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.

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.