Time to run

This will be quick! I did my first 20 miler this past Saturday and made it through in 3 hrs 5 mins. That's good for a 9:15 min/mile and in all honesty, I didn't run to run fast, I ran to what felt right so I am feeling very good about my pace. 2 more of these to go...

(My favorite view of Boston from run)

I headed out at 6am today for an hour run with lots of hills - there is only one spot to do that near me and it's Beacon Hill. I did 6.75 miles in 1hr 6 min for a 9:46 min/mile pace. MyMyRun says I climbed a total of 328 ft. Not sure if that's good or not for doing a hill workout.

(6am in Boston - good morning!)

(one of the hills of Beacon Hill - it's far more intimidating in person, I swear)

Cranberry Trifest Race Report (Oly) - 8/30/09

So it’s been awhile and I blame this entirely on Justin for not posting enough… technically it’s his turn! ;)

Anyways, not much has been going on over here. Jus and I have been doing some really light workouts but nothing to demanding. A few runs here and there with a mix of biking. Swimming… ummm…. yea, swimming… we’ve done none of that. This weekend I start my first 20 miler for my marathon training – John says to keep it easy, goal is to just finish. This should be interesting.

We’ve done a couple races since the last post. 8/30 we raced in the Cranberry TriFest. Sprint was on Saturday, Oly on Sunday. Saturday’s race was cancelled due to a tropical storm but lucky for us the Oly was still on. Conditions weren’t excellent, but not bad either. Overcast skies, dry roads (considering how much rain we got the day before), the air was a bit cool. This race is used as a regional club championship race so there are a lot of fast racers on the course.

Swim: [30:36 - 1:55/100yds]
The swim is in Loon Pond in Lakeville, MA, a shallow pond where you can easily stand the entire 0.9 miles. I was the second to last wave group to go out, Justin I think the 4^th to go out. I lined up close to the front of the group only to get agitated and annoyed once I started swimming. I slowed down and dropped back to find a spot of my own. I’d rather get a slower time and enjoy my swim, esp. when I wasn’t competing, but rather just doing. I desperately need new goggles, mine are so scrapped up and worn that they look foggy before I even put them on. It made for a difficult time to spot but I made it somehow or another. I was out in 30:36. That’s a whole 13 sec faster from last year… sweet! (OK, I’m an awful swimmer, but something I’m going to work to improve for next year).

T1: [3:43]
I love wet suit strippers… none at this race. Not much to say about my time, but slow.

Bike: [1:15:47 - 19.7mph]
Over the last year of training, my bike times have improved a lot. I feel better on the bike and it shows in my times. I’ve done a ton of biking and put myself into some tough training rides (I guess I need to think twice when I decide to ride with Joey, he never makes anything easy). This year was 7:21 faster than last…sweet x2! Given that I am writing this three weeks after the fact, and my old age, I don’t really remember a whole lot about the bike course except it’s a great, 25 mile rolling hills ride.

T2: [2:09]
Hm, I need to work on my transition times for next year, too.

Run: [51:00 – 8:13 min/mile]
I wanted to push myself on the run, I wanted to give myself the goal to not let anyone in my age group pass me, if they did, I would chase them. The short start of the run is on grass/dirt and I hate races that don’t start you immediately on the road because I get discombobulated and have to focus on tripping over rocks and tree stumps instead of getting my hat, water and GU’s situated. I was pretty tired in the beginning of the run and my right calve was cramping. I refused to walk or stop and stretch cause I figured it was a short course, suffer through it. Quickly, at mile one, a girl passed me with a 26 on her calve – crap! I kept on her heels when not soon after another girl passed in my age group! Ugh, man, I was starting to fall back. With an extra boost of determination, I passed one of the girls as she fell back and I was happy enough with that accomplishment. The run was pretty quiet the rest of the way, I just kept on going. After the race when they posted the times, I was pretty amazed at my run pace – I certainly didn’t feel like I was going that fast and I absolutely did not feel like I could even go that fast in my condition. And…sweet x3, I ran 26 sec faster than last year. (Don't make fun of my hair... Justin keeps calling me a banshee. I got my haircut and I don't know how to deal with it yet when racing!)

In the end, I placed 15/39 in my age group, which I feel good about. I think if I treated this race as an A race, I would have done far better, but given I haven’t worked out since Ironman, I am pretty darn happy. Total time: 2:43:21.

And, last but not least, here are Justin’s times:

Swim: 30:32 [1:55/100yds]
T1: 2:59
Bike: 1:15:19 [19.8 mph]
T2: 1:46
Run: 51:40 [8:20 min/mile]
Total Time: 2:42:14

If you want to see where Justin and I were in relation to each other throughout the race, check this out. It’s a new results review that is pretty freakin cool. I’m the red dot, Justin is the blue dot. Watch me chase him down the whole race! : )

Another race report to come soon for the Pumpkinman Half we did last weekend! We’re falling behind on these posts!!!

Be Bear Naked

This past Sunday I hosted a Bear Naked breakfast clinic at the Sharon’s Back Triathlon. Justin raced while I set up shop and promoted Bear Naked to the athletes and spectators. There were parfaits, stickers, coupons and lots (and I mean lots) of free sample packs. It was a ton of fun and a great day for a race. There were three other Team Bear Naked athletes racing that day (seen in pic) so it was pretty neat having a crew there to support.

Hearing the horns go off for the swim waves really made me want to get back into racing! Alright, Ironman, you took enough time away from me, I’m ready to race again! For that very reason, I decided to sign up for my final triathlon of the season, making a total of 3 races left plus 1 marathon. My final triathlon of the season will be the Buzzard’s Bay Sprint, directed by the same folks as Sharon’s Back. From what I saw and heard, the races are well organized, beautiful and fun. Can’t wait! Last night I got on the trainer and did a killer 1 hr ride. I was so excited to be training again, haha! Now, less than 2 weeks away from the Cranberry Oly! YAY.

Back at it and some other random thoughts...(Justin)

We're now almost 3 weeks post IMLP and we've worked out exactly 3 times (mountain biked, a 3 mile run, and a 4.5 mile run)- we know what you're thinking...impressive.

Being a member of Team Bear Naked, Liz needs to host a race breakfast and decided to pick Sharon's Back Sprint triathlon. She picked this race because the race company (Max Performance) does a great job, the race director seems like a really nice guy, and one of my co-workers is doing his first triathlon. This left me with 2 options- race or wake up at 5am on my b-day and watch other people race (unfortunately the 3rd option of sleeping in was nixed by Liz) so I decided to race. My only goals are to have a lot of fun and maintain some dignity by not losing to a Tri-Virgin. Plus the course is flat as shown by the video below:



Now on to my random thoughts- JoJo recommended reading the book "Born to Run" so I checked it out. The book is amazing. Runner or not you should definitely read it. I was interested throughout but a couple topics were of high interest: why people run and running injuries. I've gone through a lot of knee and foot pain since I started running/triathlons and over time the pain has always gotten worse (I started sitting out workouts before Ironman b/c of sharp pains in my feet). The book covers the evolution of footwear and the semantics of human feet in a very 'non-preachy' way- though I don't think the author's a big fan of Nike.

Without breaking down the specifics of the book, it has definitely given me a new perspective on my shoes, training and diet...all 3 were on my mind well before reading this book. For shoes, I've been looking for something that will prevent foot pain. Training, I've wanted to complete some ultras and qualify for Boston and have been looking for the right plan to meet these goals. And for diet, I've been frequently looking at a more primal diet (unprocessed, natural foods). We were basically eating this way on the QT2 diet with exceptions but I definitely saw the benefits and am considering making it a full time thing. I'm sure I'll have more on this as I start serious training for the Fall/Winter races.

3 pics for the fun

Today we focus on Justin.. haha..

First off, I forgot to add this pic into my IM race report - Justin and I got to feast on McDonald's on our ride home after the race. I can't remember the last time I had chicken nuggets and fries (maybe 5 years ago?) but they were just as I remembered them. So good. Here's Justin enjoying his fries:


Second, with all the down time we've had lately, we bought the new Wii Resort to help fill some of the time. I crack up every time I watch Justin play Wii, the best is watching him play table tilt on Wii Fit : ) Here he is sword fighting:

Third, we got out yesterday for our first ride post-ironman on the mountain bikes! We headed to the Fells and took to the paths. This was my first time mountain biking on trails. I don't know if it's my thing. I'll give it a few more tries, next time with the correct nutrition and gear (need gloves!) and we'll see how it goes. Here's Justin at the top of a hill that we might or might not have had to walk up (it's much steeper than it appears!) ;)

Post-Ironman Despression Syndrome

Was reading an interesting article the other day that my sister sent along.

I am gonna go ahead and diagnose myself with PIDS (Post-Ironman Depression Syndrome). The funny thing about this article is that Justin and I had been talking about how we’ve been having these exact thoughts and feelings mentioned in the article just the day before reading it.

The article says that it is normal to feel “a bit of a letdown, kinda-lost feeling after an Ironman,” after all, you’ve been focusing on this one date for the last year and now that it has come and gone, you feel empty. “Your formerly-constant thoughts about training, racing, nutrition, transition bags, carbon aero widgets, and what-I-have-to-pack-for-my-workouts-tomorrow have now been replaced with a single, all-consuming thought: What do I do now?”

The week immediately after Ironman, it felt good to do nothing. I got to eat whatever I wanted, didn’t have to rush home for a workout, had all weekend to enjoy Boston rather than heading out of the city for long rides. That was nice. But now, it’s starting to catch up with us. Ok, the BBQ and cornbread was delicious but ugh, I don’t feel so great after eating it and I want to go for a run to feel a bit better but can’t. Walking around and shopping all day Saturday was nice, but now I have a high bill to pay and I suddenly remember why I hate living in a city filled with tourist. Coming home from work and taking time to make dinner, hang out and watch TV at regular hours is great but I’m starting to feel useless and lazy.

The article recommends that you have no races on the calendar for 8 weeks after the Ironman to ensure a proper recovery. From Lake Placid to my next race is 5 weeks apart. Justin would have been the same but decided a celebratory birthday tri was appropriate and signed up for the Sharon’s Back Sprint Triathlon on Aug 16^th, so he has 3 weeks. Neither of us wanted our season to end so early so we ended up signing up for the Pumpkinman Half on Sept. 13^th. Stupid? Probably, the article even says this is a no-no, but we’ll learn from our mistakes. Plus this race has an awesome post-race feast that includes apple and pumpkin pie – YUM!

As soon as I start to feel fresh, I’m going to begin my focus on running (unfortunately, running is the hardest on the body and therefore is the slowest to get back into). I’ll be running the Baystate Marathon with Jenny on October 18^th and we’ll both be aiming to run sub 3:45. I’m looking forward to the challenge! However, until I can start running normally again, I continue to be in limbo.

IMLP Race Report (Justin)

I'll skip the pre-race details since Liz listed everything below. I think we were all fairly relaxed but a little anxious for race day to finally be upon us.

The week before the race, I put together some personal race goals. I felt comfortable that even if I fell short of these times, I'd still be really happy and have a chance of beating Liz and Joey (always fun to have a little competition). Here's what I was hoping for:
Swim- 1:25:00
T1- 0:08:00
Bike- 6:40:00
T2- 0:06:00
Run- 4:30:00
Total- 12:49:00

Race Morning:
B-fast (3am) was 2 hardboiled eggs, a bagel with peanut butter and 2 bananas. An hour before the race I ate a Clif bar. As expected, I didn't sleep much the night before so I got up early and starting all my race day prep. I actually started calming as the race got closer...a resignation that whatever happens, happens and its too late to change anything.

Swim: (1:22:12)
My plan was to start towards the front of the crowd and fight my way to the inside of the buoy line. It actually worked out pretty well and I found some great feet to draft off of. There was definitely a lot of chaos but nothing too bad (pretty sure I cracked someone in the face with my elbow though). I finished the 1st loop in 39 min and change and reminded myself to slow down...it'll be a long day. 2nd loop was thankfully uneventful- I hopped out, found the strippers, and took a slow jog towards the transition.

T1: (6:32)
I guess I was too amped up to realize I was supposed to change in the tent so instead I got ready at the bag rack and moved on. I didn't really have the dizzy feeling I usually get after long swims so I was happy about that.

Bike: (6:31:22)
Pre-race, I decided to break the bike into 4 equal sections. The 1st, I'd go very slow to get my bearings. In the 2nd I'd hold race pace (17.2 was my goal). 3rd I'd go hard and catch all the people starting to fall about and 4th I go just below race pace to prep for the marathon.
The plan worked well until I went to hard in the 2nd section and tried to hold on the 3rd. I had to stop at the turn around for a new timing chip (SUGGESTION: DONT BE NICE AND CHANGE RACE #'S FOR THE ALS GUY!) and was able to catch my breath- 3:04:00 for the first loop. By mile 95 I was starting to hurt and hurt bad. I passed Joey on the Big Bear Hill and was just willing myself to be done with the bike.

T2: (4:30)
At this point I was so 'bonky' that I kept grabbing any solid food I could to replace calories- not caring about the effect it could have on the run. I was also very aware that I was starting the run ahead of Joey and Liz and was now officially the Hunted.

Run: (4:25:44)
Surprisingly felt great to start the run. I kept looking over my shoulders expecting to see the 2 chasers but knew my pace was strong. I finshed the first 13.1 in 2:01:00 and started to feel like just maybe I could do a sub-4 hour marathon. Those thoughts quickly dissipated around mile 15 when the transition food started messing with me. I couldn't eat (stomach made me stop every time I ate), couldn't take gels (threw up) and couldn't really drink (gave me a sick feeling). In my head, it was only a matter of time before getting passed...they could smell blood in the water. Somehow I was able to will my body through the next 10 miles and finish in front. The crowds were unbelievable. They always cheer but when you starting hurting, they go crazy screaming your name and doing everything they can to force you through the next step. It was extremely helpful during those last few miles.

Final: 12:30:19!!!

Thoughts on the race...
A HUGE thanks to everyone who called, texted, and gave their support. As always, Liz's family was incredible throughout the entire race. I'm so happy my mom was able to be there supporting us throughout the week. Everyone's efforts made the race that much more manageable.

My two favorite moments of the entire race were taking in the scene before the swim and the crowd support as I ran up the Sentinel Road hill on the 2nd loop. I don't know if I could have kept going if I had allowed myself to walk at any point during the run and those people are the reason I didn't walk when I wanted to most.

Now Liz and I are taking a week off from being healthy and just enjoying the lack of regimen. I'm already planning my next challenge and what Ironman I'll be doing next...THANKS AGAIN!!!