Boston Bound? Congratulations and Good Luck!

In just a few short days, you my friend, will be running in the world's greatest race: The Boston Marathon.  You didn't get there by chance.  You earned your right to be there.  Your determination, perseverance and drive along with your dream, belief and faith were your driving force necessary for you to punch your ticket to Boston.

This to you is your Super Bowl, your World Series, Your World Cup. Your Masters. Your goal may be to pursue a pr, to enjoy the experience or just simply to cross the finish line.  Whatever that may be, I wish you luck.

As you leave for this venture, please take with you the knowledge that you leave behind a mass of supporters and admirers.  We will follow your progress throughout the race and as you cross that finish line rest assured that that roar you hear is us cheering with pride as we celebrate your success.

So, without any further to do... It is my best desire and wish that you find in Boston everything you have been expecting and then a little more.

Easter Sunday 35 Mile Bike Ride

A beautiful day for a beautiful ride. Just me, my bike and mother nature.

When is a Black Toenail not a Black Toenail?

For an endurance athlete, be it a runner, a triathlete or whatever the sport of choice, it's in their nature to push it to the limit and then beyond.  Today just happened to be one of those days.

Today's plan was changed last night. The weather report stated that the rain would come mid morning. So I set myself up for a 4:30 wake up call, 5:15 run time. The way I figured it, the rain would be about here by the time I was finishing my 20 miles. Yeah, slow... I know.

As I left the house, the wind was blowing and the clouds were low, dark and very heavy. You could tell they were loaded. Not a good sign was my first thought. But I got on my car and off to the park I went.

Wasting no time upon arrival, I proceeded with my run. One loop around the park and a couple of miles down the road later the rain came. Not to hard, but it was here and it was early. Oh, well. A run in the rain never hurt anyone

I have been nursing a sore calf from what appeared to be a severe cramp last Saturday.  It was sore but not in pain.  If I changed my stride in any form, I could tell right away because the muscle would let me know.  So, in addition to having to watch for the wet pavement, I had to be extra careful with my calf, did not really want to aggravate the injury this close to marathon day.


I could tell my pace was slower than usual.  If I tried to push it, I could feel it.

So off and on the rain kept coming.  Nothing really bad, just annoying.  That is until the bottom fell off.  It rained so hard for about five minutes that the rain was hurting as it hit my body.  I had no where to take shelter so I just kept on going.

By this point it was just about survival.  The last six miles of the run were an adventure, to say the least.  Every stitch of clothing was wet, heavy wet.  It was like carrying an extra twenty pounds with you.  The shoes, but specially the socks were soaked.  (Note to self:  gotta get some good wicking socks).  My Garmin had condensation build up.  Couldn't see out of my glasses.  I was cold and seriously hoping that one day I would be able to warm up again.

But as the miles kept coming I was determined to finish strong.  My plan today was to run one mile and walk (fast walk) one tenth of a mile.  I would use this time to reload, refuel, recup.  I stuck to this plan to the end.

So, when is a black toenail not a black toenail?  I tell you.

When I got home and took of my shoes, I saw a very disturbing sight:  A red (blood) ring on my left sock.  Weird, I remember thinking.  So, I took of my sock and my second toe was covered in blood.  No pain, just blood.  My toenail was not black any longer!  So I guess the blood blister that was making my toenail black was no longer a blister which made it no longer a black toenail.  Usually, black toenails grow out, this was a first for me.

The Stats on Soft Drinks

A Fork On The Road

When I set out to run the Tom King Classic Half Marathon in Nashville yesterday, my goal was very simple: to run at my marathon pace (secretly, really... a little faster). I wanted to use this race as pace training for the Country Music Marathon which is coming up on April 24th. I'd like to run the CMM in 4:30 which is a 10:17 pace. That was the plan anyway.

Quickly after the start of the race, an adjustment was made to my plan. This pace seemed awfully slow for a half marathon. I would leave the pace training to my training runs. Today I would shoot for a 2:10 finish time.

I have found that one of the most difficult things in a race is not to fall into the trap of running at the pack's pace. By all accounts it's always to fast. And yesterday was not any different. But... after a couple of miles I realized that I would go after the 2:10 finish time which meant a 9:55 pace, not to terribly off my marathon goal pace.

My first five miles splits were 8:34, 8:42, 8:51, 9:00 and 9:09. Pretty steady I thought, but way faster than my comfort zone. At this point I chose to slow it down some and try to get into a better running rhythm. The next five mile splits continued to be slower, but at the same rate of decreased pace as the first five; 9:19, 9:28, 9:37, 9:47 and 9:56. I was consistently loosing about 8-10 seconds per mile. Which felt comfortable. The last three were not any different. 10:06, 10:16 and 10:27. Finish time was 2:05:12. 4:48 faster than goal time. I was pleased.

There's a lot of talk in the running world about negative splits. One day, I think, I will have to give that a try. I will have to work on that.

The Country Music Marathon is only five weeks away. I will have to work on a more consistent pace in order to have a successful race. I hope five weeks is enough.

The weather for this race, historically has been less than ideal. Rain and wind and cold and all that. Yesterday's prospects were not any better. It had rained in Nashville for a couple of days and the weatherman projected more for race time. But, we live in Middle Tennessee and that is subject to change without notice. What to wear and how to dress was the question. Layers? No layers? Gloves? Tights? Shorts? I decided from the git-go that I would wear shorts. The temperature was mid 40's and that would be okay. However, layers? how many? It wasn't windy, but it was cloudy and the rain was coming. So three layers I wore. As it turns out, the rain didn't materialize during the race, it was not windy and the temperature was comfortable. Waiting for the race to start, I was wishing I had my gloves but very quickly I gave thanks that I left them behind. Somewhere around mile two, I realized that two layers would have been enough. Oh, well.

I remembered from last year that the course was wet and that the ground had puddles. I also remembered how horrible it was to run with wet socks. So this year I took some precautions. I found a new use for duck tape. Taped the mesh on top of the shoe to prevent water from getting my socks wet. See picture!  This worked wonderful.

Now to the fork on the road.  It is becoming very obvious to me that I need to make a choice.  Do I want to continue to train and run full marathons or do I want to concentrate and run for better times at Half Marathons?  This question I kept asking myself throughout the run yesterday.  I knew that if I wanted to push it harder, I had plenty in me to do so, but I didn't want to risk injury this close to the CMM.

What's more important to me and what would give me the most pleasure?  Pursuing a PR, but how fast can I really and realistically go?  And when would I know that I have run as fast as I can physically run?  What about the knees and the ankles?  How much use and abuse can they take?  Oh yeah, what about my back? Bulging and herniated disks, how much can they take?  What about the thrill of crossing the finish line at a marathon, would that equal the thrill of a PR on the half?

I'm not suggesting that I can't do both, but I don't think I can do both well.

But for now, the CMM is next.  Should my number come up for NYC, that will be on the schedule.  A decision will be made as to how many more I will run... however, in order to run an Ironman, I will have to have marathon training.  Decisions, decisions!

This Season's Official Training Has Begun

Not that I had a chance to take much of a break from training this winter, but officially the 2010 training season has begun!
I am trying to squeeze a couple of swims - three sessions a week would be ideal, a couple of spin classes - at least until I can consistently get the bike out on the road, and somewhere around 25-30 miles of running per week.  This millage will continue to go up as the date for the Country Music Marathon gets closer.
There are a few demons I have to face, fight and conquer.  Primarily is the one that fights with me to get up early in the morning on Mondays and Wednesdays to go swimming.  This week was a good battle, but I can proudly say that I won, for on both days I made it to the pool!  Step One has been taken.  Next week, Step Two.  It has been said that it takes two weeks to create a habit.  I am hoping that to be true, for if it is, and I make it out of bed on Monday and Wednesday this coming week, then my chances of success (in this area) have been tremendously improved.  But man, getting up at 4:15 sure is a struggle.
Second and not such a battle is the one that challenges me to do two workouts on Monday and Wednesday.  After the pool in the morning, I have a spin class scheduled for Monday afternoon and strength conditioning on Wednesday afternoon.  These are not to bad.  I think these can be managed.
The third battle is taking the day off when I'm supposed to take the day off.  Putting a little smarts behind this one, could easily be conquered.  I think!
My schedule for the next week is as follows:  (and I post it here for accountability purposes)

Today:  Afternoon Swim (1200-1500m)
Saturday:  14 mile run
Sunday: - OFF
Monday:  AM - TriSwim, PM - Spin
Tuesday: 7 mile run
Wednesday: AM - TriSwim, PM - Strength
Thursday: AM - Spin (optional), PM - 7 mile run

 Additionally, I have started a program called "One Hundred Push Ups".  I am on the second week of a six week program which, if completed according to plan, will get me to 100 push ups.
'til next time...

An Endurance Athlete...Me?

According to Webster's online dictionary, "Endurance" is defined as the act, quality or power of withstanding hardship or stress.  The act or fact of persevering.  An Endurance Athlete is able to accomplish feats such as Marathons, Half Marathons, Triathlons and challenging Ultra endurance events.

But what's the attraction and why are so many seemingly normal people attracted to this? Considering that the majority of the world's population has trouble finding the time or energy to work out at all, let alone train for a grueling endurance event?  What makes these elite athletes different and where do they get their energy and motivation to do so?

Accoridng to an article published by Forbes.com, "Much of this is mental.  While many endurance athletes say there's nothing special about their physical abilities, clearly people who are drawn to and are able to accomplish feats such as marathons, triathlons and challenging ultra events differ from the rest of us somehow.  A big piece of the puzzle is how these athletes think about their lives, goals and the obstacles they face."

Jenny Susser, a clinical psychologist at the Women's Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery goes on to say that "many endurance athletes also have common personality traits which include persistence, endless curiosity, a lack of fear when it comes to failure and a sense of boldness."

Personally, I can atest to these statements.  But when I set out to run my first race, the furthest thing from my mind was becoming an "endurance athlete".  And a short four years thereafter, I find that I am a member of a very elite group, purely by accident.

After completing my first half marathon I found myself wanting to push the envelope a bit further.  How much could I endure?  I how much would I be willing to go?  How high is my pain - physical and mental - threshold?  Do I have the dedication to commit to a training schedule?  When is enough?

One of the greatest and most attractive elements of endurance sports is that you can create and execute your own goals at your own pace.  For me my goals have been simple: to simply finish and to finish in respectable time.  Respectable as defined by my standards.  Doing this has enabled me to measure my perforance in accordance to my wants and needs.  I have had disappointments but mostly success.

So how far am I willing to go?  or a better question may be, how far can my body take me?

That question remains to be answered.  Up to this point no one single event has left me wondering why I do this or if it's time to quit.  On the contrary, every event has reinforced the reasons why I do this and wondering what's next?