I think I’m Back …

It has been over a month since my last post and since I’ve encountered trouble with this blog site.  But, I think I’m back.  As you look around, you will see some subtle differences and updates but overall, the look and feel is very similar by design.

At this point, I’m only signed up for 2 triathlons.  Both are sprints and both are snake swim pool tris.  I’ve realized that I have a fear of open water and I need to face the fear.  A good way to face it would have been in the TriRock Annapolis race this weekend as the swim is only 500M.  However, my wife (www.racingtales.com) got to that one first.  I’ll find another one.

Do you know of a good open water race with a fairly short open-water swim?

PS…The Ankle Biter Bike Rack is still for sale…cheap…..make an offer!

Shamrock’in Half Marathon

This past weekend, we joined a few of our friends in running Shamrock races in VA Beach.  You can see us in the picture with our friends.

View from hotel of Shamrock 8K Start

We are in the green….OK, so there were a lot of people in green.  That makes it a great event. 

I ran the 1/2 on Sunday and was woefully unprepared.  My nagging injuries actually weren’t so bad.  While my knee hurt a bit, it seems that the acupuncture, kinesio-tape, and knee massage (thanks Rachel, Rose, and Alison!) really helped.  What got me was my cough!  I had forgotten about the sinus infection and fever I had a few weeks prior to hurting my knee.  The breaks in training might have left me feeling rested, but at mile 10 I was well aware of the shortfalls.  Here is a bit more detail.

The race was a 7 am start.  I was meeting TPR folk outside the hotel to head to the start.  We had about 20 minutes to travel 8 blocks and get into the corrals.  We started walking and I turned my GPS on.  It turned off.  I turned it on again and it turned right back off.  At the Hershey Half my mp3 play didn’t work…I handled that.  But I was not running without a GPS.  I booked back to the hotel and into our room.  I woke my wife to grab her GPS….phew…catastrophe averted.

When I got back down, Coach Brian and Alissa were just about ready to go.  We headed over with 10 minutes left.  Timed perfectly. We ducked into a corral with about 3 minutes to spare.  Before I knew it, we were off!

The race starts by going about 50 blocks up Pacific Ave and then veers to the left for a couple of miles through trees.  We had driven this the night before on our way to dinner and I was convinced that this would be the hardest part.  I was WRONG.  I got into a decent rhythm running the first 6 miles which took me through the trees.  I was running 8:30 – 8:45 miles and feeling good…rested… until my knee got achey…then my hip… I realized the road had a pretty significant tilt to it so I searched for flatter road and ran the lane line.  Pain was gone in minutes!!

I wanted to keep my nutrition constant so my plan was to take PowerBar Energy Blasts.  I grabbed my first at mile 4 and then shoved the pack back into my pocket.  When we turned right to enter Ft. Story, I reached in my pocket to grab another ….they were gone!!  Damn, I must have dropped an entire bag of Energy Blasts.  Good thing I was carrying a GU Roctane Gel as backup (NOTE:  I will use whatever product I can get unless someone sponsors me.)

Also, I was wrong about the hardest part of the run.  Running through Ft. Story was the hardest part.  For good reason, there is not a lot to see on the base and fatigue kicked in.  My legs started feeling heavy and I still had 5 miles to go.  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I was leaving the base.  Now I only had to run 50 blocks back, while trying my best to not look at the street numbers as that only makes it feel like a longer run. 

Around mile 10 I started hacking up a lung.  This was the cough that I had when I had the infection.  I thought I was going to puke (seriously, find the spectators…they moved out-of-the-way) and slowed to a fast walk.  After what seemed like an eternity, I started running again right past the free Guinness.  That was damn tempting but I resisted.  My pace slowed to 9:40.  I swore it was 12 minutes!

Finally, I made the turn onto Atlantic and I knew the end was near.  I picked up the pace to close strong on the boardwalk run towards Neptune and the finish line.

It All Ended On the Boardwalk!

I closed with an 8 minute mile.  This tells me that I had something left in the tank and struggled mentally as much as anything, but I knew that. After the race I felt better than after Hershey.  I believe that I was better hydrated this time around.  I finished at 1:57.  Under 2 hours, but slower than I wanted especially since this was such a flat course.

Overall this is a very good race with a ton of wonderful volunteers (thanks to you all).  The race rates very high in the bling factor too.  On Meggan’s 5-point bling scale this race would have to be a 4+.  Everything pictured was from the race.

Shamrock Half Marathon Race Bling

It was a race that we’ll be doing again!  What did you do this weekend?

Shamrock 2012 – 1 Week Away

I’m about to run my second 1/2 marathon.  It is one week away and, while I’m less nervous than my first, I’m nervous nonetheless.  This race will be very different as the VA Beach course is flat….very flat…so flat in fact that this the topographic map for the race:

 

Shamrock 1/2 Elevation Map

Yes, you are reading that scale correctly, there is about 5 ft of climb/descent.  However, the wind in this area can really blow hard.

I’m more confident that I can complete the 13.1, but I am heading towards this race with nagging injuries.  In my last long training run, my left knee started hurting about mile 6.  By mile 8.5, I was limping into my driveway.  The pain is deep in the joint so I’m guessing a possible bone bruise.  So, I rested a couple of days and iced.  The next time I swam, I ran a few laps in the pool and my knee hurt again.  Rest, ice, acupuncture.  That’s my formula and I’m hoping for the best. 

Instead of running, I’ve been doing more strength exercises and swimming 2x a week for cardio.  I’ve also been on my bike (inside — even with the nice weather).  I’m hoping for the best!  I’ll have one more round of acupuncture on Wednesday, 4 days prior to the race on Sunday.

I’ll let you know how it goes.  Anyone else going to be there?

Yogatoes Follow-up

So it has been a couple of months and I’ve faithfully used my toe stretchers at least 3 times per week.  I’ve got to say that I’ve not noticed any permanent changes.  They feel good when in place, but common sense tells me that the chances of this device changing 45 years of malformed development in 2 months is unlikely. 

If my issues were solely tissue based, then maybe, but I’m just not seeing the impact on Mr. Arthur Itis who has taken up permanent residence in my big toes.  I’ll keep wearing them and provide an update again in a few months.

Feel free to share your experiences!

Running Southbridge, MA

I had the pleasure of being invited to attend a DoD conference in Southbridge, MA at the conference center.  All jokes aside regarding the undesirable location for a winter conference, this is a wonderful facility that started as a Senator Kennedy initiative to help a small town overcome the loss of manufacturing industry.  In fact, the facility was built on the old American Optical (AO) site using the facade from the original factory and maintains the original marble entrance and stairway.

Conference Center Front - Maintaining Original AO Facade and Clock TowerConference Center Entrance - Behind the Facade

Super Bowl XLVI – Random Thoughts

After running 11 miles yesterday with my new favorite running buddy Donna (sorry Jason but get better soon; Alison you are way too fast!) and an hour swim today, I plan on taking the evening to enjoy my family and the Super Bowl.  I hope for a great game with the GIANTS taking home the Lombardi Trophy but we’ll actually be at a party hosted by a Patriots fan so you can tell that the outcome isn’t life or death for us.

However, in the hours prior to the game I’m having a stream of random thoughts that I thought I’d share:

• The Super Bowl is more than just a football game, it is an event.  So, shouldn’t we have Monday off to recover?  Another option would be to move the game to Saturday night, but I’m betting the alcohol lobby/sponsors (“Can you say BUD?”) and the local restauranteurs wouldn’t want to give up the Sunday night added income.
• Can we go back to more current half time shows?   Black Eyed Peas were cool. Madonna is …. old (Mick Jagger is older than old).  Janet Jackson and her sidekick was OK, but that may have had more to do with the “malfunction”.
• One kudo to the NFL is the 6:30 start time which, unlike MLB, allows many kids to watch the entire championship game.
• Finally, can we get rid of the Roman numerals?  I’m sure the Roman numerals added a sense of credibility when it was Super Bowl III or even maybe X or XX but now most of need to consult Google to determine which Super Bowl it is (Note:  I don’t as my age matches the Super Bowl number – so maybe it is a mid-life crisis thing…hmm…).  Super Bowl 2012 is OK, but the game is really for the 2011 season.

Time to get ready to swim!

Thank You ZOOT!

After a bit of going back and forth, ZOOT has come through!!  I had an interesting interaction with ZOOT this summer when I ran a sprint triathlon and literally bled through my shoe.  Who knew that this would be the beginning of a new relationship?

First, ZOOT stood by their product and inspected it to determine a cause (other than my screwed up feet – a topic for another blog).  Then they gave me feedback and replaced the shoes.  Finally, after some discussion they are now a sponsor of TPR, our triathlon team.  

Tri Performance Racing (http://teamtpr.shutterfly.com/) has over 100 members who are able to use the great ZOOT products able and benefit through a discount purchase program with ZOOT.  I continue to be impressed!