Team Magic puts on some great races and I have always enjoyed participating in their races. I have never competed in this particular race but I have done the Chattanooga and Music City race several times. The format is a little different as the boat ramp where we swim start/finish is pretty small so there isn't enough room for a transition area. So, there is a 1 mile run from the swim exit to the transition area to the bike. This is included in the race so that you don't see people with 6 - 10 minute T1's. So, 400y swim, 1 mile run, 12 mile bike, 2 mile run was our distance for the day.
As you guys know, I have been injured for a long time now and this was my first multisport race since September of 2011. I was really chomping at the bit to get out there. The weather was a little warm but we are in Tennessee in the summer so what else would be expected??
I woke up ready to roll and got there as early as planned. Picked up my race packet, and checked out some of the local competition. I am not from the area originally so I didn't recognize anyone and wasn't sure what to expect. I was seeded 4th going into the swim as it is a time trial start. I got in a little warm up in all 3 sports and waited patiently until 7:30. I was off just 15 seconds after the gun went off. The 1st and 3rd guys in the water looked like decent swimmers in the few seconds before I started but the 2nd seed was a female and she looked legit. When I was sent in the water, I took off after her. But her 10 second advantage was just too great, and the fact that she was a better swimmer than I was. I felt pretty solid for my first open water swim of the year and actually did a lot better job of sighting than I usually do. I was out in 2nd, slipped on my running shoes, and was off for a 1 mile run.
It was uphill from the boat ramp so it was a little challenging, but all the better since I've mostly been running lately. I passed the female who got out of the water in front of me and I was first into "t2."
I took off on the bike and it was a GREAT course. 1 mile to the highway, get on the on ramp, then 5 miles straight down a closed down interstate with smooth paved roads. No pot holes or rubber line bumps, it was smooth as can be. I enjoyed having the lead motorcycle in front of me as I tried to keep pushing. I hit the turn around and it was just the exact same road back for 6 more miles. I felt surprisingly good on the bike considering my lack of training on the bike. I hit "t3" and was off for my 2nd run of 2 miles. It was nice and warm and everything was marked perfectly. I am always a little nervous about smaller races and having the course marked. In the past, I have had a little trouble with that, but this one turned out to marked better than some of the bigger races that I've competed in before. It was basically 1 mile out and back course and I crossed the finish line just over 54 minutes.
No words can describe how it felt to get out there for the first time in a long time. I enjoyed every second of it. I was happy to win the race and meet a few of the locals in the process. I'm looking forward to doing a few more, smaller races this year and keeping it low key. I'm still keeping a close eye on my foot as it still makes me nervous some days, but for the most part it is 100% pain free. Most likely the Music City Triathlon will be my next event. I don't have to travel and it will be my longest triathlon since August of 2011. My cycling will probably be my focus for the next few weeks to make sure I don't get blown out of the water by some of the local guys. A 12 mile bike and a 2 mile run is a little bit easier to fake than a hilly 25 mile bike / 6 mile run.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Monday, June 3, 2013
Country Music 1/2 Marathon RR
Sure this is over a month late but I did another race. That is 2 for 2013. what is going on??? anyways, I once again waited until the last minute to sign up as I signed up 6 days before the event (last day of online registration). The mileage has been there in training, just absolutely no speed work whatsoever. My body responds pretty well to mileage as long as its easy with some moderate stuff and the occasional speed session. I got injured while trying to maintain high mileage and over doing the speed work. Most of my injuries have come from speed work sessions where I have over done it. I was either turning the workout into a race, or doing it tired and hoping to hit times that would have been a stretch for me even if I had rested.
Anyways, I've been running consistently and keeping the mileage high for me. Long run every weekend (11-14 miles) and doing some moderate runs throughout the week. I used race week to back off a little and rest. Saturday rolled around and it was pouring rain and thundering. Luckily, the thunderstorms went away, but the rain continued to come down. It didn't stop until Saturday night. I was soaked well before the start of the race but no worries. If you mentally accept it, its no big deal. It's when you try to stay dry and tell yourself that you won't get that wet when you get upset about the rain.
I did a short/easy warmup and saw a Vandy girl doing the walk of shame so that always makes me laugh at 6:35 on a Saturday morning. At, 7:05 we were off. I felt controlled but I knew I was running faster than I have been recently. There was a bachelorette party running in front of me for the first 1/2 mile. I kind of laughed but wasn't happy to be behind them. Well, they stayed in front of me for the next 3-4 miles and I didn't catch the last member of that party until 6.5 miles in the race. I guess they were legit. I went through the first mile in 6:02 which was a lot faster than expected. The next mile was downhill so it was another 6:03 mile. Miles 3-5 were uphill so I held around 6:15-6:20 pace for these. I was passing the ladies who took it out fast, and the guys that were running a little faster than they should have been. My 6th mile was a 5:58 so I went through 6 miles in just about 37 minutes. My 10k was just over 38:10 ish. The next few miles were up and down and I passed the leading woman around mile 8. It's been a long time since I've had to race the leading female. I remember when I first started running road races that I always was right around where the leading female would be so that turned into a goal of mine until I started getting a little better. It turned out that is about the goal I set in the middle of the race. I decided that I had better beat the first woman and I would run as hard as I needed to accomplish this. Fortunately, there were no "very elite" women at this race or I would have been in trouble as I know there are plenty of women that can run in the ball park of 1:14 - 1:19 which is faster than I was going to run for sure.
Anyways, nothing really changed over the last 5 miles or so. The leading woman kept me in her sights and I even heard some spectators cheer for her at mile 11 so even though I passed her at mile 8. My 12th mile was my fastest mile being in about 5:50 (think it was a hair short as my last mile was 6:15 - 6:20 and it wasn't really that uphill), and managed to hold pace to the finish line. I went through 13 miles right around 1:19:10 ish so I really had to focus that last 1/10 of a mile to make sure I dipped under 1:20 (which I did). The results ended up having me about 50 seconds faster than I had on my watch but who's counting, right???
Casey met me at the finish line, we jogged back to the car, still getting completely soaked from the downpour, then we went to Panera. That was our splurge for the day for me getting about 17 miles in for the day and Casey being the best spectator on the course (I may have a little bias).
I was very pleased with the result considering I have been running 8:00 min. pace for my long runs so I did not expect to run 6:05 pace for this race at all. Over the next few months I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and try to stay consistent with my training.
Tony
Anyways, I've been running consistently and keeping the mileage high for me. Long run every weekend (11-14 miles) and doing some moderate runs throughout the week. I used race week to back off a little and rest. Saturday rolled around and it was pouring rain and thundering. Luckily, the thunderstorms went away, but the rain continued to come down. It didn't stop until Saturday night. I was soaked well before the start of the race but no worries. If you mentally accept it, its no big deal. It's when you try to stay dry and tell yourself that you won't get that wet when you get upset about the rain.
I did a short/easy warmup and saw a Vandy girl doing the walk of shame so that always makes me laugh at 6:35 on a Saturday morning. At, 7:05 we were off. I felt controlled but I knew I was running faster than I have been recently. There was a bachelorette party running in front of me for the first 1/2 mile. I kind of laughed but wasn't happy to be behind them. Well, they stayed in front of me for the next 3-4 miles and I didn't catch the last member of that party until 6.5 miles in the race. I guess they were legit. I went through the first mile in 6:02 which was a lot faster than expected. The next mile was downhill so it was another 6:03 mile. Miles 3-5 were uphill so I held around 6:15-6:20 pace for these. I was passing the ladies who took it out fast, and the guys that were running a little faster than they should have been. My 6th mile was a 5:58 so I went through 6 miles in just about 37 minutes. My 10k was just over 38:10 ish. The next few miles were up and down and I passed the leading woman around mile 8. It's been a long time since I've had to race the leading female. I remember when I first started running road races that I always was right around where the leading female would be so that turned into a goal of mine until I started getting a little better. It turned out that is about the goal I set in the middle of the race. I decided that I had better beat the first woman and I would run as hard as I needed to accomplish this. Fortunately, there were no "very elite" women at this race or I would have been in trouble as I know there are plenty of women that can run in the ball park of 1:14 - 1:19 which is faster than I was going to run for sure.
Anyways, nothing really changed over the last 5 miles or so. The leading woman kept me in her sights and I even heard some spectators cheer for her at mile 11 so even though I passed her at mile 8. My 12th mile was my fastest mile being in about 5:50 (think it was a hair short as my last mile was 6:15 - 6:20 and it wasn't really that uphill), and managed to hold pace to the finish line. I went through 13 miles right around 1:19:10 ish so I really had to focus that last 1/10 of a mile to make sure I dipped under 1:20 (which I did). The results ended up having me about 50 seconds faster than I had on my watch but who's counting, right???
Casey met me at the finish line, we jogged back to the car, still getting completely soaked from the downpour, then we went to Panera. That was our splurge for the day for me getting about 17 miles in for the day and Casey being the best spectator on the course (I may have a little bias).
I was very pleased with the result considering I have been running 8:00 min. pace for my long runs so I did not expect to run 6:05 pace for this race at all. Over the next few months I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and try to stay consistent with my training.
Tony
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?
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.
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
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
Monday, May 28, 2012
Mind Games - Are you holding yourself back?
So one thing that I can't stop thinking about is how hard I need to go during workouts. Whether I'm swimming, cycling, or running, when I have a hard workout, I am constantly looking at my pace/wattage/speed to make sure that I'm where I need to be. I have found that this is a catch 22 situation. Some workouts you are practicing pacing for long races and this is a good thing to do. But often, you have FAST intervals while swimming, or told to do some sprints while on the bike, or strides after an easy run. These are meant to turn your brain off (or at least just focus on good form while running) and just GO. Don't set limits on yourself. Don't tell yourself that a fast 100 is a 1:30 and be happy with it. You may be able to go 1:25 and you would never know if you keep accepting that 1:30 as being fast. Don't run a 5k and run the first mile in 6:00 and then freak out if its a little fast and make yourself slow down. Just go with it. You may be setting yourself up for a big personal best.
A lot of times, this can be learned from young teenagers and rookies. Swimming with the Age group swim team this past weekend, the younger kids were just trying to keep up or beat the older team members while the older team members weren't racing, they were "pacing" themselves for the FAST efforts.
When I was new to triathlon, I was naive about nutrition, pacing, proper gear, etc. I just went out and went as hard as I could. I would swim fast, bike fast, and then run fast. I had a great first few years in the sport and was able to progress and end up where I am now. But now that I have raced for 6+ years, I have an experience with most race distances and know how much each race hurts. If you are not willing to accept the pain, then you psych yourself out and you end up not going quite as fast as you once were able to. Your mind may be the reason you have hit a plateau in your career. The first time I raced a 70.3 distance, I just went "almost" as hard as I do for an Olympic distance and it worked great until about the 11 mile mark on the run. and I only bonked a little so it worked out for me. But each and every time I would race a 70.3 after that, I would "pace" myself a little better so that I wouldn't hurt like that again. It worked sometimes, but other races it left me well outside of the top 5 - 10 until late in the run and well behind the leader of the race. Sometimes you need to take a risk to put yourself where you need to be to succeed.
One of my buddies is a great example. During one of his track meets, his only goal was to run a personal best, not to race the other guys in the race. This was a high school track meet, which the whole point of these is to earn points for your team. Yes, you need to pace yourself to a point, but at that age, you are very naive and you just want to go fast. But anyways, 1 lap into his 2 mile race, he had let the main pack gap him by 10 - 20 meters and they were pulling away fast. I yelled for him to keep in contact for as long as he could. He turns to me and says, "I'm right on pace." I was flabbergasted. I couldn't believe he had just spoke to me while he was racing. Why was he running to only run a personal best by 1 - 2 seconds. Why wasn't he willing to pace off of the other guys? He ended up not running a personal best and finishing a good distance back from the winner.
At the State high school track meet my Senior year, it was my first time there and knew that those guys were significantly faster than me. I qualified with a time of 10:44 for 2 miles. I knew that if I ran that again, I would be not close to the leaders and I did not want to get embarrassed. When the gun went off, I just took off with the main pack and hung on for as long as I could. We went through 1 mile just under 5 minutes (which I had never been before during a 2 mile race). I ended drafting off of other competitors on the windy stretch of track and then would run by 1 - 2 guys per lap on the tailwind section. I sprinted in and passed 2 more competitors to finish 7th (I think). I never once looked at the clock (other than hearing the time at 1 mile split) and ended up running around 10:15. This was almost a 30 second PR in just a 10 minute race. Had I "paced" myself, I may have run a PR, but sure would not have finished inside the top 8 - 12 as they were all well under 10:30.
I have experienced this same phenomenon in some of my races in the last few years. My best races have come when I have just turned my brain off and raced. I go hard and race the guys around me and end up running much faster than I anticipated. I have run several running road races where this has worked great. One year at the Bluegrass 10k, I had some good competition that was around my pace and we all just went head to head and I forgot about what pace I was running and ran to beat those guys. I ended up running a personal course record and having my best finish in that race. I have yet to run faster on that course than that year. Another 10k that I ran 2 years ago in Bowling Green turned out the same way. I took off with the faster guys and probably went out a little too hard. But I ended up going through the halfway just over 16 minutes (close to my 5k PR) and held on for dear life to run a personal best in the 10k and it was the only time I've been under 33 minutes for a 10k. My half marathon PR also came in the same fashion. I went out too fast with some faster guys, but it didn't really feel too fast at the time. Before I knew it, I was well under PR pace through half way and was able to hold on and run MUCH faster than I expected.
Everyone is so caught up with how fast they SHOULD be going and they forget to race. Dathan Ritzenhein did this over the weekend. He went to Europe (or wherever it was) to run a 10k track race to get his Olympic "A" standard. He decided not to go with the leaders early in the race and "just" run the A standard. Well, he ended up missing the A standard and will have to run it at a later point this summer. Had he gone with the leaders, they may have dragged him along to the A standard. Or he may have blown up, but he will never know. Sometimes you have to be willing to take a risk.
Are you brave enough to turn your brain off and just race?
A lot of times, this can be learned from young teenagers and rookies. Swimming with the Age group swim team this past weekend, the younger kids were just trying to keep up or beat the older team members while the older team members weren't racing, they were "pacing" themselves for the FAST efforts.
When I was new to triathlon, I was naive about nutrition, pacing, proper gear, etc. I just went out and went as hard as I could. I would swim fast, bike fast, and then run fast. I had a great first few years in the sport and was able to progress and end up where I am now. But now that I have raced for 6+ years, I have an experience with most race distances and know how much each race hurts. If you are not willing to accept the pain, then you psych yourself out and you end up not going quite as fast as you once were able to. Your mind may be the reason you have hit a plateau in your career. The first time I raced a 70.3 distance, I just went "almost" as hard as I do for an Olympic distance and it worked great until about the 11 mile mark on the run. and I only bonked a little so it worked out for me. But each and every time I would race a 70.3 after that, I would "pace" myself a little better so that I wouldn't hurt like that again. It worked sometimes, but other races it left me well outside of the top 5 - 10 until late in the run and well behind the leader of the race. Sometimes you need to take a risk to put yourself where you need to be to succeed.
One of my buddies is a great example. During one of his track meets, his only goal was to run a personal best, not to race the other guys in the race. This was a high school track meet, which the whole point of these is to earn points for your team. Yes, you need to pace yourself to a point, but at that age, you are very naive and you just want to go fast. But anyways, 1 lap into his 2 mile race, he had let the main pack gap him by 10 - 20 meters and they were pulling away fast. I yelled for him to keep in contact for as long as he could. He turns to me and says, "I'm right on pace." I was flabbergasted. I couldn't believe he had just spoke to me while he was racing. Why was he running to only run a personal best by 1 - 2 seconds. Why wasn't he willing to pace off of the other guys? He ended up not running a personal best and finishing a good distance back from the winner.
At the State high school track meet my Senior year, it was my first time there and knew that those guys were significantly faster than me. I qualified with a time of 10:44 for 2 miles. I knew that if I ran that again, I would be not close to the leaders and I did not want to get embarrassed. When the gun went off, I just took off with the main pack and hung on for as long as I could. We went through 1 mile just under 5 minutes (which I had never been before during a 2 mile race). I ended drafting off of other competitors on the windy stretch of track and then would run by 1 - 2 guys per lap on the tailwind section. I sprinted in and passed 2 more competitors to finish 7th (I think). I never once looked at the clock (other than hearing the time at 1 mile split) and ended up running around 10:15. This was almost a 30 second PR in just a 10 minute race. Had I "paced" myself, I may have run a PR, but sure would not have finished inside the top 8 - 12 as they were all well under 10:30.
I have experienced this same phenomenon in some of my races in the last few years. My best races have come when I have just turned my brain off and raced. I go hard and race the guys around me and end up running much faster than I anticipated. I have run several running road races where this has worked great. One year at the Bluegrass 10k, I had some good competition that was around my pace and we all just went head to head and I forgot about what pace I was running and ran to beat those guys. I ended up running a personal course record and having my best finish in that race. I have yet to run faster on that course than that year. Another 10k that I ran 2 years ago in Bowling Green turned out the same way. I took off with the faster guys and probably went out a little too hard. But I ended up going through the halfway just over 16 minutes (close to my 5k PR) and held on for dear life to run a personal best in the 10k and it was the only time I've been under 33 minutes for a 10k. My half marathon PR also came in the same fashion. I went out too fast with some faster guys, but it didn't really feel too fast at the time. Before I knew it, I was well under PR pace through half way and was able to hold on and run MUCH faster than I expected.
Everyone is so caught up with how fast they SHOULD be going and they forget to race. Dathan Ritzenhein did this over the weekend. He went to Europe (or wherever it was) to run a 10k track race to get his Olympic "A" standard. He decided not to go with the leaders early in the race and "just" run the A standard. Well, he ended up missing the A standard and will have to run it at a later point this summer. Had he gone with the leaders, they may have dragged him along to the A standard. Or he may have blown up, but he will never know. Sometimes you have to be willing to take a risk.
Are you brave enough to turn your brain off and just race?
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Feedback / Injury Update
Well, I guess that foot problem that I was dealing with at the end of the season last year never really got 100% healthy as it is back. I am now on day 16 of no running and it is feeling better which is a good sign. I did go to the doctor this time and got an x-ray to make sure it wasn't a stress fracture or heel spur. The pain is mainly in my right heel and it only really bothers me when I'm running downhill as I tend to put a little more force on my heels when I'm running downhill, who knew??? Swimming was my only form of activity last week to give it a full break and I did cycle yesterday but I believe my foot wasn't too happy with me this morning so I just swam twice today. I figured this may be a blessing in disguise and will allow me to work on my swim. The next few weeks will probably be some high yardage with some quality workouts along with some cycling as the foot gets better. Cycling doesn't stress my foot too much so I should be fine as long as I'm not doing anything crazy. When I have been running over the past 2 months, the pain would be bearable during the run, but the worst part would be the rest of the day when I'm just walking around. The run would irritate it and then I would limp around afterwards. I figured that isn't any way to spend this whole season so I backed off and am letting my heel heal, ha.
And I figured my blog needed an update. Let me know what you think.
Here is the swim workout I did yesterday just for fun. You can adjust the send off's as needed.
Main set
4 x 150 odds first and last 50 at take out/finish effort, middle 50 long and lovely Evens middle 50 fast, 1st and last 50 perfect - 2:10
4 x 50 odds easy, evens mile pace :50
4 x 125 odds 1st and last 50 at take out speed, evens middle 25 fast 1:50
4 x 50 odds easy, evens 1000 pace :55
4 x 100 odds 1st and last 25 at take out speed. Evens middle 50 fast 1:40
4 x 50 evens at 500 pace 1:00
4 x 75 odds 1st and last length at take out/finish speed evens middle length fast 1:10
4 x 50 evens fast 1:05
200 easy
And a little picture in honor of my wedding that is coming up in September.
And I figured my blog needed an update. Let me know what you think.
Here is the swim workout I did yesterday just for fun. You can adjust the send off's as needed.
Main set
4 x 150 odds first and last 50 at take out/finish effort, middle 50 long and lovely Evens middle 50 fast, 1st and last 50 perfect - 2:10
4 x 50 odds easy, evens mile pace :50
4 x 125 odds 1st and last 50 at take out speed, evens middle 25 fast 1:50
4 x 50 odds easy, evens 1000 pace :55
4 x 100 odds 1st and last 25 at take out speed. Evens middle 50 fast 1:40
4 x 50 evens at 500 pace 1:00
4 x 75 odds 1st and last length at take out/finish speed evens middle length fast 1:10
4 x 50 evens fast 1:05
200 easy
And a little picture in honor of my wedding that is coming up in September.
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