Sunday, September 30, 2007

Longest Ride Ever

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I met up with 3 other Team Triumph members this morning for a long ride (well long ride for me). Riding this morning were Mike G, Dee, and Candace. Keep in mind that up to this point I have between 100-150 bike miles under my belt and have never rode in a group (other than a race). No that is not how many miles I have this week but this year. And longest ride to date has been 15 miles so I knew I was setting a PR in distance today. We got all set and off we went.

We rode on some nice country rodes that didn't have much traffic at all. I settled in, as the last rider and was doing good for the first 15 miles. I was starting to get tired and fell back a little (O.K a lot). So we get to 17 miles and I had a thought that hey maybe we are doing a loop and we will be doing about 30 miles. Of course we live in a world of reality and I knew this was an out and back course. I got to 20 miles and I was so hoping that they turned around. Well about a mile later Dee and Candace turned around. Mike is training for Ironman half World Championships so he was going longer and then hitting us on his way back (yes he is that fast). I turned around and started back the other way. So I am tired but I know I am 20 miles from my car and the fastest way back was to suck it up and go. The ladies went ahead and circled back when I fell to far back. We stopped for a few minutes at mile 28 and I drank all my gatorade. I pushed again for the next 4 miles and then it really hit me that I was spent. Mike caught us at this point and asked if I ate anything on the bike. I had not so he gave me a GU that I gladly accepted. He let me know that we ONLY had about 9 miles left. Those 9 miles were very hard and I let Mike know I knew the way back so he and the girls went ahead a little but Mike would circle back to see if I was OK. Finally I saw the school where my car was and it was a great feeling knowing I just completed 41.5 miles.

Well it is 2 1/2 hours later and I am happy to be sitting on a recliner with my laptop watching NFL football. I burned many calories today but I think I ate about 1/2 of them back already.

It was nice to push myself on this ride I do think I bit off more than I could chew and hope I didn't mess up the groups workout too much in doing so.

What did I learn today?

I need to buy a cycling jersey to hold food for the ride. (UPDATE: Kim came home with a cycling jersey today for me. I think she likes me).
I need to buy aero bar water bottle.
Don't do the whole ride with the chain on the top ring (front).
Find slower team members (this might be hard).

The numbers. I forgot to turn off for the 5 minute stop.



Thursday, September 27, 2007

I think I will need a part-time job. Maybe another full time job.

As “off season” approaches I was thinking about all the things I would go out and buy if money was not an issue. Lets face it it is not everyday you have a 10 year wedding anniversary and get one of these. So for now I will have to only dream of some, but some will happen.

For the Swim.

1. Lessons. Most important thing I need here to help me for next year is lessons. This will be done this fall. I think this will be money well spent.
2. A wet suit. Not sure if I will get one for next year or wait until 2009. I could always rent if need be.
3. A Tri Suit. This I will get for next year. Just want to see if I have any luck with losing another 30 pounds first.

For the Bike.

1. Bike Trainer. This is going to be crucial for the winter and Monday nights because Kim started her PhD program and will be at class on Monday nights for the next 2 + years.
2. Aero Bar Water Bottle. Will get this by the spring.
3. Zipp wheels. Yeah I know this is a pipe dream, but if they happen to fall from the sky and land on my bike I am not going to complain. Maybe I should contact Zipp and see if I tattoo ZIPP on my forehead they will give me a set. No this one will probably never happen.
4. Probably could use a computer for the bike but for now the Garmin forerunner 305 is fine for me.

For the Run.

1. Shoes. Just keep getting shoes every 400 miles or so.
2. Cold weather gear. Can never get enough cold weather gear.
3. Tri Suit. (see Swim # 3.)

I am sure there is more but I came up with this on my lunch hour (1/2 hour).



Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Tuesday night swim

Plan was to run at Liam's soccer practice and then go swim at G.C.I.T. When I got to the practice stomach was not feeling right. The feeling that told me if I try to run I may be making a mad dash to the woods (I truly hope you don't have that picture in your head all day). So I watched the practice and I am the parent that helps out when needed. And coach asked me to take a group and do some drills with them. So I felt like I did something.

Got home from soccer and off to the pool I went. Driving there I realized I forgot my new goggles (that sucks) so I would not get a chance to swim with my head in the water. Oh well you make the best of it and I swam with my head above water again. I managed to do 40 laps (25 yards each).

I sent an email yesterday regarding getting some swim lessons there. A few lessons will really do me good.

Tonight Team Triumph has a monthly meeting that I plan on attending. They have a Tri coach giving a speech on off season training. So I hope to pick up a few good tips tonight. Also just looking to meet some of the members that I "see" on the team message board. Then plan is to go to the gym and hit the treadmill after the meeting.

Monday, September 24, 2007

First TRI race report.

Let me get the legal stuff out of the way. I copied the format for this race report from a RR that Mike G wrote on Team Triumph's web site. He writes a extremely detailed report. I will see if I can get his permission and post his report from when he won the NJ State Tri. he wrote a great report and I think you Tri and non Tri people would love it. I did not use all of his format, as he had things in there that I don't even know what they mean.


Treasure Island Sprint Tri
2007-09-23
Pt. Pleasant, New Jersey

Total Time = 1:24:35
Overall Rank = 120/161
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 18/23


Swim

00:14:50 | 600 meters | 2m 15s / pace (what ever that means)
Overall: 130/161
Performance: I was happy
Suit: I wore my Specialized Bike Shorts for the whole race
Course:
Manasquan River – Start left about 200 meters turn right and come back pass start and finish 200 meters up the river.
Start type: 3 groups. I was in the first group (age)
Water temp: Nice

T1
Time: 04:11
Performance: Bad but it can only get better
Cap removal: Good
Run with bike: No
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: slow

Biking
00:36:10 | 10.5 miles | 17.4 mile/hr
Overall: 94/161
Performance: OK for me
Wind: No
Course: A 4 lap course.
Road: Smooth Dry
Gear changes: When I was tired I changed gears. When I was going good I went faster.
Drinks: No

T2
Time: 02:27
Overall: Slow
Jumping off bike Yeah right
Running with bike slow
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good

Running
00:26:57 | 03.00 miles | 8m 59s min/mile
Overall: 112/161
Performance: Was happy
Course: For the most part the same as bike but a few extra turns to make it 3 miles
Drinking: Had some water


Pre-race routine:
Night before I made 4 servings of Cytomax and froze two of them. I had about an hour and a half drive so I drank the two that were not frozen on the way. I also had Oatmeal at home before I left. I woke up a little later than I wanted too so I was rushed in the morning. I forgot my Garmin but that was about all I forgot.


Event warm-up:
Got there and picked up my packet. Got bike out of the van and went to set up my area. Then went and changed into my Bike shorts. I don’t do a lot of stretching I should but I don’t. My goal here was to meet Jay from Calorie King. I did not find him but to my surprise I did see my cousin there. He is on the High School Football team and apparently the team was their to help out with the event.


Swim
Comments:
Saw my cousin again and he let me know that he was one of the life guards for the swim. I told him to keep his eye on me. They actually had green caps for beginners and let us know that the life guards were instructed to look out for us.. I had no problem wearing the green. I got to find Jay and we talked all the way up to the start. We were in the same group so we both started in the back of our group. Jay is a better swimmer than me and also had a wet suit that he rented for the day. So when we started he was off. I didn’t need to stop and turn on my back so I was happy about that. Also I did the swim with my head out of the water the whole time. With some (a lot) of help I can greatly approve.

T1
Comments:

I was purposely slow here. I just wanted to collect my thoughts and do things right. I made sure I drank some more Cytomax and got shoes and sox on. Gloves, helmet, and glasses on and off I went to the mount area. ***** gears might get switched in transit so check before you get on the bike and try to ride off. ***

Bike
Comments:

Truthfully I had not ridden my bike since I got the fitting done. I know that was stupid but I was training for the PDR and didn’t want to do anything but run. So the day before I did take it out so I can use the clip less pedals (yes my first time on them). So this race was my 2nd time on them. They are awesome, and really do help you. I know I was not that fast but being a 4 lap 10.5 mile course there were a lot of turns. The bike went pretty quick and I did not mind the 4 laps at all. I would think the experienced rider might not have liked it. But for me it was great. *** I passed a spectator (4 times) and I swear it was Gary Dell’Abate from the Howard Stern Show. It was great as I would laugh every time I passed him.

T2
Comments:
I spent about :45 looking for my area. So that certainly slowed me down a little. Again drank more Cytomax. I had a shot block that I meant to take but forgot. Again I went at a controlled pace and didn’t want to make a major mistake.

Run
Comments:
Didn’t know what I had left as this was my first Tri, and I didn’t do much running this past week (break after the PDR). I knew I would get through it but was very happy to do 9 minute miles for the race. And what was real cool was that Kim and the kids were at Mile 2 of the run. She didn’t come with me but when the kids got up she got them ready and drove them 1.5 hours to see me for a few minutes and then drive them home the 1.5 hours. I can’t tell you how lucky I am to have her. And how happy it was to see them at that part of the run. Gave them all high fives and that was all I needed to finish the race. She did get to meet Jay and his family after the race and Jay got to meet my kids. I even had a kick at the end for the finish.

Post race
Hung out with my family and Jay’s family and friend for a few minutes. Walked Kim and the kids to her car and went back and waited until I could get my car out of the lot. Got a few bagels and a banana that they had. Went and let my cousin know I was still alive and to see if he needed a ride or anything.

Event comments:
This was the first year for the swimming TRI for the event. They do a Kayak race simultaneously and I thought it was really well run. The guy that was directing traffic in the transition area was great. I noticed the M-Dot tat so I guess he knows his stuff. Had a great time and I am hooked.




Sunday, September 23, 2007

I am a TRIATHLETE

Well the quick story first and then a race report later after I coach a group of 5 year olds in Soccer.

I completed my first Sprint Tri today. The distance's were as followed.

600 yard swim

10.5 mile bike

3 mile run

I finished in 1:24:??. I finished 120th out of about 150 or so.

Splits are up. HERE Turns out I was 120 out of 161.

More later.

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Just some quick thoughts tonight.

Back in August I had my bike fitting done and got those "what ever you call them pedals" that hook into your shoes. Well now that the half marathon training is over I finally got out on the bike. Went for a nice easy 13 miler this afternoon. And surprise, surprise I went over once with the new pedals. I am sure if you had a video of me you could win a few bucks from AFV. But all and all it was a good ride just got to get better with the pedals.

Bought goggles today at REI. So hopefully that will help with the swimming. Hey it can't hurt my swimming.

Oh by the way I may have purposely forgot to mention that tomorrow I am doing this. I was content with not doing a TRI until next year but I found out Jay from Calorie King was traveling from Albany NY to do this (his first) so I had to do it. So as you can imagine I am nervous and just hope to finish the race. If I get past the swim I should be OK. Full report tomorrow.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Not a Brick but still a run and a swim

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Lets cut to the chase - if you are here because of Di's post you want to go to the post below and check out the 2nd picture in that post. Oh if you are a dude you probably don't want to go there.

Well, I don't think it counts as a "Brick" but I did get in a run and a swim last night. I did the bring Liam to soccer practice and use the time wisely and do a 3 mile run while there. It's about one mile around the complex so a nice easy 3 laps and I can still watch half the practice. Did the run from circa 6 pm to 6:30 pm. Then brought him home and got my stuff together and off to the pool. Got to the pool at around 8 pm and felt about 110% more confident than I was on Tuesday (my first swim). Yesterday I wrote about that swim and you can see it here. But the Cliff Notes of that swim are 28 laps of 25 yards each, and I was dying after that. Well now last night I went 40 laps at 25 yards each. And got to tell you I felt very good after the swim. Probably could have done a little more. I did have an eye on the clock and that took me about 30 minutes to complete. And again I stopped for about 3 seconds and kicked off on each lap. Still no goggles, and very bad form. But it is getting better, and I got to tell you I am liking the swimming. The plan will be to swim 2 nights a week and by next Tri season I should be set to do some damage.

Hey, I had to give the guys something to look at also.




Thursday, September 20, 2007

Swimming, if you can call it that.

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Before I get to the swimming I want to take a second and tell you about a Triathlete who has been helping me out lately. He has a blog and I do ask that you check him out. He doesn't allow comments (currently) but please check his blog and if he opens up comments wish him luck. Mike thank you for being there to answer my crazy questions about Tri's. Really you have been of great help to me and I do appreciate it. I know you have a "small" race coming up in Clearwater Fl. and training is going to be extremely hard so I promise I will back off a little on the questions. There will be more on Mike in future posts.


So, apparently in order to train for a Triathlon there is no way around getting in the pool and swimming. So as much as I have been putting it off I decided it was time to just do it. So I was between two places to swim. One being Rowan University and the other being G.C.I.T. Both from what I hear are great places to swim. Rowan is about 7 miles from my house and G.C.I.T is (I kid you not) 13.1 miles from my house. So not that much of a difference. With Rowan you either have to be a Student, Faculty, or Alumni. I am none of the above, but Kim got her Master's there so I can join as a spouse IF she joins. Problem is Kim has no desire to swim and we have a gym less than a mile form our house that has everything she need and better hours. So off to G.C.I.T I go. Turns out I made the right decision. OK Kim made it for me but I can't give her credit can I. OK tomorrow is her birthday so "Thanks to Kim I am at a great place to swim." I joined for 3 months at only $20.00 a month. I am sure I will extend it but just figured I will make sure I am going to use it.


So Tuesday night I pull up to the pool, as you can see from the picture below I was so excited I forgot to stop.




I filled out all the paperwork and was ready to go swim. I have zero experience in swimming other than your neighborhood pool. I like to think I am a good citizen but I really don't know the "proper pool etiquette" yet. I went to the lockers got ready and walked out to the pool area and immediately felt like all eyes were on me. And not because I look like this guy in a bathing suit.




The pool is huge and just about all lanes were taken by local swim teams. I did what the lady that signed me up told me, I asked the lifeguard where to swim. He gave me what appeared to be the only lane available. There was no one else in the lane, thank god because I don't know how to share a lane yet. So there I was in the pool with my knee length baggy bathing suit ready to swim. Goggles? Who needs Goggles? No, I had not had a chance to get goggles yet. Breathing, no I don't know the proper breathing techniques yet. Form, no I don't know swimming form yet. But I was there so I better start swimming. Off I went swimming. Got to one end and turned around and came back. Wow 50 yards and I was tired. I turned and did it again, and again, and again. Now I would stop for about 3 seconds every trip down and I would kick off but I did manage to do 700 yards this way. When I was done (I don't know how long it took) I was exhausted and felt like I was going to throw up. But I did it and I will do it again, tonight as a matter of fact.
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"That which does not kill me, makes me stronger".. Friedrich Nietzsche. Check the life insurance Kim.
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Another thing I should mention is that Kim does now view my blog so that is why you see more references to her.
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And by the way Kim you can stop looking at the guy above now.







Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Spreading the wealth

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I have mentioned here before that I am a member of Calorie King (CK). Calorie King is a weight loss site (a pay to use site). I attribute a lot of my weight loss success to CK. I have not been spending as much time as I used to on Calorie King but I do try to stop by and see how people are doing over there. I posted for the members asking them to come check out my blog entry regarding the PDR 1/2 Marathon. Well a few did and I would like to share a message I got from one member that really made me feel great. A little about Roger if he don't mind. Roger is a 49 year old family man that 10 months ago decided to change his life. So through diet and exercise he has managed to so far loss 65 pounds. Rogers has recently completed his 2nd 10K and is really working hard. As I have told you on CK Roger you are doing great so keep up the great work.

Below is what Roger said that really made me know that I am making a difference in not only my life but just maybe in the life of others.


Dan that is fantastic and a great accomplishment. As I look back on my time at CK let me also add thank you for being one of the first here to inspire me to run. Your guidance went a long way to seeing me through the transition from couch potato to runner. I still have a way to go but as you celebrate your accomplishment please know you share in mine too. Without your experience and help I would not have made it.

You have a victory this weekend as not only a runner but a coach as well. Thank you.

Roger


No Roger thank you.

Dan

Site changes coming.

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Left sidebar is going through some changes and is not complete. So please hang in there. I am in the process of linking all the blogs that I frequent, and I got to tell you there are many.



Monday, September 17, 2007

PDR Race Report

Philadelphia Distance Run Race Report

I had this whole race planned out with regards to packet pickup at the Expo and a Forum Encounter (FE) with people from Runners World Beginners Forum on Saturday the day before the race. Well Thursday evening Liam’s soccer coach throws us a curve and moved his game from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm. Well the plan was to go over to Philly around 3:00 pm and spend some time at the Expo – Kim really needs to pick up some running gear with the fall and winter approaching. Then we would just go meet everyone for the 5 pm dinner reservations at Spaghetti Warehouse. See that would be only one trip into Philly on Saturday. Well what I ended up doing was going into Philly around 11 am with just one of my daughters and coming home for the soccer game and then bringing the rest of the family back for the Dinner and FE.

The Expo was nice but the 5 year old daughter was not liking it so didn’t spend as much time there as I would have liked. The Dinner and FE was great that night. I thank Daleen again for making all the arrangements and getting us all together. With families and friends we had between 35-40 people. I will try to hijack a few pictures from RWBF and post them here. It was great talking to people in person and really getting to know them. Just picking each others brains about running and all that stuff was nice.

These are all the Runners World Peeps without family. So 14 of us was a great turnout.



Below are the future runners of the group.




We went home got the kids to bed and had a nice night of sleep. Of course woke a few times during the night, I mean come on I was in a race the next day so waking up every hour is par for the course. I got up for good around 5 am due to a sneezing fit I was having. Got dressed and ate some food – more on food below. Left the house by about 6:10 am so had plenty of time to get there find parking and be ready to go.


Nutrition

Saturday morning Kim was going to Dunkin Donuts to get some breakfast. Asked if I wanted anything and I asked her to get me 4 bagels with nothing on them. So I ate these throughout the morning and afternoon. And for lunch (as the bagels was not enough) I had a salad and a piece of chicken breast. Also on Saturday I drank about 100 oz of liquid during the day. Half was water and unsweetened Iced Tea and the rest was water mixed in Cytomax. Then at Dinner I had the 15 layer Lasagna with bread and salad. And I had to try a little of the desserts that Daleen and Paulette brought to dinner (hand made). They were delicious by the way.

Sunday morning I had oatmeal and 24 oz of Cytomax chased by 24 oz of water. Then picked up a banana about 20 minutes before the race.


Pre Race

The plan was to meet Jeff at 7 am right at corral 12. Well when I got to the race and saw the lines already for the port-a-potties I knew I had better get on one. So I was a few minutes late meeting Jeff. I think he understands since he was racing as well and knows the lines also. We did get to talk for a good 30-45 minutes before the race. Turns out that we worked not to far from each other many moon’s ago in Edison NJ. Time flew when we were talking and before you knew it, it was time to line up and get the show started.


Race

Race started and I wished Jeff luck as he was going to walk the first 10 miles then run the last 5K (got to love injuries right Jeff). Well Jeff didn’t stick to plan and turns out he ran at the start. It was a real nice course that stated through Center City for the first few miles and then heads into and through Fairmount Park. Wow I have to get back to this park I think the family would enjoy it. There was not a time that I was not running with an enourmous amount of people during this run. It was tight through the city but once we got in the park it opened up a bit. My foot (nagging 2 week injury) was fine up to mile 3.5 then I felt it. It really is not that bad while I run but the pain is there, minimal as it may be. I was just plugging along trying to stay at a sub 10 minute pace while keeping HR in the 150 – 155 range. They had about 10 bands spread out throughout the course which was nice to get to hear a little music (didn’t have my IPOD).

Really the race itself went smooth I was concerned because during the Broad Street Run in May I hit the wall at mile 9 so was hoping that, that would not happen again. But I sailed past mile 9 with no problems (if you can call 9:51 mile sailing). One funny thing happened as we past mile 9. A guy told, I assume his wife, “OK honey only a 5K to go”. Her reply was are you F-ing crazy that would only be 12.1 miles (she didn’t say f-ing, she used the whole word). His answer was “OH”. Glad I am not the only guy that has the ability to say stupid things to their wife.

Hit mile 12 and was very tired, legs didn’t want to go any more I slowed to a 10:42 pace and just wanted to stop. I knew I wouldn’t stop but I wanted to so bad. I also knew my goal time of 2:10 was with in reach. And I thought to myself a year and 4 months ago you couldn’t run a ¼ mile without stopping and there is no way you are stopping without finishing this 13.1 miles. I also thought there is no way I could do a marathon, nor am I sure I ever want to do a marathon. But now writing this a day later (even with the pain in my foot) I know that someday I will run a marathon. Hopefully two someday, first would be the NYC marathon and the 2nd hopefully will be after I get to swim 2.4 miles, and then ride my bike 112 miles. That 2nd goal however is much further down the road. Finished the race, got my medal, they took my chip timer, I thanked a ton of volunteers that were there working, and I looked for food. To my surprise I didn’t find any, I didn’t spend a lot of time looking for it because at this point (stopped running) my foot was in pain. So I walked about a mile to my car and went home to eat. Called Kim to let her know I was alive (more on that below) and she already knew my time as she was tracking me on the website the whole race.

Drove home and when I got to the house and got out of the car the whole body hurt. The 30 minute drive home felt good while I was driving but not when I had to get out of the car. Good thing I have a “Truck” that is high off the ground and can just fall out of. I don’t have a truck Kim gets a laugh when I call my “Mini Van” a truck. Got home took a cold bath for like 5 minutes and then turned on the hot water and just laid there for a few more minutes. I don’t know how you people do the ice baths, I can’t. Got to lounge around for a few hours, checking for Mike and Jenny’s results from there DU, but then it was off to Soccer with the girls (I am the coach). So yes I got to run around the field with the team for an hour. No I didn’t get to stand on the sideline, see at this age (5) the coaches are on the field running with the kids and barking out instructions. And my one twin Caitlyn scored her first goal. I don’t know who was more happy her or me.

Woke up today with more pain, the pain has gone away after about two days after long runs. I think I will see a Doctor this week if it doesn’t.

I think that is it, this has to be my longest post ever.

Nope I told you more on Kim on the computer.

See Kim really wanted to go to the race with the kids but I don’t like her driving in Philly by herself with 3 kids. I knew she would have to park a least a mile away and walk, with them complaining every step about the walk and then have to wait the 2 plus hours it would take me to finish. So she agreed (gave in is more like it) that she would only go if the kids were up when I left (so we could all go in together). Trust me when I tell you it is not unusual for all 3 of our kids to be up by 5:30 am on the weekend. But happily for me they were sleeping when I left. Would have been great to see the family at the finish but I know it would not have been fun for Kim over the 2 plus hours entertaining them.


Sunday, September 16, 2007

Philadelphia Distance Run

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I will work on the Race Report but here are the particulars.




Garmin had it over 13.27 miles by a little with a time of 2:10:48

Check out the top 3 guys in the chart below. That must have been some sprint to the finish.




Monday, September 10, 2007

Weekend Recap with Race Report

Race Report

Not much of a race report as this was to be a small race that I was going to do because -

1. It was about 4 minutes from my house.
2. It was for a good cause and
3. A friend from Runners World was doing the race with her DH, yes same two that did the Race for Tony a few weeks back.

Although I was trying to eat good on Friday night to be ready for the race, the Oreo cookies and milk were just calling my name at about 9:30 pm watching the Rutgers Football Game. No I did not just have one or two I had TEN, and did I mention Double Stuffed (no I guess I left that out). So that was that.

Woke up early and Kim went for a run and when she got back I went and signed up for the race. I came home packed the kids and Kim in the car and went to the race. This was a very small not very well publicized race. To be honest if not for a friend I would not have known about it and it is literally about 5 miles from my house. So we got there and talked to a few people that I actually know now. It is funny how in this small race I actually saw 3 others from my Thursday night race series, these guys run about 100 races a year (no joke).

Off we go and I started out real fast, kind of what Mike wanted me to do last week but I couldn't. Mile 1 was 8:17, yes super fast for me, followed by a 8:46, and 8:44. The last .10 or should I say .15 as it turned out, was a 1:07. I honestly would have been pissed if I didn't break 27 becasue the course was marked wrong. But I didn't have to worry about that. Official time is 26:57, and I finished 26th out of 50 runners. I almost cracked the top half for the first time. I got done and asked Bill (DH of friend from RW) how he did and he smiled and told me he won. Way to Go Bill. Official results here. Note to Race Director (yes I know we are there for the cause) I understand not having water on a 5K course (although it would have been nice) don't make the winner walk 1/4 mile to go get a bottle of water after the race. I think Bill had to go get the cooler and bring it to the finish line so everyone else did not have to walk the 1/4 mile like he did.

The rest of the weekend was very busy. After the race Kim went with the girls and her parents to her Uncle John's for a party and swimming. I went to Liam's soccer game with him (they got killed) and then went to Uncle John's to be with the family. Got home late Saturday and woke up Sunday for a long run. I got in 10.5 miles and felt very good during the run. Foot problems later after stopping and sitting. Then the girls had there soccer later in the day. They have a great coach (yes me - I know nothing about soccer - I coached wrestling for 10 years). They don't keep real score at this age so every game ends in a "tie" (but we got killed also).

I watched some of the IM MOO on the computer last night tracking some of the bloggers that I stalk.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Mike tell's me it is all about the shirts.




I think he is right.

Above is the collection of them all. Top row is from 2006, and bottom is, you guessed it, 2007.

The 8 Browning Ross runs I ran this year did not have shirts, what do you want for 5 bucks.

Favorite shirts are top row middle, I like it because it is long sleeve, and bottom row left, because it is a Tech shirt.

Least favorite are top right, and bottom 2nd from left, just thought that for going into Philly and paying as much as I did for those races I would have got a better shirt.

Stay tuned I have a busy day but I do have a 5K race report coming up. Oh and there just may be a PR in said report.

OK I am horrible at keeping secrets so I will just tell you I ran a 26:54 today.
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Friday, September 7, 2007

Got to love the weekend.


Anyone interested in joining a Biggest Loser Fantasy League please check out Pat's Blog HERE. You got to be in it to win it.



Wednesday


I got out for a nice 6.25 mile run in 1:01:48. I started this run at almost 7:30 pm and I got to tell you it was DARK running through the woods on the bike path. I picked it up a notch in the last 2 miles.


Food wise I was way under NET calories due to the 6 mile run.


Thursday


Off day. The kids had there first day of school. We had a little breakdown with Caitlyn on the bus. But she got it under control and had a great day.


Food wise I was above NET calories due to an off day from working out. Made up for Wednesday.


Friday


We will see, but I would like to get out and run about 6 again. I dread it but I guess I better comes to terms with the fact that I will have to start hitting the treadmill at the gym again. I can run up till 10 pm that way.


Saturday


I am doing a local race to benefit a fallen Police Officer. Sergeant Ippolito "Lee" Gonzalez seen here below.




Then Soccer season is in full swing. Liam plays every Saturday for the next 11 weeks and the girls play every Sunday for the next 11 weeks.







Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Summers Over

OK the good thing about Summer being over is, that I am going to get my eating back under control. I actually started that process today. I logged all my food with Calorie King, I have been a member for about 1 1/2 years over there. But have not been logging over the last 2-3 months.

A few of my eating goals are as follows.

1. Drink more water (you can really not get enough water).
2. Drink less coffee (I only drink when at work - need to cut down to two cups during work).
3. As mentioned log my food everyday.
4. Log "Good" food.
5. Don't eat past 9 pm.
6. I as trying for between 1200 and 1500 "NET CALORIES"

Happy to say that today was a very good day, and I hit all the above goals.


Making the most of Soccer Practice.

Liam had Soccer practice from 6 -7 tonight that I was taking him to, while Kim brought the girls to karate practice. And knowing that when I got home it would be too late for Kim and I to both get a run in, I ran 3 miles while Liam practiced. The fields where he was practicing at tonight is just short of a mile in circumference. So I put the Garmin on and let the coach know I was going to be running but will be on the property if he needs me. I got home and Kim was able to take her run. A WIN, WIN SITUATION.



Monday, September 3, 2007

Recap

Thursday

I did the last Thursday night Browning Ross Summer Sizzler 5K. Well having run the Race For Tony 5K the night before I was planning on going slow. Then Big Mike sent me a comment to go out fast, and hang on at the end. I thought that sounded good so that was the plan. I got to the race and couldn't beleive how many people were there this week. Turns out there were 96 runners this week. One week we only had 15, so 96 was quite a turnout.

So off we went and I "Tried" to go out quick but I just did not have it. First mile was 9:20, followed by 9:27, and a 9:35. I was able to sprint the last .10 in 41 seconds. So final time was 29:03 to finish 89th out of 96. No awards for me on this day. These races will continue in December and go thru January on Sundays at 1pm. Official results here.


Friday

An off day.

Saturday

Another off day but I did go check out a local Sprint Triathlon. The race was too start at 8 am but probably started closer to 8:30. I was going so that I can experience a Tri and also so that I can cheer on some Team Triumph members. There were a whole lot of them in this race. I got to say hello to a few that were not doing the race but there to cheer as well. One of the girls just got back from doing the Louisville Ironman so it was cool to congratulate her.

One of the members, Mike, is a favorite in most Tri's around here. He managed to take 2nd place and is a real animal (that is meant in the best of ways). He is a machine, and a very focused athlete. I heard a rumor that after the race he was headed out for a 50 mile training ride for an upcoming race in Florida.

Sunday

I set out for my long run. Was going to do 10 miles this week (I am not on a set program just doing what I think I should do for the 1/2 marathon). I ended up doing 10.75 miles, the weather was incredible and basically no humidity. What a difference a week makes with the weather. I did this run at an 10:07 pace which is great for me at that distance.

Monday

As I type this at 12:30, I hope to get out later for a recovery run but the pain is back from last week's recovery run.