Today I opened my tri season with a little sprint tri at my college alma mater. I had been thinking and planning for this race for nearly a year. It's a race that based on results I knew I had a shot at winning if the conditions were right and if my legs were game for it. In the end Iwas 3rd and did pretty much everything perfect. I swam exactly what I wanted, had a good transition, biked like a crazed man, had another smooth transition, then ran as fast as I could. I was in good shape until 2.85 miles of the 5k distance. I pushed my body to the absolute max and started to throw up. I let out two small upchucks. Then sucked it up for the last .1, then promptly let it all out as soon as I was across. I haven't thrown up after a run since high school track. My goal today was 1st have fun, I did. 2nd stay with the lead pack and try to win, I lead the last 3 miles of the bike. 3rd dig deep and leave it all on the course, as I mentioned I maxed out my body. So I left today feeling great about the performance. Had my body not revolted then possibly I could have won and definitely would have taken 2nd, I finished 4 seconds behind 2nd due to the time trial pool start.
I started the day like I do on any race day or long training day. Scrambled eggs and a peanut butter banana sandwich. I watched a little ESPN then headed out. The race started at 8 and I pulled into the parking lot at 6:30. Don't like to be rushed. It was 40 degrees when i first arrived and i'm guessing it was close to 50 when we started. I set my bike and transition area up then mingled with some friends. Come to think of it I never even had nerves. For some reason I don't get nervous at triathlons but I do at a 5k. Go figure.
So here's how it went.
300 Meter Swim: 4:09
I was #18 but they had the seeding all kinds of jacked up so I ended up jumping in around 10th or so. I made one pass in the pool and stayed on some high school kids feet the whole time. The pace was quick and so I knew I would need to catch my breath on the way to the bike.
T1 1:21
Coming out of the pool and out into the 45-50 degree air was quite the wake up but not terrible. I think I passed 2 more folks in the transition and left out in 6th.
10 Mile Bike: 26:14
This was pretty much a 5 mile out and back course with a headwind leaving and a tail wind coming back. I passed the first three guys within two miles. The lead two took me about 5 miles to catch then I sat in third until after the first big hill. Once we topped I dropped the hammer and took the lead. I was riding at 28-32 mph for the last few miles thanks to the tailwind. I rode into transition pretty much neck and neck with 2nd place. His bike was closer to the run exit so he actually got out of transition in front of me just because of location. It was a great ride but I could feel it in my legs. I knew the run would be tough but also that I still had a solid 5k in my legs.
T2
As I said I ran in with 2nd place and ran out with him. He was probably 10 feet in front of me.
3.1 Mile Run 20:02
The run started out well. My legs were heavy as expected after smashing my bike for 10 miles. I stayed in 2nd for the first mile then was passed by a guy running out of his mind. I went in him to make the pass on the previous leader and remained in 2nd place. I knew that this new leader was running faster than I could afford to mess with so my goal was to stay close. With out time trial start in the pool I knew I had 15-20 seconds to give because I started behind him. I kept him within 50 feet til somewhere after mile 2 when he started to inch away. Coming down the final stretch with somewhere around 1/2 a mile to go my stomach began to turn on me. I knew this was coming though because I was giving all I had. At somewhere around a quarter mile to go I was passed. I made every attempt to keep the legs moving. I think with maybe 1000 meters to go my stomach could hold no more. I dry heaved once, then 2 small up chucks, then heard my friend yell "He's sprinting on you" so I gunned it. 50 yards to go and all I could think was hold it in hold it in hold it in. I crossed the line, dodged the sority girl trying to put a medal on my neck and made my to the grass and let it rip haha. One could heave and my stomach was back in gear.
I ended up 18 seconds behind 1st and 4 seconds behind 2nd. As I said earlier if my stomach could have held on longer I could have at least taken 2nd and possibly won. But I never play the what if game. I'm happy with the results and with the major progress I've made. Next step is to get the Country Music Marathon out of the way then I have the Rev3 Olympic Triathlon in Knoxville.
See it. Believe it. Do it!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Starting off 2011 the right way. Zoo Run 5k.
I started off my 2011 season with a 5k race on 1/22. This is the 1st of three 5ks that I have planned for the year. The other two are in Augusta and October. I wasn't sure what to expect since I had only been running for 5 weeks. I took 2 weeks off after my marathon in December. The first two weeks back weren't much more than finding my stride again. Anyway, I knew I wanted to place in my age group but wasn't going to be let down if I didn't. I just wanted to make sure I had fun. This year is all about quality workouts, strong races, and fun! Fun is the most crucial. With the amount of training I'll be doing I can't afford to lose sight of why I do it in the first place. If I quit having fun then it becomes a job.
I wanted to test myself with this first race and go into it a little tired. I typically take 2 days off before every race. I also treat every race as an A race. This year I'm changing that up as well. I have a few races that are A races, that I want to hit perfectly. The others are B races that I'm using for tune ups or gauges to see where I am for particular goals. So I trained hard the week of the race and even trained twice on Friday the day before. The race was at 3pm so I had about 22 hours of recovery.
I felt good on race day, I was sore but my legs didn't feel too terribly tired. After I warmed up I knew I was good to go. I decided that anything under 6:30 pace would be ok with me. It wouldn't be a PR race mainly because of the layout of the course and secondly because I really hadn't trained much. The temp at the start was 40 degrees and a little windy. Of course I got all kinds of looks because of my shorts and tank top. Most had on sweatpants and jackets. Not me, I suck it up and run in the usual lightweight Kswiss gear.
There were 1800 people at the race. I figure you only have to worry about 1-2% of them being competitive. I found my spot at the start line right next to two kids that were probably 10 or 11. They had on jeans. I chuckled knowing they would get run over being up in the front. I'm not a mean person, it's just a fact. If you are in the front you better be on your horse.
The gun went off and I took off. I led the race for the first 50 meters haha. I know it looks stupid to go out fast and not hold the pace but I don't like getting bottled up. After the first 1/2 mile we pretty much settled into how we finished. I was sitting somewhere around 20th. As the faster runners passed me in that first stretch I picked out the ones that would soon be coming back to me. You can kind of tell who isn't going to hold their pace. I was running 5:50 in the opening stretch and getting passed. Not many will keep that up. Once we spaced out I dialed back into a 6:15 pace. I felt good, I felt strong, and I felt sore. That was just what I wanted. This year is about finding out what I'm made of. I knew I would have to dig a little deeper in order to run a strong pace on tired legs. I smiled and said to myself what I always say in a 5k, "anybody can run 3 miles". By the time we hit the 1st mile marker I had picked off the few runners that I figured had gone out way to fast. I didn't pass anyone else or get passed from then on. I was in the 13th position now and figured I was probably in a good spot to place in my age group. There were several older guys and a few high school kids up a front of me. there were about 3 or 4 that I wasn't sure about.
So the race was at the Nashville Zoo. If you've ever been you know this is not really a great place to try and run wide open. The walkways are tight and curvy. There were a few places that had 180 degree turns. On two different turns I had to grab the tree to keep from falling. Towards the end of the race these turns were taking their toll. You would have to slow down then get back up to speed constantly. I did like how distracting it was though. Instead of worrying about pace I had to worry about correct turns, low limbs, patches of ice, and NOT FALLING!!
In the end I finished with a 19:31, which put me in 13th overall. I ended up being the 3rd in my age group to finish, but because the first two guys were 1st and 2nd over all, I bumped up to winning the age group. I was happy with it but not satisfied. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy with age group finishes but I'm ready for over all finishes at the 5k distance. I have a chance to do that at both of the 5ks that I have planned as long as my training continues to be strong and my paces continue to drop. I haven't placed in a 1/2 marathon yet but it is on the to do list for 2011. Most likely I will have a good shot in October at the Murfreesboro 1/2. I know I'll have a new PR in March but it still won't be fast enough for a place in my age group.
So 2011 has started off great and I'm ready to see it continue. As long as I stay healthy and smart I should see several more strong finishes this year. As always if you ever have questions or want to get into running or triathlons feel free to hit me up.
See it. Believe it. Do it.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
I wanted to test myself with this first race and go into it a little tired. I typically take 2 days off before every race. I also treat every race as an A race. This year I'm changing that up as well. I have a few races that are A races, that I want to hit perfectly. The others are B races that I'm using for tune ups or gauges to see where I am for particular goals. So I trained hard the week of the race and even trained twice on Friday the day before. The race was at 3pm so I had about 22 hours of recovery.
I felt good on race day, I was sore but my legs didn't feel too terribly tired. After I warmed up I knew I was good to go. I decided that anything under 6:30 pace would be ok with me. It wouldn't be a PR race mainly because of the layout of the course and secondly because I really hadn't trained much. The temp at the start was 40 degrees and a little windy. Of course I got all kinds of looks because of my shorts and tank top. Most had on sweatpants and jackets. Not me, I suck it up and run in the usual lightweight Kswiss gear.
There were 1800 people at the race. I figure you only have to worry about 1-2% of them being competitive. I found my spot at the start line right next to two kids that were probably 10 or 11. They had on jeans. I chuckled knowing they would get run over being up in the front. I'm not a mean person, it's just a fact. If you are in the front you better be on your horse.
The gun went off and I took off. I led the race for the first 50 meters haha. I know it looks stupid to go out fast and not hold the pace but I don't like getting bottled up. After the first 1/2 mile we pretty much settled into how we finished. I was sitting somewhere around 20th. As the faster runners passed me in that first stretch I picked out the ones that would soon be coming back to me. You can kind of tell who isn't going to hold their pace. I was running 5:50 in the opening stretch and getting passed. Not many will keep that up. Once we spaced out I dialed back into a 6:15 pace. I felt good, I felt strong, and I felt sore. That was just what I wanted. This year is about finding out what I'm made of. I knew I would have to dig a little deeper in order to run a strong pace on tired legs. I smiled and said to myself what I always say in a 5k, "anybody can run 3 miles". By the time we hit the 1st mile marker I had picked off the few runners that I figured had gone out way to fast. I didn't pass anyone else or get passed from then on. I was in the 13th position now and figured I was probably in a good spot to place in my age group. There were several older guys and a few high school kids up a front of me. there were about 3 or 4 that I wasn't sure about.
So the race was at the Nashville Zoo. If you've ever been you know this is not really a great place to try and run wide open. The walkways are tight and curvy. There were a few places that had 180 degree turns. On two different turns I had to grab the tree to keep from falling. Towards the end of the race these turns were taking their toll. You would have to slow down then get back up to speed constantly. I did like how distracting it was though. Instead of worrying about pace I had to worry about correct turns, low limbs, patches of ice, and NOT FALLING!!
In the end I finished with a 19:31, which put me in 13th overall. I ended up being the 3rd in my age group to finish, but because the first two guys were 1st and 2nd over all, I bumped up to winning the age group. I was happy with it but not satisfied. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy with age group finishes but I'm ready for over all finishes at the 5k distance. I have a chance to do that at both of the 5ks that I have planned as long as my training continues to be strong and my paces continue to drop. I haven't placed in a 1/2 marathon yet but it is on the to do list for 2011. Most likely I will have a good shot in October at the Murfreesboro 1/2. I know I'll have a new PR in March but it still won't be fast enough for a place in my age group.
So 2011 has started off great and I'm ready to see it continue. As long as I stay healthy and smart I should see several more strong finishes this year. As always if you ever have questions or want to get into running or triathlons feel free to hit me up.
See it. Believe it. Do it.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"
Monday, January 17, 2011
2011 Goals
So I haven't said much lately...still not great at this blog stuff. Anyway I figured I would list my goals for 2011. No better way to go after you goals than to write them down for everyone to see.
I'm two weeks into training full time for triathlon. I'm focusing a little extra on the run right now since I have a marathon in April before I start racing triathlons again. I think this will pay off though because my run is actually what struggled last season. I was under trained which left me with wiped out legs at the end of all three of my triathlon races. However, I noticed during my marathon training last year that my run times improved greatly. I analysed my training from the past year and found that my longest week was a 5 hour training week. This is good if you are just a weekend warrior but for me and my goals that just simply wouldn't work. So I sat down and wrote a new training plan. I experimented with it during Christmas vacation to see how my body would take to it. The first week of January was when I officially started. In my first week I put in 10 hours and almost as much distance as I had done in a single month last year. What does this mean you wonder? Well last season I had some good finishes. I placed in my age group in my first triathlon and won my age group in two of my road races. That was on minimal training. I fully expect with the new plan I will be seeing myself competing for over all places and wins by the end of the year.
The Goals
Long term:
My longterm goal is to get my pro card in triathlon. If that happens this year that will be great but it doesn't have to.
Short term goals:
-place over all in a sprint triathlon
-place over all in an olympic triathlon
-qualify for the age group Regional Championship in Olympic distance
-qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship
-qualify for the Boston Marathon
-break 19 minutes in a 5k
-break 1:30 in a half marathon
So there you have it. Pretty lofty goals honestly but I see no reason why I can't do it. I have 3 races on my schedule that are qualifiers for my pro card. I have one chance to qualify for the Age Group Championship and two chances to qualify for the 70.3 World Championship.
With that said, please send your encouragement and feel free to ask questions if you are interested in starting in triathlon or running. I love to help others even if it is just recreational. Until next time :)
See it. Believe it. Do it.
I'm two weeks into training full time for triathlon. I'm focusing a little extra on the run right now since I have a marathon in April before I start racing triathlons again. I think this will pay off though because my run is actually what struggled last season. I was under trained which left me with wiped out legs at the end of all three of my triathlon races. However, I noticed during my marathon training last year that my run times improved greatly. I analysed my training from the past year and found that my longest week was a 5 hour training week. This is good if you are just a weekend warrior but for me and my goals that just simply wouldn't work. So I sat down and wrote a new training plan. I experimented with it during Christmas vacation to see how my body would take to it. The first week of January was when I officially started. In my first week I put in 10 hours and almost as much distance as I had done in a single month last year. What does this mean you wonder? Well last season I had some good finishes. I placed in my age group in my first triathlon and won my age group in two of my road races. That was on minimal training. I fully expect with the new plan I will be seeing myself competing for over all places and wins by the end of the year.
The Goals
Long term:
My longterm goal is to get my pro card in triathlon. If that happens this year that will be great but it doesn't have to.
Short term goals:
-place over all in a sprint triathlon
-place over all in an olympic triathlon
-qualify for the age group Regional Championship in Olympic distance
-qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship
-qualify for the Boston Marathon
-break 19 minutes in a 5k
-break 1:30 in a half marathon
So there you have it. Pretty lofty goals honestly but I see no reason why I can't do it. I have 3 races on my schedule that are qualifiers for my pro card. I have one chance to qualify for the Age Group Championship and two chances to qualify for the 70.3 World Championship.
With that said, please send your encouragement and feel free to ask questions if you are interested in starting in triathlon or running. I love to help others even if it is just recreational. Until next time :)
See it. Believe it. Do it.
Monday, December 13, 2010
I finally went "walking in Memphis"
It's been over a week since I ran my first marathon, the St. Judes Memphis Marathon. I've been meaning to write my report but have put it off. I've actually put off all things running. my race belt, hat and shoes are still in my truck in the spots that I threw them after the race haha. my Garmin is...well I'm not sure where it is actually. I think two of my water bottles are still in the truck too. Anyway, here it is.
I started training in August for the this race. Through that time I was able to log 388.02 miles which took up 50 hours 42 minutes and 17 seconds of my life. That averages out to a 7:50 pace. Too bad my marathon took me 3:40:53 which averages out to 8:23 minutes.
Some facts:
I ran in KSwiss Blades for all of my training, minus some 5ks and 1/2 marathons, and I ran the marathon in them.
I ran in 5 races prior to the marathon
I started wearing CEP compression sleeves the week before the race. Wish I had of trained in them the whole time.
I did most of my training alone.
My friend Kelly helped with most of the hard workouts and long workouts. Gotta have a good pace booty every once in a while.
I did have to fight burnout in the last few weeks leading to the race, but the race totally put the love of running back into me.
Pre race day...
I drove down to Memphis the day before the race to go to the expo and what not. The expo took all of 10 minutes haha. I don't usually buy anything at the expos or even look at anything...unless of course it's a nice set of running legs attached to an equally nice looking chica ;). After the expo I drove down to the start line to get familiar with the area and to figure out where to park in the morning. I get more stressed with the logistics of a race than I do the actual race. I do not like to feel rushed or stressed. If I don't know where I'm going then I tend to get stressed.
After scoping out the start line area and almost driving too far into the ghetto by mistake, I headed back to my hotel. Not sure where I was staying but I had to drive through the ghetto, then Germantown, then more ghetto to get to it. Don't worry I may have looked like a homeless white guy with the beard and all but I was packing "protection" haha. I ate some dinner at the hotel restaurant then headed up to the room. I'm very exact in how I do things the night before. I always soak in Epsom salt, watch a movie, stretch a little, and attempt to go to bed early. I soaked and stretched then got in bed around 6. I watched Date Night and The Centurian then went to bed around 10:30 I think.
Race Day...
My alarm went off at 4 am...the gun was going off at 8 am. I ate two bagels with peanut butter and two bananas. Yes TWO bananas. In my last three races I had bowel problems. I figured two bananas would take care of that haha. I didn't want to have to stop to use the bathroom in the middle of the race. I watched some sports center and stretched a little. I'm so used to the race atmosphere that it hadn't really hit me that I was hours away from my first marathon. To be honest it didn't finally set in until mile 25 of the race.
So I got packed up and left the hotel around 5:45. The streets were going to start closing around 6am because there was a 5k at 7. I ended up finding a parking lot with about 60 porta pottys that was 100 yards from the start line. Perfect parking. I was also 2 hours early. I laid in my truck and listened to music for about 40 minutes then went and walked around Beale street. It was still chilly since the sun hadn't really come out yet. I got a few looks since I was in flip flops. After walking around for about 20 minutes I put my shoes on and went for a 5 minute jog then stretched at my truck. At about 7:30 I jumped in the porta potty line one last time. I rolled into coral 3 at about 7:55 and found the 3:30 pace group.
3...2...1...GO
At 8 they fired the gun for the elite runners and then started coral #1 1 min later, coral #2 2 minutes later, and finally coral #3 2 minutes later @8:05. Again I'm so used to this atmosphere that I do not get nervous anymore or I just don't notice it. My goal was between 3:30 and 3:45 and I knew if I could hang with the pace group as long as possible that I would reach that goal. I knew going into the day that I would not be able to hold an average pace below 8 flat for the whole race. 3:30 is an 8 min mile. Well we get rolling and do our first mile in 7:50. Not bad I say to myself, we'll settle in to the pace soon. My legs felt great. I had tapered perfectly and they were fresh and strong. It's a good thing too. I loved my pacers and our group. The two pacers were encouraging and energetic, however they lacked the discipline to STAY ON PACE! mile 2 we ran in 7:30 WHOOPS. At this point I'm not panicking because I knew 3:30 wasn't going to happen unless I had the perfect day. Ultimately I wanted to enjoy the day so I was going to be happy with anything under 4 hours. So our little pack of 20 kept on chugging along. Mile 3 comes and goes, again under 8 minutes. Mile 4 was special. This is where you get to run by St. Judes Children's hospital. They were after all the reason I was running. I ran as a St. Judes Hero to raise money for the hospital. In return I was given a racing singlet to run in. So throughout the whole race I heard "Thank you Hero!" There were a ton of us out there. So anyway our pace really picked up running this section. The energy level and excitement were amazing. I had goosebumps the whole time running through there.
Ok so anyway my group keeps chugging along churning out sub 8 miles. It was relatively flat so I wasn't too worried. This was time in the bank for the end of the race. We hit the halfway mark 3 minutes ahead of schedule and got a new pacer. He was shocked to see us that early. He explained the remainder of the course to me. "mile 15 through 18 are mostly up hill then it's all downhill after that". So my goal now was to hold onto the group up until mile 15. Going into mile 15 my legs still felt great, my breathing was normal, and my stomach was perfect. It was now 65 degrees with 85% humidity. There were water stops at each mile and I was taking a cup of gatorade at each one of them. I also ate GU packs at mile 5,10,15,20, and 22. So mile 15 gets there and the hills start. I let my pace trail off. I had a 7:47 avg pace at mile 15. I didn't push the hills and whenever I got a flat spot or slight downhill I tried to accelerate but there were really only a few spots to do that. 15-18 were kind of a blur. At mile 18 my pace was up to 8:04 avg and I took my first walk break at the water stop. 18-20 had been my nemesis all through out training so I knew these next two miles were going to either make or break me. All I told myself was run to mile 19. So I did, it seemed like I had just left the mile 18 water stop when I rolled into the mile 19 stop. again I walked long enough to drink. Then again "run to mile 20" I ran this way for the next 5 miles. I walked twice between mile 20 and 25 not counting the water stops.
Around 21 or 22, can't quite remember, I felt the first hint of a cramp. My right hamstring shot me the first warning twinge when I was starting to pick the pace up. I was trying to stay about 8:30. I knew with the walking that my avg was getting wrecked but because of how fast the first 15 were that I could afford it. The only bad thing about the water stop walks were that it gets harder to get moving again each time. My legs had been on the decline since mile 20, I was starting to get a blister, and for some reason my left shoulder decided it was done for the day. Not sure what I looked like but for the last three miles my left arm flopped at my side. I would try to hold it up but my rotater cuff would just cramp and I'd have to drop it after a few seconds. However, during all of this I was smiling, interacting with spectators and encouraging runners that passed me and runners that I passed. We all looked about the same at this point. Stopping, starting, wincing, swearing, laughing, and just plain suffering. I felt like i was trudging through mud so I had to look down at my watch a lot to make sure I was in fact running at pace.
Well I get to mile 25 and suddenly I was overcome with euphoria and joy. It was then that it hit me, "you are running a marathon". I told myself anybody can do a mile and just kept moving. I tried to quicken my pace while not causing my hamstring to cramp. I started reliving some of the past weeks and in my head re-read some of the encouraging words that some of you had shared leading up to this. I also started desperately searching the side lines for my friend Kelly. She had told me the night before that she might drive up. I was breaking down fast, my shoulder was absolutely killing me, my feet burned, and my quads felt like I had done box jumps for 5 hours straight. But I was still smiling. With 1/2 a mile to go I even had a quick dance with the drumline that was playing by the side of the road. I turned into the baseball stadium and there it was...FINISH!! just 50 ft away. I picked up my pace to as much as I could give, I waved to the crowd to make some noise, and as I crossed the line I looked to the Heavens and pointed "Thank you God, not without you".
I had done it. I had run a marathon. I was pumped. I was handed a medal and a heat blanket thingy and a bottle of water. I hobbled over to the outfield and collapsed. The joy of finishing was now covered by the sheer pain that was my legs!! Kelly hadn't shown up, no family was there to celebrate, but I was still happy. I laid in the field for a while then made my way to my truck. Driving 3 hours back home about 45 minutes after finishing was not the smartest thing I've done but that's what I did haha.
Thank you again to all of you that encouraged me and helped me. Stay tuned for 2011. I will be racing 12-16 times including 2 more marathons and 2 half ironmen. I will need your encouraging words even more. See you in 2011!!
I started training in August for the this race. Through that time I was able to log 388.02 miles which took up 50 hours 42 minutes and 17 seconds of my life. That averages out to a 7:50 pace. Too bad my marathon took me 3:40:53 which averages out to 8:23 minutes.
Some facts:
I ran in KSwiss Blades for all of my training, minus some 5ks and 1/2 marathons, and I ran the marathon in them.
I ran in 5 races prior to the marathon
I started wearing CEP compression sleeves the week before the race. Wish I had of trained in them the whole time.
I did most of my training alone.
My friend Kelly helped with most of the hard workouts and long workouts. Gotta have a good pace booty every once in a while.
I did have to fight burnout in the last few weeks leading to the race, but the race totally put the love of running back into me.
Pre race day...
I drove down to Memphis the day before the race to go to the expo and what not. The expo took all of 10 minutes haha. I don't usually buy anything at the expos or even look at anything...unless of course it's a nice set of running legs attached to an equally nice looking chica ;). After the expo I drove down to the start line to get familiar with the area and to figure out where to park in the morning. I get more stressed with the logistics of a race than I do the actual race. I do not like to feel rushed or stressed. If I don't know where I'm going then I tend to get stressed.
After scoping out the start line area and almost driving too far into the ghetto by mistake, I headed back to my hotel. Not sure where I was staying but I had to drive through the ghetto, then Germantown, then more ghetto to get to it. Don't worry I may have looked like a homeless white guy with the beard and all but I was packing "protection" haha. I ate some dinner at the hotel restaurant then headed up to the room. I'm very exact in how I do things the night before. I always soak in Epsom salt, watch a movie, stretch a little, and attempt to go to bed early. I soaked and stretched then got in bed around 6. I watched Date Night and The Centurian then went to bed around 10:30 I think.
Race Day...
My alarm went off at 4 am...the gun was going off at 8 am. I ate two bagels with peanut butter and two bananas. Yes TWO bananas. In my last three races I had bowel problems. I figured two bananas would take care of that haha. I didn't want to have to stop to use the bathroom in the middle of the race. I watched some sports center and stretched a little. I'm so used to the race atmosphere that it hadn't really hit me that I was hours away from my first marathon. To be honest it didn't finally set in until mile 25 of the race.
So I got packed up and left the hotel around 5:45. The streets were going to start closing around 6am because there was a 5k at 7. I ended up finding a parking lot with about 60 porta pottys that was 100 yards from the start line. Perfect parking. I was also 2 hours early. I laid in my truck and listened to music for about 40 minutes then went and walked around Beale street. It was still chilly since the sun hadn't really come out yet. I got a few looks since I was in flip flops. After walking around for about 20 minutes I put my shoes on and went for a 5 minute jog then stretched at my truck. At about 7:30 I jumped in the porta potty line one last time. I rolled into coral 3 at about 7:55 and found the 3:30 pace group.
3...2...1...GO
At 8 they fired the gun for the elite runners and then started coral #1 1 min later, coral #2 2 minutes later, and finally coral #3 2 minutes later @8:05. Again I'm so used to this atmosphere that I do not get nervous anymore or I just don't notice it. My goal was between 3:30 and 3:45 and I knew if I could hang with the pace group as long as possible that I would reach that goal. I knew going into the day that I would not be able to hold an average pace below 8 flat for the whole race. 3:30 is an 8 min mile. Well we get rolling and do our first mile in 7:50. Not bad I say to myself, we'll settle in to the pace soon. My legs felt great. I had tapered perfectly and they were fresh and strong. It's a good thing too. I loved my pacers and our group. The two pacers were encouraging and energetic, however they lacked the discipline to STAY ON PACE! mile 2 we ran in 7:30 WHOOPS. At this point I'm not panicking because I knew 3:30 wasn't going to happen unless I had the perfect day. Ultimately I wanted to enjoy the day so I was going to be happy with anything under 4 hours. So our little pack of 20 kept on chugging along. Mile 3 comes and goes, again under 8 minutes. Mile 4 was special. This is where you get to run by St. Judes Children's hospital. They were after all the reason I was running. I ran as a St. Judes Hero to raise money for the hospital. In return I was given a racing singlet to run in. So throughout the whole race I heard "Thank you Hero!" There were a ton of us out there. So anyway our pace really picked up running this section. The energy level and excitement were amazing. I had goosebumps the whole time running through there.
Ok so anyway my group keeps chugging along churning out sub 8 miles. It was relatively flat so I wasn't too worried. This was time in the bank for the end of the race. We hit the halfway mark 3 minutes ahead of schedule and got a new pacer. He was shocked to see us that early. He explained the remainder of the course to me. "mile 15 through 18 are mostly up hill then it's all downhill after that". So my goal now was to hold onto the group up until mile 15. Going into mile 15 my legs still felt great, my breathing was normal, and my stomach was perfect. It was now 65 degrees with 85% humidity. There were water stops at each mile and I was taking a cup of gatorade at each one of them. I also ate GU packs at mile 5,10,15,20, and 22. So mile 15 gets there and the hills start. I let my pace trail off. I had a 7:47 avg pace at mile 15. I didn't push the hills and whenever I got a flat spot or slight downhill I tried to accelerate but there were really only a few spots to do that. 15-18 were kind of a blur. At mile 18 my pace was up to 8:04 avg and I took my first walk break at the water stop. 18-20 had been my nemesis all through out training so I knew these next two miles were going to either make or break me. All I told myself was run to mile 19. So I did, it seemed like I had just left the mile 18 water stop when I rolled into the mile 19 stop. again I walked long enough to drink. Then again "run to mile 20" I ran this way for the next 5 miles. I walked twice between mile 20 and 25 not counting the water stops.
Around 21 or 22, can't quite remember, I felt the first hint of a cramp. My right hamstring shot me the first warning twinge when I was starting to pick the pace up. I was trying to stay about 8:30. I knew with the walking that my avg was getting wrecked but because of how fast the first 15 were that I could afford it. The only bad thing about the water stop walks were that it gets harder to get moving again each time. My legs had been on the decline since mile 20, I was starting to get a blister, and for some reason my left shoulder decided it was done for the day. Not sure what I looked like but for the last three miles my left arm flopped at my side. I would try to hold it up but my rotater cuff would just cramp and I'd have to drop it after a few seconds. However, during all of this I was smiling, interacting with spectators and encouraging runners that passed me and runners that I passed. We all looked about the same at this point. Stopping, starting, wincing, swearing, laughing, and just plain suffering. I felt like i was trudging through mud so I had to look down at my watch a lot to make sure I was in fact running at pace.
Well I get to mile 25 and suddenly I was overcome with euphoria and joy. It was then that it hit me, "you are running a marathon". I told myself anybody can do a mile and just kept moving. I tried to quicken my pace while not causing my hamstring to cramp. I started reliving some of the past weeks and in my head re-read some of the encouraging words that some of you had shared leading up to this. I also started desperately searching the side lines for my friend Kelly. She had told me the night before that she might drive up. I was breaking down fast, my shoulder was absolutely killing me, my feet burned, and my quads felt like I had done box jumps for 5 hours straight. But I was still smiling. With 1/2 a mile to go I even had a quick dance with the drumline that was playing by the side of the road. I turned into the baseball stadium and there it was...FINISH!! just 50 ft away. I picked up my pace to as much as I could give, I waved to the crowd to make some noise, and as I crossed the line I looked to the Heavens and pointed "Thank you God, not without you".
I had done it. I had run a marathon. I was pumped. I was handed a medal and a heat blanket thingy and a bottle of water. I hobbled over to the outfield and collapsed. The joy of finishing was now covered by the sheer pain that was my legs!! Kelly hadn't shown up, no family was there to celebrate, but I was still happy. I laid in the field for a while then made my way to my truck. Driving 3 hours back home about 45 minutes after finishing was not the smartest thing I've done but that's what I did haha.
Thank you again to all of you that encouraged me and helped me. Stay tuned for 2011. I will be racing 12-16 times including 2 more marathons and 2 half ironmen. I will need your encouraging words even more. See you in 2011!!
Monday, November 22, 2010
26.2 miles...it's more than just running
Well it's time for another blog entry...turns out I'm not so good at keep up with this.
I now have two weeks until my first marathon. Am I excited? To be honest not really. I've been somewhat spoiled the last few months with my running results. I have had several new personal records set and a few very strong finishes. However, I'm going into this marathon knowing that I'm not going to have a time worth bragging about. It will be more of a weekend warrior worthy performance. My training just did not go very well when it came to the long runs. I had two 20+ mile runs on my schedule. The first that I completed was a disaster at best. Yes I did the distance but it was full of so many stops and starts in the last 6 miles that I barely even count it as a 20 mile run. The second run was supposed to be 22 miles...I managed to log 18.2 of that. Same story, just a flat out disaster of a run. So I'm going to go to Memphis to compete in a distance that I know I can't even complete at this point in time. Will I walk across the finish line? Yes, but it could take 3 1/2 hours or it could take 5 hours. Either way I'm going to fall short of what I thought I would be able to do. People have said just go and have fun. That's hard for me to do when I perform far below what I know I can do. Unfortunately it's going to be exactly what I'm forced to do. I can't shoot for a decent pace because history tells me that at mile 15-17 my legs will start on a rapid decline which will ultimately leave me wondering why the F am I even out there.
This is why I'm glad that I chose St. Jude. First of all it's flat. I did all my long runs on the Country Music Marathon course in Nashville which has some mean hills. So maybe that will extend my breaking point out to 17-19 miles not having the hills to run. Second it's ultimately for the kids at St Judes in Memphis. Kids who face a much harder battle than a marathon. Kids who will more than likely never leave the hospital bed they are confined to. They'll be what I think about when I reach my breaking point. If they can look cancer and eventually death in the face with a smile each and everyday then I can suffer through the last miles of a marathon.
This will be an experience like none other for me. A time to reflect on the year I have had in sport and the year I've had just in life in general. Sport has been all ups while life has been mostly downs. This will be a time to look forward to the future. This next year will say a lot about the rest of my career and if it will continue or not. This next year is full of high goals and I will have to work harder than ever to get there. I set the bar high this past season but I fully intend to take it to the next level in 2011. This marathon will also take me to a new level of pain and really test my will to continue. It's in the depths of darkness that you learn who you are and what you are made of. Do you have what it takes to rise out and push through? Can you mentally keep your body moving when it tells you it can't take another step? I can say that barring being hit by a truck, I can push through. I have a fighters spirit and heart, that I know I will have to rely on.
I would like to thank everyone who has helped me prepare for this and for those of you who have been an encouragement. If you have swam, biked, or run with me I really appreciate it. If you have encouraged me, especially in the past weeks when I just haven't mentally been where I should, then I am truly grateful for your words. Often times I train alone and race alone. I have my parents who come to races when they can and I have friends that I've raced with a few times. I have to say that I'm jealous of those who have people hold signs for them or have a big group waiting at the finish line but I always look forward to the support I get on facebook and twitter.
Finally, I would like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. No this is not a cliche music award speech. He has given me the abilities and talent that I have in sport, the same abilities that I can take for granted sometimes. (Thanks for pointing that out Joseph) He is the one that gives me the strength to continue and the will to succeed. He fuels my passion to beat my body up most days of the week. He has put each and every one of you who support me in sport or life in my life for a reason. I'm naturally a loner. I do things alone and fight my battles silently, for the most part. It wasn't till this year that I accepted training partners or took to heart advice given. I'm still learning how to let other come along side of me.
"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Chris Jesus" Phillipians 3:13-14
I now have two weeks until my first marathon. Am I excited? To be honest not really. I've been somewhat spoiled the last few months with my running results. I have had several new personal records set and a few very strong finishes. However, I'm going into this marathon knowing that I'm not going to have a time worth bragging about. It will be more of a weekend warrior worthy performance. My training just did not go very well when it came to the long runs. I had two 20+ mile runs on my schedule. The first that I completed was a disaster at best. Yes I did the distance but it was full of so many stops and starts in the last 6 miles that I barely even count it as a 20 mile run. The second run was supposed to be 22 miles...I managed to log 18.2 of that. Same story, just a flat out disaster of a run. So I'm going to go to Memphis to compete in a distance that I know I can't even complete at this point in time. Will I walk across the finish line? Yes, but it could take 3 1/2 hours or it could take 5 hours. Either way I'm going to fall short of what I thought I would be able to do. People have said just go and have fun. That's hard for me to do when I perform far below what I know I can do. Unfortunately it's going to be exactly what I'm forced to do. I can't shoot for a decent pace because history tells me that at mile 15-17 my legs will start on a rapid decline which will ultimately leave me wondering why the F am I even out there.
This is why I'm glad that I chose St. Jude. First of all it's flat. I did all my long runs on the Country Music Marathon course in Nashville which has some mean hills. So maybe that will extend my breaking point out to 17-19 miles not having the hills to run. Second it's ultimately for the kids at St Judes in Memphis. Kids who face a much harder battle than a marathon. Kids who will more than likely never leave the hospital bed they are confined to. They'll be what I think about when I reach my breaking point. If they can look cancer and eventually death in the face with a smile each and everyday then I can suffer through the last miles of a marathon.
This will be an experience like none other for me. A time to reflect on the year I have had in sport and the year I've had just in life in general. Sport has been all ups while life has been mostly downs. This will be a time to look forward to the future. This next year will say a lot about the rest of my career and if it will continue or not. This next year is full of high goals and I will have to work harder than ever to get there. I set the bar high this past season but I fully intend to take it to the next level in 2011. This marathon will also take me to a new level of pain and really test my will to continue. It's in the depths of darkness that you learn who you are and what you are made of. Do you have what it takes to rise out and push through? Can you mentally keep your body moving when it tells you it can't take another step? I can say that barring being hit by a truck, I can push through. I have a fighters spirit and heart, that I know I will have to rely on.
I would like to thank everyone who has helped me prepare for this and for those of you who have been an encouragement. If you have swam, biked, or run with me I really appreciate it. If you have encouraged me, especially in the past weeks when I just haven't mentally been where I should, then I am truly grateful for your words. Often times I train alone and race alone. I have my parents who come to races when they can and I have friends that I've raced with a few times. I have to say that I'm jealous of those who have people hold signs for them or have a big group waiting at the finish line but I always look forward to the support I get on facebook and twitter.
Finally, I would like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. No this is not a cliche music award speech. He has given me the abilities and talent that I have in sport, the same abilities that I can take for granted sometimes. (Thanks for pointing that out Joseph) He is the one that gives me the strength to continue and the will to succeed. He fuels my passion to beat my body up most days of the week. He has put each and every one of you who support me in sport or life in my life for a reason. I'm naturally a loner. I do things alone and fight my battles silently, for the most part. It wasn't till this year that I accepted training partners or took to heart advice given. I'm still learning how to let other come along side of me.
"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Chris Jesus" Phillipians 3:13-14
Friday, October 8, 2010
Half Way to Memphis
So my last marathon blog was the day I started the program. I just happen to be at the half way point now with 8 weeks to go.
My weeks have consisted of shorter runs during the week with a long run on the weekends. I just added my swim and bike training back in this week. I'm going to keep them fairly low so I can continue to focus on the marathon.
My longest run was last weekend at 16 miles. Tomorrow however I have 18. I have run 18 once before so I know I can do it. During my long runs I've noticed that I don't start hurting or breaking down till about mile 14-15. With runs of 18, 20, 22, and 24 coming up I hope that my threshold will continue to push out further. Part of the pain has been the types of long runs that I have gone on.
I recently discoverd "Squires Long Runs". They were designed by Bill Squires who was a running coach in Boston. In 1979 four of his local non pro runners finished in the top 10 at the Boston Marathon. Here is the link(http://running.competitor.com/2010/09/training/workout-of-the-week-squires-long-run_12784) Anyway, Squires runs are long runs with speed intervals worked into the middle portion of your run. Here are what the workouts look like.
Week 1: 15:00 easy, 6 x [2:00 surge @ 5K effort/8:00 easy], 15:00 easy
Week 3: 25:00 easy, 6 x [4:00 surge @ 10K effort/6:00 easy], 25:00 easy
Week 5: 35:00 easy, 6 x [6:00 surge @ half marathon effort/4:00 easy], 35:00 easy
Week 7: 45:00 easy, 6 x [8:00 surge @ half marathon to marathon effort/2:00 easy], 45:00 easy
The runs are designed to teach your muscles to handle hard effort over a longer distance. it's one thing to do an interval workout at the track. It's another thing to do one during a 2 hour run! So far I have done the first three workouts and I'll be doing the last one in a week or so. These workouts make the run go by quicker because you are constantly watching your time and splits instead of just running aimlessly. On race day if something happens and I have to switch up pace I won't be worried about it because of the experience I have gained from these workouts. I know my body can handle a sub 7:30 pace at mile 15 and still be able to keep ticking along. Last year I would have called myself crazy. run fast and far in the same workout were beyond my abilities.
My goal is to constantly improve in my running career and now my triathlon career. At some point I want to race at the elite level. It's workouts like the Squires that will help get me there. I have also decided to try and give back with my racing. I spend so much time doing it that I thought there needs to be a bigger reason for all of this besides getting faster and setting personal records. My first step was to run as a St Jude Hero. It makes my marathon training more meaningful knowing that it is for a cause. After the marathon I will be getting involved with More Than Sport, morethansport.org, by sponsoring a child in Africa and trying to get others sponsored. I want to always run and race for a cause. In the end it's not about a time or a possible win, it'll be about whose life will be impacted.
For those of you who think I'm crazy for all the training, maybe this will help put it in perspective for you. I could only hope that I would motivate you to set your own goals and go out and reach them.
My weeks have consisted of shorter runs during the week with a long run on the weekends. I just added my swim and bike training back in this week. I'm going to keep them fairly low so I can continue to focus on the marathon.
My longest run was last weekend at 16 miles. Tomorrow however I have 18. I have run 18 once before so I know I can do it. During my long runs I've noticed that I don't start hurting or breaking down till about mile 14-15. With runs of 18, 20, 22, and 24 coming up I hope that my threshold will continue to push out further. Part of the pain has been the types of long runs that I have gone on.
I recently discoverd "Squires Long Runs". They were designed by Bill Squires who was a running coach in Boston. In 1979 four of his local non pro runners finished in the top 10 at the Boston Marathon. Here is the link(http://running.competitor.com/2010/09/training/workout-of-the-week-squires-long-run_12784) Anyway, Squires runs are long runs with speed intervals worked into the middle portion of your run. Here are what the workouts look like.
Week 1: 15:00 easy, 6 x [2:00 surge @ 5K effort/8:00 easy], 15:00 easy
Week 3: 25:00 easy, 6 x [4:00 surge @ 10K effort/6:00 easy], 25:00 easy
Week 5: 35:00 easy, 6 x [6:00 surge @ half marathon effort/4:00 easy], 35:00 easy
Week 7: 45:00 easy, 6 x [8:00 surge @ half marathon to marathon effort/2:00 easy], 45:00 easy
The runs are designed to teach your muscles to handle hard effort over a longer distance. it's one thing to do an interval workout at the track. It's another thing to do one during a 2 hour run! So far I have done the first three workouts and I'll be doing the last one in a week or so. These workouts make the run go by quicker because you are constantly watching your time and splits instead of just running aimlessly. On race day if something happens and I have to switch up pace I won't be worried about it because of the experience I have gained from these workouts. I know my body can handle a sub 7:30 pace at mile 15 and still be able to keep ticking along. Last year I would have called myself crazy. run fast and far in the same workout were beyond my abilities.
My goal is to constantly improve in my running career and now my triathlon career. At some point I want to race at the elite level. It's workouts like the Squires that will help get me there. I have also decided to try and give back with my racing. I spend so much time doing it that I thought there needs to be a bigger reason for all of this besides getting faster and setting personal records. My first step was to run as a St Jude Hero. It makes my marathon training more meaningful knowing that it is for a cause. After the marathon I will be getting involved with More Than Sport, morethansport.org, by sponsoring a child in Africa and trying to get others sponsored. I want to always run and race for a cause. In the end it's not about a time or a possible win, it'll be about whose life will be impacted.
For those of you who think I'm crazy for all the training, maybe this will help put it in perspective for you. I could only hope that I would motivate you to set your own goals and go out and reach them.
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