tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39456171520650546612024-03-14T02:34:31.335-04:00Venerable Companions, Exemplary CampaignWe Tri to stay on topiccatmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.comBlogger1480125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-66779002278094846902013-09-26T08:55:00.001-04:002013-09-26T08:55:07.555-04:00Run-Run-Run
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:fixed;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:1;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know I’m still missing a couple event reports. The Tango
adventure race and the Gran Fondo. I’ll get there eventually, if for nothing
else other than keeping track. It’s just been very very busy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Following the 18 miler the other weekend, I definitely could
feel a difference in my legs. They felt strong for a few days. That is until I’d
go out for my run. Typically when I go out for a run, the first mile always
feels awful. Well following the 18 miler the first 3 miles of each of the 5
mile runs felt like that. I suppose the good news is that it felt right before
the end of the run.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The following weekend I went out for my long run on Saturday
but only ran 10 miles. I’m fairly certain that capped my longest run week ever,
43 miles in 7 days. I did next to nothing the rest of Saturday and Sunday which
was something I haven’t done in a long time. Part of me was stir crazy, part of
me was loving it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The weather has been incredible. I think that is playing a
part in how well my training is going. Or maybe it’s the camelbak keeping my
better hydrated. Either way I’m loving it. I’m sure it plays a part in keeping
my HR low. Last night was my 3<sup>rd</sup> run of the week. 6/9/6. I actually
picked up a Coke on my way home from work to wake me up a bit (I rarely drink
soda). I figured without it I was going to have trouble getting myself out the
door for this run. When I finished I looked at my garmin. 8:38 min/mile (not a
big deal). Avg HR 156 (I think that might be the bigger deal). I seem to
remember trying to run slowly enough to stay under ??? during the Mark Allen
Training. I can’t believe I don’t even remember my HR zones, nor can I find any
reasonable comparisons here on the blog. Anyhow, 156HR avg at 8:38 avg pace
dragging my 190+ self around right now sounds pretty solid. When I stop and
think about it, I really haven’t done much this year that required me to be in
higher zones. If I’m smart I’ll do something with this base once the marathon
is over.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This weekend will hopefully be a 20 mile training run. (may
be less, may be more). I’m going to try and simulate race day a bit. I’m going
to plan/track my Friday eating and pre run nutrition. I also plan to use all
the gear I’ll use on race day. So Genine’s number belt because it can hold
something like 9 GUs. I’m going to take my palm bottle because I’ll need to
either simulate Gatorade stations, or decide that I don’t mind carrying it and
I’ll add that to my race day gear. I’m really trying to up my hydration.
Hopefully if I remember, I’ll weigh myself before and after my run this weekend
and keep track of how much fluid I go through.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mentally I’m feeling good about the run this weekend. I
really want it to go at least as well as the 18 miler and I’d be thrilled if it
goes better than that. I still don’t have any visions of running a surprisingly
fast marathon. I’m just starting to feel excited that I may have finally
trained myself well enough to complete the marathon. But now I’m getting ahead
of myself There are still many miles to be run before that happens. </div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-56930402588688754262013-09-22T15:18:00.000-04:002013-09-22T15:18:25.407-04:00NYRR 18 Mile Marathon Tune Up 2013
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:fixed;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:fixed;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wow, time flies when you’ve got a 70.3 Triathlon, a 107 mile
very hilly bike and an 18 mile run all in a 22 day span. The first two events
didn’t concern me so much as the 3<sup>rd</sup>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A couple days after the 107
mile bike, I went out for a 5 mile run. I knew going into it that my right foot
was feeling odd. I figured I’d stop if anything was painful. The run went well.
The next morning, I couldn’t step on my right foot without it hurting…. That is
not good. The 18 mile run was starting to look questionable and of course I
couldn’t help but become concerned about my marathon. This is the window of
time where you really get into the big runs that give you the endurance and
confidence to run 26.2. What to do??</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After work on Wednesday, I iced my foot for 10 minutes. Let
it warm up (20 min maybe). Then iced it again for 10 minutes. I think I did
this about 6 times. And I slept with the “boot” on. (holds your foot in a
stretch all night). The next day it was better. I wasn’t limping as much. I got
a massage. He only worked on that calf and foot for 60 minutes. Then I iced it
when I got home. Friday it was even better but I really didn’t want to risk
running on it. Same deal on Saturday, so Saturday we got our road bikes out. I
was riding around the parking lot when I realized the saddle was about an inch
and a half too low. It must have slipped at some point during the 107 mile
ride! I even commented to someone about how my knees were really moving oddly
towards the end of the ride. I think this is the source of my foot problem. I
have no idea how long it was like this, but the result would be that I was
pushing down on the pedals at a pretty strange angle. Seeing how my garmin read
over 27,000 pedal strokes for the ride, I think an over use injury from this
makes sense. Not to say that running couldn’t contribute. It’s just that I
haven’t run that much. (Relatively speaking).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Race Day: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sunday morning was another 4AM wakeup to get us into the
city just after 6AM to pickup our numbers. Todd was looking to run fast, so he
wanted to do a warm up run. I didn’t dare to. 18 miles was going to be long
enough. My longest run all summer has been 14 miles at the beginning of August.
This was going to be a challenge.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I started out feeling rather poorly. The course has you
running the hills of Central Park right away. I wasn’t in a hurry. I just hoped
things would settle in once I’ve got a few miles behind me. My garmin instant
pace is useless, I had to wait for the mile splits to find out what my pace
was. My HR had me thinking that I was pushing way too hard, but it was just the
hills and not having done a warm up. I was rolling along somewhere near a 9:15
pace. I figured it was probably a touch too fast but I just kept rolling with
it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By the 6 mile mark, you kind of get settled into a pack.
Everyone is close to the same pace with some random fast people that may have
started late rolling through. You then start to notice the people that haven’t
run hills in their training. (I’m kind of middle of the pack there myself).
Around mile 9, the leader of the race goes rolling through having completed 15
miles to your 9. That’s always impressive to me. I wish it inspired me in some
way that gave me more energy but that’s not the case.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mile 12 heading back into the hills for a 3<sup>rd</sup>
time, as I’ve said you are kind of in your group but I may have overstated
being a middle of the pack hill runner. It turns out that I pushed pretty hard
through those hills and held my pace even with the previous laps. Unfortunately,
it may have been a bit too much. When I reached mile 15 I felt everything start
to get tight/short. Fortunately it did not feel like I was going to cramp up. I
just lost my ability to extend. So my pace went from 9:15ish to 9:45-10 from
that point onward. This is not terribly surprising. I haven’t trained for this
distance. This IS the training run. So finishing in 2:48:46 at a 9:23 average
pace is a great starting point for my Marathon training. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve still got some things to figure out before race day.
I’m wondering if I need to hydrate more and if I do will my legs cooperate with
me for another few miles? Every mile is going to matter. Tight legs at 15,
means 11 miles on tight legs at the marathon. I know I’m going to suffer a bit
out there, but I’d prefer not to suffer for a full 2 hours!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m also uncertain about my nutrition. In the past, I felt
that my stomach handled anything without much of an issue. Now I’m finding
myself with a bad stomach during some of the longer runs. Fortunately I have
time to work on this but the Marathon will be here before I know it!</div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-59338885942364922932013-08-31T14:27:00.000-04:002013-08-31T14:35:17.805-04:00Rev 3 Maine Matt's Race Report<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:fixed;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:1;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
</style>
When we were going to arrive for this race wasn’t
determined until a couple days before we actually left. Both of us had things
we needed to take care of at work before leaving, because we are going to go
for longer than just the weekend.
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the way up Friday, we stopped at my brother’s house. We
had a nice visit, stayed the night, then we got out the door early with plans
of a practice swim at OOB. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Genine hadn’t been feeling well so when we got there and saw
that the ocean was very, very calm, we decided the practice swim wasn’t going
to be necessary. We familiarized ourselves with the layout of race. Picked up
our race numbers. I worked on the rear brake of my bike for awhile. (it’s been
sticking). Then checked our bikes in and headed for our hotel, which was up in
Portland. (about 20 min away).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next we headed into town, Old Port part of Portland. It was
very nice. We found a pub for lunch then walked around a good bit. Genine didn’t
get enough time here. She really likes Portland.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not really knowing how parking and such was going to go. We
defaulted to our normal, get up way too early (3AM) drive down to the race site
park and sleep in the car until transition opens. (Genine can never fall back
asleep, so it’s not a great plan). Parking certainly didn’t become an issue
either. If we do the race again, we won’t be in a hurry to get there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is only my 2<sup>nd</sup> triathlon of the season and
it would seem that I didn’t have my race morning very well prepared. After I
set up my transition, we went back to the car. We figured we’d finish preparing
there and walk to the start, carrying our wetsuits. Then I realized I still had
my car key, so I had to set the car to lock, then go back to transition and
leave the key there. Now suddenly I’m feeling a bit more rushed. I didn’t eat
much of a breakfast because we didn’t have a kitchen and nothing else really
sounded that good. Not a great start for a half iron. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Swim:</b> Ate a pack
of Shot Blocks 15 or so minutes before my start. Going into the swim hoping
that I’ll be able to find some feet again and get pulled around the course.
That happened for maybe 20% of the swim. The water is cold about 60 degrees. I
definitely got the face freeze/ ice cream headache at the beginning. I felt
that I swam a really good line the entire time. Which was good, this was a
smaller race so it wasn’t a matter of just staying within the pod. There was
plenty of open water for you to swim in. It did require me to sight more
frequently.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I reached the timing mat in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">41:33</b> which is a time that would have upset me a couple of years
ago. I just haven’t been swimming much so I can’t be upset with it. My Garmin
measured the swim as 1.4 miles. I have no idea how accurate that is as I’ve not
done enough measured open water swims to know.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">T1</b>: This is a
long jog to transition but really not much longer than Mont Tremblant. I’ve got
.46 miles but I made a pit stop that most people didn’t do. During T1 I went
from 42<sup>nd</sup> in my division to 52<sup>nd</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall 60 people passed me in T1… Ah well.
Obviously if I was feeling competitive I wouldn’t have made the stop.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">8:50</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFtmLWsRpokWd4YtRvzqY-FM2B9L9LJyuZF0QwNc2Ib9WNCCxo7mrxBoC3i8SczmL7yFmq_clgWEurOY3pxPg8B2_-gfWTqeVQBrPPtwpxJrs9biRSiBrow7peVcbFe0goEfeYPizGZuv/s1600/Matt's+Swim+Map.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFtmLWsRpokWd4YtRvzqY-FM2B9L9LJyuZF0QwNc2Ib9WNCCxo7mrxBoC3i8SczmL7yFmq_clgWEurOY3pxPg8B2_-gfWTqeVQBrPPtwpxJrs9biRSiBrow7peVcbFe0goEfeYPizGZuv/s320/Matt's+Swim+Map.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bike:</b> I’ve done a
bunch of riding this summer, I’m going into this hopeful that I might break
20mph over the 56 miles. Of course this is because I went into this thinking
that there was only 800ft of elevation gain. (my garmin shows 1800-1900). I did
know most of the climbing would be in the first half of the ride and nothing
was going to be terribly steep. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is my 2<sup>nd</sup> race with a power meter. To be
honest, I haven’t done any true testing to know exactly where I should be in
terms of power. I’ve just been looking at all numbers after my rides and
evaluating how they felt. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the first half of the ride, I found myself in familiar
spot. I would only be passing people on flats and down hills. They would pass
me on the climbs. I went back and forth with 2 people enough times that it was
somewhat comical.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Around mile 30 I see a biker laying in the road up ahead not
moving. There were a couple people already taking the bike off the road and
motorists pulled over on the opposite side of the road. The person was not
moving. It really creeped me out and put a pit into my stomach. I have no idea
what happened but it took some time to shake that off. We do this for fun. That
looked like the opposite of fun.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then I realized we reached the point in the course where
gravity was going to be in my favor and I was feeling strong, so I started
pushing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xmjeAQwoMDB1-lGmnVcW_To-mII7IT61hFwyncvQorzgonUhL8qq6YHGv6yyNPRzW4kHwUl2yUCxwxWd3L12y6lsfA0uce4p3kZKBXfVZJc6Mr3rI81iYG-bIzDYAkyk2MQTzsnYGhrA/s1600/Bike+Course+Elevation.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xmjeAQwoMDB1-lGmnVcW_To-mII7IT61hFwyncvQorzgonUhL8qq6YHGv6yyNPRzW4kHwUl2yUCxwxWd3L12y6lsfA0uce4p3kZKBXfVZJc6Mr3rI81iYG-bIzDYAkyk2MQTzsnYGhrA/s320/Bike+Course+Elevation.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
My HR was well above my typical training rate, so that gave
me reason to be a little concerned. My legs felt great tho’, so I figured I’ve
got to keep at it. It was really enjoyable. Not that I was passing many people,
it was just really fun to dig in and actually ride fast for a good long while.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I finished the course in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2:45:49</b>. Which you would think means I hit my first goal of the day
as that would be 20.26mph average. Unfortunately, my garmins measured the
course at 54.25 miles. Which drops me in to the 19.7mph range. I’ve posted on
some forums to see if my measurement was correct. That’s still a good rate tho
and certainly a PR for that distance. What’s funny is I don’t have total ride
time showing on my garmin screen, so I had no idea what my time was until after
the race.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other metrics to note.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">AVG HR 150. Mont
Tremblant was 148</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">AVG Power was 46W
higher than Mont Tremblant.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ride started at 52
degrees and finished at 72 degrees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(garmin temp) Mont Tremblant was 62 the entire ride.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I moved up 4 spots in
my division, 39 places overall.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">T2: 2:50 Lost 1 spot
in my division.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Run: </b>Heading out
of transition, I was certainly glad for the very flat start. I knew there would
be a short climb ahead but was hopeful that the legs would be in run mode by
the time I got there. I also started to think about the 2 hour run goal. I have
no idea why I thought that was possible. I ran a 2:09:00 at Timberman back in
2009 and I was about 25 pounds lighter for that race. I guess I was thinking, I’m
running and biking much more than I did then. This should be possible. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thank goodness I don’t get sympathy cramps. Once we hit the
incline, there were a number of people that went cruising by me, only to pull
up quickly because of leg cramps. I was thankful that at the moment, I was
feeling good. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once I reached the Eastern Trail I just settled into a groove.
I watched several of the bikers that I had been trading places with me early on
the ride pass me by. I wasn’t surprised. I was glad to have held them off as
long as I did.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had my EFS gel and was taking water at the water stops. I
stopped to walk the aid stations to make sure I got all the water down and one
over my head to keep cool. I was feeling pretty good.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the turnaround, I had someone ahead of me that would
start running away from me just as I caught up to them. Then they would walk
and just as I would catch up, they would start running again. After doing this
about 3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>times, he decided that he would
just run along with me at my pace. Which was fantastic because we just chatted
our way along through what would have been the toughest part of the run. It
took my mind off of the task at hand and before I knew it we were back on the
pavement heading back to transition. There was one little hill where I tried to
change my stride up and my legs sent a strong message that I shouldn’t do that,
unless I wanted to start cramping/walking. Which was disappointing because I
knew that the 2 hour run probably wasn’t going to happen. I guess I shouldn’t
have walked the aid stations either.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I got to the finish in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2:02:15.</b>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About a 9:20 pace. A 2:09:xx had been my
previous 70.3 best. So I’ll take it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Moved up 2 spots in my division.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oddly enough Overall I dropped 11 spots in the first 3 miles but then by the finish had reclaimed the 11 spots and improved by 2. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDkU2mn46dTioc3s6uhkevDXKytxGsIpVhA44l5E7NlBOcIgpxYOBp3FSCzm4yJgER8pI4mWUUTS5DcmGKD6mS8zlGHEo-v5z2IOCSgz3mH0bbEs1KUeDVtfhK6zAaDmMsoBYqoZD_-ucA/s1600/HR+Run+course.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDkU2mn46dTioc3s6uhkevDXKytxGsIpVhA44l5E7NlBOcIgpxYOBp3FSCzm4yJgER8pI4mWUUTS5DcmGKD6mS8zlGHEo-v5z2IOCSgz3mH0bbEs1KUeDVtfhK6zAaDmMsoBYqoZD_-ucA/s320/HR+Run+course.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Curious about my HR chart here. My pace didn't pick up. I always wonder if this is a hydration issue. I was very tempted to use my camelback at this race. I seem to require a ton of fluid. Maybe I should have used it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Total Time 5:41:17</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Previous best 5:55:45.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll take that too. (although I’m curious about
the 1.75 mile bike deficit, that could be an extra 5 minutes added on)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was a great race to finish my triathlon season. It left
me feeling good about my current strength and fitness, even tho I’m at my
heaviest weight since 2007. Obviously, I need to get my eating back under
control. I’d like to get into next season with this level of fitness without
the extra weight to carry around. I can’t help but think about getting back
into swim shape as well. I’m giving up 7-10 minutes during the swim, which used
to be my strongest event and the one I looked forward to doing the most.
Recently, I’ve just been getting through the swim, which is boring.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next up is the NJ Gran Fondo. 107 miles and 8000+ feet of climbing.
Hopefully the legs recover in time.</div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-90338276704344933132013-07-07T18:04:00.003-04:002013-07-07T18:04:47.745-04:00Humid Hot HR
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:fixed;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:1;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rainy, warm and very humid to Very Very hot and the humidity
just makes things worse.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I mention the weather because since I’ve been wearing my HR
monitor/ GPS I got a very good look at just how crazy my HR gets when it’s hot
and/or humid. Tuesday I decide I’m going to run 4 miles and push the pace. I
feel like I’ve been running slow forever and that isn’t ever going to make me
faster. So I went out with quick in mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Which went fairly well until about mile 3. At that point I decided I’d
better slow it down and not do too much too fast. Looking at my HR it was
hanging out in the 170s even as I dropped the pace to the 8:30s. When I got
back to the house, it looked like it was going to rain big. So I took out the
ladder real quick to clear out the gutters on the house. 10 minutes later, my
HR is still over 100. Alright, I get it. I need to get into the air conditioning
and get some cold water in me. Once I was inside, my HR dropped fairly quickly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We biked on the 4<sup>th</sup> for about 27 miles or so. Fun
ride. Nice to get out in the morning and have it done and over so we could
spend the rest of the day visiting friends.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Saturday early wake up call to try and beat the heat. Didn’t
really work. It was hot but it got much hotter so I suppose it worked but it
still wasn’t pleasant. Ran 12.5 miles with Todd from his house. Again towards
the end, the HR was up in the 170s and wasn’t going to go down easily if I was “running”
at all. Fortunately, at the end of the run there was a nice cold swimming pool.
It still took several minutes to get below 100. Crazy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I suppose this could be hydration as well as cooling. I’ve
got a lot of running planned this summer. So I’ll have time to work on this. My
first attempt is buying a Camelbak Marathoner vest. Todd has been using a pack
and one key thing is that even 90 minutes in his water is still cold. That is
not the case with my palm bottle or belt. Not to mention it carries a lot more
water. I figure it’s worth a shot.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sunday: up early again to try to knock out a 50 mile bike
with just over 4000ft of climbing. I was going to take my road bike out but it
was so hot yesterday, I never got around to moving the power cranks to my road
bike. I’m interested to see the numbers from this, so I took the tri bike
instead. (I was also concerned about not having aero position to “rest” on, I
know, weak).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well for whatever reason, on one of our stops. I stopped the
timer… and then didn’t turn it back on for awhile. So that kind of defeated the
purpose of riding the tri bike with power today. Ah well. The good news is that
even on a really hot day. (where we stopped and asked a woman watering her
flowers if she would fill our bike bottles from the hose). We got nearly 50
miles in. Hopefully we can continue to find time to ride long and keep
challenging ourselves. Hopefully results will follow!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Still haven’t been to the pool. Genine went and did a mile
Ocean Swim with Ed on Saturday morning. And while waiting to start turned
around to find that Bob was there as well! (of course). Genine found it
challenging to deal with the waves at first but got it figured out and got it
done. I should have gone as well but decided that having someone to run with
for 12+ miles was the better plan for me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now to register for the Tango before the prices go up!</div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-62670110583400655782013-07-01T19:44:00.001-04:002013-07-01T19:44:15.622-04:00Back to work.
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:fixed;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:1;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
mso-themecolor:hyperlink;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink;
text-decoration:underline;
text-underline:single;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Following the Mont Tremblant 70.3 last weekend. My calves
were my biggest problem. I was being very careful to make sure not to do a
workout that could possibly injure them. My range of motion was awful. By
Tuesday, I was really wanting to do some sort of workout, so I decided doing
some core work should be alright. Dropped Ab Ripper into the DVD player and did
that to the best of my ability. (wasn’t great, wasn’t awful). Then I did some
planks after that. Good enough for now, leave it at that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next day my hip flexors were feeling the Ab Ripper. Makes
sense, I haven’t been doing that on a regular basis. My calves were getting
better but were still sore. I got on the bike trainer and did about 30 minutes
of very easy spinning. Got the legs moving and the blood pumping through them
to get the junk out. After that some stretching of the legs and core.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thursday oddly enough my core felt even worse than the day
before. Again, mostly hip flexors. The calves were feeling alright tho’ so
taking some of my numbers from my power meter, I decided to hop on the trainer.
I decided to try a spinervals workout with intervals where I was trying to hold
a certain power value no matter what the gearing and interval. I think I may
have picked something a bit too high but I managed to get through about 50
minutes. Not bad for a first attempt, I have a long way to go in learning how
to properly train with power. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Friday: I keep thinking I’ll actually wake up early and swim
and I continue to fail at this. I haven’t been able to figure out what’s going to
motivate me to get to the pool on a regular basis. It doesn’t help that I feel
that the pool is the cause of many of my illnesses, sinus or otherwise. Whether
or not that is true, I can’t say. I can say I wish the water in the pool was
more inspiring and didn’t make me feel this way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Saturday: It’s bike day. It’s humid. And it’s time to climb.
We took our Tri Bikes out today. 40 miles, <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">2,375 ft of climbing
over 40 miles and we hit one of the Fondo Hills “The Doggone Hard Hill Climb” <a href="http://ridewithgps.com/routes/868633">http://ridewithgps.com/routes/868633</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Part of me feels that I should be doing
this climb at least once every weekend until September just to get ready. We
will see if that really happens.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sunday: Up at 5AM to meet up with Todd,
drive into the city. Run 6-7 miles pre race. Then “run” the 5 mile NYRR
Achilles race. We decided to run the extra miles before the race to avoid the
heat. Well avoiding the heat was only a small part of the problem. The humidity
must have been 100%. We did one loop, 6 miles and then took a break as we lined
up for the race. I probably should have found more fluid, COLD fluid. I was
very warm and my HR just standing in the corral at the start was 100-105. I
just made a point of stopping at the first aid station and taking a couple cups
of water at that point.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The most “exciting” part of the race
was on a down hill when one of the hand cyclists started to get some serious
momentum going and there were people in front of him with headphones on that
couldn’t hear the people yelling for them to get out of the way. I started to
clap and wave wildly in their line of view to get their attention. The one
person managed to step just out of the way. The 2<sup>nd</sup> person I think
was grazed as they went by, I couldn’t tell and since they had headphones on, I
wasn’t able to ask. I’ll admit that I’m in the “no headphones” camp for any
race, but obviously this is one where it REALLY should be a rule. That could
have ended badly.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After the race, back to NJ. It seems to
rain daily now days, so mowing the lawn has been impossible. I was hoping to
bike before the rains came but decided I had better use that window on getting
caught up with the lawn. After which we loaded the road bikes onto the car and
went over to one of Genine’s friend’s house to wait out the rain. It looked
like it might not be dangerous within the hour. Sure enough, it was. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genine doesn’t think she’s been on her
road bike since getting her tri bike a couple years ago. I honestly can’t
remember the last time I’ve been on mine. Both bikes had clip on aero bars on
them for sure when we last used them. Those are removed now. I threw on a
profile design saddle we had laying around to see how that would feel. Genine
is still on the stock saddle. I’m sure that is going to have to change very
soon. We weren’t more than a few miles down the road before both of us realized
just how smooth these bikes feel compared to our tri bikes. The tri bikes only
have a carbon fork. Our road bikes have carbon fork, seat stays and seat post.
The difference was amazing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of course our pedal stroke felt completely
different as well. Genine said she felt much more powerful on the road bike
compared to the tri bike. I being pretty beat from the morning run felt slow, I
didn’t have a cadence meter on the bike but I’m fairly certain 90 rpm wasn’t happening.
Even in an easy gear I just didn’t have the energy. So I think I was mashing a
bit and I just got slower and slower over the 30 miles. (I also think I ran out
of calories).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We were both very glad to have put the
time in on the road bikes tho’. We both realized that we have to build up our
hand and arm strength to deal with riding on them again. I was changing
positions like crazy at the end because I was so tired/uncomfortable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Fortunately immediately after, Genine’s
friend made me a recovery shake and we all got to hop into her pool for a bit.
That was great. It definitely brought my core temperature down and then I was
able to sit around and feel comfortable the rest of the evening.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I grilled up some dinner when we got
home. Then I promptly fell asleep on the couch just after 9. Genine was on the phone.
She woke me up at 3AM. It seems she fell asleep in the chair right after she
was done talking. Ugh! Unglued my contacts from my eyes then went back to sleep
for a few hours in bed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As a side note, I saw some results for
Syracuse 70.3 on Monday morning. Ed’s brother in law took 2<sup>nd</sup> in the
45-49 Age group with a time of 4:47:56 which is amazing to me. Then I look to
see who beat him and it’s Doug Clark also from NJ. Doug finished in 4:28:21!!! Absolutely
incredible. Sometimes I see this and it’s truly inspiring. Other times it feels
absolutely demoralizing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes I see that the pro finished 1<sup>st</sup>
in 4:02:58 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and the first female pro came
in at 04:24:37. Even more amazing of course but the other guys are in their mid
40s and have a full time job! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anyhow, there you have it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have a great 4<sup>th</sup> everyone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matt</span></div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-72289873250684829602013-06-28T11:15:00.000-04:002013-06-28T11:15:23.466-04:00Matt's 2013 Mont Tremblant 70.3 Race Report
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Typically I’d have done 2 Olympic distance triathlons before
this race. I passed on racing Columbia this year because I just wasn’t ready.
Then of course the Newfound Lake Tri/ Mooseman had been canceled. I’d love to
say I made the most of those weekends that we didn’t travel but I had a flu of
some sort the week of Mooseman. Columbia weekend went better tho'. Genine raced
an Olympic on the Jersey Shore and I ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I guess if I had to summarize my training lately it would be
“Weekend Warrior”. Meaning I barely get any training in during the week, then
have a pretty solid weekend of workouts. Because of this, I was very careful
not to try and “cram for the test” and do too much training in the final week
or so before Mont Tremblant. Better to be Undertrained than Over, I guess.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even tho I knew I wasn’t going to be having an amazing race,
that didn’t mean that I didn’t want to manage the day the best I could for the
best possible result. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Side note. This is the first time I’m wearing my CEP calf sleeves under the wetsuit. I’m a
believer in compression so they will be on all day long.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ate an entire pack of clif blocks about 15-20 minutes before my start. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Swim: I’d be lucky if my weekly average swim total has been
4000m. I do hope that I’m swimming a better line because of the changes I have
made. I’m not planning on swimming my own line tho’, I plan on finding feet and
staying there until the 2<sup>nd</sup> turn, which is the swim back to shore. Then I hope to turn it up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was in the biggest wave of the day, so it was quite an
action packed swim start. I focused on staying very smooth and steady. I didn’t
get a warm-up swim. Any attempt at being fast early would just end badly for me.
I’m guessing 300 or 400m into it I had found some space and was no longer
hitting people on either side of me with every recovery stroke. It was then
that I started to look for feet. The water had good clarity so I spotted
someone ahead by a bit and went after them. Once I got into the draft, the
effort felt too easy and I decided to make a pass and look for faster feet.
Only, as soon as I left the draft, I really wasn’t able to pass them
convincingly. So I decided to fall back into the draft and go back to the
original plan.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the first turn buoy. I checked our line and I felt that
my feet were going a bit too far off line. So I looked to the inside and again
because of the good clarity, was able to spot some others that looked like they
would be good to follow. Keep in mind we were now encountering the weakest
swimmers from the previous waves (blockers). When I found the new draft, I was well aware
that I now had someone drafting me as well. Not a big deal. He would bump my
feet from time to time but wasn’t ever pushing them down or causing any
trouble. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By the way, my opinion of a good draft for a mid pack
swimmer is: Someone that doesn’t switch to breast stroke to sight. Someone that
doesn’t lose much speed when they sight. If they have a tight kick, I find that’s
a decent indicator they may just be a better swimmer than I am. And of course,
swimming a good line.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we reached the final turn buoy, the water temperature got
noticeably colder. Which for me was refreshing but for people without a wetsuit or perhaps
a sleeveless, I wonder if it was cold enough to matter. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So now that I’ve been
pulled around the course to this point, I was planning on leaving my draft and
make my way ahead. I did leave my draft and start looking ahead to find the
next set of feet to pass and intended to do this the rest of the way in. Only I
really don’t have the strength to do this AND the waters are getting congested
with slower swimmers from the earlier waves. I ended up finding another pack of
swimmers from my wave and swam in with them, along with the person that had been
drafting me since shortly after the first turn. When I stood up at the end of
the swim, I turned around and asked the guy how we did. He asked for the time
from my watch. I said 37ish. He said “I found good feet!” Which made me smile.
It wasn’t a great swim time for me but certainly about the time that I was
expecting. I made my way to the wetsuit strippers. My right hamstring wanted to
cramp up on me for some reason. I’ll never understand this, I don’t kick when I’m
swimming in a wetsuit! When I got over to the volunteers, I broke my rules of
choosing who is going to pull the wetsuit off. Typically I try to find a large
adult male, this backfired on me here last year so I went to 2 girls, hopeful
that they were working together. Sure enough they were a team and within
moments I was jogging to transition. My legs were still threatening to cramp on
me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Swim Time 38:07</b>
(last year <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">37:44)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(I know I left some time on the swim. My arms and shoulders
should be feeling a 1.2 mile raced swim the next day. They didn’t feel sore at
all.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">T1: </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6:55</span></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Last Year <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">6:37)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Onto the bike: Compact Crank with a 11-28 cassette. I didn’t
make time to tech my bike to be ready to ride the Hed3 Tubulars. So I’m riding
the Shimano Clinchers, probably my heaviest wheelset.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last year I pushed myself hard and my legs were cramping
badly in the last 6 miles of this ride. I’ve got to be smart this year. I’ve
recently had a Quarq Power meter installed on the bike. (less than 2 weeks ago)
I haven’t had it long enough to have any serious metrics. This ride will be the
first big step in getting the required data.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If it wasn’t for the swamp like humidity. It would have been
perfect racing conditions. Low 60s and cloudy skies. The bike starts out with a
relatively easy but long climb out of town. I got myself into humble mode early
and watched a lot of people ride by me. I forget how many waves/minutes behind
me the women were but they were already passing me in the first couple miles. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Within the first 20 miles I got very familiar with how the
ride was going to go. Flats, holding position reasonably well. Climbs, the
entire field would slowly roll past me. Significant descents I would quickly
pass many of those that slowly passed me on the climb. I think this must be “Life
in the Fat Lane” as a cyclist. The good news, unlike last year, I wasn’t being
blocked on most of my descents, so I was really getting to make the most of my
weight with a gravity assist.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My one problem was that I needed to find the aid station
with a bathroom. I had figured there would be one at the first turn around.
There wasn’t. I saw one person run up the embankment and I almost stopped
there. I figured there had to be one somewhere soon, so I kept rolling. Not
long after that, ahead of me I see a guy pull over and walk down an embankment
where there was reasonable cover from car traffic and bike traffic. I was at a
point where I definitely felt that the situation was truly slowing me down. So
I stopped. Next thing I know a motorcycle is pulling over. Ummm. Is there going
to be a time penalty for this? Then I noticed he was the bike support with the
extra wheels. He hopped the barrier for some relief as well. Ha! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back to racing, with it now being much easier to keep up
with my fluid intake. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I knew the next challenge was going to be the long climb
ahead on the highway. Last year I definitely pushed way too hard trying to keep
up. Not this time. Looking at my HR I already knew I was pushing harder than I
typically do when I’m training. The good news is that everything was still
feeling good. Upper body was comfortable in Aero, Lower Back is good because I’m
not hammering, Legs are happy because I’ve got the 28 cheater cog for the
climbs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we rolled through town I was surprised to find that they
removed a small loop with a quick steep climb at the turn around. It had
changed to a simple U-Turn on the main street of town. Next thing you know, you
are heading out of town and heading back towards transition. I hit a bit of
congestion early here which was unfortunate because it was a descent. I just
sat back and waited for it to open up. Which may have been a good call because
the official came riding through right about that time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I rolled past transition, Ed’s wife Margie spotted me and
gave a cheer. Always good to hear a cheer out on the course! Ahead of me is the big test, the 3+ miles of climbing. I felt
like I was in a much better place than last year in terms of leg fatigue. Also
knowing the course helped keep me from thinking I should put everything I’ve
got into it seeing how we’ve only got about 6 miles left. This year I only saw
one person fall over from lack of momentum. It was someone I had been seeing
on/off for the last 20 miles. They were very unhappy about it and was quite
vocal about it. (I’m not sure what she was saying, I don’t speak French). I
kept looking over at the people flying by on the down hill headed back to
transition. The fun part wasn’t far off now.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had no problem reaching the top this year. I had paced
myself well. Now to reel in as many people as I can in about 3 miles by descending
like a mad man. For me this is one of the great things about this race, a
closed bike course with really nice pavement and good sight lines ahead. I was
surprised to find that I had caught up and passed the first woman cyclist to
have passed me at the very beginning of the course. I had figured she was long
gone. I also ended up passing 2 people that were riding the same bike frame as
me in the last half mile. Kind of funny how close we were to all finishing
together. We would have looked like the Yellow Cervelo Gang. Only once on the
way down did I have to use my brakes. Someone with nobody around them had set
up shop in the middle of the road. Which eventually lead to someone passing on
the right. Which pushed him further left… But he finally got the fact that he
shouldn’t be where he was and moved over. An opportunity lost for me tho’. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My top speed according to my garmin was 48.5
mph. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bike: 3:08:46</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was well within my expectations. I was
just pleased with how my legs were feeling. Last year was so painful. This year
I felt ready to run. (Last year <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">03:02:16)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Note: My entire speedfill of gatorade endurance + one bottle of perform and 4 GUs taken in during the bike. (So about 3 bike bottles of fluid)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">T2:
3:00</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (Last Year 2:02)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Carrying a hand bottle of Gatorade with me so I can always have fluid with me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Run: I left T2 feeling pretty good about everything. To
make things even better you get to run out of transition through tons of
spectators cheering. You are high fiving kids and people are calling out your
name (it’s on the bib), you can’t not smile. Unfortunately there are still some
hills ahead that you’ve got to run over and I’ve still got to take it easy to
avoid cramping up. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think I was about a mile and a half into the run when I
caught up to Ed. I really didn’t expect this. In fact I figured he’d out swim
and out bike me and I’d be down 20+ minutes starting the run. But an early
crash and a flat on the bike changed his day. He gets the big extra points for
keeping going and finishing the race. I always question whether I would do the
same. After a quick chat I got back to running my 9:30 pace. Only they ended up
being more like 9:45’s or worse. Which I suppose is alright, because I was still
feeling good enough to bust out some dance moves at the 6 mile mark where they
were playing Rock Lobster. Which then got the volunteers dancing as well. Good
times!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then I got to see both Ed and Genine on my way back towards
the finish. I was slowing down into the 10-10:30 range but I didn’t start
cramping up until mile 11. As soon as I had to start dealing with any type of
hill I was in trouble. I doubt this is nutrition related simply a lack of
training. So once again, I got humble and just walked the inclines to save
myself from the days of pain that I had last year after the race. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The funny part is once I got
into the crowds in the village, everyone is cheering and shouting for you. But
you are running down a pretty steep downhill. So there’s plenty of impact. So
naturally as I’m running through, the cheers suddenly stop short as my
hamstring cramped up on me and I had to stop for a moment with a look of pain on my face. Ha! Immediately they
start yelling you’ve only got 200m to go!! I was laughing at the sudden change
in the crowd. Grimacing, but it was funny. Mont Tremblant definitely has one of
the best finish lines.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Run:</b> <strong><span style="font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2:12:31</span></strong> (Last
year <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">02:22:14)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Total:
06:09:19</span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> (Last Year 06:10:53)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next few days, the inside of my calves were quite
painful. It was very tough to push them into their regular extension while
stretching. I definitely should have had a massage scheduled to help with this
but didn’t. Need to plan better next time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I definitely owe Ed and Todd a thank you. Ed for getting us
to sign up for the NJ Fondo in the fall and taking us out on some challenging
training rides the last few weeks. Todd, for keeping our weekend runs at 10 or
more miles the last month or so. Both of them could go faster if they were out
there on their own. I appreciate that they drag me along.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The best thing that has come out of this race is this. It’s
completely changed my state of mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
the life of me, I have not been able to get my diet/calorie count under control
the last couple years. Jan to June this year has been the worst. Partially due
to several colds and my back going out on me several times. So I just couldn’t
string together more than a couple weeks of good training before it would fall
apart. Unfortunately, my eating follows my training. If my training is on, I
eat really well. But if I’m not training well, I don’t eat well. I know, it
makes no sense but that is the reality of it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But as I’ve said, this race has put me back on track. The
fact that I can finish a 70.3 with a really weak training plan helped remind me
that I’ve come a long way in terms of my overall fitness. Now I feel like I OWE
it to myself to get my weight back down and put a schedule together to prepare
for the Fall events. Rev3 Maine Half , Grand Fondo NJ, NYC Marathon. That is a
heavy-duty lineup in my opinion. The only way to make it more fun or easier is
to get the training in and keep my eating under control. I’m really looking
forward to all of it. I feel like I’ve been sandbagging the last couple years
and it’s time to start putting up some good numbers again. Wish me luck!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Matt</div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-30620478473871744462013-06-25T22:44:00.002-04:002013-06-26T18:02:15.939-04:00 GENINE’S 2013 IMMT 70.3 RACE REPORT<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0in;
margin-right:0in;
margin-bottom:0in;
margin-left:.5in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:2125339896;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:1592443160 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-.25in;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0in;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0in;}
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<s><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">MIND</span></s><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> HEART OVER MATTER</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">GENINE’S
2013 IMMT 70.3 RACE REPORT</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">After
falling in love with this race and the venue last year, Matt & I decided to
sign up for IMMT70.3 2013 when the online registration opened last September.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was determined to come back to this
course racing better than ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Fast forward 8 months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
yo-yo approach to diet and workouts has been running rampant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This entire past spring season has been
2 -3 weeks good eating & workout schedule followed by weeks of being off
the deep end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emotional, stress
eating, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can blame it on a
busy work schedule, or other commitments, but at the end of the day I made the
decision to have other things take priority over what I wanted most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather than beating myself up over my
current physical condition (which is my normal MO), I decided to approach this
race being thankful for the best I have to give at this moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since, after all, I can’t change the
past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s done is done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t be upset over results I didn’t
get because of the training I didn’t put in.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">We
arrived in Mt. Tremblant Friday evening after a looong 10 hour drive from NJ-
mostly due to rush hour traffic in Montreal paired with construction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ugh…<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But once we were there, all was forgotten as we settled
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We met up with Ed & Margie
for dinner later that night & then got a good night’s sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We slept in a bit on Saturday morning,
had breakfast, then met Ed for packet pick up at 10:15.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that we took a quick walk around
transition & the expo. Then it was time for a quick swim in the lake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Water was a beautiful 65 degrees and
clear. It had been steadily raining all day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By 3:00pm we decided to rack our bikes as it didn’t appear
to be letting up anytime soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
went back to the room, showered and got all of our race gear prepped for the
next morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We met Ed &
Margie for dinner at 6:00 and we were back in our room by 7:30. It was a
leisurely day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Exactly what I was
hoping for and desperately needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You see, as an early surprise (sorry guys… it’s about to get real for a
minute here.) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for the month, my
“friend” arrived earlier that morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Women – you know the 2 days out of the month where you just want to curl
up in a ball and cry because the cramps are so bad and ALL of the energy is
sucked out of your body?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yep, this
was to be my Saturday & Sunday… race day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>::sigh::<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
mind quickly switched from “just taking it easy because of my lack of training”
to “Oh my gosh… I’m really questioning <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>whether I can finish this race.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I began pumping large doses of ibuprofen into myself, had a
brief pity party and then decided I would do the best I can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s all I can do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My strategy would not change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It just involved a few more drugs!</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWevF2oOlg3OyJ1eEDeXx3Ui38Lz6u_yBUNwuvHF1wZZwHOOWZbohN9yboHUrBwXPUIqN9bkIZVkRopLMIhxrSSY4nXJm5JVjxPMo6i6WQicl4JpPl9r-UIDtu5AG5J1IFRJeo19AUVFhs/s1600/IMMT2013walking+to+transition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWevF2oOlg3OyJ1eEDeXx3Ui38Lz6u_yBUNwuvHF1wZZwHOOWZbohN9yboHUrBwXPUIqN9bkIZVkRopLMIhxrSSY4nXJm5JVjxPMo6i6WQicl4JpPl9r-UIDtu5AG5J1IFRJeo19AUVFhs/s320/IMMT2013walking+to+transition.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking to transition on race day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2TL_bmzgb76spc5H4A-RuOMysuuqt_CNcQ4N0-bg2fsqqS69ZavBa4Z86A65zasSdGrEx948W_pwewbqC5TgnHcmldQ3-dws2WfFiToCgxojS7WoCh87KeZt40fe58QH6lF3La-PGEI1F/s1600/IMMT2013villageonraceam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2TL_bmzgb76spc5H4A-RuOMysuuqt_CNcQ4N0-bg2fsqqS69ZavBa4Z86A65zasSdGrEx948W_pwewbqC5TgnHcmldQ3-dws2WfFiToCgxojS7WoCh87KeZt40fe58QH6lF3La-PGEI1F/s320/IMMT2013villageonraceam.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt Tremblant village at 6:00am race day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWVI5xe0hxFIl7qAVas19ftiAE70RWQh6OqCnWtmY4ycOmpgdi7ooctlw3J2zRcfRCO11d1I-dMkhxWo15P8fkLwbcCtHJwqAdMIrLmCpZC4CMOnwEjiUujkiauVxX4lKgbBtqsaCuBtpT/s320/IMMT2013EdMattG.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ed, Matt and me before the race start</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The
alarm went off at 4:30am Sunday and the rain had stopped. Hooray!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got up and ate my breakfast of
oatmeal with agave/craisins, slice of toast with pb&j, a banana and a cup
of tea. Oh! And a fistful of pills!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Matt & I walked down to transition, dropped of our gear & then
walked back up to our room to leave our gear bags, get our wetsuits & walk
down to swim start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Have I
mentioned how much I LOVE this race venue because of these simple
logistics?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So EASY!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We met Ed & Margie down by the
beach, chatted for a minute & then it was time for Ed’s wave to start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Matt’s was next at 7:25am, which left
me alone until my start at 7:40am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I got in the water for a brief warm-up swim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was relieved to not have my wetsuit feel like a boa constrictor
around my chest as it had the day before. For the first time in a long time, I
was afraid to start the swim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not
my normal jitters. I was SCARED.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
had no idea how my body was going to react.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of this, I lined up in the back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was the very last woman in my wave to
enter the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Buoys
were to the right and kayaks to the left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I quickly realized it was a mistake to be in the VERY back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I swam past a few people & then
stayed far left (couldn’t mentally deal with people this day), swimming easily
with slow, smooth strokes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made
my way around the course by way of zigzagging between the safety kayaks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luckily each of them was kind enough to
keep me pointed in the right direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I mean literally pointing me with their paddle in the proper direction! Ah
well… I kept catching a glimpse of my silver ring in the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It says WARRIOR on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it kept my mind focused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My swim was terribly slow but I made it
out of the water without incident.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Part One of my day complete.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZKZAsa6nnZYTyj1vTD-GcozLlPcDKquoeVAP1qBx6PHDqFBARoBdFX9ZtsEJyu1T7gwn-PxwboR6h1BzwkkjYTgFw-StdB2wgMwqRTwcCcR1Zyr4PFwivAo9jVvfXpGPYNrIaRl8thK2/s1600/warrior+ring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEZKZAsa6nnZYTyj1vTD-GcozLlPcDKquoeVAP1qBx6PHDqFBARoBdFX9ZtsEJyu1T7gwn-PxwboR6h1BzwkkjYTgFw-StdB2wgMwqRTwcCcR1Zyr4PFwivAo9jVvfXpGPYNrIaRl8thK2/s320/warrior+ring.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Warrior ring</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">After
the long path back to T1, I popped some more drugs and started out on the
bike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The start of my ride was one
of the worst feeling parts of my day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I felt as if I had ZERO energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I shifted into my easiest gears and told myself to give it time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a long ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See how it goes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just keep pedaling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All while the entire field of racers
went zooming past me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
difficult to see everyone go by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For me, the bike is the only time in a race that I feel I stand a chance
to be even a little competitive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But I stayed focused on myself and kept on going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Slow and Steady.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once I got out of the village and onto
Rt117, it was fun to see all of the pros on their way back in from that first
section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I caught myself with a
big grin on my face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Man, I love
to see them out there! I am always amazed at what spectacular athletes these
people are!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I got some
nutrition in me, I found a little more energy and in the final miles of the
course, I was finally able to catch and pass a few of the people I recognized
who had passed me at the start of the ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt a little vindicated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But by
the end of the ride, my cramps were kicking back in and despite eating 4 Gu’s
& a bar on the bike, my stomach was growling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Part 2 of my day was complete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In
T2 I changed my top to my Dana Farber running shirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I haven’t worn it to race since my first Mooseman in
2008.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was just the emotional
boost I needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More drugs, hat,
shoes and it was time to “run.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Even
on my best day, I use the term run loosely with myself. I am not fast and I am
okay with that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew this day
may be more walking than running, so I was already mentally prepared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I made my way around the course, I began
to mentally make a list of thing I was grateful for.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The rain stopped for the
race, but there was still a nice cloud cover to keep the sun away making for
great race conditions.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Matt is the best support a
girl could ask for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seeing him out
on the race course lifted my spirits immensely.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The spectators and
volunteers at this event are THE BEST!! Cheering and supporting every athlete
like they were the winner. It was truly amazing! Like none I have ever seen.
Cheering, bell ringing, horn blowing from driveways, windows, front porches and
house boats!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Much of the run course is on
a “rails to trails” type path along the water that runs into the lake, so I
listened to bull frogs, water birds, chickadees and water running in a stream.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Dragonflies danced around
the path in front of me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I got to see Ed on the run
& give him a high-five.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had
a crash AND flat on the bike, but despite some nasty road rash, he was giving
it his all! So proud of him!</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My heart swelled as I felt
the love and support from my family & friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was coming all the way from Western PA/NY and NJ, but I
felt every bit of it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And boy did
I need it! Thank you!</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Anytime my mind wandered, I
found myself thinking of cousin Katie and how hard she has fought to WIN her
battle with leukemia! YES!!! And how Judy, Nathan and Dan fought for one day
more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My pain in THIS moment was
temporary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I drew strength
from them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">9.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The determination of the
“back of the pack” racers is inspiring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No matter the age, the physical limitations or even just leg cramps, nothing was stopping them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And
finally my FAVORITE sign of the day, “Your body lies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can do this.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And absolutely
true.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As
I ran down the chute through the village to the finish among all of the
spectators cheering, with Matt waiting & cheering for me at the end, I had
to smile!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did it!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not pretty, but I finished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was all I had wanted from this
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE15Xx3oxOk9jEH21cLLamsgYICK25uLy6I5rbT2JB7Q90mc8ThhGYhahqFzKITUgqKrLiw2lfGAMo5pCBawHGoaDqR9z4zs5K6sgkw9QGT8ddHAqVi5WaKkzeypeZmdLWNk21heT1x2AZ/s1600/IMMT+Gfinish+line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE15Xx3oxOk9jEH21cLLamsgYICK25uLy6I5rbT2JB7Q90mc8ThhGYhahqFzKITUgqKrLiw2lfGAMo5pCBawHGoaDqR9z4zs5K6sgkw9QGT8ddHAqVi5WaKkzeypeZmdLWNk21heT1x2AZ/s320/IMMT+Gfinish+line.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crossing the finish line in 7:13:46</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It
has helped me to re-focus on the rest of my summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Getting back on a consistent path of healthy eating and
training that I know I can do… one that I can be proud of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am looking forward to July as it
brings almost 2 weeks in NH.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
favorite place on earth! And August brings a week in Warren (our PA hometown)
with the Tango adventure race kicking that week off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then it’s up to Maine for REV3 Old Orchard Beach
Half-Iron.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be my first
ocean swim…. YIKES!! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can’t wait!! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
gchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13089581209204889547noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-72667803744081831912013-03-13T09:04:00.001-04:002013-03-13T09:04:10.744-04:00February was awful.
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I haven’t posted anything recently because there were
several weeks where anything I would have written, would have been negative and
defeatist. Who wants to read that?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is the February summary: Lower back was giving me
grief. Then my hips decided to join the party. Then I got a head cold that
worked it’s way into a sinus infection. I was feeling as if I had aged years in
just a few weeks. Anytime I’d think about this summer’s races, I’d wonder if
I’d even make the start line this year. (In hindsight, it’s funny what being in
pain can do to your thinking)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fortunately, things are going much better now. Over the last
2 weeks I’ve progressed from just being happy to finally be moving again, to
catching myself pushing myself a little too much during my workouts. (But wow
does it feel good to put a bit of speed into my run workouts!)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In terms of my weight, I can’t give you an exact number.
After February, I figured any progress I had made could have been lost, so I’m
not getting on the scale this month. I know there is work to be done and that
I’m out of time. I’m changing it up a bit and removing grains and starches out
of the diet and going back to lots of vegetables and about the same amount of
meat. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The easy carbs are going to come from fruit and those are
going to be eaten somewhat sparingly. Most of my carb intake is going to just
pre/during/post my workouts. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last week was a solid effort. 8 workouts and I felt that I
was in control of my eating. More importantly, I’m just feeling good and actually
looking forward to my workouts. (How about we keep that feeling around
forEVER).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The 50-60 degree weather this past weekend didn’t hurt
either.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So there you have it. I’m hopeful that things will continue
to go well and I’ll have a bit more to write about on here. </div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-24142970097639489622013-03-10T10:22:00.000-04:002013-03-10T10:22:13.634-04:00Manhattan Half Marathon 2013 Race Report
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-size:10.0pt;
mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;
mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
(This happened January 27th, I just never got it posted) </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I actually tapered my workouts leading into this event. It
just happened to fall into the right place on my plan for this to happen. So I
was feeling well rested going into this.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I woke up the temperature was 11 degrees. I had thought
it was going to be 20 or so. I look up the temperature in Manhattan, 20.
Alright, that’s more like it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Todd picked me up, I haven’t seen him in weeks. Along the
way, we drive up on an accident that must have happened in the last 5
minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is typically a 3 lane
bridge had the far right lane closed off for repairs. Now keep in mind that
there is no sun glare because there is no sun yet. There is hardly any traffic
on the roads. Yet somehow this person seemed to have missed the fact that the
lane was closed and must have driven full speed into the big sand drums in
front of the Jersey barriers. I say full speed because the result was he ended
up upside-down in the 3<sup>rd</sup> lane of traffic. At first we thought we
might miss the race because they had us at a complete stop. I guess we were
fortunate enough to have been there before the ambulance and tow, because they
slowly let us through after a few minutes. (driving over a pile of sand)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We luck out in terms of parking and we stayed in the car for
a few minutes longer before going out into the cold. We decide there will be no
warmup and we won’t be going to the front of the corrals. It’s not going to be
a fast day. They had collapsed the corrals by the time we had arrived so we
just hopped onto the back around the 8000s. It took us nearly 8 minutes to
reach the start line from the gun time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Todd hasn’t been running much. Which is kind of crazy, the
last NYRR event he ran, back in November, he set a new PR pace for his NYRR
runs. 6:31 I believe. Now he’s going to run with me…. Slowly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We kept the pace conversational for the most part, there
were some hills that probably upped my HR outside of conversational. The first
3 miles were at nearly 10 min/mile. Which isn’t surprising we started with
about 8000 people ahead of us probably 500 or so behind us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because of our pace, I guess I had a chance to look around a
bit more than I usually do. I’ve run 20+ races here and somehow this is the
first time I’ve noticed that you can see the Guggenheim from the run course.
I’ll chalk that up to showing how focused I typically am during these events.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once we hit the hills on the north side of the park, we were
able to move through some of the crowd and we were able to pick up the pace. I
didn’t have a watch on. Todd had a new GPS watch and at some point said that I
had us pacing at 8:40 min/mile. Which was feeling great. I think my longest run
in January was just shy of 9 miles and my biggest week was just over 20.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was definitely cold and breezy in places, which for
someone who sweats as much as I do, makes it uncomfortable. If I had a way to
keep warm until the start and then immediately after a race, maybe it would
make sense for me to always run in shorts. (At least for 10Ks or shorter, maybe
not 13.1.) We were reminded of how cold it was at the aid stations, the
Gatorades were like slushies. Todd grabbed 2 and was concerned that he was
going to get brain freeze as he downed the 2<sup>nd</sup>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Around mile 9 or 10, my hamstrings and lower back started to
tighten up a bit. Hard to say whether it was fatigue or the cold. Todd was
starting to feel the lack of training miles around that point as well. We took
the pace down a bit, not much. Even though this was going to end up being a
training run, I still wanted to stay under 2 hours.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We managed, but not by much. 1:58:38. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I finished feeling good that I’ve got the fitness to run an
easy half marathon at the end of January. Not sure that I’ve been able to say
that in past years. Let's see where this takes us.</div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-77218803690527381562013-01-13T10:52:00.000-05:002013-01-13T16:53:03.328-05:00Getting back on track<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
</style>Hopped on the scale on January 1<sup>st</sup> and was given
an instant jolt of reality. It’s a shame there isn’t a “Biggest Gainer”
competition somewhere. I’m really good at stacking on weight.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the list of quotes off to the side there is one that says
“A goal without a plan, is a wish”. So my New Year’s Resolution is to plan
better. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Using the information in my previous post, I put together my
weight loss plan. I created an 8 month goal with monthly goals as well. Maybe
it should be every 2 weeks, but I’ll adjust as necessary.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The amount of weight I need to lose between now and August 1<sup>st</sup>
is reasonable if you look at the amount of weight I need to lose each week to
accomplish it. So that is the graph that I am using as my “This is realistic”
guide. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, that long slowly descending line leading to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aug 1<sup>st</sup> isn’t really how I’m
planning for things to happen. My first bit of being unreasonable is my
plan/hope that I lose much quicker earlier in the plan, and then become much
more reasonable as time rolls on. Monthly loss percentages I’m planning on.
(6.5, 3.7, 2.8, 2.8, 2.4, 2.4, 1.8). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m weighing it heavily in the front because I’d like to
feel less calorie restricted once I’m into race season. Also, there’s the added
benefit of being at race weight DURING race season.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The 2<sup>nd</sup> bit of unreasonable in the plan above is
my August Goal. My goal weight is a number that I have no memory of seeing on
the scale. It’s 9 pounds under my High School graduation weight. It’s also
about 14 pounds lighter than I’ve ever been for any race I’ve ever competed in.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wait!? Is that healthy? Yes it probably is. I just think
I’ve spent so much time “overweight” I barely know what “healthy weight” feels
like.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
13 days in and my first month goal is very much in reach.
This should be the toughest month. Although the toughest challenge this month
may be the last weekend of January when I run the Manhattan Half Marathon. It
will be hard to keep away from over eating the rest of the day. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fueling for the 13.1 properly will be a challenge. Keep in
mind I’ll be happy to just get the miles in as a training run, but I’d be
happier if I could “race”. If for nothing else other than use it as a benchmark
moving forward this season.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alright, as for other challenges I’ve created for myself: My
overall strength isn’t that great so I’ve started doing more strength training.
I’m lifting weights from time to time but there are 3 things I’m really
focusing my attention on.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ab Ripper X, my pushup plan and Lunges. I’m making sure I do
each of these things at least every 4<sup>th</sup> day. (I’m shooting for every
3 but sometimes it’s not possible).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The good news here is I can already tell a difference after
less than 2 weeks.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m mixing other stuff in as well but I’m being careful not
to do too much too soon. I have plenty of time to improve, so no need to rush.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I updated the race calendar on the right side of the page
here to reflect this year’s dates. Those are just possible races. The only ones
that are on the schedule are.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Columbia Triathlon (Olympic)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Newfound Lake Triathlon (Olympic) (Previously Mooseman)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mont Tremblant 70.3</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If I had to guess at what happens after that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
NJ State Olympic (as I’ve never done this and it’s nearby)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kinzua Country Tango (probably as a relay)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Old Orchard Beach Rev 3 70.3</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
NJ Grand Fondo</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Buckman Triathlon</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
NYC Marathon</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That doesn’t include the 8 other NYRR races I’ll do this
year. That is a bunch of events and it would be fun but I’m guessing I’ll not
get to do all of them. I’ll take what I can get. I have a feeling this is going
to be a good year!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-8962128044436469622012-12-27T14:04:00.002-05:002013-01-10T11:50:44.375-05:00Tis the season, for weight loss discussions<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Weight loss requires you to burn more than you eat. But you need to eat enough that your body doesn’t go into starvation mode and try to hold onto every calorie you put into it. You figure that out by finding your BMR. Set it to sedentary to see what your body needs are, then subtract the extra exercise calorie burn on your own, on the days you exercise.<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><u><a href="http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/">http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/</a><br />
</u></span><br />
I think a 1000 calorie deficit between diet AND exercise, is really as much as you should try as it gives you 2 pounds per week. But more importantly, if you go beyond that, I find you are very likely to fail because of a tendency for binge day(s), as it is truly too much. Actually 1000 is probably too much and why so many plans suggest 500 as it is more easily maintained.<br />
<br />
As to how much of Protein, Fat and Carbs...<br />
<br />
<b>Protein:</b> You definitely need to make sure you are getting your daily requirement of protein, which nobody can say exactly, so here is how to figure your range. 1.2-1.7g per kg of bodyweight. If you are getting at least that much, you aren’t hurting yourself.<br />
<br />
<b>Carbs</b>: This is what is going to give you enough energy to do... Well about anything. The more simple the carb in terms of Glycemic Index, the faster it’s going to give you it’s energy. So it’s important to only eat the super simple ones right before you are going into a workout, or as you are working out.<br />
(I’m a believer of Atkins/low carb ONLY if you aren’t working out at all. If you are trying to be athletic, low carb is only going to give you weak workouts)<br />
I’m a fan of volumetric carbs, to fill the stomach away from workouts. Low glycemic carbs. Raw veggies for example.<br />
<br />
<b>Fat:</b> Personaly, fat chills out my brain. If I’m on a diet and I’m at work and I suddenly feel that my brain is really buggin’. Just BEGGING me to eat something, I find that if I have a few almonds, cashews, spoonful of peanut butter... that is enough protein and fat to turn that signal off. An apple or some strawberries or other lower calorie fruit can sometimes work as well, but for me it lasts for a shorter window of time. So depending on how far I am from my next meal, I will choose accordingly between the fats or the lower calorie fruits.<br />
<br />
As for how much fat versus how much Carbs per day since I didn’t address that. The more you are working out, the more carbs you will need. As long as your are burning them I don’t think it’s a big deal. If you are counting calories and you know you are in a calorie deficit, they are being burned. No worries then. <br />
Same with Fat right?... Well yes but the trouble with fat is the calorie density. You don’t get to eat as much fat in terms of volume. So if you are someone that doesn’t like to have an empty stomach. Having a higher fat calories rather than carb calories is going to be an issue.<br />
I try to find the least amount of fat I can eat without sending my brain into fits of feeling starved.<br />
<br />
Speaking of which, I feel there are 3 ways to feel hungry. <br />
<br />
<b>Empty stomach</b>: This is where it’s growling and vocally telling you the fire will be going out soon. Easy to recognize<br />
<br />
<b>Brain:</b> The brain needs energy to work. I feel if your blood chemistry is missing something, your brain starts to tell you to go and eat something. Sadly for me, it doesn’t specify what. Only by tracking my foods can I look to see my protein/fat/carb balance to see if I’m severely off track in any single one of these things. It’s important to know, because if you are off in carbs, because of a workout, and you eat some nuts... Guess what, your brain is going to tell you to keep eating because you didn’t provide it the carbs that it wanted. Likewise if you are low in fat or protein and you snack on something that isn’t providing the proper nutrient. <br />
<br />
<b>Muscles depleted</b>: You are in a calorie deficit, there is only so much you can expect from yourself if you don’t fuel properly before your activity. I do well if it’s an actual workout, but if I get into a project that is physical and I didn’t fuel for it because it wasn’t a planned "workout". I might find myself feeling tired, and feeling tired definitely makes you want to eat.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to another point. You need to get enough sleep. As I just said above, if you are tired, you are going to search for energy to get you through your day. If you are feeling tired, figure out if it’s because of lack of sleep, or lack of food. If it’s lack of food, you should probably decrease your deficit a bit, because it’s not going to be sustainable. It’s likely you are going to cave in, in a bad way in an attempt to get calories to keep you going.<br />
<br />
Lastly in terms of being athletic and improving, you need to fuel properly. Which is why we lose the weight now rather than during race season. This is more for when you are getting into longer workouts but I’ll include it now anyhow.<br />
<br />
Use this as a guide for grams of carbs/hour during exercise:<br />
low end<br />
(</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Body weight in lbs</span></span>/2.2)x.7<br />
<br />
high end<br />
(</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Body weight in lbs</span></span>/2.2)x1<br />
<br />
Then of course you’ve got to have your recovery drink/snack. I’m not going to say what is best here. I’ll just say that when I started take it seriously, I noticed a difference in terms of being able to get to my next workout feeling better. I used a powdered drink mix. Here is a link that will explain what you should consider, seeing how not all workouts are equal.<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><u><a href="http://www.trifuel.com/training/health-nutrition/triathlon-recovery-%E2%80%93-importance-of-nutrition">http://www.trifuel.com/training/health-nutrition/triathlon-recovery-%E2%80%93-importance-of-nutrition</a><br />
</u></span><br />
A couple of good links.<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><u><a href="http://www.trifuel.com/training/health-nutrition/the-real-value-of-protein">http://www.trifuel.com/training/health-nutrition/the-real-value-of-protein</a><br />
<a href="http://www.poweringmuscles.com/article.php?id=89">http://www.poweringmuscles.com/article.php?id=89</a></u></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Keep in mind that if you lose a bunch of weight, you may need to put new numbers into the equations as you go.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Body type/ metabolisms are different from person to person. I'm someone that has a metabolism that seems to store fat very efficiently. To be thin requires a ton of effort. So some of my descriptions above may not make any sense at all to someone that has a very difficult time gaining weight.
</span></span>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-20554910955436605372012-12-03T11:58:00.003-05:002012-12-03T14:03:53.316-05:00Let's see what happens.A number of weeks ago, we found out that Hines Ward is teamed up with Got Chocolate Milk and is racing the Ironman Championship in Kona HI next fall. We are from Western Pennsylvania originally, so anything Steelers related is going to catch our eye. Putting Triathlon into the mix makes it even more enticing. <br />
<br />
To create our video submission, we gathered bunches of the race photos we've taken. Then we asked Ruth to help us out. That's when we got into full production mode.<br />
We borrowed a bunch of great gear from friends. Ruth created a list of shots she wanted to have available and we spent a few very long days working on getting all the footage.<br />
We hadn't used the equipment before so we had a bit of a learning curve. The first shoot of the day didn't turn out as we had hoped. Fortunately, we had time to learn from our mistakes and from that point on, things moved along quickly.<br />
We were very busy, but it was a fun weekend. One of those "not your average weekend" situations, that create memories we won't soon forget.<br />
<br />
Well here is the result. Genine's submission to <a href="http://www.gotchocolatemilk.com/become-one" target="_blank">Got Chocolate Milk? </a><br />
Now we cross our fingers and wait.<br />
(If you have a good internet connection, click the cog and increase the video quality up to HD!!)<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/J1F-KKCNLyI?rel=0" width="560"></iframe> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=become+one+chocolate+milk%2C+this+month%2C+short&page=1" target="_blank">Here's a link</a> to find many of the other videos that have been submitted.<br />
This link will likely only be useful for a week or two because of how I used the filters.
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-80477438291538227612012-11-28T21:54:00.001-05:002012-11-28T21:54:25.314-05:00Yikes!! Time to get going.Hopped on the scale when we got back to NJ the day after Thanksgiving. That was scary but it seems to have triggered the motivation switch in my brain. I've been tracking calories all week. I've been to the pool at 6AM twice this week and I'm running like a man on a mission.<br />
Of course it's only been a few days but I'm hoping this is the rally I've been waiting for. The biggest hurdles are to stay well rested and to keep healthy food available.<br />
<br />
The week leading into Thanksgiving was rough. I didn't think much of it at the time, but the other thing that was triggered upon my return to NJ were a few shingles blisters on my ankle. So strange but maybe it's like my own personal stress meter or something. Who wouldn't want one of those? (sarcasm).<br />
<br />
I hadn't been going to my normal pool much of this year. It's always way too busy unless you are there at 5 or 6AM. So I had been going to other locations. Well, I'm almost afraid to say it out loud, because I might jinx it. The pool actually looks and feels clean right now!! I don't think I've been able to say that for the last 2 years. I've often questioned if they've drained it in the last 24 months, but kind of didn't want to know the answer to that.<br />
I'm crazy slow right now and 2500m seems like a good stopping point for a workout. I know it will improve in just a few weeks. Which I can't say for some of the others I've seen at the pool this week. There is one guy that puts in the time but has not improved a bit in the last 12 months. I'm seriously considering inviting him to one of my lessons with Coach Q. It's just wrong to spend that much time in the pool and not get any faster. Or at least have it feel easier!!<br />
<br />
One final comment just for keeping track of things: I no longer feel injured!<br />
I spent so much time the last couple years with hamstring issues. That bit of tension or whatever you want to call it just changed everything. I never felt like I could push hard. I think I was modifying my stride to avoid further injury. It was a huge drag.<br />
My last few runs have felt great. I'm not saying I'm in great shape. Just that everything is moving well, and that I'm hoping will lead to better times ahead.<br />
<br />
<br />catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-63964857689316866922012-11-24T21:36:00.000-05:002012-11-24T21:36:16.072-05:00NYRR 4 miler Race to DeliverLate race report here. Last Sunday I ran my 9th race of the year for NYRR, a 4 miler in Central Park.<br />
I didn't wear my watch. I was just going to take what I could get. My training has been hit/miss because of commuting issues with the trains here in NJ.<br />
<br />
I put myself in the back of the 2000 corral because I really have not been starting off quickly lately. That got me to the start line 2 minutes or so after the starting gun.<br />
First mile was an 8:30 pace. <br />
Second Mile I lost track of my math and stopped trying to figure it out.<br />
As we cut across the transverse in Central Park, there were now huge piles of wood chips from all the trees/branches they've had to deal with from Hurricane Sandy. We are talking 10 feet high, 10 feet wide and maybe 50 yards long. I'm guessing there was much more that went elsewhere.<br />
3rd mile, felt like I was climbing the hill rather well. Didn't feel like I was losing ground to those around me anyhow.<br />
Finish, didn't even bother looking at the clock. I just ran in as quickly as I could, hoping I could offset the slow first mile split.<br />
<br />
Well for the first time in 3-4 years of running these races, my timing chip wasn't read. So I had to wait until pictures were posted. Then I had to dig through the finish line pics to find myself. I crossed at 33:45. So less the 2 minutes at the start gives me a 31:45, or 7:56 min/mile. Nothing to write home about.<br />
Todd on the other hand knocked 10 seconds off his best pace ever at at NYRR run. He ran on a 6:33 pace. He figured that was his Marathon training pay off.<br />
<br />
The biggest thing slowing me down right now is my weight. I'm really sick of talking about it but not being able to get any momentum behind it. I guess it's going to have to become THE focus in order to get it going. So I've got to set some short term goals to make that happen. More on that later.catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-48290825640576151582012-11-11T11:51:00.000-05:002012-11-11T18:04:58.891-05:00Long Overdue Marathon Update<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
</style>
-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The journey to the 2012 NYC marathon was interesting. I
started the refinance of my home loan a month before the marathon. 2 weeks
before the marathon, I start getting calls about needing estimators and
inspections on the house. That was no big deal except then there were
complications. (which turned out to be minor but felt like a big deal to me at
the time). I knew it was bothering me because instead of my typical zen’ed out
state when I would be out running. All I could think about were these problems.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To add to my worries, when I signed on to my online banking
Saturday, the normal login page was gone. In it’s place was a notice from the
FDIC. The bank had been closed by the FDIC and they would be mailing me a check
for the balance of my account, which I received about 11 days later. Thankfully
I had a 2<sup>nd</sup> account with some cash in it and that my mortgage
payment was paid just before the bank was closed down. I did end up having to
pay interest on my credit card because I didn’t have the funds to pay the
entire balance from the other account. Stress and Frustration.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then there was the fact that a hurricane was on the way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I did have a bit of good fortune in the fact that a
generator I ordered a number of weeks ago, happened to be delivered the Tuesday
before the Hurricane hit. My biggest mistake was not going out to buy extra gas
cans to fill during emergencies. I was hoping that because I had actually spent
the money on this, that the hurricane would spin out to sea rather than head towards
NJ and it wouldn’t be needed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I spent the better part of 3 days preparing for the storm.
Last year’s storm had so much rain that we spent the majority of our time in
the basement running a shop-vac to get the water off of the floor. Eventually
we just had to pull the floor drain and mop everything towards that. So we
spent time taking important stuff out of the basement, just in case.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well as I’m sure you are aware, the hurricane brought a lot
of wind, created a storm surge for those that lived on or near the coast but
fortunately, there wasn’t much rain, a couple of inches. So our basement didn’t
have any problems at all. We did lose power for a couple days. Actually 80% of
our town was without power. We were probably one of the few houses in the area
that didn’t lose a tree. I was amazed at how many trees fell and ever more
amazed at how little damage they caused on our block. Only one person had the
roof of their garage damaged. A few others had wires torn from their house.
Compared to the damage that occurred along the coast, the mess and what damage
we had on our street seemed like a minor annoyance.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My place of work in NYC was out of power Monday night until
Friday Evening.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here is a video of the sky from our house. The flashing lights are electrical explosions from transformers. The video is cut short, it continued for about 2 and a half minutes like this.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" data="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=109786" height="225" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="400"> <param name="flashvars" value="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=e3c7a09d1b&photo_id=8136975902"></param>
<param name="movie" value="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=109786"></param>
<param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/video/stewart.swf?v=109786" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="intl_lang=en-us&photo_secret=e3c7a09d1b&photo_id=8136975902" height="225" width="400"></embed></object><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seeing all the damage on TV. Then hearing from friends and
co-workers that have been without power for days, my stress about my refinance
and banking issues were gone. Perspective can do that for you I guess.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unfortunately, that stress was replaced by my feelings about
the fact the Marathon officials and the Mayor of NYC kept saying that the
marathon was still going to be run. There were so many people in need of help.
Using any amount of city support to run a race, rather than helping those
people seemed very wrong to me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then to as I started to read the social media (twitter/facebook)
to find that people were saying that they would go to the race and Boo the
runners as the went by. (mild). Find an overpass and spit on runners as the
passed. (medium). Take their fire extinguisher and spray the runners. (ANGRY).
Now I was even concerned for my safety running this event. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I spent way too much time stressing on this. When should we
get our race number? They are telling us not to go into the city unless we have
to because of the traffic and such. I hadn’t heard from Todd who was also
running. I kind of figured that if he still wanted to run it, that I would go,
rather reluctantly…. I think. It’s just so wrong tho’.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So when they finally cancelled the race, (I received a
number of texts and phone calls almost immediately as it was announced on TV)
I’m not sure that disappointment was the best way to describe my feelings. In
fact I probably laughed about the fact that NOW they decide it’s probably best
not to run it. I finally got a message from Todd. “Race cancelled, You can’t
make this stuff up!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I received messages from friends regarding other Marathons
that I could still sign up for. The one that probably made the most sense was
to drive up to New Hampshire and run in Manchester as it was the same day as
NYC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could have stayed with my brother
for the weekend. But my work had been closed for a week. I’d have to get back
to NJ immediately after the race AND, it’s not the NYC Marathon. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I appreciated all the offers, kind of made me wish that I
could do all of them. Instead, I’m looking forward to going back to my normal
triathlon training and leave the challenge of the marathon out there for a
while longer. It’s good motivation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Unfortunately, I haven’t done a single workout all week. My
commute to the city was already a 3 hour chunk out of my day. With all of the
problems with the train lines, I’m now dealing with 4.5 to 5 hours a day
commutes. Which made me realize just how tight my schedule was. That 1.5-2
hours extra is basically my window where I fit my workouts in. I was speaking
with a transit worker today and he feels it’s going to be quite some time until
the entire system is back to normal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I guess I’m going to have to make a plan to get my workouts
done in the morning again. Which means I’ve just got to get to sleep earlier
and putting my alarm clock further away than my nightstand. (I can hit snooze
for a long time without realizing I’m doing it). I just need to change some
habits. I’ll let you know how it goes.</div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-56386711974674808822012-10-15T11:55:00.001-04:002012-10-15T11:59:49.244-04:00NYRR Grete Gallop 13.1I was very undecided about this race. My stomach was a mess the day before. I also knew that because of the 10:30 start time, parking would be tricky.<br />
I had thought about arriving early to get extra miles in, or staying late and getting extra miles in.<br />
Genine was already in Central Park. She left very early for the 6:30 Duathlon start.<br />
I woke up around 7:30. Stomach seemed alright but I didn't drink much if anything because I didn't want to have any trouble before getting to the city.<br />
The drive was simple enough but as expected, street parking wasn't going to happen. $20 to park in a lot. Ah well. At least I have time to walk around and stretch out a bit this time.<br />
So what's the plan? Practice marathon pace, then add extra after the race? It's a really nice day but Genine will already be on her way home by the time I finish. Well let's just see how this goes and I'll figure it out along the way.<br />
<br />
About 10-15 min to start, I eat an entire pack of clif blocks. I've got 2 GU's with me. <br />
<br />
First 2 miles are pretty congested and I'm working my way through the crowds. It's a big race. I think 6,000 finishers. I'm looking at my splits and seeing that I'm on 9:00s. If I'm going to to follow marathon pace, I should slow it down... Mile 3 is an 8:33. You know what? My cardio is fine with this. My legs?? I've run 20 miles already this week. They are feeling alright at the moment. There are plenty of good prediction models out there figuring out your possible Marathon finish based on Half Marathon finishes. Let's do this.<br />
<br />
I definitely went into this race under hydrated and with fewer calories in me than I'm used to. Instead of trying to run and drink at the aid stations, I've been walking so that I down the entire cup. It's a warm day and I'm definitely losing fluid. :45 min in for the first GU. :30 min after that for the 2nd.<br />
<br />
At the 10 mile mark, I started to think about what my PR is at this distance. 1:50:xx?? That was back in 2008. I don't think I'm on pace to break that but I also know I've only got 5K to go. I start to really focus on pushing the pace where I can. (mile 12 turns out to be my fastest mile @ 8:20)<br />
Did I mention I'm not wearing a hat? Why does this matter? Well I'm really grey for 42 and as we get into the final half mile, any older men that I pass, suddenly find another gear and make a point of passing me back. It's kind of funny.<br />
<br />
1 9:08<br />
2 8:59<br />
3 8:33 Decided this is my pace for the day.<br />
4 8:44 Walked the water stop.<br />
5 8:36<br />
6 8:35<br />
7 8:34<br />
8 8:45 Congestion as they split lanes for faster finishers<br />
9 8:26<br />
10 8:36 <br />
11 8:34<br />
12 8:20<br />
13 8:27<br />
.1 0:55<br />
<br />
<b>1:53:17 8:39 min/mile</b><br />
<br />
I'm happy with this. My 1:50:xx was when I weighed 175. I'm guessing I'm 190 right now. And yes, I visualize myself carrying a 15-20 pound dumbbell during many of my runs and it's frustrating.<br />
The good news is that if I get through the marathon without injury. I feel that I'm in a really good place in terms of momentum. I'm hopeful that some of these nagging injuries the last couple years may be behind me. I find myself thinking about Columbia Tri and MontTremblant 70.3 2013. Keep up the training and drop the weight and those will be a lot of fun.<br />
<br />
For now, it's taper time for the marathon. It seems like a really long time to taper, but what do I know about Marathon tapering? Just follow the plan and see what happens.catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-65116576633387522432012-10-09T12:25:00.001-04:002012-10-09T12:25:34.887-04:00A big week of running. NYC marathon prep
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This will likely go down as the longest training report
ever.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The week following my 18 mile run wasn’t so good. I knew I
had to get back on track to make sure that I’m prepared. So I followed the next
week’s schedule completely even tho’ it meant running in less than perfect
conditions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tuesday was 5 miles: I forgot to put on my compression
sleeves. I was feeling good, but 2 miles in my right calf started to grab now
and then. Wasn’t awful but kind of annoying having that happen so early in a
run.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wednesday was 9 miles: The humidity was unreal. Not terribly
hot low 70’s perhaps. I was completely soaked at the end of the run. If it were
a longer run my toes would have pruned up. The run went well tho’. Legs were
fine, I had remembered to wear my compression.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thursday 5 miles: With compression, another nasty night of
humid running. 5 miles doesn’t seem like such a big deal tho’. I’m just glad
that my legs have felt good right from the start.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After every run, I’d have 4 ice packs out, feet and knees.
I’m not having any major issues but I’m trying to keep it that way.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Friday and Saturday the weather was fantastic. I was very
tempted to do my long run Saturday because of this. I knew this was likely to
be my peak volume week tho’. (the schedule wanted the next week to be the
peak). So I wanted to make sure I had proper rest going into the long run.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sunday morning was going to start in the mid 40s and not get
much higher than low 50’s and it was going to be raining mid/late morning. Then
on/off all day. I had set my alarm to wake up early to try and beat the rain
but I didn’t fall asleep easily, so I abandoned that idea.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now I had decided that I should use this to prepare for a
possible cold rain on race day. So I decided to run from the house rather than
going to the canal path or something. This was going to allow me to stop at the
house 3 times. Which meant I wouldn’t have to carry water unless I decided that
I should.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I set out a rain jacket, trash bag, extra shirt, hat,
nutrition and water. I planed on starting with no hat or jacket tho’. I decided
to wear my reflective vest because it’s grey enough out there that I figure it
would be a good idea.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just before 10, it starts to rain. I down a whole packet of
Cliff Blocks. I start running on the hour. For the first time this week, my
right leg seems to be tracking well. That’s a really good sign. Oddly enough,
my left shin was the tight problem area to start off. I close to 2 miles in, I
stop under an awning and squat down to give those calf/shin muscles a good
stretch. I can really feel that left side as I do this. When I start running
again, it’s noticeably better. The thing is, on race day, I’ll barely be off
the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. I really doubt I’ll have the opportunity to do
this once I start. I’ll be in a flood of people with some 30,000+ people behind
me. (seriously, I believe that there are going to be 47,000 runners this year.)
So I’ll have to really work on these stretches before the race. My hands were
cold the first few miles as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5+ miles in, I stop at the house. Chug some water, a bit of
EFS gel, bathroom break and back out the door. Heading out the other direction
this time. Initially I was thinking of running 5 miles this way, but realized I
could go 6+ easily which would give me options the 2<sup>nd</sup> time around
to go longer or shorter if needed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was feeling good but I was soaked. Just like at Mooseman
this year, I realized the extra weight was keeping me warm. I was very glad
that it wasn’t windy. That would have made things worse. As I was heading back
to the house, I was thinking what I should try for the next couple laps. Hat?
Rain Jacket? Trash bag? But then it stopped raining. Well mostly.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nearly 12 miles down:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back at the house. Change into dry shirt. Drink water. Take
EFS flask with me. Bathroom break. Out the door to repeat the first 5+ miles.
The dry shirt feels good. It would have been smart if I would have towel dried
my hair and threw a hat on. Not that I’d have these options on race day. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Legs are feeling pretty good. Keeping my mind occupied by
trying to think of things I’d need to take with me the morning of the race if
it’s going to be a rainy day. My pace still feels right although I have no idea
what that pace is. I’m hopeful that it’s around 9:30. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I’m getting close to home once again, I realize I’ll have
17 miles in. Schedule calls for 19. Which would be a new personal best. Thing
is, I’m not sure I’ll get a super long run in next weekend. We’ve got a half
marathon in Central Park Sunday and I’m not sure that we will have time to tack
on the extra miles before or after it. So I decide I need to find some things
out right now. I’m going to go 3 or 4 more miles on this final leg.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
17 miles down:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Stop at the house. EFS is gone, Down a GU with Double Caffeine,
Water, Bathroom Break. Out the door. I look at my watch and figure it’s likely
I’ll be running 10 minute miles from here on out. So 40 minutes to go.
Shouldn’t be a problem. I can cut it to 3 miles and still hit 20 if I need to. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Getting started is kinda rough but mentally I’m still in
this which is good. The beginning of the 2<sup>nd</sup> mile has a long down
hill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the bottom I could turn and
make it into a 3 mile out and back. The legs are not enjoying hills, up or
down. I’m going keep it a 4 mile loop tho.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the turn around, I’m at 19. When I walk and high step to
stretch my legs I’m now starting to feel that there is a possibility that
something could cramp. They are really tight. Every step is a new PR for
distance tho’. I visualize the fact that the way home will get me in and out of
the Bronx on race day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I start to get into a bit of trouble tho’. Not my legs, my
back. My weakness has finally caught up with me. Low back, left side is now
very tight which of course carries into my glutes and hamstring. So things are
getting uncomfortable. Which I suppose is not surprising at this stage of the
game. When I stop to walk, I’m finding it very hard to get started “running”
again. (I had to stop at a couple intersections). So I make a decision to not
stop unless it’s absolutely necessary. I’ll have to keep this in mind on race
day, towards the end of the race.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I get back to the house, look at my watch and see that I’ve
finished at 1:20 PM. So 3hr 20 minutes. Or 200 minutes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
21 Miles! My first 40 mile run week! 3+ hour run! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That is a good list of Firsts for me. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once I’m back in the house, I think I’ve made one mistake. I
should have bought the bags of ice for my ice bath before my run. Then I
realize, if I got in the tub right now, there would be a chance I would not be
able to get back out! I’ve got to stay on my feet and keep my legs moving for
awhile.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I mix up my recovery drink and down that. Energy wise I’m
feeling much better than I did after the 18 miler two weeks ago. I think that’s
because I put too many calories in that day and my stomach got funky. I can’t
say for certain that is why but I had no stomach issues at all today.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The low back thing concerns me. Fatigue is obviously the
cause so I guess I’ve got to get a few solid weeks of planks in. It can only
help.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That is likely going to be my peak week. I love the fact
that I was feeling pretty good to mile 19. I’m very hopeful that I may feel
better beyond 19 miles because I won’t be running 19 miles the week leading
into race day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eventually I felt like I was good enough to hop in the car
and go pick up a burger and a couple bags of ice. The heated seats in the car
felt great on my back. Getting into the tub was slow going but I got it done.
(whomever gave me the clue about adding the ice after you are in the water,
thank you).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then I had a massage at 7PM. It would have been nice if it
were scheduled a few hours earlier but it was still effective for sure.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally it occurred to me that I hadn’t figured out just how
slow my run was. So I fired up the pace calculator and found out that I
averaged a 9:32 min/mile. That time included all the breaks. I was not in
stopwatch mode. I just used clock time. That was <b>very</b> encouraging. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Walls are being broken down people. Physical and mental
walls. This can be done!</div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-4502056627568304072012-10-04T11:15:00.000-04:002012-10-04T11:15:12.851-04:00One Month to NYC Marathon
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
After the 18 mile Central Park run, I was feeling pretty
optimistic. That run went better than I expected. Unfortunately, the next 7
days were awful. Every run took me at least 3 miles to
feel like things were moving the way they should. So the first 3 were no fun at
all. On top of that I had some crazy headache that had been building for over a
week. My balance was being compromised as well which made me think that it was
in my ears. I eventually realized that taking some Sudafed might actually help.
Fortunately it did, I was going to the doctor the next day if it didn’t. I was
getting very uncomfortable. I’m hoping that whatever is going on in there
clears out soon. (I’d blame the pool but I haven’t been there.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sunday I went out for what I planned to be a 2 hour run. It
ended up being about 70 minutes. As I said it was a bad week. I was probably 45
minutes in before my legs started to feel alright. Which was about the time the
sky was looking really really black. I decided to get out of the storm and call
it a day and call it a bad week.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I knew that this week I had to get it done. Last week was
practically a recovery week so hopefully things will get better.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Tuesday 5 mile run: Legs feel good right from the start. 2
miles in my right calf starts tweaking randomly again. Guess I should have put
the compression sleeves on. I got through the run without too much trouble but
I’m sure I was compensating in an attempt to not aggravate that muscle.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wednesady, 9 mile run: This run went really well. I had my
compression on tho’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last 5 miles
still felt the best. I can’t believe how humid it is out there. I finished this
run looking as if I took a shower somewhere along the run. I can’t imagine it
could be like this on Nov 4<sup>th</sup>. It will be much bigger challenge for
me if it is.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Obviously I’ve been running much more that I have in the
past. I’ve also switched from running in the morning to running after work. My
legs are much more stretched and ready to go in the evening. Which I’m hoping
will help keep me from being injured. Also, when I finish my run. I have time
to ice my feet and knees. I never had time for that if I ran in the morning.
Anyhow, our town is a pretty safe place but I’ve definitely been running into
more groups of teens lately that have been shouting stuff as I go along. Not
that big of a deal but I’m definitely noticing them being more obnoxious now
that I’m running in the dark from 7ish-9PM. Guess there’s another reason to go back to
running at 5:30 AM.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had to go back and do more work on the car again last weekend. The brake on
one side still seemed to get hung up from time to time. With Genine home it
made it much easier to test things out. It’s impossible to spin a wheel and
work the brake pedal at the same time. This week I adjusted the emergency
brake cables. Of course in the back of my mind is the comment the guy at the
garage had made a long while back. He said that one of the cables was frozen in
place. That didn’t seem to be the case when I had the brakes apart last weekend
but this weekend I had access to both ends of the cable. It took some time
to get the center console apart to get to the cables but it wasn’t difficult.
Once I got there, I took all the tension off the cables and sure enough… they
worked perfectly. All I had to do was adjust the tension, the one side had
tipped significantly and was pulling on that side just a bit even when the
brake handle was all the way down. Pretty simple job. Hopefully I won’t have to
do anything with the rear brakes on this car until the rotors need to be
replaced.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Projects like this are keeping me from getting out on the
bike or getting to the pool on the weekends. Which honestly, is fine with me.
The marathon is the goal and it’s getting all of the attention. I’m definitely
looking forward to getting back to the swimming and biking tho’.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Soon enough, only one Month to the NYC Marathon!</div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-57486030669741539042012-09-24T13:03:00.000-04:002012-09-24T13:03:14.112-04:00NYRR 18 Miler, Marathon Tuneup 2012
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
panose-1:0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;
mso-font-charset:128;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:fixed;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:1;
mso-generic-font-family:roman;
mso-font-format:other;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I passed up a fun long weekend back in our hometown to run
this race. This race would be my longest run ever. I’ve been concerned about it
because I’m right at the point of a marathon schedule where I get injured.
Also, I’ve really been having trouble staying motivated at about the 12 mile
mark of my long training runs. I was hoping that being in a race would give me
a push through that tough spot. Also I wanted to see if I could get out there
and just run my pace without any help beyond a simple lap counting watch.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I set everything I needed, out the night before. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Some key gear, that I didn’t use before: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Asics running shorts (the pockets are large enough to carry
gel flasks)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gel Flasks (carrying 2 with liquid EFS Kona Mocha)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
CEP compression sleeves.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sole dual layer socks</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Black Cherry Shot Blocks to eat before the race.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Baggage: EFS recovery powder in a shaker and a bottle of
water to mix it with after the race.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I woke up at about 4AM to leave just before 5AM. Hoped to be
in the city by 6AM.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ate my oatmeal and got out the door on schedule. Everything
was going well. I was up near the race start at 6. Unfortunately, there was a
street fair of some sort happening nearby. So they were towing ALL the cars on one of the Avenues. Which meant side street parking was tough to find. I
spent 30 minutes looking before realizing I was out of time. Found a parking
garage and crossed my fingers that it wasn’t going to cost too much. $12. Whew!
I did look into this the night before but didn’t see anything under $30 online.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Race start is in the North East corner around 104<sup>th</sup>
St by the way. Run is counter clockwise.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I walk/jog to the start. I’m definitely later than I wanted
to be. I had to check my bag and get online for a “Bio Break”. As soon as I saw
the lines, I knew I wouldn’t be starting the run when the horn sounded. I also
knew that if I tried to run, I’d find that there would be lines at every pit
stop along the way for the first 3-4 miles. So I waited it out. (I really didn’t
have a choice).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I cross the timing mat at the start line about 8:30ish after
the horn sounded. This definitely allowed me to run my pace to start because I
had so much room due to the lack of people. Of course it also meant that I
would eventually have to run through all of the slower paces. Which turned out
to be not so bad.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my rush to make it to the start, I forgot my gatorde
bottle in the car. I was going to need to hit the first few water stops.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I was running through the first crowd, it was kind of
interesting to see the vibe of this group. Some people fast walking. Some
people “running” but so out of breath I was worried for them. (this is between
mile 0 to 2). Then there was one lady that was singing along with her iPod…
terribly. I felt badly for anyone around her that might be spending significant
time within listening distance of her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So my goal for the day was to run a 9:30 pace the entire
time. That actually would probably be my secondary goal. My primary goal is to
not get hurt! During my shorter mid week training runs, I feel that my legs
feel like junk for the first 3 miles. Well that wasn’t the case today. I felt
really good right from the start. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First mile 9:30 (ding!), </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2<sup>nd</sup> mile 9:38, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3<sup>rd</sup> mile 9:06. You could probably create the
elevation profile based on my splits.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4<sup>th</sup> mile 9:21</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
5<sup>th</sup> mile 9:26</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
6<sup>th</sup> mile … I missed it because I was running to
the water table. I am forearm blocked by a guy crossing ahead of me to the
table who doesn’t want to slow down to pick up water. Then pushes me again on
his way out. (Ever feel like tripping somebody?). But just then from behind I
hear shouts of “Move to your left!!!” being repeated over and over. That would
be the bikes making room for the lead racer. I realize I started 8 minutes
late, but this guy was finishing 12 when I was at the 6 mile mark. Very cool to
see the speedsters running through, although I think from this point on he had
a significant advantage because of the cyclists making room for him. (he
finished the race in 1:34:47 a 5:16 pace).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
6<sup>th</sup> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>& 7<sup>th</sup>
mile 18:20</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
8<sup>th</sup> mile 9:32</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
9<sup>th</sup> mile 9:23 … Feeling really good to this
point. I finished off my first flask of EFS but along with the water I’m curious
if I’m over doing it with the calories. My stomach feels a bit odd. Maybe I
should have waited longer to start with the EFS because I had the shot blocks
at the start.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
10<sup>th</sup> mile 9:13</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
11<sup>th</sup> mile 9:26</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
12<sup>th</sup> mile 9:16 … Typically this is where I just
want to stop running. That’s not the case today. The only issue at the moment
is that I’m starting to feel the miles in my legs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
13<sup>th</sup> mile 9:30 </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
14<sup>th</sup> mile 9:37</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
15<sup>th</sup> mile 9:44 … At this point I’m pretty psyched
about the fact that I’ve just run 15 miles without walking anything but water
stops.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
16<sup>th</sup> mile 9:30 … </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
17<sup>th</sup> mile 10:11 … <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would be a climb. Hamstrings are getting
tight and my stride feels very compressed. I “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqhlQfXUk7w" target="_blank">funny walk</a>” for a bit in an
attempt to get some length back into the hamstrings. (Well not exactly like in the
video but you get the idea). I can’t help but feel concerned about cramping
although it doesn’t feel like that’s going to happen.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
18<sup>th</sup> mile 9:30 </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Total 2:50:22 for a 9:28 pace<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1925<sup>th</sup> overall/4320 <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1316<sup>th</sup> male/2275<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>223
Age Group or 394</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Obviously I am pleased with the results. I ran the pace I
set out to run with very little discomfort. That was VERY encouraging. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although I couldn’t help but think about the additional 8.2 miles I’d
have to run for the Marathon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d say I
started to feel every hill starting around mile 14. Up or Down. Immediately
after the race 8.2 more miles sounded like it was going to be a problem. (and
it might be). But now that I’ve looked at the <a href="http://www.ingnycmarathon.org/course_map/interactive_map.shtm" target="_blank">Marathon Course Map</a> and I’ve
broken it up. I feel better about it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
16 miles gets me into Mahnattan. Which was my main goal for
the year.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
18 puts me half way to the Bronx.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
20 puts me to the Bronx</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
21 and I’m out of the Bronx</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
23 I’m alongside the park and about a 5K to the finish.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a good chance there could be some bad miles towards
the end but at least I’ve finally shifted my mindset to get to the Marathon
finish line instead of just taking what I can get.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As soon as I finished running, I went to my bag and mixed up
my recovery drink and chugged that and switched into a dry shirt. This is the
first NYRR event I’ve done where I saw a ton of post race stretching going on.
Me? I was all about getting my hamstrings stretched out and finding some water.
I thought I was doing fine while I was running. Now that I’ve stopped, I was
really feeling kinda funky. I should have brought a few bucks with me.
Unfortunately my cash was in the car. Once I was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in my car I just wanted to get home. I had
some Gatorade and a bit of water left over from the drive in, it would have to
do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It took an hour to get home. I stopped to pickup 2 bags of
ice. Filled the tub and in I go. Then the 2 bags of ice got added. I probably
should have had a bit more ice , or maybe I’m getting used to cold ice
baths.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once I was done with that. It was time to eat. But what? I
should have prepared better for this. I was very hungry at this point and ended
up ordering a pizza. Probably not the best choice. I watched some of the
Jets/Dolphins game while I was eating. It was a close game but I wasn’t very
interested. Eventually I set my cell phone alarm for an hour later and fell
asleep. Woke up to find out that I was eliminated from my NFL Survival League.
Knew I should have picked the Bills! I had the 49ers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I finished the day by going and getting a massage. I felt
pretty good but I know the next day or so could be ugly. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I guess the one thing I haven’t mentioned that shouldn’t be
overlooked is this. My stride felt great! My right leg has been so funky for
sooo long. I’ve kicked the inside of my left ankle so many times over the last
couple years. Not Today!! I really hope it stays like this. It’s nice running
and not feeling like you are going to injure yourself!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And finally, it’s nice to have a new “longest run ever”, I’ll
worry about pace for some other event in the future. Right now it's cool just to have covered the distance.</div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-82512698937070534602012-09-21T22:37:00.001-04:002012-09-21T22:37:18.193-04:00Here's what's been goin' onLast weekend I spent my Saturday working on cars and bikes.<br />
I washed the 2001 Jetta, I couldn't find the sponge I usually wash the car with but there was another one in the bucket I use. Opened that up and for some strange reason, decided it was a good idea to use the rough side on a few spots on the car..... Really? What possessed me to do that? It did a number on the clear coat of the car. It's not awful but I was just amazed at my stupidity. I'm actually considering buying a kit to fix it back up. It's got 112,000 miles on it but it still looks good. (until now...) Really it's not horrible but it's one of those things that once you notice it, you see it every time.<br />
<br />
Next I had to get the oil changed. Should I do it myself? Or go somewhere? I really hate to be under the car. Even with ramps and jack stands, I still worry that it's going to fall on me. So I went to a garage to have it done. They weren't busy so I mentioned my issues about the brakes and muffler. The muffler was just a band that had come loose. They reattached that for me. Then they said the back left caliper had brake fluid on it. I'd changed that caliper last year I think. Anyhow, I knew I had to look at that soon as well. That's something I can take care of myself tho and save a bunch of money.<br />
<br />
After that I actually went to the pool and swam for a bit. I miss swimming. I would really be something to live somewhere when I could swim in a nice clean lake all summer. Pool swimming is a bummer when it's so nice out. I'd imagine an outdoor lap pool would suffice.<br />
Then when I got home I did my lifting for the 3rd time that week.<br />
<br />
Then I took my road bike out to the driveway to do some work on it. The clip on aerobars have been removed. I had to install the brakes. I had stolen the ultegras off of it for the tribike because it was easier to change the pads when I'd switch between my trainers and the race wheels. I had to run a new brake cable. I didn't feel like unwrapping the bars so I just ran it through the existing housing. It worked well. The cervelo brakes (or whatever brand they are) are kind of funky. The front one had some corrosion on the adjuster. So I ended up pulling all of that apart to clean and lube that a bit. Then I stole the pedals off my tribike and grabbed a saddle off the shelf and went up and down the street a couple times. It's nice not having the aerobars on there. I've got to work on dialing in saddle position and I probably will need to change the bar height as well and maybe stem length. In other words, it's a work in progress.<br />
<br />
Sunday was a 15 mile run. I'm thankful that Todd decided to run with me, even tho he ran 12 miles Saturday. He stopped mid run for a bit of shopping but probably ran 13 of the 15 with me. All in all, it went well for me. I still really have trouble at the 2 hour mark. Something triggers in me that makes me want to stop at that point. I'm going to try taking in more calories during the 2nd hour to see if that changes anything.<br />
Post run: recovery drink, ice bath, massage. <br />
<br />
Missed my 4 mile run on Tuesday.<br />
Wednesday I ran 8. It was an interesting run. You know how I've been complaining about my right leg being so awkward. How my foot strike it so random in it's placement and all that. Well, my right leg seems to be getting back with the program. It feels like it's moving properly most of the time now. It's been a really really long time since it's felt this way. I'm wondering what has changed. The massages helping? Is it because I haven't been on my bike in weeks? Or is it the run mileage? If I had to guess, I'd guess that it's my lack of biking. I'll bet my cleat position or something about my setup is throwing off my muscle balance in my right leg. I'm thinking of getting some speedplay pedals that have a ton of float to them to see if those work better for me.<br />
Anyhow, obviously the good news is that the mechanics of my right leg for running is getting back on track. The bad news is that it changes a ton of stuff. My right foot was kind of hurting after the run. Also my pace has quickened which on one hand is great but not this late in a marathon schedule. I ran 5 tonight (Friday) and was constantly having to slow myself down. I may have to get my watch out w/ footpod to make sure I run slowly enough.<br />
<br />
This weekend is going to be interesting. I mentioned the brake issue on the car. Well it turns out the piston isn't moving well on the other caliper in the back. So now I've got to work on both of them. If my neighbor is home to help me bleed the brakes, and if I can get the parts. I'll probably swap them out tomorrow. If not. I'll see what I can do with the current parts. Because I've got a run in Central Park on Sunday morning. There isn't a train that will get me there early enough, so that's not an option. Ugh. I really hope everything works out. It's about 100 miles round trip.<br />
<br />
Not to mention, I'm already nervous about the run. 18 miles. My longest run ever. 3 laps around Central Park. I'm really hoping that running with all these other people will give me some race day energy and I'll find the 3 hours will fly right on by. I really need this run to go well. I'm right at the point where I've failed the last two years. Finishing this well, will be a serious confidence booster. catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-25628272672628506912012-09-14T14:48:00.000-04:002012-09-14T14:48:09.299-04:00Weights: How to become more consistent?I started lifting weights this week. As I was planning out what I was going to do, I thought about the fact that in the last 2 years I was never able to keep my weight lifting on schedule. I think I might have figured out why.<br />
<br />
When I pulled out the paper that listed all the exercises from my training program, I remembered that it would take me about an hour to finish the workout. I think I need to adjust the plan to be in the 25-40 minute range or perhaps even shorter. <br />
<br />
There have been times that the workout didn't happen because I didn't feel that I had an hour left in my day. So instead of doing part of it, I don't do any of it.<br />
Then there are times when I couldn't bring myself to do the workout because I knew that I wasn't going to be able to stay strong through the whole list of exercises. So I'd put it off for a day when I might feel better... <br />
<br />
It seems that I need to create a plan that feels much more "doable". So that I'm less likely to skip it.<br />
<br />
Well right now, because of the marathon training, I want to take it easy on my legs. I'd rather do too little than too much seeing how I keep injuring myself preparing for marathons. So I've created a couple different workouts and they only take about 30 minutes.<br />
<br />
One is all upper body which I'll do 3 times this week.<br />
<br />
The lower body I think will break up into 2 lists.<br />
<br />
One will be exercises that I can do at home.<br />
The other will be a list of things I can only do when I'm at a gym.<br />
This way, when I'm at the gym (not often) I'll only be doing exercises that I can't do at home, making the most out of my time spent there.<br />
<br />
I also need to come up with a short list of lower body, at home exercises that I can do after a bike or a run. It may be that I need 2 lists that I alternate between. The point is to get the weight training into the schedule.<br />
I had always been thinking about weight lifting being on the schedule twice a week. Breaking it up like this will probably mean there will be weights 5 days a week. Let's see how it goes.<br />
<br />
<br />catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-57374304989091318302012-09-08T17:29:00.002-04:002012-09-09T13:52:11.534-04:00Can I make it to the NYC Marathon Start Line?Last weekend was perhaps the worst I've felt during a run that wasn't preceded by a 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike, which I paced poorly (ahem.. Mont Trembant back in June).<br />
Of course the pig roast / beer fest last weekend probably contributed as well....<br />
<br />
Anyhow, I decided to try a number of new things in an attempt to build up and survive the marathon training.<br />
<br />
1) Fueling during the run. I really haven't tried different products to know if one is more effective than another for me. I have been using GU because I like the flavors. Well I now have some EFS Liquid Shot that I'm going to use for awhile to see how that works out.<br />
<br />
2) Calf Compression Sleeves. This past Thursday I was supposed to run 7-8 miles, I ran 3. My right calf kept freaking out on me. Everything would feel fine, then BAM! A muscle in my right calf would pull tight for a split second, making it feel that if I stepped on it the next stride, I would damage something. I'd stop and it would be fine... for another few minutes.<br />
Not sure why it was happening, uneven pavement? Tight muscles? I can't say, but I decided that I was going to wear my calf sleeves for my long run and hope that it helps. Well that long run was today, 13 or so miles and not a single issue with my calves. I was on the even surface of the Canal Path but I'm hoping that the sleeves were part of the solution.<br />
<br />
3) Recovery Fuel. I've been eating something post run but maybe what I'm eating digests too slowly to be an effective recovery. (I can't be like Mirinda Carfrae and drink chocolate milk unless I take it with a bunch of those lactose pills). Of course many recovery drinks have whey in them and would likely to cause me grief as well. So after <a href="http://www.2buildmusclefast.com/2011/04/whey-protein-isolate-vs-whey-protein.html">a bit of reading</a>, I discovered that the Whey Isolate is probably my best bet because it's low on lactose. So I ordered up the EFS Ultragen. It's coffee flavored, it's drinkable. I'm hoping another flavor may be better but honestly I don't care. If it does what I need it to do, down the hatch it goes. It's not THAT bad.<br />
<br />
4) Foam Roller. I've had this thing for a long time and it's just not been used much. Until now. I've actually got some "free" time since I haven't been swimming or biking. So I checked youtube for some help and started to do some rolling a few times a week. I haven't found a best video yet. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJLxruO3su0">Start here</a> and just watch a bunch of "related" ones until you think you've got more of a clue than before. It's way too easy to avoid the painful areas. Suck it up and get it done. I'm told that it gets less painful if you roll often.<br />
<br />
5) Ice bath after the long runs. This is a "must do" for me. Any time I run over 2 hours, fast or slow, my hips, knees and feet really need this. (really makes me wonder if I should be sticking to 13.1 as my longest event).<br />
<br />
6) Ice packs on feet and knees after every run, no matter how short/long. Icing my feet isn't new to me. It's what I do to keep Plantar Fascitis from reappearing. Putting ice packs on my knees is new since Timberman 70.3 a few weeks ago. Honestly, running has me feeling really old lately. The ice definitely helps. If you've never tried it, you really should. Same with the ice baths.<br />
<br />
7) Supplements: <a href="http://www.naturemade.com/products/supplements/triple-omega">Triple Omega 3/6/9</a>, <a href="http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11540398">Glucosamine / Chondroitin sulfate</a>. I understand that these may not help me at all. As long as they don't hurt me, they are staying on the list. (feel free to comment) For what it's worth, I rarely use NSAIDs. If I do use them, I make sure they aren't in my system during a workout. (again feel free to offer feedback, always curious of others knowledge on the subject)<br />
<br />
8) I have a number of prepaid massages saved up. I've booked a massage
every Thursday night and Sunday night from here until the marathon on
November 4th. I'll cancel along the way if I'm feeling good. I just
wanted to have it on the schedule so I know it's available if I need it.<br />
<br />
9) Sleep. I've been very focused on going to bed early. Between this and a much lighter training schedule, I've realized just how tired I've been for way too long. It's kind of funny to say that marathon training has been a nice break or an easier schedule, but I've chosen a very novice program from Hal Higdon and only have 4 runs a week.<br />
<br />
10) Diet: I've been having a very hard time over the last year to lose weight. It's typically not WHAT I'm eating but HOW MUCH. I'm not exactly sure what's happened over the last week but I'm not eating as much. Perhaps my body has adjusted to the lighter training schedule? Or maybe because I'm not exhausted because of the training schedule, so I'm not eating to get through my day? Or is it the run focus? I've heard that if you are a runner your body WANTS to be lighter. I don't know, a mix of all of them perhaps. All I can say is that I will be very happy to see the numbers on the scale getting smaller again.<br />
<br />
There should be a 11th item on there but it hasn't really been happening yet so I didn't include it. I'll put it as a subnote here.<br />
<br />
11) Crosstraining: Basic abs workouts, Light strength routine, swimming & biking.<br />
I really tried to get some swimming in. I went to the pool twice and it was closed both times. Grrr. <br />
<br />
My first confidence builder/destroyer is in 2 weeks. I'm signed up for the 18 miler in central park. That will be my longest run ever if I finish it. I'm hopeful that the race day vibe will help me once I reach the 2 hour mark. I really start to lose motivation at this point and I'll have another hour to go, maybe more. (If only I could run faster...)<br />
<br />
Edit: I think I missed something. I just found this <a href="http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2012/09/rethinking-cool-down-and-xc-coach-at.html">article regarding cool downs</a>. catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-90860047432674100982012-09-08T09:36:00.001-04:002012-09-08T09:37:58.607-04:00My new favorite Smoothie<div class="MsoNormal">
I have <span class="GramE">a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>new</span> smoothie recipe that I really
like.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You really can't go too wrong with your portions, it's depends on what you like.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1/2 to 3/4<span class="GramE"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>cup</span> almond milk (my lactose free solution feel free to use milk)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="GramE">1 cup</span> of frozen blueberries</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
½ to <span class="GramE">¾ frozen</span> or unfrozen banana</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 TBS of Honey (It’s not as good without the honey)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1 or 2 TBS peanut butter (to taste)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Throw some protein powder if you want to boost protein content. I’ve been using Rice powder.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then toss some ice cubes in and blend.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I really don't like bananas but I love this. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe eventually I'll actually like/tolerate bananas because of this. </div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-9954328822349907432012-09-04T20:34:00.001-04:002012-09-04T20:34:18.882-04:00Update
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alright, let’s see if I can get back on track with writing
some blog posts again on a semi-regular basis. I’ve been coming across all
sorts of good stuff on the web that I’ve wanted to write about and link to and
I really would like keep track of that information.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first thing was information about bike fitting.
Following Timberman, I really wanted to get back out on the road bikes, without
areo bars. Which would probably mean that I would need to be fit to my bike
again. I was never very comfortable on my road bike and so I was looking to
compare it’s geometry to my tri bike. That turned into a whole lot of reading
but at the end of it, I felt like I had a clue. Now I’m really interested to
see a fitter and see how it all matches up. Once I confirm my understanding
of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it all, it’s definitely going to help
me when it’s time to shop for bikes. I’d been looking at cyclocross and 29ers
and comparing geometry between frames. I was seeing how certain brands would be
better for different body types right out of the box because of their geometry.
At some point I need to get out there and start test riding some of them just
for fun.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For now I’ll just leave you with this link that has a ton of
information on the subject.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.slowtwitch.com/Bike_Fit/Choosing_a_Tri_Bike_via_Stack_and_Reach/Stack_Reach_Primer_Chapter_One_95.html">Link to Stack/Reach information</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ll get back to this once I’ve had some time to work on it
more.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve also found a bunch of swimming videos that I found to
be very interesting. I’ve definitely lost momentum in the pool. I’m starting to
feel like I want to get back in there and get to work. (Too bad I didn’t feel
this way all summer.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I lived near a
nice lake with a good place to open water swim, this wouldn’t have been an
issue.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ll eventually post something with all the swim video.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course my biggest disappointment right now is the fact that
WTC/Ironman has dropped/canceled Mooseman for 2013. Writing out an angry rant
here isn’t going to change anything so I won’t. I’ll just hope that someone
else steps in and takes over the venue and does a nice job with it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My focus right now is the NYC Marathon. I’ve decided to
choose the most basic of plans out there. 4 runs a week, a plan that will
hopefully get me to both the start line and finish line. (Obviously, not very
quickly). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So far it isn’t looking very promising. First long run was
cut very short at 5 miles. Then this weekend’s 12 miler was just awful. It was
bad from mile 1 to mile 6. My legs were VERY tight and slow. 7-12 actually felt
better. I’m certain my pace was still horrible tho. It’s too early to be
concerned, I’m going to keep at it and see where I end up. </div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945617152065054661.post-71227391637022611002012-08-20T22:12:00.003-04:002012-08-20T22:18:35.483-04:00Matt's 2012 Timberman Race Report<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-font-charset:78;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1791491579 18 0 131231 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-unhide:no;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
mso-default-props:yes;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"MS 明朝";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;
mso-header-margin:.5in;
mso-footer-margin:.5in;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
-->
</style>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Heading into this year’s Timberman was kind of strange.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose it was because both Genine and I
knew we hadn’t done the training we should have done to make this a successful
race. Which I suppose took the pressure off in terms of expectations. On the other
hand, I had no desire to suffer through the cramping I dealt with at Mont
Tremblant 70.3. So even though there were lowered expectations, there were some
goals in place, and there never seems to be a lack of lessons learned during
each event. I’ll start off with one of them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We had to check in our bike the day before the event. No
problem, except we were meeting the McFadden’s for dinner at their place and I
felt we were running behind schedule. So I checked my bike in leaving all the
taping of equipment into place onto my bike for the next morning. Not a big
deal. Except that the next morning I was doing my tape job while it was packed
in the rack. 6 GU’s on the top tube, it looked good but I found out on the
course that I didn’t tape some of them low enough. So when I ripped them off, I
only got half of the opening, which leads to much longer than twice the time to
consume the GU while on the bike. Lesson learned.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Swim: I knew this wasn’t going to be a good swim for me.
(haven’t put in the laps). I still planned on focusing on a few things. At Mont
Tremblant, I was way off line and had to swim like crazy to get back on track.
After that race was when I realized that because I tend to go left, I have to
pass people on the right, otherwise I’m going to be going off track. This worked
very well other than for the first 300m or so. Because I’m so slow, I put
myself further back in the pack for the start, almost last in fact. I started
on the buoy line because it was a clockwise swim. Unfortunately, someone nearly
the same speed as I was to my left and he kept drifting right, to my drifting
left…. We were hitting each other so much I was expecting an elbow to my ribs
or a punch thrown at any moment. I backed down. I let him swim ahead and I
watched him swim to the inside of the buoy line. After that it was a pretty
good swim, meaning I found feet when I could, I swam a good line and I wasn’t
killing myself aerobically. On the way back to the shore, I spotted a cap from
the wave behind us. I jumped on his feet…. For about 4 strokes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kept his kick in sight as long as I could
for a directional aid tho’. I ended up using about 3 or 4 people from the wave
behind me as a guide on the way to shore. The best news, when I stood up to get
out, my legs didn’t cramp on me. Finally!!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Swim: 38:00 for comparison in 2009 I swam a 33:27. This year
IMMT 37:44.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wetsuit stripping: I hope the kids weren’t offended that I
didn’t go to them even tho they were waiting. I waited briefly for the only
adult male I saw there. It went smoothly and I was headed for my bike. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTDIkV2BgL6fTyZDlZJnTdW3MFzJAVPzgDo8w_GNp8kk6DnMFoPibEEQQZSPf4h8J2FRPudrsc86KxKIgSPLbzBBUyNoZq2aF8VzO5ftjQ4Esh0GqW6C5hFejRDOscPdhjALdxu5onR8j/s1600/Timberman+2012_0068+MedExp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcTDIkV2BgL6fTyZDlZJnTdW3MFzJAVPzgDo8w_GNp8kk6DnMFoPibEEQQZSPf4h8J2FRPudrsc86KxKIgSPLbzBBUyNoZq2aF8VzO5ftjQ4Esh0GqW6C5hFejRDOscPdhjALdxu5onR8j/s320/Timberman+2012_0068+MedExp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running into T1</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bike: I plan to go really easy on the bike today. If I have
the cramping issues I had at Mont Tremblant, I’ll likely never do another 70.3.
I told Genine I planned to stay in my small front chain ring as much as possible.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was in the 7<sup>th</sup> of 12 waves starting today. The
later waves were equal to my age or younger so there were people passing me
like I was standing still. I had read about how when racing an ironman, your
bike ride should feel like the easiest ride you’ve done all year in terms of
effort. Well, considering my training, I figured this was a good strategy to
follow. So I kept my ego in check and watched what felt like 100’s of people
pass me. I was being more than courteous to people that were approaching. I’d
wait to pass until the really speedy people were around me. Which I thought was
going to lead me into taking a penalty. We were on the way out, approaching an
intersection, which had cones<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>out to
separate us from the cars. I was looking to pass some slower riders and I
looked over my shoulder to see others approaching. Well I think it was a group
of 5-8 riders…. And a motorcycle with an official on it. When we reached the
cones, it got really congested. I was definitely close to the slow cyclists who
where ahead of me and to my left was this peloton of 5-8 going by and I’m
watching the official on the motorcycle write down numbers onto his clipboard.
I felt that he looked right at me as he wrote it down. At which point I thought
to myself, this is going to be my slowest 70.3 bike and they are going to give
me a penalty on top of it! Ah well, the group that was passing deserved it. If
I got caught in the slow lane in a “draft” waiting to pass, that will teach me
a lesson. (I didn’t get a penalty). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shortly after that, I heard a siren behind me. Up ahead, I
see a tangle of traffic and people off the road tending to someone. That always
makes me nervous. A good reminder that safe is better than fast. (at least for
me). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I spot Ed who started 15 minutes ahead of me just before I
turned off of 106 towards the turnaround. I note the time and see how long it
takes me to reach where he was. It was a bit of a guesstimate, but I was about
even with him. That was encouraging. I really expected that he might beat me by
10 minutes or more today.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This next statement might give light to my lack of
intensity. I think it is important that friends point out to THEIR friends,
when it is time to replace their bike shorts or Triathlon bibs, as it is
unlikely that they will be in front of a mirror in full sunlight. There were
several people on the course today that their shorts, in full sun, were
presenting a full moon to the people behind them. Not pretty. I know it’s a
tough topic to bring up people but I’d appreciate it if you’d mention to them
that it’s time for some new shorts/bibs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once I got off of
106, I knew that I could probably get away with pushing a bit harder. As I was
climbing the connecting road to 107, there were 2 kids on BMX bikes (or 20
inchers as they are called, I think). As I climbed by, I said “Race Ya!”. The
younger of the 2 said “All Right!!!”. The older said “Noooo, you can’t do
that”. Could have been a funny race to the top of the hill!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
107 is a downhill bomb on somewhat iffy pavement. So perhaps
a blessing in disguise, I had a few bikers ahead of me that were overly
cautious and a car between them and me, there would be no bombing of 107 today.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next we climb across Frank Bean road to 11. I passed quite a
few people here. I started to feel good about my pacing decision. Then when I
started to climb 11, I knew I wanted a clear road to bomb the downhill if
possible. I passed enough people to create a gap ahead of me, then eased off a
bit. At which point a couple people passed me but not very convincingly. So I
passed them back as we neared the top an then FLEW down the hill. I don’t think
I was passed again until I was in the no pass zone just before transition.
That’s right. A QT2 person passed me, and the person ahead of me in the no pass
zone going into transition. I get that we should have been going faster here
but seriously, we are talking maybe a 5 second difference. I hope that was the
difference of a podium for him….</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3:08:18 .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2009
Timberman 3:06:36 (with a flat). Mont Tremblant 3:02:16</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ihQryBbmtOzwr-2fYSGKN6W8UJnwXdA5OmG5QCXHfhR4nEmov1LRuj2vDKUCMSOARU-tFNKPcoR_OpXXNPSc5b6e9UJht7uaPh1aGimkvsAJ7LCbi2ESLEyR0U065ZVY4QeP0pCjckXL/s1600/Timberman+2012_0217+MedExp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_ihQryBbmtOzwr-2fYSGKN6W8UJnwXdA5OmG5QCXHfhR4nEmov1LRuj2vDKUCMSOARU-tFNKPcoR_OpXXNPSc5b6e9UJht7uaPh1aGimkvsAJ7LCbi2ESLEyR0U065ZVY4QeP0pCjckXL/s320/Timberman+2012_0217+MedExp.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Liked the new Lizard Skins bar tape and CeeGee's aero pads!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Run: In my head I had 2 hours as my time goal. I realized
that this would be difficult but I was hopeful that I might make up for time
lost on the bike. (I was surprised that I finished my bike in 3:08:18, I was
kind of expecting 3:15:xx). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Very early into my run, I see a pro woman approaching.
Heather Wurtle. People are applauding and yelling. I figure she must be in
first. Moments later I spot Cait Snow. She is FLYING. I shout “You can catch
her!” I had a feeling that I’d like to see this finish line. (Cait came up 13
seconds short)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back to me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I didn’t have my footpod to track my pace. Nor did I bother
to hit the lap button along the way. I just kept looking at my HR and it was
low 170’s. Could I hold that for 13.1?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first aid station I came to had a sign up. Pancakes and
Bacon Ahead! Seriously, There was a 18” tall pile of bacon and dozens of
pancakes on a table. I was very tempted to try the bacon but it was too early
in the run. Not long after that, I came upon the best aid station in all of
triathlon. (at least in my limited experience). The have a pile of ice shavings
from the ice rink. So you can grab a snowball or two and put it wherever you
think it would help the most. This is why I make sure I have a hat and not a
visor at Timberman. The snowball under the hat is awesome.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I was approaching the first turn around, I knew I should
be seeing Ed soon. I saw him just as I left the highway and was heading into
the neighborhood. I noted the time to see if I’ve made up anytime on him since
the bike. I believe I came up with 10 minutes down with about 10 miles to go.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The way back to the park has some climbing. I was pushing
along nicely right up to when you are about to leave the highway at mile 4. My
right quad cramped. Not nearly as bad as what I dealt with at Mont Tremblant. I
was able to start walking within a few seconds. I took this as my cue to dial
the intensity down. That also meant that I decided to powerwalk the steepest
hill on the course. Not a big deal, better than cramping up.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I get back to the park and am met with cheers from the
McFaddens as I head out for loop two. I was tempted to ask how far ahead Ed was
but figured I’d be better off just managing myself and not trying to push it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I reached the Pancake and Bacon table…. There was no
bacon left on the table. The price you pay for being slow I guess. Fortunately,
the snow pile up ahead was still in full operation. I can’t remember who I saw
first heading in for lap 1 Ed’s son Dan or Genine. I think it was Genine. She
was just pushing through it. Then when I saw Dan, he looked like he was doing
just fine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I got to the end of the highway heading towards the final
turn around, I figured I would soon be seeing Ed again. Only<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never saw him. I figured I must have been
over confident in my pace and didn’t start watching for him early enough. I
could have easily missed him at an aid station. Just keep running.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was feeling pretty good about the fact that I had just run
the entire way out once again without cramping, but the scene of the crime was
just up ahead. Instead of tempting fate, I power walked that section. Kind of a
bummer, but I’m going to call it game management. In golf you can go for the
green and possibly drop it into the pond for a penalty, or you can lay it up
and leave yourself an easy chip. There is a time when each of those decisions
are the right choice. I took the easy layup. Then I was back running again.
Oddly enough, just as I was approaching the steep hill again, I thought I saw
Ed just up ahead on the hill. I knew running was going to be a bad choice. Fast
walked the hill. The whole time thinking I’d be upset if I didn’t catch up,
because at this point it would be fun to run to the finish line with him.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once I got to the top of the hill, I couldn’t see him, I did
see Genine headed the other way. I finally asked, “Have you seen Ed?” She said
no, he’s got to be behind you. Now I’m really confused. Maybe Genine just
missed him.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I get to the finish, no sprint down the chute or anything. I
actually didn’t seem to have anyone nearby in front or behind me. The
McFadden’s were cheering and I made it to the finish. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Run: 2:09:19<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2009
2:09:54<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mont Tremblant 2:22:14</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Total 6:01:31<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2009
5:55:44 (with a flat).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mont Tremblant
6:10:53</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXz3aL4Th5ch_lFM99upTQHMDtPKzaQNZIzJ3B0S5QX9CCZsNR6Sw5VJ4gxsTWVPcL9Gqj9TH-MsW2qneym0i_7UeYpOQTrRNocte2GqZiMIDJ6_uy_uPEPNiy9UuPv3ikvh66mtZEav_k/s1600/Timberman+2012_0497+MedExp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXz3aL4Th5ch_lFM99upTQHMDtPKzaQNZIzJ3B0S5QX9CCZsNR6Sw5VJ4gxsTWVPcL9Gqj9TH-MsW2qneym0i_7UeYpOQTrRNocte2GqZiMIDJ6_uy_uPEPNiy9UuPv3ikvh66mtZEav_k/s320/Timberman+2012_0497+MedExp.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m going to say that Mont Tremblant is the more difficult
bike course. Even so, I find it interesting that my slowing down by 6 minutes
on the bike, made an enormous difference in being able to “run” without major
cramping. Which saved me 13 minutes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At first I found it surprising that my total time is only
off by about 6 minutes compared to 2009. I think I weigh 15 pounds more than I
did in 2009 and my swim was about 5-6 minutes slower this year. To be fair, I
should subtract another 6 minutes from 2009 for the flat I fixed on the bike.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That may be it for triathlons in 2012. I have no inspiration
to race Buckman or Skylands. I’m just not in the shape I should be in to make
it really fun. Which is the big lesson for the year. If you want to see
improvements, you’ve gotta be at race weight. Diet is going to the top of the
list. It’s going to be more important than biking or swimming for awhile. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
NYC Marathon attempt is next. Maybe my pacing lesson can
carry over to Marathon.</div>
catmarlsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06743906241726745015noreply@blogger.com2