Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Chasing Deer

My goal for 2013.  To run down a deer and catch it with my bare hands.

I was presented with this opportunity early in the year.  Unfortunately, I was in horrendous shape during this opportunity.  I gave it my all, but suffered for the rest of the day as if I had done an ALL OUT 800 meter run, or mile.  Both hurt A LOT.

After reading the book "Born To Run," I took several things away from this book.
A. running in racing flats is all the support that I will ever need in a pair of shoes.  I'm not going full extreme and getting the five finger shoes or the running sandals, but I do like racing flats and the feel of them.

B. The stories of running down deer is awesome and I want to do that.

I learned in 2011, that lesson A was a good idea, but I developed a heel spur and then a wicked case of plantar fascia that I dealt with for 1.5 years.  So, more support in my shoes for now.  If is ain't broke, don't fix it, right???

But the deer would make a great story if I were to ever run down a deer.  On February 6th, I was running a recovery jog in the park (about 9 min. per mile pace) and 1.5 miles in, there was a family of 6 deer.  I was so excited I got that little feeling in your stomach that you get when something sudden happens (you know what I mean).  Well, I wasn't sure how to start the chase to I just ran straight up to them.  Since the park is a popular place, the deer themselves were used to people and actually let me get a lot closer than I expected before they took off running.  Almost 30 seconds into the chase, 1 deer to separated from the rest and I knew that was the idea of the chase.  I managed to keep it separated for a little bit but it was able to sprint faster than me and get around me and back to the family.  For the next 2 miles I sprinted/jogged very slowly for recovery while chasing these deer over a few open acres of a grassy field. I ran about 12 minutes for those 2 miles which about killed me.  I was weezing and coughing the rest of the morning.  The deer escaped and made me look stupid as this field is right beside a busy road that many Nashvillians use to commute into downtown.  The only thing that I was really worried about was chasing the deer into the road so anytime they took off in that particular direction, I stopped chasing immediately.

I walk / jogged back to my car and got in about 2 more miles than I had planned and at a much higher intensity than I had planned.  Needless to say, the run the following day was my recovery run.

About a month later, the deer were there again, but it was in a different section of the park that was closer to the wooded area.  I chased for about 45 seconds and they got around me and into the woods.  They just into and across the small creek thus ending that chase.

Those are the only 2 chases I've had in 3 months but I'm hoping for more as I'm in much better shape.

I want revenge for this guy.  Sure this happened in S. Africa and this was an Antelope, but its the same family, right?

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Mud Run 5k RR

So I know this isn't much but it is my first finished race since a Duathlon I did in October of 2011.  Finally feeling somewhat healthy, my wife and I decided we would find a fun race to do together.  A local high school put on a 5k mud run that I find about a week before the event.  We discussed it and I happened to have the day off from work, so we signed up.

Race day came and it was a pretty warm day for the middle of March.  The SEC Tourny was going on and I had hoped to stay out late the night before after watching a UK victory, but that did not happen.  I showed up wearing some longer running shorts, normal running shoes, and a t-shirt.  There were some seriously dressed up guys that looked like they were there to dominate.  Wearing some 5 finger shoes with their Mud specialty clothing, I felt that I might have some competition.  Casey reminded me that this was for fun, but I knew deep down that I wasn't going to let anyone else win.

Luckily, I got put in the first wave and we started at 9 am.  The gun went off and I took off just like any other race that I've competed in.  About 100 meters into the race, I already had a significant lead.  There was a hay bail to jump and then 75 meters straight uphill.  Right at the top was the Mudpit that was advertised.  The mud/water was about 2 ft. deep and about 15 - 20 yards long.  I was first out of the pit and off running.  Over the next 1/2 mile it was mostly running on grass with some hay bails to hurdle and some hurdles to go under.  There was a sand crawling section straight into a slip and slide which was the best part.  The rest of the 1.5 mile loop was more hay bails, crawling obstacles, and a large slip and slide right before the finish/start of second loop.  I pushed as hard as I could just getting that competitive flow going that I used to love.  The second loop was me against myself and I continued to push as that is what I have come to love.  I did lap the guys who were dressed up like they raced mud races professionally so that gave me a little laugh.  I didn't lap many people, but those 2 guys were about 50% of the lapped field.

I crossed the finish line about 4-5 minutes before the next competitor.  I realized this was a small race, and mostly people just running for fun, but it was enough to remind me how much I love to run/race.

Casey was the first female across the finish line from wave 1 so it was a couple tag team for first place.  Unfortunately, there was a timing issue with one of the other heats and 3 ladies all finished within 3 seconds of each other finished as the top 3 females.  They either only ran 1 lap or their timing chips were off.  Usually the winner of just about any race looks somewhat fit, and these ladies all looked like they were out for their Sunday morning 2 mile walk.  Anyways, we had fun and made for a great start to a fun day as one of my groomsmen was visiting for the weekend.

More to come in 2013.



Saturday, May 4, 2013

You're still here?

So I know that it has been almost 1 year exactly since my last blog.  I took some time away from the sport and dealt with some personal stuff.  Mostly GREAT stuff as I got married in September of last year and then we moved to Nashville, TN.  I trained last summer but was still dealing with some foot issues.  I felt that if I didn't train, then I would get out of shape and that I was letting my "professional" career slip away.  I didn't want to be the pro that turned pro too early and then disappeared.  But guess what, I believe that is exactly what happened, ha.  It is now May of 2013 and I haven't finished a triathlon since September of 2011 at the Tri for Sight in Lexington, KY.  I believe I'm going to compete in some low key races this year just to get some of that fire back.

Ever since 2003, my life has revolved around my workouts.  Whether I was travelling, studying, working, or whatever else, I was always thinking about my workout the next day.  Missing a workout was something that always got under my skin and then I would be the grumpy guy for the rest of the day.  In 2011, it was at its all time high.  I was training more than ever, and sacrificing everything outside of my triathlon career.  I had some pretty good results but I believe I made some of my "A" races the same as a lot of the "faster" guys and I finished outside of the top 10 so I got a little down about most of those results.  Looking back on it, I was averaging close to 300 watts for 56 miles and then running in the ball park of 1:17 - 1:15 off the bike for 13.1 miles.  (I wish I was in that kind of shape right now.)  Anyways, I believe things happen for a reason.  I got hurt, was forced to put things in perspective, and am finally getting better.  I fought that plantar facsia injury for most of last year until I got to my breaking point in September.   Right after the wedding, I finally decided I was going to take time off completely.  I still swam a few days a week but that was about it.  We went on our honeymoon in December and I had a job where I was working 40 - 45 hours a week, but they were later in the day shifts so I was working a lot of 11 - 8 or 9 pm so I was mostly doing a short swim before work followed by a little lifting. Then we got short staffed at work so I ended up working a lot of 9-8 shifts thus cutting more into my workout time.  Not that I was training that much.  My foot still didn't feel like it was getting better after 10 weeks of no running what-so-ever. I did my research and decided that not running was not the answer.  I got some professional "scraping" done, did a lot of foot strength exercises, and got some custom orthotics.

I finally started running again mid December.  I was running 3-4 time a week for 2-4 miles at about 9-10 min. per mile pace.  And it was NOT easy.  I just kept this up and gradually picked up my mileage.  January of 2013 I ran about 120 miles for the whole month.  All of it was slow mileage with maybe my fastest mile during that being a 7:45 mile in the middle of a random run.

During all of this time, I was getting in a short workout, then making time for all of the other things going on in my life.  If I didn't get around to running one day, no big deal.  Especially making time for my new wife, even if it was just laying around and watching a movie on a Sunday afternoon.  It was nice to not worry about workouts and be a little more relaxed about my eating habits.  I didn't have to go to bed early on Friday worrying about getting in a 5 am bike ride on Saturday that was 3 hrs long with race pace efforts before traveling/working later Saturday morning.

I now have a new job that has set hours that never change outside of 8-5 and that works great.  I finally am getting that fire back in me as triathlon season is starting and I'm seeing results that are just mind blowing.  Guys are swim crazy fast, then 20-30 guys are holding 300+ watts for the bike leg then getting off and running 1:15 or faster.  I know I have a lot of work to do, but I'm up for the challenge.
April 1st was my first swim since November and it was ugly, ha.  I now have a month of swimming and it is coming along.  I am running consistently and cycling is the last thing that I've really wanted to do but it's finally coming around.

Motivation is definitely something that comes and goes and I didn't want to start my comeback too early before I was ready.  Forcing workouts is never a good idea.  Take a break when you need it, mentally and physically, and train hard when its called for.  I have been very consistent with my workouts since January, even if it has only been a 2 mile run at 9 min. per mile pace.

One big change that I've focused on this off season that has been a change of pace for me is lifting weights.  I have hit the gym at least 2-3 times a week this whole winter and definitely feel stronger than I have in the past.  Focusing mainly on leg strength and my stabilizer muscles as I'm pretty sure they were all pretty week from my down year and my injury.  I will blog more to come, I promise.  And I'm not down for the count, just took a little sleeper.

Tony