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.