Mid Week Post

Well it is raining out, hard, so my 5 mile run is canked, unless I run on the dreadmill :( but just looking over some stats, comparing last year (a blah training year) with this year, and wow, the difference a year makes. I mean, wow, even with crappy weather, my milage is way up, my times in races are coming down, and I feel better! I guess this training for tris is a whole lot better than just paying my money and suffering with no taining. Look at the two years below:
2011 totals
Bike: 12h 18m 54s - 220.25 Mi
Run: 26h 26m 01s - 198.25 Mi
Swim: 7h 30m 10s - 14800 Yd
Strength: 20m
Walking: 3h 11m 29s

2010 totals
Bike: 55h 00m 24s - 919.07 Mi
Run: 45h 23m 53s - 306.68 Mi
Swim: 6h 38m 43s - 12431.42 Yd
Strength: 7h 30m
Basketball: 1h 00m
Elliptical Training: 50m 30s
Spinning Class: 15m
Ultimate Football: 10h 37m
Walking: 4h 57m 58s

So as you can see, I either am paying more attention to my training, or I am doing more training. But I think it is I am actually getting out and training.

Well this is what the remainder of my workout week looks like:
Wed - 5 Mile run
Thur - 5 mile run; 1900 yard swim
Fri - 12 mile bike; 1500 yard swim
Sat - 5k race; 24 mile bike
Sun - 12 mile run; 12 mile bike

Well, I guess back to work, and hey, drop me a note on here with suggestions on how I can make this blog more fun to read!

Thanks!

Raleigh Run the Ridge 5k Race Report

Well not sure what happened to the heat, but this weekend was REALLY cold, but that didn't stop me from racing this weekend. I ran the Run the Ridge 5K with a friend of mine, Kindra Arthur and it was for a great cause, the Pretty in Pink foundation, which supports cancer patients by paying their hospital bills if they can't afford it with insurance. I love good causes and I think this one ranks right up there. Well I got up early (for a weekend) and drove over to Kindra's house, forgetting my breakfast on the counter, and got there at about 0630, so we could drive up to Raleigh together. Got to meet her pups (which were hyper) and her friend, Wendy, who was on the mend and didn't race. Well we loaded up and got on the road. It didn't take us too long to get up there, but we started to have problems with the GPS and took a few extra turns to get to the race site.

Of course, since I didn't get my breakfast, I had a breakfast burrito and a Slim Jim for my meal, yum! We got there and got out, noting that it was colder here than in Fayetteville, and got our race numbers and chips, I ended up with #13 (not too forbodding or anything!), so we stretched, warmed up and went to the big blue church to worship, and we were ready. One of the locals told us that this course was hilly, beginning with a 1/2 mile up hill stretch and that you were either running up hill or downhill, no flat spots, awesome! Well, that turned out to be true, as I started the race about in 10th or so, and hit the first of many hills, and wow, it too the wind out of a bunch of folks sails. But I powered up the hill and noticed a tiny female ahead of me, so I had my eyes set on her to pick off and she was hanging tough until about the 1 mile mark, where my strength up hill and my body weight downhill overcame her youth, but she was tough to catch and pass. After passing her, I had just two guys ahead of me, so I wanted to keep them in sight and hope to make up some ground on them. But with all the up and down hills, I couldn't close the gap fast enough, even when the guy in second kept looking back for me, I knew he was hurting, but I couldn't quite get there. The best part was the end of the race, with a nice half mile downhill, which was very welcome. I ended up setting a new PR again, with a 20:54 despite all the hills, so I can't wait until I hit some flat roads again, and best yet, got a podium finish (3rd, but they didn't have a podium, sad face). But again, finished 2nd in my age group, so 3rd overall and 2nd in age group, oh well. It was a fun race, and Kindra ended up winning her age group, despite everyone after 6th place took a wrong turn. But the tiny girl that I passed, she was age 12! And the guy behind her was 13! Man, makes you feel old, since their combined ages still don't equal my age! Yikes!

But I talked to her father (who was originnaly from Michigan) and she is getting ready for high school cross country. Me thinks she will do just fine if she runs like that. But the even better part was post-race breakfast at O'Malley's Pub. Some of the best pancakes that I have tasted in a while, yum! And like always, I didn't hurl at the finish line! Yea me! Well guess I have to keep training to keep dropping that time down, but I hate the cold wet weather of spring!

The ABC Game

Well, since most of the other blogs I read have done these, and I'm a bit bored right now, so here we go...

Age: 37 (feels much, much older)

Bed size: Just upgraded to a King, and still have no room thanks to Harley

Chore you dislike: The stuff I don’t like / am motivated to do.

Dogs: Harley (aka Bed Hog Supreme)

Essential start to your day: Letting Harley out for her morning “business”

Favorite color: Red

Gold or silver: Gold

Height: 5'4 and change

Instruments you play: French Horn (long time ago)

Job title: Staff Dude

Kids: Just the ones I drop off at the pool

Live: Fort Bragg, NC

Mom's name: Mary Ann

Nickname: Drew

Overnight hospital stay: When I was born, but numerous visits

Pet peeves: Wow, where to start… Mainly involve other peoples driving habits

Quote from a movie: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” Jaws

Righty or lefty: Righty

Siblings: 1 brother, Ryan

Time you wake up: 7:30am

Underwear: Underarmor

Vegetables you don't like: Spinach and Asparagus.

What makes you run late: I’m in the Army, running late is a BAD thing

Xrays you had: Tibia, ankle

Yummy food you make: Hmmm, Hot pockets

Zoo animal favorites: Monkeys, except the poo flinging kind!

Well there is your TMI for the day, and looks like I will be racing tomorrow in Raleigh at the Run the Ridge 5K, IN THE RAIN, but oh well, it will be fun, then Hockey with the Fireantz! Fun stuff! We will see how that works out!

Weekend Update (and mini-race Report!)

Well another weekend down, they really should make them all 3 day weekends! Oh well, it was a fun weekend all and all, plus I got points for helping in the garden with the wife! Bonus! And I only really wussed out on one workout, so that wasn't so bad.

Friday after work, took a nice 12 mile ride on the Jamis, which was a little longer using a new Pope AAF (AFB) since the gates are now open, but the roads leading there are VERY bumpy, so might have to find a better way of getting there without mixing my innards up like a blender! Nice!

Woke up early (read: 0815) and jogged over to Hendrix Stadium on post for the Moral, Welfare, and Recreation Monthly Family 5K fun run. I hadn't done one, so I figured that it would be a good speed workout, so why not. Jogged over and stretched a bit more and at 0900 on the dot, the "race" was on! I went out at a good pace, keeping the leaders in sight, luckily the first 1/4 to 1/2 mile was downhill, so that was a nice leg stretcher. But with every good thing, the universe must have a bad thing to balance itself out, so the next half mile was completly uphill, so sad face, but I wasn't too effected by it. I actually made up ground on folks there, so that was a good thing. I just tried to maintain a nice easy pace and keep moving forward. Once I got back to the stadium, you head downhill a little bit and finish on the track (after running 3/4 of a lap). Despite my leasurely outlook on this "race", I ended up crossing the line at 21:08, a new PR. Wow not bad for just taking it easy! I walked around, was told I was top-10 (doesn't get you anything), drank some gatorade and jogged back to the house.

In the evening, I took the QR out for a ride, riding the Pope Loop twice for 18 miles, which felt good, but wears me out some what. I rode without the aero bottle, but glad I took a water bottle as it was warm. Came home, helped in the yard, and relaxed for the night.

Sunday was fun, took Harley to one of the drop zones and let her chase birds and run crazy (she always looks forward to Sundays for this reason). I always record how far we go, so the humans walk about a mile, but Har ends up about 1 1/2 miles from all the running she does. It makes her happy and tired. We got home watched some hoops and the race, fell asleep for 3 hours (all of us) and then hit the road for another Pope Double, this time on the Jamis. Not bad, but about 2-2 1/2 mph slower (no aero). So all in all, another good weekend!

I'd also like to thank Ken, my first real follower (I thought a week ago I had a follower, but it was just myself, oops, no friends!), so THANKS! And let's look at this weeks workouts:

Monday: Run 4 miles, swim 2000yards
Tuesday: Run 5 miles, jump out of airplane, $1 bowling night!
Wednesday: Run 5 miles, Moe's Wednesday!, Survivor night
Thursday: Run 5 miles, swim 2000yards
Friday: Run 5 miles, swim 1800yards
Saturday: Race in Raleigh (Run the Ridge 5K); long 30mile Bike
Sunday: Run 12 miles, bike 12 miles

Sounds like a full week for me, but if I keep getting faster, it is worth it. Now if I can just lose some more weight to get even faster... Enjoy your week everybody! And check the Azalea post, I will have pictures in there!

Azalea Sprint Triathlon Race Report

Well, I have been lazy with my posts, but not my workouts, and now I have my first tri of the season under my belt, and whooo baby, it was a good start!

I ended up registering for the Azalea Tri down in Wilmington, NC on Sunday the 13th of March, as I was chomping at the bit to race with Elenor the wonder cycle. Well the wife and I rode the 2 hours south to Wilmington, which we used to do almost every weekend when my bro-and-sister-in-law lived down there on Carolina Beach, and I LOVED being a beach bum! It was the best.

Ok back on course, we got to the hotel right at 2pm and went to check in and was told, "Umm Check in is after 3pm" Huh? WTF? I was told that it was 2, but oh well, gotta kill some time and rode over to UNC-Wilmington, where the race was held. Pretty much the same set up as three years ago, when I "raced" with very little training, but now, I was back to break the 1 hour mark!

Well we got settled in at the hotel after a little time, got the dog out of the car and she proceeded to smell EVERYTHING for the next half hour! But after that was done, headed to dinner with friends and then packet pick up and prerace meeting. Wow, should have wore pants, the wind was a little chilly in the early evening. After an informative meeting (for the earlier race, 4 people were DQ'd for various infractions, OUCH! Mostly helmet violations, plus a bunch of 2 and 4 minute penalties for drafting, abandonement, etc), so that was good to know.

After a "restfull" night and the begining of Daylight's Savings Time (bad timing right there), the wife and I loaded up and headed over to the race, and she took a nap while I went to set up my TA.

I love how SetUp Events has the TA, total of 6 people per rack, 3 each side, so ample room to get your stuff laid out and ready. I chitchatted with folks there and we all talked about our swim ranking and I let the lady ahead of me I might be faster than my predicted time (mainly because I had preedicted early and that was before they closed our pool on post, so I didn't swim for about 2-3 weeks), but I figured I was about 10-15 seconds faster than my time. She said no problem, she was just recovering from an injury and didn't want to hold me up. But I did have one guy in my AG racked right next to me, and we chatted about everything. Christian Cole was his name, and a real cool guy, he started 30 seconds after me in the pool.

Well I was ready and set up, headed to go pick up the wife and to the pool to warm up and get ready. Took my first GU at the 15 minutes to go mark and swam a few laps in the diving well. I was all ready to roll, headed over to the start end (it was a time trial start, at every 15 seconds based off of your predicted time) and watched some others snake their way thru the pool for 300 meters. I hopped in the cold "74 degree" water, and got acclimated and moved up until it was my time to go. Brrr!



At 08:57:30 I was off and all the pool time was paying off! I ended up catching and passing about 7-10 people in the pool, and unlike other forays in the aqua world, I didn't feel winded or have to switch strokes, which is a major plus for me right now. I clambered out of the pool at a fast-for-me 5:10 and slid my way down the steps towards the TA. Note that the pool was on the 2nd floor and you had to run down a narrow stairwell, and run down the sidewalk for about 200-300 meters to the TA. Ouch, that is why my feet are still sore after 2 days!

I raced into the TA, and hit my rack, dried my feet, rolled my socks on and slid into my shoes. I had a little trouble with my new Desoto Tri top, I tried to roll it on, but ended up getting stuck mid-chest and after some pulling, I gave up on it. Helmet and glasses on, bike off the rack and Andrew running in cycling shoes towards the mount line. That could be another reason my feet hurt, running in cycling shoes, hmmmm. Managed to do a flying mount after the line and passed two folks gingerly getting on their bikes and I was aero and gone!

The only bad part was the amount of speed humps, which were gradual but still were bad enough. I did manage to stay aero almost he entire way (cornering I did pop up to brake) but other than that, I was rolling. I started at a good pace and kept it up the entire route. I was actually wearing myself out saying "On your left", which most folks thanked me for the heads up (I guess most others were too "in the zone" to let others know they were passing, booo), but I was doing my part! I was passing folks like crazy, and my bike mount that I fashioned was working out well, so I had to just dip my eyes a little to see my Garmin, so good set up. I managed to pass about 15-20 folks on the bike, was passed once as I took in my 2nd GU, so after I swallowed the GU, I re-passed him and turned it on. I came flying into the TA area, and hopped off at the dismount line and boogied in to rack my bike. Bike ended up being 25:30, so again, I was happy with that split too!



Now on to the run, took off my cycling shoes, slid into my runners, helmet off, and out the TA. I was really expecting my legs to be rubber after a good bike effort, but they were surprisingly fresh feeling and had some jump to them. I managed a good pace on the way out and wanted to turn a negative split in for the run back (it was an out-and-back loop on the campus sidewalk system and relativly flat), so hit the water stations on the way out and flew on the way back in. I felt great and passed another 10-12 people (with a TT start, it is easier IMHO to pass folks since all AG and abilities are out there), so that was good, I loved passing the younger guys in their 20s because this short, old dude can still motor! As I passed the 3 mile mark, I felt some pressure from behind, and cranked it up and let my feet do their stuff, because I wasn't going to be passed at the line! I ended up coming across the line, and wait for it, wait for it... I didn't puke! NIIIICE! So finished in a surprising 21:39. Nice, very nice!



After a little walking around, I walked over and got a nice deep tissue massage on my calves which was awesome! But afterwords, went to get my stuff from the TA to load up the car, check the pre-lims and my times, and headed out. I ended up breaking 1 hour with a 56:18, good for 54th overall (9th in AG), so I was pleased. My T1 and T2 times were ok, but I know I can save a few minutes in there, as they say "Free Time", so I can get faster, plus my swim will only get stronger, so that are some of the bright sides. But I love how the 35-39 men's AG is always the largest AG in most races that I see, I have dubbed it the "Middle-Life Crisis AG", which I guess I fall under. But each and every goal I set before this race was met, except for the T1 time of 2 minutes (it was 2:57, which included the Bataan Death Run from the pool), but al things considered, I was happy.

Luckily I let Jen drive home, and after we unpacked the car, we all took much needed naps! Yeah, happy ending!

But I am going to upload some photos tonight that Jen took, and make sure I post at least twice a week from now on, since I am pissed at Beginner Tri (BT) for not saving any of my lengthy RR, so I will make these my main effort for posting