Triathlon Life!

2010 Multisport racing review

2011-03-15T15:07:00.001-04:00

Back in late 2009 in decided 2010 was going to be a year of variety as far as competing in multi-sport. My first challenge was to "Tackle the Tower". I trained for about 2 months a couple times a week climbing as many stairs I could find including the 19 flights at Rhodes Tower at CSU. I even had two opportunities to practice run the "Tower" race. After the two practice runs I had an idea how to pace myself and what kind of time I could shoot for. My goal was to run sub 5 minutes to the top. The 38 flights of stairs at the Tower at Erieview was in early February. On race day I was amazed how many people showed up and how well the race went off considering we had a staggered start where each person was let off every 10 seconds. I made it to the top in 4:34 for 7th placed overall. It was a lung buster. I remember having the taste of blood in the back of my throat. Even though it's a fast lung busting race I think I'll do that race again in the future.

Next was my attempt of an Ultra-marathon 50K race set at the end of March. The race was on the trails of Cuyahoga Valley National Park in the Peninsula area. I didn't train specifically for this race by knocking off countless miles but rather I depended on my aerobic fitness and my previous experience as a pacer for a friend who runs the 100 mile Burning River Run. I've run with him for the past couple years during the night completing 35 to 40 miles. I also figured I've completed two Half Ironman Triathlons this past 2 years in a time of 5:07 and 6:30 and that I should be able to keep moving for that long during the ultra marathon. My goal was to complete it in five to five and a half hours. On the morning of the race the weather was cool with some cloud cover. The rains were expected to come late morning. I completed the first loop in around 2:40 but then the rains came. At times it poured and the trails were thick with mud. The conditions slowed me way down. I finished in 6 hours and 4 minutes. I enjoyed this kind of long running and would do it again but next time spend more time on the trails.

I wasn't about to give up the trails just yet so I entered the Xterra Trail Running Race Series. I signed up for 4 out of the 5 races. The races were in April, May, June, and August at various places in Ohio. At the end of the series the 4 best results of an individual determined who the Regional Champion was in each age group. I also signed up for the 331 NEO Power Mountain Bike Race Series. This also was 4 best out of 5 races to determine champions. The races were one in July, two in September, and one in October. In between trail running races and mountain bike racing I entered a Kayak Triathlon and 2 Sprint Triathlons. After triathlon season I signed up for the Ohio Outside Trail Running Series. Finally, I ran the Reindeer 5K in Lakewood to get an idea what kind of road race shape I'd be in after all the trail racing I did this year.

The results from the series and triathlons were spectacular. But I did pay a price. I twisted my left ankle very badly during my second Xterra race. It happened about a mile into a 4 mile race. I must have hit a hidden root just right and I heard a popping sound and knew I did some damage. I continued run-limping along to win my age group. I completed the Xterra series and won first place in the 50-54 age group regional. I qualified for Nationals in Bend, Oregon but did not go for it.

The mountain bike racing was so much fun. No serious mishaps while racing but during training I did have a couple spills that caused my right ankle and left shoulder some pain. I finished 3rd place in my age group for the overall series. Not bad for my first year mountain bike racing. Next year I will have a mountain bike that fits me and with front shocks that work. I should be faster, I hope.

The Kayak Triathlon was my first kayak racing. The park provided the kayak's for those of us who didn't own one. During the race it was pouring rain. I got out of the kayak 5th and managed to inch my way up in the bike and run to win the overall race. What a surprise. I won a pair of kayak paddles, now I need a boat to go with it.

The Ohio Outside Trail Series races were at Munroe Falls Park. The first one was October followed by November and December. I managed to win my age group for all 3 races. Even the first race I started dead last after everyone was off and running 5 minutes into the race. I was out on a potty pit-stop and didn't have a watch on me. I had fun coming up from the rear blasting by people. Some knew I started late and wished me good luck.

The last time I ran a 5K road race was the summer of 2008. My expectation was to win my age group and not worry about the time. I took first in my age with a time of 18:23. Not bad for no speed training or track intervals.

Life is good and I'm thankful for a great 2010.
And I have to say, oh what fun it was to run, ride, and tri in a variety way.

To swim or not to during out season is the question

2010-12-17T10:44:00.000-05:00

I recently came across this article and posted it on some friends Facebook page and got some eye brows raised. It appeared I pricked some traditional triathlon athletes awareness so I thought I might share my two cents. I have been using my out season for the past 7 years to focus on my swimming technique, strength and confidence and I have to say I have improved in all these areas but my swim times haven't really come down like they have with my running or biking. I do plan on hitting the pool at least once a week but I will focus more on biking and running and when I'm not S.B.R. I will go outside the box (pool) and continue to build my aerobic capacity with snow shoeing, cross country skiing, mountain biking, stair climbing, ice skating, weight lifting and yoga just to name a few. Having fun doing these other activities won't bring my swim times down but I'll at least get a chance to enjoy other sports and when the pool goes back to long course in March I'll be ready to specifically train for my up coming triathlon race season.

New York City Marathon 2009

2009-11-10T21:58:00.004-05:00

This year the New York City Marathon was the largest marathon field in the sport's history - 43,741 runners and 43,475 finishers (a 99.4% completion rate). And I am proud to say that I was one of the 43,475 finishers. Running New York is like No other race. The big apple puts on a mega marathon event, with the largest crowd support bar none. If this race wasn't a day's drive away and the amount of money spent for the race and hotel I would love to run it again. But, it sure was worth the experience.

The race organizers and volunteers did an exceptional job in transporting us runners from the Ferry on Manhattan Island to Staten Island to be bused to the runners village where we waited around for a few hours before they called us to line up in our starting corrals.

Running with so many people reminded me of my rock concert days at the stadium where we were packed against a pushing crowd, except the runners gave you more room to run. The start was an up hill over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. I hardly noticed it was an uphill because the excitement of all the runners took me up and over the bridge. The cheering crowds carried me through 15 miles at around a 6:40 pace but then all my little problems began to wear me down. I think traveling to a race and the logistics of getting to the start line played a big toll on my performance. I was told from other NYC marathon finishers not expect a personal best. I tried to ignore that and wanted a PB anyway. But then another little problem I've been nursing during my marathon training, my plantar fasciitis, began to complain. And no matter how much the crowds were cheering us runners on my focus was on finishing the race with what strength I had left and in 3:22:48 I was happy to be done. If I were to run New York again I might not have high hopes of running a fast race but I would try to just have all the fun I can get from the cheering crowds.

I'm not giving up that sub 3 hour marathon goal just yet but I look forward to turning 50 in a few months and giving the marathon another go.

How I survived a 20 mile run.

2009-08-22T11:39:00.007-04:00

Twenty minutes before the start of the 8 am run I consumed 2 Endurolytes and 2 ounces of Perpetuem all washed down with water.

My wife came on her bike to accompany me for the run. She had her CamelBack which was half filled with water the night before and placed in the freezer and in the morning I topped off the rest of the bladder with water.

I wore my knee high compression socks. The result is I get NO calf or shin soreness after a long run.

The miles flew by because we did a lot of chit chatting on various topics on life and family.

To hone in on the perfect nutrition: I used two 24 ounce bottles of water (sip every 15 minutes), a 5 ounce flask filled with a pasty consistency of Perpetuem (sip an ounce every 20-25 minutes), 4 Endurolytes (take 2 tablets every hour) and I thoroughly enjoyed sips of ice cold water from my wifes CamelBack she had on her back.

I thought the weather was perfect with cool temperatures and some overcast clouds.

After the run (2:33:17) I had a bottle of Recoverite and a banana which were waiting for me in the car.

Having great companionship and the right amount of fuel made for a perfect long run.

XTERRA O.N.E. Triathlon

2009-07-20T22:34:00.003-04:00

On my list of things to do this year was to do an xterra race. I can check that off as I have completed my first off road triathlon race this past Sunday July 19th.
I have to admit I haven't had much time and experience on the trails with the mountain bike but I did get a chance to ride the course the Thursday before the race. I am so glad I did. I was impressed with the group of riders who were there to ride with me. I probably would have done more damage to myself if I didn't have the experienced riders clue me in on how to handle some of the tricky parts of the trail. I did fall off a narrow serpentine bridge and smack my head into a tree, good thing I had my helmet on. That one ride helped me to ride faster and safer on race day.

The triathlon race began with a 1/2 mile swim on a calm and warm lake. I wore my new xterra wetsuit and felt like I swam fast and smooth while controlling my breathing, staying on someones feet for the draft and managing good sighting.

On the mountain bike I rode the serpentine bridge and escaped the smacking tree. My only problem was that I wasted too much time by letting tons of people who came up behind to pass me by getting to the side and off the bike. At least the passers were polite and appreciated my kindness. At one point I got off while ascending a hill and was unable to get back on my bike until I ran to the top. Next time, I'll ride and wait until I can move to the side without getting off the bike. I'll save tons of time. Another lesson I need to learn is to not apply the brakes as much. I think I rode the brakes too much, but that will come with more experience by riding the trails. I also will use a camelback for the bike portion too. I didn't enjoy drinking dirt that got caked on my water bottle and there just wasn't enough clear spots along the trail to safely drink.

But the best part of the race was the run. The trail began with a very rocky section that was up hill and at times you had to walk because of the rugged trail. Once we went through that section the trail was smooth but with lots of rolling hills and switch backs.

I had so much fun doing the off road triathlon that I am looking forward to more mountain biking riding and racing so that next year I can break 2 hours.

Race Results

Post Mardi Gras Marathon

2009-02-13T10:56:00.003-05:00

My recovery from the marathon has gone well. I took three days off following the race and then ran an easy 2 miler on the fourth day. My hamstrings and quads were a bit sore the first three days but by Thursday they felt fine and good enough to run the 2 miler.

I finally got on the bike (using the trainer) six days after the race and I enjoyed a nice brick session of and easy 2 miler on the treadmill followed by a 30 minute spin on the bike.
I am looking forward to building back my biking strength and to improve my swim technique.

If my running legs are fully recovered and strong by March 14th I'll run the St. Malachi 5 miler. I am already considering my spring and summer and fall racing season and look forward to sprint triathlons, my first Xterra race, an epic century ride, and a fall marathon.

Mardi Gras Marathon Race Results

2009-02-04T12:56:00.005-05:00

My winter training for the Mardi Gras Marathon has paid off. The last 10 weeks of training was through the cold harsh winter in Cleveland. During those long hard runs I would tell myself that "this will make me tougher and more prepared for the marathon".

So during those final miles of the marathon I really felt strong mentally and physically. And when I crossed the finish line I realized my legs are finally getting to the point of running through a whole marathon. This was my 7th marathon and the first time I didn't have to walk.

On Race day we had temperatures in the low 50's and over cast clouds. It was a perfect morning for a race. I positioned myself near the front and found others around me shooting for the 3 hour mark. I wore a marathon pace wrist band and immediately had a crowd around me when the gun went off. I was the pace leader and enjoyed the camaraderie. We stayed together until the half way point where we looped back into town. The crowds were large and cheering which helped me run a 6:38 (fastest mile) and to drop all my new friends by mile 14. For most of the second half I was running alone. Most of the crowds were at or near the aid stations which was every 2 miles.

The aid stations were in typical New Orleans fashion. A couple of them not only served us water and Gatorade but we also had the choice from a buffet of hot dogs, chips, and beer. The aid stations reminded my of the festive food choices along the Burning River 100 mile race without the beer. This was one fun race and the people down there do like to throw a party.

Another interesting course highlight was Bourbon street. It was was freshly soaped and washed minutes before we ran down the street. And the all night party people standing out in front of the bars cheered us runners on.

Overall this was by best marathon because of the good mental and physical shape I was in and the festive atmosphere the marathon had.

Mile Splits:
1. 6:39
2. 6:43
3. 6:53
4. 6:58
5. 6:47
6. 6:53
7. 6:48
8. 6:47
9. 6:50
10. 6:48
11. 6:44
12. 6:45
13. 6:42
14. 6:38
15. 6:54
16. 6:52
17. 6:56
18. 7:04
19. 7:04
20. 7:04
21. 7:20
22. 7:18
23. 7:26
24. 7:33
25. 7:46
26.2 10:10
Total time 3:04:34 (Second fastest out of 7 marathons)

Mardi Gras Marathon Week.

2009-01-26T13:55:00.003-05:00

This is the week where all my hard marathon training comes to fruition. The 7 days leading up to the race is all about REST. Rest means no new home projects, heavy lifting (like snow shoveling), staying up late, or any other strenuous activities that causes me to stress my body or mind.

Monday will be either 3 easy miles or no workout. Tuesday calls for 4 x 400 repeats at 5K pace. Wednesday an easy 3 miler and travel day. Thursday and Friday is getting acclimated to the heat wave. Saturday is a 2 mile leg loosener. Sunday is race day.

My nutrition plan for the week will be to cut all sweets including my favorite dark chocolates. To increase my carbs with more fruits, veggies and some pasta stuff. Otherwise, I won't try anything new in my diet including a detox cleansing.

I will try a "news fast" but look for inspirational words and videos about running. I will remember to smile and have a good time from now and while running the race.

Taper Time!

2009-01-11T20:08:00.003-05:00

After 15 weeks of consistent marathon training I have made it to the final 3 weeks of taper training. Today's run was a 20 miler and that was followed by a 10 mile marathon pace run on Saturday. The run seemed especially hard today because of the 2 inch snow covered trails. My legs felt and feel like they ran 30 miles. But I'm sure running a hard 10 miler the day before didn't give my legs much recovery time. I think Hal Higdon did it that way for the Advanced II program on purpose to toughen the runners up. The totality of Hal's program gave me the confidence and physical shape I need to run a good marathon. I missed 2 workouts early in the program, shortened a 19 mile to 15 mile run, but ran a 22 miler instead of a 12 miler. The quantity of the runs is out of the way but the quality will continue up to race day. And my focus now is getting to the starting line well rested. Yoga is my choice of recovery to get me prepared mentally and physical for race day. If I can do a little every day I'll be happy.

Life Happenings

2008-12-23T14:24:00.005-05:00

Well, I have to admit I haven't been inspired to keep my postings up to date. I'm not sure what it is that has kept me away from even reading my "blogs to read" buddies. My Mardi Gras Marathon training is going well. I still have a job. A wonderful family. I haven't created any new enemies lately (I don't think). Maybe I've been distracted with the latest world situations and the scary times ahead. For some reason I don't have the feeling of security that we had/have in our country and for me to think of my little athletic endeavors is insignificant to the bigger picture. I'm hoping this is all just in my head and that my worries will disappear. I should not let fear overcome my true blessings that I have today. I am so thankful for my health and strength. And the love I can share with my family and friends. I want to give myself more to those around me and to be a support to them.

Life and Blessings for a new year.

Post triathlon Racing Season

2008-10-01T14:18:00.005-04:00

After my last and most difficult triathlon or endurance race ever, I was ready to toss my goggles, bike and running shoes out in the trash. I was totally spent on the sport of endurance and was ready do some other sport to keep me in physical shape.

Well, I am glad to say I didn't toss anything away because after a week of resting and looking back I began a training program for the Mardi Gras Marathon on Februrary 1, 2009. I am using the Hal Higdon's Advanced-II 18 week marathon training guide. I am in week 7 and I have been able to maintain a consistent schedule and meet the paces in my training.

According to the McMillanrunning.com web site my training paces were calculated on my recent 5K in August. And if training goes well I should have a sub 3 hour marathon which will be a personal best.

Deer Creek Toyota Challenge - Winds from Ike!

2008-09-15T10:26:00.007-04:00

I'm exhausted mentally and physically! It took all my will power and physical strength to finish yesterdays gruelling race. This was the hardest triathlon race I've ever done. Even one of the top finishers said that. I'll blame it on the weather. The temperatures rose into the high 80's to low 90's. The sun brightly shining to fry any exposed skin. And then the winds were blowing. It seemed to grow stronger by the hour and we felt it.

By the time the start of my half ironman race began the calm waters had turn quite choppy. The first lap of the .6 of a mile loop seem to go well but during the 2nd lap we were swimming against the choppy waves and when you would lift your head to spot the buoys you'd get smacked in the face with the lake. As I was nearing the last set of turn buoys I noticed one was missing. I made the last turn and had the waves bring me to the swim exit. Later I heard from someone that one of the turn buoys had blown away.

I made it in and out of transition without messing around. For the bike portion we had 3 loops of an 18.65 mile route. The first loop I felt good and averaged 20 miles an hour. The 2nd loop was when I really noticed the winds picking up and that brought my average down to the 18's. The 3rd loop I had thoughts of not running the 13.1 miles. The winds were so strong that so much energy was exerted just to maintain a speed from getting blown off my bike. I heard someone did get blown off their bike.

I'm not sure what motivated me to even attempt the run other than the realization that people were out running the 6.55 mile loop 2 times. I figured I'd take it one loop at a time and see if I could survive. The winds were the most vicious across the dam. Going out over the dam was OK because we had the winds to our backs but coming back the winds put a stop to many runners. Some of us had to lean into the winds or get knocked over. After a little over 5 hours of getting whipped around from the winds I was ready to call it a day at the turnaround point. I think the mental battle was telling me to finish the last loop no matter what. As long as people were still out there, male and female, young and old, I had to go on.

I am happy to have finished and glad I didn't throw in the towel. I know if I'd quit I'd be kicking myself today. I didn't have any fueling problems or cramps but just over all exhaustion. A little rest and I'll be OK.

This week I hope not to swim, bike, or run. I don't know what kind of exercises I want to do but if I do something it'll have to be easy and different from what I normally do.

Some stats from the Race Results:
184 entered the race but only 144 finished.
I finished 74th overall - middle of the pack.

OROC 5K Run was a rockin' n rollin'

2008-08-23T14:50:00.005-04:00

A very good race for a very good cause! The night before the race as I lay in bed thinking how I haven't run much or had any quality runs lately and the scary feeling of how was I going to run 18 minutes for the 5K but then a thought came to me, "why don't I just run the race for the very reason the race was put on in the first place"?

From the race ad, "OROC is dedicated to creating an active community of hope and empowerment for those touched by ovarian cancer through awareness, education and early detection". I said to myself, "this is a race that I will run strong and in support of those who were touched by ovarian cancer". After I said my little prayer for those touched by ovarian cancer and of thanks and appreciation my mind was at rest and I was out like a light.

On race morning, down at the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, at the registration area I met a fellow co-worker, who was the one who told me about the race, and her son. They were volunteering for the race. We did some chit chatting and they wished me luck in the race.

I thought the course would be and easy one to run but we had hills to run up and down, head winds coming off the lake, the bright sun shining in our face and heat and humidity, all to keep the pace under control. I was able to settle in my pace after the first mile and was able to hold my overall 5th place. Along the course we had a High School marching band, a man playing the bagpipe, and 3 or 4 Rock Bands to entertain the runners and walkers.

The finish area was one big party area with food, giveaways, live music and dancing. At the awards ceremony I won first place in my age (45-49) finishing in the time of 17:44. They gave me a ribbon and a 50 dollar gift card for Dicks Sporting Goods. Yes!

It's good to remember why we do the things we do and in particular how we are here for one another. This race reminded me of just that.

Roscoe Ramle the long route.

2008-08-17T18:37:00.006-04:00

I considered this organized biking event as my "epic weekend of biking". The event was a 2 day bike tour of a 110 or 150 mile route to choose from. I chose the 150 mile route because I planned on putting in good effort on both days as part of my training for my half ironman triathlon in September. You couldn't ask for better weather. The sun shone both days with temperatures in the mid 70's.

Saturdays ride started at Northwest High School, between Clinton and Canal Fulton. We made our way south to Coshocton and camped at Lake Park campgrounds. I saw more Amish buggies on the roads Saturday then I ever saw in one day. I got to race buggies up and down the hills of Amish country and even passed a few of them too. Some of the roads were pretty beat up from the wear and tear of those horse and buggies. Lunch was hosted by an Amish family farm and it was the best. They have been hosting lunch for a number of years for the Ramblers. We had garden fresh fruits and veggies, baked goodies, various cheeses and trail bologna and turkey ham sandwiches. Saturdays ride totals were 78.39 miles in 4:51:37. Max speed 40.1 mph and average speed was 16.1 mph. After the ride the only thing I needed more than a good meal was a neck and shoulder message. I got a good meal that was hosted by a church in Coshocton for all the riders but no message. After dinner I walked around downtown Coshocton and watched a live band play Elvis tributes. I could only take so much of, "I'm all shook up" and made my way back to my camp site. It was around 8:30 and I was ready to hit the hay.

Sunday's ride started out in the fog. Although it wasn't too heavy and after 5 to 8 miles into the ride, with the sun shinning brighter, the fog lifted. I didn't see any buggies on the road on Sunday. And the roads were in much better condition than Saturday. Lunch was host by a church in Beach city. They had fresh fruits and veggies and baked goodies. I wasn't too crazy about my choice of hot dog, chili dog or sloppy joe's. I was hungry and wanted/needed protein so I went with the sloppy joe. Sundays ride totals were 77.30 miles in 4:49:39. Max speed 38.9mph and average speed was 16.0 mph. After the ride I ran 3 miles on the Canal Towpath in 21:50. Then I treated myself to a peaches and cream ice cream cone. On my way home I stopped at the store to buy a bag of ice. As soon as I came home I ripped open the bag and tossed the ice in the bath tub and filled the tub with cold water. I jumped right in and had my burning legs enjoy the cool refreshing feeling.

Epic ride for the weekend was 155.69 miles on the roads of Amish country.

This is me on Saturday at the 68 mile point of the ride.

Greater Cleveland Triathlon debacle

2008-08-11T17:15:00.005-04:00

I am so mad that I don't even want to write about my experience of yesterdays triathlon. To get my thoughts together and to write about it is hard. But I'll do my best to put something down. Maybe I'll learn some lessons.

I get to the race, park my car and get out my racing gear. I hear a volunteer shout, "you can keep your wet suit in the car because there will be no swimming today". He said something about the coast guard not setting up buoys, because the early morning thunderstorms brought in high waves (and probably high bacteria levels, which no one ever really mentions) and made for unsafe swimming. I could see the waves crashing on the beach and the high winds blowing sand all over -not to mention the skies looking like a storm would blow in any moment. I could understand the safety concerns and wasn't bother by the swim getting canceled. The volunteer said the swim would be changed to a 1.2 mile run and then the rest of the race would be the same distance you were signed up to do.

I made it over to the registration area and asked for my race packet but the nice volunteer said, "didn't you read on line that there is NO RACE DAY REGISTRATION OR PACKET PICKUP"? My heart sank. I realized I couldn't convince her to give me my packet so I asked her where the race director was and she said "He's somewhere walking around". I found the race director and apologized for my oversight and asked if he could please help me. He told me to hang on while he resolved some other issues on hand. Eventually, he took me back to the registration table and somehow my packet envelope appeared. Thank you Mr. Race Director.

As I look over the packet I noticed they had me in for the sprint distance triathlon. Oh, boy another glitch. The kind volunteer directed me over to the timing truck to have my timing chip registered for the correct distance that I had registered for online. I was supposed to be signed up for the Olympic distance triathlon (it's a 1500 meter Swim, 40 K Bike, and a 10 K Run). I got that fixed and I was on my way to get ready for the race.

The duathlon form of the race suited me well since running is my specialty sport. The gun went off for us to start the run and sure enough I was up there in the lead with the young kids and with no other 45 or older runner around. I didn't have a watch on so I had no idea how fast I ran the 1.2 miles and I made it into T1 with a few other runners. I hopped on my bike and was off with the lead riders. It looked like we had a lead motorcycle to escort us on the course. I saw he had his flashing lights on and I was able to keep him in my sights until about 2.5 miles into the ride where he made a left hand turn at an intersection. A patrol officer was waving us bikers to make the turn. I wondered why we turned when the green arrows were clearly pointing us to go straight. Oh well, maybe something happened the last minute on the course and we had to ride the route backwards. After riding 4 miles we got stopped by a train. No problem. An official was there to record our wait time and would report it to the finish line. It didn't take long for us to figure something was wrong when no other riders were coming in our direction. Then the official tells us we are riding the course backwards and that we need to turn around. How could we turn around and restart our bike split? Some bikers turned around but I chose to continue with some others to ride the course backwards. As we continued on our way race officials told us to turn around because the patrol officers were not directing the traffic for us. What frustrations we felt. It was down to me and another guy who continued the course backwards. I don't know what happened to the rest of the riders. After getting stopped 3 or 4 times I was loosing interest in the race but continued to finish the bike portion of the race. I even considered dropping out and going home, but then I thought I'm out here why not just make the best out of the run. If anything I'd get a good workout for the day.

I started the run feeling strong but with no motive to run fast. After about 2 miles into the run and passing all kinds of people, who were mostly in the sprint distance, I began to run faster. The second half of the run went well for me and I had a strong finish.

In the end I had no heart to collect my 3rd place age group award. I went home feeling like I never want to participate in the Greater Cleveland Triathlon again. I'll see what I think a year from now.

Lessons hopefully learned:
* thou shalt read ALL the race registration info.
* thou shalt not be led astray by lead motor vehicles (yes, I was also led astray in the Cleveland Rite Aid 10k in 2007)
* thou shalt not let negative emotions frustrate a race.

Race Results

Burning River 100 - Pacer

2008-08-04T10:25:00.006-04:00

I don't know how they do it. And I don't know how I did it either. But those ultra runners are some amazing people. Those guys and gals are not only tough physically but tough mentally to keep their bodies moving to the finish. I had the joy of running 40.6 miles, in about ten and a half hours, as a pacer for my friend Dustin in the Burning River 100 mile Endurance Run.

Before I met Dustin in the early evening on Saturday I was able to get in a morning bike ride of 36 miles through some of the areas the runners would be making their way through. The race began 5:00am and I was able to cheer some of the runners on at the 30 mile marker. It was exciting to watch them come by.

In the afternoon I was a volunteer at the half way point of the race. We treated those runners like kings and queens providing food, drinks, and first aid. I would watch the runners come in to the aid station and look and listen to what the runner needed and or asked for. I would fill ball caps with ice for them to put on their heads, sponge off dirt and clean wounds from trail spills, and guide them in the direction for them to keep running.

Some runners didn't waste much time. When the lead runner came in he was not only met by us but by his support team who provided him food, drink and supplements. He stuffed his mouth, with food falling out, he mumbled thanks and took off running.

Third place runner who came to us was a women. I was amazed how strong she looked. She wanted to know how second place looked and I told her if she took care of herself she could catch him. She must have listened because she was second overall. Congratulations Connie!

I stayed helping out until 4:45 and then drove home expecting to eat dinner and take a nap before I'd get the call that my runner would be ready for me at the 60.6 mile point. But his wife called me at 5:00pm to tell me Dustin was ahead of schedule and would be ready for me by 5:30. I had no time for dinner or nap so I grabbed my running gear and drove back to the course to meet Dustin by 5:41. He came in at the 60.6 mile mark in 31st place. His goal was to finish in 24 hours or better. My goal was to make sure he would break 24 hours. We ran either side by side or with me in front. The highlight of our conversations was family, church, and God. I would also try to speak words of encouragement at the right moments. He asked at one point if I was in pain and at that time I had no pain but just tired legs. I guess I wasn't thinking about my pain but was focused on bringing Dustin home to the finish. During an ultra run I don't think runners think too much about the distance but rather getting through to the next 4 to 6 mile aid station. It's refreshing to have helpful people feeding you and cheering you on.

Dustin finished in 23:17. And went from 31st place at the 60 mile mark down to 20th place overall. Congratulations Dustin!

I'm on the left ready to help the lead runner at the 50.6 mile mark.

Looking across the lake.

2008-07-13T16:11:00.005-04:00

What do you see when you look across a lake?
My wife and I were out on a morning bike ride around Deer Creek lake and we stopped by this grassy point over looking the lake and after awhile of enjoying the view I asked her what she saw out there. She said she was wondering what the land looked like before the lake was formed from the dam. She was trying to figure out what the land was before the flood. I on the other hand, was wondering how long it would take me to swim across that smooth lake. I was thinking about, my what a good workout I could get in on that beautiful lake. We laughed at our romantic ideas and got back on our bikes and continued our ride.

Later that afternoon I was able to get a nice open water swim across the lake. The swim felt so good that I didn't want the swim to end.

Running is out of the question.

2008-07-02T17:38:00.004-04:00

It was a beautiful day and I felt good to be out running in the park, enjoying the scenery and sweating, but the run lasted for only 15 minutes. My bum knee cut my planned 30 minute run short. The knee got banged up from a little bike spill I had almost 2 weeks ago. I also found out today that my right wrist does have a broken carpal bone in it. I guess no serious training and racing is on the calendar for the month of July.

I've been swimming everyday this week and that seems to be OK except when I push off the wall after a flip turn I get knee pain and when I try to pull myself out of the pool I get pain in my wrist. The pain isn't too bad, though.

Biking is OK, but it takes me about 5 miles into the ride before my knee feels good. I just can't stand or climb hills too much.

My training for this week has been a swim focus, where I swim every day and alternate hard and long day workouts. Next week will be a bike focus. I'm hoping to get back into running after next week.

Saturday we leave for Deer Creek State Park for a week long of family reunion time. We are looking forward to having a relaxed fun time.

A Tri before a Ride.

2008-06-23T15:41:00.006-04:00

It has been a wonderful week of riding the back roads of Ohio with over 2500 other riders. Before the ride started last Sunday I did an Olympic distance triathlon out in Findlay, Ohio. My goal was to complete the race in 2:25:00 and I am happy to say I complete it in 2:21:23. I almost wished I didn't check the race results because of my seemingly poor swim results. I question if some people completed the required 2 laps of the 1500 meter swim. The guy who placed 40th did 1500 meters in 11:21? I doubt it. The overall race results seemed foggy too because the overall winner Martin Mason, who I enjoyed meeting after the race, was shocked to hear he got the overall win, even though, I passed him in the run with over 1 mile to the finish. Other than the 2 hour wait for the awards ceremony, for a dog tag for my 2nd place age group finish, I enjoyed a fast race on beautiful country roads.

GOBA (Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure) was an adventure. To summarize in one sentence of my experience of camping and biking for the week would be: Meeting so many people from all over the country with a common interest in sharing the joy of riding the country roads of Ohio and having a freedom from our normal day to day life was a blessing experienced by us all.

During the week we had 2 lay over days where we have optional riding routes or we could relax and enjoy the hosting town by sight seeing. Our first lay over day we spent at a water park. The second lay over day my family did another water park but I used a loaner bike from one of the bike vendors to get in a 42 mile ride in. The ride was a beautiful country hill buster and I pushed a hard effort while trying to hold off a guy that was drafting off me for a few miles. After about 10 miles I left him in the dust.

And on the last day after 25 miles into the ride we hit a dirt rutted access road and my son & I did a spill while trying to avoid a deep rut. I banged my right knee and right wrist. My son got the wind knocked out of him and banged his right pinkie. Roadside emergency crew was there to help us within minutes. We brushed off the dirt and told them we were planing on eating at Bob Evan's and that at the next rest stop we'll check in with them. At the rest stop they cleaned our wounds and bandaged us. We rode another 25 miles to the finish.

Total riding miles 260, plus the 42 miles I did on my own.

These are just some of the pictures taken.

GOBA here we come.

2008-06-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

It's been a few months now that my wife, son and I have been focusing on getting ready for GOBA by riding our bikes as much as possible. We leave for GOBAville this Saturday afternoon. But before we set out on our adventure I'll do an Olympic triathlon in Findlay, Ohio Saturday morning. I think I'm more over whelmed with the thought of getting all things packed for the triathlon and GOBA today than our build up of biking for the trip or my training for the race.

My wife was able to get in the required training of riding 350 miles to help ensure success in completing the week long event of riding over 200 miles. We also conquered the 1/2 mile 7% grade of Warner road hill. She's been putting off riding up that hill in fear of the pain and agony of defeat but she survived and now has more confidence she'll be able to enjoy GOBA. I also wanted to ride up the hill on the tandem with my son and we experienced it was easier than we feared. We're all physically and mentally ready for the challenge and look forward to a week long adventure of biking and camping.

Morgana Run 5K Race & the kettlebell

2008-05-31T11:13:00.003-04:00

What does winning a 5K race and a kettlebell workout have in common? They are both hard yet rewarding experiences to be had. I'll start with the kettlebell. I've heard of these "iron balls" in the past but thought they were too dangerous to mess with. But I recently listened to a certified trainer give a talk on the kettlebell and how the benefits through proper use can give great results from a strength and conditioning aspect. I did some youtude perusing and was impressed so I went to Dicks Sporting Goods and bought a 20lb kettlebell. I got home from the store and watched the video that came with the KB and did about 7 sets of the various exercises. I tried to take it slow and make sure I had proper form yet I still managed to put up a sweat and get my heart rate pumping. Two days later DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) set in on my shoulders and ham string muscles. Just what I needed in time for my local 5K race. Not.

The video displays a kettlebell swing. Watch Annie as she swings her way up from 16kg to 32kg. Very impressive.

I will use the DVD's that came with the kettlebell for a 3 month, 2 to 3 workouts per week, to see what kind of results I get.

Back to the race. I chose this local race because it's a few miles down the street from my home. I think it's encouraging to see what the Slavic Village Development is doing to improve the community. The race was the 2nd annual event and I thought it was well organized including a hip band at the finish and pierogies, sausages and bananas for us to enjoy. I checked out last years results to find that the overall winner was in 18:32. I was pumped and knew I could smash that time.

My race prep included a bowl of oatmeal with a squirt of Hammer gel and sips of HEED leading up to the race. I ran an easy 2 mile warm up, did some stretching, and 4 x 100 yard stride outs. I was ready to run.

The bell went off and I immediately took lead and heard someones feet behind me for the first mile. The first mile was in 5:05. That was fast. I was then working hard to maintain an even pace for the rest of the race. No one ever came up behind me to push me even more into oxygen debt. Good thing, because I was spent, winning the overall race.

Backpacking Racoon Creek State Park, PA

2008-05-26T20:14:00.002-04:00

Oh, the joys of backpacking! But before I get into explaining how enjoyable backpacking was this past weekend for my family and I at Raccoon Creek State, PA, I have to speak of some of the preparations involved in getting ready for the trip.

Planning begins with laying out a route that 10 year old boys can hike without feeling like a death march. There should be enough miles to hike in 2 days and still have plenty of time to stop, jump in the creeks, or swing on the vines. What "kid food" to buy and to bring that will feed their appetite. Make sure all hiking and camping equipment is in good shape. The kids have boots and a backpack. Make reservations for the camp site in early May. Pack clothes and equipment the night before and the food in the morning. The list goes on but after you survive the 2 hour drive in the car with silly boys punching each other and you set foot on the trail and soak in all the sights and sounds of nature you remember why we came out into the woods.

Before we start to hike the boys find a stream and begin "fishing around" and get their shoes and pants wet. If that's what they want to do to have fun then they are free to be boys and explorer the great outdoors.

We hiked 3 miles in about 2 hours the first day and 5.5 miles in 5 hours the second day. Backpackers typically hike 2 miles per hour which includes a 10 minute rest every 50 minutes but with little hikers there is no set pace. It's not about the hike but the experiences along the way that the boys love to enjoy.

Our campsite had Adirondack Shelters for us to sleep in, rest rooms near by, a well water pump and a bear bag pole. By the pole was a sign explaining how important it is in not "entertaining" the bears with food left in the campsite but to use the pole to string up your food and to get it out of reach from the critters. I had them read the sign so that they can learn some "best camp practices". I think it may have put some scary thoughts in their heads as the sun went down and it was time to go to sleep. We had to speak reassuring words that bears are shy and are not looking to bother us. Besides we cleaned up camp and left no trace of food for bears or critters to find.

We all slept fine.

Yes, there is a lot to get ready for a backpacking trip but where else can boys throw knives, wade in a creek digging up cray fish, swing on vines, and build fires? And that's why we'll be out in the woods again.

Tandem Practice Ride

2008-05-21T20:19:00.002-04:00

GOBA is a week long camping and biking adventure in the Ohio area. And my family and I signed up to ride it this year on June 14th, with a group of 11 other riders. I rode GOBA back in 2004 with about 12 other friends and I had a great time. I had hoped to one day do GOBA again and to ride it with my wife and son. But, in order to do the average 50 mile daily ride I had to find a way for them to survive without too much discomfort. First, we had to do something about getting a decent bike for my wife. She would not be able to ride her mountain bike for the trip so we began to shop around for a road bike. We found one at our local bike shop where she was fitted nicely onto a women's specific Cannondale bike. She has taken the bike out for a couple spins around the neighborhood and park and appreciates the comfort factor being so much better compared to the men's mountain bike that she rode with.

The next challenge for me was to borrow a tandem bike from a friend and begin practice riding it with my 10 year son. I had to buy extender cranks for him to reach the pedals. I adjusted the seat all the way down and positioned the handle bars so that he felt comfortable on the bike.

We have been riding the tandem for about 2 weeks now and we are loving it every time we go out. Our longest ride was 2 hours this past Saturday (before Sunday's Cleveland 10K race). We are working on building up to 4 hours of riding up and down hills. We hope to accomplish that by the first weekend in June. This should give us all the confidence we need in order to survive a week long of biking.

Cleveland 10K

2008-05-18T11:54:00.005-04:00

This year we had no wrong turns on the 10K course. All went well for my long awaited 10K race. I could complain about pulling a muscle in my chest yesterday when I twisted and turned my body while lifting my tandem bike out of the trunk. But then, if it's not one thing it's another on race day. We still did our family long bike ride of 21 miles. The pain was noticeable every time I would turn my head and torso to look behind. And if I took deep breaths I could feel the pain. I was hoping a good soak in Epsom salt bath and good nights sleep would help ease some pain, which it did.

Race morning was a cool 55 degrees and some light rain at the start. The first mile went by fast and easy with a time of 5:40. I was happy with that time. I then focused on maintaining a steady strong pace while getting hit from winds in all directions. The last mile I ran with Scott S. which helped me to finish strong otherwise, I may have fallen apart with no one to push me.

One of the best things about running this big race is the crowd support along the course. And I would have to give the best cheering award to E and Solar Squirrel from our Running Club. They really put on a great cheering performance. They spotted me way before I even could see them. I could hear them but didn't see where they were until I came closer to them. Thanks gals, your cheering took me through to the next mile.

After the race I ate a banana, Stony Farm yogurt and then put on some warm dry clothes. I made my way to the marathon course and met Brian. We had agreed that I would help bring him in the last 4 miles of his marathon race. I did my best to speak words of encouragement along the way. We had a good time.

Link to 10K Results for a 22nd overall finish.

The Sunny Side of Training.

2008-05-06T14:37:00.007-04:00

My training for the May 18, Cleveland 10K is going well. Last week we visited our daughter in sunny Florida. She recently had a baby girl and we got to spend time with her and her family. During our visit we spent a day at Epcot, went to the beach a couple of times, and hugged and kissed the baby the rest of the time.

I did my runs in the mornings when the temps were in the mid 80's and humidty at 80 percent. A 6 mile mid tempo run in 38:26 (6:24 pace) was bearable but the 8 mile long tempo in 53:19 (6:40 pace) was a cooker. I needed to drink some water after 40 minutes sooo bad. I was tempted to plop myself into one of the many ponds I ran by but after seeing 2 alligators already that morning I realized you don't go swimming in just any pond you see in Florida.

Today's track workout was a good indicator for me to prove the kind of shape I am in for a good 10K race. The main set was 3 X 1 mile (at 5:38 pace) with only 1 minute rest between. And if we have 80+ temps with high humidity on race morning I hope my mind and body remembers the tough run I did in Florida.

Legs at the Hinckley Duathlon

2008-04-27T19:10:00.005-04:00

This is a profile graph of the Hinckley Buzzard Duathlon race.

The course is a 3 mile loop around Hinckley lake.
As you can see from the graph it is HILLY.

My plan for the race was to run the first 3 miles easy in around 18 minutes, bike the 5 laps averaging 20 miles and then to finish the last 3 miles faster than the first loop.

For the warm up I biked the 3 mile loop at an easy pace. I used my Garmin to get the elevation chart. After the ride I did some light stretching and then ran an easy 1.5 miles.

The race began with a 3 mile run. I felt strong while trying to keep my pace under control.

The bike portion was the same loop but we had to ride it 5 times. I was able to maintain a steady pace but I felt my legs didn't have the strength to push through the hills.

I was in awe as I watched some of the stronger cyclist whoosh by me. Some of the things I noticed was, the aero position they were in, what gear they were in, and the powerful looking cycling legs they had.

What I enjoyed the most during the final run portion, was passing the same guys that I envied. It was my running legs that smoked a few of those sexy cycling legs, that made me think if it is possible, one day I will have both running and cycling legs.

Male results of the Duathlon Race

Comfort, Power and Speed.

2008-04-14T18:54:00.007-04:00

I have to say my swim, bike, and run training during this off season is proving to be a success.

One of the most challenging swim drills for me is the freestyle kick without a board. It is done with arms held out front in a streamlined position with fingers overlap and one thumb lightly gripping the opposite hand. You lift your chin above the water to breath without turning your head. When I first did this I was not comfortable holding my hands together because of the sinking feeling and lack of air to breathe. By the end of winter swimming, the fear has gone away and I can hold my hands in a streamline position and kick in a 50 meter pool. It's hard to do 4 sets of 50 meter repeats but I'm enjoying the benefits.

During the winter months I did a "club challenge" on improving power on the bike. I did a 2 x 20 minute functional threshold test about 2 months ago and received all kinds of data to indicate my strength on the bike. For the last 2 months I did many workouts on the bike trainer to help increase my aerobic capacity. After 2 months of hard work I took the same test and my coach was very impressed with the results. I had a 33% increase in average output power on the bike. I surprised myself.

I am in my 8th week training for the Cleveland 10K Run and I have noticed my track and long run times are coming down. The short fast track intervals are the hardest to keep pace but I did manage to pull off 10 x 400 averaging 1:15 and 6 x 800 averaging 2:45 recently.

I guess if you put the comfort gained in the water, power gained on the bike, and speed gained on the run I should have enough confidence to race well this coming summer.

Queen City Chess Tournament

2008-04-07T21:13:00.003-04:00

Nate riding the Queen.

The chess tournament was a blast. It was a big chess party fest. I should have taken pictures of the lobby area where there were chess paraphernalia and food strewn all over the place.

This was a chess tournament for school age kids who were from all over Ohio and Kentucky. My son played 5 games in the 4th grade section and finished with a score of 3 wins and 2 losses. He was a half point away from winning a trophy.

After each game my wife and I would watch Nate as he walked down the hall and we would try to read his expressions and guess whether he won or lost a game. With some kids it was obvious whether they won or lost but with Nate he had a cool calm look about him and we couldn't tell if he won or lost until he came up to us and say, "I won", or "I lost". He'd then go horse around with other kids playing the big floor chess set or at a table with the Indian kids. He commented that, those little Indian kids are fast and good. I was impressed with his attitude of good sportsmanship and having fun.

PapaLouie versus International Master Irina Krush!

While the kids played, the parents were entertained by Master chess players commenting on the top rated games being projected on monitors in the lobby area. Some masters would play 5 minute games with kids or parents. Here I took the challenge to play International Master Irina Krush. I knew I wouldn't even come close to possible pulling off a win but I asked her if she would comment on the game so that I could learn something. After my 5 minute melee she went through the whole game move by move to point out the various alternative moves that I could have done. I was impress she remembered every move and was able to offer suggestions. She did this for anyone who wanted to play a game with her. No wonder she is America's top rated female chess master.

Soccer champs & Chess weekend.

2008-04-04T20:57:00.006-04:00

The indoor soccer team that I coach won the minor division championship. We had to win our last game, which was last night, in order to make first place overall. We faced a tough team and after the first half the score was 3-3. During half time I reminded the kids to stay cool, calm and to focus on controlling the ball as much as possible. They played very strong and was able to pull the victory with a 5-3 score. All the parents and kids were cheering and applauding our first place finish. It was an exciting evening.

This weekend we drive down to Cincinnati for my son to play in a scholastic chess tournament, where there should be well over 1,000 kids playing. It should be an exciting time watching all the kids and meeting some of the world grand masters at the event. My son will play 5 games in the 4th grade category. He has to win 3.5 games in order to get a trophy. He feels confident he can pull it off. I'll be biting my nails the whole time.

When I come back on Sunday I'll run 8 miles at a 6:40 pace and do some yoga to round off a fun filled weekend.

Multi-tasking while Freestyling

2008-03-28T22:15:00.003-04:00

I find it amazing how much my mind and body are so active during my freestyle workouts in the pool. The structure of my workout is a Warm up, Build up (Drills), Core (main set), then Warm down. During the workout I am focusing on so many things to help me become a more efficient swimmer.

I am thinking about having proper:
arm catch and high elbows,
having a strong flutter like kick moving from the hips,
breathing bilaterally,
stream line body position so that I am as slippery in the water as possible,
and becoming like a fish with shoulder and hip rotating as one.
Not to mention I'm trying to keep track of the 10 x 100 yard repeats in my head while swimming in a 25 yard pool.

Oh, did I just finish my 6th set or 7th set? I was chatting too long with the guy in the lane next to me and now I lost track. Anyway, I go with 6 and continue focusing on having proper bio-mechanical positioning in the water but then I'm thinking, oh no, I have to go pee...

If you like multi-tasking like I do then you'll find swimming is so much fun.

Windy Track Workout & Cookies.

2008-03-26T21:22:00.004-04:00

I was able to run my 4 x 1000 meter repeats on the track this week and on one hand I was happy to be outside on the track rather than on the treadmill but the winds were so strong that I felt I was pushed from all sides and could not maintain my projected pace. I chalked it up as a strength training workout. I kept telling myself, "each 1000 I complete will make me stronger". After completing the windy workout I went home and checked the current weather conditions and sure enough winds were 30 mph and gusting to 40 mph. I'll have to somehow figure out how the winds effect my times.

A friend thought I might want to try this cookie recipe so I whipped up a batch and I couldn't stop eating them.
These are banana cookies that have no eggs, flour, sugar, or salt.
Here is how I made them.
I mashed 3 medium bananas in a bowl and
mixed in 1/3 cup ev-olive oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 1/4 cups chopped walnuts, 2 tablespoons of milled flax seed, and 1/4 cup raisins. I dropped tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet and pressed then down lightly with fork and placed in the oven at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. I made 2 dozen, ate 5 cookies and put the rest a in freezer bag and placed it in the freezer.
I'll be snacking on these things all week.

An athlete.

2008-03-21T09:34:00.004-04:00

Iron G in 2015 posted a pop quiz for us runners to answer and I thought I'd put my thoughts down here to share with everyone.

1. How long have you been running or tri-training?
I have been running and road racing from the mile to the marathon for 18 years. This summer will be my 5th year of Triathlon racing.

2. Why did you start running or tri-training?
I started to run after I gained 15 pounds between 19 and 26 years old and I decided I needed an easy exercise program that would get me back to my boxing weight and shape.
I think tri-training is something most of us did as kids, but we didn't call it training, we called it play. We swam, we biked, and we ran around all day. It seemed natural that one day I decided to try a triathlon race and to do it with the intent of having FUN. After 5 years of triathlon training and racing I'm still having fun.

3. What's your most memorable race?
Running the Hope Memorial Mile in 4:29

4. What's your favorite race to run (distance and/or specific event)?
The Cleveland 10K because of the quality of the field and to be part of the excitement among thousands of runners.

5. What's the best advice you have ever received?
Learn to incorporate cross training like, swim, bike, run, lift weights, yoga, pilates, you name it, into your running program.

6. What's the best advice you never followed (that you should have)?
Don't eat before training or racing in the morning.

7. Where do you train?
In the evenings at home in the basement on the treadmill and bike trainer. On the weekends in Garfield Park and Mill Creek Trail and the beautiful Cuyahoga Valley National Park. During lunch time in CSU Pool and running in and around the downtown area
.
8. What are your long-term goals?
Run the marathon under 3 hours (2008 or 2009). Complete a Half Ironman under 5 hours (2009). Bike a century as fast as I can (2008).

9. What's your favorite pre-race meal?
Oatmeal, banana, and green tea

10. What's your favorite post-race, PR or goal-meeting reward?
A hot shower and an afternoon nap in the recliner while reading The Art of Learning

St. Malachi Race

2008-03-15T17:08:00.007-04:00

I went from a 5 mile race to coaching my indoor soccer team Saturday morning. The race was hard but the game was exciting. We played against the first place team and managed to pull off a tie with them. We have 2 more games and if all goes well, we could be 1st place champions in this inaugural fustal season and my first time coaching.

According to my training schedule I needed to run 8 miles at a 6:43 per mile pace but I figured if I ran 2 miles as a warm up before the 5 mile race I would be close enough to the scheduled distance. My thoughts for the race was that I'd run at a 6:00 per mile pace and finish around 30 minutes but then I also had a feeling I'd finish around 29:00.

The course had enough ups and downs to make the run tough. I felt I ran at a good hard effort the whole race but I had a little mental struggle after about 3.5 miles. I had to keep telling myself to push through the pain because the first place women was gaining on me. So many people would yell out, "1st place women". It felt like it was me against her.

I couldn't stay for the awards so I grabbed a banana and a bottle of water and drove to the soccer game. I did slip on my running pants and coaching shirt so that no one could tell I came from a 5 mile race.

First place in 45-49 age group Race results.

Mind games on the treadmill

2008-03-13T17:20:00.002-04:00

The anxiety of running fast on the treadmill today was driving me crazy. According to my schedule I needed to run two 1 mile repeats and a 1/2 mile at a 5:38 pace with a 1/2 mile recovery between sets. This type of workout was to be done on the track but with a slushy snow covered track there was no way I would be able to run fast on it. With the crummy conditions I resorted to doing the workout on the treadmill later in the evening. Although, throughout the day I was thinking how was I going to run the fast set of intervals on the treadmill.

The top speed of my treadmill goes from 10 mph (6:00 pace per mile) to 11 mph (5:30 pace per mile)to 12 mph (5:00 pace per mile)and I only needed to run at a 5:38 pace per mile. Do I run at 10 mph with a 3 to 4 percent incline? Do I run at 5:30 mph with no incline? I had to get on the treadmill to find out what I could do.

During the warm up I focused on being relaxed and told myself that I could run at the 5:30 pace, even if I had to hold on the bars or if I puked, I was going to run it. After 20 minutes of easy running I hit the first set of 1 miles at a 5:30 pace with the incline set not at ZERO but at TWO percent. Yes, I went for the gutsy workout. And, I survived two 1 mile repeats and a half mile feeling great because I conquered the mind battle over the treadmill.

This weekend I am looking forward to running a 5 mile race (St. Malachi).

Baby and all

2008-03-09T17:04:00.008-04:00

Last week we drove to Baltimore to visit my son and his wife to celebrate the birth of our grand daughter, Arianna.
She is a bundle of sweet joy with an inquisitive mind of interest in all her surroundings.

My off-season Core training workouts finally paid off this past weekend. We had record snow fall and I was left to shovel my way out of my drive and then a couple of other neighbor drives. I didn't get sore from all the shoveling but I did get mentally whipped and I didn't have the strength to run my scheduled 7 mile tempo run for today. I was able to take an afternoon nap in the recliner while reading and all I could see when I closed my eyes was me lifting shovel after shovel of heavy snow and yet I wasn't making any progress in clearing a path. How frustrating was that.

I am looking forward to running my 3 key training runs outside rather than on the treadmill. The temperatures are suppose to reach in the high 40's by Thursday and maybe by then the track and trails will be clear of ice and snow. Running on the treadmill has been easy for me to hit my target times but I think running outside will be different. I can't wait to test my progress on the track soon.

Week One Day 1

2008-02-28T10:09:00.003-05:00

My 12 week training schedule begins this week for the Cleveland 10K in May.
The workout I am using has 3 key workouts. Tuesday is track day where I run intervals of :
400's @ 1:18 pace,
600's @ 1:57 pace,
800's @ 2:41 pace,
1000's @ 3:23 pace,
1200's @ 4:12 pace,
1600's @ 5:38 pace.

Thursday is tempo runs of short (@ 6:13) and mid (@ 6:28) running paces for 3 to 6 miles.

Saturday is long tempo pace @ 6:43 for 6 to 10 miles.

These paces were calculated based on my recent 5K race. Next time I won't race as hard so that my training paces won't be at a blusterous pace. I'm hoping to survive these 12 weeks somehow.

So, on Tuesday, we had a beautiful snow storm blow through the Cleveland area and that left me to move my run onto the treadmill. With over a foot of snow on the track there was no way I could knock out 8 X 400's at a 1:18 pace. My treadmill can reach a max speed of 12 miles an hour (5 minute mile pace) so after a 15 minute warm up I ran 8 x 1:30 @ 12 miles an hour with 1:30 rest between reps. It was a good workout and it didn't beat me up so bad. So far, so good.

OK, and I was tagged by trainingtotri to list 7 weird/random things about me so here are 7 random things I could think of.

1. My perfect Winter snowy day would be me out cross country skiing in the park enjoying a decent workout with beautiful scenery.

2. My perfect sunny Summer lazy day would be me laying down under a big oak tree in the park reading an inspirational novel about swimming, biking, or running for half a day. Then I would get up and go to a park table and play chess with the old timers for the rest of the day.

3. My perfect cool Autumn day is my wife and I backpacking in the mountains enjoying the serenity of a bright and colorful forest.

4. My perfect sunny Spring day is my first day out on a long bike ride along country roads.

5. My perfect rainy day is me in my pajamas sitting around the fireplace drinking green tea and reading.

6. My dream is to go back to Hungary and spend a month there learning about my family history and enjoying the culture.

7. My dream is to live to 100 years old and be active in sports, family, and community.

I'll volunteer to be the last one tagged.

Train like a runner.

2008-02-16T13:11:00.005-05:00

It was a cold 19 degrees downtown but we had lots of sunshine. The roads were dry and with the sun shinning I was in a good mood for a race. The undulating course was a challenge for us runners and was not a course for a PR.

My goal for todays 5K race was to run it hard and use the finish time to calculate my training paces for the Cleveland 10K in May. I will use the famous F.I.R.S.T 12 week schedule to train for the race.

Now that I have a 5K race result I can start to train like a runner.

Race results: Chili Bowl Classic 5K

Oh, and I did try the veggie chili after the race. It was spicy with peppers and not bad tasting.

A taste of Power.

2008-02-09T09:55:00.000-05:00

I had my eyes opened to the effectiveness of training with power on a CompuTrainer last night. A good friend from my triathlon club offered his coaching skills along with his CompuTrainer to put me through a time trial test. The focus of the workout was to montitor power, heart rate and cadence, in two 20 minute intervals. For the 2 sets I needed to ride at a hard effort and yet complete them in +/- 5% of each other.

The results will be compared in 6 weeks with another test. Since I do not have a CompuTrainer or some other power measuring device I will use my heart rate monitor to train with. In early April I will go back to my friends house to do another test on his CompuTrainer and see what results I get.

Dave, thanks for showing me the way to "Power". I think it's exciting stuff and will translate to improving my biking times.

Test 1 Results:
average speed: 18.3 mph
average watts: 147 watts
maximum speed: 19.6 mph
maximum watts: 183 watts
time: 20 minutes
distance: 6.14 miles
average heartrate: 116 bpm
maximum heartrate: 125 bpm
average cadence: 91
maximum cadence 97

Test 2 Results:
average speed: 18.9 mph
average watts: 158 watts
maximum speed: 22.2 mph
maximum watts: 246 watts
time: 20 minutes
distance 6.30 miles
average heartrate: 124
maximum heartrate: 139 bpm
average cadence: 93
maximum cadence: 110

Thoughts on swimming.

2008-01-31T10:27:00.001-05:00

For the past 3 months I have been using a program from Swimplan for all my swim workouts. What's nice about this program is that the workouts are personalized based on time trials, how much time you want to swim, intensity level, and what equipment you want to use. What makes it even better is that it's a free service.

Using this program has kept me motivated to swim consistently through the winter months. Before I head to the pool I print out a new program and tape it to my water bottle. I don't know how other people manage their swims, as fas as, how to remember time and sets of lengths but what helps me is to bring the printed workout to the pool so that I can enjoy my swim and not get confused with lap counting or distance.

Having this program has also taken my mind off the frustrations of improving my swim technique. I've given up on trying to be a perfectionist. I'd love to have a swim stroke like some great olympic swimmer. I realize I should just focus on having a good time and enjoy where I'm at in my abilities. And as long as I can get through a swim during a triathlon and have enough energy to power through the rest of the race, I'm happy!

Here is todays workout in detail format from swimplan.com:

Duration
45-60 mins
Distance
2200yd
Pool length
25yd

Warm up
• 8 x 50yd Freestyle Swim (even pace), rest 0:15 / 50yd

Freestyle swim at a steady pace.
Build up
• 8 x 50yd Single Arm with Zoomers (arm out front) 6 x left, 6 x right, 6 x full stroke, rest 0:15 / 50yd

Freestyle using one arm at a time, focusing on shoulder and hip rotation. Complete 6 arm strokes with the left arm then 6 strokes with the right arm, followed by 6 strokes using both arms. The non-stroking arm is held out front in a streamlined position.

Core
• 8 x 50yd Freestyle Swim, leave on 01:10 / 50yd

Freestyle swim, starting every 50yd set on the defined time period. The departure time combines your swimming target time and rest time, so the faster you go the more rest you will have. Conversely, the slower you swim, the less rest time you will have.
• 2 x 100yd Freestyle Pull with a pull buoy, rest 0:20 / 100yd
• 8 x 50yd Freestyle Swim, leave on 01:04 / 50yd

Freestyle swim, starting every 50yd set on the defined time period. The departure time combines your swimming target time and rest time, so the faster you go the more rest you will have. Conversely, the slower you swim, the less rest time you will have.
• 1 x 200yd Freestyle Swim, rest 0:30 / 200yd

Warm down
• 8 x 25yd Easy, rest 0:10 / 25yd

This is the swim without the descriptions and is what I taped to my water bottle:

Warm up
• 8 x 50yd Freestyle Swim (even pace), rest 0:15 / 50yd

Build up
• 8 x 50yd Single Arm with Zoomers (arm out front) 6 x left, 6 x right, 6 x full stroke, rest 0:15 / 50yd

Core
• 8 x 50yd Freestyle Swim, leave on 01:10 / 50yd
• 2 x 100yd Freestyle Pull with a pull buoy, rest 0:20 / 100yd
• 8 x 50yd Freestyle Swim, leave on 01:04 / 50yd
• 1 x 200yd Freestyle Swim, rest 0:30 / 200yd

Warm down
• 8 x 25yd Easy, rest 0:10 / 25yd

Hill Running.

2008-01-30T13:46:00.000-05:00

Today, I ran the same hill workout that I did 2 weeks ago. This time I did not run the recoveries down the hill backwards. It took a good week before my calf muscles were healed from the soreness I got from that workout. Lesson learned from that was not to over do the workout while trying something new. I think backward running is good for strengthening different muscles but next time I'll just run a few backwards for fun and not for a complete serious workout.

Weather conditions was about the same as last time but the temperatures was about 5 degrees colder today. I ran by the south Marginal road, near Lake Erie, where there were some strong winds coming off the lake. It was cold. But, what's important is that my legs felt good and I was able to run the hills a little faster.
A few more hill workouts and I'll be ready to hit the track for some fast intervals at the end of February.

Running with pain.

2008-01-20T16:22:00.000-05:00

It's Sunday morning and with outside temperatures hovering around 7 degrees forced me to get my hill workout onto the treadmill. My creative workout on the treadmill included 2 x with 3% incline at 6:24 pace for 2 minutes, 2 x 5% incline 6:24 for 90 seconds, 1 x 7% incline 6:24 for 30 seconds and then finish with 1 at 7% incline 6:24 for 3:30 minutes. I felt good, even though, my gastrocnemius muscle in both legs has suffered damage from Wednesday's hill workout. They are so-o-o-o sore like never before. Even a gentle rub brings shooting pain. Usually, soreness lasts a couple days but this one may take 4 or 5 days before the pain goes away.

Up and Down the Hill

2008-01-16T13:28:00.000-05:00

Today I had some fun running hill repeats. The hill is on E. 40th Street off the North Marginal. It rises 60 feet in .10 of a mile for a 6 percent grade.

I began the workout with a 1.5 mile easy run from work to the top of the hill. At the top of the hill I turned around and ran down backwards. At the bottom I sprinted back to the top. I repeated this sprinting up and backward jogging for a total of 9 sets. I could feel my calf muscles getting tight after 6 or 7 repeats. I do hope the calves aren't too sore for tomorrows bike workout.

Winter Sunshine

2008-01-12T16:26:00.000-05:00

It could be 37 degrees outside but as long as the sun is shinning it's a beautiful day to be out enjoying the sunshine. After dropping off one of my families old clunker at the junk yard I rode back home on my commuter bike and managed to get 19 miles of riding on this fine sunny winter day. I don't mind the winter months but I do miss the sunshine. Sunshine sure helps with the winter time blues.

I still want to get out on my cross country skis this winter. I missed a couple opportunities we already had but, even if I have to make a "sick day", I've got to get out and enjoy the snow. Having the skis gives me a good reason to get out and enjoy the snow.

Starting Monday I begin week 9 of my 12 week off season cycling and core strengthening workout routine. I think being consistent is important in improving ones knowledge and overall health and strength. That's why I like having schedules. Give me 12 or 18 weeks of specific training and I'm all over it. I don't need motivation to get out and swim, bike, run, or do core training because I have a set time and it'll be over before I know it and hopefully, during that time, I learn something. Then I can move on to something else.

Challenges ahead!

2008-01-04T21:48:00.000-05:00

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."
Eleanor Roosevelt

Here is a list of things I must "look fear in the face" and overcome:
* Run a sub 3 hour marathon - deciding what Fall marathon to do this in.
* Complete an Olympic Distance Triathlon in a time of 2 hours 20 minutes or less - This is the only distance I will race this summer.
* Complete a Half Ironman Triathlon in under 5 hours - Summer of 09 but training began since my first attempt last year and will continue all through this year.

To kick off the new year I will race a 5K in February to help gauge my training plan for a sub 36 minute 10K in May. The highlight in April will be a Duathlon. May will be the Cleveland 10K where I have unfinished business because of the mishap at last years race. June will start with triathlon racing season and will go through September. Then a sub 3 hour marathon in October or November is in the plans. Additional training and racing plans will be announced soon.

Happy New to all my friends and family!

Something to remember.

2007-12-26T09:48:00.001-05:00

This poem is a good reminder of not missing an opportunity to be thankful for our family and friends and to express our love in any way we can as long it is called "today".

Around the Corner by: Henson Towne, Source Unknown
Around the corner I have a friend
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone
And I never see my old friends face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,
She knows I like her just as well
As in the days when I rang her bell,
And she rang mine.
We were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.
"Tomorrow" I say "I will call on Jane"
"Just to show that I'm thinking of her"
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner! -yet miles away,
"Here's a telegram sir-"
"Jane died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.
If you love someone, tell them.
Remember always to say "what you mean".
Never be afraid to express yourself.
Take this opportunity to tell someone what they mean to you.
Seize the day and have no regrets.
Most importantly, stay close to your friends and family,
They have helped to make you the person you are today,
What it's all about anyway.

I am in the 6th week of my off-season cycling and core workout program and am pleased with my results so far. I've been spinning on the trainer and have gotten my cadence up to 130+ rpms for a typical 6-8 x 20 second intervals. I have never worked at such high rpms before and I'm enjoying the progress.

The core workouts are mainly focused on bike specific exercises and after 6 weeks I feel the difference. I am able to keep up with Graeme as I follow along on the DVDs. And I have to admit a 6 pack is beginning to take shape.

Six more weeks to go and I'll be ready to start planing for my 2008 training and racing schedule.

Enjoy life!

Holiday tunes

2007-12-21T15:40:00.000-05:00

In between enjoying time with my family and friends I will try and get some running in, including a run with my local running club and triathlon club, maybe some outdoor biking, and my favorite core workouts with Cyclo-Core.

Enjoy the Holidays with some seasonal sounds - (be sure to click on this link)
Merry Christmas to all!

Drills, Drills, Drills

2007-12-18T22:50:00.000-05:00

I never could figure out why would I waste my time doing drills for swimming, biking, or running when I could be using my time for the "real" workout at hand. Well, this off season I've finally began to incorporate drills into all my workouts and my have my eyes been opened.

Favorite Swim Drills include:
"Single Arm" Is freestyle using one arm at a time. The non-stroking arm is held loosely by your side. I think this will help to even out and strengthen my total arm strokes while swimming normal.

"Push and Glide" Is freestyle swim, pausing at the end of every stroke with arms out-stretched, one held out front, the other held loosely against the body. This reminds of pushing and gliding while ice skating. I feel relaxed and surprised at the ease of gliding through the water and how it takes me less strokes to make it to the end of the pool.

Favorite Bike Drills on the trainer include:
"Runners", while pedaling, you stand up to an upright position WITHOUT holding onto the handle bars. I do this for 15-30 seconds and then return to seat for easy pedaling before I try it again. This drill is not easy but it does challenge my balance and coordination while strengthening my core.

"Single Leg Pedaling", with the chain in a big gear I alternate left and right legs of spinning for 30 to 60 seconds. I like this drill because when the workout calls for fast spinning I can manage the high cadence drills a lot easier.

With "Super Spins", I spin my legs as fast as possible without my butt bouncing in the saddle. The reps last 15-30 seconds long and I can get up to about 135 rpm before my butt bounces all over the saddle.

Favorite Running Drills at the track include:
"Skipping". As a kid, this was easy but doing them as an adult I realize skipping requires strength and coordination. To get a good warm-up before running fast intervals or repeats I would skip around the track in good form with high knees and a relaxed arm swing.

"Running Backwards". I like this because I get to use different leg muscles that don't get used during normal running. If I can run one time around the track while staying in my lane I am happy.

These are just some of the drills I began to work on for the past month. With all these drills, as I do them I realize that I have to focus on what I am trying to accomplish in order to have proper form. Doing drills have kept my off-season training fun, interesting and fresh. And who knows it might even help to improve my swimming, biking, and running.

More Off-Season stuff & Quote of the Day

2007-11-28T11:12:00.000-05:00

If you have 3 and a half minutes to watch this video it will give you an idea how my Off-Season training began.

I am in my 3rd week of a 12 week Off-Season program from Cyclo-Core and have progressed beyond what these kids are complaining about. I am able to keep up with Graeme as he does the routines and as a result I'm feeling stronger.

I just found out that Graeme is offering a new Off-Season/Pre-Season Triathlon training workout routine and am looking forward to using it in my up coming Triathlon Pre-Season training.

My little quote for today is:
“If you have people around who are telling you that, ‘Oh you’re too old to do this or that,’ get away from them. Age is an attitude. In endurance sports, you get better as you get older.” Lorraine Moller, Olympic Marathon Medalist

Cleveland Turkey Trot

2007-11-23T15:09:00.000-05:00

The weather wasn't in our favor but I felt good on this Thanksgiving morning while running the Cleveland Turkey Trot. We had rain, strong winds, and cold temperatures to help make for a miserable morning. But, after running through the first mile in 5:31, my mind was set on running this 5 mile race as hard as I could, despite the adverse conditions.

I felt strong and confident in maintaining a sub 6 minute per mile pace. And to help boost my confidence I was able to run with the lead woman from the early miles of the race. We traded places to help protect one another from the strong winds at times until it was time to kick it in to the finish.

To see if I was able to nip the win from Allison, who probably is a track or cross country star, to the finish see the results page. I finished first in the male 45-49 division.

One thing I noticed about myself during the race was that I was so focused that I couldn't say, no thank you, to the volunteers handing out water at the aid stations. I didn't have the extra energy to say anything. I did shake Allison's hand and congratulated her at the finish. I also thanked the volunteers in the finishing area.

Some stats:
* Breakfast - about 2.5 hours before the race - Oatmeal cereal with soy milk, banana, and apple sauce.
* Time leading up to the start I drank about 24 ounces of HEED sports drink and 15 minutes before the start I had a PowerBar Gel.
* Ran about 1.5 miles easy jog for warm up before the start including 3 x 100 yard stride outs.
* First place age group finish was good for a 15 dollar gift certificate to Malley's Chocolates.

Start of my Official Triathlon Off-Season training

2007-11-19T14:33:00.000-05:00

Today is the start of my 12 week core and indoor bike trainer workout for the off season. I will use the INTERMEDIATE 12 Week Training SYSTEM from Cyclo-Core.

Graeme Street, owner of Cyclo-Core guarantees results or I get my money back. I don't think I'll be asking for my money back because I suspect Graeme's workouts will work if I put in some consistent time. I've been using Core and Zen on and off for over a year and the workouts haven't gotten any easier. Maybe after the 12 week program I'll not only "see" results but the workouts will become bearable.

I am hoping the workouts will make me stronger on the bike, and to improve my overall strength.

I want to complete the 12 week program before the end of February so that I can begin a 12 week running training schedule for the May 18th 2008 Cleveland Rite-Aid 10K. I have unfinished business with that race.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Features added to blog

2007-11-13T08:44:00.000-05:00

I have added on the side bar under "More about me" two new links. My training log which you can get more details about my daily workouts, and I've added flickr photos which I will be adding more pictures to including my recent Grand Canyon trip.

I am trying to figure out why every morning I weigh 2 pounds less than the night before. I have heard that it is possible to have your metabolism burning fuel 24/7 and maybe that's what's happening to me by eating the right foods and exercising everyday.

For the past few weeks I have been checking my evening and morning weight and sure enough when I wake in the morning I find I'm 2 pounds less than the night before. I don't think it is just dehydration because I normally have a cup of decaffeinated green or white tea with my wife before we hit the hay.

Last night after we had our cup-a I asked my wife to weigh herself and then first thing in the morning. I was a heavy 146 (it's the off season) but in the morning I was 144. My wife had no weight change.

Whether my Basal Metabolic Rate is high, or I have good Thermic Effect of Food, or lots of planned or unplanned physical activity, something is working in me to burn about 7,000 calories during the night. It takes 3,500 calories to burn off 1 pound. Wow, how this is happening blows me away.

If anyone else experiences this phenomenon let me know.

On the trainer

2007-11-07T22:41:00.000-05:00

Last night was the first night of my off season to ride indoors on my bike trainer. I needed some kind of inspirational workout to help chase away my indoor spinning blues. So I pulled out a DVD and rode with some of the pro cycling team in the Vegas area.

We had a beautiful ride in the Valley of Fire State Park. The DVD plays good pump up music and all I had to do was follow the prompts of when to sit, stand, increase cadence or intensity.

Now I look forward to more indoor spinning and hope to find more inspirational workout DVD's

more info about this dvd and trailer

Rim to Rim

2007-10-31T10:30:00.000-04:00

I'm back from 3 days and 3 nights of backpacking the Grand Canyon from the north rim to the south rim. We had great weather and lots of fun.

For most of us this was our first trip from the north rim to the south rim and we were looking forward to seeing the canyon from another view rather than from the south. We did run into a little unknown scenery snag, though. It just so happened the park was performing prescribe burns along the top of the north rim forest and the smoke settled in the canyon. This limited our views of the canyon while we were going down on the first day. But, the smoke was lifting while we were hiking to our first camp site at Cottonwood and the skies were clear for the afternoon and evening.

But when we woke up the next morning our camp site was clouded with smoke and we could hear people coughing from smoke inhalation. I was not bothered by the smoke and just chalked it as a rainy day in the woods.

After breakfast we continued to hike to the Bright Angel campground at the bottom of the Canyon where we did not have any smoke problems. Our entertainment for the evening was listening to a Naturalist talk about bats and the importance of their survival for the benefit of mankind. The naturalist did a good job of educating us, but when she made a comment about, proving scientifically that bats do not have any interest to fly into your hair, she lost our attention. After the show we went to our campsite to enjoy a beautiful clear night with so many stars never to be seen while living in the big city.

The next day we hiked from the bottom up to Indian Gardens. After setting up camp we hiked out to Plateau Point to enjoy great views of the Colorado river snaking through the canyon. On our way back to camp we stopped at a water fall to enjoy a cool refreshing shower. That evening we played a card game called mow mow for the canyon championships. One of the players said, he never laughed so much while playing cards. We were having so much fun teasing and bantering one another in good spirits.

The final day out of the canyon was a 4.5 mile hike to the top. My plan was to march up as fast as I could. I wanted to set a precedence of making good time on hiking to the top from Indian Gardens. I made it to the top in 2 hours and 5 minutes. I was met near the top by my sister-in-law who gave me a banana and an apple. I very much appreciated seeing her and giving me those treats. I dropped my pack off at the van and ran back down about 1 and a quarter miles to meet my wife to take her pack and walk with her to the top.

The time in the canyon goes so fast because we see and do so much. It also helps to share the time with those you love.

Worldwide Half Marathon results.

2007-10-13T17:56:00.000-04:00

I ran the beautiful Canal Towpath Trail from Rockside road north to Old Harvard and a loop of the Canal Way Visitor Center Loop then back to Rockside. My brother from Arizona was in town and he was on a bike to assist me with water and encouragement.
Temperatures was around 50 degrees and the skies were cloudy. We were out on the trail by 11 in the morning.

I started the run with rocking tunes on the ipod for half the run. This was my first time running a race with tunes. I decided to give it a try and found it good to listen to but then I got to a point where I needed to finish the run on my own. I wanted to focus on breathing and staying on pace for the last few miles without loud tunes influencing me otherwise. After about 8 miles I took a CLIFF shot and washed it down with water. Because it was so cool I didn't need to drink water as much as I thought I would. I only drank maybe 12 ounces for the total run. I was able to finish the run feeling like I got in a tough workout for the day.

I'd like to thank my brother for being there with me on this race and for the neat pictures he took. Congratulations to all the other runners who completed their half marathon and to those who ran the couch to 5K run.

Here is a list of some numbers from the race.
My heart rate averaged 142 BPM.
Total time for the 13.1 miles was 1:24:57.
Total Ascent 1706
Total Descent 1751

Worldwide Half Marathon on tap.

2007-10-12T19:33:00.000-04:00

I will be running this free event to promote the joy of running and to join with over 1,000 runners world wide to run a half marathon this weekend. My training this past week was hampered by an outer ear infection that I may have gotten from too much ipod buds poking in and out of my ear. Anyway, my doctor prescribed antibiotic drops for my swelled up ear and I should be feeling good enough to run the half this Saturday.
My brother from Arizona is in town and he will assist me on his bike while I run. He'll carry the water bottles and cheer me on to help keep me on pace. Although, he said he won't make it easy for me to get the water, that I'll have to catch up to him if I want some water. Big brother's can be such a tease. We'll have fun. Good luck to anyone else running the Worldwide Half Marathon. My entry number is 866 and I'm the only one from Cleveland, Ohio.

Some running updates & things

2007-10-05T20:42:00.000-04:00

For the month of October our Cuyahoga Valley National Park will be hosting cross country trail races every Tuesday evenings with a final race on the last Friday at 9:00pm.
I ran this past Tuesday and hope to run them all. But I will have to miss the final race because I'll be backpacking the Grand Canyon then.

The race is different from what I've ever done. We had no idea what the distance was until we registered and we were given a choice to run 3, 4.5, or 6.4 miles. And we were placed on a team based on the month of our birthday. Our race bibs, with our designated team letter, was on our backs, so that we could see the competition and our team mates to cheer on.

After the last race, awards will be given to the winning teams, my guess, based on overall time and distances. I am just running for the joy of running on the trails and getting in a good tempo run.
According to my Garmin GPS watch I ran the 6.4 miles in 41:28 for a 6:28 overall pace.
Total ascent 1445 and descent 1436.

This week I've been doing more yoga and I actually realized and experienced something while doing the various poses. I started using this new yoga podcast and I found how to use my breathing to flow with the movements and how to release tension that I hold in my jaw, shoulders, and lower back while getting deeper into each pose.

The sessions only last 20 minutes and the instructor explains the poses well. Good stuff.

I'm off to coach my son's soccer game this afternoon. I am trying to teach the kids field position and to stay in their position but they tend to run all over the field. If they can learn positions then maybe we'll win a game.

Pool Workouts

2007-10-01T14:03:00.000-04:00

Below is my swim workout for today that I received from swimplan.com. I am not used to such detail swim workouts let alone try to keep all the time, distance and amounts in my head without messing up the schedule. To help me swim without too much thinking I printed the workout and tape it to my water bottle and brought the bottle to pool side so that I could follow through the repeats.

Another trick to the workout was learning how to use the pool side clock. When the workout had me leave the wall on a certain time I had to figure out how to read my times and include the rest so that I would leave the wall at the specified times. I manged to figure it out and enjoyed the longer rest if I would swim fast. If I swam slow then my rest would be less. Anyway, I had fun with this workout.

Warm up:
• 4 x 50m Freestyle Swim (even pace), rest 0:15 / 50m

Build up (repeat 4 times):
• 1 x 50m Streamline Kicking, rest 0:15 / 50m
• 1 x 50m Freestyle Push & Glide, rest 0:15 / 50m

Core:
• 2 x 200m Freestyle Swim, leave on 05:40 / 200m
• 2 x 100m Freestyle Swim, leave on 02:30 / 100m
• 2 x 200m Freestyle Swim, leave on 05:40 / 200m
• 4 x 50m Freestyle Swim, leave on 01:20 / 50m

Warm down (repeat 2 times):
• 1 x 50m Freestyle Push & Glide, rest 0:15 / 50m
• 1 x 50m Freestyle Easy, rest 0:15 / 50m

Total Swim Distance: 2000 meters
Total Swim Time: 39:40

The nice thing about this program is that I can keep this effort at my current level and increase it when I am ready. I plan on taking a time trial 5 minute swim once a month to gauge my fitness level before I increase my efforts in my swim workouts.

In transition

2007-09-20T11:21:00.000-04:00

It's that time of the year where triathlon race season comes to an end and yet all the wonderful strength and speed I obtained from training and racing can't be given up just quit yet. I am not ready to put away the swim suit or hang up the bike or put away the running shoes. I will continue to swim, bike, run, and whatever else that relates to being active before I pursue my off season training. The "in transition" phase of training will last until mid November followed by 2 weeks of total rest. I'll then start my off season training of building up a base of swimming, biking, running, and strength training.

To help me in my swim schedule during this time I am using SwimPlan.com for some structured workouts. I am hoping to ride the roads as much as I can and to ride the new mountain bike trail near my home. My wife and I are finding great hiking trails to walk and to get us in Grand Canyon shape. The trails are also looking good to run on. We walked barefoot on the Tree Farm Trail in the valley this past weekend. The trail was soft and smooth. I am planing on running the 2.75 trail barefoot this fall. I signed up for the World Wide Half Marathon which is a free run in October. Since, I plan on running about that distance on the weekends anyway I thought I might as well sign up to make my run more memorable.

Sorry for the mishap on my blog. I registered with a new and easier to remember URL.

My first mountain bike ride

2007-09-15T15:29:00.000-04:00

Hats off to CAMBA for collaborating with the Cleveland Metro Parks for building the first and only official mountain biking trail. I found this trail during the week when I was out on my road bike doing hill repeats at the Canal Way visitor center. And today I had the opportunity to check it out. This was my first time, since as a kid, that I rode my bike on dirt trails.

I started from my house and rode to the trail head which was a little over 4 miles from my house. I rode the short beginner loop and enjoyed the ease of the ride. I then took the intermediate loop with caution to get the feel of the difficult rolling terrain. After finishing the first loop I started my watch and rode the loop again to see how fast I could ride the loop. I rode with less stopping and walking the hills and fast enough to get my heart rate up. While maneuvering the switch backs and climbing I could feel my arms getting a good workout. I completed the 2+ mile loop in 15:03. The 15:03 is the bench mark for me to break the next time I come out and ride this fun trail.

I ran with Lance

2007-09-12T13:34:00.000-04:00

Today's run workout was an audio download on my ipod from Carmichael Training Systems.
My run began with a 10 minute easy jog to the local college track and then 5 by 20 second stride outs. Coach Chris Carmichael explained the workout and would direct the times of when to speed up and when to jog/walk the recoveries. During coach Carmichael and Lance Armstrong's encouragements, selected music that they chose, played in the background to keep me motivated.

The main set began with a 4 minute run at tempo pace followed by 2 minute recovery jog. The intervals increased by 2 minutes up to 12 minutes yet recovery time remained at 2 minutes. The way I monitored my pace was by keeping my heart rate at 140 beats per minute. I also had my GPS watch to monitor my pace, distance, and laps.
Cool down was an easy 10 minute jog. Total workout time was 1:03:18 for 9.5 miles at a 6:40 pace.

This was a novel run with an ipod coach and soundtrack. I had fun with it and would do it again.

If you want to do the tempo interval workout click on this link to register and download the 2 free workouts.

Next week I'll run with Lance to do the speed workout.

Triathlon Season Finale

2007-09-08T19:13:00.000-04:00

The Findlay Lake Sprint triathlon was my final race for the 2007 season. I think it was the most fun I had in doing a triathlon this year. The morning started out with thunderstorms and heavy downpours at times which lasted until 6:45 am. At that time the clouds cleared and we even saw the sun peak through before 8:00 am.

The lake was warm and calm. We started the swim on the other side of the yellow line and we swam to the yellow buoys on our right until we got to the orange buoy where we turned back to swim to shore. The weird thing about the man made lake was when you first got in you felt like you were sinking in some black miry quick sand. This black sooty stuff floated up your legs and turned the area all black. I just made sure not to swallow any water. After we swam out for about 20 feet the water was normal. I felt strong during the swim and I finished the 1/4 miles in 9:38.

As you can see from the photo, by not have much equipment to mess with in transitions both my T1 and T2's were fast. My T1 was 36 seconds. My last post about transitions helped me to focus on keeping it simple in my transitions. I racked my bike on the last rack near the bike exit. This way I didn't have to run far with my bike.
With all the rain we had the roads were wet. I was very careful to take all corners SLOW. We also had 4 rail road crossings and 1 train that I almost got caught by and two gravel patchy areas we had to ride on. I met people that flatted and slid off their bikes due to the conditions but I managed to have fun and push the pace to finish 14.6 miles in 40:56 averaging around 21 miles per hour. My T2 time was a blazing 13 seconds. Ha, Beat that.

The run was a beautiful wet and muddy undulating trail. I loved running fast on muddy trails slipping and almost falling all over the place. I finished the trail run in 20:58 with an overall time of 1:12:55 and placing 6th out of 111 and 1st in the 45-49 age group. See race results link.

Bacpacking Tracy Ridge

2007-09-04T20:15:00.001-04:00

Labor Day weekend my wife and I took my son, grandson and his cousin backpacking in the Allegheny's on a 9 mile hike of the Tracy Ridge Trail. We arrived at the trail head around 2:30 in the afternoon on Sunday and began hiking around 2:45. The hike was an easy down hill and we made it to our camp site around 4:30 pm. We had plenty of time for the boys to set up the tents, play in the reservoir, and gather wood for a nice camp fire.

On Monday we had to hike 6 miles back to the car. We took our time and let the boys set the pace. The trail would lead us back down to the reservoir after about 3 miles walking and it was the perfect time for the boys to take the plunge and get refreshed. The challenge was still ahead of us because we had to hike 3 miles back up the trail to our car. The boys led the pace and we took plenty of stops along the way.

I really was impressed with the boys because this was a physical challenge that they have never done before and they enjoyed it. The closest thing to complaining was when they would ask how much time it would take us to the next trail marker.

After a great time we had backpacking the boys got to eat a big meal from the only half way decent restaurant we found in Warren PA called Perkins. These 9 year old boys had steak, buffalo chicken wraps, quesadilla's and other treats. They got in the car well feed and for most of the 4 hour ride home they slept like a log.

We plan on coming back maybe in the fall to hike more of this trail.

Triathlon Transition Movie

2007-09-04T19:45:00.000-04:00

Follow this link to download a great movie clip on a through study of improving your transition times. It is from the author of Tri-Talk Podcast shows.

Training has been going at a relaxed pace. Our rec center at the university is open for guest to come in for free during the first 2 weeks of the start of the semester to try it out. I have been taking advantage of the spin classes, beginner and intermediate yoga classes, power abs class, and all the fancy weight machines. I thought I'd be the only male in the yoga class but found there to be a good mix of male and females taking the class. I was the only male in the power abs class but I didn't mind because those women sure know how to work those abs. Mine were sore the next day. I noticed the power sculpt class had only women in it but they looked like they were having fun with the stepper and weights. If my schedule works out this week I'll take the class and be the only guy in there.

We went backpacking over the Labor Day weekend and I will write and include pictures about our trip in a day or so.

Have some fun.

2007-08-26T18:26:00.000-04:00

I celebrated this past week from my half ironman race by not doing any running or biking. I did get in a little 1500 meter swim in though. I am at a point in my training and racing where I've accomplished what I wanted and now I can "play" with no set schedule.

I am going to try and have some fun by mixing my workouts as much as possible like short sessions of run, bike, stepper, bike, or spin class, run, swim. The point will be not to do too many long sessions of an individual sport.

This coming fall season we are planning on backpacking in the Alleghenies and the Grand Canyon where we will hike from the north rim to the south rim. If I have any training schedule it will be to walk and hike with my wife as much as we can. I need to help her get in shape for our Grand Canyon trip at the end of October.

Any other racing for this year that looks good I'll be ready to do on the spur of the moment.

The year 2008 will be my recovery year where I will build my endurance base of swimming, biking, and running and will race at the Olympic distance triathlons before I attempt another half ironman in 2009.

I'd like to thank everyone for their kind words of compliments sent to me on finishing my first half ironman.

The Great Buckeye Half Ironman.

2007-08-20T10:42:00.000-04:00

I am happy to say I've completed my first half ironman race this past weekend.

The race was held at Caesar Creek State Park about a 3 hour drive from my home. I drove down Saturday afternoon listening to the new Harry Potter book on tape, and not knowing where I would spend the night. I first stopped at the race expo to pick up my race packet and then I drove the bike course in my car. I had a good idea of the terrain because I biked part of the course back in July but this time I was able to follow the freshly marked 28 mile loop course.

I then drove to the nearest Holiday Inn and inquired about a room but when I heard 98 dollars I said, "no thank you" and walked next door to Max & Erma's for a Tuscan Chicken pasta dinner. I enjoyed the meal and then drove across the street to a Budget Inn and got a room for 48 dollars. I think I was the only one from the race that stayed there because I didn't see any other triathletes around. I spent the evening cleaning my bike and oiling the chain. By 7 PM I was snuggled in bed reading Fantastic Voyage for about an hour before my eyes got too heavy to keep open.

For race morning I woke up at 5am to overcast clouds and comfortable temperatures. I ate a banana, a Cliff Bar, and drank a sports bottle of HEED.

The swim consisted of 2 loops in a rectangle formation. I wore my wet suit and enjoyed that little extra buoyancy which I think helped my swim time. I swam steady with some efforts while getting out of the way of some people that were swimming too close to me. I have to say I had a good 1.2 mile swim.

The bike portion was my favorite. We had overcast clouds most of the time. The course was rolling. I found myself passing all kinds of people but no one in my age group. I couldn't have finished the swim ahead of every one in my wave and I knew for sure I wasn't the last one out of the water. It turned out 3 guys did get ahead of me on the bike and the rest were behind. I rode with my bike computer displaying my average speed. My goal pace was to average 20 miles per hour which I was comfortable doing and managed to finish with an average 20.1 mph for 56 miles.

My first 2 miles of the 13.1 mile run I averaged a 6:40 pace and realized after 3 miles I was pushing the pace too hard. The sun was out and I was getting hot. I think around 4 miles my legs felt heavy and stiff as a board which reduced me to lots of walking. I was wondering if I depleted my electrolytes and by mile 6 I took a electrolyte pill and wondered if and when it would ever kick in. By mile 10 my legs felt revived and I was able to run strong the last 3 miles without any walking.

Even though this was my first half ironman triathlon I was happy to complete it in 5:07:06 I know what to expect in the run and I'll remember to take some electrolytes and to not push the pace early in the run.

A link to the race results.

What it takes.

2007-08-13T07:08:00.001-04:00

For me to prepare to race this coming weekend in my first Half Ironman Challenge took:

A heart's desire and a life of passion.

18 weeks of: 31 hours of Swimming, 79.5 hours of Biking, and 106 hours of Running.

And many hours of Strength Training, Walking, Hiking, and Yoga.

Confidence in my training schedule and believe that I have trained enough to perform well.

Confidence in my nutrition plan for race day.

Mental exercises of simulating each event of the triathlon race.

And if something unexpected happens I'll deal with it to the best of my abilities while remaining level headed.

I believe this is what it'll take for me to have fun swimming 1.2 miles, biking 56 miles, and running 13.1 miles.

Pacing for the Burning River 100

2007-08-06T14:10:00.000-04:00

I had the honor and privilege to have run as a pacer in the Burning River 100 mile foot race this past weekend. I had no idea how much I would run of the 100 mile race. But I was to show up at the 65.7 mile aid station and just run however far I wanted to. When my runner (Dustin) came to the aid station around 9:20pm I was there and ready to run with him.

The race began 5:00am in the morning and Dustin wasn't sure how he would hold up for this run because he ran the Mohican 100 about 7 weeks before this race. He said his legs still didn't feel quite recovered from that race so he was going to run 50 miles and see how the legs felt.

I have to say when he came into the 65.7 mile aid station he looked strong. Compared to some of the other runners coming into the area he did not limp or have any noticeable pain. I was glad for him and told him that I would run with him all the way to the end.

I was so excited to be part of this race and to help pace him. I think the first 10 miles flew by and while we chatted up a storm we passed at least 10 people. When I started with him I think he was around 45th place overall. Every time we caught a runner we would say hello and encourage them to continue on strong. We were having fun.

The race course was mostly on hiking trails all through the Cuyahoga Valley. There were many miles of trails we ran on that I've never been on. Even though it was dark, while we ran into the wee hours of the night, I enjoyed the beautiful scenery. We each had head lamps on and carried flash lights so the trail was well lit enough to keep us from tripping over roots or rocks.

The volunteer support was the best. As we came to an aid station they would ask us if we needed anything, fill our water bottles, and then show us the great food they had for us to eat. They would speak encouraging words to us and wished us the best to complete the run.

Some of the things I learned from this magnitude of long running was that a runner benefits by having someone to pace with and that he needs to have a support crew. I'm sure many runners go without these but running 100 miles with a pacer and a crew makes for a more pleasant experience.

I would run behind Dustin for most of the time but I would also go up front at times leading him up some hills. I did not want to push him too much from behind or from the front because I did not want to burn him out either.

His wife was the support crew and I would communicate with her via cell phone letting her know our condition and whether we needed anything at an aid station that she would be waiting for us at. At one point after 80 some miles we were running with our bellies full and our legs moving fine we told her not to meet us at the 91.3 mile aid station but to get some rest and meet us at the finish line. I told her to get the camera ready and to take some good pictures of us sprinting to the finish with big smiles. We finished before 7:30am.

Congratulations Dustin on your 26:22:20 finish time! I am in awe of all those runners who completed the 100 mile race. This was a monumental task for me to run all through the night and to cover 35 miles with you. I will treasure the experience of running with you forever.

Let's get ready to rumble.

2007-08-04T14:52:00.000-04:00

Now I can start my 2 week taper for the Great Buckeye Challenge Half Ironman.

I've been through 16 weeks of hard training and now I'm ready to take the challenge of my first Half Ironman race.

Today's 50 mile (2:55:49) bike ride was in the Cuyahoga Valley National Parkway. I felt quite comfortable for the ride and for the last 15 miles I was able to push the pace to average 20 miles per hour. I had no gels but only 2 water bottles filled with Hammer Heed in 1 and Hammer Perpetuem (with 1 added scoop of organic soybean powder) in the other. During the ride I had no sense or feeling of thirst or hunger. At least for today that was all the food I needed for the ride because I felt good.

Today's picture perfect moment of the ride was when I noticed in an open field sun rays shining down on an angle with the morning dew rising over some old farm equipment. I wish I had a camera to capture that moment.

Another highlight of the ride was when I passed the lead runner of the inaugural Burning River 100 mile foot race. I applauded and encouraged him and continued on my ride. It was a cool feeling to see the lead runner. He look quite strong and relaxed.

I was looking forward to seeing more ultra marathoners later in the day because I would be pacing a friend for the run. I originally signed up to volunteer to help man the 91.3 mile aid station but found that they had enough help and was encourage by the aid station coordinator to just go and help pace with my friend. My friend (Dustin) wanted me to meet him at the 65 mile aid station and to hopefully, run to the finish, depending on how I feel. His wife would be his support crew and would call me when he was about an hour from the aid station so that I would have plenty of time to make the check in and be ready to run with Dustin.

I'll report on the run in a day or two.

The Sweet Corn Chellenge

2007-07-29T20:46:00.000-04:00

Today's bike ride I did with about 2,000 other riders where we participated in the Sweet Corn Challenge in Richfield, Ohio. The bike route meandered in and out of the beautiful Cuyahoga Valley.

I signed up for the 50 mile route. The highlight of the ride was the 3 optional challenging hills. I decided before the ride that I would do all three. The first 2 were early in the ride and only a few people riding near me took the challenge. The last challenge was near the 40 mile point and I noticed no one came with me to take the hill. After climbing up the hill I realized why. It was the toughest and made the ride to extend an additional 6.5 miles. All I could say while climbing up the hill was, "this is for the half ironman race on August 19th". I enjoy those little extra efforts put forth in training to help boost my confidence needed for race day.

I used my GPS to record my ride.
My max downhill speed was 42 mph.
Total Ascent 4,757 and Total Descent 4,815.
Total ride time 3:24:34 for 56.5 miles

Huntington Sprint Triathlon

2007-07-22T12:27:00.000-04:00

This short and fast race was not my A race but I did manage to push myself enough to win my age group division and place 15th overall.

At the start of the swim I spotted my age group competitor and tried to stick with him for the swim but that only lasted about 20 yards. It was kind of hard to concentrate on my swim while trying to follow another swimmer. I decided to just do my swim and to give it my best effort. When I finally could touch the bottom of the lake with my hand, I stood up and began to run out of the lake and found that, "my friend" was right in front of me about 10 yards. I followed him into transition and together we were out on our bikes but he took advantage of the early down hill and put a good lead on me. I was able to keep him in view for about 3 to 4 miles but he kept putting distance on me. He made it back a little over 1 minute into transition. But then came the run...

I don't think he knew I was stalking him the whole race but I wasn't about to let him get away from me on the run. I was a man on a mission. I think I caught up to him about a mile into the run. I told him he was doing great and I ran past him. He didn't put up a fight.

At the finish area I made it a point to introduce myself to "my friend" and to congratulate him on a well run race. Nice to meet you, John. I'm sure we'll have more fun out there on another race course.

Follow this link to see the exciting finish between my 15th place and my friends' close 16th place race results.

For the cool down I ran the 3 mile course at an easy pace. I had fun chatting and encouraging the other runners to finish strong.

I have 2 weeks left of speed and focused quality workouts, and then it's 2 weeks of tapering for my first half ironman race. That'll be my A race.

Fun in the sun.

2007-07-10T21:10:00.000-04:00

We had a wonderful time with the family during our stay at the Deer Creek State Park resort. There was on average 30 of us together every day for the week. And to quote my youngest son, "I loved every minute with our family at Deer Creek".

Not only was it a perfect week of fun in the sun but the training for my half ironman was the perfect getaway place to train.

Grandma enjoying her 5 generation heritage.

My in-laws with the grand kids, including my 4 kids.

Biking on the country roads.

Swimming in Deer Creek Lake.

Saddled up to ride off into the sunset.

I now am in my final 6 weeks of training for the half ironman triathlon which is 4 weeks of speed/quality phase and then 2 weeks of taper. The schedule is not a very heavy load but it sure feels like it at the home front. My wife expresses with emotion that she is not happy with all "my time" of training and that it is all about ME. Boy, do I have to be careful when choosing the right time to take off for a 2 to 3 hour workout. I am including the family to bike along while I run my long runs, and we all have a great time.
The next 4 weeks look like I'll be swimming about 1000 meters and running 12 miles on Saturdays. On Sundays I need to bike 50 miles then go for a 20 to 30 minute run. If I can survive these next 4 weeks I'll be ready for that half ironman.

Help! I can't swim!

2007-06-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

It's lunch time and I'm in the pool doing my laps and feeling fast and strong. I think my swimming has improved in the last 4 to 5 weeks, probably because of the added mileage I've been putting in the pool, that is, until the life guard waves me over to the first lane so that he could tell me something about my swimming style.

He tells me that when I lift my head to breathe the rest of my body does a fish tailing dance. He also points out that my right hand crosses over the center of my body and as a result I don't get a good catch of the water. He tells me between the fish tailing and improper catch I waste too much energy.

He tries to show me what to do and I think I understand what he's trying to show me but when I put it into practice I still feel like I'm fish tailing and don't quite have the proper catch.

I found on active.com where it states: "Crossover: When your hand enters the water at the beginning of each stroke, you must ensure it doesn't cross your body's imaginary mid-line running from head to toe. Crossing over puts a tremendous amount of strain on the shoulder joint and makes your body fishtail or swing from side to side, increasing drag.
Prescription: Single-arm and catch-up drills. Exaggerate the width of your entry point. At first it may feel as though you are entering far too wide, but this is simply because relative to where you were entering, it feels wide. Video analysis is usually necessary to monitor progress.

Now I need to figure out how to do the single-arm and catch-up drills.

I've got to find a swim coach to help fix my problems.

Next week I take the family to Deer Creek State Park for a week long family reunion. I'll not only enjoy time with the family but I get to enjoy swimming in a big lake, biking country roads, and running around the park.
Everyone enjoy time with your family & friends during this 4th of July.
Life is good!

Gadgets

2007-06-23T15:28:00.000-04:00

Where have you been my sweet-hearts? I didn't realize what I've been missing until I recently found you. I have turned into a podcast junkie after having you on my runs. I can finally get caught up listening to my back logs of Phedippidations, Tri-Talk Triathlon, and Zen and the Art of Triathlon and other pod cast shows. You've made my runs more enjoyable.

And you my new Garmin Forerunner 205 how I enjoy going out on a run with no planned course but free to run anywhere I like and you will keep track of my pace, distance, and mileage. You have a boat load of other information for me to use but I'll need to learn how to utilize all the features you offer. You guys are more than welcomed to keep pace with me on my runs.

My sandals wore out and it was time for me to replace them but rather than buy new sandals I spotted these "babies" at the LL Bean store while visiting in Maine. I tried on several sizes including the velcro style and decided to buy these. I have been eyeing these vibram five fingers for about a year but didn't want to buy them online without trying them on first. I'm glad I waited. I've worn them while hiking in the woods, around the neighborhood, and even on a 2 mile run. I was surprised after running on asphalt my feet felt quite comfortable. I could see myself using these more for my short runs and even do some speed work on the track with them.

Maumee Bay Tri

2007-06-17T19:54:00.000-04:00

What a beautiful day to do a triathlon. Today was my first triathlon race for this summer season. I raced the Maumee Bay Triathlon international distance which was a 1500 meter swim, 40K bike, and a 10K run.

The swim was in a man made lake with water temperatures warm enough for me to swim in with no wet suit. We swam 2 loops in a calm lake. It was a typical swim with slapping and bumping into each other but I managed to enjoy a steady hard pace with no problems. My swim time was 32:18. Now I need to work on breaking 30 minutes for a 1500 meter swim. It may take a year before that happens but I plan to work on it.

T1 was about throwing my swim cap and goggles into my bag, slip on a jersey with race number already pined to it, put on sun glasses, helmet, un-rack bike and run with bike. My shoes were already clipped onto the pedals. T1 time 56 seconds.

The bike ride was on country roads with no hills to climb or go down. We did have some tail winds to push me at plus 22 miles per hour average but the head winds held me at 18 miles per hour average. Bike time 1:12:02.

Before T2 I slipped my feet out from my shoes and rode with them on top of the shoes for about 200 yards to the dismount line. I hopped off and ran with my bike to the racking area and racked my bike, threw my helmet into my bag, slipped on running shoes and I began to run the 10K. T2 time 49 seconds.

The run was a flat out and back course with very little shade to cover us from the brutal, blazing sun which was wearing down the runners. I was able to average a 6:30 per mile pace but felt the heat sap my strength and energy the last 2 miles. My fluid and gel intake I felt was adequate until I came to the last drink station and was disappointed that they had no water but only Exceed. I decided against drinking Exceed but later realized I should have taken at least a sip to help me mentally make it through the last mile to the finish. Run time was 41:44.

My goal with this race was to race hard and to have fun starting my triathlon season. I was hoping to finish in under 2:30:00 and managed to finish with a time of 2:27:49. I was very please with the how the race organizers put on a top quality race and would like to thank them and all the volunteers for a great season opener for me.

Miss a turn and lose a race.

2007-06-14T14:10:00.000-04:00

Today I ran a 5 mile race representing my son on his Naval base. The race had about 30 runners toe the line. I met some of the officers who pointed out the guy that has been winning all the races on base this year.

My only concern was not to get lost while running the race. My plan was to run with the current champion and not to get lost.

At the start of the race the race director told us that there would be blue flag posts at every corner to help direct our run. I was comforted to hear there were some markers on the course and took off running in the lead from the start. Everything was going well until after the turnaround. I hit the 2.52 mile turnaround in 14:47. I drank some water and headed back the way I came. Running back I passed the 2nd place guy who was maybe a minute behind.

At the 3 mile marker I noticed my new Garmin 205 was stopped. I apparently hit the stop button at the turnaround instead of the lap button.

I continued to push the pace knowing that I'd be done in less than 12 minutes. I like to think of how much time I have left rather than distance. I can think of suffering through a certain amount of time much easier than toughing it out through mile after mile.

Following the blue markers along the run course was easy enough except when it came for the last turn to the finish. I missed the turn and continued on before my son pulled up next to me in his car and told me which way I needed to go. I ran an additional .8 of a mile and came in 3rd overall with a time of 33:30.

As you can guess I was mad for missing the turn and not breaking the winning tape. Oh well, everyone else knew I won or would have won the race.

After more runners came in the finishing area I met more Navy officers and I had an appreciation of meeting and running with our service men serving our country.

On our way home we drove back to the point of where I missed the turn and saw the reason why I missed the turn. The blue flag marker was maybe 50 feet from the corner behind a utility box and close to a telephone pole.

I normally have time for a warm up run before a race and I would jog the last finishing miles to familiarize myself of what the finish line looks like and to visualize me crossing the finish line in style. My mistake for not warming up. I'll learn from this one.

Last fling in Maine

2007-06-12T10:02:00.000-04:00

We are spending this week up in Maine to visit my son and his wife. This will most likely be our last trip to Maine because my son is getting new orders from the Navy for him to move to New Orleans.
During our time up here we will take a trip to the White Mountains in New Hampshire for some hiking and site seeing.

I will also run a 5 mile race to represent my son's squadron on the Navy base.

Here we are climbing one of the trails in the White mountains. Beautiful scenery! If I ever come back here it would be to run the annual foot race or the bike race they have going up Mount Washington.

My little backpack. He thought it would be good training to hike up the mountain with a 54 pound sack on my back. I wasn't smiling too much so I dropped the sack in no time.

No biking this week. The only run I'll do is the race on Thursday. I did manage to swim 2000 yards at the YMCA. I'm hoping to swim again early Thursday morning before the 5 mile race.

I'll be back in Ohio to start my summer season of triathlons for this weekend's triathlon in Toledo, Ohio.

Training updates

2007-06-04T07:35:00.000-04:00

I'm in my 8th of 18 week training for the Buckeye Challenge Half Ironman. There are 4 more weeks left of base training to build up strength and endurance. During this build up phase I am focusing on not missing any of the bike rides. And up to now I have been able to keep on track by not missing any of the long rides. Although, finding the time and place to ride becomes a challenge. I have to be creative with my time and route.

I ran 20 miles this past Sunday to begin the counterpulsation tests for this week. This is part two of a test that began at the end of March. At that time I was training for the Boston marathon and had run my last 20 miler before tapering for Boston. Results from that test showed that after the 20 mile run and under normal recovery my blood levels went back to normal after 5 days. This time I ran 20 miles, only 2 minutes slower (2:26:14), and I felt little discomfort or soreness. The blood test after 2 days so far indicate a faster recovery compared to the previous test. The faster recovery is what the lab techs were expecting, due to the counterpulsation test.

The counterpulsation consists of laying flat on your back with these cuffs wrapped around each leg completely and air is force into the cuffs to compress the legs so that the blood is forced back up into the heart during the resting phase of the heart beat. The lab techs monitor the blood pressure to make sure the lower number of my blood pressure does not exceed 1.4 times higher than the upper number of my blood pressure. For example if my blood pressure is 114/80 then when the machine is pumping air, in rhythm of my heart beat, the blood pressure may read 114/114. Anyway by using this method it is supposed that muscle recovery is enhanced by 2 to 3 days. The only discomfort I have is when the cuffs compress my legs it feels like someone is constantly punching them all over. I have to lay for 1 hour for 5 days. Three more days of speedy recovery. Oh, boy!

If I had to pay for this speedy recovery I'd say no thank you. But rather they are paying me $500.00 for this fancy test. I'm a triathlete so I put up with the little discomfort and enjoy the cash.

With the $500.00 I will buy a Garmin Forerunner 205 Wrist-Mounted GPS Navigator and Personal Training Device, and a weekend backpack for my lovely wife.

I will post more test results and numbers when I complete the test.

10K+ photo finish

2007-05-30T21:32:00.000-04:00

From the photo, guess which one is running at a sub 6 minute mile pace to the finish line at the Cleveland Rite Aid (suppose to be 10K) race. Two guys are finishing at an 8 minute mile pace.

The problem was that I was with a group of lead runners and was directed off course early in the race and did not get back on the correct course until the 5 mile mark. I was then blowing by all kinds of runners who were trying to finish in 48 minutes for 6.2 miles. My finish time was also 48 minutes but I had to run an additional 2.7 miles.

The race directors are doing their best to resolve the error and will let us know what they will do about it on June 6th.

Here is an update from an email I received today from the Cleveland Rite Aid race director.

Dear 10K runner, We now have sent either an email or letter to every registered 10K runner asking anyone who ran off course to let us know, and emails and phone calls continue to trickle into our office. At this time we have had 78 runners contact us. To bring this to a conclusion, we are setting a deadline of June 6 for any runner who went off course to contact us.
We have spoken to USATF as well as several marathon race directors about the mishap, and we've received plenty of advice from them as well as our runners. Shortly after the June 6 deadline, we will notify you of our decisions regarding this year's race as well as changes planned for next year. Our goal is to minimize the likelihood that this can happen again. "Minimize" is key, because we have learned that Cleveland was not the first race where groups of runners went off course. We just want to make sure it doesn't happen again in Cleveland.
Thank you for your patience. For those of you who offered advice, know that we are listening. We will contact you again shortly after June 6.
Sincerely, Ralph A Staph Race Director

Backpacking Minister Creek Hiking Trail

2007-05-27T18:00:00.000-04:00

My wife and I were driving to Allegheny National Forest this past weekend, with three 9 year old boys in the car, and when they were acting like silly little crazy boys, we looked at each other and asked, 'and why are we doing this'? We were taking them on their first backpacking experience for the weekend. If we had our druthers we would have been doing our own little weekend getaway trip, but this time was for us to have fun with the boys.

We chose to backpack the Minister Creek Hiking Trail which is considered a family friendly hiking trial. The trail is a 7.3 mile loop. We hiked about 2 hours on Saturday from the trail head to our camp site.

I let the boys lead the pace and if they wanted to stop and pick up hiking sticks, pick up a newt, climb huge tree roots that were growing on the side of a cliff, or jump in the creek it was all up to them and about having fun. I also wanted to teach them some backpacking skills. The first skill I wanted to show them was how to use a water purifier to pump out water from the creek. The only problem was I forgot to bring the filter cartridge. oops. The lesson learned was you almost always forget something on a backpacking trip. We had enough water for Saturday and for Sunday's breakfast but then we had to divided the remaining water among us for the hike out on Sunday. We only had about 4 ounces each with about 3 hours left to hike. I knew we would have to do something to survive the hike. Another lesson I taught them was to be friendly with other hikers especially if you notice a family out backpacking. We did find a father and his son at a camp site and we began to talk with them. We mentioned our water dilemma to them and they were more than willing to let us use their water pump so that we could fill up our water bottles. We were all elated that we had water to enjoy from the mountain stream. And the boys got to see how to purify water from the stream.

We were able to finish the hike with plenty of water and time to enjoy the scenery and the boys got one last time to jump in the stream to cool off and have some fun.

Letter from Race Director.

2007-05-23T10:03:00.000-04:00

I received this email this morning from the race director.

Thank you very much for responding to our email. Let us tell you what we know so far, and what we are doing.
We have heard from about 65 runners who went off course, and many have different reasons for taking a wrong turn. We know that elite runners were led off course by the lead vehicle, and it looks like it snowballed from there. Those in sight of the elite runners followed, and then well-meaning bystanders, volunteers and police misdirected others. We learned of the problem from a race official as it happened, and we were able to get it corrected as quickly as possible. This is no excuse, and we sincerely apologize.
We are talking to USATF, the governing body of road racing, to help us determine the correct course of action. This may take a few days, so please be patient with us. We will do what is right, and we will make whatever changes are necessary to ensure that this never happens again. Under consideration already are a course change and greater separation in the start time between the marathon and 10K.
We appreciate your comments - even the harshest and most critical. We are listening, and we will make changes to make our race better for you, our runners. Many of the people who put this race together are runners, too, so please know that we feel your pain and we care.
Again, thank for responding and sharing your experience with us. We will be back in touch with you as soon as we have a decision about the best course of action we can take.
Sincerely,
Ralph A Staph Race Director

I'll post any new information I get from the race director as soon I get them.

I guess the Marathon director is receiving all kinds of complaints from not only the 10K runners but also the marathoners as well. Runners were directed to run on the sidewalks after 5 hours on the course and after 6 hours aid stations were gone, police support gone, and race cones gone but according to race information, quote "Official times of the 26.2-mile competitive foot race are maintained for 8 hours". People will be calling this 30th anniversary of the Cleveland Rite Aid Marathon & 10K race as the "marathon mistake on the lake" for sure.

Cleveland "not a" 10K Race report.

2007-05-20T12:13:00.000-04:00

I have a reoccurring nightmare where I am running effortlessly with my feet hovering off the ground and I'm passing all kinds of people, but the only problem is that I don't know where I am running. I am lost. I would always wake up from my dream race experience extremely agitated and frustrated. My dream or rather my nightmare came true today.
This morning at the Cleveland Rite Aid 10k, for some unknown reason, the lead vehicle led us astray. The runners all followed the vehicle the WRONG way and some were exchanging expletives unsure of what to do anyway. I figured if we are all being led down into the flats, then no big deal, we'll all run the same distance and get our respective times at the finish. I thought lets make the best of it and continue to the finish. The 2 mile marker was the last one we saw until we were directed back onto the original course at the five mile maker.
Between the 2 and 5 mile maker we had, no crowd support, no aid stations, and no police support. And we managed to run probably an additional 2 + miles. Sometime during the race the officials realized the error and made the correction and had the rest of the runners diverted back onto the correct course. But the damage was done and some of the runners were so mad that they didn't finish. My focus was to continue to run tough and stay with one of the lead Kenyan women (Leah Kiprono) who was running a sub 6 minute mile pace. But while I was chasing her, people driving in their cars were beeping and yelling at us to get off the road. They were probably wondering why this old white man was chasing a young pretty black girl. I wasn't going to hurt her. really. She was my inspiration to the finish. Her stride was poetry in motion. I thanked her and shook her hand at the finish for a run well done. I did manage to finish ahead of Leah by 17 seconds. I was happy.
I emailed the race director to let him know how upset I was and requested a refund. We'll see what they say.
If anyone ran the misdirected 10K run and was wearing a GPS and knows the correct distance please let me know. I think my next watch will be a Garmin 205. Anyone have one on sale?

What's your style?

2007-05-11T11:43:00.000-04:00

We all have our own unique style of running. Some runners glide effortlessly across the ground as poetry in motion and others move in a suffering waddling way. Over the years of running I am amused that I can spot someone running in my direction, who may be several hundred yards away, by their particular movements as a male or female, a friend, or someone else I recognize.

I have heard of different methods of running by using the Pose or ChiRunning methods. I have tried some of the techniques they teach but eventually I revert back to my particular way of running where I feel comfortable with. Maybe if there were some mechanical issues with my legs and I incurred injuries regularly then I would have to learn some new form of running. But thankfully, I have been injury free for the past 21 years and I think I can run fast so there is no need for me to change my running style. Though, I do enjoy reading and learning about things I can do to improve my running I sometimes give them a try. I realize there is always room for improvement when it comes to running. Knowledge and experience come to a runner over the years of training and racing which is why we keep running.

If I did change my running form then you might not recognize me when we cross each other on the trails. I want you to remember me by my style. See you out on the roads.

Vo2 Max & Fitness test

2007-05-04T18:45:00.000-04:00

A definition of cardiovascular fitness can be explained as the ability of the heart, lungs and circulatory system to supply oxygen and nutrients to working muscles efficiently, and allows activities that involve large muscle groups (walking, running, swimming, biking, etc.) to be performed over long periods of time. From a health standpoint, cardiovascular or aerobic fitness is generally considered to be the most important of the fitness components.

I had the opportunity to get a fitness test and my maximum oxygen consumption (Max VO2) measured last Friday at the Human Performance lab here at CSU. A fitness test along with a Max VO2 test is part of the fitness for life class that students take at the end of the semester.
My fitness test results included the measurements of:
**Blood Chemistry's - Total Cholesterol -203 mg/dl, HDL - 65 mg/dl, LDL - 120 mg/dl, Triglycerides - 86 mg/dl, and Glucose - 95mg/dl,
**Muscular Strength Assessment - Grip (L) 53 kg, and Grip (R) 49 kg
**Flexibility Assessment - Sit & Reach - 9.3 in
**Body Composition - Body weight 144lbs, Lean Body Mass 134.5 lbs, Fat Mass 9.5 lbs, Basal Metabolic Rate 1915, Body fat percentage 6.6%.
My Body Age is 39 compared to my chronological age of 47. I finally caught up with my father who still claims to be 39. Now I can say, 'I'm turdee-nine too (said with a Hungarian accent).

The Max VO2 test was performed on a treadmill. I started with a warm-up run at a 7:30 pace for 10 minutes and the incline set to zero. After the warm-up a head piece with a mouth piece connected to hoses and a nose clip were put on and I was hooked up to the machine to begin the test. The test began with me running at the 7:30 pace and the incline increased to 3 percent every 3 minutes. I hit my max of 60.8 ml/kg-min ten minutes into the test and the incline was set to 9 percent. At eleven minutes the effort began to wane and my VO2 went down to 58.6 which meant I wouldn't get any better than 60.8 and the test was completed. I think I might have done better if the nose clip didn't keep flying off my sweaty nose and the head piece would have stayed on better. I was a bit distracted with those issues and lost my concentration to push it a little harder. Overall I was please with the results which indicated my cardiovascular fitness to be in the 99th percentile and the Elite classification.

I have been in the program for the past 6 years and have been tested every year. I find it interesting to review the results and compare it with pervious years.

Weekend get away.

2007-04-30T13:44:00.000-04:00

Friday evening, I took the family, including the grand kids, out for a weekend getaway at a church retreat home to enjoy some rest and relaxation. We stayed in a log cabin home with 6 other couples. The home is located in a rural area of Ashland, Ohio.

Saturday I got up early, but not early enough to watch the sunrise, to run 8 miles. I had mapped out an 8 mile loop on country roads. The skies were overcast and the temps were around 50 degrees. The route was fairly flat and the only encounters I had that morning was 1 car, 1 horse & buggy, and 1 loose dog to chase me. I love running, or riding, on country roads and not have a car or dog scare me off the road. A dog, I can yell at to, 'go home', but a car is too big for me to mess with.

Sunday afternoon the weather was beautiful with lots of sunshine which was perfect for a bike ride. I was able to get out and ride an easy 30 miles.

I'm enjoying the easy pace and efforts of running and biking during the build up phase of my half irnoman training. Most of my training efforts is in the 110-120 bpm heart rate range which comes out to be about 17mph on the bike and 7:45 per mile on the run.

This Friday I will participate in a Maximal Oxygen Consumption Test (VO2max) and will get some real data to help determine my correct levels of heart rate for running easy or hard.

Wasting no time.

2007-04-22T09:20:00.000-04:00

I'd like to thank my family, friends, and including those I've never physically met here in blogger land, for all your encouraging words sent to me for running the Boston Marathon. I am motivated to train and race well, in part, because of all your kind words.

To recover from the Monday marathon on Tuesday I walked 30 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the afternoon. Wednesday was a day of rest. On Thursday I swam for an easy 1000 meters. The soreness in my legs lasted for a good 3 days and by Friday I felt no pain walking up or down the stairs. Friday was another day of total rest.

On Saturday I ran an easy 5 miles with my son along side me on his scooter. He thanked me more than once for the good time we had enjoying the park scenery while chit-chatting.

On Sunday I rode my bike outside, for the second time this year, for a nice 24 mile ride.

This week I start an 18 week training program for a Half Ironman triathlon. I will use the tri-newbies program to help keep me focused and on track for the August 19th event.

The first 12 weeks is a base build up of mileage. Weeks 13-16 consists of speed/quality workouts followed by weeks 17 and 18 to taper. If I can keep most of this schedule I should be confident and happy to compete in my first Half Ironman Triathlon.

The excitement in Boston.

2007-04-17T10:06:00.000-04:00

Weather forecasters called it, "Nasty in New England", or "Monsoon Monday", to describe the kind of day it was in the Boston area. Needless to say, the weather conditions did not favor the marathon runners. I did not want the talk of the crummy weather from the dramatized weather reports, and even from fellow runners to scare me or deter my plans of running well. Running well was what I trained for. As someone once quoted, "I bring the weather with me", and that was my motto for the weekend.

...This sculpture is a dedication to the spirit of everyone young at heart.

The crazy weather didn't hamper my fun or excitement of running the world renowned marathon. There was 20-30 mile per hour wind gusts, and downpours during the run. I remember having to tuck in behind runners when the winds would try to push us backward. And the rains were on and off in the early miles of the run. It didn't matter what the weather was doing, it was the crowds along the course who were cheering for the runners that made for all the fun of running the marathon.

The Wellesley girls got high fives from me but my family got hugs and kisses from me.

The most excitement came from the college girls of Wellesley. As we were approaching the half way point of the race you could hear the cheers and roars of the girls, even though you couldn't see them. I was awestruck by the sound. I remember looking over to another runner and was about to say something but he was plugged into his ipod. I thought how could you listen to that thing and miss the great sound of 'many waters'. The girls were all that they were promised to be, including giving out kisses to some of the runners. I gave as many high fives to as many girls I could while passing them at a 6:40 pace. But the highlight after the girls was meeting my family where I stopped to give them hugs and kisses. They were surprised I stopped to show my affection and appreciation.

I continued to run well, feeling confident of maintaining, what I thought, was a comfortable pace but something began to happen after 30 Kilometers. It may have been the cold, windy, rainy weather, or the majority down hill running, followed by hill climbs between 16 to 21 miles, whatever it was my mind was telling me I could still finish the last 12 K fast enough to come in under 3 hours. But my legs couldn't keep up with my mind. I had to find a way to survive and push to the end. The last few miles the crowds were really cheering the hurting runners on to, 'keep up the pace' and that, 'you're almost done you can do it'. You almost feel not to let the crowds down by walking because of the well wishes and encouraging words. It's OK to walk the aid stations which I did from the very beginning of the race. I just had to walk a lot slower near the end of the race and somehow get my legs moving to run to the next aid station. And then to the finish line.

I would have liked to run 13 minutes faster but so would have a lot of other people, so I will not let it bother me and remember the enjoyable time I had with my wife, son, his wife, and the crowds along the Boston marathon course.

Results can be views here by entering my bib number 3160.

Why not PR at Boston?

2007-04-13T09:56:00.000-04:00

I believe runners are hopeful people. We hope to run and race well even when adverse conditions such as, bad weather, injuries, poor diet, or any other unplanned events try to dash our hopes of obtaining a PR. We are blessed with the gift of good health and should perform to the best of our ability. It is hope that carries us beyond pain and all adversities.

Our hope is based on:
The consistent hours of running, strength training, and cross-training.
The new physique, after shedding a few extra pounds, and having more muscle tone.
The faster times of intervals, tempos, and long runs during training.
The encouragement given to us by our family and friends, telling us, we can do it.

It is through experience that our hope is confirmed.
It is through experience we gain confidence and are determined to meet our goal of setting a PR.

I would like to wish great success to all those running the Boston Marathon with me this coming Monday.

My goal will be to break 3 hours, which will be a PR.

Week leading up to the "great BM"!

2007-04-08T21:35:00.000-04:00

I guess it takes all kinds of roads that lead to Boston, including heavy, wet snow covered roads. I managed to run 10 miles in our winter wonderland on the all purpose trails. The trails must have had 12 inches of snow on them, which made for a great cushioned surface to run on. I had fun making fresh foot print tracks in the snow. I didn't even mind my feet getting wet and cold. Besides I was enjoying the beautiful scenery in the park.

This week workouts include:
Monday - 30 minute Power Yoga with Graeme Street's Cyclo-Zen DVD
Tuesday - Kalahari Water Park with the cub scouts. I promise not to go crazy on the slides. If I get home early I'll do some 1/4 mile repeats on the treadmill.
Wednesday - swim 1000 meters and spin on the bike for an hour.
Thursday - 3 mile run at marathon pace.
Friday - swim 1000 meters and more Yoga with Graeme
Saturday - fly me to Boston
Sunday - 2 mile run on the Boston course or on the treadmill.
Monday - Run the great Boston Marathon (BM)

If anyone wants to track me online my race bib number is 3160. Click on the link and track me on race day.

Bloody stuff.

2007-04-02T13:22:00.000-04:00

Here are the week long blood test results taken after running a 20 miler. The test was to analyze the normal recovery rate from a 20 mile run.

Blood Inflammation:
C Reactive Protein (CRP) - Used to measure muscle tissue damage.
Normal: 0–1.0 mg/dL or less than 10 mg/L (SI units)

Pre-20 mile run - .72
Post 20 mile run - .96
Day 1 - 3.49
Day 2 - 1.97
Day 3 - 1.33
Day 4 - 1.20
Day 5 - 1.16

Blood Enzymes:
Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) - Used to measure tissue damage. Also called lactic acid dehydrogenase. For adults, in most laboratories, the range can be up to approximately 200 units/L, but is usually found within 45-90 U/L.

Pre-20 mile run - 150
Post 20 mile run - 195
Day 1 - 156
Day 2 - 152
Day 3 - 152
Day 4 - 159
Day 5 - 155

Creatinine Kinase (CK) - is an enzyme found primarily in the heart and skeletal muscles, and to a lesser extent in the brain. Significant injury to any of these structures will lead to a measurable increase in CK levels. The primary damage in my case was to the skeletal muscle system.
Normal Range: Male-15-160U/L Female-15-130U/L

Pre-20 mile run - 96
Post 20 mile run - 176
Day 1 - 524
Day 2 - 263
Day 3 - 137
Day 4 - 135
Day 5 - 98

As you can see from the results it wasn't until after the 5th day that the levels went back down to the pre-20 mile run. After the 3rd day I felt no soreness in my legs yet the test results indicated I still had inflammation. The levels may have gone down sooner if I didn't swim, bike, or run during the 5 day test period. It looks like it takes 6 to 7 days before I would be fully recovered from the 20 mile run. I think this is good proof to me that the 3 weeks needed for tapering before a marathon is very important in order to perform well on race day.

I'm sure the results have more meaning but this is all I could gather for now. I'll have to wait for the professors and the graduate student to write their report on us and hope they give us a copy.

The next test will be on the effects of counterpulsation to improve recovery from a 20 mile run, will take place in early May.

Boston Taper Week 1 of 3

2007-03-29T10:05:00.000-04:00

Every workout I do during this week will have to be repeated when I take the second half of the counterpulsation on delayed onset muscle soreness test at the end of April. With that consideration in mind I'm trying to keep the intensities of this weeks workouts to a minimum. But...

Monday I swam a steady 1000 meters in the long course pool for a nice recovery day. That was good.

Tuesday was my first 15 mile bike ride outdoors for the 2007 calendar year. What a thrill to be outside riding the bike in the park and up and down the hills.

Wednesday I did 8 x 800 repeats on the track with only 1:30 rest between repeats. I wanted to do each repeat at a comfortable 2:55 pace so that I would be able to repeat them again after Boston and the DOMS test. But then I also wanted to push the pace a little to help boost the confidence meter and I managed to average all 8 repeats at a 2:48 pace. Confidence meter went up 2 points from 6 to 8.

Today I swam 500 meters at an easy pace and then 1000 meters with hand paddles and alternating with fast/slow laps. In the evening I did 18 miles on the bike trainer with an average speed of 18.4mph.

I have been getting blood tests everyday this week and the results are showing a slow recovery from the damage done from the 20 mile run this past Sunday. I'm hoping by Friday all repair is done and I'll be able to run 13 miles this Sunday. I'll post the numbers and types of tests after I get them from the lab.

20 mile run, Tests, now Taper for Boston!

2007-03-25T21:21:00.000-04:00

For the last 2 weeks I was looking forward to running my final 20 miler before the Boston Marathon. I found online that a local running store was hosting a fully aided 20 mile Boston prep run and I decided to sign up and enjoy the camaraderie within the beautiful and scenic Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

But then, earlier this week I was asked by one of the professors in the Sports Science department here at CSU to participate in a study on the effects of counterpulsation on delayed onset of muscle soreness. I guess they use this treatment on heart patients to help relieve chest pain and other symptoms of angina and to relieve the symptoms of heart failure which include trouble breathing and feeling very tired even after a small amount of effort.

The test would be in 2 parts and both require the subjects to run 20 miles at 70% of maximum heart rate. The first test would measure and compare blood test results of before and after the run and to determine the inflammation rates of soreness up to 5 days.

The second part of the test we run 20 miles under same conditions and after the run we get strapped in a bed, for about an hour, into what looks like inflatable cuff pads to compress the legs to force blood flow back up into the heart. The professor said it will feel like a good but tough message of the legs. And that he suspects the healing and soreness would be greatly reduced as compared to normal recovery time.

Today's Stats:
weight before the run 139 lbs.
after the run 135 lbs. (I need to drink more during the run)
C-Reactive Protein (is measure of inflammation in the body) before the run .72 mg/L
C-Reactive Protein after the run .96 mg/L (both results were in normal range)
Drank 24 ounces of apple cider vinegar & honey water mixture. (works better than Gatorade)
Average heart rate 130 BPM (75% max HR)
Run time 2:23:54
Urine specific gravity 1.016 UG. (after run and results in normal range)

There was other blood tests but I don't have the results yet. I'll post them later.

I won't be able to get the second treatment until after Boston. I'll recover 2-3 weeks before I run 20 and then get cuffed. Interesting test results to follow.

And now I will enjoy some rest from intense training and begin to mentally prepare for the 111th running of the Boston Marathon.

Timing my run.

2007-03-18T16:02:00.000-04:00

Timing my 15 mile run on St. Patty's Day couldn't have been any better. The morning came with gray clouds and with snow blanketing the ground. Hoping the weather would clear up later in the morning, I choose to run some time after lunch. After lunch I drove my family downtown to watch about an hour's worth of Cleveland's St. Patrick's Day Parade. It's my youngest son's favorite day of the year so we had to see the parade and because it's his birthday.

The sun came out and dried the ground and I was ready for my run. Before we went downtown I mapped a course out of running from the parade to my home and figured it out to be 15 miles.

The route was to take me from where I work (CSU) and snake my way into the Cleveland Steel Mill area, up to the metro parks, and then up some major hills to my house.

Funny, later that early evening the skies turned gray, the winds picked up, and light snow was blowing in, but that was OK because I was out with my family enjoying my son's birthday at a Mexican restaurant. And sure glad I planned my run at the right time of the day.

Supplies on the run: 4 - 6oz. of water, 2 packets of Cliff shot gels.
Time to run 15 miles: 1:48:50 (or 7:16 pace per mile).

Vitamin D on the track.

2007-03-13T15:26:00.000-04:00

I got a good dose of some 'sunshine vitamin', while running on the track today. After running an easy 2 mile warm up in 65 degree temperatures I realized my long sleeve t-shirt would have to come off if I was to be comfortable running 3 fast 1 mile repeats.
I'm not sure how many IU's of vitamin D I absorbed while running the splits in 5:52, 5:50, 5:48 respectfully, but I did feel strong and enjoyed the beautiful sunny afternoon today.
I could get use to adding some 'sunshine vitamin' supplement to my diet too.

Thousands of them.

2007-03-07T13:19:00.000-05:00

I was looking forward to running on the track outdoors yesterday until I saw them.
It was a beautiful sunny, but cold 20 degrees and the track had no snow on it. It did have what seemed like thousands and thousands of Canadian Geese's honking and crapping in the field and on the track. I spotted them outside of the track and as I approached I picked up a whipping stick, not to hit them with, but to scare them if they got in my way and to help brush the thousands and thousands of geese crap away from my lane.

I ran the first mile as part of my warm up. During the warm up I was sweeping the track with the stick to clear the way for my interval sets of 1K, 2K, 1K, 1K runs.

Start with 2 mile warm up.
1K = 3:41
2K = 7:22
1K = 3:35
1K =3:35
between each set I walked/jogged 400 meters.
Finished workout with a 1 mile cool down.

My spilt times were about 8 - 10 seconds slower than what I wanted but with the cold and having to share the track with the geese I'll take it and say I had a challenging workout.

February elapsed before I could...

2007-02-18T14:58:00.000-05:00

find time to put words on my blog.

Training for the Boston marathon is going well, even though I'm having to run most of my runs on the treadmill. I've ran 6-8 x 1/2 mile intervals, 3-6 mile tempos, and 18-20 long miles on the treadmill during the last 4 weeks. I still spin on the bike and swim 3 days a week. Also, I try to squeeze in weights, yoga, and stretching once or twice a week.

The most fun I'm having this off season is with yoga and swimming. After a yoga session I definitely feel refreshed. With swimming I'm learning to keep my head in the water longer by lifting it every 5th or 7th stroke and to breathe on both sides.

We spent 6 days in the Vegas and Utah area for my daughters wedding

Father with the beautiful bride.

and a few days hiking Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks.
Beautiful scenery.

I'm hoping for the month of March my training is more outdoors and I reach my peak fitness before the Boston marathon on April 16th.

PR on the Treadmill

2007-02-03T18:51:00.000-05:00

Today's weather was a cold 9F with -10F windchill. I was planning on running 20 miles outside but my wife reminded me of running in the past during freezing temps where I would come home after a long run, and I would have one frozen family jewel.
That was enough for me to reconsider my running plans for the day. She suggested I run on the treadmill and run 5 miles at a time throughout the day. I thought I'd get on the thing and see what happens.

After running 10 miles at a 7:30 pace with an incline of 1 %, I was determined to get the run done in one long 20 mile stretch. I knew I'd have to keep things interesting for the last 10 miles so I played with the speed and incline.
The last 10 miles went like this:
2 miles @ 7:00 pace, 0% incline,
1 mile @ 7:30 pace, 0% incline,
1 mile @ 7:30 pace, 6% incline,
1 mile @ 730 pace, 0% incline,
2 miles @ 7:00 pace, 0% incline,
1 mile @ 7:30 pace, 0% incline,
1 mile @ 7:30 pace, 6% incline,
1 mile @ 7:30 pace, 0% incline.

Running 20 miles on the treadmill today was a personal record and I got to see the display time go from 99:59 to 00:00 for the first time, too.

Some other numbers I recorded during my run was:
Listened to Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium - 2 times,
Lost count of watching cartoons on WBKids with no sound,
Ate 2 packets of vanilla Cliff shots, one at 7 miles and the other at 14 miles,
Drank 1 sports bottle of water with 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and 2 teaspoons of raw honey,
Average heart rate - 127 bps,
Max heart rate - 144 bps,
Total time to run 20 miles - 2:27:41

My legs didn't feel like toast after the run and I was glad to finish a nice run on the treadmill.

My 2007 athletic goals.

2007-01-31T08:54:00.000-05:00

I think setting some athletic goals for 2007 will be a good motivator in my training. The goals will keep me focused and on track for racing. I am glad to list my race calendar for this year and look forward to having fun times.

The highlights for this year will be running the Boston Marathon and completing my first Half Ironman Triathlon.

I began training for Boston on December 26th. Part of my training for Boston includes running in a half marathon race on March 4th. Other than the one race, all my training is focused on running Boston in under 3 hours.

After the marathon I will focus more on swimming and biking for the summer triathlon race season.

For those of you who have set some goals for this year I wish you great success. And remember to enjoy life to the fullest.

What's to eat.

2007-01-28T13:31:00.000-05:00

I've had family and friends ask me if I consider myself a vegetarian. They notice I don't eat much meat and eat weird things like hummus and tabouli on a whole wheat pita bread. My first thought is heck no and I wouldn't claim to be one even if I didn't eat meat.

My feeling of people who claim to be a vegetarian or a vegan guy or some other diet nut are like those who claim to be a Pentecostal and say all other Christians are far from the truth. To take an extreme stand of eating certain foods because you think it's better than the rest is to be exclusive. But, to be inclusive by eating many types of foods and to learn what is their nutritional value, is good. To eat in moderation and to enjoy variety is probably where I stand when it comes to eating healthy.

I don't eat meat regularly but when I visit my family who love to have stuff cabbage, a honey ham, and a baked turkey for dinner, I can't turn my nose up on it and say, I don't eat meat. Instead I'd take small pieces and enjoy it all with thanksgiving.

If I choose to eat something, whether it's meat or a box of pasta, I choose it for it's nutritional value and how it will fuel my body in a healthy way. And if you catch me eating some type of Mediterranean food, it's because I enjoy it's nutritional value and taste, not because I'm going vegetarian on you.

What was it like to run 20 miles?

2007-01-21T16:59:00.000-05:00

Four weeks into my 16 week marathon training for Boston, I ran my first 20 mile run this past Saturday.
I think running 20 miles in 20 degrees with strong head winds wore on me physically and mentally. My face was frozen and legs were tired after 16 miles. I had to have positive mental thoughts expressed verbally in order to finish the run. I began to think what happens to you mentally when you're involved in a long run. I'm sure there are more writings to define the effects of mental stress from endurance activities but I like this little article I found online at Mens Health

Behind the Science - Does running by yourself hurt your brain?
Edited by: David Schipper
The study: Research at Princeton University suggests that exercising alone hinders neurogenesis, the creation of new brain cells. Rats that lived alone and exercised alone showed a loss of brain cells; those that lived and exercised in a group showed an increase. Researchers speculate that having a partner blunts the cell die-off that typically occurs when the brain reacts to the stress of exercise.

A closer look: It was a rat experiment, and the lonely rodent runners had to live alone, too. "Running is not at fault here, but the living in isolation that can cause the brain to deteriorate is," says Charles Hillman, Ph.D., a professor of kinesiology at the University of Illinois who has studied the effects of exercise on the human brain. When Hillman measured cognitive function in men who had exercised in isolation for 30 minutes, he found improvements in their brain function. "It's a definite sign that your neurogenesis is not being negatively affected," he says.

Our advice: Run alone or with somebody. Either way, it's smart.

OK, but my spirits did get a little pick-up when someone driving by gave me a friendly wave and toot from the horn. And when another lone runner, coming from the opposite direction, said words of encouragement for running early in the morning cold. At that point I realized I need someone to run long with. I feel much better when there is someone else I can share the pain with. But if I have to go at it alone, maybe it'll make me tougher and that my neurogenesis will not be negatively affected, I should be OK.

Fasttandem Challenge Completed.

2007-01-19T21:37:00.000-05:00

I took the challenge this past Monday and can say these workouts from fasttandem is tough.
The setup included: my Quintana Roo Kilo on a Cyclops Fluid2 trainer, a water bottle filled with water and 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, and the boom box set to play Red Hot Chili Peppers - Stadium Arcadium.

I began the workout with a short 6 minute warm up and then continued into the intervals of trying to spin at 100+ RPM at various gear ratios. To spin with the gears at 53 x 17 for four minutes requires a mind, heart, legs, and lungs of steel. I guess I don't have any of them just yet, because I averaged about 80 RPM during the 53 x 17 four minute interval. Maybe after completing more and more of these workouts I might be able to keep pace, I hope.

The Cateye bike computer reported the following:
Time 57:06,
Max speed 27.8 mph,
Average speed 18.9 mph,
Distance 18.0 miles.

Oh, after the challenge I ran barefoot on the treadmill for an easy 2 mile run.