What's your style?

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

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.

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.

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.

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?

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"!

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

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...

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

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Fasttandem Challenge!

I will be spinning on my bike trainer doing workout number 21 from www.fasttandem.com and would like to invite all those interested in spinning this workout with me sometime this week. If anyone would like to use this workout click on the link below and print it out and take it with you on your bike trainer. You will need a bike computer that measures cadence. My bike has a front chain wheel of 39 & 53. The rear free wheel has a 12-13-14-15-17-19-21-23-25 gears so when the workout calls for a gear of 39 x 16 I use 39 x 17. This is the only modification I make.

The workouts are above my level of strength and endurance but the more I plow through them the stronger I feel I'm getting. Maybe after a few years I might be able to spin at 53-17 for 4 minutes at 100+ RPM. Warning! You have to have legs of steel to spin at 100+ RPM for a period of time.

I will leave this post up all this week where you can post your results here.
What I will record is total time, distance, max speed, and average speed. I find I get 18 miles in around the 1 hour workout and that's when I stop. I'll post my detailed results and experience by Wednesday or Thursday.
The Challenge.

Note: 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off means: The total time is 1 minute. In the 30 seconds off, you can rest a little and bring your RPM up to 100, so that you can start > 100 RPM on the next 30 seconds.

17 miles then 20

I've completed 3 weeks of my 16 week marathon training for Boston. Today's run was an easy 17 miler which lasted 2:07:12. The weather wasn't too bad for the middle of January with light rain and cool 34 degrees. During these long runs I'm trying to figure out fuel and water intake. When I ran 13 miles 3 weeks ago with no fuel or water I ran out of gas and was determined to not let that happen again during my long runs. I now carry my fuel belt with water and use 2 packets of gels. I eat the gels every 60 minutes and sip water every 15 minutes. So far this is working for me.
Next week I'll be running a 20 miler.

I love the snow for the beautiful scenery in the parks, cross country skiing, down hill skiing, and snow tubing with the kids, but I don't like it on the roads for driving, or running in the parks. Running long on icy snow covered roads/trails is no fun so I'm enjoying these dry days during our mild winter. But, then we are in Cleveland and I'm sure we'll get our share of wintry weather soon enough.

Barefoot stuff!

I think I found another cool way to help strengthen my foot muscles. It's doing my weight training workouts, barefoot. I still enjoy running barefoot but have had to wear shoes while it's cold outside. I'll get some barefoot running on the treadmill during the next few months. But till then I'll enjoy my strength, yoga, pilates, and some cardio workouts barefoot.

My favorite off season workout this year is the Cyclo-Core DVD. When I first attempted the workout I was shocked at how hard the workout was. I not only could keep up the pace but I couldn't complete the repetitions. It wasn't until after about 2 to 3 days a week, for 3 weeks was I able to keep pace and complete the reps. Now, I can increase the weights and do all the exercises barefoot. And I get a good sweat going too.

I finally found a good deal on ebay for the Cyclo-Zen DVD workout and made the purchase. I'm looking forward to this workout. I'm sure it'll put me to the test but it'll also make me stronger.

The come back kid.

They say when you buy a house that you can expect to sacrifice up to five years of your time and money for renovation. And that is what happened to me. Just about all my spare time was for getting the house to the point of our liking, while my training and racing was put on hold.
After all the major projects were completed I was able to slowly build back to a workout routine.

To help stay in shape during 'renovation time' I began to swim and ride my bike a couple times a week. Little did I know that having fun swimming and riding would lead to my first triathlon in the summer of 2004. I remember telling myself to just go and have fun while trying to compete in my first triathlon and ever since I have been enjoying meeting fellow triathletes, training, and racing for triathlons. What I found, especially this year, was that I am stronger, weigh less and run faster than I have in many years. I am thankful for having the opportunities to train and race and will continue for as long as I can. If things change, which will, I'm sure, then I will deal with what needs to be done.

I am looking forward to 2007 with running in the Boston marathon and possibly racing my first Half Ironman triathlon in August.

Best wishes for a healthy and happy new year to all my friends here!

Buckle down for Boston

The holiday time I had with my family flew by this past week. My gift and blessing I have is my children. I enjoy watching them grow and become who they are day by day. I am declaring the "people of the year" award goes to my children. For my oldest son serving in the Navy for his hard work and service. My other son serving as a Marine who recently came home from Iraq completing his third tour. For my daughter who graduated this December with a Masters in Physical Therapy (at the age of 22). And finally for my youngest son who I am glad to see enjoy life as an 8 year old kid should.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas time with your family and friends. We sure did.



My official 16 week Boston marathon training schedule begins today. Today's workout was a 2 mile easy jog followed with 3 X 1 mile fast runs with only 1 minute rest between each mile. I finished with a 1 mile easy jog. Each mile was run in 5:56 per mile pace.

Welcome Home!

My son arrived safely home today after serving his third tour in Iraq. We love you and are glad to have you home.

Lego Room

For the past two 2 weeks we have been preparing, demolishing, and installing walls in one of the kids bedrooms. We decided to make an official "Lego room" for the kids which we hope would restrict the thousands and thousands of Lego pieces that have been strewn over the house to one room.

This wall has got to go.













Ok, lets knock it out.

It was a mess to get the wall out!


We made a hole in the closet wall too.







Framing it in.


Insulating the new walls.


Dry walling.



The closet has a dresser in the wall.


The bed and shelf are in the wall.


And we did it!





We were able to gain an additional 40 square feet of floor space by knocking out the walls and placing some furniture in the knock outs. All so the kids can have a lego room.

Interlude

I love this game. I'm always looking for someone who is up for the challenge.

I have been doing some home remodeling and will post my results this weekend with some pictures.

Not much of a gadget guy.

I have no cell phone, palm pilot, ipod, or whatever electronic gizmo out there, but yet I work as a computer network administrator. It's not that I fear the use of those things, but the cost of any of them does not justify the need.

What I do have is a polar s120 heart rate monitor watch of which I only use the time and distance and mile splits for my runs. I think I only used the heart rate monitor a couple times just to see how much my heart beats while I run a 6 or 7 minute mile pace.

For my bike I have a cheap computer that only displays time, speed, and distance and that's all I needed or wanted. Until recently, I came to realize all my workouts on the bike trainer where I use DVD's and online workouts, all indicate a cadence to train at. I decided to buy a Cateye Astrale 8 for 30 bucks so that I can train using cadence to monitor my performance and progress. I think it'll be worth the 30 bucks. If anything it'll make my workouts more honest.

Today's workout from fasttendem.com had most of the spinning at 100 RPM and let me tell you if anyone can keep up with that pace has to be a tour de France champion. I think I kept most of the RPM's around 80, which was hard enough, and boy did I sweat. The numbers I gathered from today's bike workout were as follows: Max Speed = 25.7 MPH, Av Speed = 18.0 MPH, Trip Distance = 18 miles, and Elapsed Time = 1 hour. I wish the computer would have some cadence results. Maybe the higher priced ones have it but for now I'm happy with what I have. And hey, I like all the new fancy numbers that are displayed on my new bike computer.

One lump or two lumps?

The amount of sugar we consume in a day is amazing. We consume refined sugars in the form of sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar), and high-fructose corn syrup which is processed into so many foods such as bread, breakfast cereal, peanut butter, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and a plethora of "goodies".

Have you ever noticed on food labels there are no %DV (percent daily value) given for Sugar? I think if there was a percent value given for sugar it would be a lot lower then the amount we ingest in a typical day.

With all the "lumps of sugar" being bonked into our heads, especially during the holidays, it is no wonder why we are not able to control our diets, we get sick with the flu/colds, and then get depressed. My goal these days has been to cut out as much as possible the refined sugars from my diet and to find alternatives for my sweet tooth cravings.

5 mile Turkey Trot

Today was a perfect Thanksgiving Day for a 5 mile race. The weather couldn't have been better. We had clear sunny skies, cool 40 degree temperatures, and some light winds for the race. The course had some rollers as it weaved around the downtown area.

Pumpkin pies were given to the top 50 males and top 50 females. My goal was to come home with a pumpkin pie.

At the start line of the race we had the couch potatoes guys, two Elvis sightings, and a couple business guys dressed in their suit and tie and carrying in one hand a brief case and a turkey leg in the other. The smell of the leg was good but I didn't want to get hungry so I stayed out of the path of the wafting smell.

The run went well and I finished strong with a PR of over 8 years in a time of 28:50 and a pumpkin pie to boot.

I have to admit I am thankful for the strength and endurance I've gained this year and that my training and racing has gone so well.

My race results can be viewed here.

Camping and a Brick

My son joined the cub scouts which means I became a cub scout too. Whatever he does as a scout I have to be involve in some way or another. I have to work with him in his scout handbook to learn and earn 12 Bear badges.
The fun part of being a scout is we get to go camping. This past weekend we went on our first camp-out with the scouts. We stayed in a heated lodge with 14 kids and about 10 adults. We hiked, played capture the flag, had camp fires, and had an official flag burning ceremony. I never realized there was a method of getting rid of a flag that was no longer in use. I didn't want to mention that when our flag got trashed from bad weather, we just threw the ragged thing in the garbage. Now, I'll have to get rid of my old flags the way I was taught this past weekend.

On Sunday, I was able to spin on my bike trainer for about 45 minutes then run out the door for an 8 mile run. The run felt almost effortless. Maybe it was the bike warm-up that got my legs ready for the run because I felt like I was holding myself back from running faster than the 7 minute mile pace that I was on. Either way it was good to get a bike/run workout which I haven't done since this past summer.

Bring the kids to the track.

One of my fond running memory experiences with my four children was (and still today with my youngest) to bring them to the high school track for a run and then to watch them play on the field or in the stands while I did the serious hard workouts.

After yesterdays workout I was reminded that I got to bring my son to the track more often. We had so much fun running a mile together. He had the idea that we would run in opposite directions so that when we passed each other we would give high fives to each other. As we passed each other I would also say encouraging words to him. I tried to pace myself so that we would hit the same spot on the track together. We finished the 1 mile warm up in a time of 9:11. He still had a smile at the finish. We walked about 100 meters to the start of my 6 X 400 meter repeats and he then went to play on the exercise stations. Even though I ran my serious fast stuff I still enjoyed watching him doing pull-ups, swinging, and sitting on the chin-up bar too.

A note relating to other tri related workouts. I've been trying to swim 3 days a week. I try 2 to 3 days of strength and yoga workouts. My frustration is that I have not been sitting in the saddle for about a month now. I miss it and want to get back in the saddle. Due the winter months fast approaching it looks like I'll be riding indoors. I don't mind riding indoors but I just got to do it and hope to ride 3 days a week, maybe starting after Thanksgiving.

I'm in.

Look what came in the mail today. I get the privilege to join over 20,000 runners on April 16, 2007 for the 111th running of the Boston Marathon. I know what I'll be doing this coming winter months - training for Boston.

Meet Captain Jack Sparrow Jr.

Don't mess with captain Jack he's dressed to kill. This was his way of reporting to the blackboard jungle today. Thanks to his lovely, but sorry to say ill mother, (she's had strep for the past 3 weeks)who helped the captain don his outfit for today.
He did manage to come home with some treasures to share with the rest of his mates' Although, I am on a dark nugget (dark chocolate, hint-hint) diet these days so I didn't enjoy any of the spoils.






He thinks he's going to get away with that imported Tokai from Hungary. Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin, or his. That's a spoil his grandpa acquired for us while out on his adventures in the old country. Captain Jack, didn't need the intoxicant to obtain any goods for the day anyway. And he had a Happy Halloween!

Inside - Outside

Saturday's weather forecast called for a severe thunderstorm warning, so I decided to play it safe and do a 30 minute tempo run on the treadmill. I began the first 10 minutes at a 7:30 pace with an incline of 2%. The second 10 minutes was at a 6:15 pace with the incline at 4%. I finally broke out in a sweat and was huffin' and puffin'. The last 10 minutes was back to a 7:30 pace and the incline at 2%.

This was my first hard run since running the Columbus marathon 2 weeks ago. I felt pretty good overall. I am taking 4 weeks to recovery and build up some mileage to help prepare me for a 5 mile race on Thanksgiving morning.

Sunday was a beautiful sunny Fall day. I packed my son's bike in the trunk of the car and we headed to our favorite 8 mile bike/run route in the park. The route is an out and back and going out we were faced with some strong headwinds. I think it was more difficult for my son to bike with headwinds than for me running. We made it to the turnaround point in 30:36 and was looking forward to having the winds at our backs. The run/bike was easier and faster the second half and we did enjoy the scenery by stopping at a viewing deck to catch sight of a fish jump out of the water. We also barely missed running over a garter snake on the trail. We finished in 58:57. It was a beautiful day in the park.

New Spinning workout DVD

Today was a kind of day to hop on the trainer and get a good workout. The day began with rain and temperatures dropped to the point of turning the rain into snow.

I recently received in the mail my new off-season workout DVD: SPINerVALS Ultra Conditioning 2.0 Ultra CORE-Strength Builder. And on this wonderful gray, wet, and snowy day I did the workout.

The workout consists 60% of the time on the bike doing various one leg drills and high cadence drills. The other 40% is core workouts on the stability ball. The core workouts were mixed in between sets of the different drill exercises, which help break the monotony of just spinning for an hour. My legs felt like they got a workout along with my back and abdominal muscles. I'll be back to do that workout again during the winter months.

Here is some information on the DVD.

Out in the woods.

Today was the first day I did some running since the Sunday marathon. I am so priviledged to have a park at the bottom of my street that has a 2 mile all-purpose hiking/biking loop trail and about 2.5 miles of hiking trails.

It has been a long time since I've run the trails and I have been looking forward to running them when my structured schedule of training would end, so that I could hit the trails. It was a beautiful fall day in the park. The smells and sites of the foliage was in its fullness. I ran the trails at a very slow pace and even came right up to some deer who were not at the least bit intimidated by me. I could have petted one but I don't trust those big four legged creatures. My legs are still a little sore but it was fun to get wet and muddy shoes after running 3 miles on the trails.

I plan on running as much as I can on trails during my 2 months of down time.

Columbus Marathon with Smiles & Hugs!

I ran the Columbus marathon back in 1994 with a time of 3:29:00. But today was different...

As I looked around at the starting line of the Columbus marathon I was impressed to see an excitement among the runners that I don't remember noticing at any other running or triathlon race. The runners seemed to be full of high energy jumping up and down, arms and legs going in all kinds of directions, and chatting up a storm. It must have been the few weeks of running low mileage leading up to the race that we all were ready to explode out of the starting line.

Just before the gun went off at the start of the race we were greeted with a C-130 military plane fly-by overhead. That was exciting.

To help organize in my mind the unfathomable distance of the marathon I chose to break the 26.2 miles into various mile segments. The first 5 miles I planned to go out at a comfortable pace while sipping water and Gatorade from all the water stops. After 5 miles I was warm enough to pull off my extra tee-shirt. I think it was also around 5 miles I met fellow blogger Lloyd who had good words of encouragement and smiles. He has a short movie clip at the start of the race on his blog. He also took the one photo I have from the race. Thanks, Lloyd.
5 miles in 32:57

At the half way mark I spotted my wife and son in the crowds and I had to shout to get their attention. I was glad to see their big smiles while cheering me on.
13.1 miles in 1:25:05

Then into the 20 mile range it was all down hill. My legs felt thick and heavy. The legs didn't cramp up but they just didn't want to keep my 6:30 pace any more. The good thing was that I didn't have to walk at any point like I had to in my previous 4 marathons. I felt well hydrated and fueled from the many water stops and the two gels I took at 7 and 18 miles.
20 miles in 2:11:22

At the finish area I met Brian and got a big warm hug. We worked hard for this race and have encouraged one another throughout our training. I was so glad for him and that he broke his 3 hour dream barrier.
My wife and son met me at the finish area and I got a nice hug from them too. She wrapped her quilt blanket around me and put her arms around me to help keep me warm.
Final time in 3:03:03
This time was about 26 minutes faster than what I did back in 1994! Yes! I guess with old age you can still get faster.

We walked up the street to watch more runners come in for the finish. And about 30 minutes later we got to see our friend Sheri, finish in her projected goal time of less then 4 hours. She came in 3:55. She was smiling! Good for her!
Then it was a long 3/4 mile walk (which seemed longer) to the car. I needed the walk though.

To train for this marathon I used the FIRST to the finish training schedule and felt it worked great for me. I will use it again to train (which starts Dec. 26th) for the Boston marathon. However, I would modify the long runs a little different. Rather than going out at planned marathon pace (PMP +) I am going to try and run the first half of my long runs easy and finish the second half faster. I think running negative splits on long runs, is good training for the mind and body, and if anything, it will be a good mental booster in preparation for the marathon.

I really appreciate all the great comments and compliments from all those visiting my site. You all are my encouragement. Thank you. With smiles and hugs, Papa Louie. See you in Boston, April 16, 2007

p.s. if you click on the picture you will see my big smile.

Columbus marathon update

I wanted to send a quick update on my marathon run today. I am very glad to say I finished in qualifing time for the Boston marathon. My qualifing time is 3:30:0 but I finished todays marathon in 3:03:03. Whoohoo!! I am very happy to finsh 27 minutes ahead of the time I ran 11 years ago in Columbus.

Overall place: 109
Age Division: 7/264
Male: 104/2254
Overall time: 3:03:03

To be continued...

Taper week update

Monday - 50 minute Yoga workout. 3 mile walk in morning and 2 miles in the afternoon. Good thing I didn't have to work.
Tuesday - Interval track workout of 6 x 400 meters (average 74 seconds per 400m).
Wednesday - 35 minute swim.
Thursday - 3 mile run in 19:05
Friday - 25 minute swim and 50 minute Yoga
Saturday - Drive the marathon course
Sunday - Run the marathon!

Tuesday, we watch the inspirational movie of swimming the English Channel, On a Clear Day. One of the lines my son got a hilarious laugh was, 'my friend could fart in German'. I have to admit I also got a good chuckle out of it. And while I was swimming the next day the line came back to me with the sight of my son laughing it made me laugh. The problem was that I took a gulp of some chlorine water which was not good. I had to think of something else to keep myself from laughing while swimming. I realized you can't laugh while swimming.

On a scary note. My daughter caught a flu bug last week and my wife got it earlier this week. She got a throat culture on Tuesday and on Wednesday it came back positive with strep. I'm thinking, 'Oh no,' I can't get sick before this weekend. I was almost tempted to start taking antibiotics to ward off the bug. But I was advised not to mess with the pill unless I was tested positive and prescribed by my doctor. It's Thursday and I'm feeling great. I need to remember to wash my hands a lot and not to put my fingers in my eyes, nose, and mouth.

Everyone have a great weekend.
See you in Columbus.
My Bib number is 1096

Run long and taper!

My all time favorite podcast show is Phedippidations from Steve Runner and his concluding words to his shows is, "run long and taper". After 16 weeks of marathon training which included two 18 mile runs and five 20 mile runs I can finally say it's taper time!

During taper time I cut back on distance and intensity of my runs. It's also a time to cut back on cross-training of swimming, biking, and strength training for the last week leading up to the Columbus marathon on October 15th.

I will try to sleep/nap as much as I can, stretch and do some yoga a couple times during the week. And that's it.

Eight Days until marathon!

My letter to Nando Parrado

Dear Nando,
I just finished reading your book, Miracle in the Andes and felt to write to you. Last year October I watched on the History channel the movie Alive and remember the movie having a lasting impression on me. It must have been the challenges that you all faced and the strong will to survive.
Earlier this year Outside magazine (May 2006)had a condensed story of Miracle in the Andes and I remember checking out the magazine from the library at that time but I did not read the article for some reason. It might have been because I remembered the movie and didn't think it was necessary to read about it. Although, I have to admit the article was in the back of my mind and the curiosity of reading it would now and then come up in my mind. For some reason about 2 weeks ago I thought to get the magazine from the library and read the story. I enjoyed reading it so much and at times it brought tears to my eyes. My eight year son remembers the movie well and wanted me to read him the story from the magazine, which I did.
The magazine referred to the book, Miracle in the Andes, which I immediately requested from the library. When I began to read the book I found at times I could not put it down. I wanted to read as much as I could in one sitting.
I may not have experienced an Andes as dramatic in my life but like you said we all have some Andes to overcome in our lives. I do appreciate the gift of life every day of my life.
Some of the most profound thoughts and expressions I enjoyed in the book were:
** The conversation you had with Arturo about God. (page 84)
** Death being the constant in the Andes yet the love you had for your father was much stronger than what the mountain was putting you through. And "The opposite of death is love". (page 200)
** The ordeal simplified your mind... (page 216)
** Words of advice from your father. Don't let this be the most important thing that ever happens to you. Look forward, he said, You will have a future. You will live a life. (pages 245-246)
** How can you be at peace with life... I am not at peace in spite of what I suffered, but because of it. (page 261)

Thank you for sharing your experiences in Miracle in the Andes.

Sincerely,

Five Fast Freaks Furiously Fly

The title describes our finish in the 5 person open mixed relay at the Akron marathon today. Todd ran first for a fast 10K. Brooks fried his 5K leg. Amie had a fabulous 10K finish. Elizabeth flew on her 5K portion. And Papa Louie, freaking finished the 12.2K strong to help bring us in 1st of 456 total in the mixed team relay. Second place team was 3 minutes ahead of us before I began the last leg but I not only passed that person but added 3 more minutes to finish our team in 2:57:25.

The only complaint was that it was cold and a lot of us had the uncontrollable shivers while standing around waiting for our relay to start. I took the shuttle bus with Elizabeth to her 5K start and ran from there to my start. I had to tell the cheering people, who thought I was running in first place, that I was just warming up, but thank you anyway.

We got to meet the marathon legend Bill Rodgers and I took a picture of him with our 2 fast lady's. Hopefully, Elizabeth will post that picture.

Click on this link to view our results.

Say the title 5 times for fun.

Five Fast Freaks

I am excited to announce that I was invited to be a 5th member on a relay team for the Akron Marathon. The team was just put together this week and I signed up for the race yesterday. I have the privilege of running the final leg to the finish. Here is a quote from a description of:

The Finish
An Olympic-style finish in Canal Park, our beautiful AA baseball park and home of the Akron Aeros, features 9,000 seats for family and friends. For those who watched runners at the start, the 3-mile mark and the 10-mile mark, they have only a short downhill walk to arrive at Canal Park in time to watch the finish. These fans greet the runners as they enter the ballpark in right-center field and make a final circuit around the warning track to the finish line near first base. This year, fans will also be able to spot their favorite runners on the new digital scoreboard in center field.

Doesn't that sound so cool? How can I not have fun with this race?

Hard to stomach 20 miles

First off don't laugh at me. Ok I've been reading a book titled, The miracle of garlic & vinegar. I found a recipe for a high power energy drink which was:
2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar,
2 teaspoons of honey,
mix with 8 ounces of water.
Apple cider vinegar contains 19 of the 22 necessary minerals essential for human health.

When I first read about the drink I tried it a few days ago and it tasted good. I planned to try it on my last 20 mile run before Columbus marathon for today, except I modified the recipe to about 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, 3 tablespoons of honey and mixed it with water in my water bottle.

My wife riding on her bike was my crew support for the run. She had 1 plain water bottle and 1 miracle drink bottle in the bike bottle cages. She also carried the 2 packs of Power Bar gels.

I began to sip the miracle drink after about 25 minutes into the run. And every 15 to 20 minutes there after. At one point maybe after nine miles my wife took a sip of "the drink" and with dramatic facial expressions spit out the elixir. I couldn't understand why the dramatics.

We made it to the turnaround in good time of 1:09:21. I slurped a gel and washed it down with plain water. Not long after the turnaround my stomach was doing somersaults and feeling gassy and after 16 miles I was hurting. I counted my workout as a bad day but then I realized it was the magic potion that did me in. When we got home after running for 2:21:52 I went straight to the bathroom and relieved a couple more pounds which added to my already 6 pounds of sweat loss. I felt like $hit and when I looked in the mirror I looked it too. My lips were white from all the vinegar. I laughed. Now I understand my wife's dramatics.

Later that evening my son found the bottle that had some left in it and he began to enjoy what was left. A few hours later he complained about stomach pain. Oops, I should have dumped it right away when I got home. Poor kid. He's sleeping now.

OK, I learned my lesson. Make it right. I will still try it on my other runs and biking workouts.
Now you can laugh and make fun of me.

Season Finally of Triathlons

A week or so before the Portage Lakes Triathlon I checked the participate list and found my name on the International Elite Masters Triathlon list. For some reason I thought I signed up to race the sprint distance triathlon. In the back of my mind I was thinking I've got to run 15 miles at a 6:45 pace on Saturday and that on Sunday I'd be ok to race the sprint distance. It bugged me all week and even up to the day before yesterdays race whether to change my status from long course to short course. I decided to just run the longer race and have fun with the little extra pain.

The good the bad and the ugly:
Out of 127 overall finishers I finished the swim in 104th place. I guess I could have finished 127th but 23 other nice swimmers felt bad for me and let me pass by.

On the bike I somehow managed 57th place even though my legs didn't feel fresh. It must have been the 15 mile run the day before and moving grandma. Carrying the washing machine up and down stairs was a little heavy without a dolly.

When it was time to run all my troubles seem so far away. All the fun was kicking in and I remembered this was my last triathlon for the season so I better finish strong. I finished 6th in the run.

Now my attention and focus is on Columbus marathon which is in 4 weeks, then REST (i think).

37th Overall
3rd place in the Triathlon International Elite Master division.

Bike Bloopers!

I wish I had a video camera to show some bloopers of my recent experience on and off the bike. It would be one of those where you laugh but it really isn't funny.

The first 'nutty' thing I attempted on the bike was to put a popped chain back on the bike. One afternoon I decided that it's about time to see my chain sparkle in the sun so I gave it a good cleaning. After cleaning it the chain came undone from the front chain ring. Rather than putting it back on I had the wild idea that I could get on my bike shift the front derailer all the way over to the big chain ring and after a couple pedal rotations the chain would go back on without me getting my hands dirty. I have put the chain back on before using this method. Well, I hopped on my bike, clipped my shoes into my pedals, shifted the front derailer over, and I began to pedal like crazy. But...I wasn't going anywhere and it was one of those s-l-o-w motion moments where I could see myself falling down. Ouch! I got a nice knot on my knee. I think I was more amused at the dumb idea and made a mental note NEVER to do that again.

The second 'nutty' thing I did happened today while I was out running 15 miles with my lovely wife accompanying me on her bike. We were clipping at a good pace around 6:35 per mile. She had a jacket tied around her waist and it came undone. She needed both hands to tie the jacket and we did what we normally do when driving in the car and someone needs both hands to do something (god knows what). The other person leans over and with one hand steers the car. She took her hands off the wheel and while running next to her I grabbed the wheel with one hand and she began to tie her jacket. But...She lost balance and began to lean away from me and the s-l-o-w motion thing happened. Ouch! I felt so bad and with sorrow I apologized. She got some bumps and bruises but was ok. We immediately realized how dumb the idea was and vowed NEVER to do that again. Good thing no one was around to get a good laugh or to film any of these bike bloopers.

Run Home!

I will start when the gun goes off.
I will run for 5 miles.
Feeling good, I will run to the 10th mile.
At the 10th, I will say, "only 3 more to the half way"!
At the half way mark, 13.1 miles I will know 15 is in reach.
At 15 miles, I will say, "you've run 20 before keep going"!
At 20, I will say, "Run Home"!
The Poem ' Strategy for a marathon' by Marty Mueller.

This poem will be one of my inspirational mantra during the Columbus marathon.

I think I have enough faith in my training schedule and feel I should be physically fit for the race. But I also realize positive mental mind games will be a determining factor for a top performance. And so, I have been focusing on positive thinking and well speaking while running. I am also reading inspirational books and writing down positive thoughts to help prepare my mind for the big race. If all goes well I am looking forward to having a great race.

Follow this link for a little movie clip on the Marathon Course Preview

A day in the park.

Yesterday, was a beautiful day in the park for a run and bike ride. Brian came over early in the morning to run 20 miles with me. The temperatures were around 65 degrees and the skies were a hazy overcast but clearing as the sun was rising. We started out from my house and ran down the hills to reach the Cuyahoga Valley Park Towpath trail. After we hit the 3 mile mark in 20 minutes we thought, 'maybe too fast' but also realized it was all down hill to get there and that the pace would eventually even out. We were feeling somewhat comfortable and agreed that mile 12 through 18 would be a concentrated effort pace. The last 2 miles up hill was to survive and see what was left in the tank. This was my 4th 20 mile training run and was my best in time and comfort. Finish time was 2:18:10 which is a 6:55 per mile pace. For my last 20 miler in 2 weeks I do not plan on bettering that time. I will savor the moment that all my marathon training is in the bank and ready for me to cash in on race day.

The afternoon was spent riding bikes on the same Towpath trail with my wife, me pulling my son on a Trail-a-bike, and a couple of friends. Before we began our 23 mile ride we enjoyed a nice lunch at Hoggy's restaurant. The ride was at a comfortable pace, which was good for my legs to recover and move out the lactate acid. We all enjoyed the time together and couldn't ask for a more beautiful day in the park!

I think it's all in my head.

These days I am finding myself amazed after my training runs. But before I get out and run I have doubts and fears of not keeping my scheduled training pace. I worry about how I could keep such a fast pace and not burn out on the run. These are some of the thoughts I felt before I did yesterdays 10 mile run. I was scheduled to run 10 miles at my "planned marathon pace".

I started the run with a first mile in 5:59. No, that is not my marathon pace. It was about 30 seconds too fast. When I start out too fast I do not yell at myself to slow down because I know eventually I will. The next few miles were around a 6:17 mile pace. It wasn't until after 5 miles that I ran at pace. I finished in 1:03:54 which was a 6:23 pace. I felt the run was tough but manageable. So, I realized my body is stronger than the doubts in my head. I'll have to remember this during the marathon.
Everyone have a great weekend.

I did it on the bike!

I've heard pro's do it. I wondered how it's done. I thought you would have to get into some sort of contorted position to be able to do it. Well, I had to do it during my 32 mile ride home from my brothers birthday party.
I was hoping to leave the party around 6:30 in the evening so that I would make it home before it got dark. It began to rain around 6:00 pm and I was hoping the rain would blow over before 6:30. It never did and it looked like it wasn't going to clear up soon either. While I was waiting for the rain to clear up I got involved playing table tennis. I was holding the table tennis championship but after 7:20 I had to throw in the towel and get on my bike.
The rain was coming down as a fine midst and the roads were wet but I was able to ride at a hard effort pace. After riding in the park around 8:30 in the evening I had the urge to pee. It was dark and with no street lamps to light my way I wanted to get the "H-E- double hockey sticks" out of the park and onto the lighted streets. I did not want to stop to relieve myself so I thought if people figured out a way to do it, so will I. It may not be the right way but it worked for me.
(note: sorry, women have a disadvantage to perform such a feat.)
While coasting at about 15 miles per hour
With my right foot on the pedal in the forward position
I bunched up my right biking short pant leg way up.
I pointed my aimer straight down and all was relieved.
Ah! With a smile!
I know I need more practice to perfect my new trick but that will come in time. If anyone has any pointers please feel free to share them.

Why the stork stands on one leg.

I have been learning the yoga exercises in this DVD and can manage to work through the routines but when it comes to standing like a Dork I mean a Stork on one leg performing the exercises with 5 lbs weights, boy oh boy, the pain.
After 2 minutes of standing on one leg like a stork I am ready to fall over. You think it's easy? Try it. Stand like the handsome couple in the picture without weights (try dumbbells later), arms out shoulder height, palm face out. Inhale with a 4 count and exhale with a 4 count. Then swing your left arm strainght in front at 90 degrees while inhale 4 count. Swing back to starting position while exhaling 4 count. Repeat with right hand. Then swing both arms to your center with 4 count. Hold and breathe in another 4 count then as exhale 4 count return arms back to starting pose.
My goal is to do this and the other challenging one legged routines in about 3 weeks. If I can stand on one leg for all the routines then I should me able to run a 3 hour marathon.

Midway!

This week is the beginning of week 9 in my 16 week training for the Columbus marathon.
The schedule I am following is from the Furman Institute of Running and is the FIRST to the Finish program.

The workouts are not ideal for the faint-hearted. Running pace is the crucial component that make up this program. The workout pace times are all calculated on your current best 5K race. There are 3 key run workouts which include: track intervals, track tempo runs, and the long run. The other three days of the week are for cross training, which for me is swimming and biking. A well deserved rest day for me has been on Mondays.

I am not sure what the hardest workout on the schedule is because some days I run on pace and some days I fall off pace. The falling off pace could have something to do with the hot & humid weather, we've had this summer, playing a mental and physical drain on me. As the days get cooler I hope to finish this training schedule in great shape and ready to tackle the marathon.

My cross training workouts are similar in intensity as in running. I bike 3 days a week with hill repeats, tempo or intervals, and the long ride. I swim 3 days a week with intervals in the pool and long open water steady swims.

I will be running my third 20 miler this Saturday. Nice to be half way there. It should be down hill from here.

Thank you for all your prayers and well wishes to my son serving in Iraq.

Godspeed

On Saturday, I ran 18 miles in 2:10:34. It rained on and off but the last 3 miles, which is pretty much up hill, was in a torrential down pour. The rain was refreshing to run in.
On Sunday, we drove to Baltimore early in the morning to spend time with my son and to wish him Godspeed on his 3rd tour duty to Iraq. Again, we are hoping and praying for a safe journey and to return home soon.

Why wear shoes?

Here is a little movie clip from NIKE advertising the Free running shoe but 95% of the movie shows people performing athletic events without shoes. If so many people are doing things barefoot why would they or any one else need to spend $75.00 on shoes they can do without? Just run barefoot. But, if anyone uses these pups let me know what you think of them.

Greater Cleveland Triathlon

I had some concern for today's sprint distance triathlon. I wondered if my legs would be tired or sore from running yesterday's 13 miler at a 6:44 per mile pace. Normally, I would take the day before a race off but since I'm in the middle of training for the Columbus marathon I didn't want to miss a quality long run, so I ran it. I am glad to say my legs were not complaining in today's race.
The swim was in perfect 74 degree calm waters. I felt like I swam so fast and smooth that I should have past everyone, not. I probably had the slowest time but I felt good anyway.
I had no time to sit around and fiddle and fumble with things in transition. I threw my goggles and cap into my bag, put on sunglasses, helmet and race belt with race bib turn around my back. I ran while pushing my bike to the bike mounting line and hopped on with my feet on top of my already clipped in bike shoes. The trick was to get my feet into the shoes before I had to climb out of the park which was a few hundred feet ahead. My feet made it in before I began to climb up the hill. After about 4 miles into the ride I squeezed a gel into my mouth and washed it down with water. I felt like my legs were flying on the bike. I passed so many people that were not in my age group and I wondered where were all the people in my age group. Only one 55 year played cat and mouse with me. Maybe because his bike cost more than mine he got away from me. I made sure my feet were out of my shoes and on top of them before we had to go back down the hill into the park.
The second transition was even faster. All I had to do was toss my helmet into my bag and slip my already tied running shoes on and go. I heard lots of good cheering from club members at the start of the run but the greatest cheering came from fellow CTC, track buddy, and blogger Elizabeth. Thanks Elizabeth, I don't know anyone that can out do you as a cheering and encouraging fan. I think that's why the first mile flew by. Again, I was looking for all the people in my age group, that did laps around me in the water, as I passed so many people on the run including overall 1st place female (YES!!)
Just to let you know I don't think I'm a meanie. I try to always give my best wishes and congratulations (probably more to the ladies) to all those that I pass. The people I pass become my strength.
I couldn't stick around for the award ceremony but I did notice on the preliminary results posting that I placed 10th overall and 3 rd in my age group. I guess since those 2 other guys got out of the water 5 minutes before me I didn't have a chance to catch them on the 15 mile bike ride or on the 5 K run. That's okay, I was happy my legs held out for a great triathlon race today!
Final results from the Race. The officials adjusted the times for people stopped by a train crossing. I went from 10th to 13th place and got beat by 1 woman, but still held 3rd place in my age group.

Grandson's first multisport event!

The start of the 8 year old boys and girls. Jeremiah, has the green goggles on.
Jeremiah, waiting for the sound of the horn to start. The other kids took off after they heard ready, set...
Jeremiah, had the fastest transition time of 24 seconds. Most kids were around a minute and half. We practiced transitions last night and it definitely paid off. This was suppose to be a kids triathlon but the bike portion got cut because of the park roads were closed due to flood water damage.
Coming into the finish area.

Watching other kids coming in for the finish. Jeremiah, had a great time and is looking forward to next years race. His sister who watched the whole thing thought she would like to do it next year. My son on the other hand is waiting for a relay race so that he can run and not have to swim or bike.

Hand stands in the water for fun!
Jeremiah finished 17th out of 32 total boys and girls in the 7 to 10 year olds. Oh, and five girls beat him. Final results can be view here

I ended up running my scheduled 13 mile run today even though I'll be racing a sprint triathlon tomorrow. I felt it more important to run than to skip it because of the race. I was able to run it at a 6:44 per mile pace and finished it in 1:27:38.

Umm, Smooothieees!

Today's power smoothie drink was:
about 1 cup (I don't measure) skim milk (we were out of soy milk),
about 1/4 cup Stonyfield Farm fat free french vanilla yogurt,
6 ice cubes,
6 frozen strawberries,
2 tablespoons whey protein powder,
about 1/2 cup cooked oats.
Put it all in a blender and mix for about 2 minutes.

I had this around 6:30 am with my son for our "morning ritual breakfast time". If I don't wake him for breakfast I get the long face from him. We have breakfast together but when he is done he goes back to bed. Normally, we eat some healthy cereal, plus I eat my "gotta have a banana" but I find I get hungry around 9:00 am. When we do smoothies my hunger is curved until 10 or 10:30 am.

Have a great weekend!

My grandson is doing his first triathlon this Saturday and I'll do one Sunday.

A few Demotivators.

Friend: Papa Louie, how did your race go for you today?

Papa Louie: It went well, only 1 woman beat me. And she trains full time. So, what I can expect? I do have to admit when a woman beats me in a race it's a great motivator for me to race harder the next time so she doesn't beat me. Persistence will pay off, eventually. I hope.




I will not succumb to defeat all the time. I am a winner! I guess we need to keep telling ourselves this because one day victory will come to us! I hope.

2nd 20 miler in the bank!

Today, I ran my second 20 mile training run for the Columbus Marathon. I began to run with my new Fuel Belt, that was graciously giving to me from fellow CTC member, DaisyDuc, but found the belt too loose around my waist and it had so much bounce and jiggle that I felt funny holding my jugs, so I handed it off to my wife as she drove past me in the car, while on her way to meet me at the 2.5 mile mark.

A comparison of the 2 runs.
The course was the same for both runs.
1st RUN:
Start - 2 weeks ago at 7:00 am
Weather - light rain, 65 degrees
Company - Brian
Fuel - water from fountains on the trail and 2 packs of gel.
Pace - 7:12 per mile average
Finish Time - 2:24:01

2nd RUN:
Start - 8:00 am
Weather - sunny, 78 degrees
Company - "she who must not be named", (my lovely wife) on her mountain bike, keeping pace with me for 15 miles. She met me at the 2.5 mile point which was past the 2 major hills.
Fuel - plenty of water, no gels
Pace - 7:28 per mile average
Finish Time - 2:29:25

I think my pace suffered today because it was a hotter day and no gels to eat. I have 3 more 20 mile runs to get acclimatized to the heat and figure out the nutrition aspect of running long before the race. I think I'll learn something along the way.

No beating the HEAT! Yet.

No matter how long one has been running, no one can beat the heat when it comes to running in projected times and pace. I am learning this lesson even after 20 years of running.
Today's workout was a track run of 2 x 1200 meters and 4 x 800 meters with 2 minutes of rest between the all the sets.
I knew the temperatures would be rising throughout the day so I decided to take an early lunch break around 10 am and run to the track. Before I took off running I squeezed a jelly pack (raspberry Hammer Gel) in my mouth and washed it down with some water. After running for about a mile and half to the track I was dripping with sweat and feeling the heat.
The splits times were as follows:
Scheduled: Actual:
2 x 1200m @ 3:56 (1) 1200m 4:03
(2) 1200m 4:12

4 x 800m @ 2:31 (1) 800m 2:53
(2) 800m 2:53
(3) 800m 3:02
(4) 800m 2:57
As you can see the actual times do not match the scheduled times. After the first 800 I felt like bagging the workout and just run for an easy 6 miles. But, as it has been said, "If you want to run fast you've got to train fast," and even in various conditions like the scorching heat we had today.