FTMM - 18 November 2013 - OUTSIDE Finally!

Man I hate treadmills!  And trainers!  But when you are a wimp, plus the weather sucks and/or it gets dark before you get home from work, these things all lead to them.  Hey, I love the feeling of wind in my hair, even if you start to lose feeling, I'd rather be outside.  And this finally happened this weekend.  I got two solid runs in and it felt great!  Now that I am free on my lunch hour now, running at lunch is on again!  But still have to force myself to go to the pool, since I checked my training logs, yup, no real swimming since June.  Yes, June!  Man, I'm a wimp!

Also finally got great news, I'm headed for Texas!  A place where it's 16* warmer on average and I hope a ton less windy than Kansas!  I am looking forward to being able to train year round outside, so let it begin!

Here's a look at last week:

SWIM: Still looking!
BIKE:  20.2 miles (all indoors)  Well I almost made it through Fast and Furious 6, just a little longer!
RUN:  13.7 (with two outdoor runs) I ran hella fast on Friday, got sore from not running that much, then ran 8.6 hilly miles Saturday.  Yeah, stupid, but it hurt sooo good!

Looking ahead:

SWIM: 7600 yds (3:50)  Got these scheduled for the evenings so the wife can go.
BIKE: 40 miles (2+ hrs) All indoors unless we get some freaky warm weather this weekend.
RUN:  32 miles (3:45)  These will be all outdoors this week, so should be a good week.

I'm going to lock myself into two races by paying for them now so I can't "worm" my way out of them.  So this week both going to sign up for the Winter Runderland 5K here in Manhattan, KS and the Topeka-to-Auburn Half marathon coming up in January before I move.  That way money will be paid and no getting out of that!

Well, I'm off like a prom dress, so we'll see you next week!

FTMM - Tuesday Edition 12 November

Well this last week was crazy!  Lots of work, little to no motivation to run, but got a nice 20 mile bike ride in, a single treadmill run, and a trainer ride, so all was not lost.  Thank you Day Light Savings Time!  Now it gets dark at 5pm, which means I can't really run when I get home, so it's either mornings or lunch runs.  That makes for sad panda!  But I have been hanging with the wife on the 30-or-so day plank challenge to tighten up the core.  It started with 15-30 sec planks and as of right now, we are at 90 seconds.  We will culminate with 270 seconds, which is like, um, let's see, carry the one, oh screw it, when planking, a long freaking time!  But so far so good.

Since it was nice out, I did a 10 mile time trial with the Manhattan Tri Club, and got to break out the tri bike and new aero lid (since my suspension for my road helmet is busted), so I looked like an alien riding through the streets on our way to the site, a nice 5 mile stretch of road with a total elevation gain of 5 feet.  Nice, flat and straight.  I ended up with a 27:24, but I credit the equipment, not the engine because the entire way I bled power and held at 25 mph, then 24, then 23 and on down, so not really consistent, but then again, I haven't ridden in a while either.  But for almost mid-November, it wasn't bad and just a little wind from the south (which felt like headwinds both ways).  But I averaged 22 mph, which was ok, but that is what I'd like to average over 40K or more, so I have some work to do over the winter.

My stats for this last week:

SWIM: 0 yards (I'll pick up mid month, once I'm done with a few things)
BIKE: 20 Miles (out of 18 planned)  It was nice to get out and ride outside, but I feel those days will be few and far between coming up.
RUN: 3 Miles (out of 34 planned) Horrible week!  I wasted too many "nice days", but it was a busy week as well, but no excuses to repeat for next week

Plan for next week:

SWIM: 2000 yards (A nice welcome back to swimming day)
BIKE: 30 (On the trainer) and maybe a few outside on the weekends
RUN: 34 (Need to ease back into it, but still need the long runs up there to get ready for NOLA in a few months)

And yes, I bagged the Double Road Race.  I saved 45 bucks, and since I hadn't run much the last few weeks, didn't want to waste my money or time to get pissed off that I didn't do as well as I could or should have.  Discretion is the better part of valor!  But also got some good news, looks like early next year I'll be in Texas, so I can follow thru on my race plans and training and hope that Texas brings a little more winter warmth to allow me to train outside versus on the treadmill / trainer!

So there is a bright spot for me, but looks like back to the grind here!  See you all next week!  It is almost "that" day here at work!

FTMM - 4 November and Possible 2014 Races!

As the calendar changes to another month, I have racked up two consecutive 100 mile months, but to hit my goal I set in back at the beginning of the year, I need two more 100 mile months.  Uggh!  And with weather starting to go south, the added stress of the old "is-the-Army-going-to-move-me-or-not" game, and a few other things, it kinda sours the mood, right?

Well, now I'm on 24 duty tonight, hence the FTMM post a bit early!  I did apply this last week for the US Military Elite Triathlon team, and got a call...I didn't make the Elite team (only 3 guys right now), but have been invited to the Club team (also in it's first year), so that gave me a little pick me up, and then received another email from another potential sponsor, so I'll have to wait later in the week on that one, and I still have a few other sponsors that I am thinking of applying for in the next few months (if you're looking for a fairly good over 40 triathlete, let me know!  I'm available!), so that will help with some more motivation.  The only niggling thing is that I still don't know if I'll be in Texas in a few months or be staying here in Kansas, so I'll hold back on my race schedule (or publish two! One for TX and one for KS!).



My stats for this last week:

SWIM: 0 yards (I'll pick up mid month, once I'm done with a few things)
BIKE: 0 Miles (out of 0 planned)  It has been a week of late hours and now, day light savings time and a one day weekend (just shoot me, I smell trainer time in the garage coming up)
RUN: 14 Miles (out of 38 planned) Man, talk about limping out of October, but again time is limited!

Plan for next week:

SWIM: 0
BIKE: 18 minimum
RUN: 36 (and a race on Saturday, the Double Road Race!)

This last month wasn't anything special, but set a PR* (*post college PR) in the 5K, raced my first mountain bike race (hope to finish my first one soon!), and just blased my way thru the month, but I can look on the bright side only 5 1/2 months until my first 70.3!  Oh good lord!

My last month:
SWIM: Does my bath time count? No, then mark it zero dude!
BIKE: 45 miles.  I've done longer rides than that, man riding on the trainer is going to suck!
RUN: A Hundy!  A Benji! 100 miles on the dot.

Ok, I am breaking down here a bit: my first draft, pending the wife's overrule, race schedule!

Of course, this is subject to change (depending on where I am living next year):

November 9, 2013 - The Manhattan(KS) Double Road Race
Finishing out this year with a bang (I hope) is the Double Road Race, an event where you run a 10K, get a "half time" then hit the road again for a 5K.  Time is added up and boom, lowest time wins!  Cool concept, despite I ran one like this many years ago in Michigan, the Scenic Emmitt Challenge, a 2.5K, 10K and 5K (or you could just do one or two of them). 

December 1, 2013 - The Winter Runderland 5K (or 5K donut race!)
I ran this one back in 2011 when I first got to Kansas, it is a nice semi-hilly 5K that starts at the crack of 3pm, so awesome time for a race!  I did ok, and want to improve my time, OR, just race the donut race and try not to hurl!  Haven't decided, but any race that adds running and donuts, it's on like donkey kong!

March 22, 2014 - XTERRA Camp Eagle (TX)
I have been looking at doing an XTERRA and looking at my AG and swim and run times (no use comparing bike times as these are all off road), but I think I could hang with the podium folks in my AG and qualify for nationals in Ogden, Utah come September.  I think that they would be a hoot, and for what it's worth, I could see myself having a great time at these!

April 13, 2014 - NOLA 70.3 (New Orleans Ironman 70.3 miles)
Again, not really a "bucket list" item, but something to try to see if I'm any good at the longer distances.  I know this is an early race, but I have an outside goal of trying to qualify for 70.3 Worlds, and while a flat course isn't to my strengths (give me hills, lots of hills) I think with equipment upgrades (new aero helmet, some deep wheels) could give me a better FOP finish on the bike.  But this is going to be a race vacation (so I can sell that to the wife!).  This race looks solid regardless of Texas or Kansas.

April 27, 2014 - XTERRA Blue Bonnett (TX)
This will happen if I'm in Texas and if I'm not still recovering from NOLA (and I liked the first XTERRA).  Just too hard to say, but this would be a "C" race regardless.

May 17-18, 2014 - Memphis in May Weekend
This is a big race weekend that I have heard about, and trying to get two vacations in two months might be pushing it (especially with my wife's twin's wedding in Michigan in June!), but if I could sell this one, whoa baby!  A sprint on Saturday and an Olympic on Sunday with a Amateur challenge paying to top 15, plus BBQ and touring Memphis and Tunica, MS, hmmm could be a blast!

May 26, 2014 - Capital of Texas (CapTex) Triathlon
If I can't swing MiM, then I'm racing here.  I have done well in smaller races, but this is where the big boys come out and this is a good measuring stick for myself, as well as a nice Olympic race within two hours of where I *maybe* living in Texas.

June 28, 2014 - Gull Lake Triathlon
Going back home for the wedding, I'd be doing the Olympic this year if this wasn't the same day as the wedding!  So, going to race the sprint and see if I can defend my Master's title! LOL, I'm just happy this years winner was over 40 also, because the over 40 group took 1 thru 3.  Oh well, it is always good to get back to my roots, since this is where it all started for me racing tris.  Dang wedding!

July 19, 2014 - USAT Duathlon Nationals
Not sure about racing this one, even though DUs have really got my attention after the Ft. Leavenworth TRI err DU (check my race report on this one) and if this was in Arizona in October, I'd be all on it!  But they moved it to St. Paul, MN and into July, so might become an odd man out.

August 9-10, 2014 - USAT Nationals
This is the one I really wanted to get to and if I'm still in Kansas, that will be easier.  I might even get the military to get me some free leave to represent at the race.  But I am targeting the Olympic Nationals and really want to get on to Team USA for my AG.  That is my goal for the year.  Everything else on past that is cake (yummy, cake!).  And since I have already qualified for next year, I am really only waiting to see where I will be living (again, it matters).

I have a few other races, but this is what I am looking at in a nutshell.  Of course, if I get sponsored by some big names out there, I'll race where they need me to (hello Oakley, Zipp, Quintana Roo, Desoto, etc!  Call me!) but I guess a fella can dream right.

Well what you guys think?  And who is the folks from Mountain View, CA, who seems to like to read my blog?  Let yourself be known!  Leave a comment!  Thanks all and see you soon!

 

FTMM - 28 October

Well welcome back to Monday!  With a beautiful weekend that I had, I'd figure that I'd be in a chipper mood, but alas, I am not.  Saturday spend 5 hours working on the Moon Lake Mountain Bike trails, which was fun, but a great way to get ooohhh sooo sore!  Add on the fact that after I finished up, I went back to pre-ride the section that we bench cut, and ended up crashing out, so big ouch!  it wasn't too bad, just added to my soreness!

Then Sunday I finally got to race a mountain bike race, and it was a blast...up until my back tire went completely flat!  I made it 3.8 miles into a 6-7 mile loop before I DNF'd, but noticed that my rear tire was going flat about a mile into it.  I was having a great time and was catching the two guys in front of me (everyone started at 2 minute intervals) until riding got very hard and a little dangerous.  But it was great fun bombing the corners and jumping over logs and hills, it made me feel like a kid again.  But after DNFing, I was kinda pissed off, since I was riding well and having a good time.  When I got home, I ended up pulling a bunch of thorns from both front and back tires, and resulted in a tire with the consistency of Swiss cheese.  Guess my tires are a little old!  But other than that, it wasn't too bad, just nice and sore today!

My stats for this last week:

SWIM: Nada, again.  Going to start in mid-November when I find out if I have to move to Texas or not
BIKE: 17 Miles (out of 27 planned)  Not bad, but wasted Sunday and that 70* Sunny weather!
RUN: 14 Miles (out of 37 planned) Taking too much time off, but legs are feeling better, so should still hit my 100 mile month goal

Plan for next week:

SWIM: 0
BIKE: 0
RUN: 38 (but will be happy with 30-ish)

I'll be planning next year out this week, so I'll get a post in with my tentative race schedule and goals for 2014.  Hope you all have a good week!

K-State Homecoming 5K Race Report

Well since the tri season is over, so as the fall colors are starting to come out, that means road racing season!  I decided to jump in a small little gathering at K-State's campus this last Sunday.  In all, there were about 800 runners/walkers/drunk frat boys in costume on a nice sunny fall day.  This was on the campus of Kansas State and is a USATF certified course, so I plunked down my $25 dollars (for day-of registration) and it was going to a great cause, the Manhattan Veteran's Center.

I got to the Memorial stadium early to register, and warmed up a bit with a little running to the point I decided to get rid of the long sleeves and run in just my nice red Oakley singlet.  After about a mile and a half of warming up, I made my way back to the line area, just in time for some of the frat boys to "fake start" a few times with a whistle, which got old after about...once.  But the race director got up front and had a starter gun, and as luck would have it, I lined up right behind the eventual winners, both men and women.  After a few minutes, the gun went off and we were off.  As expected all the drunks took off at the front and made it to the first corner and started to walk.  So the other 750 people behind them had to dodge all kinds of cartoon characters. Fun times, fun times indeed.

The first mile clicked off fairly fast as I keep it steady and passed the few folks that went out too fast for their ability and trickled backwards.  The race took us down a street and then thru a dorm quad area, then back on to the road, which was kind of fun.  This would be the theme as we wound our way thru campus.  First mile: 6:04

The second mile doubled back and headed a bit down hill.  Just before the first mile I was passed by a guy running barefoot.  Not wearing that faddish, "five finger" shoes, actually barefoot!  I was not going to be beat by bare feet!  I chased him for quite a while.  I hit the second mile at 6:25.

I finally caught barefoot guy as he bent over to loose his breakfast, but as I came up on him I asked if he was good and he said "I'm fine" so I motored on.  I figured I better hurry up as my goal of a sub-20 might come and go, so I hit the downhill to the stadium and turned in a 6:34 mile.

The last .2 I cruised in to the stadium and saw 19:4X on the clock and sprinted the last 50 yards to mid field and across the line in a 19:54.  Well, mission accomplished!  After the run, I hung out with some of the Manhattan Tri Club folks, and I ended up getting 3rd place in the non-student division, and netted a $25 buck payday!  Whooot!  Don't tell the IRS! LOL.  But honestly, I was just looking for a nice medal, but still that is not too bad.  The majority of the Manhattan Tri Club did well here, so not too bad.  Overall, I had a good time, raced well and set a post-college PR for 5K, so all in all, it was good.  The race was well organized and well run, so can't complain.

Overall, if I am here next year, I'd run this race again, minus the frat boys of course!

First Thing Monday Morning (FTMM) - 21 October

Nothing like a little time off to heal ya up!  I ended up taking more than a few days off (and about half my mileage) and I feel better.  The downside, my calorie killing was not it's finest, so put on a few pounds (which I will proceed to kill off here shortly!).  But not too bad of a week overall, I will have a race report out for the 5K I ran this weekend (good times and made some money), so all in all, not too bad!

Well we ended up with our first day of snow in Kansas this last Friday, which was very odd since Thursday was nice and in the 60s and Saturday and Sunday was nice and sunny and 60s to 70s, so I would call it a blip on the radar, but could be a sign of doom to come!  In addition to working my core more than nothing, I am thinking of getting a ball for a chair, if possible.  That could be fun, but until then, I'm the guy on the right (no, not really, I like my nice chair at work!).

14-20 Oct 2013
SWIM: 0 yards! (Fail-osaurus Rex!)
BIKE: 0 Miles (I took EVERYTHING easy this week!)
RUN: 15.6 Miles (Two runs, plus a race, so meh, so so week)

My week ahead
21 - 27 Oct 2013
SWIM: 3600 yards (Need to get my motivation on!)
BIKE: 47 Miles (Including a mountain bike trail race!)
RUN: 36.5 Miles (Ramping back up the miles)

And to make matters worse (better?), I am cutting out my chocolate (this time for reals, playas!), so I might be a little grumpy the next few weeks, but despite my results from this weekend's race, still want to cut more weight and keep it in the 160's comfortably, and that will help!

If I get a little more time, I'll crank out the race report (minus pictures, unless I get lucky) here shortly.  Until then, take care everyone, and if you have a burning question, leave me a comment and I'll try to answer it up!

 

First Thing Monday Morning - Tuesday Edition (15 October)

Nah, not late, just taking the holiday off!  At least the majority of the weekend here was nice, Monday was wind, followed by rain, followed by wind and ran, and rinse, wash, repeat!  So luckily it was an off day for me, so sat around, watched some HGTV and listened to the wind howl.  And of course, foam rolled.  Love that thing for getting at those sore muscles!  Good stuff!

Here's how my week went:

7 - 13 Oct 2013
SWIM: 0 yards! (The streak continues!)
BIKE: 20 Miles (I broke down and rode in the cold, brrr!)
RUN: 33 Miles (Legs still feeling great, or I've lost feeling in my legs, either way, good stuff!)

My week ahead
14 - 20 Oct 2013
SWIM: 3600 yards
BIKE: 40 Miles
RUN: 33 Miles
And the K-State Homecoming 5K Race (going to gun for sub 20)

Weather here should be mild (mid to low 60's) all week, so primo running weather.  So looking forward to this week!

Also met up with the Manhattan Triathlon Club on Saturday and we did the first club workout, a nice 20 mile ride and 5 mile run with a few hills in it, so that was fun, and looking forward to that next week too, just not the 6 am wake up for 7 am start.  Ugg too early on a Saturday!

And oh yeah, government is still broke, with leaves me with this...

See you next week!

First Thing Monday Morning - 7 October 2013

"Wow, the weather here is a bit brisk"

Well, the first thing Monday morning, is that it's my mother's birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!  Other than that, we are in a serious cold funk right now (well it feels really cold, but only in the 50's / 60's), with chilly temps this weekend, made for me bailing on my planned bike rides!  That kinda sucked!  But I did get some good runs in and took a few rest days (which are a good thing) and ran well, so you know, I kinda got that going for me!

I really don't like doing the treadmill thing, because, well, it's boring!  But soon, I'll be hitting the pool a bit more frequent than I am now!

On to my stats:

30 Sep - 6 Oct 2013
SWIM: 0 yards! (The streak continues!)
BIKE: 0 Miles (I am weak and afraid of the cold on a bike!)
RUN: 27.8 Miles (Feeling good, ran 5 times this week)

My week ahead
30 Sep - 6 Oct 2013
SWIM: 0 yards
BIKE: 76 Miles
RUN: 33 Miles

I have found that with me going longer and taking a day off (or three this week), my legs are feeling tons better, and coupled with foam rolling (LOVE THAT STUFF) and wearing compression, my legs are feeling good!

Well, I am still looking for races this fall and next year, so when I have a good idea, I'll write a post about my future races (which ALWAYS change!).  Until then, take care everyone!
 

First Thing Monday Morning (FTMM) Sep 30, 2013

So two in a row makes it a streak, right?  Well, this last week was interesting, with cold / flu running rampant in the office (awesome!), but I lysoled / hand sanitizered everything and ate meds like candy (is Tylenol Cold and Flu a performance enhancer?  Eh, it makes be feel better!), and kept running!

I've also started my core workouts again, which I feel work pretty good for me.  I seem to run faster when my core is strong, plus other things (golfing, riding bike, waking up not sore) seem easier.  Right now, it just consists of 100 sit ups in a row each morning.  I think I'll work my way up to hula-hooping a tractor tire later.  Much later.

23-29 SEP 2013
SWIM: 0 yards!
BIKE: 24.0 Miles (Getting really cold here in the mornings now)
RUN: 22.5 Miles (Was a little under the weather last week)

My week ahead
30 Sep - 6 Oct 2013
SWIM: 0 yards
BIKE: 60 Miles
RUN: 33 Miles

As the weather keeps going crazy here in Kansas (this week in the mid-80s, then the weekends, highs of 67!), working out and clothing will continue to be a "what is the temp like right now" game.  But still too early for me to think about indoor workouts, except maybe my off season weigh workouts, which also seem to help out, just have to remember to stay within my limits!

 

I "stole" these pictures from another funny blog, "Steve in a Speedo! Gross!" Right now, he is bummed as he can't run right now, so send him some love and get well soon wishes! 

Well, everyone, back to work now!

First Thing Monday Morning (FTMM)

Well, since I'm now 40 years old, as of this weekend, guess I'd better stick to something, and that something is my weekly training review, First Thing Monday Morning (FTMM).  I hope to get it out each Monday, hence the name (clever, I know!) and roll with that.  Since I have already started to plan next year's racin' (hello New Orleans!) so this ought to be fun!

16-22 SEP 2013
SWIM: 0 yards! (That is easy to track!)
BIKE: 27.4 Miles (Just re-started riding, felt good!)
RUN: 29.8 Miles (Not too bad with weather changes)

My week ahead
23-29 SEP 2013
SWIM: 0 yards
BIKE: 62 Miles
RUN: 40 Miles

As I mentioned, I think I already have the wife talked into going to New Orleans for the IM NOLA 70.3 in mid-April next year, so hope that we hit that, as I think I have to sell races as "destination" races now.

But my legs seem to be feeling better after the big jump in milage, so I hope that I don't fry them too soon and can hold 30-40 miles a week in the "off season".  Only time will tell, just need to make the most of my time, speaking of which, time to go!

Later everyone!