Random and occasional thoughts on

Seems odd now that I've done 2 Ironman races, about a dozen marathons as well as many other shorter running races, but "I'm not a runner" was my belief for most of my life.  Why did I think that? Let me tell you a story. I was about 16 years old and was a competitive swimmer.  Not just a little competitive, but I swam with people that qualified for the Olympics and on a good day I could beat them.  One day after swim practice, the coach called us over and announced that the pool would be closed for maintenance for 2 weeks so there would be no practice.  Even though I loved swimming and the training we went through, I cheered with the rest of my teammates until... Coach called about 10 of us out and said that we should meet him by the new coliseum that was being built nearby.  I was confused. I hadn't heard anything about a pool there, but coach said to just wear shorts and comfortable shoes. I showed up and waited for instructions.  Coach said "run...

Year number 5 in a row for me.  I wasn't expecting to race this too hard since Ironman was just 2 weeks ago, but I figured it waI s worth it just to keep my streak alive at this event and with a marathon coming up in Jan, I should really be bouncing back fairly quickly. The expo was a fair size, given that it is not a marathon or Ironman.  I went on my lunch break, shortly after they opened.  I picked up my bib and then my 5-year schwag.  The 5-year stuff included a knit hat, a 5-year pin and an extra medal.  There was also an extra race bib highlighting my 5 year "Legacy status".  I didn't wear that one, but I did see a few people that had pinned that one to their back.  Maybe I'll do that next time. I was disappointed when I walked over to the table to get my jacket and they said they were out of my size.  Turns out the truck that had my size jackets was late in making the delivery.  I had to go to the information table where they too...

Better late than never. I haven't blogged for a while so while this might be the longest I've waited to post a race report, I guess getting restarted with my blogging makes it better late than never. This was the 4th year in a row that I've done this race.  There were a few changes to the race this year, the one that I noticed most, was that the first leg of the race was out and back and I seem to remember that part not being out and back. My running had not been very consistent so I started with the 10:30 mpm pacer and said if I was feeling good I would pick up the pace later in the race.  According to my data we were almost 30 sec fast the first mile, but then settled into about 10:20 miles. I was feeling pretty good so I started picking up the pace at 8 miles (9:58) and a bit more at 9 (8:42) and managed to pick it up a bit more for the last third of a mile (8:21) feeling pretty good.  I guess my training has been better than I thought and I need to start bei...

When we decided to spend Thanksgiving in Oceanside, I didn't think about doing a race while we were here, but when I saw my friend Rich Cruse post about the Oceanside Turkey Trot and I realized it started less than a mile from where we were staying, I thought it would be a fun way to start Thanksgiving. The start of the 10k was 6:45 so I left the condo at about 6 and walked over.  It was a little chilly but as long as I was moving I was ok.  I had forgotten my water holder belt, so I decided to just go with water available on the course and drank a water bottle on the way and while waiting for the start. It only took a few minutes to get there and find the race bib pick up. The only downside to the process was that even though they had plenty of volunteers, it looked like everyone who had pre-registered had numbers in the same range so there was only 1 volunteer that could help everyone which caused a line.  Not a big problem for me because I was early enough so I g...

First of all, I had the FitBit Surge before this and I loved it.  However, the band started to wear badly after about 8 or 9 months of hard use so when I fell and the screen got scratched, I decided to use my extra warrantee and trade it in. I went in to Best Buy planning on simply exchanging it for another Surge and I had been happy with it so I had not done any research into the other products on the market at that time.  When I got there, I needed someone to unlock the display to get the new Surge out and they started telling me about the Blaze.  I liked the look (more watch-like, less sport-tracker) and the associate assured me that it also had GPS and I could use it to track my runs without my phone. Turns out that is not true. I don't know if he was mis-informed or just mis-represented the product, but that is the only thing I had been unhappy with and that is not anyone's fault but mine for not looking into the product a bit more. So I've been using the Blaze f...

This race report is overdue.  The rule I try to follow is "1 day per 1 hour of racing" and thus I am a bit late so feel free to drop my score accordingly when grading this assignment. Woke up a few minutes before my alarm after getting a pretty good nights sleep. Coffee and cinnamon raisin toast before leaving. Coffee is a new addition to my pre-race routine thanks to a new coffee-maker in the kitchen.  I figured it couldn't be any worse than the diet coke I usually drink on race mornings, especially since the carbonation has been bothering my stomach when I run lately. Pre-Race Christine and I got some of the last parking spots and walked over to the race "village". One of the first tents I saw was my old  team tent, Team Diabetes.  Got the chance to chat with Coach Dave for a few minutes. Found the gear check (so Christine could drop my gear bag off after the start) and started towards the start line. Last year, my watch didn't find the satellites...

First of all a few definitions to make sure everyone understands the title: Leadville: A city in Colorado that sits at about 10,000 feet above sea level. Trail: A path, generally smaller and less maintained than a road. Sometimes just wide enough for one person to walk. Marathon: 26.2 mile running event. " Trail Marathon ": A marathon run completely or largely on trails. DNF: Did Not Finish. A title awarded to a competitor that fails to finish an event. Generally the biggest stigma associated with this is self-inflicted. DFL: Dead Freakin Last. A title awarded to the last finisher of a race. Again, the biggest stigma associated with this is self-inflicted as there has to be one in every race. DNS: Did Not Start. When a competitor registers for a race and then fails to make it to the starting line. Frequently this is due to an injury before the race and accordingly should not carry any stigma. Starting Line: Parking was easier than almost any other race ...

This is long over due and I'm sure I will not be able to do this race justice, but here are some rambling musings. I had not done a race in over a year when I saw a message from my friend Kim saying she was putting together a team for a 200 mile relay race called Ragnar Relay Del Sol.  It was several months away and I thought it would be a good tool to motivate me to keep up my recently restarted running.  Kim was very clear that this was a run for fun team and that it didn't matter how fast (or slow) we were. The plan to get my running motivation worked and I had several very good months of gradually increasing miles and faster paces. By the time race week was getting close, I decided to run another short race the weekend before Ragnar.  The Lost Dutchman 8k was a fun race and shorter than any of my legs would be for Ragnar so I wasn't worried about this hurting my ability for Ragnar.  I had a great race and was glad to be racing again. The way this event work...

Most runners I know use running to occasionally "clear their head".  You know, when the pressures of life build up and you feel like you can't get ahead, a good run will help to prioritize the important things and start making progress on them.  A few nights ago, I was at that point and ended up going for a run around midnight.  Nearly full moon and lots of streetlights made this a pretty safe thing to do for me, and while I was not able to fall asleep as soon as I got home, I was able to sort out my thoughts and feelings a lot better.  When I did fall asleep around 3, I slept so soundly that when I woke up at 6, I felt more rested than I usually do after 8 hours of sleep.  That run was more of a "release-valve" type of run.  It just let me vent some emotions on the pavement instead of on my family.  This morning was more of a "clear my head" kind of run.  I decided to use a regimented 3/1 run/walk ratio rather than the "run till you are ready ...

Ever see a business leader that seemed too young to know what they were doing? They take charge of meetings and projects and lead the charge on new initiatives. Sometimes they don't seem to know what they are doing and sometimes their bold initiatives do not make any sense. I went for another run today with the dogs. Well, run, walk & sniff would be a better description of the activity. While I like the enthusiasm of Young Pup (YP), I really appreciate the more relaxed approach that Old Dog (OD) takes. OD usually stays right next to me with only an occasional foray into the bushes after some exciting new smell. YP likes to charge to the full length of his leash and tug the whole time. He usually doesn't stop to sniff things and instead prefers to charge ahead as fast as his leash will let him. YP like to lead, but keeps looking over his shoulder to make sure we are still following him, like the strain of the leash isn't enough of a clue. Some leaders (in busines...

I decided to give running another shot, even though after my little 2+ miler on Saturday, I got sicker than I've been in years. I think it was just my turn for the flu, but I felt fine. Went for a little run, showered, had breakfast and got sick within an hour of my run. Maybe the raspberries had gone bad (tasted and looked fine) or maybe it was just a coincidence, but I've been nervous about running again. In spite of that, I know running does not make me sick, so I decided to just go out and take it easy today. So here is the story: CAST: OM - Old man (i.e. me) OD - Old dog, our 8 yr old border collie/black lab mix YP - Young pup, our about 6 month old shephard mix OD was content to start with a warm-up walk with me, but YP wanted to run, so we gave in and let YP set the pace for the first 1/10 of a mile. We slowed so OD could smell some scents left by his neighborhood friends. YP kept the leash tight trying to keep running. You would think that he didn't have a nice...

I didn't track my time (even took my watch off). I didn't track my distance (didn't even bring my Garmin with me). But it was still the best run I have had in a very long time. I got home after work and knew I needed a run. It was 110+ outside and a dust and wind storm were on the horizon, but I didn't care. I've had stuff going on in my life. Some good, some not-so-good, but a lot of things that have been dragging me down. I haven't been visiting with my friends in my online forums and haven't updated my Twitter pages or Facebook status very much. I finally decided that heat warning or not, I was going running. I took off and just kept the pace easy. I wasn't worried about pace, just tried to run more than I walked. I turned around after about a mile and saw that the dust storm off in the distance had gotten pretty close. A 2 mile run is no record for me, but this run wasn't about distance, it was about unwinding. I had to get somewhere...

No, get your mind out of the gutter. Let me explain. About a month ago, I saw a message on Twitter that said " On 2nd day of my " 'running streak' ". I realized that since I had run the day before, I could match that streak. I had been struggling with running regularly and thought that I might give it a shot. According to the United States Running Streak Association, Inc , a running streak is defined as running at least one continuous mile within each calendar day under one's own body power . It says nothing about pace, so I decided to give it a try. Every runner worth their salt knows that recovery is important. Typically, recovery takes the form of days off from running which would not happen with running every day. Why would someone do this to themselves? Is it safe? I learned during my triathlon training that recovery can also happen during cross-training (biking or swimming for example) or even on easy running days. During my ramp-up for my Ir...

WooHoo! What a great way to end a weekend. Saturday, I drove up to Prescott for a portrait session with my cousin, Frankie! She is a doll and had a great time. My aunt had a great spot picked out and we had a lot of fun. I hope to put a few of the pictures up on my photo site later this week. Then, later in the day, I went for a 5 mile run. Same as last weekend only with newer shoes. No soreness today at all! Just over 15 miles again. Sunday afternoon, DS#2 took me out for a run so he can stick to his c25k plan. Just as we started running after our warm-up walk, he asks me if that is a woodpecker. Go take a look and let me know what you think. Or you can cheat and go to my photoblog site when it posts and see it there. What a fun way to end a week (of course, I'll pay for it tomorrow since I am up so late, but that is the price of playing with Lightroom for hours on end). How was your week? Leave me a comment here or say "Hi" over on Twitter .

Running last night was great. First 2.1 miles were run/walk with my youngest son and was at about 15 mpm avg including the ~5 min warm up and another ~5 min cool down. He is working through Couch to 5k (C25k) and just started week 2. I am using the runs with him as either an easy day or a warm-up depending on my schedule. So after the 2.1 miles with him, kept going and decided to do another mile or so "faster". To be honest, I was thinking a mile or 2 at 10 mpm or so would be ok. After about 2 min, I checked my pace and Mr Garmin said I was doing about 8:30. It felt ok and I thought I could hold that for a mile, so I picked up the effort a bit, and got my average for that mile as low as about 7:20 for a bit and just tried to hold it together for the rest of the mile. I faded a bit by the end of the mile, but still managed to make that 3rd mile in under 8 minutes. This morning, I felt fine, with to tightness or soreness. I had a 20 min chair massage and she said that ...

It was a chilly 42*F when I headed out, so I wore a long-sleeve compression shirt under a t-shirt. I know all you Northerners are laughing at me calling 42 cold, but at my current slow pace, I don't generate enough heat, so I need a bit of help. I managed to keep an even pace. The first mile was 12 mpm including about 3 min of fast walking to warm up. Overall average was close to 11:30 mpm. This was my longest run so far in 09 and I felt great the whole time other than a bit of an upset stomach. The total for the week of 12.75 which is, I'm pretty sure, my best week in over 6 months. Woo Hoo! I feel a 15 mile week coming up soon.

I finally made it to double-digit mileage this week (with a 1-time adjustment from Mon-Sun to Sun-Sat for this week only). 12 miles!!! This morning was a 4 miler which is a new record for 2009, so that was a great way to start the weekend. Lets see if we can keep this up next week. Wish me luck! No, really, wish me luck here in the comments or drop me a note on Twitter , it really helps.

I really started this blog to monologue about my running and have a place to put my race reports for future review. Thus, now that I have started running a bit more regularly, I am going to start logging my runs here. I also log them on BeginnerTriathlete.com (I am CactusTriathlete there) and that feeds my Twitter-stream . But to my loyal blog readers, I will keep the most interesting (interesting being relative, sometimes a run is just a boring run) stuff here. I ran a total of 3.1 miles in a shade under 34 minutes for an avg pace of 10:52 mpm. Miles 2 & 3 were a tad faster than the first and I ran the whole way with no walk breaks. I feel like I could have gone a few more miles (but not too much further tonight). Effort was moderate and I went without water (trying to avoid water for anything under 1 hour until the temps start to climb back up. Thanks for dropping by and may your runs be fast and feel easy.

... made it to double digits this week. Just over 8 miles. Nothing record-breaking for me, but a new high for 2009. Maybe next week will be over 10. Today was a nice 3.15 mile progression run. Each mile was faster than the one before. That's all. Stay tuned for more running next week (I hope). If you need more before then, feel free to visit my photo blog or head over to Twitter and say "hi".

OK, I ran at the gym on Tuesday as well, but last night I went about 2.4 miles. I made a few up and down sprints at the water retention basins for a bit of extra and threw in a short speed interval to give my son a run for his money (he was pacing me on his bike). I only took about a 30 second walk break after the speed interval to get my HR and breathing back under control. I managed about 5.5 miles last week (1 of those was walking with my lovely wife) and so far this week I am at 3.9 with 4 days to go (my training schedule starts Mondays) so if I get 2 more workouts in and average 1.55 miles each, I will be at 8 for the week. Any walks and I should be able to hit double digits! And that is on top of getting off to a spectacular start on maintaining my photo blog . My minimum goal there is to have at least 1 photo a week and try to get post every other day as a stretch goal.