Medical Center 10k Classic RR

Well another 2 weeks have gone by since my last post and all is well. The weather is starting to get a little colder, but nothing too serious. It's nice that the weather has stayed as warm as it has allowing me to train outside more so than I anticipated going into Clearwater. I'm still doing my computrainer workout once a week, but trying to get outside on most of the other days. I have yet to retreat to the treadmill and this up coming week looks to be sunny on most of the days.

I traveled to Bowling Green this past weekend to visit the family and run in a little 10k that has a pretty fast course (and a little prize money). I figured since it was at the end of a recovery week that I might run a PR if I raced well, and maybe even dip under 33 minutes for the first time. After a good warmup with my brother, I headed to the start line just before the start at 8:30. At 8:30 the gun went off, and so did the Kenyans. I have never raced in such a deep field of Kenyans and I felt like I was out of my league even 100 yards into the race. I knew I wasn't there to compete for the overall victory as the last 3 - 4 winners have all broke 30 minutes, but I was simply there to be as competitive as possible and run fast. Well, after about a 1/4 mile, I was in about 25th - 30th position and falling back from the main pack. They were absolutely flying and there was nothing I could do to hang on. I went through the first mile in 5:00 and realized that, yes, they were running fast as I was a good 20 - 30 seconds back from the leaders. The 2nd mile gave me an opportunity to pass a few of the competitors who wanted to be in the lead group, but were not in shape enough to do so for very long. I passed 3 - 4 guys during this second mile and went through the 2 mile in 10:11. The pain set in and I realized that I wasn't far off of my 5k PR pace. I managed to get away from another competitor during the 3rd mile and made my way up the biggest hill on the course. It's about a 1/2 mile long but very gradual. I went to 3 miles at 15:30 and the 5k at 16:05. I knew the 4th mile would be the hardest with the hill, but it is always the hardest mile of a 10k anyways. I tried to keep my rhythm, but fell off pace a little and went through 4 miles in 21 flat. I sped up a little, but was chasing 2 guys who were a good 30 seconds up, and trying to get away from a guy who was about 20 seconds back from me. I was in no man's land and just trying to hold on for dear life. I went through 5 miles in 26:25 (which is a best for me). One thing I love about this race is they have the mile and kilometers marked throughout the course. I went through 9k at 29:43 meaning I had to run the last kilometer in under 3:17. It is mostly downhill and I had just enough in the tank to do so. I crossed the finish line in 32:53ish.

A 10k is extremely painful when compared to a triathlon. You are running at top end speed for a good 30 minutes and this hurts your lungs A LOT. In a triathlon, it is more painful for the body as a whole, but I am never that close to my VO2 max during a triathlon (especially during a 1/2 IM).

I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at Jackson's Orchard, my grandparent's orchard in Bowling Green, and watched a little football. Sunday morning came around and my brother and I got in a great ride through the flat country in Warren and Logan Counties. It was a little windy, but was a good prep for Clearwater.

Less than 3 week to go before Clearwater, and then its time for some downtime.

Tony

The Adventures of T-Bird

I had a great week of training this past week but I did make a silly/amateur mistake. The week started off pretty simple with some simple workouts. Thursday came around and that is my usual day I have efforts on the bike. I had a 2 hour threshold set and it is extremely useful to have the computrainer at Swim Bike Run of Ky to use. I definitely put myself in the hole during that workout, but had the strength to finish it which was encouraging. It was definitely the hardest bike workout I have ever done, but having the strength to successfully finish it made it even better. Now I did have trouble walking for the rest of the day, ha. Friday came around and I skipped out on my tempo run in the afternoon since I had a long day at work, so I decided I would just include it into my long run the following morning.

I met up with an old friend, Ali Grace (or maybe its Morgan, she just got married about a month ago), Saturday morning to do my tempo/long run. She runs professionally for ZAP fitness and made for a great running partner this morning. I met up with her about 10 minutes into my run and we headed out to the new "Legacy Trail" to start our workout. I ended up running 5 miles before we even started our workout and then our tempo session started. I helped pace her for her efforts. She had a 3 mile effort at 6 minute pace, and then every effort after that got a 1/2 mile shorter and just a tad faster. After our 2nd effort, I realized that I was 12 miles from home. I never once thought about the total distance of how far I was running until this point. I didn't freak out at first. We turned around right after the 2nd effort and started our recovery jog. I helped pace her for her next effort and then that still put me about 6 - 7 miles from home. So I just ran the most direct route that I could back to Swim Bike Run of KY (since it was 2 miles closer to my current location than my house was). Luckily, Jeff Buhr was about to leave the shop so he gave me a ride home. I ended up running 20.4 miles miles when I was only scheduled to run 13 - 14 miles total. Needless to say, I took the following day off from running, ha. I still got in a solid bike ride with Kevin on Sunday to finish off a great week.

One encouraging thing about that run on Saturday was the fact that I didn't take any kind of nutrition and a lot of the run was at "tempo" pace and I never "bonked." Don't get me wrong, I was extremely tired and hungry but I guess the intense training that I have done of the past few years is helping and making me a stronger/fitter triathlete. And the fact that my "best" distance of a triathlon takes around 4 hours to complete and this run only lasted 2:15. It is still my longest run in almost 3 years.

Today was a nice recovery day and I'm back at the hard stuff tomorrow.

Tony

RJ Corman Duathlon RR

Yes, those are real.

Well, I "officially" competed in my first duathlon today and it turned out to be a GREAT idea considering this was my trophy. I have done several in the past, but only because the swim leg got cancelled from a triathlon. The Chrysallis House and Swim Bike Run of KY teamed up to help RJ Corman put on this high dollar event. They are really looking to make it a big event next year. The owner, Rick Corman, put up $6,000 for prize money but did not necessarily want to make it a professional race. He wanted it to be a "Go Big or Go Home" kind of deal. And it definitely was. You either received $1,000 for 1st, or (originally) nothing for 2nd place (Swim Bike Run of KY stepped in and donated some gift cards for 2nd and 3rd place so they wouldn't go home empty handed). The winners of the Duathlon and 5k would each receive $1,000 and then there would be 8 $250 drawings for random people who competed in the race (either the duathlon or the 5k). As it turns out, that kind of money will get people to stick around for awards. It was one of the biggest award ceremonies I have seen at a smaller race like this.

Anyways, I have been struggling all week trying to recover from last weekend. I did an easy bike ride Wednesday which didn't feel too bad but I still didn't feel normal. Thursday had some easy swimming and running involved in it but both workouts took all of the motivation I had stored up inside of me to get out the door. Friday morning I did a 1.5 hr computrainer ride and then rested for the rest of the day. I wasn't sure what to expect today but I felt pretty decent. It was 43 degrees this morning so it was a little chilly at the start. The first 5k felt A LOT better than expected. We went through the first mile in about 5:12 and I had no idea I was running that fast. We slowed down a little over the next 2 miles but I managed to get a little gap on the next 2 competitors going into T1. I think I ran around 16:40 for that first 5k. I hopped on the bike and was off through RJ Corman's property. He owns A TON of property and the first 3 - 4 miles of the bike course is on his private property and then the last 3 - 4 miles of the bike course is on his property. Two of those last miles are on his Runway for his jet. Crazy, huh? Anyways, the middle section of the bike is pretty technical. We go down a fast decent into a hard right hand turn. They did a great job warning us about the course but the 3rd place finished had a bout of bad luck with his carbon brakes and didn't make it into that turn.

I came into T2 with about 2.5 - 3 minutes on the next guy and I was off onto the 2nd run. It was the same course as the first run so I knew what to expect and I just kept a good tempo across the finish line. It was a 5k / 15 miles / 5k Duathlon and my finishing time was 1:16:something. I was extremely pleased with how I felt and the effort for the day. My legs felt a little heavy on the bike but nothing too terrible. My roomie, Kevin Ryan, finished 2nd overall and then Jeff Buhr came home in 3rd. He ended up with a little road rash, but nothing too serious from his spill. Allison Stewart brought home the W on the ladies side.

Now its time to hit it hard and get in a big block of training for Clearwater. I plan on running a 10k in Bowling Green here in a few weeks but there will be no taper or rest for that race. Then my season will be done.

T-Bird