The TriathleteNut

I’m back from my Thanksgiving Day run. 8.13 miles in around an hour and twenty eight minutes. Whew. I took it easy and thought about food most of the run. I did the run a mile, walk a minute pattern. I don’t know how I’m going to last 13.1 miles in my race in just ten days time. It’s going to be a struggle.

I have an hour and half before Thanksgiving dinner at 3:30. So I’m sitting back next to Donna and Bella as they sleep and I’m watching the Tampa Bay/Dallas game. I hate Terrell Owens but I want Dallas to win for some reason.

I got a blister on the inside of my right foot. Ouch. Sometimes I get back from a run and there’s pain there but never a blister. Till today. Being off 2 weeks from running really makes a difference in everything. Your knees, feet, ankles, shoulders and even your jaws feel it. At least all those parts of my body did.

And I wasn’t even going to get up and run. I did 3.15 miles yesterday and vowed to do 8 today. And even as I barely made it out the door I was thinking 3 miles. Then maybe 4 or 6 or even 7. 8 just seemed too much. But I decided to do an out and back and force myself to hit the 4 mile mark. The theory being if I hit 4 miles the only way back home is to run another 4.

I was going to run up to Jacob’s school but it’s a little bit of a lonely run for some reason. So I ran to Arts Meat Market, past a park where there were quite a few people on Thanksgiving, and ran to Arts.

I’m thankful for all the other runners I crossed paths with who raised a finger to say ‘hi’. I like it when that happens.

At the 5 mile mark I started feeling it in my left knee and right foot. But a song by U2 got me through mile 5, 6, 7 and 8. “Bad”.

So I leave this entry with the lyrics of “Bad” and I try to get an hours worth of Z’s before “digging in!”

BAD
By U2

If you twist and turn away
If you tear yourself in two again
If I could, yes I would
If I could, I would
Let it go
Surrender
Dislocate
If I could throw this
Lifeless lifeline to the wind
Leave this heart of clay
See you walk, walk away
Into the night
And through the rain
Into the half-light
And through the flame

If I could through myself
Set your spirit free
I’d lead your heart away
See you break, break away
Into the light
And to the day

Oooh oooh, oooh oooh, oooh oooh oooh…

To let it go! And so to fade away
To let it go!
And so fade away
I’m wide awake
I’m wide awake
Wide awake
I’m not sleeping, oh no, no, no

If you should ask then maybe they’d
Tell you what I would say
True colors fly in blue and black
Bruised silken sky and burning flag
Colors crash, collide in blood shot eyes

Oooh oooh, oooh oooh, oooh oooh oooh…

If I could, you know I would
If I could, I would
Let it go

This desparation
Dislocation
Separation
Condemnation
Revelation
In temptation
Isolation
Desolation

Let it go
And so fade away
To let it go, oh yeah
And so fade away
To let it go, oh No
And so to fade away
I’m wide awake
I’m wide awake
Wide awake
I’m not sleeping oh no no

Yule Log Jog (Nov 5, 2006)
10K Personal Best- 0:55:19

Ouchy-owie!

That’s how I’ve felt for the past three days. My hamstrings kill. I did not do a single workout for 13 straight days. It was horrible. I was under the weather right after my race on November 5, and took a week off and still didn’t feel 100% for a week after so I decided to take a break from it all. THEN… I ran on Saturday the 18th and did a weight workout which included leg presses. OUCH!

I don’t do heavy-heavy weights. And this was on the low end for me: 180 pounds. And usually I’m absolutely fine the day after. Usually I can do another hard workout the next day. Usually I’m ready to swim, bike or run the next day even after a hard workout. I’d consider this past workout an easy one. And I have limped around for three days.

I have to try and fit in 15+ miles running this week. My plan: 3 miles today; 8+ miles on Thanksgiving morning; another 3ish miles on Friday and another 5 miles on Saturday. That’s the end of my workout week. That brings me to 19 which is a bunch of miles for me. Then on Sunday, the start of a workout week, I’ll hopefully do 13 long slow miles.

Wow. That’s a serious goal. And I toned it down big time. I was planning to do 5/8/5/5 but I’ve never done that many miles in a week before so that would be a big mistake. Looking at it now, I might just do 3/6/3/5 for 17 miles… but 19 would be good – especially on Thursday morning when I need to workout before eating a whole turkey and half a pie.

So that’s where I am on my Triathlon Training. Next week I start back on a strict swim program and I get back on my bike. If it rains, I’ll be on a trainer working on conditioning. My goal is to keep up with an hour Spinerval DVD. I’ve lasted 15 minutes. But if I can do the whole DVD my Triathlon season will start off with a bang!

My New Year’s Resolution will be to do more BRICKS. And not just a bike/run but a bike/run/bike/run. Shorter distances but more transitions! Am I crazy? Most Triathletes are.

What does Couch Potato mean anyway? Because that’s what I am!

Wow… a week of NO FRIGGEN WORKOUTS!

I’ve been under the weather. And instead of going out for a run or lifting weights, I stayed away. I’ve realized that it is so hard to stay away from a run or the gym when you’re sick. I could have done some easy workouts. I could have run a 10K if I wanted to. But I didn’t. I was wise. I resisted. I tortured myself and JUST SAID NO!

So all I did was a 10K race on Sunday the 5th. I have a Half Mary in less than a month in which I haven’t built enough miles for but will do anyway. I know I can run 12… so another 13.1 shouldn’t be that bad. I’m looking forward to it AND I’m contemplating another 10K race this coming Saturday. Should I? Should I not?

Well, hopefully today I can put in a good hour run to start the week.

Other than that – I’m a proverbial coach potato. Well, not so proverbial. I don’t sit and just watch TV… I lay down and watch DVDS!!! I guess you can say I’m a bed tomato? What does potato have to do with anything anyway?

Couch Potato: “A couch potato refers to a person who spends most of his/her free time sitting or lying on a couch. The stereotype often refers to overweight men who watch a lot of television, sometimes in their underwear, and sometimes drinking beer. Generally speaking, the term refers to a lifestyle in which children or adults don’t get enough physical activity. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couch_potato)

Hmmm… kinda fits the description. I’m kinda gaining a pound or two - I run and lose it though. I watch TV - in the form of DVDs… Yeah, I’m in my underwear but no - no beer… Just a vodka on the rocks. And yes, the lifestyle of not getting enough physical activity is definately true - this past week that is. Unless you count sex as a physical activity. <= Don’t read that.

My mom comes this week so maybe I’ll be putting in some serious Gym time.

It’s weird – when I don’t have a Triathlon on my calendar I start to slack off. Running is fun. I love it. Races are great. They are something to look forward to. But a Triathlon means tons more dedication (on my part) – from swimming, cycling and running AND weight training.

Ugh… I got to get back into that mindset these last two months of the year.

My decision to do Triathlon is approaching a year anniversary. Wow. It’s been a year. 2007 better rock!

I didn’t cramp but I did come and conquer as little as a race as this may be… I can log my first 10K race in the books!

But who cramped? More on that later…

And let me say first…

Donna ran her very first 5K race after just a month or so of running 5Ks and less doing 6-10 miles a week. And she finished her first 5K race in 35:27! She came in 10th out of 36 which puts her in the top third of the pack in her AG! A first time race at top of the pack. Wow. She predicted a 40 minute 5K and I told her she’d probably run it faster than she thought. She pushed it a little too hard and at mile 2 took a little walk to cool off (30 steps she said) and then went strong to the finish. Congrats!

I am so proud of her. It takes a lot to go out there with a bunch (and there were A TON) of runners and hold your own no matter what.

Awesome, honey! I’m proud of you! GET ADDICTED!

And on to my 10K race.

There were 21 runners in my AG. A total of 157 runners in the 10K run with 91 total Males runners.

I’m getting to be a middle of a packer but usually back of the pack runner. Today my goal was to be better than 9:25 minute miles: which would be around a 58 minute 10K run.

The day didn’t start off great. I think I have a pinched nerve or something. I had a headache on Friday and on Saturday and I woke up with one on Sunday. My muscles were fatigued, my ankle a little sore for some odd reason, and I was tired. But I was going to run - its just a headache right? I can do some physical activity like paintball, triathlons, running, but if I had to do some analytical work, writing or mental exercises its almost impossible with a headache. Weird huh?

So I ran with a headache.

The 10K is a two loop run around the Rose Bowl. A course I’m very familiar with as I run this a couple of times a month and of course I bike it too. Today was a little different as we ran counter clockwise, which to me is an easier run. It starts with a steady incline until you get to the first turn North of the bowl where it levels off then it’s a run on a decline. The stretch to the finish line is an incline which would be a serious burn at the end. I had to do the course twice so I had to plan it right.

Training is so different than racing. My mind wanders quite a bit during a training run: I fantasize about the run in an Ironman, I think about work, about a script I’m working on… I think about the next time I’ll be running or what I want for dinner. During a race I’m all focus. I can’t remember a time during this race where I was thinking about something other than the race: from pace, effort, planning ahead. Its all about each step which leads to the next and finally the last.

I tend to have a fast first split time and I knew that would be killer as it was an incline start. I told myself that if it felt good, I’d keep it under 9:25 and back off a little during the flat to rest then pick up the pace during the fast part of the course. Then for the second lap I knew I’d be more fatigued and would probably be slower going up but try to really pick it for the last two miles.

That was my plan and it worked.

The first mile was comfortable and I was under my target pace and felt good about it: 9:06. I was only going to get faster on the faster part of the course and naturally I was. Mile two and three were at 8:34 and 8:41 respectively. It was a fast 5K split time of around 26:30 which is 30ish seconds off my personal best 5K race a month ago.

Then came the 2nd lap and the tough incline of mile four which I struggled through. I looked at my watch and I was way off pace: 10:45. I remembered some ChiRunning form and leaned in to the run. It felt like a sprint but not quite. I was at 192 beats per minute so I knew I was pushing. It was tough but not that tough. And believe it or not, I was right on pace! 9:06 for mile four!!! This only meant a faster finish than I ever predicted! I was going to run the last two at a very high effort level. My breathing and heart felt good. But my legs started to feel heavy yet I poured it on as best as I could.

I passed some runners that I was pacing and took advantage of the fast part of the course.

I ran mile five in 8:58 and mile six in 8:44 and gave it my all going up the hill to the finish (.25 miles) in 2:11!

My final time: 55:19!!! I beat my personal best by three whole minutes!

And best but not least… I came in the top third of my age group. I was in the top of the pack versus where I usually am – last of the pack or around there! I placed 7th out of 21 in my AG and 38 out of 91 of the males and 54th overall out of 187!

At first I thought 10K races were just too much. But after crossing the finish line I think this distance is a perfect length to race. There’s a lot that goes into it – pace, effort, etc. On a 5K its just run and run fast. For me, a 10K with improper planning could lead to that dreaded wall and a poor finish. I gave it my best shot. I was exactly where I wanted to be nearly every step of the way!

My headache was gone… that is about till a half hour after the race on the way home. It came back. And that’s all she wrote. I had it for the rest of the day, the night and unfortunately, I have a slight one this morning. But I’ll survive I guess.

Oh, here are my splits:
Mile 1: 0:09:06
Mile 2: 0:08:34
Mile 3: 0:08:41
Mile 4: 0:09:05
Mile 5: 0:08:58
Mile 6: 0:08:44
Mile 6.25: 0:02:11
FINAL TIME: 0:55:19 for an average of 8:51 minute miles.

Heart Rate Data:
Mile 1: 173
Mile 2: 187
Mile 3: 188
Mile 4: 191
Mile 5: 191
Mile 6: 190
Mile 6.25: 197

Next up –

· City of Angels Half Marathon- Sunday December 3, 2006
- Half Marathon Run/Walk (13.1 miles)

I’m in for the challenge of a lifetime there. But heck, if I can do a sprint Triathlon in two and a half hours, I can run a half marathon for two and a half hours right? I mean heck… its just running…

And on to this…

“He Came, He Cramped, He Conquered”

Cycling champion Lance Armstrong calls the ING New York City Marathon “the hardest physical thing I’ve ever done”

Wow… He did it! He made it! He cramped? I watched an interview with him once where he said he hasn’t cramped in like several years. He couldn’t remember the last time he cramped. And yesterday… he cramped.

While Donna was running a 5K and I was running a 10K, Lance was running 26.2 miles which he’s never done before. And get this… he made it in just under his goal of 3:00:00 in 2:59:36. Awesome!

Read the story here: “He Came, He Cramped, He Conquered ”