Quick one...

Overall a good week. The goal for this week was to PR at the 5K distance and get a long run in. Here is how the week went.

Monday- 4 mile easy. 36:50.

Tuesday-Fartlek style 4 miles. I wanted to know what 8 min pace felt like. I was planning my race strategy and I wasnt sure what my first mile pace should be. 35:56, with a 3rd mile of 8:12. I think I hang with that.

Wednesday-Rest

Thursday-5K. See last post for details.

Friday/Saturday-Rest

Sunday-Long run of 18 miles. I didnt even make it a mile. Lower back stiffened up. Funny, my back has been a little sore off and on but nothing too bad. This morning it didnt loosen up. Walked back. Miserable day.

PR streak continues

Every race this year PR. Chase the Gobler 5K this morning. Here are splits:

8:11, 8:05, 7:59, and 0:55. PR by 42 sec and a course record by 2:41. Results were not available at the end of the race but will be posted online soon. My wife killed it too! She had 2:13 5 K PR/course record with a total time of 26:16. Now lets eat!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Silverman Pics...what next?

Pic 1: Finish line w my wife

Pic 2: Finish line w "Gallagher's groupies" I love them

The rest are self explanatory

Since I am rolling over training right into marathon training, I have some time to think. Running only. What can I do to get better? What do I want to do after this? What goals should I make? What races should I do? How far should I race? What do I want out of training? I bounce around from answer to answer and I do not necessarily have any good thoughts. Despite a wandering brain, I am running the best I have ever run. Most of it is better conditioning, the rest is confidence. I feel so good running. The "base" I have under me feels very supportive. So I am torn. Here I am running 16 miles a few weeks after a 1/2 Iron and I do not feel so supercharged but I dont feel a limit either. I am running and I asking myself if I like this. It is windy, cold, long and I dont know if I like it. Weird? I dont know what to think of it. I finish and I feel pretty good. I am not so tired or sore but when I am out there sometimes I dont feel like pushing it. I am inching my way to performing and stop finishing. I think about that too. Thinking...

This year I have had good gains. Before any chickens are counted, I still have 2 more races to go. A 5k and Las Vegas as a half. I believe the reason this year was a step up from last year is because of my running last year. Last year at this time I was training for my first marathon. Longer and longer runs than the week before. This long run flew by. I dont want to listen to music. I like hearing myself. I hardly hear my feet. Its what I want from the runners that I train. Its fun to feel myself not so tired at places I used to be gassed. Then I think why am I thinking about the past? Why arent I in the moment and going faster, going harder. I am not that tired. Ok enough rambling....here is how my week went.

Monday-Rest

Tuesday-Run 4 miles. No watch not rules just out and about.

Wednesday-Pushed a 5 miler to have some fun. Karl will question this move since it brought my weekly mileage under the 1/2 my long run level. Try not to let that happen again Karl.

Thursday-6 mile run. Might be the single best run I have had. Unfortunately no watch to track it. From clock to clock it was about 56 min. I used my rates of perceived exhaustion. I must have had a 3 min or so negative split. I used a strong exhale and a little faster than I used to. I wonder what my HR was. Days like this I like running.

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Long run of 16 miles. About 6 of those miles with a gnarly head wind. Cold/windy. I felt very strong for the first 8-10 miles. Then I was pooped. The funny thing is despite the conditions it was about 8 min faster than the last time I ran 16 miles. I didnt even think about that until tonight. Funny brains of mine.

Sunday-Off. One of these weekends I am going to get a ride in. Quote:

“Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.”

Andrew Jackson quoting Napoleon Bonaparte

More action, check

1 week Post

First and foremost I must thank my fellow bloggers who commented on last weeks race report. The people who love me dont really get it. Funny how perfect strangers with an unbiased opinion go out of their way to send a kind word. Well they mean a lot. I feel a lot better about the race now. When I posted that report it was still quite raw. Now that I have a little distance I am a lot more proud of my accomplishment. I raced a harder race with more harsh conditions than last year and I was faster and more competent. I have to realize that people travel from all over the place to race this race, so how can I compare myself to them? Silverman marks the 2 year anniversary of beginning cycling. It IS a half iron distance too. Not only that, but I have recovered incredibly fast compared to last year. Here are a few notes I want to remember for next time.

One; the 3 weeks taper was perfect. I felt well rested. However, during that 3 weeks I need to watch my food intake. Cannot eat like I was training super hard. Three; perfect recovery session. 5 laps swimming in a cold pool, 5 min of jacuzzi with quad sets, glut sets, calf pumps, press-ups, rotation, and hughstons, jacuzzi, swim 5 laps, jacuzzi, and swim 5 laps. I went from a 7/10 soreness to a 2/10 by the next morning. Not sore after 2 days. Last year I ran vegas as a half (in early dec) and I was still sore. Fourth; I need to do a half iron away from silverman. Its not fair. I mean it is a ridiculous bike and run. What is another bike course like? How would I perform on another stage? My Ironman dreams are still on hold while I sort this out. Here is how the week went:

Tuesday-Contrast bath swim/jacuzzi. 750 meters total.

Wednesday-4 mile swim. Good cardio, limited push, felt great. I couldnt wait to run.

Thursday-5 mile run. In the cold head wind.

Friday-Rest

Saturday-Basketball. Felt great to do something different. Sore back though.

Sunday (today)-10 mile run. Up hill run for 6 of the 10 and was able to keep sub 9 min miles on the flat/down parts. Overall, cold/hard run. Felt decent. My back as a little sore at times. Quote:

“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”

Peter F. Drucker

Did plenty of that and looking forward to the other thing.

Silverman 2010: Half Iron race report

My streak of PR's is still alive. I am struggling to put this race into words. I use this blog as a diary and a method of connecting with other athletes. I have been putting in the time and effort to have a huge race. I didnt have a huge race. I needed the extra fitness and I am a better athlete for it but I am just not happy. The only mistake I made all day was not having my watch charged. ROOKIE mistake. All day not knowing where my heart rate was or my pace. Here is how it plays out.

The Swim: Last year 44:00, this year goal 45:00, actual 51:00

With the new swim venue I was wondering what would be different this year. The new swim venue is Lake Las Vegas which is a pretty little community of homes that are set around this man made lake. The water was very, very cold. The visibility was poor. The swimming lane was quite narrow and was the most physical swim I have been a part of. Including an elbow to the back of the head, which at the moment didnt seem like that big of a deal, but I had a small cut. No biggies. I had some stomach issues that carried over to the bike but didnt necessarily carry over to bad performance. I didnt put a whole lot of time into the swim because I thought the bike and run were just so much more important. I dont like swimming enough to get super technical with it and really work on it. I was a much more efficient swimmer than last year. Last year I went out waaaay to fast on the swim to get that 44:00. Which is so slow. The end of the swim was me getting pulled out of the water and then quickly had my wet suit ripped off. Wetsuit strippers are amazing.

T1: Last year 7:52, this years goal: 5:00, actual: 8:35.

So frustrated with this time. I was so foggy. I had a little hamstring cramp. It is a new venue and there was a lot to run. Covered 3 times the distance compared to last years t1. I dont know what to say, except it was too damn slow.

Bike: Last year 4:15:42, this years goal: 3:50, actual 4:14:46

Really? 25 min slow? I didnt take into account the difficulty of this course compared to last years. I certainly didnt expect the 25 mph or so head wind. Sure last year I couldnt climb the sisters and I did all 3 this time. But I am so disappointed with this time. I did a much harder course, with wind, and it was faster than last year but it is 2nd slowest bike split in my age group. I fought back lower back spasm and quad cramps the whole way. I ate a buch of pretzels or just licked the salt off. It really helped the cramps. I still felt like I pounded. The times away from the wind were faster or on track with training. One thing is we cannot control the elements. Moral victory here but I would like better results.

T2: Last year 8:19, this years goal: 4:00, actual: 6:29

not too bad. But sheesh what have I been doing? Why arent I faster? I was starting to get pissed. WHY AM I GOING SO SLOOOOW. It sure felt good to stand. My legs were still cramping up a bit. Am I in trouble for this run? What will I do if I am slower than last year? I am gonna have melt down if I am actually slower. Off I go.

Run: Last year 2:55:16, this years goal: 2:20, actual: 2:47

These running legs are not happening. The first 4 miles as I am trying to use my mathematical skills, am I going to be worse than last year? I dont know what I am going to do if I am worse than last year is all I kept thinking. The cramps slowly start to subside and I starting to pick it up. I can feel my running conditioning taking over. I start to think I am ok. I start to run a lot more. I wish I had my watch. I bet I had a 20 min negative split. I felt so much stronger than last year. I ran so much more and faster when I did run. I passed a lot of people that I was going back and forth with. I could have kept running if I needed to. I actually got stronger as the run went on. I took gatorade and water at every aid station. I tried chicken broth and I really liked it. From mile 4 to the finish I had no cramps just fatigue. I never had any pain per se. I just felt so much stronger.

Overall: Last year: 8:11:17, this years goal: 7:00, actual 8:08:01

WOW. Really? It is actually hard to write this all down. I am slightly ashamed. ASHAMED? about finishing a half Iron distance triathlon TOO SLOOW? Not just any triathlon either. This race course is RIDICULOUS. I need to race somewhere else. May be I am being unfair to myself. I just do not want to be a finisher. I want to be in the mix. I want to be fast. May be thats just not me? I dont know. I needed every bit of the fitness I gained this last year to be 3 min faster? I am not ok with that. It continues to be an issue for me. May be my goal setting is screwed up? May be I need a cycling coach. To the people who are not familiar with triathlon its a crazy event. Its not crazy to me. I hate being 4th to last in my division. Losing by 2 and half hours. I just need some time to goal set. I like training. I like to challenge myself.

Thanks:

I would to thank all my "groupies." I will post some pics in the next few days. Every body came out in full effect. It is was very special to me to have all of you out there. Its a long day to watch one of these events. I appreciate it. Thanks Karl for always looking out for me.