I easily had one of the worst runs this morning, in I don't know how long. My legs hurt, the effort seemed much harder than my pace indicated, and I was suffering, but why was I smiling so much? I have learned to embrace my suffering when running, and enjoy it. This was the kind of run that 2 months ago would have had me questioning whether or not I could complete another marathon, heck I was struggling with 6 miles, how in the world would I ever finish 26.2!? But not today, I knew it was bad, but instead of dreading it and hating it, I did the only thing I could do and kept putting one foot in front of the other, and accepted my suffering as just something I had to endure, heck it was an out and back course so I really had only 2 choices, I could walk back or I could run, running shortened the suffering considerably.
Running has a way of stripping you down to the bare essentials. You can't carry alot of additional baggage when you go for a run, you take whats necessary, shoes, shorts water maybe some food and thats it, you leave the rest behind. The same can be said for the mental aspect, you can't carry to much emotional baggage on your run either, running is a great way to think through a problem or a difficult decision that has to be made. But if your spending all your time fretting over how tough the run is you'll never solve the other bigger problems going on. In that respect running is a great metaphor for life, strip your self of all the unnecessary baggage, get down to the bare essentials (the rest really just weighs you down), and no matter how tough the going gets, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and eventually you will get where you need to go.
Remember...do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Fall is in the air...
Or so it seemed this morning when I headed out for my run, it was a brisk 57 degrees and light wind, perfect weather for running. I love running in fall like weather, so much so that my scheduled 8 mile easy run quickly turned into a 12 mile race pace effort.
It so much easier to pick up the pace and push a little harder when the temperatures start to dip, plus when the leaves start to change and you get the smell of fall in the air, it's invigorating. Part of the route I ran this morning took me through a park where the path runs along a stream. Its secluded from the noise of the neighborhood streets around, so its quiet and peaceful, just the sounds of your footfalls and nature makes it easy to get into an almost rhythmic trance. Running in that kind of setting is something amazing and something I wish I could do more often. It was a shame I had to turn around and head back, but oh well there's always tomorrow...until then...
...do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.
It so much easier to pick up the pace and push a little harder when the temperatures start to dip, plus when the leaves start to change and you get the smell of fall in the air, it's invigorating. Part of the route I ran this morning took me through a park where the path runs along a stream. Its secluded from the noise of the neighborhood streets around, so its quiet and peaceful, just the sounds of your footfalls and nature makes it easy to get into an almost rhythmic trance. Running in that kind of setting is something amazing and something I wish I could do more often. It was a shame I had to turn around and head back, but oh well there's always tomorrow...until then...
...do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Casey's first day of school 2011
Casey started 1st grade today, with a fresh mohawk a new back pack, lunch box and his first pair of glasses, yes unfortunately he got Dad's eyes.
Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.
Caden's first Soccer Practice
Caden had his first soccer practice yesterday, he was so excited to be starting soccer, that was till we actually got there and started practice...
...Caden can be very shy at times, and I think he may suffer from dad's anxiety a little, shortly after practice began, he came running over to where me and Casey were kicking a soccer ball around, crying. Apparently he was upset cause he didn't know what to do and I think he was a little scared and intimidated. I told him to listen to his coach and he would tell him what to do, he then told me he just wanted me to coach him, which was sweet. We eventually got him to go back over and within a few minutes all was right with the world again. When they started practicing kicking the ball at the goal, he kept looking over at me and giving me a big thumbs up and smiling after his turn. He just needed to get out there and do it and realize that he is good enough, he hasn't realized yet that he is pretty good athlete, heck he competes against his brother all the time and holds his own. He doesn't understand that he's not supposed be able to do everything that Casey can do, but he tries and he succeeds, more often than not. What was really sweet was after we got back home, Casey spent about 10-15 mins kicking the ball back forth with him, showing him how to kick using the inside of his foot, he can be a good "Big Brother" when he wants to.
Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Du State Du Race Report
Official race results and split times can be viewed here.
Let me just say first off this was one of my favorite races I've done to date, I'm really glad I decided to do this event. I was nervous going in to this race since it was my first multi sport event, I've only been cycling for 2 months, I had no idea how transitions would work, and I've only done one run/bike brick workout so I had no real idea how my legs would handle the transition from cycling to running.
The race is held out at Loud Thunder which is a 40 minute drive so I left the house about 6 am after a light breakfast, I've found that I much rather prefer to arrive early and let all the pre-race jitters run their course before the race while I warm up and wait. I've found that seems to help me avoid going out to fast and experiencing that adrenalin dump a few minutes into a race. So after checking in and figuring out the transition area, I set my bike at the furthest corral, my biggest fear was having a collision with someone coming in or out that was "really" racing the event and thus causing them to have a bad time. This was a first time event for me so I wasn't worried about my time, or how fast I moved through the transition area, I just wanted to have fun and get some experience at a multi sport event.
Run #1
After lining up and receiving some pre race instructions and cautions about gravel on the bike course we were ready to start. I headed out at a pretty easy pace, I was hoping to go around 8:30/mile, I didn't want to go to fast and burn my legs out before the bike portion, especially since I got a pre race warning from a friend about the hills and their level of difficulty. After about half a mile I looked at my GPS and saw that I was right at 8 min pace and it was feeling pretty comfortable so I decided to hold that through the turn around at the 1 mile mark and picked it up a little on the way back in, I finished the first run leg in 15:26, avg pace of 7:57 and 66th overall which I am very happy with since in this field by comparison I am not nearly as strong a runner.
The first transition was kind of a blur, I certainly now understand why most Tri shoes are slip on's or quick release laces, trying to untie your shoes immediately after a hard run isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world. After getting my cycling shoes on and taking my bike off the rack I was headed out for the bike portion.
Bike
Heading out on the bike I was a little nervous, I've never competed in a cycling event and going out of the transition area with your bike in tow is a bit hectic, I made my way to the opposite side of the exit as to be out of the way. After mounting my bike and getting my shoes locked in I was off, I started off slow just to see how my legs would respond and to navigate the exiting area without incident. Once we got past the area where they had warned us about the gravel, I started to pick up speed and was actually surprised at how easy I was passing people. I'm not a very fast runner, my build and size just work against me to much in that area but I think on the bike I can at least overcome that some with the leg strength I have from years of sports and heavy lifting. All that being said I was still concerned about burning up quickly, after all I was only 2 miles in to what would be 19 mile event and I knew there were some major hill climbs to come. The first hill wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected, I carried a lot of momentum from the down hill and was able to climb fairly easy, even passing a couple more people, in fact I was only passed by one person on the bike portion and I ended up passing that person a few minutes later. The second major hill was the one I was warned about and it lived up to and surpassed my expectations, easily the toughest hill I've gone up. As I was making my way towards and up the hill, the leaders were flying by going the other direction, it is truly amazing to watch some of these athletes do what they can do running and cycling. After making the turnaround it was a nice long flat stretch before heading down the hill and I was looking forward to flying down it, according to my GPS I hit a top speed of 40 mph, and let me tell you what if you don't feel a rush going 40 mph on road bike you just ain't alive my friend. The last and final climb in my opinion was the worst, it was so much steep as it was long and winding, you could never get any momentum going so it was a grind the whole way. I was able to catch and pass a couple more people before making the turn and the home stretch to the next transition. I finished the bike portion in 49:25 avg speed of 17.9 mph and a very surprising 51st overall fastest bike.
The transition from the bike to the run was only slightly more difficult then run to bike, trying to tie your shoes on wobbly legs with a thumping heart trying to jump right out of your chest while sucking wind is some what of a challenge, once again those Tri shoes sure looked good at that point.
Run #2
I left the transition area on what can only be described as rubber chicken legs, how I managed to run at that point was beyond me. I was almost certain that I was moving at a 10-12 min pace, it certainly felt that way. I resisted the temptation to look at my GPS right away, because I was afraid of the demoralizing effect confirming my sluggish pace might have on me. I have often been on a long run of 16-20+ miles and had to make that final 1-2 mile push home and I am always able to convince myself that there is nothing to it, you can do that in your sleep. Well that certainly doesn't hold true for a multi sport event, the sheer difference in how your muscle work in each separate discipline and the overall fatigue, with 2 more miles to go, if I would have confirmed how slow I thought I was going it might as well have been 20 more, at that point all I could do was keep pushing forward and hope for the best. Luckily that didn't take to long, about half a mile into the run the rubber chicken leg feeling started to go away and I decided to sneak a peek at the GPS, and boy was I shocked out of my skull when I saw I was moving at a 8 min mile pace. That was all the confidence I needed to finish strong, suddenly another mile plus didn't seem so far and after I made the turn around and headed back I picked up the pace and even passed a couple people. I finished the last run in 13:49 with a 7:38 min/mile pace which was the 42 fastest second run. I finished 60th Overall and 6th in my age group (30-34) with an official time of 1:21:24, I am extremely proud that I was able to improve my position in each leg of the race, by comparison by transition times were much slower than the people who finished around me, which is just my inexperience and something I can easily improve upon for next time...oh yes there will be a next time!
Let me just say first off this was one of my favorite races I've done to date, I'm really glad I decided to do this event. I was nervous going in to this race since it was my first multi sport event, I've only been cycling for 2 months, I had no idea how transitions would work, and I've only done one run/bike brick workout so I had no real idea how my legs would handle the transition from cycling to running.
The race is held out at Loud Thunder which is a 40 minute drive so I left the house about 6 am after a light breakfast, I've found that I much rather prefer to arrive early and let all the pre-race jitters run their course before the race while I warm up and wait. I've found that seems to help me avoid going out to fast and experiencing that adrenalin dump a few minutes into a race. So after checking in and figuring out the transition area, I set my bike at the furthest corral, my biggest fear was having a collision with someone coming in or out that was "really" racing the event and thus causing them to have a bad time. This was a first time event for me so I wasn't worried about my time, or how fast I moved through the transition area, I just wanted to have fun and get some experience at a multi sport event.
Run #1
After lining up and receiving some pre race instructions and cautions about gravel on the bike course we were ready to start. I headed out at a pretty easy pace, I was hoping to go around 8:30/mile, I didn't want to go to fast and burn my legs out before the bike portion, especially since I got a pre race warning from a friend about the hills and their level of difficulty. After about half a mile I looked at my GPS and saw that I was right at 8 min pace and it was feeling pretty comfortable so I decided to hold that through the turn around at the 1 mile mark and picked it up a little on the way back in, I finished the first run leg in 15:26, avg pace of 7:57 and 66th overall which I am very happy with since in this field by comparison I am not nearly as strong a runner.
The first transition was kind of a blur, I certainly now understand why most Tri shoes are slip on's or quick release laces, trying to untie your shoes immediately after a hard run isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world. After getting my cycling shoes on and taking my bike off the rack I was headed out for the bike portion.
Bike
Heading out on the bike I was a little nervous, I've never competed in a cycling event and going out of the transition area with your bike in tow is a bit hectic, I made my way to the opposite side of the exit as to be out of the way. After mounting my bike and getting my shoes locked in I was off, I started off slow just to see how my legs would respond and to navigate the exiting area without incident. Once we got past the area where they had warned us about the gravel, I started to pick up speed and was actually surprised at how easy I was passing people. I'm not a very fast runner, my build and size just work against me to much in that area but I think on the bike I can at least overcome that some with the leg strength I have from years of sports and heavy lifting. All that being said I was still concerned about burning up quickly, after all I was only 2 miles in to what would be 19 mile event and I knew there were some major hill climbs to come. The first hill wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected, I carried a lot of momentum from the down hill and was able to climb fairly easy, even passing a couple more people, in fact I was only passed by one person on the bike portion and I ended up passing that person a few minutes later. The second major hill was the one I was warned about and it lived up to and surpassed my expectations, easily the toughest hill I've gone up. As I was making my way towards and up the hill, the leaders were flying by going the other direction, it is truly amazing to watch some of these athletes do what they can do running and cycling. After making the turnaround it was a nice long flat stretch before heading down the hill and I was looking forward to flying down it, according to my GPS I hit a top speed of 40 mph, and let me tell you what if you don't feel a rush going 40 mph on road bike you just ain't alive my friend. The last and final climb in my opinion was the worst, it was so much steep as it was long and winding, you could never get any momentum going so it was a grind the whole way. I was able to catch and pass a couple more people before making the turn and the home stretch to the next transition. I finished the bike portion in 49:25 avg speed of 17.9 mph and a very surprising 51st overall fastest bike.
The transition from the bike to the run was only slightly more difficult then run to bike, trying to tie your shoes on wobbly legs with a thumping heart trying to jump right out of your chest while sucking wind is some what of a challenge, once again those Tri shoes sure looked good at that point.
Run #2
I left the transition area on what can only be described as rubber chicken legs, how I managed to run at that point was beyond me. I was almost certain that I was moving at a 10-12 min pace, it certainly felt that way. I resisted the temptation to look at my GPS right away, because I was afraid of the demoralizing effect confirming my sluggish pace might have on me. I have often been on a long run of 16-20+ miles and had to make that final 1-2 mile push home and I am always able to convince myself that there is nothing to it, you can do that in your sleep. Well that certainly doesn't hold true for a multi sport event, the sheer difference in how your muscle work in each separate discipline and the overall fatigue, with 2 more miles to go, if I would have confirmed how slow I thought I was going it might as well have been 20 more, at that point all I could do was keep pushing forward and hope for the best. Luckily that didn't take to long, about half a mile into the run the rubber chicken leg feeling started to go away and I decided to sneak a peek at the GPS, and boy was I shocked out of my skull when I saw I was moving at a 8 min mile pace. That was all the confidence I needed to finish strong, suddenly another mile plus didn't seem so far and after I made the turn around and headed back I picked up the pace and even passed a couple people. I finished the last run in 13:49 with a 7:38 min/mile pace which was the 42 fastest second run. I finished 60th Overall and 6th in my age group (30-34) with an official time of 1:21:24, I am extremely proud that I was able to improve my position in each leg of the race, by comparison by transition times were much slower than the people who finished around me, which is just my inexperience and something I can easily improve upon for next time...oh yes there will be a next time!
I'm also glad that I was able to represent team Live Uncommon well, this is a group I came across a few months back that embodies the spirit of giving back by being an example of what living a healthy balanced lifestyle is all about. As I've gone on my journey to change my life physically I have realized that I'm also changing who I am at my core and what kind of example I want to be for my children and Live Uncommon is a perfect representation of that life I want to lead. For example each time I passed someone through out the race I tried to give them encouragement or tell them good job, as I found out yesterday, this is an extremely hard sport and just lining up for the race is a testament to the dedication and hard work one needs to put in to be successful, no matter what level that is. I know in past races I've had someone give me encouragement, a perfect stranger passing me on their way to the finish line, they could of just gone on and not said anything but those few words always seem to motivate me to push a little harder to get through to the end, I just hope I can do the same for others and remember...
...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.
Me with overall winner Jeff Paul check out his blog @ Dream Big JP
Sunday, August 21, 2011
My Treadmill Half Marathon
So yesterday, I had been planning on doing the Ouch! Half Marathon with some friends, but because of another race the following day (Du State Du), and both boys having their first soccer practice later that morning (not to mention a hefty race entrance fee) I decided to forgo the half marathon and due to the early morning thunderstorm I was left with the treadmill. I was scheduled for 16 miles for my marathon training, but I figured I would be lucky to get 10, and I would try to get the rest in later that day. Normally the treadmill is the worst option possible, I love running outside, even in bad weather but thunder and lightning is where I draw the line. I got up early got my water, gels, G2 and mp3 player all set up and got after it, and something surprising happened, I DIDN'T HATE IT! I was actually enjoying my run, the music seemed to help a lot I think, I don't listen to any music when I run anymore, haven't for about 2 years now, it allows me to get more mentally involved with my run and it lets me work through any problems or issues I'm having in my life.
I was going along so well that I got to and passed the 10 mile mark and then learned something interesting about my treadmill, apparently it has an automatic shut off at an hour 40, either that or I just straight overheated the motor and it needed to reset. Either way it started right back up and I was able to finish off the last 2+ miles and decided that 13.1 would be a perfect place to stop, seeing as how I was supposed to run a half anyway. All in all it was a great run, even if it was on the treadmill in my basement.
I will have a full race report on today's DU State Duathlon tomorrow, until then...
...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.
I was going along so well that I got to and passed the 10 mile mark and then learned something interesting about my treadmill, apparently it has an automatic shut off at an hour 40, either that or I just straight overheated the motor and it needed to reset. Either way it started right back up and I was able to finish off the last 2+ miles and decided that 13.1 would be a perfect place to stop, seeing as how I was supposed to run a half anyway. All in all it was a great run, even if it was on the treadmill in my basement.
I will have a full race report on today's DU State Duathlon tomorrow, until then...
...Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Run, Bike, Run
So I'm signed up for my very first multi sport race on Sunday, the Du State Du, which is a 2mi run, 15mi bike, 2mi run duathlon. I'm pretty excited about this event since it is my first multi sport race, but I'm also a little nervous. It's not just like any road race where I show up with my shoes and race bib on, line up and go when the gun sounds. There is a different element with the transitions and obviously the dual disciplines, should be fun, should be interesting, I will have a race report to follow, until then...
Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.
Do today what others won't, so tomorrow you can do what others can't.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
The Long Run
So last weekend I had my very first 20+ mile run of my marathon training and this past weekend I had my 2nd. Prior to these two runs, I had some serious questions as to whether or not I was going to be able to complete another marathon, I hadn't run anything over 16 miles and even then that seemed like a struggle. But something amazing happened, in 2 consecutive weeks I not only went my target distance, but I was under my target time goal for that distance. I set out each time to run very specific paces and was very mindful of split times, this is where having a Garmin has truly helped me out, I can get an accurate up to the moment view of my pace as well as my distance and overall time. This has easily become my most important training tool, well other than running shoes. The other thing that I paid particular attention to during both of these runs was my calorie intake and water intake. I rarely if ever take any fluid during a normal easy run of 6-8 miles which probably isn't the wisest thing to do, but I just don't see the need to load up my fuel belt for a couple ounces of water, sometimes I'll stop at a fountain if one is available but other than that generally no water. The real downside to this is the carry over effect into my long runs, I will generally wait an hour before I start re hydrating and of course by that time its already to late. So upon advice I read in a magazine I made sure to take water early and often, easiest way was every mile, which is where the Garmin comes in handy again, since it gives me a nice little audible beep every time a reach a mile. I also made sure to take a gel every 45 mins, which has worked considerably better than every hour, 15 minutes difference doesn't seem like a lot but when you are burning upwards of 1000+ calories and hour that 15 minute window in the beginning can mean the difference between hitting your goals or straight bonking.
All in all after the last 2 weeks long runs, I am feeling confident about completing another marathon and hopefully going under 4 hours which would be a huge improvement over last year.
Lastly, I wish I had a catchy little tag line to drop at the end of these posts I always feel like I need to say goodbye or something, need to come up with something original, I'll have to add that to my ever expanding "To Do List"
Until next time "Insert catchy tag line here"
All in all after the last 2 weeks long runs, I am feeling confident about completing another marathon and hopefully going under 4 hours which would be a huge improvement over last year.
Lastly, I wish I had a catchy little tag line to drop at the end of these posts I always feel like I need to say goodbye or something, need to come up with something original, I'll have to add that to my ever expanding "To Do List"
Until next time "Insert catchy tag line here"
Monday, August 08, 2011
My week(s) in review
Wow I realized I haven't made a post in quite some time, not that anyone reads this blog anyway, a lot has happened in the last 3 weeks.
First off we went to Orlando for vacation, which was really nice. My mother and father in law went with us, which went a lot better than expected, they were able to help out with the boys and driving to/from, even allowed me and Deanna a chance to go out to dinner by our selves...at a nice restaurant, one without a kids meal...yeah I know that hasn't happened in like 6+ years.
While in Orlando we went to Sea World, which is amazing, probably one of my favorite vacation destination spots. Makes me remember when I was a kid and going there with my family, and now as an adult being able to share that with my kids really means a lot to me. We also went for an air boat ride, saw alligators and even got to hold a baby alligator. Spent an afternoon at Cocoa Beach playing in the water and sand, the boys really enjoyed going to the beach. We also spent time hanging out by the pool and playing mini golf at the resort. Vacation was great and I wish I could take another one really soon.
The week we got back, I had a bunch of special events planned at 4 of my stores, which was very stressful and quickly took some of the shine off of our vacation, I unpacked one bag packed another spent one night and 12 hours at home before hitting the road again for 4 days. All in all the store events went pretty well, didn't see the business results we wanted but this was really our first go round with planning and doing this type of event, so it really turned out to be a good learning experience. The end of the week brought the Bix 7 road race and let me tell you I was more than ready for the weekend after a crazy week driving all over Iowa.
Bix 7
I went into the race feeling very confident that I would do well and achieve my goal of going under 1 hour, I was able to get some good runs in the previous 2 weeks even though I was on vacation and traveling a lot. I finished last year in 64:08 and recently ran the Firecracker Run 10K in 49:23 so as long as I could get up Brady in under 10 minutes (last year took me almost 12 with all the congestion and people walking) I felt confident I could easily go under an hour. I hit the turn on to Kirkwood at about 9:45, which is right before the 1 mile mark, so I was sitting good to make my goal. I felt good and the long down hill of Kirkwood Blvd. allowed me to stretch my legs and let it open up a bit, at one point I looked at my Garmin and realized I was going at a 7:15 pace which is stupid fast for me and realized I was going to blow up if I didn't reign it in a bit. I eased it back a little but continued to cruise all the way to the turn and hills of McClellan blvd. Everyone thinks that Brady is the hardest part of the Bix and some even say is McClellan with the hill turn around and hill again, but no its the long slow uphill battle of Kirkwood blvd. All that wonderful speed and enthusiasm I had going down was getting sucked right out of me going back up. Fortunately for me, and for some sick reason, I like running up hill, I also like passing people up hill, knowing that I am able to dig a little deeper than they are and push just a little harder gives me an extra boost. I did pass one kid probably 12-14 yrs old and I told him good job as I went by him, he looked like he was struggling and I hope my simple words of encouragement helped him push on. Once I finally made the turn on to Brady again I knew the end was near, just a mile left to go and it is mostly down hill. Going down Brady for me is simply a controlled fall, I let gravity take over and fling my legs out in front of me to keep from face planting. Brady hill couldn't have come at a better time, I was running head long into "The Wall" and the relief of going down hill and knowing it was almost over is what helped me make it to the finish and under and hour. I made the turn on to 3rd St, saw the finish line, looked at my watch and realized I was going to make it but it was going to be close, I picked up my pace and passed a couple of people on the way to crossing the finish line in 59:02 officially. Afterwards I felt completely spent, that was the hardest I have raced and my body felt it. The one truly bad thing about the Bix is the post race, I realize that Hostess and Schnucks are sponsors and provide the food, but could there be any worse food for a post race party than cupcakes, Twinkies, chips and soda. What no Gatorade, bananas, bagels, fruit of any kind to be found? Honestly its really sad that an event as large as the Bix is truly missing out on that one aspect, well that and actually verifying peoples estimated finishing times, I should not be passing people from the corral ahead of me (the sub elite runners) walking up Brady St. hill. But seriously I have been to a number of races in the last 3 years and there is usually a wide variety of food, from bagels and fruit to cookies and chips, sports drinks and soda. Not everyone who participates in the Bix is a 135 lbs. toothpick that burns 5000 calories a day just standing around, some of us work extremely hard to lose and/or maintain weight lose with both diet and exercise and cant afford to mow down thousands of empty calories. Anyway I'll get off my soap box about the post race party and refreshments, besides I was able to find nutri grain bars oddly enough tucked way in the back and had a couple Diet Soda's to go along with my Popsicle (a must for a hot weather race). All in all it was a good race, I felt horrible towards the end but was able to push through and achieve my goal. Was pretty wrecked the rest of the day and day after but felt better by Monday and was able to get back after it.
This last week was single handily the best week of training of my life, in total I ran 47 miles and biked 92 miles. I had an amazing 10 mile tempo run on Wednesday that left me feeling very confident about my upcoming 20 mile long run on Saturday. Before Saturdays run I had been seriously questioning if I had what it takes to get through another marathon, I hadn't been able to do anything over 16 miles previously and that was a rough day, lots of walk breaks and stops. I think more than anything I wasn't confident in my mental commitment to 26.2 again. The first time around last year, I was committed to proving something to myself, that I could do it. This time I'm lacking that motivation or at least I thought I was. Saturday I was able to put in 21 miles in just over 3.5 hrs, which is the longest training run I have ever done, also considerably faster than my longest run last year, which I only did one 20 miler, this year I'll hopefully have 2 or 3 under my belt by the time the marathon comes around. After that run I not only feel confident I can make 26.2, but maybe even go under 4 hours, although that is not a primary goal this year, I have something bigger in mind, I want to complete my first Ultra Marathon in November a 50k (31 miles) run just outside Muscatine and Wildcat State Park. I'm going to use the QC Marathon as a training run this year for the 50k. I had planned on doing last year but was so physically and emotionally drained after the marathon that I hardly ran in the weeks to follow, so this year that is my "A" list race and my goal to shoot for. Can't wait, looking forward to the challenge both physically and mentally.
Sunday I was able to put in a nice easy 3.5 mile recovery run before church and then after lunch I hit the road for a 43 mile bike ride. I was really surprised at how well my legs felt after the long run on Saturday, was able to get some quality miles in, even hit 21+ mph for a couple miles on some flat spots in the bike trail. All in all I'm becoming quite impressed with my bodies ability to recover and adapt to the physical stress I'm subjecting it too, especially since I have been told so many times how running is bad for me, and even biking is bad for my knees. I have been able to do things recently that I never thought were possible out of my body and I love pushing it even further. The best part is everyday in my life has become an adventure, how far, how long can I push this? I don't know but I love testing my limits and surprising myself in the process. I really hope I can inspire others to do the same, my journey started with me weighing over 300 lbs and barely able to walk a mile, it just takes commitment to a goal and dream to live for.
First off we went to Orlando for vacation, which was really nice. My mother and father in law went with us, which went a lot better than expected, they were able to help out with the boys and driving to/from, even allowed me and Deanna a chance to go out to dinner by our selves...at a nice restaurant, one without a kids meal...yeah I know that hasn't happened in like 6+ years.
While in Orlando we went to Sea World, which is amazing, probably one of my favorite vacation destination spots. Makes me remember when I was a kid and going there with my family, and now as an adult being able to share that with my kids really means a lot to me. We also went for an air boat ride, saw alligators and even got to hold a baby alligator. Spent an afternoon at Cocoa Beach playing in the water and sand, the boys really enjoyed going to the beach. We also spent time hanging out by the pool and playing mini golf at the resort. Vacation was great and I wish I could take another one really soon.
The week we got back, I had a bunch of special events planned at 4 of my stores, which was very stressful and quickly took some of the shine off of our vacation, I unpacked one bag packed another spent one night and 12 hours at home before hitting the road again for 4 days. All in all the store events went pretty well, didn't see the business results we wanted but this was really our first go round with planning and doing this type of event, so it really turned out to be a good learning experience. The end of the week brought the Bix 7 road race and let me tell you I was more than ready for the weekend after a crazy week driving all over Iowa.
Bix 7
I went into the race feeling very confident that I would do well and achieve my goal of going under 1 hour, I was able to get some good runs in the previous 2 weeks even though I was on vacation and traveling a lot. I finished last year in 64:08 and recently ran the Firecracker Run 10K in 49:23 so as long as I could get up Brady in under 10 minutes (last year took me almost 12 with all the congestion and people walking) I felt confident I could easily go under an hour. I hit the turn on to Kirkwood at about 9:45, which is right before the 1 mile mark, so I was sitting good to make my goal. I felt good and the long down hill of Kirkwood Blvd. allowed me to stretch my legs and let it open up a bit, at one point I looked at my Garmin and realized I was going at a 7:15 pace which is stupid fast for me and realized I was going to blow up if I didn't reign it in a bit. I eased it back a little but continued to cruise all the way to the turn and hills of McClellan blvd. Everyone thinks that Brady is the hardest part of the Bix and some even say is McClellan with the hill turn around and hill again, but no its the long slow uphill battle of Kirkwood blvd. All that wonderful speed and enthusiasm I had going down was getting sucked right out of me going back up. Fortunately for me, and for some sick reason, I like running up hill, I also like passing people up hill, knowing that I am able to dig a little deeper than they are and push just a little harder gives me an extra boost. I did pass one kid probably 12-14 yrs old and I told him good job as I went by him, he looked like he was struggling and I hope my simple words of encouragement helped him push on. Once I finally made the turn on to Brady again I knew the end was near, just a mile left to go and it is mostly down hill. Going down Brady for me is simply a controlled fall, I let gravity take over and fling my legs out in front of me to keep from face planting. Brady hill couldn't have come at a better time, I was running head long into "The Wall" and the relief of going down hill and knowing it was almost over is what helped me make it to the finish and under and hour. I made the turn on to 3rd St, saw the finish line, looked at my watch and realized I was going to make it but it was going to be close, I picked up my pace and passed a couple of people on the way to crossing the finish line in 59:02 officially. Afterwards I felt completely spent, that was the hardest I have raced and my body felt it. The one truly bad thing about the Bix is the post race, I realize that Hostess and Schnucks are sponsors and provide the food, but could there be any worse food for a post race party than cupcakes, Twinkies, chips and soda. What no Gatorade, bananas, bagels, fruit of any kind to be found? Honestly its really sad that an event as large as the Bix is truly missing out on that one aspect, well that and actually verifying peoples estimated finishing times, I should not be passing people from the corral ahead of me (the sub elite runners) walking up Brady St. hill. But seriously I have been to a number of races in the last 3 years and there is usually a wide variety of food, from bagels and fruit to cookies and chips, sports drinks and soda. Not everyone who participates in the Bix is a 135 lbs. toothpick that burns 5000 calories a day just standing around, some of us work extremely hard to lose and/or maintain weight lose with both diet and exercise and cant afford to mow down thousands of empty calories. Anyway I'll get off my soap box about the post race party and refreshments, besides I was able to find nutri grain bars oddly enough tucked way in the back and had a couple Diet Soda's to go along with my Popsicle (a must for a hot weather race). All in all it was a good race, I felt horrible towards the end but was able to push through and achieve my goal. Was pretty wrecked the rest of the day and day after but felt better by Monday and was able to get back after it.
This last week was single handily the best week of training of my life, in total I ran 47 miles and biked 92 miles. I had an amazing 10 mile tempo run on Wednesday that left me feeling very confident about my upcoming 20 mile long run on Saturday. Before Saturdays run I had been seriously questioning if I had what it takes to get through another marathon, I hadn't been able to do anything over 16 miles previously and that was a rough day, lots of walk breaks and stops. I think more than anything I wasn't confident in my mental commitment to 26.2 again. The first time around last year, I was committed to proving something to myself, that I could do it. This time I'm lacking that motivation or at least I thought I was. Saturday I was able to put in 21 miles in just over 3.5 hrs, which is the longest training run I have ever done, also considerably faster than my longest run last year, which I only did one 20 miler, this year I'll hopefully have 2 or 3 under my belt by the time the marathon comes around. After that run I not only feel confident I can make 26.2, but maybe even go under 4 hours, although that is not a primary goal this year, I have something bigger in mind, I want to complete my first Ultra Marathon in November a 50k (31 miles) run just outside Muscatine and Wildcat State Park. I'm going to use the QC Marathon as a training run this year for the 50k. I had planned on doing last year but was so physically and emotionally drained after the marathon that I hardly ran in the weeks to follow, so this year that is my "A" list race and my goal to shoot for. Can't wait, looking forward to the challenge both physically and mentally.
Sunday I was able to put in a nice easy 3.5 mile recovery run before church and then after lunch I hit the road for a 43 mile bike ride. I was really surprised at how well my legs felt after the long run on Saturday, was able to get some quality miles in, even hit 21+ mph for a couple miles on some flat spots in the bike trail. All in all I'm becoming quite impressed with my bodies ability to recover and adapt to the physical stress I'm subjecting it too, especially since I have been told so many times how running is bad for me, and even biking is bad for my knees. I have been able to do things recently that I never thought were possible out of my body and I love pushing it even further. The best part is everyday in my life has become an adventure, how far, how long can I push this? I don't know but I love testing my limits and surprising myself in the process. I really hope I can inspire others to do the same, my journey started with me weighing over 300 lbs and barely able to walk a mile, it just takes commitment to a goal and dream to live for.
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