GORUCK

For those interested in my final “challenge” of 2010, I’ve posted mostly pictures to best explain what I did. The basic premise is an eight hour, 20+ mile, team oriented day that mimics some of the things you’d see in a military boot camp documentary. We lugged 20-35 pound backpacks the entire time, carried a 250+ pound log over a few miles, froze our tails off while doing flutter kicks and mountain climbers in 30 degree water, and fireman carried teammates at random points during the day. And all of it was done for a cool hat and entrance to a small club of type-A personalities.

**For those visiting the site after searching for more info about GORUCK, I'd definitely suggest signing up.  It's 90% leg endurance (think slow jog) and a bunch of little tests of your mental toughness. 

If you want to take a look at the full set of photos, click here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=132542246801816&index=1#!/album.php?aid=313617&id=277817375406

Offseason Fun

So… I’m back. I have to admit – two weeks ago (wow, I can’t believe it’s been that long) I was 99% committed to ending my blog posts. I just wasn’t feeling it anymore. Everyone knows I think this stuff is cheesy and after the Marine Corp marathon debacle, I needed a major break from endurance everything. No, I’m not planning on quitting or getting out of the game, I just wanted to step away for a little bit to A. erase the memory of the recent marathon and B. let my mind experience a true offseason.

But here I am. Back to blogging.

This time it’s for good reason though. I’m physically back and slowly but surely getting my sanity back. Thank you, Las Vegas, San Diego, and my amazing friends.

A few months ago, I planned an epic trip out west for a reunion with friends in Las Vegas and some quality time with the best friend in San Diego. The trip was originally supposed to be a celebration of a long and successful 2010 racing season but later (post-marathon) became a ten day adventure to relax, escape and be social. I rarely looked at or carried my phone, I did whatever I wanted, and I had some of the most fun in my life. Here’s a quick recap:

Vegas was, well, Vegas. It’s a sad sad place when you’re there alone but when you’re there with great friends you haven’t seen in years, it’s EPIC. Between running a total of 17+ miles in one day just for fun (it’s crazy what the body and mind enjoy doing when you’re in offseason), almost dying by being adventurous…err stupid, and sipping on an assortment of adult beverages while lounging poolside, gambling, and partying, Vegas was exactly what I wanted/needed it to be. Just plain fun. I can’t exactly post ALL the pictures but below are a few to sum up the Vegas trip.

As for San Diego… well that week was just bliss. When you’re staying with someone who lives just a couple miles from what a simple Google search lists as a few of the “must see beaches in California”, you know life is good. I worked out more than expected, I chilled on the beach as much as possible, I met some great people, and I embraced the laid back lifestyle of SoCal. All in all, it was seven days of new adventures and carefree reflection. Oh, and tasty fish tacos.

The moral of the post – never underestimate the wonders of an offseason. No races on my mind, no training being planned, NO NOTHING. And on top of all that, I actually WANT to run and swim and workout as much as possible. It’s back to being 100% fun.

Stab Wound...errr (Stupid/Sober) Near Death Experience with a Fence Post

Pre Shenanigans

Beer, Gambling, Scantily Clad Dancers... Ohh My


Group Shot

Awesome View After 10 Miles of Barefoot Running


Not Staged At All


My Final Sunset in San Diego

MCM 2010: Just One of Those Days

So I spent the past four hours thinking about this race report and explaining everything that happened in a two page novel but as I sit down right now and begin to type, I honestly don’t want to think about any of it. Sorry. Let’s just say it’s going to be a long offseason trying to get this day out of my head. I’ll let me splits explain the day as best they can.

5K - 00:22:40 … 7:17 pace
10K - 00:44:59 … 7:10 pace
15K - 01:06:58 … 7:04 pace
20K - 01:29:46 … 7:20 pace
13.2 (HALFWAY) - 01:35:09 … 7:15 pace
25K - 01:55:12 … 8:11 pace
30K - 02:24:46 … 9:30 pace
35K - 03:00:46 … 11:35 pace
40K - 03:40:10 … 12:40 pace
FINISH - 03:56:04

Four Days: Nervous

This will probably be my last post before the race and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy about it. It’s been a long and trying few months after Ironman. From amateur mistakes in recovery causing stupid injuries to inconsistent training and motivation, the past four months has been a long list of lessons learned.

Looking back, I can’t help but think - what if I had done everything right. Odds are I would be a little more confident about hitting this Boston qualifying goal. And odds are, I’d be a lot happier because I wouldn’t have any lingering aches going into Sunday. But in the end, I needed the past four months to collect some firsthand data of what not to do when training and racing. Granted, I could have just listened to all the veterans that have published countless articles on thesethings but that’s just not my style. I’m stubborn, I’m foolishly ambitious, and I make no apologies for it.

I’d say my chances are 50/50 right now for hitting this qualifying goal for those of you betting on it. But for those of you betting on how many beers I’ll be drinking after the race, I can say with 100% certainty that there will be at least 3 Dogfish Heads in my belly by 1:30 (can’t miss the second half of my 11:00 soccer game).

The offseason is just four days away. And yes, this time I will make sure it’s a true offseason.

One Week: Let's Get this Over With

Almost one week away and I’d say I’m right where I expected to be in terms of confidence. My hip is still a pretty significant obstacle in this taper but it’s mostly been a balancing act of giving my hip and calf (minor pull/strain/bruise/who knows) enough recovery time between runs but still keeping my anaerobic capacity up so that I’m ready to push it on race day. Like I said earlier, my leg strength is either there or it isn’t but that’s something I won’t find out until mile 18/19 of the marathon.

October 18 – 8 mile (4): hip was throbbing at start, settled down mid run, no pain from mile 2 to 8, moderate discomfort at night

October 19 – SLACKER DAY: it’s ok, it was for because of an engagement party for two other Marine Corp Marathon runners

October 20 – 5 mile (2): slow pace, didn’t want to push my hip/calf, just needed to get outside

October 21 – 5 mile (5): fastest run in long time, tempo pacing, 4 min. on, 2 min. off, hip hurt after but lungs felt amazing

New and Improved Countdown Plan:

October 22 – 3 mile (5)
October 23 – 10 mile (3)
October 24 – soccer game + one hour cross train bike/swim + REST
October 25 – 5 mile (4)
October 26 – REST
October 27 – 5 mile (4)
October 28 – 5 mile (5)
October 29 – REST
October 30 – 1 mile (6:00 min pace)
October 31 – RACE DAY

Update... Almost There

Here we go, five days down and less than two weeks to go. Thank the lord!! I’m SO ready to take a true break and figure out all the little problems with my body. But more importantly, I’m ready to take a true break so I can plan out my first full racing season and set my priorities for 2011.

Until then, it’s time to focus. Here’s a quick report of my progress so that you can hold me accountable for my training:

October 13 – 5 mile (5): legs felt fine, minor hip problems, lungs were rusty because of day off, felt I could go a bit faster

October 14 – 10 mile (3): legs were great, lungs/heart rate were just above normal, surprised by sub 7 pace at beginning, felt I could hold that pace for marathon, big confidence boost, hip hurts like hell after, taking day off to help hip and give my left calf strain another day off

October 15 – 5 mile (2): FULL RECOVERY DAY

October 16 – 13 mile (2) + 2 mile swim: scrapped the swim because my body needed rest after Friday night, late night run, boring miles but good to be out there, tough motivation day

October 17 – 6 mile FAST (4) + soccer game + optional 40 mile bike ride: legs weren’t tired or bruised at all after soccer, run turned into an interval run because of stoplights, bike ride became a quick 10 mile ride and 1 mile swim in a coooooold pool

For those interested, I’ll be switching around a couple of these runs to align closely with what my body is telling me. After my three long(ish) runs, I realized I shouldn’t be too concerned with my distance. If my legs aren’t strong enough by now, it’s too late anyway. So I’m cutting a couple of the 10 mile runs and turning them into faster 6 mile runs. Hopefully this pays off.

Right now, I put my odds at qualifying for Boston at 40 percent. Let’s hope that number goes up after this week.

Countdown

So my taper/lead up to the Marine Corp Marathon is going to be a bit unorthodox. Thanks to the combination of nagging injuries and minimal motivation, I’m flirting with being right on the cusp of hitting that 3:10 goal or bonking and DNFing the entire race. Sooooooo, it should be interesting either way.

That said, here’s a breakdown of my next 3 weeks. My hope is that if I put it up on the blog, I’ll be forced to actually to do it because some of you people might guilt me if you find out I didn’t. The daily mileage and speed focus comes from a bunch of random insight over the last year and a half, mixed with what I know works for me and my body. I’m sacrificing those staple long runs because I’m not-so-secretly hoping that my Ironman legs are still with me.

Intensity levels for reference:

5 = Fast (sub 6:45 miles)
4 = Just under race pace (7:00 miles)
3 = Race pace (7:15 miles)
2 = Just above race pace (7:30 miles)
1 = Long distance/recovery pace (8:00+ miles)

October 13 – 5 mile (5)
October 14 – 10 mile (3)
October 15 – 5 mile (2)
October 16 – 13 mile (2) + 2 mile swim
October 17 – 6 mile FAST (4) + soccer game + optional 40 mile bike ride
October 18 – 14 mile (2)
October 19 – 5 mile (1)
October 20 – 10 mile (4)
October 21 – 5 mile (5)
October 22 – 10 mile (3)
October 23 – 10 mile (3)
October 24 – 5 mile (5) + soccer game + 1 mile fast swim
October 25 – 10 mile (3)
October 26 – REST
October 27 – 6 mile (5)
October 28 – 5 mile (5)
October 29 – REST
October 30 – 1 mile (6:00 min pace)
October 31 – RACE DAY + second half of soccer game

I might improvise during the final race week depending on how I’m feeling and if those injuries are still lingering but let’s hope I hit most of these targets for the next 19 days.

The "Beyond"

Lately, as you may have noticed, I’ve really been sub-par at keeping up with the blog. Sometimes it’s because of the lack of interesting things happening and other times it’s because I’m just not someone who cares to detail everything going on in life. But that is all going to change… well, kind of. In an effort to liven up my posting, I’m going to start talking about that whole “beyond” thing that I originally mentioned in my first post. It seems so far removed now but when I started writing, I intended to fill in the blog with the occasional, non-triathlon-but-still-cool-sport post to keep things interesting.

Well, now that I’ve gotten bored with my own posts, I’m going back to the drawing board and opening up my book of plans. As a teaser, here’s what I wrote out a couple weeks ago when trying to figure out where I want to take this newfound obsession and commitment to endurance/outdoor sports.

List of activities and goals to accomplish within the year:
Triathlons – more serious, start competing at races
Soccer – join at least one elite-level competitive team
Rock Climbing – start climbing at least once a month
Beach Volleyball – find a more consistent group of players that go out every weekend
SUP Paddleboarding – buy a board and paddle, use this for my recovery/relaxation days
Snowboarding – finally break away from my novice abilities
Trail/Ultra Running – get off the roads and save my knees the pain
Bonus activities: learn to surf, attempt windsurfing, dabble in kayaking

The problem with all of this is that I can’t really commit myself to each of these things in the way I want to so I need to formulate some sort of plan and prioritize each activity to reflect the desired commitment level. Some things will come naturally – trail/long distance running can be incorporated within my triathlon training while SUP paddle boarding and even (somewhat) rock climbing fit well on those recovery training days. Unfortunately, I’ll need to schedule soccer and volleyball a little differently because of the effects they have on my legs and body. I can’t exactly spend a few hours shredding myself on the field/court and then expect to go out for a 3 hour brick ride-run the next day. So those will have to be targeted when I’m in a low point during triathlon season or just during the offseason (hmm, beach volleyball during the offseason… we’ll see how that goes). I fully expect triathlon training to take a minor hit because of those two sports but I’m ok with that.

I’ll save you the extensive calendar of priorities and schedule I created last week but basically I’m trying to figure out how to cram all this fun into my other life commitments and still make it out alive. Either way, it should be an exciting year of more than just triathlons.

Vacay

That’s right folks, this weekend is another one of those much needed trips out of DC and back to a familiar city. This time I’m headed up to Boston for the first time in a year to watch my Boston College Eagles take down my childhood dream team – Notre Dame. Since graduating from BC, this is the longest I’ve been away from the city and the campus, making this trip that much more worth it.

But what does all of this mean for training? Not too much. Although I am extremely excited to get out and run a couple solid routes in my old stomping ground. Truth be told, the entire time I lived in Boston, the most I ran in one session was probably on the soccer field instead of on the roads.

To make up for it, I’m going to visit all of the cliché Boston and Boston College sites:

Skipping Workouts Like It's My Job

I’m back. And for those that wonder where I’ve been, to be brutally honest, my blogging is directly related to my training. Now I’m not saying that my training is completely non-existent like my posts, but the intensity and commitment are at about 50% of where they were during Ironman training. I’m ok with this though.

I spent six months of this year dedicated to one thing and one thing only. I skipped countless happy hours, watched what I ate, and passed on way too many other fun activities. So now I’m taking a much more laid back approach. If I feel like forgoing a workout to play soccer, so be it. If I have to rearrange my run because of a spontaneous happy hour with friends, great. And if I want to eat six Subway cookies in one sitting because I have a terrible sweet tooth, don’t judge me. I still hit my long runs and most of my speed work. It’s just those pesky low-intensity and minimal-reward runs that I tend to leave out.

Which brings me to today – approximately four and a half weeks away from the big race. As you may remember, I said that I would spend the better part of a year attempting to qualify for Boston. I conservatively planned to shave a few minutes off my marathon time each month and figured it would take a few tries before completing the goal. But in reality, I have bigger and bolder goals planned for 2011 and as difficult as success will be, I’ll still be disappointed if I don’t qualify for Boston at the Marine Corp Marathon.

But ultimately, as frustrated as I may be with myself, I can’t be too upset because as a good friend recently told me – I shouldn’t get too sucked into endurance training and neglect other aspects of my life or miss out on some of the other passions and goals.

Hopefully I won’t have to do this but in case I do fail on October 31, I’ll look back to this post to remember all the other activities and fun I had when I could have been training:

Soccer - it wreaks havoc on my legs and body but those bumps and bruises are well worth it
Beach Volleyball – easily the best way to spend an entire weekend afternoon
Happy Hours – sometimes it’s either feast of famine but it’s always nice to catch up with friends
College Football – so trivial but so nice to waste an entire Saturday in front of the tube and have no regrets
Vacation – Greensboro, Virginia Beach, Boston, San Diego, Las Vegas; six places I couldn’t really visit during Ironman training
Sweets – during the beginning of this 50% marathon training, I didn’t exactly focus on getting too many “well balanced” meals

Greensboro

Talk about a recharge. In 2010, the only times I’ve been away from DC and the ever-exciting Mid-Atlantic were the trip home for Valentine’s Day with the family and the Ironman in Idaho. Compare that with 2009 - about a half dozen trips to North Carolina, a couple treks up to Boston, and a few fun-filled weekends in Seattle and Chicago – and I’m overdue for a few days away from the District. Thus, I decided to cure my homesickness and head south for the weekend to spend some quality time with my parents.

Don’t worry though, I was still able to brave the deadly heat here and fit some training/suffering into my schedule. On Friday morning, I planned a nice long run that would take me on a journey through my childhood. I visited my grade school, high school, rival high school, and a few different spots where I played soccer. The idea of the run was a great one. The execution on the other hand was not so much. Who knew it was possible to get lost in your own hometown? Sadly, my quick 19 mile jog turned into a run-walk around mile 12 when I got lost around the god-forsaken neighborhoods of my stupid rival high school. I probably should have ran those miles until I found the right way but I was just so frustrated and was in no mood to run.  Plus, my asthma was kicking in and I wasn't feeling too hot with regards to my breathing (see video below). In the end, I finally found my way by using the expressway (at the time, I valued convenience over danger) that connects the different parts of the city and made my way home in time to take a quick ice bath before visiting my Mom’s fourth grade class.

So from there, the rest of the weekend has been a combination of relaxing with my parents, joking about my inferior siblings (it’s ok to say because it’s true), catching up with some of my favorite people at home, and eating more junk food than I can handle. Ohhh, and watching that little thing called the first weekend of college football season.

Yep, this trip could not be better. I’ll go into the ebbs and flows of my training later this week. For now, I’m just enjoying the last 36 hours at home before it’s back to the District and some excited weekends ahead.

My New Go To Run Spot

Since this week has been relatively normal – work, eat, train, sleep, repeat – I decided to document one of my favorite runs so you can see what I do each week. Ever since moving to my new place in Dupont, I’ve been exploring as much as possible to find new routes and new areas to run in but I always come back to this one for some reason. It’s my trusty 4+ mile run that takes me from the annoying street lights of the city to some top-secret hidden trails, then back again. Please excuse the hazy photos.  I blame that on the DC humidity and my sexy habit of dripping sweat as soon as I step out the door to work out. 

I start by heading away from my house towards the embassies. It’s not the most glamorous stretch of the run but there’s always a guarantee of inviting smells as I pass by the Dupont restaurants.

Then, it’s only a more open stretch of sidewalk running as I pass by countless unknown country flags and head towards to bridge. Did I mention I'm afraid of heights?

And finally, I’m out of the bustling noise of rush hour traffic as I duck into the single track paths of Rock Creek Park.

Here is where I have the most fun weaving in and out of cool trails and enjoying both some technical downhill spots and heartbeat raising uphills (OK, really there are only two baby hills but they are still hills). Below are some of my favorite parts of the run.

After a little less than a mile of that, I climb up a deceptively steep hill and hear that familiar noise of cars and people. Notice the view from the top of the hill (you can see the small single track path in the distance).

Now it's back to the mean streets of Georgetown and Dupont.  It's basically a maze of nice houses, classy establishments (picture of great wine bar), and old cemeteries (spoooooky) before crossing another bridge and making my way home.

The last things I get to see are an oddly huge buffalo and the Argentina embassy (shout out to my FAVORITE SISTER LIVING IN SAN JUAN and best friend in San Diego).

It's not the most glamorous route but it gets the job done and takes me away from the bustle of the city and into the solitary trails when I'm in need of a short and fast run. 

Focused

Nothing in depth, nothing funny, nothing newsy today. This is my first free weekend and I’m going to take full advantage of it by enjoying some good old hard work. Since June, this will be the first Saturday-Sunday stretch where I have no plans to imbibe, no soccer to play, no events to attend, and where I have a [relatively] pain/sick free body.

So, simply put, it’s time to go to work. The marathon is 11 weeks away.

Futbol in Virginia Beach

Dear Marathon Training,

I’m so sorry, but I had to cheat on you yet again. You know I love you dearly and I’m committed to you [for the next three months] but when the beautiful game comes calling, I have a hard time saying no. Don’t worry I didn’t do anything stupid that would ruin what we have. I promise. You just have to understand that soccer is my first love and you can never forget that first true love.

Sincerely,
Justin

Phew, now that that’s out of the way, I can get to the good stuff. Virginia Beach – soccer, townies, soreness, fun.

That’s right folks, I spent this past weekend playing a little soccer and enjoying the always-wholesome Virginia Beach. One of the teams I occasionally play for asked me to join them for an annual soccer tournament and I jumped at the opportunity to get some touches on the field. I knew it probably wasn’t the greatest idea since I always come back from long soccer weekends with way too many bumps and bruises, but I promised myself that I’d take it easy and tone down my competitiveness so I could come back healthy .

So with that, my baby bro [oh yea, it was a Nunez party] and I drove down Saturday morning and took the field with a quality group of guys and gals. Now, I have to be honest, even with my toned down attitude and aggressiveness, I figured we would easily walk away with the tournament win. Call me arrogant, but I’m just not used to losing and certainly not when I have a relatively strong core of players around me. Unfortunately, about ten minutes into the first game, all hopes of winning the tournament were dashed when the most unathletic team I’ve ever played against put a cheap goal in our net and never looked back. Ouch!

And thus ends my discussion about the soccer in Virginia Beach. I would love to go into more detail but like I said, I didn’t come into the weekend with my usual uber-competitive and uber-aggressive mindset so I wasn’t my normal upset self when we didn’t win.

The rest of the weekend was a collection of great stories, good people and countless townies. I mean come on, when you get about a dozen North Carolinians (yep, this team was stacked with players from the best state), a city that has arguably more townies and cheesy/awesome bars than the Jersey Shore, and a few whiskey shots and/or beers, you know you’re in for a good time.   

 

the Saturday night crew... before the shenanigans

 
the Latino flavor of the team 

 
bags on the water = greatest bar ever
(not to mention the 75 year old men rocking the dance floor and numerous "working" coeds)

  
the squad

Ready, Set, Marathon (Training)

It’s been a long road to recovery and needless to say it’s nice to be back. I think I can confidently say that I’ve learned more about listening to your body in the past five weeks than ever before in my entire life.

Fortunately, knock on wood, that is all behind us and we can get back to the next task at hand.

First, I have to give a little plug to dreaming big and always challenging yourself. Not so long ago, I thought having dreams and going after some pretty lofty goals was just for naïve little kids but now I don’t really see how anyone could live without new challenges and adventures. Yes, I know how silly and parental it sounds (shout out to my cheesy parents) but hey, even I’m allowed one cheesy comment once a year, right?

Anyway, this is why I’m going to bust my tail for the next three months and try my hardest to qualify for Boston on October 31st. Which brings me to the rest of my post and the topic of my posts for the next few months.

I’ve never been one to follow a specific training schedule/program. I’d much rather improvise and tweak as I go so that I’m not locked into any real specifics. I’ll attribute this to my inability to plan ahead or create a schedule. So as I start ramping up my mileage and introduce some weekly speedwork, I’m left debating how closely I should follow a marathon plan and how much cross-training I can throw in. The last thing I want to do is lose my multisport strength but I still need to optimize my training so I can be as fast as possible on October 31st.

I’m not sure that question will ever be answered but when I write in the blog three months from now, I hope I’m doing so with confidence. Otherwise, I’m screwed. Either way, it’ll be a fun few months.

For all those loyal followers – you may want to get used to reading about – my brutal Wednesday night workouts (my best test for increased speed), Michael (coworker, extremely fast runner in his heyday, and rational training partner), my inevitable, epic battle with the snooze button, and my love for fall weather in DC.

2011 Planning

It’s late Monday night and instead of writing about a slow but successful return to training, my mind can’t stop thinking about next year’s race schedule. Just today, registration opened up for Ironman Lake Placid, and while I forced myself not to sign up, it couldn’t prevent me from thinking about and setting some tentative plans for next summer’s racing.

Depending on how you look at it, this season could be seen as my first or second season racing triathlons. The way I see it is – last season was my introduction and time to make all the mistakes imaginable and this season wasn’t so much a season as it was a build up to one day, one race. So that brings me to next year.

After successfully fighting the urge to break my tentative 2011 plans and sign up for Ironman Lake Placid, I took some time to sit down and plan out which races I want as my “A” races for next year. There’s no doubt that I’ll be throwing down at one, if not two, Ironman events but the big question is which ones. And if everything goes well at the Marine Corp Marathon (reach my goal of qualifying for Boston in 2010), then I’ll have plenty of freedom to race a complete schedule and train with the purpose of standing on one or two podiums.

Here are the possible options for “A” races next year. The two important things I’m looking for are difficult bike courses (to play on my strengths) and a good location. Disclaimer: this could change at any moment.

Ironman Louisville, August 2011 – Pros: driving distance, easy to sign up for online; Cons: not a scenic course, no tough climbs on bike

Ironman Canada, August 2011 – Pros: amazing location, perfectly tough hills/climbing on bike course; Cons: far far away, early in season, hard to sign up for online

Ironman Wisconsin, September 2011 – Pros: driving distance, close to family in Minnesota, time of year; Cons: no tough climbs on bike, potentially hard to sign up for online

ChesapeakMan (Cambridge, MD), September 2011 – Pros: driving distance, very close to DC, easy to sign up online and late in 2011; Cons: not IM branded, small event

Beach 2 Battleship (Wilmington, NC), November 2011 – Pros: driving distance, close to home in Greensboro, great race to break my PR, perfect time of year; Cons: not IM branded

Only a Few More Days Now

Boo, another recovery post.

I finally bit the bullet and got myself checked out by a medical professional. No, the foot isn’t becoming a bigger problem, it’s my super secret knee injury. I didn’t divulge the knee pain in my last post for fear of my family yelling at me to go see a doctor but after days and days of pain, I decided to bite the bullet and go.

A little background for you – I know I shouldn’t have been running as soon after the race as I did but I don’t think the knee is a result of that. Sadly, it was most likely my beloved soccer that led to my knee’s demise. So no matter what happens in the next week or so, I can rest easy that this wasn’t caused by my post Ironman recovery ignorance. It’s only my stupidity this time. And yes, I’d do it again and again and again. Come on, it was playoffs. And it was against the second best team in the league. How could I turn that down?

Anyway, back to the knee. I made a quick trip to the orthopedist and was informed that it appears I have a minor (note: slight, mild, not big deal) tear in my meniscus. Barring any unexpected playoff soccer games, the pain should go away within 2 weeks if not sooner and I should be back to running in no time. If things get worse, then it’s more complaining on this blog and a return visit for an MRI. So for your sake and mine, let’s pray it gets better.

I’m slowly losing my mind without the ability to run. I see people running during my commute to work and all I want to do is cry uncontrollably. Just last night, I saw a young couple jogging at a comfortable 8:00 pace and laughing like they had no cares in the world, and all I could do was stand there daydreaming about me and my running shoes frolicking through never-ending meadows, enjoying a Gatorade, water, and Clif bar picnic. Ahhh, the memories.

But seriously, I can’t do this recovery thing for much longer. I’m patient now and I’ll give my knee the time it needs, but once the pain is gone, I’ll be back out on the road and then the soccer field. 12 week marathon training starts August 1 and we have a soccer tournament down in Virginia Beach on August 7/8.

More Recovery

Since this recovery/offseason thing continues to eat away at my well being (not seriously, I’m just bored), I’m going to write up another post complaining about it.

First, I’m running on a much lower endorphin count which can’t be good for anyone. I was so accustomed to my daily training-high but now I’m forced to make do without even a speck of brain/nerve rush or whatever they say endorphins do. Granted, I’m having plenty of fun slacking off and enjoy the company of good beer and good friends, but I’d still like a healthy balance of the two when possible.

The next problem has to do with the physical effects caused by my lack of exercise. As everyone knows, I have one of the biggest sweet tooths around and despite my greatest efforts, I’ll never be able to kick the vice. It’s just a burden I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life. Sad, I know. But the biggest dilemma here is that I can no longer inhale cookies with impunity. Before, cookies were a great (ahem, delicious) way to pack on the carbs after long training days. A few cups of sugar and butter from cookies didn’t really have any impact when I was burning off over 1500 calories per day. Fortunately, my post-IM goal was to add a little sugar/chocolate weight during recovery but I’m realizing more and more that I depend on endurance training to ensure my sweet tooth freedom.

Lastly, and worst of all, my right foot has a slight bump that doesn’t seem to want to go away. Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious – most likely some bruising/cyst from the footing knocking against my shoe the wrong way during the race. But even though it’s just a minor pain, this is the main reason I’m out of commission and unable to be as active as I’d like. While it’s not throbbing, it still hurts enough and is noticeable enough to keep me sidelined for another week or two, especially as I get ready to start my marathon training. Who knows, maybe it’s a good thing because I know that without it I’d most likely be hitting the pavement and that would probably cause further damage to my minor aches and pains. Either way, it’s frustrating and I look forward to the day when my feet and legs are back to normal.

What's Next

Well, it has been over two weeks now since my time in Idaho and as tempted as I was to shut down the blog with my race report post, I’ve decided to go against everything I believe and keep it going. Don’t ask me why because I can’t really answer that so just check back every few days and I’ll hopefully keep this thing rolling with my training stories and mindless ramblings.

For now, I’ll answer a couple questions that some people have raised after I got back from Idaho:

Will you ever race another Ironman?

This one is easy – YES. Without a doubt, Ironman races are here to stay. I can’t say how many, but I do know that for the next few years I intend to race one or two each year, depending on the rest of my race schedule. For 2011, it’ll probably be a late season Ironman (possibly the unofficial Beach to Battleship or Ironman Arizona) unless I can qualify for the Boston Marathon this year. If that happens then the world is my oyster next year. But as I mentioned a couple months ago, my next goal is to shave some serious time off my marathon and qualify for Boston so that I can run it when my brother is a senior at Boston College. I don’t expect to hit this goal in my first try – Marine Corp Marathon, October 31, 2010 – but I’ll still be trying my hardest. I estimate that I need to shave somewhere around 15 minutes off my pace right now to make it under 3:10 but if I can do that, then 2011 will turn a competitive racing year instead of another building year. Just thinking about that possibility gets my head spinning.

How long will you be lazy before the itch to train kicks in?

This question is a bit trickier. I told everyone that I would be taking the month of July off to gain some weight back and catch up on all the beer drinking I missed but deep down I knew I wouldn’t last longer than two weeks. Since Idaho, I’ve gone for a couple shorter, high-intensity runs to keep my anaerobic capacity up while I take a break but I haven’t done much else. The goal was to get keep my 5:25 mile pace fairly consistent while I wasn’t training so that I could pick up right where I left off once marathon training started, as well as be in decent shape for our alumni league soccer playoffs. Sadly though, not only is the hope (errr… arrogant expectation) of a soccer championship a thing of the past, but thanks to the brutal 3-2 overtime loss to Emory (the only other high quality team in the league), my body is screaming for another week or two of recovery.

So for now, it’s no running or leg-smashing activity until my joints and muscles are back to normal. Bye bye running shoes, hello swimming pool.

Ironman Coeur D'Alene 2010

Bear with me now, this post is going to be long. Feel free to skim it, break it up into pieces, or just check out the pictures.

So without further ado, here’s the story of the longest and best day of my life.

Alarm goes off right before 4:00am and I got a surprisingly decent amount of sleep. I made sure to pack everything up the night before so I wouldn’t have to think before we took off to the race site at 4:45. So once I was all dressed and the crew got some normal breakfast, we headed out to face the unknown. Most of my pre-race jitters were staying at bay while I talked with Katie and my parents or listened to some pump up music.



This was especially nice because I was more than a little nervous right before falling asleep on Saturday night. Thoughts of whether or not I could finish were racing through my head and even though I felt prepared the entire week leading up to the big day, my mind was filled with one million different “what ifs.”

Once at the race site, the next two hours were fairly uneventful. I setup my bike, made sure I had everything packed in my transition bags, made a couple trips to the bathroom, sipped on Gatorade, and chit-chatted with some fellow racers to pass the time. My favorite sister called me around 6:00 to wish me luck and then I met up with my amazing parents and friends right before 6:30 to watch the pros start their day, then watched some of my favorite Ironman YouTube videos on my phone before putting on my wetsuit to kick off my long day. This was about the moment when I started to freak out. Looking out at the lake, I just kept thinking – what did I get myself into?



Fifteen minutes later, it was time for me to make my way to the beach with 2,500 of my closest friends. The water temperature was warmer than Friday, which was perfect for me since I love swimming in moderately cold water, but I still took a quick dip to get the cold water heart rate shock out of the way. After that, it was back to the beach to stand around for 5 minutes before the gun went off. I flagged down my parents up on the walkway behind the beach and let out a little water weight in my wetsuit so I was as light as possible during the swim.


Secret: Even though this might make me seem pathetic, I’ll admit publicly that about one minute before the race started, I teared up (with my goggles on so no one could see) because I couldn’t believe the day was finally here. It was a very surreal experience.

Ten, nine, eight…pump up music…three, two, one…

BOOM. Cannon goes off and it’s now or never.

Swim:

I decided to take the inside line to the buoys and enjoyed the washing machine for the first mile. Fortunately I avoided most of the kicking feet but I did get a nice punch to the lip ten minutes into the swim. I never really managed to avoid the mass of people but I caught a nice draft off a couple people that seemed to be swimming well. I didn’t even have to look up because they did all the sighting for me. My favorite part was at the first turnaround when there were 200-300 people trying to get around a buoy and you had to stop swimming to wait for people to make the turn. Everyone was obviously in a rush but some people were having a good time with it. Especially the two guys in front of me that started “mooing” because you couldn’t help but think of herding cattle.

I came out of the water after the first loop and I was feeling good. I knew I held a little back and even with all the bumping and stopping for the mass of people, I came out exactly where I wanted – 36 minutes. Quick jog around the timing mat and back into the lake for round two. This time, the field thinned out a bit so I wasn’t in a battle for position. I just kept finding feet to draft off of and moved up a few spots when I felt like pushing it. The last 15 minutes was just a blur. I knew I was on the home stretch and I was already thanking the Ironman gods because nothing had gone wrong so far.

Transition #1:

Out of the water and I try to find my support crew to wave to them, but they’re nowhere in sight. I was still a little dizzy from all the water in my ears and all I could remember was volunteers waving their hands in the air directing me where to go. Once I had my bearings, I ran towards the wetsuit strippers and found (yes, I was conscious enough to do the right thing) two no-nonsense guys who had my wetsuit off in two seconds flat. I grabbed my bike gear bag and ran into the changing tent, or what I liked to call, a giant week-old gym bag. It was easily one of the most foul smelling places I’ve been. A nice volunteer dumped out all my gear for me and I was out the door. As I grabbed my bike, I heard a familiar, deep voice scream my name and I knew I had found my best friends and parents. Seeing them was nice motivation for the long six hours of cramps and butt pain to come.



Bike:

I planned on pacing myself during the first loop of the bike course after seeing how brutal some of the hills were when we drove the course on Friday. While this leg is definitely my best, I was a little nervous, thinking I underestimated the climbing throughout the course. With that said though, I was clocking great speed leading up to the hills at mile 20 and my legs were feeling great. Once those hills came, I used the other racers around me to gauge how hard to push it and I just settled in behind a few guys that were climbing well. One fun part of the course was the bagpipe players at the top of the first big climb. Talk about a sweet way to put in some hard work on the bike. From that point to mile 45, the hills never stopped coming. Big climb, easy downhill, gradual climb, steep downhill. It went on and on and on. It wasn’t too hard at that point, just endless. I was focused on packing on as many calories as possible at that point so I couldn’t really think about anything else. The only problem I had was forgetting to pack my salt pills so I was stuck eating half a banana at every aid station to keep the cramps at bay. It actually worked well although I think I’ve had my fill of mushy bananas for a little while. Other than all that potassium, I was eating my fair share of gels, bars, and chews to hold me over for a few hours. The one thing I didn’t want was more Gatorade. I decided to stick with Gatorade coming into the race but after two bottles on the bike, I couldn’t stand the sight of that stuff and I was cursing that gross sugary drink the rest of the bike ride. I was forced to take a couple sips when I was stuck with the deciding between yellow Gatorade and a latte flavored Powergel, but other than that moment at mile 50, I wasn’t touching that stuff for the rest of the bike ride.

A few more climbs after the turnaround and I was back into town feeling great. Foolishly, I was feeling ambitious after I did some quick math in my head and found out that I was on pace to hit 3 hours on the first loop; way ahead of schedule. Once I reached downtown, I slowed to scan the streets of people for my family and friends but they were nowhere to be seen. Oh well, I was pushing 23+ mph at that time and nothing was going to get me down. “NUNNNEZZZ”. I know that voice! Denny and Katie spotted me flying past them around mile 56 and it was a perfect location because I was just about to hit another turnaround spot where I would pass them on the other side of the road. I slowed down to say hello and tell them how I had foolishly pushed too hard on the first half of the bike leg. Then it was back out for the second half of my date with Cervelo.


The second loop was way worse than the first. My legs were flirting with moderate-bad cramps the entire time and I was freaking out because I had fallen behind on my calorie intake. The irony of the whole thing was that, by this time, I was praying for the hills at miles 70-95. I started to hate any flat surface because it meant I had to fight the wind and pedal fast, instead of the hills where I could sit up in my saddle and go to work. Flat roads became my worst nightmare during those final two hours. Thankfully, a lot of other people were suffering by this time so each time I would pass someone, we’d chit chat about how the day was going. Even though each interaction was identical, there was joy in hearing everyone around me say “yea, I’m just ready to get off this damn bike” or “these hills didn’t seem so bad the first time around.”

The last 20 miles were an absolute blur. I was thrilled to be counting down my final moments on my bike and I was waving to every spectator or volunteer I saw. At that moment, running a marathon seemed like Christmas morning if it meant I could get off that bike. Then, there it was, “this way to bike finish” written on the road. Yes, please! Quick look at my watch and I realize I just broke six hours on the bike. Screw the next leg of the race, that was a big accomplishment in my eyes.

Transition #2:

Unclipped from my bike, passed the Cervelo to a young volunteer, and hobbled over to get my run gear bag to change. Sadly, this meant back into that giant gym bag again. I remember thinking to myself, “I feel bad for these volunteers that have to stay in here all day”. I took off all my stuff, threw it on the ground, and another great volunteer organized my stuff for me while he called another guy to go get me some water. Talk about service! (Close your eyes now if you don’t want to be grossed out) I really had to pee at this point and there was a conveniently placed trough right in the tent. Unfortunately, I had the worst pee-anxiety and stood there for over a minute waiting to let it flow. Finally, I was in business and I waited another 90 seconds chatting with the guy next to me about how great that feeling was. Gross, I know. But during that race, it was the little things that kept me going.

Run:

Game time. Here is where I knew the pain would really set in and I would enter my own personal hell. To start, my legs were feeling pretty good. During the first few miles, I had to consciously tell my feet to slow down a bit and save as much energy as possible. I felt even better when I passed one of my favorite triathletes – Desiree Ficker – while she was on her second loop. We ran together for a few seconds and I gave a few words of encouragement but she was clearly having a tough day and I was in no mood for jersey-chasing so I moved along.

Shortly after, this is where I made my first mistake of the run. My body was craving some whole foods so when I strolled through the second aid station, my ears perked up when I heard someone screaming “pretzels, chips!” I went straight for them and ruffled Lays have never tasted so good. Sadly, I would learn my lesson about those chips because immediately after eating them, my stomach gave me a quick sign to mean “no-no, that’s not in the race nutrition plan.”

Mile 2 or 3, and I was strolling through downtown/hot-corner where I heard my family yelling for me. I was still feeling great so I took some time to hug my parents as well as Denny and Katie since they were heading back to Seattle. You can see it in the picture below, but I had the biggest smile on my face because I was so happy to be on that run course with a healthy, cramp-free set of legs.


The rest of the way, I started ticking off the miles and tried to think as little as possible. I told myself to keep right below a 10 minute mile pace and walk the aid stations to keep my nutrition on track. I was passing people left and right, feeling like a million bucks. Since our names were on our race bibs, every spectator would scream my name when I passed and I returned the favor by flashing a smile and my best hang-ten hand signal to let them know I appreciated the love.

Each aid station became a buffet station of goodness. It was clockwork. I would grab two cold sponges, one for my back, one for my head. Then it was three sips of orange Gatorade. Then I either took a gel with some water or just sipped on half a cup of ice cold water.

Around mile 10, I made mistake #2 when I tried to take two salt pills because I felt some cramps coming on. In theory, the idea was a good one, but two minutes after I got those down, my stomach became a balloon. I felt like someone had stuck a helium tank in my mouth. That officially sucked. I had to walk a couple more times than I wanted until my stomach finally settled down to where I could run. Needless to say, miles 11-13 were not pretty.

By this time, I wasn’t as friendly to the spectators as I would have liked because I needed to save all my energy, but I was still aware of all the amazing supporters out there. My favorites were the house hosting a raging tailgate party with dozens of cute girls cheering, the guy sitting in a lifeguard chair spraying people with a hose, and the Hollywood themed aid station with people in prom dresses and ties.

Now, it was around mile 17 and all I was thinking about was what was around the next turn. I had been up and down the same lakeside road at least half a dozen times leading up to the race and during the race so I knew where I was and I knew exactly how far I had to go until the turnaround at mile 20. Surprisingly, the next two miles flew by and I was making the turn to see the massive bridge that marked both the worst and best parts of the day – the giant hill on the run and the turnaround for the home stretch of the race.


I almost couldn’t believe it. I was so close and it was at that moment that I knew I was going to finish. I even remember hearing the woman on the microphone at the turnaround aid station say that the official time was right above 11:30. Hmmm, 6.2 miles in an hour… no more time for walking through the aid stations, I had a 12:30 finish time to hit.

Those last 6 miles were a gradual build of energy. I started out pushing through each mile and cherishing the little signs that said 20, 21, 22. Then, once I hit 23, it was game on. Most of the other people were walking by this time but a few were running and enjoying the moment. I joked with a 30 year old first timer female who was having an incredible race and talked about beer with a couple guys in my age group. I made sure to high-five the cute girls at the big tailgate around mile 23 and I let a couple kids soak me with cups and cups of water around mile 24.

Around mile 25, I looked at my watch and saw something around 12:10. Hellllllloooooooooooo, ideal race goal. As long as I didn’t stop for the Dixie cup beer at the final turn, I was taking that sub-12:20 time home with me. I thought about the finish and then just kept moving my feet to make sure I still hit that time.

The only downfall of this was that I completely screwed up my celebration. I intended to enjoy the moment down the finish shoot and take my time. I even had ambitions to do a little dance (a la Charlie Davies stanky legg) at the finish line but my mind was in run mode and I unfortunately/lamely powered the whole way, forgetting to do any fun celebrations or dancing. Note the boring finish photo of me clapping.


All I can remember is two volunteers grabbing me at the finish line and asking me 20 times if I was ok. Each time I said “I’m perfect, I could do another one of these” but they wouldn’t let go of me. I guess it was just their job to make sure I wasn’t delirious. I spotted my parents scanning the finishers for me and snuck up behind them to give them a big, sweaty hug. We were all ecstatic and it was surreal to think that I was actually done. What now?



I skipped the post race pizza and massage, opting to hobble back to the hotel for a shower. We hung out there for about an hour and then made our way back downtown for dinner and the midnight finishing party. I have to give major thanks to my parents who made it all day out there and still decided to stay with me to enjoy the craziness of the midnight finishes at the Ironman. They were troopers. Also, even though they couldn’t be there for my late Sunday finish, Katie and Denny being there with me was beyond amazing.


I’m sure I missed hundreds of little stories and I definitely could write another few pages on the culture of Ironman and the people I met, but right now, I think this is enough. The past six months of training, year of dreaming, and week in Idaho has been the greatest experience of my life. Just watching the finishers at the 17 hour mark cross that line with tears streaming across their faces and smiles from ear to ear shows you how inspiring an Ironman can be.

It definitely requires some unfortunate sacrifices and a sick mindset, but this race tests your limits and you can’t help but become a different person once you cross that finish line. I still don’t know if it has fully set in and I know I won’t really do it justice, but racing an Ironman is something in between an emotional, spiritual and physical battle with 2,500 strangers that feel like your best friends after it’s all done. It’s a fraternity of those who are crazy enough to push themselves to their limits just to get a t-shirt and bragging rights.

So in closing, I’ll steal two quotes from a couple of the pros:

“Ironman racing is the only time you’re really true to yourself, it’s the only time you really face yourself.”

“I encourage anyone who wants to see what they’re made out of to come try an Ironman. You’ll get a true sense of if you’re a fighter or not.”

_ _ _
Here are a few more pictures from the weekend or just go to this link to see all of them:

IRONMAN

Cheesy picture my friends made me take at the hotel

Day before the race at the swim start

Great picture from our drive to Montana on Monday

Recapping my form for my parents.  Note the big bridge marking the run course turnaround.

Thumbs up after a lakeside dinner on the run course Monday night