Yes, my Board Exam is less than one week away and I should be STUDYING, but frankly I'm sick and tired of it and would much rather ramble on for a while than look at another damn book.
Sunday was my last race of the year, a short reverse sprint tri here on base. I'll post the race report tomorrow after I swing by the gym and get the official results ;) I started this season with pretty low goals, namely wanting to finish all the races on my schedule. Having come off of knee surgery last year and missing the entire season, I wasn't sure how I would hold up under all the training. As a result, I would complain on an almost daily basis about HOW MUCH my coach (Little J) had on my schedule for the day. She took it all in stride and let me slide whenever I felt like it--for better or worse. My last few races have all turned out well , just barely making it into the top 1/3 of my age group each time. At the start of this year that would have made me ecstatic! Now that I've made it through the season with knees intact, I'm wanting more.
Can I be faster? I think the answer is a resounding YES! So what's it gonna take? After much internal struggle and thought, it all comes back to one simple answer-listen to your coach! Yes, I HATE morning workouts with a PASSION bordering on insanity, but I'm not the only one. Get your butt up and DO IT. And making my workouts a priority EVERYDAY instead of an option if I get all my other life stuff done is something I've got to do.
Next up on the agenda is the Vegas half-marathon in December, followed by the Arizona marathon in January. No goal for the half, but I want to run a 3:30 for the full. That would be a PR by 35 minutes. There, its in writing, no backing down now. Time to get my ass in gear and get at it!
Little J, get your running shoes on, cause when you get back, we are hitting the pavement (at 5AM) :)
OK, back to studying...
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Elephant Man Race Report
Last weekend I raced in the 4th Annual Elephant Man triathlon in Truth or Consequences, NM. I started the weekend off right with a stop at the base on our way out of town on Saturday, to do a little pre-race carb loading at Oktoberfest.
The Germans put on a good party, and MAN that was some good beer!
On to the race start. Mandatory pre-race meeting at 7:30(swim buoys STILL not in place). 30 minute lecture on how we will not yell at the volunteers for NOT doing their job. 8:00 scheduled start time pushed back because pre-race director likes to hear herself talk. Its now 8:15 and the first wave is FINALLY in the water-for the head count. Oh, those chip thingies on your ankles? No, those things are computerized, who knows if they would work to count you and keep track of you? Better to do a manual head count instead.
Swim course looks long, but don't they ALWAYS look long? Assistant race director counts down out loud, 5-4-3-2-1 GO!(No bullhorn, speaker system, ANYTHING) The swim goes well, water was a little rougher than I anticipated but felt strong throughout. As I exited the water and started stripping off the wetsuit, I look at my watch and see 30:14! WTF! I'm a slow swimmer, but with a wetsuit I expected to be at least a LITTLE faster :-/ Little J tells me that I'm about the 20th male out of the water, and the first male came out at 25:30. That time means nothing to me(I'm ignorant) but J was trying to tell me that the course was long.
On to the bike. Two words: I suck. I felt pretty strong from the get go all the way back into T2. However, I did not pass ONE SINGLE MALE during the entire 26.5 miles. And I did get passed by several. GRRR... The first 15 miles were rolling hills with a gradual overall uphill trend, and the last 10 covered a long straight stretch with a slight descent. I FLEW through those last 10 miles, my speed was never under 27mph, and I still couldn't catch anyone. Time: 1:24. Double GRRR...
The run consisted of a 6 mile out and back. Mile 1 and 6 were on dirt. Not packed dirt; more like sand.
My legs felt GREAT. But I couldn't breathe. I was SOO frustrated. I really thought I'd have a strong run and be able to make up some time. Not so much: 50:42 on the run.
Final time: 2:49. 7th out of 18 in my age group, 41st out of 143 men.
Not a great race, but overall I am happy with my results. Just one more short sprint race next weekend, then it's marathon time :)
P.S. My board exam is 2 weeks from tomorrow, hopefully after that I can devote more time to consistently blogging ;-)
The Germans put on a good party, and MAN that was some good beer!
On to the race start. Mandatory pre-race meeting at 7:30(swim buoys STILL not in place). 30 minute lecture on how we will not yell at the volunteers for NOT doing their job. 8:00 scheduled start time pushed back because pre-race director likes to hear herself talk. Its now 8:15 and the first wave is FINALLY in the water-for the head count. Oh, those chip thingies on your ankles? No, those things are computerized, who knows if they would work to count you and keep track of you? Better to do a manual head count instead.
Swim course looks long, but don't they ALWAYS look long? Assistant race director counts down out loud, 5-4-3-2-1 GO!(No bullhorn, speaker system, ANYTHING) The swim goes well, water was a little rougher than I anticipated but felt strong throughout. As I exited the water and started stripping off the wetsuit, I look at my watch and see 30:14! WTF! I'm a slow swimmer, but with a wetsuit I expected to be at least a LITTLE faster :-/ Little J tells me that I'm about the 20th male out of the water, and the first male came out at 25:30. That time means nothing to me(I'm ignorant) but J was trying to tell me that the course was long.
On to the bike. Two words: I suck. I felt pretty strong from the get go all the way back into T2. However, I did not pass ONE SINGLE MALE during the entire 26.5 miles. And I did get passed by several. GRRR... The first 15 miles were rolling hills with a gradual overall uphill trend, and the last 10 covered a long straight stretch with a slight descent. I FLEW through those last 10 miles, my speed was never under 27mph, and I still couldn't catch anyone. Time: 1:24. Double GRRR...
The run consisted of a 6 mile out and back. Mile 1 and 6 were on dirt. Not packed dirt; more like sand.
My legs felt GREAT. But I couldn't breathe. I was SOO frustrated. I really thought I'd have a strong run and be able to make up some time. Not so much: 50:42 on the run.
Final time: 2:49. 7th out of 18 in my age group, 41st out of 143 men.
Not a great race, but overall I am happy with my results. Just one more short sprint race next weekend, then it's marathon time :)
P.S. My board exam is 2 weeks from tomorrow, hopefully after that I can devote more time to consistently blogging ;-)
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Sight Seeing
First, an update on my last post. The porch is dee-you-in DUN! We finished putting the screen up that next day, and I caulked everything a couple of days later. Here's the finished product, enjoy!
This left us with no big project for the following weekend, so little J thought it would be a good idea to do a little 'sight-seeing' in the local resort town an hour up the road. Now, when I say sight-seeing, I picture a car ride, bus tour, or maybe a leisurely stroll. My better half, not so much. Our destination: Ski Apache's tallest peak, at just over 10,100 feet. Our starting point: Ruidoso, elevation 6900 and some change. So we packed up our bikes and gear, and headed up the road to Ruidoso. The entire drive I could see the peak in the distance, taunting me, heckling me, DARING me to take it on. Who are you to tackle me, you who has recently moved from the land of No Hills? Yeah, you with the chicken legs, I'm talking to you!
We arrive at our starting point and get everything in order. The first 3 miles go by relatively quickly, then we hit the real stuff-for the next NINE miles. My legs scream-I ignore them. My mind says I can't do it-I turn up the ipod. Before I know it, we're there! And man was it worth it!
Of course, I forgot my camera, so we have to make due with the photos from my iPhone. The second pic is the base of one of the slopes at Ski Apache. The last one is a nice pic of the road we conquered to get there.
Now, for the ride down. Did I mention we were at 10,000 feet? The temp was, at best -40. Celsius. Or that's what it felt like on the way down. We made several stops on the way down to break the icicles off our noses, and pry our frozen little fingers off the handlebars. But we made it back to the base of the mountain in one piece, and enjoyed the rest of the afternoonpeople watching cheering at the horse races at the local track.
All in all, a good day :-). So take THAT Mr. Mountain :-P
This left us with no big project for the following weekend, so little J thought it would be a good idea to do a little 'sight-seeing' in the local resort town an hour up the road. Now, when I say sight-seeing, I picture a car ride, bus tour, or maybe a leisurely stroll. My better half, not so much. Our destination: Ski Apache's tallest peak, at just over 10,100 feet. Our starting point: Ruidoso, elevation 6900 and some change. So we packed up our bikes and gear, and headed up the road to Ruidoso. The entire drive I could see the peak in the distance, taunting me, heckling me, DARING me to take it on. Who are you to tackle me, you who has recently moved from the land of No Hills? Yeah, you with the chicken legs, I'm talking to you!
We arrive at our starting point and get everything in order. The first 3 miles go by relatively quickly, then we hit the real stuff-for the next NINE miles. My legs scream-I ignore them. My mind says I can't do it-I turn up the ipod. Before I know it, we're there! And man was it worth it!
Of course, I forgot my camera, so we have to make due with the photos from my iPhone. The second pic is the base of one of the slopes at Ski Apache. The last one is a nice pic of the road we conquered to get there.
Now, for the ride down. Did I mention we were at 10,000 feet? The temp was, at best -40. Celsius. Or that's what it felt like on the way down. We made several stops on the way down to break the icicles off our noses, and pry our frozen little fingers off the handlebars. But we made it back to the base of the mountain in one piece, and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon
All in all, a good day :-). So take THAT Mr. Mountain :-P
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Our latest adventures
This is my first week on call at the hospital here in New Mexico, and as such, I'm chained to I have to stay within the city limits of Alamogordo. Translation-bike rides become trainer rides, and runs are loops around the neighborhood. No complaining though; I'm still thankful for each day that my knees allow me to do these things :-). Plus, my first week of call has consisted of newborn nursery every morning, and a total of ONE call from the ER for a kid with a pneumonia!
Since we basically had a weekend at home, I decided it was time to get started on the back porch. Little J has been asking for a screened in porch since we got here, as our lovely neighbors are avid mosquitophiles and think its ok to leave standing pools of water in their backyard. But they are a whole topic on their own; lets focus on the porch!
After J helped me stain the wood, she got started on a project of her own:
I didn't quite finish yesterday, but did manage to get most of the framing up and the door installed. Today should go by much quicker :-)
Since we basically had a weekend at home, I decided it was time to get started on the back porch. Little J has been asking for a screened in porch since we got here, as our lovely neighbors are avid mosquitophiles and think its ok to leave standing pools of water in their backyard. But they are a whole topic on their own; lets focus on the porch!
After J helped me stain the wood, she got started on a project of her own:
I didn't quite finish yesterday, but did manage to get most of the framing up and the door installed. Today should go by much quicker :-)
Monday, August 2, 2010
First (of many) race reports
As usual, little J beat me. To writing the race report, that is. After much cajoling by previously mentioned spouse, I too decided to run the local 10K race last weekend. After a hurried last minute registration and 5 minute warm-up, we lined up for the start and eyed our competition. Did I mention that it was a combined 5K/10K/half-marathon?
Bang! The starting gun goes off. The race director yells 1-2-3-GO! I start off at what feels like a good pace (read trying to keep my wife in sight for the first mile), and manage to do this passing mile marker 1 at 7:00. By this time the heavens have opened and dumped a few gallons on each participant. It's at this time that I first notice the squish squish of the footfalls of the runner behind me. At this point there are only 7 people in front of me, one of which is of course my wife. We pass the 5K turnaround and 4 of those seven are suddenly heading back towards me. I know the two men in front of me are doing the half, and suddenly I realize I'm leading the male 10K by default! I cross mile marker two at a more leisurely pace of 7:15, and at this point I realize how long I would stand up to chinese water torture. Exactly 7:15. At this point my entire being is consumed with the squish squish squish of the runner behind me. Did I mention he was DIRECTLY behind me? MAKE IT STOP PLEASE! I stop and glare at the runner as he passes(half-marathoner), who totally fails to register/acknowledge my existence.
I trudge onward to the turnaround, and finally see the 3 mile marker-at the turnaround. At this point my wife is passing, flashes a big smile, and says 'its just you and me babe!' I grimace a reply and keep trudging. The rest of the race passed uneventfully, as every time I turned around to look for motivation to run harder, I saw NO ONE. I crossed the finish line and the first thing I asked Joy was, of course, 'Did that seem like a long 10K to you?' Mapmyrun later confirmed it, our 10K was actually 6.8mi, or 11K. Maybe they add distance when you run at altitude since the air you're running through is thinner and provides less resistance.
I'm sure you've already read little J's race report and know she won OVERALL! I was 2nd overall and 1st male, which has been repeatedly pointed out to me on a daily basis :) Next weekend we will AGAIN be racing in another sprint tri, that will be our 3rd race in as many weekends. I think a small break will be in order; a week long trip to NOLA sounds perfect!
I trudge onward to the turnaround, and finally see the 3 mile marker-at the turnaround. At this point my wife is passing, flashes a big smile, and says 'its just you and me babe!' I grimace a reply and keep trudging. The rest of the race passed uneventfully, as every time I turned around to look for motivation to run harder, I saw NO ONE. I crossed the finish line and the first thing I asked Joy was, of course, 'Did that seem like a long 10K to you?' Mapmyrun later confirmed it, our 10K was actually 6.8mi, or 11K. Maybe they add distance when you run at altitude since the air you're running through is thinner and provides less resistance.
I'm sure you've already read little J's race report and know she won OVERALL! I was 2nd overall and 1st male, which has been repeatedly pointed out to me on a daily basis :) Next weekend we will AGAIN be racing in another sprint tri, that will be our 3rd race in as many weekends. I think a small break will be in order; a week long trip to NOLA sounds perfect!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
My very first blog
Only 7-8 years behind the times, I've decided to take up blogging. As you all know, I'm terrible at staying in contact with family and friends, and this way hopefully I can at least periodically update you on what's going on. My wife happens to be an awesome writer so if my posts are terribly boring (very likely), be sure to check out her page, as her story-telling is much better! More to follow this weekend (hopefully) :)
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