Cloud Snapple Half Marathon

WARNING::: Long Post (oops, sorry)

As promised, I raced in a half marathon on this weekend. The idea came to me when a fellow DC triathlete posted information about the event and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to test my improved run pace. There was only one problem -- the race was sold out.

I had to get into this race though; the idea was already in my head. So I emailed, posted, and begged everyone I could until I found a very generous runner (thanks Emily) who wasn’t using her bib. Problem solved, I was in.

Fast forward to Saturday morning. I wanted to get some quality sleep but instead a later-than-intended night “out” with some great college friends eliminated that option. I wasn’t complaining though. When good company and Salvadoran food are in the mix, I can’t be expected to do the right thing.

I dragged my tired body out of bed at 6:30 (OK fine, more like 7:00 after I hit the snooze a few times) and immediately pounded half a Gatorade and Cliff Bar. Not the most ideal breakfast, but I’m testing out some new pre-race nutrition tactics to see which one I don’t hate the most. If only three bowls of Lucky Charms was a healthy option.

The weather report called for a cold race with a chance of snow (depending on how fast I ran) so I layered up and set out for the race site. The usual butterflies were staying away, partially because it was so freakin cold and also because this was more of a training race for me. I had a goal time and an ideal time but I wasn’t going to complain as long as I ran sub-8:00 minute miles.

Enter race site, park car, visit bathroom, jog to the start line, ohhh &#$! I guess I should have read more about the race. This was a trail race on a lot of gravel. Maybe for some people that isn’t a big deal, but I spend all my time training on roads that, while worse for my knees, are much easier to bounce off of. I had no experience with trail running and was clueless when it came to the difference.

Fortunately the time waiting at the start line was short and before I knew it I was out on the course. Within the first five minutes, I settled into a decent pace with two older guys that were trying to push 7:25 miles. It was clear that one of the guys was pulling the two of us and he seemed fine with playing that role. Of course I wasn’t complaining and just held stride with them. My legs were feeling strong and I was actually surprised I could hold this pace.

…famous last words

Around the halfway point (48:06 split) the snow started lightly falling onto the course. No big deal – a few light flurries and not much accumulation. Twenty minutes later though and it’s goodbye light flurries, hello snow storm. By mile 9, the snow was already approaching an inch on the course and I could feel I was in for a battle. My left foot was in pain from digging into the gravel and snow and my lungs weren’t happy with my decision to hold this 7:25 pace. I tried to push through it a couple times but the pain got the best of me and I slowed my pace significantly. Miles 10 and 11 were a disaster. I was dealing with spurts of unknown pain in my left arch and I had no clue how fast I could push it. Somehow I managed to make it to that two-miles-left aid station and the pain went away. I got back in stride and passed a couple people that went by me around mile 10. Ahhhhh, sweet sweet finish line. I love when you turn a corner and instead of seeing more trail, you see those beautiful blue mats and orange cones.

Once I crossed that line, I darted straight for the water and food tent. After wiping ice off my eyebrows and clothes, I chowed down on some half-frozen pizza and endless amounts of candy and fruit snacks. Then it was into my warm car to bring movement back to my fingers.

The rest of the day was a blur. Rock climbing didn’t happen because of a certain lazy, unnamed coworker of mine but that allowed me to prop my legs on a couch for the rest of the morning and afternoon. I watched hours upon hours of college basketball (why do you do it to me every time, BC?!?!) and ate plenty of junk food.

All in all, I was happy with the day. It wasn’t until later that I did the math and figured out that I ran a 7:37 pace with a finish time of 1:39:47.  Solid given the weather and my extreme inexperience with trail running. Note to self, read about the race beforehand.

Before (Warm) And After (Can't Move my Limbs)

Warm and Cozy After the Race

Family Visit

Today my sister stopped off in DC during her epic journey up and down the east coast. For those of you who don’t know her, she’s been living in Argentina for two years now and we’re desperately trying to get her back to the U.S. Sadly though, she refuses to leave her laid-back Latin American lifestyle so we must resort to enjoying these two months each year when she’s back home.

Therefore, training had to take a back seat today so I could show my sister around DC and take pictures at the monuments.

Hanging with Lincoln at Night

Afterward we joined my brother and his girlfriend for some amazing Pad Thai. It's been a while since I've eaten good Thai food so I was happy to stuff my face on a day off and not worry about going out for a run or jumping into a pool.  I'm sure this means I'll be hurting tomorrow when I hit it hard but until then, it was all worth it.

If there's one reason to sacrifice my training program it is for family.  They're a big reason why I train so hard and an even bigger motivation on those tough days. 

Stuffed After Thai Food

...Stay tuned for a possible race on Saturday.  The weather is calling for snow but I'm desperately trying to get in to the Cloud Snapple Half Marathon and test my improved run pace.  I'm probably foolish for wanting to sign up for this race but as long as I have a couple days break from all that Pad Thai, I'm confident I'll be fine.  Plus, I have no choice because I'm headed to rock climbing two hours after the race so I have to post a sub 7:40 pace if I want to make it in time.   

My Partner in Tri

This Saturday, at approximately 12:30pm, I became the proud owner of a 2010 Cervelo P2 Tri Bike. I’ve been saving for a while and doing as much research as I can, ultimately limiting my options down to a few bikes.

For those triathletes out there, I was also considering a Felt B12 and Kuota K-Factor. I was actually wavering between the B12 and P2, mainly because of the B12 wheelset, but the bike shop price was too good on the Cervelo and after one last test ride I knew I had met my two-wheeled companion for the next few years.

So without further ado, here are some pictures of what I’ll be spending a large portion of the next six months on..

 

Training vs. The Book

I've never considered myself a person that gets lost in books.  Yes, I like to read and as I get older I find myself reading more and more, but I've always been more likely to plop down in front of a TV for a sports game or a guilty-pleasure sitcom after a long workout.  This year though, thanks to the incredible invention that is DVR, I've been able to watch my favorite TV shows (How I Met Your Mother, of course) while doing my indoor bike workouts, freeing up plenty of extra time to dive into new books.

Normally, I just spend a couple hours here and there whenever I can.  I read during my commute and I usually read before bed.  But that's it.  Never have I fiended for a book or lost sleep because I needed to know what happened on that next page.

...until this week.  Before I left home over the holidays my Mom gave me "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and ever since I've started it, my training has suffered.  I've cut off a couple workouts early to spend extra time reading and I may have even cancelled one workout this week just because I'm so obsessed.  I know I know - it's bad, but I can't help myself.  The book just sits there staring at me and taunting me.  It's really not my fault.

Fortunately, the weekend is almost here and I'll have plenty of time to both train and lock myself in a room to finish the book.

Needless to say, this week's training has been sub-par.  And not because of friends, or social gatherings, or TV, or sickness.  Because of a book.  So this is the last time I ever accept a book from my Mom and start reading it during training.  From now until June, I'm sticking with my interesting-but-not-addicting nonfiction books.

 My Training's Archenemy:

God Bless Three Day Weekends

In case anyone was wondering, I absolutely love three-day weekends. More time to sleep, more time to socialize, and most importantly more time to train. What could be better?

During the past 72 hours I was able to squeeze in nine hours of training, three nights of catching up with new and old friends, plenty of boring errands, a few trips to some of my favorite museums and monuments in DC, and countless hours of uninhibited rest.

So as I sit here treating my legs to a much needed date with the couch, I can’t help but think about how I wish every weekend had one extra day added on. Since I officially started training a couple weeks ago, my days are fairly regimented. I wake up for work around 6:30 or 7:00, if not earlier on the days I try to get a morning workout in, and finish up at the office shortly after 6:00pm. Then it’s on to the gym or pool where I spend a couple hours building my strength and honing my multi-sport skills. Afterwards, I catch a bus home that allows me to relax my legs and put my head down into a good book. By 9:00 I’m starving and thinking about the quickest way to get food on a plate and my body on a couch.

Now all of this may seem like a monotonous life (and actually as I write it all out it, even I think I’m pretty lame), but I took on this challenge for a reason. I love those hours I spend training each day. I love the exhaustion I feel as I ride that bus home each night. And I love the idea that for the next six months, I’m being forced to become much more intentional with my time.

But with that said, 72 hours of freedom is not lost on me. Whether it’s turning down drinks with friends because I have a date with the gym or staying home on a Friday night to rest my legs, I’ve come to recognize and appreciate the beauty of free time and the importance of maintaining a normal life. When it’s possible, I’ll always try to get out and spend time with friends. Or if the weather is nice, I won’t think twice about pulling out the nerd-card and visiting a couple museums or monuments.

It may not sound like fun, but I relish this challenge and while it definitely occupies plenty of time I could be spending with great friends or watching reality television (yea yea, go ahead and judge me), it is actually helping me to become more intentional and accomplish all the things I want to in life.

With that said though, I wouldn’t be opposed to a couple more Monday holidays and three day weekends.

Postscript: for all those friends who are reading this thinking about how much they hate me for being a bad friend – thanks for understanding. I may be MIA a lot over the next six months but I promise that come June 28th, I’ll be the one closing down the bar and hanging out poolside with an endless supply of Bud Light Lime.

Training Camaraderie

As I was about halfway through my run today, I stumbled upon yet another reason why I’m committing myself to this sport and enjoying every minute of it – athlete camaraderie.

I was running along a three-mile loop, a popular route with endurance athletes in DC because of its proximity to the monuments and minimal car traffic, when I hear another runner coming up behind me at a solid pace. Now I’d like to think that I rarely get passed while out on my training runs but given the route I was on, I know that some of the fittest cyclists and runners are out doing the same thing I am so I expect the occasional marathon runner to give me a run for my money. Instead, the runner catches me and paces off of me for a couple minutes.

For all those runners and cyclists out there, I’m not opposed to breaking etiquette every now and then. I’ll admit I’ve drafted and paced off of numerous people without asking them first and I think that as long as you give the friendly head nod or smile-and-wave, it’s OK in my book.

But after those couple minutes pacing, the runner strode alongside me and instead of passing me with a friendly nod, we started talking. Turns out he was out on this relatively-warm day as part of his marathon training when he noticed my pace and wanted to run with me to add some tempo training into the middle of his long run. So Jesús, a 52 year-old naval officer who qualified for Boston after shaving an hour off of his marathon time in only six months, and I set out on the final four miles of my run.

We spent the next 30 minutes pushing a 7:10 pace (way faster than I was planning since I just did a two hour ride) and chatting about everything from training tips to where we grew up. Two guys, decades apart in years, on very different life and training paths, but we had an unspoken bond – endurance training.

So Jesús, thanks for helping me finish off my 9-miler strong and best of luck in the Nations Marathon. I hope you hit your 3:30 goal once more. You showed me that the camaraderie amongst endurance athletes is something that will never get old. While I’ll always enjoy the challenge of training solo, I can’t wait to see who I meet on my next training run (…as long as they’re not some crazy person).

Sick Monday, Sick Tuesday, Sick Wednesday. Ugh.

Being the stubborn and proud person that I am, I like to think that I rarely ever get sick. I plow through the changing seasons with ease while everyone around me coughs and sniffles for days on end. Well, at least that’s what I wish happened.

This week has been nothing but sickness. Instead of logging long mileage on the bike or countless laps in the pool, I’ve spent most of my time logging hours laying in bed and drinking countless glasses of orange juice. Needless to say, this has been a very frustrating week.

But all this prolonged time away from my training got me thinking… what is the harm in working out while sick? Could it really be THAT bad if I decided to stick with my program and hit the gym? Turns out, it is. Yes, I realize I could have called any mother in America to get this answer but come on, who really listens to their parents’ advice anyway. So after searching Google for any article that would give me an excuse to jump on my bike, almost everything I read talked about the importance of rest or low-intensity workouts. Sure, I could hop on the bike and spin for a little bit but that isn’t exactly what my training plan calls for and if rest is what the doctor prescribes, then rest it is.

So right now I’m sitting at home watching my beloved Boston College Eagles battle Duke in basketball and praying that this is the only time during the next six months that I get sick. As much as I love kicking back on a couch and watching sports, I’d rather be moving and training as much as my body will let me. Fortunately, this should be the last day away from training and it’s just in time for a semi-warm three day weekend here in DC.

*Note added 1/15/10: great post from a fellow triathlete on the same topic - http://tritawn.blogspot.com/2010/01/immune-system-exercise.html.  Good read for all those people coming down with the seasonal sickness that still want to get out there and train

The Beginning

So as many of you know, my Ironman training has officially begun.  Barring my current state of sickness which is significantly limiting my ability to complete any/all workouts, I’m glad to finally be on a plan and stick to a schedule. 

While I had been keeping up my run and bike fitness throughout the offseason, the main word I associate with the beginning of training has got to be “humbling.” 

I knew when I decided to set out on this journey that it would be an incredible challenge and there would be plenty of days where I would suffer, but the first 10 days has been one of the most humbling times of my life. 

Originally, I expected this period to be somewhat easy as I just increased my workout hours and length of my run, bike, and swim.  This is not the case.  Partly because it’s winter, partly because it’s a new schedule, and partly because it’s an entirely new lifestyle that I have to get used to, I’m already understanding what they mean by sacrifice and challenge during these six months. 

First let’s start with my bike.  I’ve always enjoyed this part of the race the most, as clichéd as that is to say.  You get to go the fastest and I feel like my years of soccer experience have given me a solid leg strength base to build upon.  Well, that might be the case for shorter distances but not for this one. 

Last weekend I went to my first group training session with the DC Tri Club.  Normally I enjoy training alone and challenging myself that way, but I decided this year to join the club so I can meet more people that are as foolish as me and get firsthand advice as I maneuver my way through the triathlon world.  So in I walk to this cycling training session at 8:00am on Saturday morning and all I knew was that it was going to be “difficult.”  Ha, difficult was an understatement.  Within 30 minutes of the group workout, I was trying to hide how much pain I was in.  The USAT coach leading the workout was pushing most of us harder than ever and I wasn’t used to such long, straining intensity workouts.  At one point, I looked over to my right and saw a woman who was almost 15 years older than me going at least twice my pace AND at a harder level.  I can’t even begin to tell you how humbling it is to compare myself to someone like this.  I couldn’t believe it, I was getting killed by a 40 year old woman and I was sitting there just counting down the minutes until I could get off my bike.  Finally, after almost two hours of the most grueling workout of my life, I hopped off my bicycle and exchanged a few winded pleasantries with some new friends.  Turns out, they all were suffering at least a little and they were way more experienced than me and knew how to fight through it.  Needless to say, I left that bike workout with mixed feelings after two of the most humbling hours of my life. 

Now, if that wasn’t enough, onto the swimming.

5:35 alarm goes off… I’m dead tired.  I look over at that clock every Tuesday and Thursday morning and want to roll back over into bed like I never have before.  Unfortunately, the video montages of Ironman races run through my head, making me realize that I have to get out of bed and hurry up to catch the bus.  If the struggle to get out of bed and lack of motivation isn’t enough to kick me in the stomach each and every morning before a swim workout, I have the morning masters swim class to finish it off for me.  Now let me clarify, by no means am I in this masters swim class each morning.  I just coincidentally swim at the same time they begin their workouts.  And while I like to think my biggest strength in triathlons is my swim, these swimmers put me to shame every day.  Every day I’m there, I try my hardest not to look like an idiot since my technique is way below where I need it to be and I’m sure I look like a buffoon.  I know watching and learning from these swimmers will only make me stronger yet I can’t help but walk away from those morning sessions thinking about how much work I have to do. 

Humbled… that is how my training has started and that is how it will probably continue.  Let’s just hope I can learn how to fight through the pain and race with the best of them by June 27^th.

My Motivation

So for those of you unfamiliar with what I'm training for, here are a couple of videos to help you understand how foolish I am.  The first is a video from the 2009 Ironman Coeur d'alene race (my race in 2010) and the second is video from the grand daddy of 'em all - the 2010 Ironman World Championship.

I encourage you to watch the second video if you haven't already.  It's hard not to be inspired by watching even a couple minutes.

What Am I Thinking

Despite my reluctance to start something like this, I woke up today realizing that I should just bite the bullet and begin to blog about my journey through the sport of triathlon (and possibly beyond). 

Why, you ask?  Well, that’s as simple and shallow as a great dream I had about one of my favorite triathlete bloggers as well as a desire to try new things in 2010.  So even with the inevitable ridicule from friends and coworkers because of future posts about my thoughts and feelings, and crap like that, I begin this adventure into my life as a triathlete.

For myself, I hope I can use this as a way to collect the memories and reflect on my successes and mistakes in the future.  For anyone foolish enough to read this, I hope it is either a helpful tool into the world of healthy living, exercise and endurance sports or just simply a fun way to kill time and make fun of me.