Great weekend!

Started out on Friday night getting in some yard work before the rain came and felt great to have that out of the way. Woke up early Sat and got dressed to go for a ride. Drinking my coffee and checking the weather was disappointing it was 41* outside and not what I consider ideal or really even pleasant. With time constraints I hopped on the trainer and caught up on TV and got a nice 2 hr ride done. Next up was running errands with G-Man and playing in the backyard. We started repaving the patio that has been torn up all winter and then he went down for a nap. I must say the patio turned out great. Movie with the guys that afternoon and dinner with all the kids and wives afterwards made for a great Saturday. Slept in on Sunday and played with G some before heading out to the farm to relocate the RC track then a very nice 55 mile ride in the afternoon with some guys from the club. Bonked hard on the way home and struggled the rest of the night to not eat everything I could find in the kitchen. Managed to get a little of everything in this weekend; training time, family time, and bro time. Great Weekend!

Race Report for Glass City Marathon (Toledo)

Well things did not go as planned for this race. I did manage to stay relaxed up until the night before the race. Woke up at 2 or 3 in the morning and was keyed up for the race. The distressing part was the severe change in temps the last few days before the race. It was HOT. Into the 80's for a few days and it was forecast to do the same on race day with a catch. T-storms were also forecast so there was hope for me. I got out of bed and it was cloudy and 54* with a light breeze, still decent conditions I thought. That all ended about 1/2 mile into the race. The clouds went poof and the full blue skies opened up. Heading out along the south side of the river into a nice breeze and still felt pretty good. I was staying at a nice 6:45 pace and feeling good but cautious. As the temps continued to climb my pace slacked a little and I began to think that I could stay 7:00 pace and maybe pick up some more time in the last few miles and still get under 3 hours. That goal was then replaced with stay within BQ time and go under 3:15. The turn back to Toledo on the north side of the river meant the light breeze was behind me and it felt like the oven had been turned on. At around 19 miles the warning signs of dehydration were starting to come on so I switched to getting done with out going into the med tent as my goal. This meant walking too much and taking it easy. Dumping water over my head all day had helped but at times I got to preoccupied with cooling off and did not drink enough. Lesson -- drink first then cool down -- especially when the aid stations are 2-3 miles apart. Only vomited once at the 25 mile mark and jogged the last mile in. Finished at 3:34:44 25th place overall and 10th in my age group. I was very discouraged after this race and even contemplated bagging Ironman. But I think I've worked through the doubts and accepted that it just wasn't my day on Sunday. One of these days I'll figure out how to race longer distances in the heat, I know I will be able to do it. Thanks for reading.

Taper Time

Well it's finally here. Taper time. This time I'm going to work on staying more relaxed and not get stressed out. Last year I had a great race at the Sunburst Half going in with the only goal of getting a quick training run and seeding time for Chicago. I'd like to think of this race as nothing special in my head and just let it happen. "Easier said than done."

I miss my bike.

Went out tonight after work on the bike. It was so nice and sunny that the training plan had to change. Called a freind and headed out for a nice spin. Ended up riding about 1 1/2 hours. I really enjoy getting out on my bike. I'm really looking forward to May when running will be a once a week thing while the legs recover. Right now the plan is to ride 4-5 days a week and swim 2-3 times with maybe one run just to keep the feel. Getting out on my bike is such an awesome feeling after riding the trainer all winter. I wonder if people in the warmer climes get that rush at any time? It isn't that running is a chore, it is my first love. Riding is a close second however. I don't know how to really describe the feeling.
I can't decide on a race for May. Our club race is on the 16th but that water is REALLY cold and it would be only 2 weeks past the marathon. I'm just waiting to see what happens for now. The rest of year looks like it will be:
June 7 Rockman Half Iron
June 14 Flag City Tri
July 11 Muncie Endurathon Half Iron
July 25-26 Pancake Stage Race
August 6-9 Madison Training Trip
Sept 13 Ironman Wisconsin
Sept 26 Fort 4 Fitness Half Marathon
Nov 7 Iceman Cometh MtB Race

Hoping to add in a shorter tri somewhere in May and July just not sure where yet. Maybe an Xterra event for the July race and some other MtB races in October to get ready for Iceman. Of course everything could change at the drop of a hat so this is just a loose outline for the season ;D

Coming off a terrible week of training. I had a good race on Saturday at the Nutri Run 20k and hit my goal pace for the marathon. This was a very hilly course and it felt good to still stay on pace or under. I then spent 2 days with De and Gavin at an indoor waterpark and had a blast. Unfortunately I woke up Tuesday morning with a really sore throat, a sure sign that my bi-yearly sinus infection was about to start. I loaded up on Zinc/Vit C tabs and took another day off hoping to catch it early. By the time I got home on Wednesday I was still too tired to really work out. I finally got some short runs in on Thur and Friday and decided to go shorter than planned on Saturday as well. Today was a good day, ran 6 this am and went to the weight room then took advantage of the sunny weather and rode a quick 12 outside after work. Feeling good tonight so hopefully back on track this week with 4 weeks to go until the marathon. Sorry about the whining there, I guess my wife is right I don't take illness well at all. I'm going to post my race schedule some time this week so it feels more official and gives me more of something to shoot for in training. It's too hard to focus on an Ironman that is still 5 months away.

Coming off of a recovery week. Reduced mileage but attempted to keep the intensity up. It's always interesting to see how my body reacts with some days off. Some weeks I feel like a million dollars with some time off and others I feel as if my legs will seize and not work correctly. Last week was a seize week. I still had trouble getting out of bed this morning to go for a run but when I was done, as always I felt much better. Last week was good in that I managed to get to the pool twice. I worked on my summer schedule some more and that always helps to get me pumped up for the season. It probably also helps that the weather is starting to get much nicer. Of course with the infinite wisdom of our government we had to start daylight savings again last week so it's back to the dark ages here in Indiana.

A good weekend of everything

I had a great weekend. Managed to get a little bit of everything in and felt good about all of it, mostly. Friday was the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show in Indianapolis. I took the day off from work and drove down early. Saw some amazing bikes and met a few guys that I get to ride with from time to time. Of course I forgot to take my camera so I don't have any pictures of my favorites. I still managed to get home and run a few errands before getting home to spend the evening with Gavin and De. Saturday I slept in a little and then took off with my best friend for Indy again. This time we were heading for the Supercross races and a day of drinking with another college freind of ours. The Ram's Head brewery has some excellent beers and great food that make it easy to spend an afternoon there. The main races don't start until 7:00 but we usually get there around noon to have lunch, drink, bullshit, and drink some more. It's a great day that we've been doing for close to 10 years now and I look forward to it every year. The hard part is getting home at close to 2:00 am and having to do anything on Sunday. But in my effort to stay BALANCED I got up fairly early with De and Gavin for some quality time before heading out for a 20 mile run with some great runners from Ft. Wayne. Doing this run was a good challenge for me. We start with a steady pace for the first 10 miles then a quick stop for drinks and clothing changes as needed. We then went back out for another 10 miles with a gradual increase in speed. We went from a 6:54 down to a few 6:35's for 8 miles then slowed for a cool down of 2 miles. Home in time for Gavin to wake from his nap and then play until dinner at my mother-in-laws. A great weekend with a little of everything. It is going to be harder to fit in everything as the training picks up for Ironman but thankfully my wife understands and she makes it easier for me to chase my dreams. For that I am eternally grateful that I found the perfect woman. I love you De.