Merry Christmas

We have had a wonderful day here in the Burke house.
The kids slept until 7.
Santa brought some wonderful gifts.
Marcie made homemade breakfast.
Presents was fun.
The kids and I have been playing outside.
Getting ready to start Christmas dinner.

I hope you all have a great day and joyous New Year.

My first cold run of the season....

Well, the southeast is frigid - at least by our standards. We were running down at Wrightsville Beach tonight with a temp in the mid 30's and a wind chill of 26. Nice.

I had planned well and had multiple layers ready to add and subtract as necessary. I had my Asics running pants, a compression short sleeve t-shirt, a long sleeve tech shirt and a plain old cotton sweat shirt along with gloves and a hat. Standing around before the run, it was cold, cold, very cold. We started the run right on time and our warm up run was an easy 1.75 miles to the north end of the island. I was sweating like a pig by the time I got to the end of the island. Thankfully Kristen was there with the truck, so I dumped my sweatshirt and gloves. From the end of the island we had a 3 mile tempo run - one long straight shot down the island. Our pace was to be 8:50 to 9:00 min/mile. Our first mile was 9:06, a little slow but in the cold, I will take it. Our second mile was about 9:00 even. I was running with a buddy, Doug and we began to pick up the pace for the last mile. We finished with a total time of 26:45 - yah.

We had a cool down run back to the car - about 1.3 miles. I have to admit that is when I started to get cold. We got back to the cars and had to do 4 sets of strides - about 60 meters. I grabbed my sweatshirt and gloves, finished the strides and did a quick stretch. Now I was cold - I turned the heat all the way up for the ride home. It was a good night - ran with friends, held a good pace, and was home in time to kiss the kids goodnight.

Starting back with a new PR

Its been 2 weeks since the B2B and I am happy to report that I have only done one workout over the last 2 weeks. I did a 30 min run last week then nothing. I really took the whole rest and recuperation idea to the max. I ate what I wanted and just took it easy. I have to admit, it was really nice.

My two weeks ended on Monday with a 3 mile run. I just wanted to stretch my legs and try out my new shoes. It was an easy day and it felt good to get out and run. I am planning 4 runs a week, about 16-18 miles, until after Christmas. This should be a nice "off-season" to just enjoy my running without all the craziness of extra workouts and increasing mileage. Until Christmas, its just about having some fun.

The New PR - I did my Tom workout tonight at the track. We were running 3, 4, or 5 miles using an alternating pace every 400m - I was in the 3 mile group. We were to run 2:10/400m and 1:55/400m throughout the entire run. The 2:10 was to be the recovery pace. I did not do the math in my head before we took off but that pace was faster than my best 5K. I really did not realize it until we were 6 laps or 1.5 miles into the run. By then I was doing the math in my head and my scheduled 12 laps was only 200m short of 5000m and I should finish the 12 laps in around 24:30, well ahead of my 5K PR. Now it was all about the time for me, the hell with the workout - I was after the PR. I finished my 12 laps in 24:37 and just kept on going for the extra 200m. I was breathing hard and my heart rate was in zone 4 (175 bpm) - only 200m to go. I finished in 25:45. That is 29 seconds faster than my old PR. It was a nice way to start December.

Beach 2 Battleship Half Race Report

It has taken a week to get some perspective on this race. I wanted to really do well. I wanted to swim fast, I wanted the bike to be faster, and I wanted to run like the wind. But most of all I wanted to feel good about the race, say thanks to the volunteers, and cross the finish line with a smile.

The short version - all did not go as planned time wise but I really enjoyed most of the race, I did say thanks to the volunteers and I smiled every time I passed a camera. I finished with style, jogged the last 1/2 mile and raised my hands in triumph when it was announced - And now finishing from Wilmington, North Carolina - John Burke!

The long version:
I got up at 5 am and started with my standard breakfast: PB and J sandwich and a Diet Mt. Dew. I had everything already packed so I was out the door by 5:20 or so and down at the beach by 5:30. My buddy Mark, showed me the best place to park several races ago, so I parked and got into transition with no issues. I set up transition, dropped my T2 bag, and got body marked. Hitting the port-a-potty early is a good idea - no lines. I then spent about an hour hanging out in transition and talking with others set up around me. I met some very cool people from the Washington DC area, Team Z and we chatted for a while. I made my way from T1 to the swim start at 7:15 - boy it was nice to be in a warm bus. I ate my morning Cliff Bar about then too. I got cold waiting for for the start so I went ahead and put on my wetsuit along with all my layers. It was now a waiting game. I saw several friends at this point but my nerves were beginning to kick in so I could not stand still very long. I was not really worried about the water temp. I have swam in much colder water in the past and the sun was beginning to come up but..... suddenly the Coast Guard was delivering several full distance swimmer to the shore - their day was done due to the cold water. Not good.

The swim: Not my best day. I had hoped to go in around 35 minutes. The wind was blowing out of the north and there was some chop. I could not swim a straight line and I am not sure why. I have not had sighting issues over the last open water swims but this morning I could not hold a line at all. I made the turn at the wiggly man and suddenly it was a whole different world. My stroke smoothed out and I could hold my line fine - still don't know what the deal was but it cost me. I got to the ladders out of the water in about 50 min. This was my first time using wet suit strippers - that was fun. I found my friend Lori - and she stripped me like a pro. She grabbed my shoulders and spun me around, she undid my velcro strap and the zipper in about 1 second, she then spun me around again and grabbed my suit at the shoulders. I was commanded to sit down and then suddenly she was helping me up, handing me my suit, and screaming for me to run!!!!!!!

T1 went fine. I had practiced my moves and all went as planned. A little slow but I did not have to redo anything due to poor planning - I call it a success.

The bike was where I really wanted to do well. I feel like I had spent more time here and now it was time to put it to work. Getting on the bike went well. Crossing the bridge was fine and I was right where I wanted to be. My HR was around 155 and my cadence was in the 85-90 range. I turned up Military and into the wind and then I realize that into the wind was going to suck. I got as aero as possible and kept going. I saw my friends Mark and Tron just before turned onto the bypass. It was great to see someone I knew - Mark ran with me for a few feet and cheered me on - it was great.
The Bypass was fun. The road was smooth, I was holding my speed and my nutrition plan was working pretty well. The bridge over the river was actually not bad at all. The view was great and going down the other side was fun - I hit 25 mph on the back side. The next 15 miles were dead into the wind and I just had to work to keep any speed at all. I was hoping to hold between 16 and 16.5 mph but not in the wind. Just hold on I kept telling myself, the turn around is getting closer every second. I made the turn around and stopped at the 38 mile water stop. I had to pee. The line took awhile but I used the time to hydrate and get some food in me. I downed a whole bottle of water, two pieces of banana, and some orange slices. Back on the bike I really felt better. I kept 16 all the way back to the Battleship. The last 3 miles were really crazy due to an accident, a triathlete had been hit by a car - not a good way for your day to end. We were supposed to have a whole lane to ourselves but due to the accident the traffic has moved over and all I had to ride on was the 24 inch shoulder. I did not have any major problems with the last hill, I just powered through and then coasted down the back of the hill into Battleship park. I had wanted to do the bike in 3:35 to 3:45 but not today - just over 4 hours by the time I hit transition.
T2 - this was the first time I ever had my bike taken from me - that was cool. I grabbed my Garmin and followed the volunteer to my bag. I got my shoes changed and headed out on the run. I changed my Garmin to run a little early - at the end it said I ran 13.4 miles.
Out on the run my legs felt pretty good. They were fatigued but moving in the right direction. I had planned to walk some of the first bridge, take in some food and that seemed to work well. I took 2 electrolyte capsules at the first aid station and grabbed a banana to eat. I ran as much of the first 6.5 as I could, in some cases walking only a couple of steps before running again. I kept remembering, a shuffle is faster than walking so just keep shuffling along. The best part of the run for me was the perspective of the run. I never felt like I had a long slog ahead of me. I just felt I had 6.5 to the turn around and then I would run 6.5 back. I hit each aid station taking in water and Heed. At about 5 miles I started with chicken broth and added some cola to the regiment. I made the turn around and just kept running. I really felt pretty good, my legs were feeling shredded but I never felt down about the run. I just kept plugging away. I really enjoyed the run down Front Street, the crowds were great and having my name on the race number just meant that people cheered for you by name. I realized that I was going to finish around 8 hours and I just made peace with it. I was going to finish with style and just saying I finished at 1/2 iron was enough. I walked up the last bridge but ran from the top to the finish line. It was great to hit the grass and see the big finish arch. I hit the end with a little panache - I raised my arms for the crowd and crossed the finish line with a big smile on my face. I finished in just over 8 hours - a long day but a good day.
I really had a good day. Not my best day but a really good day none the less. I think the 1/2 iron distance is out of my system for a while but I won't rule another one out sometime in the future.
Thanks for following along.

It's almost time....

Its Thursday night and I am racing the Beach2Battleship 1/2 in about 36 hours.

Am I ready - yes I am. I have made peace with myself, my training, and I plan on having a great day. I want to just finish the swim happy, I want to finish the bike winded but not dead, and I want to run the first 6.6 conservative enough to run the whole second 6.5 with a smile on my face and a melody in my heart - and no major cramps in my legs.

My wave starts at 8:35 Sat morning - so if you are awake at that time and if you are so inclined. Raise your coffee into the air and think of me for I will be starting an odyssey of 70.3 mile proportions.

Yah - see you on the other side!

Two Weeks Out

Well my tri season is beginning to come to an end. We are two weeks out from the B2B and I have to say - I am ready for it to be over. I really peaked my training for the Wrightsville Beach race and have just been hanging on since then.

That being said, I have had some really good training over the last month. My highlights have been practice with Tom and biking with my buddy Dave. Tom's practice are the highlight of my running week right now. We have been working on my speed as of late and it really seams to be helping. Biking with Dave has made me get out there and put in the mileage.

I think the combination of these will really help my B2B race. I have a time goal in mind but have made peace with myself if it is not to be. My first and main goal is to have fun and do my best. One minute here or there will not define me as an athlete, but suffering through a race with no hope of being happy as I cross the finish line is not my style. Yes, I will do math all during the bike and all during the run - trying to figure out where I stand, but if the times all go to hell - I will hold up my head, smile for the crowd, and do my best to finish with style.

Brunswick Forrest 15k

I had planned to run the 15k as a fun run and a great way to get 9.3 miles to add to my weekly mileage, then my parents changed my whole weekend plans.

I was supposed to ride Saturday morning but we got a call late Friday from the parenteral units – We want to come down early Sat morning and visit. Ok I will bag the ride and stay home. We will clean the house and be ready for my folks to show up. Now – I love my parents dearly and should have known there was no way they would be down in the am but I stayed home and we did the cleaning thing. And truth be told, the house looks great. My folks ended up getting here around 2:30……. Oh well.

So now its Sunday morning, I have fresh legs, and its time to run the race, what should I do? If it was a 5k – I would try to keep a 8:30 pace but this was going to be 9.3 miles. I decided on 93 min as my goal time – 10 min/mile pace. This would give me a base line run as I think to the spring ½ marathon season.

I got up at 6, ate my standard pre-race breakfast; pbj, Diet Mt.Dew, banana and then headed out to the race. The race is about 20 min from my house. I really like the venue, easy to find and park! The temp this morning was 55 F and by race time it was about 60, perfect. We lined up and at 8:00 sharp, three, two, one, GO!
At about 0.5 mile I looked down and was running a sub 9min pace – woa boy – back it down or you are going to crash! I dialed in my pace by 1 mile and was holding 9:30 to 9:45 and just felt great. I was thanking the volunteers and just running because I like to. I found two other running buddies and we kept a solid pace through 6 miles. My buddies were Met, who I know from Port City Java– ummmmmmm good coffee and a lady running in Vibraform slippers. We were chatty for a few min but were soon feeding on each other as we kept our 9:30 pace. At about 6 miles, I felt the pace begin to slip just a bit. I also began to do some math in my head. If, and that is a big if, I could maintain pace though 8.5 and then pick up the pace for the last mile, I could not only beat the 93 target but also get in under 90 minutes. Sorry guys – no pace slipping – I went around my new friends and tried to keep just under 9:30. I wanted the under 90 min goal now.

At mile 7, I began to hurt and for the first time in a long time, I just accepted it and kept running. I wanted to slow down, I wanted to walk, my legs were hurting, but I could begin to see the end and how nice it would be. I kept running. I passed 8 and then 8.5. I really tried to pick up the pace for the last 800 m. I could see the finish and I wanted to sprint – well I did not quite sprint but I pushed hard and finished in 1:28 and change! Yahooooooooo – under 90 min!
My legs were trashed and I felt a little dizzy. I found a quite place in the shade and sat down. I closed my eyes and did some deep breathing to get my heart rate down to a somewhat more normal level. Once I decided that I could walk and not puke – I found the food and drink. I still made it to church for the 11:00 service!

Observations, heat, and plans for the weekend

Observations: the last couple of weeks have been crazy but I have still made time to get in some good training. I have been diligent in the pool with drills and I think it is paying off. I did 750 m repeats the other morning and negative split the sets. My long runs have been in the 6-8 mile range and have been fun. My tri season is heating up with Wrightsville Beach in 2 weeks and then the B2B 1/2 in November. Its going to be a good time.

Heat: I am tired of the heat. Several of my morning runs have been great due to the 64-68°F temps but the sun came back out this week and it sucks. I am ready for fall. I did 1000 m repeats last night in the heat and humidity - not my best night at all. I almost long for the marathon training weather - 35°F with sleet - well maybe not quite that extreme but I am looking forward to highs in the mid 60's and cool morning runs.

Plans: I am doing my first 100K ride tomorrow. My buddy Dave and I are starting about 8:30 (after we get the kids to school). I have a 30 mile out and back course so it should be fun. I have been planning my food and drink intake for several days - I hope it all works. We are planning 2 more 60 miler rides before B2B in November.
We are going to celebrate my Dads 75th birthday this weekend so I don't know about a Sat run but am hoping to get one in Sunday evening after the festivities are complete.

The weekend in review or How much I hate crawling under the house!

I had a fun weekend planned – long ride Saturday morning, long run Sunday, clean out car – I now have approximately 10 empty Gatoraide bottle along with empty water bottles, damp towel and empty Gu containers – and still get in some basic cleaning and some family time too.

I got in my long ride Saturday morning – I did 40 miles in 2:34 and only hit about 4 stoplights! I even got to ride with my local bike hero for a while. I started at Wrightsville Beach and did 15 miles waiting for the sun to come up enough to ride on the open road. I had seen Shawn earlier going the other direction and knew he would catch me at some point. Shawn pulled up a little later and we talked all the standard bike talk. He was excited for my 40 mile day, we talked about the wind, then he headed off. It is still amazing to me to be doing around 16 mph and have someone pull away like you are standing still! The rest of the ride was uneventful. I felt pretty strong after the finish, stopped to get coffee and then headed home.

Home plans were changed due no power in the master bedroom. I spent 6 hours Sat and 4 hours Sunday diagnosing, finding, and fixing the problem. I am happy to say that I did get if fixed but my knees and elbows are sore as hell from army crawling under the house! It turned out to be a loose/shorted wire in a junction box – as far as possible from the crawlspace door! Due to the lost time – under the house – and a rain shower Sunday afternoon, not much else got done off my list.

Due to no run on Sunday, I got up with the plan to do an easy run this morning – I ran 5.3 miles in an hour. I spent 2.5 miles of my run on the loop around Pine Valley Country Club – I got lapped by a lady on her tri-bike 5 times. She was really cooking this morning. She was down low and really pumping – hope she had a good workout!

Everybody have a good week.

Following the Butterfly

Sunday evening was me time as my wife and both kids were in Vacation Bible School (VBS). I got them safely off and then quickly changed and got my bike stuff together and then off to the beach.

It was a great night – traffic was not too bad and there was NO wind. All the flags were hanging straight down – no wind at all. I wanted to get at least 20 miles done and would have really liked to get 25. I did about 3 miles on the small ring and then changed into the big ring and was tooling along at around 17.5 miles/hour. I was feeling really good, my legs felt strong and my heart rate was right where I wanted it and then… she passed me…

I don’t know her but I love her. She was on a Giant road bike, she was blond, she was wearing black biking shorts and a green sports top, and had a butterfly tattoo right in the middle of her lower back. She actually apologized as she passed me! I quickly realized – this was my chance to draft a stronger biker! I put my wheel on hers, concentrated on not loosing the butterfly and oh my, what a ride. We were averaging just over 20 to the south end of the island, made the turn around and I stayed with her back to the stoplight (a total of about 4 miles). I lost her in traffic and could not make up the distance (I hate traffic lights) as we went to the north end of the island.

I tried to speak to her at the north end as we both were trying to re-hydrate but she took off before I could get a chance to say thanks for a great ride.

I ended up with 24 miles by the time I got back to my car and still managed to beat the family home from VBS.

Hills, those glorious hills!

Hills seem to be a reoccurring theme with my running workouts lately. Living in Wilmington – hills are not much of an issue unless you specifically seek them out. Well in the last three weeks – I have done 3 hard hill workouts.

I was in West Virginia/Pennsylvania for my wife’s family reunion and got in a great run. I wanted to do an easy 4 miler, should take right at 40-44 minutes at AC pace – maybe here in Wilmington but not there. My out and back course tackled 3 hills on the way out and then I had to run back. My time was just over 50 minutes – damn!! One of the hills, on the way back, was 0.5 miles long and I climbed what felt like Everest in terms of altitude.

I have started running with Tom in the morning – to get around the summer heat – so I have had a chance to run something other than the track workouts. Last week we did Summer Rest Road. It is a nice 1.5 mile loop with a 500 m portion with a nice steady climb then some gentle rollers before the last 400 m being flat. It was my first morning workout and I was a little dehydrated – my excuses because I sucked big wind during the run. I did a 1.5 mile warm up run and then we did 3 loops (tempo pace, charge hill easy loop, tempo pace). The first tempo run I was within 10 seconds of my pace (13 min/1.5 mile or 8:40/mile), the charge hill/easy loop was tough – I could not get my heart rate down and I felt like my legs were moving through water. The last tempo was to hold my first sets pace – no such luck this morning. The hill killed me – dead, done, I should have quite then – I had to walk after the crest of the hill and I slogged along to the finish. That was the most suffering I had done in a while.

This morning we did hills at Nunn Street. Tom has an 800 m loop that incorporates a solid hill, some downhill, and some flats. I did a 1.2 mile warm up before we started. My group was to do 6 sets on a 4:10 pace. Our instructions were to start out and build pace to the base of the hill (approx 150-200 m), carry the hill – not charge the hill, then use the down hill to get back to pace and carry the flats home. Tonya and I did our six sets and I really felt pretty good about the workout. Lap 1 was fast, 4:02, Laps 2, 3, and 4 were right on pace, lap 5 was 4:16 and lap 6 was 4:22. We finished with a 1.2 mile cool down and some strides. The workout was hard and I suffered the last hill but I recovered on the down hill and made up some time on the flats. Over all a good day!

My First Duathlon

I did my first Duathlon this weekend, the Duathlon at Brunswick Forest, a 5k run – 12 mile bike – 2 mile run. The short version is I had a blast and accomplished what I set out to do. If you are interested in the rest….

I got to the race site about 6:45 and was about the 10th person there. The race had around 180 person/teams signed up so transition was pretty small. I got really lucky in that my bike rack was in the first rack coming in from the run – no looking for which lane I was in – the bike was right in front of me. I got set up, found the bathroom (that was really nice in that the club house was open for us to use) and generally milled around until 7:20 or so. I did a 10 min warm up run and my dynamic stretches to get ready. I hit the bathroom one last time and went out to the start. I did a couple of strides to get my mind focused and then got in line. I saw several people I knew, said Hi and then we were off.

I had a very specific plan for the race. This was supposed to be a “C” race in that I was going to have fun while experimenting with how the bike ride would go since my bike fit. This was not to be an all out race. The 5K pace was to be 9:00 (my threshold pace at practice is 8:40/mile). I could hold this pace easily and be able to hit the bike hard. I really enjoyed the 5K. I kept my pace even, was breathing easily, and pushed a little the last half mile. I finished in 28:12 or a 8:48 pace. Yah – right on target.

Transition went fine – less than 1 min and I was out on the bike. The bike was where I wanted to see what would happen. Since I had the bike fit, I have not really had a chance to open things up and see how I felt (most of my training has been indoors on the trainer). I wanted to keep my cadence up around 95 and just keep moving. I also wanted to see how aero position was going to feel on the open road. My legs are a work in progress so I started on the small ring and had planned to keep it there for at least the first loop (3 loops total). My computer said I was riding about 17.5 to 18 mph for most of the first loop. This was better than I expected so I just left things as they were. I was riding well, staying in aero as much as possible and doing my best not to let the cadence slow down. I stayed on the small ring for the entire bike portion. I only had one weak moment coming into the last turn at mile 10.5. I slowed down but quickly dug in and got my speed back up to 18 and finished hard. Coming off the bike at transition is always tough for me and I almost fell. The volunteer had to jump out of the way as I stumbled. I saved it and started into T2. My bike time was 43:48 (16.4 mph but my garmin says I averaged 17.4 – it think it’s the to the mount point and stuff that makes the difference)

T2 went fine – just over 1 min. I need to figure out how to deal with my shoes. I ended up just shoving them on and doing the wiggle thing to get my heal in straight. I grabbed a quick drink and out I went on the 2 mile run. I knew from experience that my legs would feel like poo for a while but I was pleasantly surprised on how I felt. I shortened my stride, stayed light and glared at the person in front of me. She had on black shorts and a pink top – I wanted her – I wanted to crush her (OK I know its not an A race but the bike was over now – I can race now). My legs were feeling better and I really felt my stride come back by about 0.5 miles. I caught the lady in pink and began to pick of other runners one by one. I had a couple of people pass me but not many. There was water at the turnaround point and I grabbed a cup. I have learned the crush the top of the cup and drink out of the corner trick. I got in a quick drink and poured the rest on my head. The last mile was fine. I began to try and pick up my pace. I got passed by a couple with 0.5 miles to go. They were side by side and running in sink with each other. I tried to hold on to them but could not. I made the turn for the last 800 m and I did my best to really go hard to the end. I felt like I had a strong finish with a total time of 1:34:52.

The good, the bad, and the ugly: I had a great time with this race. I believe it is important not to race for a pr every time. Sometimes you just need to go out and have a good time. I was totally stoked about how my bike is coming. I have work to do but am beginning to see some progress. The bad – I was last in my age group. Not the worst thing in the world but I don’t like to be the last one listed. The ugly – not a thing. I had a great first Du, and am looking forward to another one soon.

New Tri Shorts

I got a 20% off coupon for my local Omega Sports and put it to good use. I got new shoes Asics 2150's and a new pair of tri shorts - Sugoi Piston Tri Pkt shorts.

I have only owned one pair of tri shorts for the past two seasons. They were a pair of Performance tri shorts that I got on line for about 20 bucks. They have served me well but I finally broke down and got a new pair. I had done my research and listened to several triathletes and went looking for a pair of Sugoi's. Omega had several different styles but I ended up with the Piston Tri Pkt Short (at least that is what the tag says).

I took them out for an easy AC pace run on Friday and I have to say I loved them. They fit different than my other pair in that the legs are nice and tight but I still need to pull the draw string tight to get a good waist fit (made it alot easier to put on). The run went great and the shorts were awesome. The legs did not ride up at all and the waist band did not move during an 80 min run. My old shorts tended to rub me in manly places on long runs but I had no discomfort at all. The chamois pad totally disappeared when I put the shorts on - nice not to feel like I have on a diaper. The shorts have two pockets on the back - I did not use them on the run but they appear large enough to hold gel packs securely during a race.

They have been washed and are now packed for tomorrows bike workout. If the bike goes as well as the run did - I have a new favorite pair of tri shorts. I will let you know how the bike workout goes. I am planning on wearing them for my race this weekend (Brunswick Forrest Duathlon).

Note: I paid for these shorts - they were not provided so I could write a review.

Why you should have a Bike Fit

I finally did it. I went to my LBS and scheduled a bike fit. Now I am mad at myself for not doing it earlier.

I am a back of the pack age grouper riding a Amazon.com bike and I am happy with that but I have really been handicapping myself with a bike that does not fit correctly. Not anymore.

I spent 2.5 HOURS with Charlie at BikeCycles and he looked at everything - twice! He changed the position of my aerobars, seat, peddle stroke, seat angle - he even moved the cleats on my shoes. After 1.5 hours of peddle for a few minutes - change something - peddle some more, we went for a ride. We did about 5 miles through a nice neighborhood and tried everything out. He adjusted my seat in somebodies driveway and then we rode some more.

The changes have taken some time to get used to but I am really enjoying my bike workouts now. I have noticed a definite increase in speed but even better is that my cadence has gone up without having to work any harder. I have had problems with my hands going numb, even on short rides, not now. I did a 1.5 hour ride (20 miles)with no gloves and had no problems. I also had some numbing in other manly places but since the fit - no problems there either.

My advice to you is - get a fit - it is totally worth the money.

Wrightsville Beach Marathon Race Report

My marathon morning started at 4:30. I did my standard breakfast of a PB & J, banana, and Diet Mt. Dew. I had everything laid out the night before, so I quickly got dressed and headed out the door. Parking at the race site was easy. I parked across from TrySports and walked to the trolley pickup point (about 50 yards). I found all my friends/running buddies and got in line to take the trolley down to the race start point.

We got dropped off at the police station at Wrightsville Beach and had about a ½ mile walk to the starting line. Dave, my training partner, and I walked to the bag check truck and then got in line for a quick bathroom trip before the race start. The start was delayed about 10 min due to no natural sunlight but soon we were off. Dave and I had moved to the back of the pack as we planned to start very conservatively. We ran the first 2 miles at an easy 12 min/mile pace to warm up and do our best not to go out to fast and cook our legs. We quickly dialed in our race pace based on my Garmin data and how we felt and were happily running along at about 11:20 to 11:30 pace. We turned into our first loop through Landfall and began looking for a porta-potty for Dave. The water stops all had long lines for the porta-potty’s so we kept going. We were at mile 6.8 when a lady standing in her front yard was cheering us on and inviting us into her house if we needed to use the bathroom! Dave jumped at the chance - not to have to wait in line – oh yah. I kept my pace and expected Dave to catch up to me at the next water stop but it was not to be. I ran the rest of the race mostly by myself. The race course required all racers to go though Landfall once and the full marathoners to go though twice. Loop 1 was really nice as I had lots of people around me. I came out of Landfall at about 9 miles and ran up Eastwood and Military Cutoff roads. This section had lots of people cheering for us. As the ½ marathoner turned left toward their finish – I turned right into Landfall for my second loop.

This was totally a different race now. I had about 50 meters between me and the next racers, it was like running alone. I did notice how my training was helping me. I was keeping the same basic pace and was slowly picking off people the rest of the race. I would lock in on the next person and slowly gain ground, pass them and lock in on the next person. Running my second loop, I really felt good. My legs were fatigued by never felt bad, no foot pain at all, and no heal pain! I finished my second lap in Landfall and started up Eastwood/Military Cutoff for the last time. I passed 20 miles at 3:56 and turned into the 6 miles of the race. I was at a new point in my running career now. My longest run had been 20 miles and now……. I have to admit – I was not worried about the last 6.2. I kept telling myself that you just keep the same pace and let your body cruise the last miles. Yah – that was naive on my part! I got to 22 without incident and then the wheels fell off. Miles 22-24 had nothing good except at the water stop at the school - they had food and a very nice lady had set her sprinkler up to water one side of the course - I stopped to rinse my face off. I had salt crustys on my face that were driving me crazy. Walking and running and then walking some more I got to mile 24. I slammed a coffee gel with 2X caffeine and did my best to finish with style. I did not run all of the last 2 miles but I did run most of it. I was still passing people and was only passed in the last 2 miles by one person. The last 800 meters are a blur. I picked up the pace to catch one last lady and then tried to keep my legs from cramping before the finish line. I gave the crowd a little arm pump as I came in the last 50 meters and finally I finished my first marathon (5:19:42)!

Now a couple of days later – what did I learn? Marathons are hard but wonderful. Would I change anything? – No! I had set my goal to just finish and have a good day. I made peace with not being under 5 hours by the time I hit the ½ way mark so that was never an issue as I did the second 13 miles. I am already thinking of what is next – and when I figure it out – I will let you, my faithful reader know.

The Marathon is Done!

Yesterday was a good day to run.

I am coming with a full race report but for now - I ran my first marathon and am happy enough to say that I will run another one.

5 hours and 20 minutes. Not bad at all.

Nice Weekend

I hope you all had a chance to get outside this weekend.

Dave and I did a 10 mile pace run early Sat morning. We decided to push the pace alittle and finished 8 min faster than the same 10 miler last week. I really had a good day. We did a 20 min intra-coastal waterway stand for our ice bath and then I ate like a horse!

Non running news: My wife and I had date night Sat evening. We got a sitter and went out for fondue! Dinner was great and so was the company. We walked around Mayfaire afterward holding hands and looking in all the shop windows. A very nice night. We need to do that more often.

Sunday afternoon I spent doing yard work. The kids and I turned over the gardens, added fertilizer, lime, and compost. We are hoping to plant next weekend. We are going to try potatoes, garlic, onions, sugar peas, and salad mix. Please wish us luck.

Back to running for just a moment. Next Sat is our longest run before the marathon in March. We are scheduled to do 22 miles! Its going to be a good day!

Everybody have a good week!

My week and my first 18'er!

Well folks – it’s in the record books now. I have signed up for the Wrightsville Beach Marathon because I finished my first 18 mile training run and did not die!

I have really taken the last couple of weeks easy and my Achilles has thanked me for it. I have been really good about long slow warm up runs and following my workoutsw with icing and rolling. Last weekend I did my first “ice bath” – Wrightsville Beach style. The inter-coastal waterway is currently hovering around 48°F, so all you have to do is walk in about mid thigh and stand there for 20 minutes. My buddy, Dave, and I did an easy 7 miles then stood in the inter-coastal. The ice bath really did help and Sunday my legs felt completely normal.

I worked out with Tom on Wednesday. We did alternating float / tempo 400’s. 2:10 followed by 1:55 pace. The plan was 6-400’s, 2 min rest, 6-400’s, 2 min rest, 4-400 at a descending pace 2:05, 2:00, 1:55, 1:50. Well that was the plan anyway. I did great on the 1st 6 but after two laps in the second set – legs just did not have it. I finished with 5 full laps and one cut lap to keep up with the group. And as for the descending laps – Tom cut my workout to only 3 laps and my times ascended instead of descended. It was a tough workout and not my best but it was still a good workout. I have my sights set on Mary Lou and Tracy, both run with Tom and we start in the same workout/pace group. They are fantastic runners and are consistently a little faster and stronger than I am. I can hang with them some nights or on short sprint workouts but as for tempo and longer runs – they have it all over me. My goal is to be able to pace set for a whole practice by this summer.

Saturday was my BIG day. I had not signed up for the marathon due to the Achilles issue and I wanted one good long run in the books. This was make or break time. I either finished the 18 mile run or dropped my marathon plans for the ½ marathon. The weather on Sat SUCKED. The running gods were thinking – You want to run a marathon? Well you need to get by us first! The air temp was 35°F with a drizzling to light rain all morning. Dave and I met at the beach at 6am, changed our running route to help protect us from a wicked north wind and then said – What the hell – we are up now so suck it up and run. I was much better prepared for the weather this time. I used Steve’s advice on what to wear, and did not have any real issues with the cold/rain. Dave and I meandered all over the place but finally finished with 18.01 miles in just under 3hours and 50 minutes. As for the time – who cares! Sat was all about doing the distance and besides, the weather conditions sucked and I was carrying approximately 10 extra pounds in water weight at the end.

My legs feel pretty good. I have done some serious stretching in the last two days and my only ache/pain is the bottom of my left foot. It feels like a stone bruise but it’s not too bad.

Have a good week everybody – I certainly am going to! I just ran 18 miles!!!

My Leg is feeling fine – as long as I don’t use it.

Coach Tom and I have discussed my leg/Achilles tendon issues and come to the following conclusions:

1. Running through the pain this past Saturday was not smart. Bad John – Bad John
2. I am on a 5 day no run exercise program. I am allowed to swim and bike but NO running until Saturday.
3. I can run my per my training schedule on Saturday (7 miles planned) but am to purposely run easy and pay attention to how my Achilles feels. Some mild healing discomfort is ok but pain is bad and if I feel pain - I am to walk back to the car.
4. Keep up with icing, ibuprofen, and an aggressive message/rolling of my legs to promote healing.
5. Don’t get down – injuries happen – you need time to heal and then move on.

I don’t get to do a practice this week so Tom has suggested I come to his boot camp. I have never done boot camp with Tom but am already worried about how I will be able to do simple things, like hold a pencil, wash my hair, and such on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday as the lactic acid content in my body will be at approximately one million percent above its current level. My upper body strength is sadly lacking and although my core strength has grown by leaps and bounds lately – I am not sure how I will survive boot camp. Think of me on Thursday.

I got up this morning and rode the bike. I have not done any biking in a long long time due to the marathon training schedule. Now my butt will hurt too.

Cold run and Achillies Tendon Issues

Its been awhile since I did this so please grab a coffee and enjoy a few minutes of reading.

Two weeks ago the temps were in the 20's and I was scheduled to do a 14 mile run. The day did not go as planned and I sent an email to my friend Steve (I call him a friend in that we have emailed together but have not really met or even been in the same state together) and asked for his advice. Steve lives in Minnesota and is much more comfortable preparing for cold winter runs - below is my letter. The temp was 23 with a wind chill of 13!

Steve -

We were scheduled to do a 14 mile run today - I have done 2 14 mile days before and have done several 12 milers so felt like this would be just a long run only colder.

To prepare for the cold I put on a longsleve Zorrol performance T-shirt (we get them from races around here) and a long sleeve nike running shirt. The nike is pretty thick and I only use it in the winter around here - other wise I am hot. Over this I had planned a standard cheap nylon wind breaker but in the end changed to a winter coat. It is fleece lined with a nylon shell. I did two pairs of light weight running pants (all I have). I also did scarf, hat, and gloves.

We got to the start this morning and it was cold but we were optimistic for a good run - and off we went. Steve - I was cold at the start, even with all the layers but started to warm up about mile 2. I even started un-zipping alittle on the down wind portions but never really felt warm. My legs were cool but not uncomfortable. My ears and lower lip were frozen but I snugged the hat and scarf down and kept on going.

Our course was a figure 8, so at mile 6.5 we were back to our cars for food and water (my water bottle in the back of the truck was frozen on the surface). We were stopped about 4 to 6 minutes and then off again. I began to realize I was wet under the coat at about 9 miles and was really concerned when I began to have regular full body shivers. I am running for petes sake - not sitting on my butt in the cold but running. I am not supposed to be cold. 9 to 12 miles sucked - I was cold, legs began to hurt and I was ready to stop, drink coffee, and get warm. Dave and I cut the run alittle short and ended up with a 12 mile run.

I got home and began to realize how cold and wet I was. Both shirts were wet to the point of dripping off my lower back and my coat was visibly wet on the outside back of my coat. My hat and scarf were soaked too. I don't know what to do. I was cold at the beginning, cold during the run, was honest enough with myself to be scared at 9 miles because I was shivering and running and was 3 miles from the car. I know I sweat - I mean really sweat like Steve SWASS sweat but I cant stop running now because its cold- I am 8 weeks until my marathon. I have to do my long runs. Please help.

Steve emailed me back with some advice and happy thoughts but the jest was: I had over dressed, way over dressed, and don't do that again.

For those of you here in southern NC - we did not have to worry about such things this weekend. It was 53 at the start of my run and 59 at the end. I wore shorts and a short sleeve T-shirt and was fine the entire run. I am having Achilles issues in my left leg and cut my run alittle short - I ended up with 11.2 miles instead of the planned 16. My coach Tom has put me on 5 days of NO RUNNING with lots of ice and message to try and let it heal. I put my bike trainer back together and hope to start riding tonight. I also might get up and swim in the morning - yah we will see how that goes!