Travel (Justin)

I've been struggling to get into a consistent training sched as I prep for the Goofy challenge. Last week I was sick and when you throw that in with all the usual excuses- tired after work, wife on a break from training, and it gets dark at 4 freakin' 30!!!- I pretty much ended up doing nothing. I got in 1 medium and 1 long run and thats it...pretty lame.

This week I decided I am re-motivated and ready to dive in head first. I had to travel to Ft Worth, TX for work so I packed up my new running kicks (Mizuno Wave Elixir 4s) and some warm-weather running gear. Upon arrival in Texas, I've found its a lot colder than expected (H55 L34) but that just means that locals were too cold to go outside and overcrowd my run route. The low temps has made this city a virtual ghost town. I missed yesterdays run b/c of work so I woke up early this morning, wound my way through the city, and hit the Trinity River running route. The starting temp in the low 30's ensured I had the place too myself- though a couple people in the city commented that I must be crazy for running in shorts. Its hard to see from the picture but I started from the office where the picture was taken and ran along the river thats hiding behind the big glass building on the right (total run was about 6 miles). The goal is to get in 1-2 more runs before leaving tomorrow afternoon and maybe an hour bike at the hotel gym.

Lots of reflections in one big paragraph!

On my walk at lunch on this beautiful day (70 degrees and sunny!), I thought a lot about this past season and next. Some of the below might seem choppy but I'm kinda just letting my thoughts go (and don't really feel like editing)...

This past season was a great one for me in many ways. I kicked the season off with a great race at the Honu 70.3. This was my second half ever and I went sub 6 hours -- 40 minutes faster than my first half (Rhode Island) in 2008. Then, at the end of the season, I took on the Pumpkinman half and did 5:50:56, an 8 minute improvement from Honu with no prepping as I was in recovery from IMLP. I did a few other repeat races (Shelton and Cranberry Oly) and did faster times than the previous year at both. IMLP, the race of the year made this a great season all on it's own! I still don't know what made me sign up. Whatever it was, I'm happy for it. When I did the Rhode Island 70.3 in 2008, I was making the turn for the second loop on the run when my brother decided to videotape me as he ran by my side. In pain and on the verge of giving up (though I would never give up!), I turned to the video camera and said very clearly "I am NOT doing Ironman!" Ha, well, so much for that! When I had my first talk with coach John, far before the training season started, I told him I wanted to finish IMLP under 14 hours, could I do that? I need to give myself more credit! I did 12:35 in my first Ironman, a time I couldn't have been happier with. I hope I am never not completely nervous and scared out of my mind for Ironman races, it's a pretty awesome feeling to have and following it up with a finish is pretty awesome too. Also this season, I was sponsored by Bear Naked, which was a cool experience to be a part of. My biggest improvement and the one I'm most proud of is biking. Going back down memory lane when I bought my first bike, I fell straight over when I tried to clip into the pedals. On that same day, my first bike ride ever, Joey and Justin thought it would be a great idea to bring me up a road called Hilltop Drive (you can guess from the name, it's a road straight up a steep hill). Not even halfway up and I again fell straight over while fighting the incline and not being able to snap out of my pedals to catch my fall. Now, I make Hilltop a part of every ride when I'm in Ridgefield, even if it's just riding up it once only to go right back down before heading home. This past season I upgraded my race bike to a Cervelo which means areobars! Just the thought of areobars scared me before this season. I took my first ride alone on my new bike and quickly overcame a fear of riding areo bars! I finished my season with my second marathon ever, the Baystate marathon, and set an 11+ min PR. But most importantly, the best part of training/racing this past season has been that I've gotten to go through it all with my family - racing and training with them and having them their for support is unbelievable.

Top 10 training memories of this past season:

1.  Buying my first ever carbon bike (and treating it like it's my little piece of gold). My first drive in the car when I had to bring it along, I packed it up IN the car instead of on the bike rack because I didn't want to get it dirty with dead bugs... hahaha!)
2.  Biking my first ride over 70 miles which came out to be 116.82 miles with Justin, all while trying to beat a bad storm!
3.  Going for swims in Walden Pond - mine and Justin's best discovery of the season!
4.  Doing the Hilly 100 (though it didn't exactly come out to 100 miles) with Joey in the cold and rain. This route ended with a climb up Cains Hill that Joey feared he wouldn't be able to shift up due to frozen fingers, but we both made it!
5.  QT2 - yes, very much a love/hate relationship :-) But, seriously, my ability to get past my dislikes in foods so I can eat more healthily.
6.  Running on the treadmill only ONE TIME and discovering the peacefulness in winter running.
7.  Joey breaking his derailer at mile 82 of a 100-something bike ride followed by us all sitting on the side of the road for over an hour as we waited for a ride home while dogs barked at us and bugs bit us the entire time.
8.  "Night of the Living Dead" bike ride with Justin.
9.  Rich guy lending us his rich guy car to go get our car 20 minutes away as we were stranded in the middle of a ride in the dark. The entire time thinking we were going to get pulled over and gunned down by the police for driving a stolen vehicle.
10.  Getting hit by reality and getting terribly winded 10 minutes into our bike ride in Hawaii (head + wind = tough riding) and getting extremely worried that I was doomed for the Honu 70.3 just a few days away. For a positive memory, being able to jump into the ocean for a cool down dip halfway through a training run!

Next season:
Ironman races are still in the books for me, but next season I've decided to focus on 70.3 distance races. There are positives and negatives to training for an Ironman but in reality, next year, I think I'll only have the sanity to train for 70.3s. I'll focus on improving at the half distance and then take on another Ironman in 2011. That's the plan and I'm stickin' to it.  This way, I'll have more time on the weekends and nights to do other things than swim, bike and run, like have a life. I'll also be able to do more races next season which I was itching for this season. With an Ironman race, your entire schedule and race calendar is planned around that one race. And, let's face it, I'm broke and want more for my money. I can get two half ironman races for the price of one full Ironman. Sounds like a deal to me ;) A focus on halves will also allow some more time to train for a marathon or two. A Boston spot is my carrot and I'll keep running till I get it!

Those are my (many) thoughts for today. Since I've gotten to reflect, I though it'd be appropriate to end this with a picture of me finishing my first race ever - the inaugural NYC half marathon! Ah, the start of it all!!

Shamed into a Post...(Justin)

I always appreciate Liz's subtle hints that I haven't been doing my part with the blog.

As she mentioned, I started training again after a long and much needed hiatus. Having taken such a long break, I feel completely refreshed and ready to set some unrealistic goals...which brings me to the Disney Marathon. I'm signed up for the Goofy Challenge but may drop out of the half to focus on the full marathon- it all depends on the next couple months of training. If I'm capable of getting near a Boston-qualifying time (3:10:59) its marathon only- otherwise I'll be trying to set PR's in the half and full back to back. So I guess I'll have lots to blog about in the coming weeks. Now I'll cover the shoes...

After some post-season discussions with Liz and Jon Hirsch (our coach) about our future goals- long term and short- I started thinking about what I want to accomplish in triathlon/endurance sports. For a variety of reasons, I know I will never be a top age grouper or have a true chance of qualifying for Kona. I'd love these things to happen but there's a limit to the sacrifices I'm willing to make for sport so these probably aren't in the cards for me- Liz on the other hand has a definite shot at these goals. So my "goals" are to continually improve my times and find new ways to push myself. We've signed up for a bunch of half iron distance races next summer so I'll definitely have my shots at getting faster.

As for finding new ways to push my limits, I have a lot ideas for the next few years but want to start with a 50 mile ultra marathon next fall. I'm never content with just finishing and know that I'm prone to running injuries (every season so far I've had to take some time off) so I evaluated my training. The idea for barefoot running started by reading "Born to Run" (seems like it affected a lot of people the same way) but then I started doing a lot of research and reading argument from both sides. Without going on a whole rant on the pros/cons, I decided to give them a try. Worst case, I still get hurt and toss the shoes in the trash. Best case, I run with better form, strengthen my legs, and prevent common injuries. I've only worn them appr. 5-6 times and just jumped from a previous long run of 15 mins to 30 mins and felt really good but extremely sore and tired- after some more time I'll give another post of my reviews.

So would I wear these if I was still in high school...hell no. I'd be too self-conscious. But in a big city this is one of the more normal things you see. I have no idea what line I'll draw in the sand between running minimalistic and wearing running shoes but I know I'll be keeping them solely in the sports usage category...no fashion statement for me.

What I've been up to

Hey All - sorry for not blogging in awhile. When Jus and I started this blog, we agreed to keep the focus 100% on all things related to training/racing, and, well, since I haven't been doing much of that, nor have I thought about it, I haven't really  had anything to post. Justin on the other hand, he's started training again so he has no excuses (er, Jus, get the hint... START POSTING!).

I've been in a very deep recovery/rest  period since the Baystate Marathon and have limited myself from exercising. Honestly though, I haven't even wanted to exercise either. Coming home from work, sitting on the couch, watching TV and continuously losing at Monopoly gets old quick though and I'm starting to hit the point of restlessness. Tonight, I joined Jus on his 1/2 hour run and kept a nice slow pace. It was an awesome night for a run - 50's, no wind. Why did it rain and drop into the 40's, with snow later in the afternoon on the day of the marathon, yet now it's awesome out???

My next race is not for another 2 months, which will be the Disney Goofy Challenge. I'll run a half marathon on Saturday followed with a full marathon on Sunday. Along for the ride is Justin and my brother Joey and my sister Courtney is in for the half. We're taking a mini-vacation to hit the theme parks and have some fun with the company of my other sis, Jen who will be around as the cheer squad! I can't wait, it should be a lot of fun.

Oh, the picture above. Justin got a pair of vibram five toes awhile back. Want to know about them and what he thinks of them? Well then, he should post about them, shouldn't he?

New Vanilla Gingerbread GU

We just got a holiday shipment in of GUs: Mint Chocolate (YUM, my favorite) and new Vanilla Gingerbread! Hoping it taste good... if it's anything like Mint Chocolate, it will be DELICIOUS! We'll let you know.

Baystate Marathon Race Report - 10/18/09

Today I ran the Baystate Marathon. Total time (according to watch) was 3:44:25 (8:35 min/mile pace).

Good news: I improved my marathon time by 11:13 which is great. The only other marathon I've run was the NYC Marathon last year (excluding Ironman) where I did a 3:55:38. Bad news: I missed qualifying for the Boston Marathon by 3:26 - so close but no cigar! Man!

I'm kinda bummed I didn't qualify but I can't be upset because I improved my time by a lot. And, I'm really happy with my performance with the factors that played into this race. One, I never REALLY gave myself a rest after Ironman - I was doing an oly tri 3 weeks after and then a half the second weekend of September. With recovery after the half, I had 3 solid weeks of training for the marathon which included three 20 miles on the weekends. My nutrition has gone down the drain and I'm not sure why I thought eating healthy the week leading up to Baystate would somehow make up for the last 2 1/2 months. The weather has been freakishly cold for October (well, all summer at that) and this morning it was 40 degrees with a feels like 33 degrees, windy, overcast skies and 80% chance of rain. Mentally, I was checked out of race mode after the Pumpkinman Half. So considering all the above, I'm extremely proud of my time today and it only gives me better hope for a chance of qualifying next year. Now, on to the race...

It was an 8am start. I met Kathleen and Brian (from work), Kathleen was doing the marathon, Brian the half, in the arena where check in was and shortly after we headed to the race start.

After saying goodbye to Justin and Jen, we hunted down the 3:40 pacer. This is a 1,000 person race so it wasn't too hard to find the pacer and get a spot close by. For the first 7 miles or so the rain held out but once it started raining, it rained. With the rain, it felt cold and with my clothes soaked, I started freezing up. I held strong till about mile 21 where even grabbing a cup of water hurt because my hands were so cold. I stuck with the pacer till mile 20 and was feeling awesome about a qualifying time, too. I guess that's the thrill of racing long distance... you never know when things will go right or wrong and how. The other runners were awesome and everyone was in good spirits. I liked the pace group I was with - a good group of peeps to run with.

Throughout the race, the 3:40 pacer switched out 3 times. This mentally deflated me a bit because while I know they are doing this to guarantee a true finish time, I would like the same pacer to pace us the entire time so that their bodies can adjust to the mileage we are putting in and pace us off how we all feel. The last pacer that came in was told we were behind our time by 1 minute (which I disagree with) which seemed to have translated to like 5 minutes to her as she booked away from the pack. None of the group stuck with her as her sprint with fresh legs was just not doable for us with 20 miles under our belt. It was now my responsibility to finish this race on my own.

Clearly I slowed down enough in those last 6 miles to come up short. When I hit the last mile marker, I had about 6 mins left on my watch to qualify. I tried to pick up the pace but my body was saying no. I hit 3:41:00 as I turned off the street into the final finishing area, which honestly was a let down for being so close but I was also so happy for doing such a great time and just finishing. It was cold at the finish and I was shaking. I B-lined it to the bathroom to change into dry clothes which oddly, did not warm me up.

At the end of the day, it's another marathon I've successfully completed! I think I'll be back at Baystate next year to try to get my 3:40 and will cross my fingers for better weather! =)

Thanks for Jus and Jen for coming out on a gross day and cheering me on. I envied you two as you drove by in the car screaming out the window with cheers.

NOW, it's officially the end of my race season - time to be lazy and put some weight on before we do this all over again next year! hahahaha.

Getting my stuff ready at race check-in

Mad at Jen for dropping out of the Marathon :(

Race start

3:40 pace group - I'm the one in the grey shirt in the middle!

Headed for the finish - oh the rain.

Jus and I after the race!

Ridgefield 1/2 Marathon Race Report - 10/4/09

This past weekend, Jenny, Joey and I ran the Ridegfield Half Marathon. It turned out to be an awesome day for a race – warm and (eventually) sunny. It was a late start of 8:30am so we got to “sleep in”, eat some breakfast, relax and not rush the morning of. Cork was kind enough to come support us and she brought along 4-legged support crew, Reese. I think the two of them ended up doing a lot of running/walking as they moved from point to point throughout the race!

Going into the race I wanted to run my marathon pace of 8:20 to see what kind of shape I’m in. I’ve done several 20 mile runs the post consecutive weekends and my last I paced an 8:24 which I was very happy with. I felt good at race start. When the horn went off, I started fast – first mile in 7:40 – SLOW DOWN! I made a conscious effort to slow the pace down after that and ended up pacing about 8 min miles for the next 3 miles. My pace was still too fast for my liking and it hit me quick. At mile 6 or so, I started running each mile slower and slower. Saw Cork and Reese at mile 7 and gave a shout that I was TIRED but at that point, you’re more than halfway done and for some reason that thought works for me to keep me going.

The last 2 miles I slowed down considerably. Not sure of my pace but I would guess 9:30 min/mile. I finished at 1:50:56, good for an 8:27 min/mile pace. While I am happy with this finish, I am kind of bummed at the same time because this was an easy course. Maybe my body is just tired and I need to physically and mentally relax a bit before the marathon. Maybe my lack of nutrition during the race (took nothing but GU20) left me with no energy. Maybe some skipped run workouts due to working late are hurting me, not helping? I have to improve my pace by 7 secs for the big day – can I do it?

Joey headed in with a sub 2 hr time and Jen came in at just over 2 hrs. Great job to both of them – it’s always fun doing races with family! Thanks to Cork and Reese for making it out for us!

Now, it’s time to taper.