Next up: ATT 10-miler

This is a fun, flat race, 3 miles from home, on a trail I love to run on. Last year I ran it one week prior to City of Oaks Marathon as a training race. This year, I don't have another race afterwards. It will be a good event to cap off my year. Thus, I'm going to train up to actually "race" it. I went out pretty well last year, and shut it down with about 4 miles to go, easing in under 1:10. I'm on a pretty aggressive plan this year for it, which will put me at a good base through the winter in preparations for Boston 2010.

Race date is October 24th. City of Oaks Marathon is the following weekend, and I'll probably be bandit-running that with Lainey as she embarks on the marathon experience :)

2009 Triangle Triathlon - Race Recap

Fun race. I never sleep well before races, and this was no exception.

Swim:
First time I've faced trauma in the water; swimmer next to me cramped, then panicked. I stopped my swim to stay with him and signal the boat. It took FOREVER. I didn't hold on to him, but got close enough to where I could if I needed to. But, I'm not a strong swimmer, so that would've been dicey. Boat finally got there, and I recommenced my attempt at a swim. It took a full 5 minutes for me to settle back down. Once I made the first turn, I calmed down. I'm glad he's okay, and am proud of my decision to help. I'd hope someone would do the same for me.

Swim time: 20:04 (I would've probably been somewhere around 17:30-17:45, which was my plan, had I not rendered aid. Wouldn't have done it any other way though)
433/579 males (bottom 25%)
90/108 age group (bottom 17%)

T1: 2:24:
About where it should have been given the LONG run to transition from the lake. It went on forever! Quick chat with Chris and Greg about how far up Paul and Kevin were on me (Paul up 4+ minutes, Kevin up 3:30+).

Bike:
Of course, I just had a blast on the bike. Long story short, I chased down Scanlon on the bike at the turn from Friendship onto New Hill-Holly Springs (after 14:30 bike time). Then proceeded to keep on chasin' em down. Loved the bike. Was only passed by DeShon, the chief spin instructor at LTF in Cary, at the 3rd speed bump on the way back into the park. It felt good to pass, especially on the uphills. Hill workouts are paying off. Happy with this bike effort. Glad I could borrow Greg's HED 3's, but would like to know how much of this was me, and how much the wheels helped. They are heavier, and this was a hilly course...
Bike time: 47:07, 22.3mph average.
51/579 males (top 8.8%)
8/108 age group (top 7.4%)

T2: 1:05:
This was a good T2 for me. I had a great rack position, and the motions were automatic today.

Run:
The run was a little tough today. My run suffered a little as I didn't take in a Gu late on the bike. But, still happy with the run. Couldn't get in a groove. Mile 1 came up in 6:10-hope it was marked short. Mile 2 7:11, maybe long? Mile 3.1ish 7:10, felt about like a 7:10 effort. Still, a 1:31ish.
Run time: 20:35, 6:37/mile pace.
54/579 males (top 9.3%)
6/108 age group (top 5.6%)

Overall results:
1:31:14 total time
100/579 males (top 17.3%)
16/108 male 35-39 (top 14.8%)
I was hoping for 1:30 flat, and might've had it but for the swim. A 1:30 would've moved me up one position in age group, and up 12 overall to 88th...no big deal!

Tour de Cure 2009 Ride Report

Saturday June 6th
5h 32m 41s
108.37 miles
19.54 Mi/hr
8:00 AM

Climb: 3396 feet

A fun day in the saddle. Well, for the most part except the 8.7 most depressing miles I've ever ridden through Fort Bragg. One of the locals said it all: "There are 10 hills. You will not like them." She was right. Each one was approximately like the big hill on 42 on the Duke Half route. Absolutely no scenery. It wasn't like you could get a big run down the backside of it either, as it was a gradual descent into a long ascent. That loop just sucked the life out of me.Paul and I were holding 21+ through 65 miles, then the loop began in Southern Pines. I really struggled in that section. I got off the bike at about 80 miles, pretty much thinking I was done for the day. For most of the day it was Paul and I on the lead, with Sid and Ryan not far behind. After the 60-mile stop, Sid was with us. When we started the climbs through Fort Bragg, Sid dropped off. When I stopped, he went on by (he did ask if I was okay). I did not recatch them until the stop at 90 miles, where they were waiting for me. Paul was still very strong at that point, and Sid was too. I was not. I told them to go on. It ended up that Sid and I and one other guy rode in together, about 8 minutes after Paul finished the ride. He was right at 20mph, which included the portion that he was riding slow with me after the 90-mile stop.I had nothing to offer after about 70 miles today. Oddly enough, my long ride up to this point was something like 66 miles...coincidence?I was so looking forward to the Moe's burrito buffet at the finish. Well, it was completely wiped out by 2pm. We arrived about 2:30. All the 75-milers mealed on it. So, we headed over to Sonic and I got a Oreo sonic blast. Mmmm, mmmm, good. Then we had a few beers before dinner, then a light dinner (not enough cooks, too many people), then headed over to Panera for "2nd dinner". Hung out at the party tent afterwards for a bit, then called it a night about 9pm. Asleep by 9:30. Great day in the saddle, except for the Fort Bragg part.

Sunday, June 7th
4h 14m 08s
80.90 miles
19.10 Mi/hr
7:00 AM

A very nice "recovery" pace ride. We were the lead group coming back for the 75 (81)-mile route. Started near mid-pack, then we worked to the front of the pack pretty quick (like within 5 miles). Stayed on with them through 20 miles, when I needed to relieve some coffee. So Paul and I and one other guy stopped, for about 1:30. It took us 3 miles to recatch the pack, but we did, and rode with the dwindling group for the rest of the day. A great day for a ride. Temperature was great, wind was almost nonexistent, but we all agreed to make this recovery pace. Heartrate was probably less than 130 for most of the day easily.Of course, we had the obligatory sprint finish. The 2 Cady Construction roadracers, followed by Paul, then me, then 2 more. Nice finish.

Haven't updated in a while, been kinda quiet

No news is good news, right? Injuries seem to have healed, I'm feeling healthy again, sleep is getting back to normal. I'm putting a focus on the bike right now, getting in some more miles in preparation for Tour de Cure June 6-7. Trying to get in 100-120 miles/week right now over 3 rides. Rides for the last few weeks have been:

5/3 14.27
5/6 20
5/8 15
5/9 39.63

5/12 22.51
5/13 23.6
5/16 50.07

5/19 35.13
5/21 25.52
5/23 59.17

5/25 44.6

Today I'm planning 30, Friday morning 25ish, then going long on Sunday (hopefully 75+).

Then to really focus on the swim in prep for Triangle coming up in July.

White Lake Sprint Triathlon...a good day

Well, I didn't quite get the training load I wanted for White Lake, but I got enough to race happy and healthy. My swim continues to be my biggest limiter (43/58 in my AG), my bike was better (8/58 AG), and my run my strongest suit (3/58 AG). 17:26 swim, 1:15 T1, 37:59 on the bike, 1:01 T2, and a 21:02 on the run. The first 2 run times were 18:50 and 20:57, and I could've easily run a 20:30 if I would've concentrated a little. Probably faster, but I wasn't going to catch Paul, so I just plodded along.

A really fun race, as I got to race with my Team BNB buddies Greg, Kevin, and Paul. We all had a great time. No injuries, and absolutely no soreness the next day. Means I didn't go nearly hard enough :)

Next up: Tour de Cure (June 6-7), a double century over 2 days. Training commences immediately with ramping up of the bike miles. I'm already on a plan for Triangle sprint, coming up July 12th.

Back in the saddle, for the most part

I'm back in full training mode. I can tell that I'm not 100%, but right now about 85% will do. My leg still has a small swollen spot right above the ankle, and that is where it gets tender. But, it's manageable.

I'm up to a 40ish-mile bike, and did an 8-mile run Sunday, then able to train again Monday, going out again today on a 25-mile bike followed by 5k brick run. That will be a good test to see where things are.

White Lake's in 1.5 weeks, and I'm feeling pretty good about it.

On the mend

It's been 2 weeks since I put foot to treadmill and decided I was broken. This morning, I decided to put foot to treadmill again and see where I am. I've had a couple of breakthrough days of little swelling and minimal pain. It seems to be healing. So, this morning, after a spin class, I decided I was going to walk 1 mile on the treadmill. I got about 3/8-mile in, and decided that I felt good enough to try a slow jog. So, at the 0.5-mile point, after 7 minutes and 42 seconds, I jogged. For 0.5 mile. Slowly. Feeling each step for anything weird. Granted, everything hurts when you think about it microscopically. But nothing felt unusual. And that is good.

So, my first real run back, almost pain-free, occurred today, April 9.

I'm on the mend.