonderful 4th of July and go celebrate.