Race Planning

Over the last week, I went through and picked out the triathlons I wanted to run this summer. To push my self a little further this year, I have decided to run several Olympic distance races. It is going to be very challenging, as the Olympic distance is composed of 1 mile swim, 26 mile bike, and 6 mile run. Since I am a planner in my heart, I thought it a good idea to pick out the races so I have something to train for. The races I intend to run in chronological order are:

June 5th Sprint Triathlon at Blue Lake
June 26th Olympic Triathlon at Pacific Crest
July 10th Sprint Triathlon at Hagg Lake
August 1st Olympic Triathlon at Blue Lake (Mid Summers)
August 22nd Sprint Triathlon in Downtown Portland
Sept 11th Olympic Triathlon Dalles Oregon

I might add more as the race season starts, but these are the minimum one I plan to run.

With this list composed, training with a purpose can begin!!

Wake Up Call

Last week at lunch I went for my first run of 2010. It was quite a wake up call. I didn't realize how quickly I would lose my running stamina. Since November I have been training jiu-jitsu four days a week (unless I am out of town), so I haven't become lazy. That being said, I quickly realized that running and rolling are much different animals. It was a good realization to have in January as it leaves me five months to get back into triathlon condition. So I guess it is time to modify my training routine to get ready for the upcoming race season. Part of that will include getting back to attending the Recreate classes more often. The hard part about that change is I have really been enjoying the jiu-jitsu and going back to a more regular schedule at the gym will require some coordination and lots of exercise which is not necessarily a bad thing. It is time to get dedicated and work my but off so I can run the races I want this sumer.

Portland Marathon

Yesterday I got the opportunity to run with my friend Sean during his marathon for moral support. I met him at around mile 18 and ran two miles to where his wife and daughter were waiting to cheer him on. We then quickly got into a car and raced to the finish line six miles away, so we could cheer him on at the finish. It was really a fun day, and I am glad I “participated” in Sean’s 2nd Portland Marathon.

A few things stood out to me during the festivities.

1. There was way more people than I expected participating. There were over 8,000 runners. That is 8,000 people deciding it would be fun to run 26.2 miles.

2. The atmosphere was great. Within the two miles of the course I ran with Sean there was a high school cheerleading team, a group of belly dancers, and hundreds of people cheering these runners on. I was astounded at the support for strangers from the community.

3. Running 26.2 miles really affects people in different ways. There were numerous people that were smiling at the finish and looked like they could run more, people that could barely walk away from the finish line, and people that had to be helped across the finish line. I don’t think I could ever run that distance, but it was really touching to see the runners at the finish line. One person in particular fell down within 100 yds of the finish line and couldn’t force his body to stand up. Two runners provided assistance to him, and he was able to cross the finish line being supported by what appeared to be complete strangers.

If I read the webpage correct, they are going to have a half marathon next year. If this is the case, I will definitely participate in this.

In case you are curious, Sean finished in 4:02:05 a pace of 9:14/mile finishing 2430 out of 8103. Now I really know that I slowed him down during our training runs.

Aluminmum Results

Today I ran the Aluminum Man Triathlon. Being sick, I wasn't real sure what to expect. My goal time was 1:45 and I completed it in 1:44:18. For the most part I am satisfied with my performance, but I still see room for improvement. My swim was much faster, finishing in just over 14 min (4 min faster than my previous best). The bike was just under 53 min. I am not unhappy with this time, but I feel I really can improve this time with better equipment and more ride training. The run is where this race fell apart. Getting off my bike, my lower back really stiffened up, and I really just struggled. My time was just under 33 min, a full two min slower than my previous worst. I found my self having to walk sections, to try and control the pain. This was the most uncomfortable I have been in all three of my triathlons. Another issue I had on the bike and run was medicine. Prior to the race, so I could breath during the swim, I took some sudaphed. It worked wonders for the swim, but really was not good for the bike or run. It just really dried my mouth out. I felt like I was at the dentist with gauze in my mouth I was so dry. I guess next time I will suffer with the swim, so I can not be so dried out for the rest. A better option would be to not get sick two days before a race.

Not only did I meet my goal with the Triathlon today, but Michigan beat Notre Dame. This makes me happy! It is funny, because friend Brad was talking a lot of trash last weekend, and Now he won't field my phone calls. He can only avoid me for so long.

I get to fly my Bengals flag tomorrow. Adrienne told me I could fly it on game day. That will be fun.

Triathlon Goals

Tomorrow is my third sprint triathlon for the season. I ran my self down traveling and now I have a head cold. I am not sure how tomorrow will go, but I thought I would post my goals. Hopefully I get in the zone and perform really well. My goals for this race are to continue to improve over my pace from the Portland Tri. I would like to see the following times: Swim 18 min, Bike 48 min, Run 29 min. This would give me a total time of approx 1:45. If I can hit this I will be satisfied. I will post the results tomorrow after they are posted online.

Weekend Getaway

This past weekend was my man weekend getaway to Michigan. This year marked the 8th year that Scott, Jeff and I have made a trip to the Big House to watch Michigan play. It is for me the one big “guys” trip I take every year. Now that I am out on the west coast, it is a much bigger trip, which makes it that much more fun. Michigan won on opening weekend, and the world somehow feels normal again.

This trip also combines to be a trip home to see family and friends in Toledo. My parents were not in town for the weekend, but we did get to spend a couple of hours together in the Detroit airport as they were on their way to London. I stayed with my sister all four nights, and other than the train noise in the morning, slept well. It is interesting how the sounds that you are around all the time become less obtrusive. The post office by my apartment is like that. When I first moved in I heard it every night, but now I don’t even notice it. The trains are that way for them. On my last morning I cooked crepes for my nephew before he had to go to school. I think he liked it, and I do enjoy cooking breakfast, so it was a win win.

I have the triathlon coming this weekend. I am somewhat regretting signing up now, as I had a very lazy and gluttonous eating weekend. I had good intentions, and I had planned to go running but didn’t i never made it out. I am not expecting good results going in, so it will be interesting. I am going to get a couple of light workouts in this week leading up to Saturday’s race, but I don’t think I will really push hard until race day. With this distance matching Hagg Lake, Hopefully I can beat that time.

My friends Sean and Melissa got married this past weekend, and I thought I would take a moment to wish them the best.

Aluminum Man

I finally decided to sign up and compete in the Aluminum Man Sprint Triathlon. The race is Sept 12th, in the Dalles, OR. It looks like it will be a really fun course with some great scenery. Adrienne and I are going to make a trip out of it and spend that night in Hood River. I will post results after the race.

Last night at the gym we did a 5 sets for each partner each set was 200m row- 20-24K swing-run a lap partner workout. I was partnered with Eric and we finished in 20:13. I am not sure why, but I enjoy this format. It is one of the workouts where I can really push myself.

Tonight we are going out for Sean's bachelor party. We thought of several options for this party, and we settled on a Taco Cart tour. It should be a fun low key night.

If you would like to see pictures from the Cupcake contest, click on the Recreate Fitness link to the right. In the blog they have pictures and a slide show.