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One Step Further

Thank you for your continued support.

Akron Road Runner Marathon in Pictures.

 I love this sequence of pictures taken by my wife. There are a few stories going on in this short segment of time which I hope to be able to adequately be able to share with you in my forth coming race report. There will be plenty more pictures, and with any luck at all a really good story too.

WOOHOO Wednesday!

Today is the day I take time to let you in on all things woohoo that I have going on in my life.

Today, I have plenty going on in my life that is woohoo worthy.

First off I have this little event called my first marathon coming up on Saturday. I am, to say the least, super excited about running my first ever marathon. I am excited about going to the expo, excited about picking up my bib, excited about lining up with 10 to 16 thousand other excited marathoners, half marathoners, and relay members. It will be an epic day in my running career.

Yesterday afternoon I went out for a run with my two older boys, "The J" and "The I". I have written about running with "The J" before, if you would like to read about our prior outings you can check them out here and here.  However, up until just recently "The I" has not wanted to or was some what discouraged to run with us. I think that he was a little bit intimidated by the distance that we were doing and felt that he wouldn't be able to do it, that his body wouldn't let him go that far. He isn't the most athletically inclined person, but we have been working with him because he wants to "tri" next year and he has marked improvement.  Anyway, I digress, we were going out to do a mile in preparation for the 1 mile kids fun run being held during the marathon this weekend. Both boys are planning to run it if for no other reason than to get race bling and a t-shirt. Seeing how "The I" has never gone a mile before we set out to get one in.  Before we got a quarter of a mile in "The I" started complaining that he couldn't do it, and that his leg were getting tired. I knew that this was just a cop out as he was doing bricks with .5 mile runs just a couple weeks earlier.  So, like a good coach I pushed him, and when he started to get upset and complain I pushed him a little bit more. You know what he ended up going 1.17 mile by the time we finished. While all of this is great and awesome it really isn't the true woohoo part of this experience.  The woohoo part came when I asked him if he thought he could run a mile before we left and he said "no". Then I asked him if he just ran a mile and he said "YES".
The truth is, he could have done it all along, he just needed to believe that he could.

This past weekend I took my wife rock climbing for the first time for her birthday (it was my first time too). We both had so much fun we can't wait to go back, and take the boys with us too.
Well, today is her birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUPER WIFE!! I can't imagine our life without you, hope you had a good birthday.

I am sure that I am missing some pretty woohoo worthy items, but at this time I can not think of anything. So for now this will have to be all.

Oh, what a weekend!

What a weekend, it has been busy, fun, exciting, full of new achievements, and adventures. It all started off on Friday evening with a little of this

A little after work ride.

Just a few laps in the pool.

 Saturday started off with my normal morning run it looked a little like this.

 Then I followed it up with a wicked crazy massage. It was both painful and enjoyable, and most likely just what I needed to start getting my muscles to recover better.  After lunch I took my wife out for her birthday gift. It looked a whole lot like this.

Yup, I straight up took her rock climbing. It has been something that she has been dying to try, and up until now I had no motivation to help her with this desire. Not to mention I physically couldn't have. I am so glad that I have been able to get my self into shape and lose enough weight to be able to enjoy it with her. I have very seldom seen her as happy as she was navigating these walls. By the way, it is such a good work out. My arms and hands are quite sore. It was a great time and we will be going back and probably taking the older boys too.  

Now on Sunday, I went out for my final longish training run before the marathon coming up on Saturday. It looked a little bit like this,

  and the completion of this activity marks my 600th running, riding, walking, and swimming activities since I started on this journey of making a better life for me and my family. Along with this milestone comes 1,806 miles traveled and 206,802 calories burnt.While I am happy with these achievements. I feel that I am not where I wanted to be at this time, but am pleased with what I have been able to accomplish and what I will be able to accomplish in the near future. What a wonderful satisfying weekend.

3 Things Thursday!

WooHoo it is Three Things Thursday, and I am excited to tell you all about three things that I am excited about this week. First, for those of you counting along with me there are only nine short days until the Akron Road Runner Marathon happens and I become a marathoner. For those of you who are not counting along with me I am sorry, it is almost over and you won't have to endure my incessant marathon countdown, concerns, or general amazement about my first marathon.  Anyway, I digress. On with the post.

1. A few posts ago I was excited about joining our local YMCA for swimming and strength training throughout the winter. Also, I was excited for all of the different and free classes that are offered to members. One in particular, was a power cycling (spinning) class. Not so much for me, but for my wonderful wife who I have been trying to encourage to take more time for herself and do non-mommy related physical activity. She used to be a runner, but has not been able to have the running be enjoyable due to some physical issues. I thought that spinning would be good for her. It would provide her with the cardio she needs to be healthy, and it will help build her leg muscles in a more gentle fashion. Besides, I thought that it would be good for her to get out of the house and have some time to herself with other adults. Guess what, she liked it and went to her second class tonight.

2. I am very pleased with my run this morning. It wasn't very long or a particularly hard route, but I was able to maintain an 8:17 minute per mile average pace over 3.7 miles, and felt like I could have gone for another 3 to 4 miles at least with out a drop in pace. What a confidence booster, I thought that I would not see a good run at a fast pace for a really long time, if ever. What's more is that I did this run in my trainers which are absolutely horrible to run in and cause me a good deal of pain in my knee. Even with the inevitable knee stiffness today's rainy,wet, and cooler weather  morning training run rocked.

3.  Honey Crisp apples are back in season! MMMMmmm! Nuff said.

Trivia Tuseday No More

Trivia Tuesday is no more. I know that everyone is super disappointed, but there was not enough participation. I am just going to use this time each Tuesday to try and answer questions that I have been pondering during the week. This weeks pondering has been about chaffing. Mostly about the parts that really hurt. For me that would the nipples. Yup, I said it my nipples hurt, and not just a little bit either. Actually, they hurt in ways I had never contemplated before. Sure, those of you veterans out there are just shaking your head and saying it's your own fault sucker. I am positive it is my own fault. I thought that by not using the Bodyglide or some sort of other protection for them that I may be able to toughen them up and not have to worry about them again. Man was I ever wrong.  Now you may be thinking where is the question in that. The question come in many parts from this. Sure it is my own fault for not protecting my sensitive parts. But, is it possible to toughen, callous, immunize, or armor said parts from future mishaps. What are your strategies for fighting against the dreaded chafe? Is it possible build up a resistance to chaffing on you sensitive parts? Will my theory of repeated chaffing  actually build a natural layer of protection,  or am I just setting myself up perpetually painful nipples? Any and all insight on this topic is welcome. Well, even joking, fun poking, or any other painfully obvious statement that I may have left myself open for. Have fun, train hard, never give up!

Three Things Thursday

Is it Thursday already? This past week just flew by. I have had so many things that I wanted to write about this week and I didn't get around to any of them. Well, at least I get to do this awesome three things post today.

1. WooHoo to getting to swim and strength train over the winter. Earlier this week my family joined our local Y so that we could take advantage of the many different programs and amenities that the Y has to offer. Among those said amenities I will get to use the lap pool so I can get ready for my triathlons for next year. Also, I will get to utilize all of the specialty equipment to make my strength training more effective. Besides all of that it will be great to be able to exercise with the whole family so we and get and stay fit through the winter months.

2. I am down to 15 days until the 26.2 becomes a reality. I am getting more excited by the day and have been finalizing the plans for the expo and race day. I have another good week of solid training and then I will get into a very short taper. All I can say is bring it on I feel that I am ready!

3.  Over the past few days of reading the blogs that I follow and those that I follow on twitter I have come across a few posts which have expressed the exact way that I feel about certain things, or that I have found especially humorous as it relates to my life. The first of these post comes from Lesley (Racing it off), you can read it here. It is about one of my pet peeves and I don't think that I could have said it any better. The second one is an article by Susan Lacke  from competitor.com. It deals with one of my all time favorite subjects, food. The third post I found that really hit home with me as a really good explanation of some common myths about running barefoot. Jeff over at Another Mile, really did a great job with his 4 myths about barefoot running post.
Hope that all of you out there enjoy these as much as I did and until next time, may all of your active endeavors be excellent and injury free.

Brooks Green Silence Review

These are some happy feet!

I love, love, love these shoes. Did I mention that I loved these shoes. There is nothing that I dislike about them. Well, there is one thing I don't like about them but it is very minor. The shoelaces are hard to keep tied, even if you double knot them. I know that most reviews start with something subjective about the product, but I just can't help it. These shoes make my feet happy!  I have had a chance to run in these shoes for a while now. I have put over 100 miles on them now and feel comfortable enough to give them a review. I chose these shoes because I wanted to start transitioning into less of a shoe. Man does that ever sound weird, well anyway on with the review.

To start things off I have to say that of all the features and innovations that these shoes bring to the table. Most of the things listed in the picture below I couldn't care less about, as I am not a huge enviro freak. That being said, I do find it very cool that Brooks has taken to heart and found ways to reuse some the most commonly tossed items from our daily lives and used them create a totally kick ass shoe.

This is an insert that comes in the box.

If you want to read more about Brooks environmental innovations you can click on the picture to the right to enlarge or you can visit their Green Silence info page.  As for the features that I was most interested I will go over them now, and give you an overview as to what pushed me in this direction. 

When I started out looking for new shoes I was having issues with my knees and feet. Most of which I thought was shoe related. As it would turn out part of it would be shoe related. However,  most of the problems I was having were caused by bio-mechanical and muscular inefficiencies.  That is neither here nor there, but it did influence my shoe choice to some degree. At the time I was researching natural and barefoot running, and I felt that I could really benefit from a more minimal shoe.  I actually purchased another pair of shoes along with these that I was planning on using as everyday trainers and these were to be reserved for speed and interval work. In other words the short workouts and races. I was to find out soon enough that the more I ran in the Green Silence the less my knee hurt during and after my running workouts. This reason alone was enough to make these MY everyday running shoe, and the way these shoes were designed and the features that eventually sold me on the shoe explain why they helped some of my problems.

One of the features that I was looking for was a lighter and more flexible shoe to allow my foot to function more naturally. The Brooks Green Silence weighs in a just 6.9oz per shoe and the BioMoGo mid sole coupled along with the softer out sole make these shoe fairly flexible for a traditional racing flat. You may be asking yourself, "If they have a soft outsole won't they wear out fast?" The answer is not that I can tell. As I said earlier in the review I had over 100 miles on them, and they seem to be wearing the same or a little bit better than the other shoes that I have run in.  Another feature that I was looking for was a near flat heel to toe offset. These being racing flats fit that bill to a tee. While they are not flat they only have an offset of 4-5mm, which was perfect for me as these were to be transition shoes. Some other features I was looking for were breath-ability, decent cushioning, and the ability to control the way the shoe supported my foot. Being that this is a pretty minimal shoe it was perfect for being very breathable as you can practically see through the sides. For the cushioning and foot support Brooks added more BioMoGo and used it to make a fully biodegradable sockliner which is very comfortable.   As for the ability to be able to control the fit of the shoe the unique lacing system takes care of your foot support very effectively.

In closing for a shoe that was supposed to be an off day run shoe, and an occasional mid length runner it has far exceeded my expectations and become my go to everyday shoe. In fact, I have completed all of my long training runs, daily miles, and plan on having this shoe carry me across the finish line of my first marathon later this month and my first ultra marathon in early December. I don't think that there is anything else I can really say about this shoe, but the Brooks slogan comes to mind and sums up my feeling about the shoe. "Run Happy".

Three Things Thursday

Well it's that time again, Three Things Thursday! Today is the day that I choose three things that I found awesome, intriguing, moving, or just totally random.

1. I am forever amazed and proud of my two bigger boys. Ever since I took them together and showed them what a brick was and how to do one they have been begging to out and do them. Every time we go down the street to the usually empty parking lot they insist on doing more and more laps. It is completely amazing and inspiring to me to watch them willingly and insistently amping up their brick routine at each outing. It is also amazing to me that the brick is always done in the middle of our evening walk. We walk down street about .25 miles then they do the brick which ranges from .5 miles to 1 mile then we finish our walk which is usually about .75 miles. Not to shabby for a 6 and 4 year old. Actually, I think that they are both super stars.

2. I already posted about this but I am pretty stoked about it so here it is. I ran 100 miles this month for the first time. It is a milestone that I have been trying to get done since the beginning of the year. Also, I ran my longest run this past Sunday totaling 14.25 miles. I still haven't gotten the 16 miler that I have been wanting, but I am confident that I will get it or better in the next couple weeks.

3. The race calendar for next year is pretty much finished.  My major race for next year as of right now is going to be the Mohican 100 Trail Run. Yup you read that right, I am going to attempt to rock out a 100 mile trail run for my big race next year along with a sprinkling of triathlon. So if there are any adventurous individuals out there who want to keep me company I will be in need of a pacer or two. This winter should prove to be a crazy and trying training season.

The Months End Workout Report

Well, this month has been an amazing training month full of firsts and broken records. Let's start this off with the broken records. First off is I had my longest run to date at a distance of 14.25 miles, and it was completed in a satisfactory time of 2:14:48. It was a pretty uneventful run with the exception of a little dehydration and some lite chaffing. I also broke virtually every other record that I had standing for both running and cycling. You can check out all of them here Andrew33's RunKeeper FitnessReports | RunKeeper .

I also had a pretty good month on the bike, I did my longest ride to date. It was a wonderful 33.48 mile early evening ride with my Uncle Scot which was completed in 2:00:02. You can read about it here.

This month has been full of crazy two or three a days and minimal days off in between. One of the better workouts was the brick that I did last night. I was trying to meet a goal in running, but since the boys have been doing bricks all week I felt that I needed to do one too. So off I went and ended up with a 6.6 mile ride at dusk, followed by a 3.1 mile run into the early evening. It was hot, humid, painful, and 100% glorious. For, you see that run put me over 100 miles for the month. This victory is bittersweet though. For this was a goal that I had set for myself and should have accomplished in Feburary. Due to injury and other minor set backs due to my own reluctance to seek the help of a professional. Had I broke down and just got the help that I needed I probably could have done it sooner, but now is better than later. I also know that I have some bio-mechanical issues to deal with, and now know how to deal with and work through them. This month has also given me an extra boost of confidence going in to the home stretch for my first ever marathon later this month.

Overall this month has been a great learning and growing training experience. Looking forward to more months of broken records and firsts.



Totals:

Riding:
241.5 miles/avg speed 15.5mph

Running:
100.5 miles/ avg pace 9.32 m/min

Walking:
49.6 miles/

Trivia Tuesday!

It is that time again. Trivia Tuesday is upon us and I am going to try this one more time to see if I can get any response before discontinuing it. These are some of the questions that run through my head from time to time. Things like is it possible to taper while increasing weekly mileage? How do you know if you have over hydrated? What qualities should I look for in a pacer? That is all I have for right now. Let me know what you think.

Three Things Thursday

Here we go again, has it really been a week already?  I guess it has, so let's get on with the festivities.

1. First thing on this weeks list is yesterday's ride with my Uncle Scot. We were supposed to do this ride last Wednesday, but something came so we ended up doing it yesterday.  To say that I was excited about the ride would be an understatement. It was like it was race day or something. By the end of the day I was all jittery and anxious. Today's ride was going to be my longest ride to date and I was a little nervous about possibly doubling the mileage of my longest ride and tripling my average daily ride. To say the least I was mentally preparing to have my ass handed to me.  The ass handing never happened, the ride went smooth and was very enjoyable.  When we were at the turn around and on our way back Scot told me that we had just passed 1hr 12mins, and that if he was doing this for his normal he would have gotten to this point at about the hour mark so I was doing pretty good. At that point we had just gone a little more than 21 miles at that point.  On the way back we played a game of chase with another biker that we passed on the bike trail back toward home. I thought for sure that at some point I just wouldn't be able to hang, and the last thing that I wanted to be was a hindrance. That time didn't happen, but I did "bonk" a little on the last hill climb. I was all better by the time I got to the top of the hill and got back up to a normal riding speed to finish. Upon completion Scot let me know that he was impressed at how well I did on this ride. I am soo ready for the next one.

2. My first marathon is less than a month away and I can't wait. My training the past two weeks has given me more confidence, and I feel that I will be ready for the big day.

3. I have the most amazing, wonderful, and amazing wife. Who if I didn't have I wouldn't be able to do the things that I have done over the past year and a half. Nor would I have the amazing family and wonderful three little boys to make for never a dull moment. I love her so much, and am glad to have found her, and lucky that she agreed to keep me.

Trivia Tuesday's?!

I am going to try another new post to see how it works. I thought this up while out on my daily lunch walk. I have decided that on Tuesday's I would ask various and random question about running, fitness, cycling, nutrition, triathlon, and myself. For all of you loyal readers to answer and provide your insight. So, please don't be bashful and let the comments flow. I like comments.

Let's get this party started shall we:

1. What is my longest weekly mileage in running?
     A) 15 miles    B) 60 miles    C) 27.2   D) 8.6

2. What is the length of your average kick when racing?

3. Do you practice your kick during your training runs?

4. How do you fuel for your workouts?

5. What shoes do I race in? How about you?

That should do it for this first trial post, so let me know how you like what I have going here.

Three Things Thursday

Well, I am gonna give this Three Things Thursday style post a try.


1. My first ever marathon the Akron Road Runner Marathon is less than 40 days away and I must that that I am getting a little nervous about the whole thing. Also I have begun to ponder all of those questions that one has before doing something new. Questions like "Am I gonna be able to cross the finish line?", "Have I trained hard enough, should I be doing more?", or "Do I have enough miles in?". It is questions like these and so many other that taunt me while I am out form my training runs. A lot of time the questions just get answered with more questions. Other times they get answered with a resounding YES and other positive answers. The one thing that this whole process has taught me is that if you think that you can, you will.  The only thing that I am concerned with right now is getting to the start line healthy and ready to roll.


2. I never thought that cycling would be as fun or addictive as I have found it to be. For the past few months I have been riding to and from work. Both as a means to save money and for a cross training supplement to my running miles. I am sad though as my time in the saddle has been cut down to only two trips to work per week due to school starting back up and the need to get the I to school on the days that my wife works. In a way I am kind of glad that this new schedule has taken place because it gives me rest/recovery days and allows me to go out for longer continuous rides in the evening to work on different bike basics and to push for better form and gear selection. I am just going to enjoy it while it lasts because soon enough I will be riding on the trainer inside wishing it was just a little bit warmer so I could ride outside.


3. This evening I took the three boys out for a walk after dinner. Towards the end of the walk I decided that I would have them do something that we haven't done before while out on our walks. Since both of the older boys want to do a triathlon next I figured that it wouldn't hurt to start doing a little bit of training with them to get them familiar with how their race is going to work.  Today, they did their first brick workout. The J and the I both followed me as I pushed the H around the perimeter of a good sized parking lot on our way home. Once the lap was complete I had them go around twice on their bikes (they were both riding while I walked) and do one lap by foot. They both thought that stopping and dropping their bikes then taking off running around the parking lot was great fun. The I had some difficulty with the run part as he developed a side stitch pretty quick into the run, and he didn't have proper footwear either. He did however finished with out cutting corners even though he had to walk the last part he never quit. The J on the other hand thought it was a blast and wanted to do more laps. Total for the workout .24 mi bike and .12 mi run. I am sure that they could do more, but after walking just over a mile doing a follow lap and still having .25 miles to get home I think that they did awesome.

That wasn't so bad I may just have to do this again.

Tuseday workout craziness and some bike humor

Well today has been kinda crazy for my work out. Actually, I think that most of my workouts lately have been kinda crazy. Mostly due to the schedule shift with the oldest boy I going back to school and I am not able to ride to work like I have been, and the days that I get to I have running to get done. However, that  is neither here nor there.

Today's work out started out with a rockin' fast paced run to the tune of 4.15 mi in 34:12. Man did that feel great, it has been so long since I have gotten to run fast since the past month has been recovery and rebuilding  runs which have been a whole lot slower. To finish off the run I did my normal cool down walk and ten minutes of strength and core training.

Then it was off for the ride to work. It started out just as any other ride to work, but today would end up being different because, I would break my to work PR and take another step toward my goal of getting to work in 15 minutes or less. Today's ride came in with a time of 17:30 minutes for my normal 5.1 mile ride into work. I took almost a full 30 seconds off of my fastest time. It would have been faster but I had to slow down for a misguided semi to make up its mind as to where it wanted to be. Followed this ride with my normal 1.4 mile walk during my lunch and I was feeling pretty good  about my workout  so far, this is where my day would change.

Not so much until I got about half way home other than the normal getting caught by traffic signals.  It was at one of these wonderful traffic stops that "it" happened. Those of you who ride with clip less pedal stop snickerin'. As I am totally stopped at a light standing in between the turn and straight lanes waiting for a chance to go when for apparently no reason at all I just had to fall over. I mean I picked up my foot to adjust how I was standing and then I was slow motion falling to the pavement.   Yeah, kinda like the picture to the right only with people pointing and laughing. I am pretty sure that I saw the lady in the shiny red car next to me shaking her head. Also, pretty sure that I let out some profanity as I was in the process of getting up off the ground.  Glad the car that wanted to turn saw me and stopped before hitting me. The light changed and off I went like nothing happened and finished off my ride. Not the best ride home that I have had but at least there was humor. And, the fitness fun wasn't over yet, I still had a run with the J to get done. We went out for a quick 1 mile run of which the J was emotional throughout. If I had known that he hadn't had nap I probably would have cut the run short. Actually I tried to get him to stop early and he wanted nothing to do with it. Capped off the evening with some homemade pancakes and a quick walk with the family. An all around good day.  Hope that you had not only a great fitness day but, a great day overall enjoying your families and life in general.

Full Marion hill ride CONQUERED!!!

If you remember, a few days a go I attempted an intense hill ride. If you don't remember or are new you can read about it here and or here.  Let's do a quick review, the last hill ride ended with a partial fail, as I had to get off and walk part of one hill. Even though I don't really consider it a fail mostly because I had run 11 miles that morning, and really didn't have much left in my legs. Sunday's ride looked something like this.

Yesterday's ride looked like this.

Now this wasn't just a whim ride. It was planned,  after my last posting to Facebook my uncle Scot (super rider) contacted me about doing the full Marion hill ride later in the week. I jumped at the opportunity to ride with and learn from his expansive riding experience. Yesterday I was completely recovered from the recent activity and set out with fresh legs to conquer that which I thought I may not be able to. Not because of a lack of physical ability, but more so from a lack of experience.

As luck would have it the entire way out to our turn around point we had a light breeze which made all of these great inclines just that much tougher. Up through the turn around point I had felt pretty strong with the exception of a lengthy incline somewhere between mile 4 and 5, and during the long drawn out incline from mile 7 to right about mile 8. That kinda sucked, but at no time did I feel like quitting or that I wasn't going to be able to hang. Well, at least not until the return trip. It all started around mile 12 when my bike decided to drop four gears to the lowest sprocket mid a moderate hill climb causing me to burn up valuable muscle and strength resources which I was going to need on the next very steep and long hill climb. This next hill climb was the very same spot where I had to get off and walk up to the top before restarting during the last ride.

As we started our ascent I was pointing out the spot where I had to get off and walk to Scot, and he said "you won't have to this time.", I wasn't so sure, but as we passed that spot and continued onward I began to realize that he was right and that I wouldn't need to stop today. Somehow I found the extra push that I need and as we crested the top of the hill Scot informed me that the climb that we had just completed was at the very least a 14 degree incline. That same hill section is roughly a quarter of a mile long which made that climb seem never ending. After that the rest of the ride was smooth and pretty easy. Which gave us a chance to chat, and I got to hear a few of his riding stories. We rode back toward my house until the road splits off and Scot let me know that he was going to get some more miles, and that we would have to do it again.

I could not agree more, and can't wait until I get the chance to go!

What was I thinking today... misery likes company.

What happened?

I am so sick and tired of this stupid weather! I am sick of the 70+ degree temps. at 5:30 in the morning, and the 95+% humidity at the same freaking time. Every endurance athlete knows that heat and humidity plays a major part in training during the summer in some locations, but to what degree depends on where you are and how conditioned you are to it.  The pic of the sorry soul at the top of this page is a testament of what humidity can do to you.

I have been running and or riding all summer and have either been lucky or better prepared for my long training runs as I have not had too much of a problem with either the heat or humidity. Until today.  The picture at the top was taken just after my 11 mile long training run this morning. I had planned on doing 16, but some pain in my leg and the over bearing humidity claimed the rest of my miles.  Sure it sounds like a cop out, but I have proof to back up my claim.

Two weeks ago I did a 13.2 mile long training run where the morning weather was about the same temp but there was only about 60 to 70% humidity. I finished this long training run in 2 hours and felt great. However, after today's 11 mile run which lasted 1.75 hours, and when I finished I sounded so bad that my wife came out of the house and asked if I was alright and if I was puking. I, of course, was not, but felt like I probably should have been. The last long training run was also a lot more challenging route than today's.  The only major difference was the humidity.  All I can say is that I am so done with this stupid heat and humidity in the early morning. It is not fun anymore. It needs to go away.

On a more positive note, the glutton for punishment that I am decided that an afternoon ride in the heat of the day would be a wonderful way to push myself and work out all of the lactic acid that was building up in my legs. Sometimes I am not too smart, but it was just supposed to be a nice easy pace hill ride. Well, being competitive I some how managed to turn it into something a little more than easy. Actually, it was down right hard, and by the time I arrived back home I wasn't sure I was going to be able to stand up let alone unclip and get off my bike after we had come to a complete stop in the driveway.  Luckily both of those things happened in the proper order at the end of my ride. As I didn't end up laying on my side clipped into my pedals with small chunks of rock embedding themselves into my flesh. Yeah for that! You can read more about the ride here. As for this epic day of duel work outs I am throwing it out there in honor of those that TRIed today and hope that all of your races went well and you had a great time rockin' them. I will be joining you as a triathlete next year.

Hills... What hills? or My 1st hill training route attempt.

Hills, What hills? I don't see any hills.

Today my afternoon antsiness got the better of me. I had already done 11 miles for my long training run, but somehow I didn't feel like I was done. So, after we got the boys down for their rest time I decided that it would be a great idea to go for a ride.  I guess in the grand scheme of things it actually is a good idea to be active after your long runs, but I am pretty sure that this is not what they mean by keep active.

I was just heading out for a slow take it easy kind of recovery ride, but somewhere in the first mile that all changed. My competitive side kicked in and took full control of my ride. I guess it was reading all of the tweets and posts of all the people doing tri's today. I kinda wished that I was competing today too. Well this leisurely ride I had set out to do quickly turned into this hill ride that my uncle Scot was telling me was the best hill training ride in our neck of the woods.  I think that I cut it off short because he said it was about 15 miles and my route only ended up being 11. That is okay by my because this route was no joke, and about did me in as it was. 

I probably shouldn't have even attempted this with it being the hottest part of the day and having no water with me, but I felt well hydrated and had just eaten not to long ago so I was plenty fueled for the ride. It all started off pretty good, then the hills started, and not your ordinary average hills either. My first challenge I was prepared for as I have ridden past and driven up it many times.  I mis-judged my gearing, but managed to make it up at a pretty good pace. I thought that this particular hill would be my biggest challenge and the rest would be kind of rolling.  Boy was I ever WRONG. I had no idea what was in store for me on the rest of this hill training ride, but I was to find out soon. My next surprise came in the form of  a huge down hill section of road. So huge in fact that I broke the speed limit by almost ten miles an hour with a top speed of 44.3 MPH. About half way down I had the pleasure of being hit by a big freakin' bug right in my shoulder. YIKES! That freakin hurt, and I think that it was stuck to my shirt too. In fact it almost made me lose control as I am pretty new to the being hit with big bugs a high speeds kinda thing.  I held it together well enough to focus on the next vicious hill and clear it relatively well. Next was the turn around and right back in to another hill and the monster one that I had just came down. I thought that I was going to be able to stay on my bike and clear it, but I screwed up my gear changes and had to walk my bike .14 miles to the top and start the return trip over.

The next section of road is fairly relaxed and gave me a welcome break from the massive climbs that I had just completed.  I was slightly relieved knowing that I had a huge decline coming up followed by a sharp but quick incline back to a flat which led back home.  I wasn't finished with surprises for this ride yet though. before I could reach the long decline someone tried calling me which prompted me to lose focus and swerve a bit going faster than normal. Then as I was reaching a peak downhill speed I was once again struck by a big freaking bug. This time it was in my cheek just below the rim of my glasses. All I could think was damn that hurt, and really? that didn't just happen did it.

The rest of the ride home was pretty uneventful, and went really smooth. Until I had to stop that is. Upon stopping in my driveway I got unclipped alright, but I almost crumpled under the weight of my own body and had the bike fall on me.  I regained my legs and averted the catastrophe. All in all I feel that it was a pretty productive ride and look forward to the rematch.

Ride Stats:

Total Time: 46:14
Avg. Speed : 14.32
Top Speed: 44.2mph
Total Distance: 11.04
Total Climb: 904ft (I think it might be more my GPS has been funny)

July Recap

I haven't posted a recap of anything lately, with the exception of a few races. I thought that now would be a good time to start a new post tradition on this here blog, and do a workout recap for July.

July was definitely a busy month for me. I really got into my riding back and forth to work, I pulled the trigger on the 50K in December, and got serious about finding a triathlon for next year.  I also ran my longest run to date as I continue to train for my first marathon which is just 52 short days away. All I can say about my training this month is that it has been hot, hard, and plentiful. I broke a bunch of training PR's like longest run duration, furthest distance, longest total duration, most calories burned, highest elevation, and that goes for both my running and cycling this month. It has been totally crazy, and not just because of the time put in but it never ceases to amaze me that I can fit it all in. What a great feeling knowing that no matter what it is that you want you can always find a way to get it done.  That last statement pretty much sums up July for me.

Random after run morning sky.

Riding stats:
156.8 miles/ 11:10:21 total time
Running stat:
94.4 miles/ 14:23:58 total time

A post about my new bike.

A special package came this past Thursday, one that I had been waiting for since Saturday when I ordered it.

Bike in a box.

My new ride has arrived!  This is the one that will be carrying me through my first triathlon, and hopefully beyond.  There is just one problem, it needs put together, set up, and adjusted. It is not that I am not capable, I am very capable. It is just that I know pretty much nothing about bikes. How they are setup, how to adjust them, how the individual parts are supposed to operate.

Enter my super bike wizard uncle Scot. My uncle has been riding most of his life and most definitely knows how to build, fix, adjust, and ride a bike. He is quite literally a cycling encyclopedia.  So lucky am I to have such a great resource available to me. He was instrumental to me getting the best bike for me and the money I had available, and was elated when he offered to help assemble it with me. He has all of the right tools to make the job easier. So this past Saturday I headed down to Scot's house to get the assembly on, and I am glad he was helping.

In progress.

As you can see by the picture there was a fair deal of work to be done and adjustments to be made.  All in all the assembly went very smooth and I learned a great deal about my new bike and cycling in general. We, well mostly Scot had the bike together in about an hour or so, and soon enough all that was left to do was take it for a test ride.  Well that and for me to learn real quick how to ride a bike with clipless pedals and real bike shoes. Actually a quite scary proposition for me, I don't like feeling like I don't have a way out.  After a quick test ride in regular shoes I was ready to try out the new shoes with the pedals. Now to say that I had a few issues getting in the first pedal would be an understatement. I felt like such a noob, but after I got the first one on the second one was no problem. Man did this bike ride so smooth, it was all of the things my old bike wasn't. It was quite, shifted smoothly, stayed in gear, and felt down right easy to pedal even on some moderate hills. I can not be a more happy boy right now.

New bike and shoes.

A big shout of THANKS again to my uncle Scot for making the transition to and building of my new cycle smooth and enjoyable.

WHAT!? Did you just say you saw BIGFOOT!

Well it is official. On December 4 at 7:30 in the morning I will embark on a goal finishing quest and become an ultra-runner.  As of right now myself and 44 others will be braving the cool winter weather to race, meet new people, and enjoy the sights and sounds of the Salt Fork State Park in Lore City.

I have been planning to run an Ultra since late last year, and this is one of the races I found while doing some research on Ultra races in Ohio.  There really aren't that many, and there are definitely none less than a 45 minute drive away. I ultimately ended up choosing this one because there is on site lodging, the race has been around while, and I enjoy running in the winter. Besides there will be finisher medals, and a few other niceties that I thought would make for a better first time experience.

Until race day I won't have much more to write about, but this is a good introduction.

The new longest run to date.

A few days ago I set out to complete my long training that I scrapped on Sunday in favor of a shorter 7 mile run due to my legs still being ran out from the brick the day before. As luck would have it I got another chance to go for my long miles two days later on Tuesday. I have been wanting to try a loop style run to simulate the water stops that I will be taking during the marathon. On the start, I felt pretty good and the morning was cool my legs were feeling good too.

My plan for the run was to loop back a 2 miles and then after miles 6 or 8. After the stop at 2 my legs felt funny and it took a couple miles to get my rhythm back. I didn't make the 6 or 8 mile break. I decided to see how far I could make it and pushed on until I got to around 12 miles. This time starting back on the run to finish the mile or so to make my 13+ that I was wanting and, my legs didn't need any time to adjust. By now I had a pretty good idea of how my body was going to react to being pushed farther than I have before. I know that I must figure out a way to get some bodyglide somewhere around the halfway mark. I also know that I will need to change my  plan for staying hydrated, and am going to need to rely on my Injinji's to keep my toes comfortable for the distance.

Now that I have had a few days to reflect on the run and my body has stopped griping at me for not exercising as much as I should have in the days following. It was a good litmus test to see exactly where I am in my training and reassure myself that I can do this. Can't wait to push it to 16 next week.

My first Triathlon sprint distance brick

Today I set out to do something I have never done before.  The challenge I laid out before myself was to do a true brick workout, complete with realistic triathlon distances.  I chose to use the sprint distance.  For those of you who don't know, a sprint distance triathlon consists of a 750M swim, 20K bike, and 5K run. That converts to approximately a .5MI swim, 12.4MI bike, and 3.1MI run. Those all seem like pretty reasonable distances to strive for as a beginner.

Today's workout was to consist of a 12 mile bike ride followed directly by a 3.1 mile run. It was also to include a shoe change before embarking on the run portion. I have done workouts in the past that were opposite of this, but never have done one in the correct order. The goal was to complete 2/3 of a triathlon to see if I would be able to do it. I had no doubts about my fitness or endurance, but was concerned about how my body would handle the stress of going directly from one activity to the other.  As it turns out it did very well.  Here is a brief recap.

It was a dark and stormy morning, no, really, it was. We had a huge storm system run through this morning and I had to wait till it passed. I checked the weather one last time, it looked as thought the storm was going to skirt around us and I would be good to go.  As I start out the sky lightens and a cool breeze helps distract from the dampness from the rain that had ended a short while earlier.  Everything was going well until the return trip.  I had just passed the 8 mile mark when I noticed random lightning in the distance. I still thought that I would be okay and that the storm was just going to pass by. I was wrong, the lightning got closer, and the sky opened and dropped rain in torrent making the roads into mini white water rivers. I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me. Rain hurts when you are going pretty fast and have minimal protection.  I am glad that the storm was a quick and violent one because I really wanted to get my run in too. By the time that I had covered the last 2 miles home the storm had cleared and the sun was trying to do its thing.  Getting off my bike I hurried through the door to put it away and get ready to for my transition.

After round tripping a flight of steps for dry socks I was out of my wet foot gear and into the dry.  I think that it went pretty good considering that I have never done it before. I will need some practice to make it smooth, and to quickly get my legs adjusted to walking and ultimately running.  So, out the door I went and off for my run. I felt strange running so quickly after riding and was having a little trouble adjusting to the muscle fatigue. All of that adjustment to a new activity went away by the time I finished the first mile, and the rest just seemed to cruise on by. I even had enough left for a pretty decent kick to finish it off. 

Overall I would have to say that this has given me the answers I was looking for as to weather or not I would like doing tri's or not. I feel that as long as I can get some pool time I will have no issue with rocking some next year or maybe this year if I can find a reasonable one at the end of the season.

Workout totals:

Cycle stats:
11.87mi \ 48:36 \ 14.66 avg speed (the GPS lied, told me I had done 12.04mi before I adjusted to match my route.)

Transition stats:
3:00min.\ includes putting bike away, resetting app to record run, changing sock and shoes.

Run stats:
3.42mi \ 29:32 \ 8:37 avg pace.

HOLY HELL, I only have 69 days till 26.2

Yep, that is right, there are only 69 more days until I become a marathoner. Owner of the right to wear the 26.2 badge of pride. I can't believe that this is all I have left, I don't feel ready. I know that I am capable, but feel very up against a wall.  I have been dealing with a slew of injuries the past two months and have just gotten them turned around and am starting to feel stronger with each run.  As I have been reading those that I follow race reports from their own marathons and the great success that they have had. It is all making me a little bit nervous. Especially since I have not put in the miles that I should have been putting in.   I am getting back on track and I have had a few things go my way as far a training is concerned. The first thing that I did was I went to see a sports Dr., and he helped me diagnose what the causes of my injury cycle were. I have been working to correct and strengthen the weak muscles causing the issues. Second, I started to cross-train by riding my bike to and from work at least three times a week and trying to get out for a long ride on the weekends. This had greatly improved my running in both time and endurance. The third thing that I have been doing is pushing myself beyond what is comfortable, and taking a slower more comfortable approach to my long runs at the same time.  I had been neglecting my nutrition and doing other detrimental things to my body. I did have a few confidence boosters along the way, like PR'ing the most recent 5k and then busting out an 8 miler the day after.  Followed the next weekend with a 3.5 mi. run and 15 mi. of biking Saturday and a 10.5 mi. run on Sunday. Both of these were great confidence boosters, and now I feel I am on the right track. However, I  feel a little bit under the wire to get to where I need to be for race day.   Race day may be coming up fast, but I will be ready.

I love going LONG!!!

Sun and fog rising off the lake.

Oh how I have missed you! The sweet feeling of the burn as I push myself to the limit. The smell of the fresh morning air as I run past farmland and along foliage covered bike paths. How I have missed the serenity of the world just waking.

Sure, I run most mornings before the world is awake, but it is nothing like my long runs on Sunday. For some reason everything feels different and new when I head out for my long training run. Today's run was no different, and as I was running through the fog covered valleys and watched as the fog hovered just above my head as to make clear path for me on the trail I was running. I felt lucky to be alive and thankful for the ability to be able to enjoy my world in this manner. A year ago I would have scoffed at anyone who was doing what I am doing now, but now I can't imagine my Sunday starting any other way.

In fact, I look forward to my long runs every week, and am sad when they are over. Often I am a little jealous of those who get to run in wonderfully wooded and scenic areas of the world. Thinking to myself that it would be awesome to run someplace like that, but then I go for my long run and realize that the things I see on my run are equally beautiful as those seen in others pictures. I don't know what it is about long runs that make them so enjoyable, but I am glad that they are.

Run Stats:
10.54 miles
1:35:35 / 9:04 avg pace

Ashland Balloonfest 5K race report.

What can I say, today seemed like a good day for a race. Good thing since I was racing today. I know it seems like I race every weekend, but this is the last one until the marathon in September.  At least I think that it will be, unless a race comes along that I can't refuse.  Maybe something like a 10K or something a little bit different.  I digress though, this is my race report for the Ashland Balloonfest 5K, which went down this morning.  To start off the morning there was a pretty robust thunderstorm, which was finished by 7:00 AM. It was nice since it cooled the heat off a little and brought some nice cooling winds with it.  By 8:00 I was picking up my packet and getting everything pinned and secured in its place.

Then it was off to meet up with an old friend that I had not seen in years, he was the reason that I signed up to run this race.  We stood around and chatted while waiting for the race to start, and soon enough we were making our way to the starting area.  Where we were required to listen to the basic pre race instructions followed by some words of encouragement from miss Ohio.  Then the race starts with a bang, and I mean a really BIG bang.  They started the race with a freakin' cannon. A full fledged old school cannon, complete with massive amounts of smoke and everything. 

Kind of like this one.

What a blast!  Over the start pad and down the street we go. At the first turn some nice people were misting a garden hose for us to run through which was a refreshing treat. As I came up to the mile counter clock I was surprised to see that I had just done a 6:30 mile. Immediately I was both elated and scared. I felt strong, and didn't feel any signs of slowing.  However, the sun had come out and it was warming up. By mile two I had slowed to a 7:30 pace, and by mile 2.5 I was having doubts about finishing as a runner. The mist from the garden hose gave me hope for the finish, but that soon was replaced with doubt again. Then I passed on to the track for my lap to the finish, and I knew that I would finish. Entering the first turn on to the main part of the track we had to run past the finish.  That is all kinds of cruel, but I trudged on as what seem as an ever diminishing pace. I thought for sure that there was no way I was going to do anything better than my usual 5K time. Disappointed I was, but not defeated. Out of nowhere my body kicked into overdrive as I entered the third and final turn. I dusted those people that just passed me like they were standing still.  What happened? Where did this effortless kick come from? I don't know for sure, but I am not gonna complain.  Once I caught sight of the finish line ticker I realized that I was going to rock this race after all. I passed over the finish with a new PR.  When all was said and done I would have PR'd the race by 29 seconds.  Before I left for this race I told my wife that I was going to run this race till I puked, and that statement almost came true in between getting a couple cup of water and getting a slice of watermelon.

Post race!

 It was a good race, but the heat left me feeling a bit wonky the rest of the day.  I am happy with my performance. I knew going in that there was little chance of getting any kind of award as the top ten placers were all under 20 minutes and have been for at least the past 4 years.  Look forward to running this one again next year.

Official time -- 23:34/7:33 avg. pace

Overall -- 111/426

Age group -- 8/27