Can you tell I'm at home watching NCAA b'ball? 3 posts in one day when I haven't posted in over a month. My wife says I'm incapable of doing just one thing at a time and I'm beginning to believe her. The reason I started posting again is because I got a message from my brother Craig that humbled me. I had no idea anyone was reading my blog except for my wife, who is contractually obligated to be excited about just anything I do. Apparently Craig has been reading my blog and it inspired him to start a diet and exercise regimen. Craig is a big dude who has had major knee problems. It makes me feel really good that my little journey/midlife crisis has positively affected others, especially my "baby" brother. Craig if you're reading this, I love you and couldn't be more proud that you're taking control of your life. Keep it up! Don't overdo it, don't get discouraged, and just take it slow. Exercise has to be part of your life just like sleeping, eating, and working or it will go to the wayside.
I did the 2nd Annual for the Love of Books 5K at Gadsden Middle School on March 12. This was a special treat for me because it's exactly 14 miles from my house on backroads and didn't start until 9 so I met Gretchen at 8 and we rode out there, did the race, hopped back on our bikes and rode back. Felt very triathlete-like riding up to the race, finishing, and then riding away. Downside was Gretchen was there and since she wasn't running the race, she came up with the idea of pacing me on her bike. Whoops.
First mile was 6:37, 2nd 7:05, last 7:23 - overall time 21:09 - new PR baby! She wanted me to "kick" last half mile to keep up with this little old dude and I really, really wanted to "kick." Didn't happen. That little old dude beat me by :24 seconds and that little old dude was only 48. So I got 2nd in my age group, 7th overall. My time would've won my age group in Austin by a full minute but in the racing El Paso corridor, not so much. Good training day altogether but I've got to figure out if I'm pushing myself hard enough. I think that I am but I guess you never know until somebody has to leave on a stretcher.
Next race is the Sully Super Sprint Triathlon in Alpine at Sul Ross University. I did it last year and it was my first official triathlon. I did it in 1:33 last year and hope to improve that by 9-10 minutes. I'll let you know.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Austin Livestrong 5K Report
I completed the President's Day Duathlon on February 19th, took a quick shower and hauled ass for the airport to fly to Austin. Nora and our good friends Craig and Colleen Marusich and Courtney Rios were already in Austin to do the half marathon on February 20th. I entered the 5K as a "recovery run." Us big time triathlete-like fellows apparently do "recovery runs" after busting our collective butts in races. I thought you were just supposed to assume the position and sit on your happy tail but Gretchen (my trainer) thinks otherwise.
Got into Austin about 4 p.m. and we had some good Italian, walked around a bit and went to bed early. Got up at the ass crack (thank you time difference) and staggered down to the Capitol. They staggered the start so Craig and I got to see Nora, Colleen and Courtney off and then I started my race. The plan was to "run easy." Apparently I don't know how to do that when there's 1100 hundred people around me. I held steady about a 7 to 7:30 mile and ended up in 23:47. Pretty good for having done a duathlon the day before.
Craig and I waited for the girls to show up and show up they did. All 3 ladies including my beautiful wife set PRs on a very difficult course. The guy who won the marathon repeated from last year but was 9 minutes slower if that tells you anything. We all went back to the hotel to clean up and I decided to check the results. Imagine my surprise when I found out I finished 3rd in my age group among 33 guys! I was shocked. Slowest time that I ever won a medal for but hardware is hardware baby! Cool medal too.
Got into Austin about 4 p.m. and we had some good Italian, walked around a bit and went to bed early. Got up at the ass crack (thank you time difference) and staggered down to the Capitol. They staggered the start so Craig and I got to see Nora, Colleen and Courtney off and then I started my race. The plan was to "run easy." Apparently I don't know how to do that when there's 1100 hundred people around me. I held steady about a 7 to 7:30 mile and ended up in 23:47. Pretty good for having done a duathlon the day before.
Craig and I waited for the girls to show up and show up they did. All 3 ladies including my beautiful wife set PRs on a very difficult course. The guy who won the marathon repeated from last year but was 9 minutes slower if that tells you anything. We all went back to the hotel to clean up and I decided to check the results. Imagine my surprise when I found out I finished 3rd in my age group among 33 guys! I was shocked. Slowest time that I ever won a medal for but hardware is hardware baby! Cool medal too.
President's Day Duathlon Race Report
Holy crap it's been a while since I wrote. I've been training well. Some missed workouts here and there but largely I've been training consistently. People keep telling me that I need to eat a hamburger or something because I'm getting too skinny but my weight is staying the same. Right about 202. I would actually like to be about 190 but then I couldn't compete as a Clydesdale. More on why that's where I need to be later.
First race of the year was a duathlon at White Sands Missile Range. Important race for me because its the exact same race that was my introduction to multisport exactly a year ago. 5K trail run up and down a little and then what was supposed to be a 18 mile bike. Did really well on the 5K with a time of 23:22 and was 3-4 minutes ahead of fellow big guys. More than a minute ahead of my time from last year. Gotta work on transition as I always seem to hesitate to catch my breath a second or two (in my head) and ends up being a minute or so in transition which isn't necessary when all I have to do is change shoes and put on a helmet. My bike time was 52:27 and an average of 20.5 mph. Improved my time from last years same event by over 8 minutes! That's the good news.
The bad news? I wanted to win the Clydesdale division. The head stud was Cody Hanson who rocked last year in the Southwest Challenge Series and was coming in overall in top 5 at lot of events. He kind of lost his enthusiasm for the sport and showed up to this race but out of shape so I never saw him and he ended up finishing about 3 minutes behind. My other competition - John Gardea. John is an inspirational story - used to weigh close to 400 pounds and now is about 210. He had already won Clydesdale division in two prior events that I didn't race. I was 3 or 4 minutes ahead of him on the run and never saw him. I was only about a mile and a half from the finish on the bike, I was hurting but going along good. I shit you not, just as I thought, "I'm ahead of the other Clydes as long as John or Cody doesn't catch up," freaking John passed me flying. *&$!#!!!. I immediately tried to give chase but ended up finishing 20 seconds behind him. Dambit! Completely pissed me off and made me not so happy even though I beat my last years time by over 8 minutes.
My trainer says I need an aero helmet and a new wheel set for my bike. I ride on basically bullet proof Armadillo tires because I hate getting flats. They are great for training, not so great for racing apparently b/c they're heavy. Didn't realize that. The helmet is one of those dorky looking things that you make fun of when you see spandex-wearing 120 pounds guys go flying past you. I guess we'll see how it looks on a 200 pound guy next race. I've always hesitated to buy the fancy looking stuff b/c I didn't want to be "that guy" who shows up with all the gee whiz technology and gets dusted by a dude on a Schwinn wearing cargo shorts. I think I'm safe from that guy now so I'll put my big toe in the fancy waters.
I ended up 2nd in Clydesdale, 22nd overall out of 67 individuals. Had I competed in my age group, I would've been 4th and out of the hardware. I didn't compete as a Clydesdale last year because I didn't know if I would stay above 200 for an entire year of training. Now I know I will, and I'll keep trying to beat the big boys!
First race of the year was a duathlon at White Sands Missile Range. Important race for me because its the exact same race that was my introduction to multisport exactly a year ago. 5K trail run up and down a little and then what was supposed to be a 18 mile bike. Did really well on the 5K with a time of 23:22 and was 3-4 minutes ahead of fellow big guys. More than a minute ahead of my time from last year. Gotta work on transition as I always seem to hesitate to catch my breath a second or two (in my head) and ends up being a minute or so in transition which isn't necessary when all I have to do is change shoes and put on a helmet. My bike time was 52:27 and an average of 20.5 mph. Improved my time from last years same event by over 8 minutes! That's the good news.
The bad news? I wanted to win the Clydesdale division. The head stud was Cody Hanson who rocked last year in the Southwest Challenge Series and was coming in overall in top 5 at lot of events. He kind of lost his enthusiasm for the sport and showed up to this race but out of shape so I never saw him and he ended up finishing about 3 minutes behind. My other competition - John Gardea. John is an inspirational story - used to weigh close to 400 pounds and now is about 210. He had already won Clydesdale division in two prior events that I didn't race. I was 3 or 4 minutes ahead of him on the run and never saw him. I was only about a mile and a half from the finish on the bike, I was hurting but going along good. I shit you not, just as I thought, "I'm ahead of the other Clydes as long as John or Cody doesn't catch up," freaking John passed me flying. *&$!#!!!. I immediately tried to give chase but ended up finishing 20 seconds behind him. Dambit! Completely pissed me off and made me not so happy even though I beat my last years time by over 8 minutes.
My trainer says I need an aero helmet and a new wheel set for my bike. I ride on basically bullet proof Armadillo tires because I hate getting flats. They are great for training, not so great for racing apparently b/c they're heavy. Didn't realize that. The helmet is one of those dorky looking things that you make fun of when you see spandex-wearing 120 pounds guys go flying past you. I guess we'll see how it looks on a 200 pound guy next race. I've always hesitated to buy the fancy looking stuff b/c I didn't want to be "that guy" who shows up with all the gee whiz technology and gets dusted by a dude on a Schwinn wearing cargo shorts. I think I'm safe from that guy now so I'll put my big toe in the fancy waters.
I ended up 2nd in Clydesdale, 22nd overall out of 67 individuals. Had I competed in my age group, I would've been 4th and out of the hardware. I didn't compete as a Clydesdale last year because I didn't know if I would stay above 200 for an entire year of training. Now I know I will, and I'll keep trying to beat the big boys!
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