Well, it has certainly been awhile since I have blogged, hence the appropriate title. My new job that I had with the Bank was so demanding and stressful that after work and training I barely had time for anything else. So, the good news is that I no longer have the job. Yeah! The bad news is, I no longer have that job. More on that later, but let's do some catching up.
I was very blessed in January to attend the Olympic trials in January. Yes, I am going back all the way to January. That is how long it has been since I blogged. The bank that I used to work for is one of the sponsors of the Houston Marathon and not only was I able to run the Marathon on Sunday, but I was able to get VIP treatment for the trials on Saturday. I would post some photos, but somehow I think it is a little late to post them of the trial after the Olympics is already over.
We were able to spend the weekend in The Woodlands at my wife's Aunt's place and be able to relax and enjoy the entire experience. On Saturday morning we headed out to the trials and we were able to park right next to the convention center due to our VIP passes. We ended up on the west side of the start line and found a VIP tent and helped ourselves to some breakfast before the race started. Little did we know that we were supposed to be on the east side. So after breakfast, we ventured out to the seating area to watch the men and women warm up. The start of the race for the men was 8 AM and temps were at 29 degrees. The women started at 8:10 and it had risen to 39 degrees in 10 minutes, Got to love Houston.
One of the highlights was seeing Ryan Hall warm up. It was amazing how big his legs were. He is pretty skinny up top, but he looked like he had cyclists legs. There were a lot of people I did not know, but I did see a lot of the heavy hitters, Ryan, Meb, Dathan, Shalane, Kara, and Desi. At 8 am the men were off and out came the women who hit the start at 8:10. They all did a little 2.2 mile loop before hitting the three 8 mile loops. When the men came back through on the first little loop, Michael Wardian tossed me one of his gloves. I am not for sure if it was snot lined, but I still have it.
In between loops we ducked in and out of the tent before we realized that we were supposed to be on the east side. So, we ventured over to that side to enjoy the VIP breakfast and the VIP port-potties. That is right, we had our own VIP toilets complete with running water to wash our hands. We are spoiled for ever.
Because of getting there late, a lot of people had already taken the front row spectating, but we were able to squeeze in and get some phone camera shots of the runners that came in. It was pretty spectacular to see them finish with all the emotion of making the team and of not making the team. Months of hard work and effort went into this race to only have three slots available. The emotion of making the team was quickly overshadowed by the heartache we saw of the those who came so close, but didn't make it. I am glad that those who came close were still able to make it in for the other track events at the Olympics. You could literally feel the emotion as they came across the line.
After we grabbed up all the souvenir items that came with the VIP pass, we headed back to The Woodlands to rest up as my day was coming up tomorrow. My training had been going well as I had a lot of vacation that I used in December after what I felt was not a good performance at the Route 66 Marathon in November. I managed a 3:10 in horrible conditions, but I knew I could do better. I think that is key factor of competitive athletes, they are always trying to improve and get better better. The moment of truth was at hand.
We got up bright and early to head downtown to Houston for our 7 am start and our VIP breakfast. That is right, we still had VIP privileges on race day. We were able to park in the VIP lot right next to the Convention Center and our passes got us access to the VIP breakfast before the race. I did not eat anything, but the family indulged as we all sat in the warmth and watched the Kenyans warm up inside. Being at the breakfast also gave us access to the upstairs restroom with no waiting lines. No lines and take your time. Sweet!
While I watched the family eat breakfast, I heard a familiar voice, I looked over at the other table behind us and it was the voice of Boston Billy Rodgers. Multiple winner of the Boston and New York Marathons. Over to the left of him was Olympic Marathon medalist, Frank Shorter. We were literally in the presence of running royalty. At 6:40 I decided it was time to leave the warmth and head to starting line. I will never be the same after having those kind of privileges before a race.
I headed out into the 39 degree cold to make it to the starting corral. I was in corral A and I will have to say that the organizers of the race did a excellent job of signage to let runners and spectators know where to go. I made it to my corral and much to my surprise, there were port-a-potties in the corrals. What a novel concept. That was the first time I have experienced that and I think it should be part of all major races.
I made it to the front of the corral and waited for the start of the race. After the obligatory pep talk by the Mayor and the sponsors, Boston Billy gave a little talk and Joan Benoit started us off. The first mile of the race was so congested that I could not get into the pace I wanted and started to panic a little as I watched the 3 hr pace group go by. I managed to hit 7:03 for the first mile and little did I realize that it would be my slowest mile of the race.
After a couple of miles the race starts to spread out a little in the neighborhoods and I was able to get into a rhythm. I caught back up with the 3 hr pace group and considered running with them. Anyone who knows me, knows that I tend to go out real fast and hang on for dear life at the end. I considered the conservative strategy, but I was feeling good and went for it. I settled into a nice 6:44 pace and dropped the pace group. Most of the race at this point was pretty congested, but not too bad to where you couldn't develop a good pace of your own. Eventually we hit the spot to where the half turns around and we were on our own. At about 10 miles in, I latched on to a group that was running the same pace and headed off. Around the half way mark, I dropped most of the guys except for one. I am still not sure to this day what his name is, but his bib said Candy Man.
Now, I was running in front of him most of the time and I could not see his bib, so every time we ran by spectators, they would holler out, "looking good Candy Man." I thought they were maybe talking to me since I was wearing my Red, White, and Blue K-Swiss K-Ruuz's. I did not realize til the end of the race they were referring to him.
I went through the half in 1:28:44 and was still feeling good. I was like a metronome with my pace, mile after mile at 6:44 or 6:43. On the second half I started dropping some 6:39's and it was just me and Candy Man drafting off of me. He hollered at me and wanted to know if I wanted him to lead for awhile and I said I was good. He did not want to slow me down, but he wanted to do his fair share of drafting. I at least appreciate that as draft sponges can sometimes be annoying.
As we got close to the mile 22 aid station, I started to feel it a lot more in my legs, I ducked over to get some water and Gatorade and Candy Man kept going. I hurried through the aid station and caught back up to him. Little did he know that him leading me out, kept me going for a little bit longer. At about mile 23 Candy Man started to fade and I re-took the lead. I kept the pace going and he eventually faded back. At this point I had ran out of GU and expected some to be on the course. Nothing! That is the only thing I can say bad about the race, but I only took two GU's with me and that was my decision. I was slowly running out of steam and could have used one for a little boost. I kept hitting the aid stations to get some calories from Gatorade, but it was only short lived.
The last few miles do have some smaller hills and that slowed my pace a little. I was still hitting sub 7's, but they were not 6:43's. I hit the last little straightaway and suddenly realized that I was on the same streets as the trial competitors and that I was nearing the last turn to the chute. I turned the corner and realized that if I pushed it a little, I could make sub 2:57. I pushed with what little I had left and hit 2:56:56. At last I had hit sub 3 and I had negative splitted the second half in 1:28:12.
After getting the medal and my picture taken, it was time to head inside and find the family. One weird thing about this is that they serve breakfast to the competitors after the race. I don't know about you, but sausage and biscuits and gravy do not sound good after a Marathon. I got my finisher shirt and looked for the area according to my last name for the family to meet me at. Another great organization tool. I found my wife and kids and celebrated my victory. I finished 8th in my age group, but I could of have cared less as I had achieved my goal.
The Houston Marathon was a well put on race with a great course and organization. We were really fortunate with the weather as 2 days later the overnight low was 70 degrees with high humidity. That is one of the risks of doing this race, but if the weather holds out, I can guarantee you a great course and experience. Just get some GU on the course late in the race. LOL!
I was going to blog about our other happenings since the race, but I think this is enough for now and I will fill you in the rest with a new blog. After all, I have some time now.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Ryan Hall - Team USA
Great article about Ryan Hall with some great videos as the Olympics are approaching. It was a honor to see him run at the trials this year. I wish him the best as he is a class act.
First blog post in a long time. I might even start up again. Hmmm?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/meet-the-american-olympic-runner-who-officially-lists-god-as-his-coach/
First blog post in a long time. I might even start up again. Hmmm?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/meet-the-american-olympic-runner-who-officially-lists-god-as-his-coach/
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Sunday, September 4, 2011
K-Swiss K-Ruuz Shoe Review
I was looking around last year for a new pair of running shoes and came across the new K-Swiss K-Ruuz's. I read several articles about them in the Tri magazines that I get and being that I dabble occasionally in Tri's, I was really interested. I am not your average follow the normal path that others follow kind of guy and I knew there was something about these shoes that intrigued me. I knew that K-Swiss had sponsored people like Mirinda Carfrae and Andreas Raelert to name a few pro triathletes, but other than that, I just knew them as a tennis shoe company that had been around for awhile. Nobody here in Tulsa carries these shoes, so I knew that I would have to take a risk and order them online. I do not like to buy shoes that I have not tried on, but I found a deal at runningwarehouse.com that offered free returns, so I thought, why not. So, this is my review.
I entered in my information to their website and two days later, this appeared on my door step. Runningwarehouse.com has awesome two day free shipping and two days later I was the proud owner of a pair of K-Swiss K-Ruuzs.
The box itself is pretty cool. I normally run in New Balance and they have a pretty plain looking brown box, but this actually had colors and I like the K-Swiss logo.
This view of the box made me feel like I was back in grade school and I was buying a new pair of tennis shoes. There is nothing wrong with that as it brought back great memories as child. I like old school!
The shoe itself is an attention getter. It screams, "Look at Me"! The patriotic color pattern is awesome with the three colors of the red, white, and blue perfectly blended together. I remember running the Mother Road Half Marathon last year and when I went through a small town in Kansas, a guy on the sidelines yells out, "It's all about the shoes"!
The main view from the outer side is the blue, which I think was a good choice, versus having the white as the outer.
The white inside is fine, but it definitively is not an attention getter by itself. Put all three together and it works.
The bottom of the shoe continues with the Red, White, and Blue scheme. This is a racing flat through and through. Who needs wimpy gels or cushioning?
This shoe is made to breathe easy, wick away moisture, and transition easy from the bike to the run. Ease and speed is this shoe's mantra.
From the front it looks like a bad dude coming at you. It reminds me of the Ford Raptor that comes at you and looks like something out of a Maximum Overdrive movie.
The front mesh is very breathable and allows for sockless running.
As you can see, this is like wearing a sock with a piece rubber on the bottom. Nothing as serious as Vibrams, but this is built for speed.
Very, very breathable. A lot of daylight comes through this shoe.
My last pair of road running shoes were the Asics Hyper-Speeds. A very good shoe worn by Ryan Hall. They were decent shoes, but the K-Swiss looks better. The Asics were very plain.
The close up of the back of the Asic shoe shows that you are not getting very much under your heel.
In comparison, the K-Swiss has a 20mm heel and 10mm drop from heel to toe. They still have a slight drop and are not like the newer shoes that are having no or very little heel drop. The weight on this is supposed to be at 7.1 oz's. Very light, but that is the way I like it. So, enough talk, time to take them out for a run.
Don't they look nice? So how did they fair?
Well, after 1,300 miles. Yes, that is correct. 1,300 miles in a racing flat. This is my normal running shoe, not just my racing shoe. I train in this shoe all the time. I do not believe in using a lot of cushioning, but that is another blog.
The biggest issue I had was my big toe ended up blowing through the side. I think the rest of the shoe held up fairly well in spite of all the mileage.
The bottom of the shoe ended having part of the black rubber piece on the heel come off. The rest of it, looked fine. This is the left shoe.
This is a closer view of the heel. Even without this piece, it was fine. I don't want the cushioning anyway.
On the right shoe, the front part of the shoe starting digging a groove into it. This is because I tend to pronate a little bit and I definitively put a little bit more pressure on that spot. It still worked fine.
Inside the shoe, it still looked great. I thought that it would not be built solidly enough with the additional breathability that the shoe has. Kudo's to the team for designing the stitching so that it held up to my 1,300 miles of wear.
Amazingly, the K-Swiss sticker inside the shoe was still intact. A little bit peeled, but still there.
The outside of the shoe still looked good. From this side, it still looked OK. You just can't see the hole on the other side where my big toe was sticking out.
Even the little K-Swiss sticker on the side of the shoe was still there. Amazing shoe.
Overall, I really liked this shoe. It has carried me through treadmill speed workouts, training runs, and from 5K's to Marathons. Yes, I have ran Marathons in these. I probably have ran over 20 races in them if I went back and checked. I would recommned this shoe to anyone. Is it for everyone, maybe not? I think if people really dug into the importance of proper footwear selection to maintain full tendon and muscle usage during running, they would check into this shoe and others like it. I would recommend it and I have got great use out of it. A great entry for K-Swiss into the running shoe market.
I guess now, I may have to get a new pair of shoes now or can I get 1,400 miles out them?
I entered in my information to their website and two days later, this appeared on my door step. Runningwarehouse.com has awesome two day free shipping and two days later I was the proud owner of a pair of K-Swiss K-Ruuzs.
The box itself is pretty cool. I normally run in New Balance and they have a pretty plain looking brown box, but this actually had colors and I like the K-Swiss logo.
This view of the box made me feel like I was back in grade school and I was buying a new pair of tennis shoes. There is nothing wrong with that as it brought back great memories as child. I like old school!
The shoe itself is an attention getter. It screams, "Look at Me"! The patriotic color pattern is awesome with the three colors of the red, white, and blue perfectly blended together. I remember running the Mother Road Half Marathon last year and when I went through a small town in Kansas, a guy on the sidelines yells out, "It's all about the shoes"!
The main view from the outer side is the blue, which I think was a good choice, versus having the white as the outer.
The white inside is fine, but it definitively is not an attention getter by itself. Put all three together and it works.
The bottom of the shoe continues with the Red, White, and Blue scheme. This is a racing flat through and through. Who needs wimpy gels or cushioning?
This shoe is made to breathe easy, wick away moisture, and transition easy from the bike to the run. Ease and speed is this shoe's mantra.
From the front it looks like a bad dude coming at you. It reminds me of the Ford Raptor that comes at you and looks like something out of a Maximum Overdrive movie.
The front mesh is very breathable and allows for sockless running.
As you can see, this is like wearing a sock with a piece rubber on the bottom. Nothing as serious as Vibrams, but this is built for speed.
Very, very breathable. A lot of daylight comes through this shoe.
My last pair of road running shoes were the Asics Hyper-Speeds. A very good shoe worn by Ryan Hall. They were decent shoes, but the K-Swiss looks better. The Asics were very plain.
The close up of the back of the Asic shoe shows that you are not getting very much under your heel.
In comparison, the K-Swiss has a 20mm heel and 10mm drop from heel to toe. They still have a slight drop and are not like the newer shoes that are having no or very little heel drop. The weight on this is supposed to be at 7.1 oz's. Very light, but that is the way I like it. So, enough talk, time to take them out for a run.
Don't they look nice? So how did they fair?
Well, after 1,300 miles. Yes, that is correct. 1,300 miles in a racing flat. This is my normal running shoe, not just my racing shoe. I train in this shoe all the time. I do not believe in using a lot of cushioning, but that is another blog.
The biggest issue I had was my big toe ended up blowing through the side. I think the rest of the shoe held up fairly well in spite of all the mileage.
The bottom of the shoe ended having part of the black rubber piece on the heel come off. The rest of it, looked fine. This is the left shoe.
This is a closer view of the heel. Even without this piece, it was fine. I don't want the cushioning anyway.
On the right shoe, the front part of the shoe starting digging a groove into it. This is because I tend to pronate a little bit and I definitively put a little bit more pressure on that spot. It still worked fine.
Inside the shoe, it still looked great. I thought that it would not be built solidly enough with the additional breathability that the shoe has. Kudo's to the team for designing the stitching so that it held up to my 1,300 miles of wear.
Amazingly, the K-Swiss sticker inside the shoe was still intact. A little bit peeled, but still there.
The outside of the shoe still looked good. From this side, it still looked OK. You just can't see the hole on the other side where my big toe was sticking out.
Even the little K-Swiss sticker on the side of the shoe was still there. Amazing shoe.
Overall, I really liked this shoe. It has carried me through treadmill speed workouts, training runs, and from 5K's to Marathons. Yes, I have ran Marathons in these. I probably have ran over 20 races in them if I went back and checked. I would recommned this shoe to anyone. Is it for everyone, maybe not? I think if people really dug into the importance of proper footwear selection to maintain full tendon and muscle usage during running, they would check into this shoe and others like it. I would recommend it and I have got great use out of it. A great entry for K-Swiss into the running shoe market.
I guess now, I may have to get a new pair of shoes now or can I get 1,400 miles out them?
Friday, August 19, 2011
Summer Review 2011
Well, it's been awhile since I last posted. Pretty much the entire summer has passed. This summer has been one of challenges and extreme weather. In June we had one day below 90 and we are currently at least over 45 plus days of above 100 degree weather. As I am writing this, it is 105 and we are only a few weeks from Fall. Needless to say, training has been hard to muddle through in these conditions.
The last post I had was the OKC Half Marathon. A couple of weeks after that, I ran the Full Moon 5K and set a new PR of 18:28. That really hurt. I don't have any pictures as we left the camera at home and realized we did not have it on the way to the race. The race had decent weather, but it was kind of muggy and a lot of speedsters came out. I was really happy with the new PR, but I would still like to get under 18. Is it possible?
During the month of June, my legs pretty much felt dead and I did not do any races. This usually does not happen. I still kept running, but did some cycling and swimming. I thought about doing a Tri, but it never happened. We headed back to Illinois around the 4th of July for vacation and on the 4th, we headed to E. Moline, IL for the Firecracker Run. My legs were not expecting much, but the entire family wanted to do it and who could resist. The race has a 5K and 10K option with the same start time. The 5K is really flat and the 10K is really hilly. Of course I opted for the 10K and everyone else did the 5K. I knew I was not going to be able to have a great race, but I still wanted to get under 40. I managed to squeeze in at 39:57. Not a great race, but with dead legs and hills, I was pleased.
Wyatt ended up 3rd in his age group in the 5K and I was 2nd my age group. We both got a neat little trophy and memories that will last.
After the race it was time to relax. After all, we were on vacation. We spent the rest of the time on the farm, doing very little but chilling. Shannon likes driving the 4-wheeler and I was brave enough to join her. It was a good visit and great time to see my mom and family again. It is a very nice place to do nothing.
At the end of July, I did the Chris Brown Duathlon, 5K run, 30K bike, and 5K run. Race time temps were in the low 80's, nice. Nothing like sweating just standing in place. I ran a decent first 5K with a decent bike, but slowed down on the 2nd 5K. I won my age group by close to 5 minutes, so I was pleased with my time. Phillip West was the overall winner, but ended up getting disqualified for taking his bike out of transition early. I am not for sure what that was about, but it was really strange how it all came down.
Yeah, another mug. I know mugs are cheap, but race director's need to really start thinking outside the box for awards. I still appreciate it and I am glad to get it.
Last weekend was the Riverside 5000. A great race put on by Tulsa Runner and good friend, Trani Matthews. The main concept of the race is to have an elite division that races for money and have an open race for the rest of us. Trani tried hard to talk me into doing the elite race as there was money for the top 3 Masters, but once they announced that it was age graded, I stayed in the open. It would have been neat to race in it, but the winning time was 14:51. I would have finished several minutes later, but I would not have been last.
The open race is kind of the opening of the cross country season for the schools and as you can see, I am up front and I think I am the only one able to shave.
Here I am sprinting towards the finish. I ended up 19th overall, but I was the second Master. Everyone else was a lot younger than me that ended up ahead of me. My final time was 18:43 and Trani was 18:35. I have some work to do, but Trani look out, I am gunning for you! LOL.
Hopefully it will not be so long before I post again. I need to write a review on some running shoes, so maybe this weekend I can squeeze it in. In the meantime, I am thinking about switching back to strictly running in preparation to go sub 3 hrs in the Marathon. That would be pretty cool to do, but I don't know if I can just run? This is my first full week just running and it already driving me nuts. I am used to cycling and swimming and not just running. The jury is still out on this.
I should end up around 60 running miles for the week. Not monumental, but decent for the first full week. I may add a double run one day next week. We shall what happens. The lure of triathlon and the Ironman always looms in the background. It is just too bad I am not that great of swimmer. I need to improve on the bike also, but the swim is where the majority of work is needed. I guess there is always Duathlons? For now, I will just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
The last post I had was the OKC Half Marathon. A couple of weeks after that, I ran the Full Moon 5K and set a new PR of 18:28. That really hurt. I don't have any pictures as we left the camera at home and realized we did not have it on the way to the race. The race had decent weather, but it was kind of muggy and a lot of speedsters came out. I was really happy with the new PR, but I would still like to get under 18. Is it possible?
During the month of June, my legs pretty much felt dead and I did not do any races. This usually does not happen. I still kept running, but did some cycling and swimming. I thought about doing a Tri, but it never happened. We headed back to Illinois around the 4th of July for vacation and on the 4th, we headed to E. Moline, IL for the Firecracker Run. My legs were not expecting much, but the entire family wanted to do it and who could resist. The race has a 5K and 10K option with the same start time. The 5K is really flat and the 10K is really hilly. Of course I opted for the 10K and everyone else did the 5K. I knew I was not going to be able to have a great race, but I still wanted to get under 40. I managed to squeeze in at 39:57. Not a great race, but with dead legs and hills, I was pleased.
Wyatt ended up 3rd in his age group in the 5K and I was 2nd my age group. We both got a neat little trophy and memories that will last.
After the race it was time to relax. After all, we were on vacation. We spent the rest of the time on the farm, doing very little but chilling. Shannon likes driving the 4-wheeler and I was brave enough to join her. It was a good visit and great time to see my mom and family again. It is a very nice place to do nothing.
At the end of July, I did the Chris Brown Duathlon, 5K run, 30K bike, and 5K run. Race time temps were in the low 80's, nice. Nothing like sweating just standing in place. I ran a decent first 5K with a decent bike, but slowed down on the 2nd 5K. I won my age group by close to 5 minutes, so I was pleased with my time. Phillip West was the overall winner, but ended up getting disqualified for taking his bike out of transition early. I am not for sure what that was about, but it was really strange how it all came down.
Yeah, another mug. I know mugs are cheap, but race director's need to really start thinking outside the box for awards. I still appreciate it and I am glad to get it.
Last weekend was the Riverside 5000. A great race put on by Tulsa Runner and good friend, Trani Matthews. The main concept of the race is to have an elite division that races for money and have an open race for the rest of us. Trani tried hard to talk me into doing the elite race as there was money for the top 3 Masters, but once they announced that it was age graded, I stayed in the open. It would have been neat to race in it, but the winning time was 14:51. I would have finished several minutes later, but I would not have been last.
The open race is kind of the opening of the cross country season for the schools and as you can see, I am up front and I think I am the only one able to shave.
Here I am sprinting towards the finish. I ended up 19th overall, but I was the second Master. Everyone else was a lot younger than me that ended up ahead of me. My final time was 18:43 and Trani was 18:35. I have some work to do, but Trani look out, I am gunning for you! LOL.
Hopefully it will not be so long before I post again. I need to write a review on some running shoes, so maybe this weekend I can squeeze it in. In the meantime, I am thinking about switching back to strictly running in preparation to go sub 3 hrs in the Marathon. That would be pretty cool to do, but I don't know if I can just run? This is my first full week just running and it already driving me nuts. I am used to cycling and swimming and not just running. The jury is still out on this.
I should end up around 60 running miles for the week. Not monumental, but decent for the first full week. I may add a double run one day next week. We shall what happens. The lure of triathlon and the Ironman always looms in the background. It is just too bad I am not that great of swimmer. I need to improve on the bike also, but the swim is where the majority of work is needed. I guess there is always Duathlons? For now, I will just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Friday, May 13, 2011
OKC Half Mathon Race Report
Another OKC Marathon has come and gone and I have to say this was the most memorable one for several reasons. First off, I only did the Half Marathon. I know, I know. Throw the popcorn, heave the pop cans, and let the raspberry's fly. I really struggled with not doing the full and felt like a complete wimp for not doing so. So, here are my excuses or reasons why:
1) Easier recovery time to come back and maybe do a Half Ironman or other future races. Sounds like a viable plan.
2) I have been concentrating on short races and have not done many longer runs. That was because of my previous race schedule.
3) I have been running good lately and wanted to PR in the half. Why leave the race disappointed in my Full Marathon time when I could do a good half. Plus, it is a lot less painful.
Whether these are good plans or excuses, let me say that I was so glad that I did not do the Full and here is why.
Just imagine yourself sailing on the high seas with Captain Bligh en-route to find Moby Dick. A storm has blown up and the ship is rocking back and forth, the winds are howling, and it looks like the ship may go down. That is kind of how race day felt. When I got up at 4 am to get ready, the weather was perfect. 54 degrees with light winds. I checked the weather map and it looked like the rain may stay to south of us. After letting the dogs out of the hotel room and loading up the kids, we headed for downtown OKC. We parked in our usual spot. This secret spot is not to be revealed on this blog. I would have to hunt everyone down.
I made it to the corner of the OKC Memorial and got in the port-a-potty and guess what, it started raining. My plan at this point was to stay in the blue port-a-potty portal, hope the rain might pass, and maybe catch a nap, but I decided to brave the elements like a good warrior. As soon as I made it out of the funky, blue water holder, it started to pour rain. Lightning started shortly after and the cold front moved in. Mark Twain once said that everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it. At this point I wanted let the people on the weather channel know how I felt about their great forecast. That language would not be suited for this blog.
We made it over to a Catholic church and found an overhang and tried to stay out of the elements at this point. The front had dropped temps at least 10 degrees and the wind chill felt like I was back in Illinois going around a corner of a building.
I waited my time out and hoped I was not committing some kind of offense against the Pope by using the Church grounds as shelter from the storm. I can honestly say that I never considered just loading back up and heading home. Now, all my family considered that, but I did not. I figured it was only a Half Marathon. That shouldn't be bad.
After waiting around for the start, I ventured out in the rain towards the start line and there was nobody lining up. Now either the race had been canceled or the rapture had just taken place. I was wrong on both accounts. They had moved the start back to 7 AM instead of 6:30, so it was back to an overhang to stay dry. I waited as long as I thought possible and started over to the corral at about 10 minutes till 7. As I started shedding layers of clothes to the Mrs. and headed to the "A" corral, they were just getting ready to shut the gate for the corrals. From that point it was like a Bugs Bunny cartoon to get closer. Excuse me, pardon me, excuse me, pardon me, until I got fairly close to the front. This was one of the longest 10 minutes I ever waited for the race to start. The cold rain was coming down, the wind was blowing, and I was cold. I was ready at this point to set something on fire. The wheelchair racers took off and 5 minutes later it was time for us to go.
I had chosen to wear a singlet and go with the arm panties, in case it warmed up. I can hear laughter from the readers at that thought. Not happening on this day. I had a hard time settling into a good pace. I don't know if it was the weather or watching this guy next me running without a shirt. I figured they would find him later frozen in mid-stride around mile 9.
I saw a local triathlete guy from Tulsa and settled in behind him and realized that he was pacing the 1:30 half group. I went through the first mile in 6:30 and I knew I needed to pick up the pace. In between mile 1 and 2 there are a few hills and that mile was a little slower than planned. Once I got on a flatter section, I sped up. At this point I was dropping sub 6:20 pacing and was really wondering if I was not overdoing it. My tendency is to go out too hard and hang on for dear life. I felt good at this point and decided to go with it. I managed to go through the 10K at around 39:30 and still felt good. The rain was still pounding us and at various points on the course we had a direct wind or a crosswind. It was so nice after the 10K point to turn to the left and head back downtown. I did not have to experience the loneliness of Lake Hefner, let alone the weather. Going out around Hefner always makes me feel like that I have been transported to a remote island and that I am being chased by the local natives. Definitively a creepy part of the race. Glad I wasn't there!
I hit Classen Blvd. and went through the 15K in 59:48. Sub 60 at the Tulsa run will be a piece of cake this year. I started to feel it a little bit in the last 5K, but I was able to maintain a good, solid pace. I knew I just needed to hang on and bring it in strong.
The last portion of the race has some smaller hills, so I kept my cadence up and finally made the turn onto the straight stretch towards home. There were several of us bunched up at that point and some started to take off to sprint towards the finish. I dug down deep and started picking up the pace. I was able to hit some sub 6 minute miles in this last section and when I got close I saw that I was getting close to breaking 1:25. I picked it up a little bit more and finished in a gun time of 1:25 and chip time of 1:24:55. Good enough for 1st in may age group and 28th overall out of over 7,700 runners.
The OKC Marathon is such a special race and the ambiance around it cannot be matched. The reason we run is to remember those who lost their lives during this evil act of terrorism on innocent men, women, and children. Even with the rain, I was glad I did the race and was proud of being a part of something that transcends all human comprehension. This race is ran with the body, but the Spirit is what really comes alive. God bless all the families that were affected on that tragic day.
May God rest their soul.
1) Easier recovery time to come back and maybe do a Half Ironman or other future races. Sounds like a viable plan.
2) I have been concentrating on short races and have not done many longer runs. That was because of my previous race schedule.
3) I have been running good lately and wanted to PR in the half. Why leave the race disappointed in my Full Marathon time when I could do a good half. Plus, it is a lot less painful.
Whether these are good plans or excuses, let me say that I was so glad that I did not do the Full and here is why.
Just imagine yourself sailing on the high seas with Captain Bligh en-route to find Moby Dick. A storm has blown up and the ship is rocking back and forth, the winds are howling, and it looks like the ship may go down. That is kind of how race day felt. When I got up at 4 am to get ready, the weather was perfect. 54 degrees with light winds. I checked the weather map and it looked like the rain may stay to south of us. After letting the dogs out of the hotel room and loading up the kids, we headed for downtown OKC. We parked in our usual spot. This secret spot is not to be revealed on this blog. I would have to hunt everyone down.
I made it to the corner of the OKC Memorial and got in the port-a-potty and guess what, it started raining. My plan at this point was to stay in the blue port-a-potty portal, hope the rain might pass, and maybe catch a nap, but I decided to brave the elements like a good warrior. As soon as I made it out of the funky, blue water holder, it started to pour rain. Lightning started shortly after and the cold front moved in. Mark Twain once said that everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it. At this point I wanted let the people on the weather channel know how I felt about their great forecast. That language would not be suited for this blog.
We made it over to a Catholic church and found an overhang and tried to stay out of the elements at this point. The front had dropped temps at least 10 degrees and the wind chill felt like I was back in Illinois going around a corner of a building.
I waited my time out and hoped I was not committing some kind of offense against the Pope by using the Church grounds as shelter from the storm. I can honestly say that I never considered just loading back up and heading home. Now, all my family considered that, but I did not. I figured it was only a Half Marathon. That shouldn't be bad.
After waiting around for the start, I ventured out in the rain towards the start line and there was nobody lining up. Now either the race had been canceled or the rapture had just taken place. I was wrong on both accounts. They had moved the start back to 7 AM instead of 6:30, so it was back to an overhang to stay dry. I waited as long as I thought possible and started over to the corral at about 10 minutes till 7. As I started shedding layers of clothes to the Mrs. and headed to the "A" corral, they were just getting ready to shut the gate for the corrals. From that point it was like a Bugs Bunny cartoon to get closer. Excuse me, pardon me, excuse me, pardon me, until I got fairly close to the front. This was one of the longest 10 minutes I ever waited for the race to start. The cold rain was coming down, the wind was blowing, and I was cold. I was ready at this point to set something on fire. The wheelchair racers took off and 5 minutes later it was time for us to go.
I had chosen to wear a singlet and go with the arm panties, in case it warmed up. I can hear laughter from the readers at that thought. Not happening on this day. I had a hard time settling into a good pace. I don't know if it was the weather or watching this guy next me running without a shirt. I figured they would find him later frozen in mid-stride around mile 9.
I saw a local triathlete guy from Tulsa and settled in behind him and realized that he was pacing the 1:30 half group. I went through the first mile in 6:30 and I knew I needed to pick up the pace. In between mile 1 and 2 there are a few hills and that mile was a little slower than planned. Once I got on a flatter section, I sped up. At this point I was dropping sub 6:20 pacing and was really wondering if I was not overdoing it. My tendency is to go out too hard and hang on for dear life. I felt good at this point and decided to go with it. I managed to go through the 10K at around 39:30 and still felt good. The rain was still pounding us and at various points on the course we had a direct wind or a crosswind. It was so nice after the 10K point to turn to the left and head back downtown. I did not have to experience the loneliness of Lake Hefner, let alone the weather. Going out around Hefner always makes me feel like that I have been transported to a remote island and that I am being chased by the local natives. Definitively a creepy part of the race. Glad I wasn't there!
I hit Classen Blvd. and went through the 15K in 59:48. Sub 60 at the Tulsa run will be a piece of cake this year. I started to feel it a little bit in the last 5K, but I was able to maintain a good, solid pace. I knew I just needed to hang on and bring it in strong.
The last portion of the race has some smaller hills, so I kept my cadence up and finally made the turn onto the straight stretch towards home. There were several of us bunched up at that point and some started to take off to sprint towards the finish. I dug down deep and started picking up the pace. I was able to hit some sub 6 minute miles in this last section and when I got close I saw that I was getting close to breaking 1:25. I picked it up a little bit more and finished in a gun time of 1:25 and chip time of 1:24:55. Good enough for 1st in may age group and 28th overall out of over 7,700 runners.
The OKC Marathon is such a special race and the ambiance around it cannot be matched. The reason we run is to remember those who lost their lives during this evil act of terrorism on innocent men, women, and children. Even with the rain, I was glad I did the race and was proud of being a part of something that transcends all human comprehension. This race is ran with the body, but the Spirit is what really comes alive. God bless all the families that were affected on that tragic day.
May God rest their soul.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Spring Fever Tri 2011 Race Report
When I was a kid the old timers at the pool hall used to say, "better late than never". That may be a good saying for getting to church or maybe a funeral, but I am not sure how it really applies in life. As the minutes go by so are the days of our lives. Or was it like sands through an hourglass? This is bringing back a flashback to my youth of being tortured as a child by this giant hourglass and having to endure an hour of television torture. With three channels to choose from and not much else going on, I went outside. What does this have to do with anything? I am not for sure. All I know is that this is my overdue race report. Better to have finally penned my experience than to have forgotten the times that have passed. That saying would not have went over in the pool hall.
I have done this Sprint once before, but I skipped it the last several years due to doing the OKC Marathon. The races are only a few weeks apart and falls about the same time I need to get my last long run in. This year, the Owasso Tri club had several members participating and had built a lot of excitement around it, so I thought what the heck, I will sign up and do it and maybe just do the half at OKC this year.
The race takes place at the Claremore Rec. Center and starts with a 400 meter swim, followed by a 12 mile bike, and a 2 mile run. This is really too short for me as my swim is my weakest link and it would not leave me enough time to make up on the bike and run. I figured I would give it my best shot and see if I could at least land an age group award. I knew my run would be strong, but I really had no expectations for the swim other than get on dry ground.
Here we are discussing some pre-race strategy before the swim. Really we were just watching the other swims ahead of us and thinking, my swim is not that bad after seeing some of the others.
The race starts a swimmer every 10 seconds based upon what you estimate your swim time to be. I put down 8:40 and thought that was being aggressive. I had not really swam that much over the winter and thought I would be somewhere close to that. A lot of people either don't time themselves or they just lie when they put down their swim time as we saw people ahead of us doing side strokes and back strokes to complete their swim. The swim is a snake swim and you have to duck under the ropes after every lane is completed until you finish. It usually ends up as a cluster somewhere as people bunch up sooner or later.
If you look behind me as I am going up the ropes, their is a guy walking. My understanding was that he walked the entire thing, except where he could not touch and then he did the breast stroke. All I know was that I kept kicking him and told him to go around. I would have thought he would have got tired of me kicking him, but maybe he thought it was part of some weird triathlon ritual. Either way, I think he needs to learn to swim.
Finally made it out and time to head to tranistion area in 9:01. A little over the 8:40 mark. Must have been the King Fu kicks I had to use on my opponent in the pool.
Transition this year was in the shed on the tennis courts. The area itself was quite long and it made our times a little slower. I am not the best at getting in and out fast, so I will need to work on this if I am going to get better.
Made it out on the bike and it was time to head for the hills. Immediately after you leave the expo area, you have a huge hill that goes up by the University. Nothing like making you cry for your Momma before you have a chance to dry off.
On the way out to the turnaround, I was flying past people who had faster swims and I made it to the 6 mile turnaround in 14 minutes. I turned around and all I can say it was like being in a wind tunnel. No wonder I was flying on the way out. The bike times started to drop. I was still able to pass others and did not get passed by anyone. My return to the transition took me 22 minutes. It went from 14 to 22. Brutal winds.
Transition number two heads out the other door for a short 2 mile run. I was feeling good going out and knew I had a pretty good clip going. I didn't have my Garmin, but had a stopwatch on and I did not know how fast I was going. When I made the turnaround, it looked like I hit the first mile in 5:40.
This is the fast and furious Eddie James heading out on his run. Eddie rocked the course and represented the Owasso Tri club well.
Here I am heading back into the finish. I knew I was going to be close to have a 12 minute even split and I came across the line in 12:01 for the 2 mile run. Not bad for an old guy.
Here is Eddie's better half, Sharon heading out on the run. She also rocked the course and got an age group award. I need to get an Owasso Tri suit instead of my Tulsa Triathletes one. Nothing against them, just need to update.
After it was all said and done, I managed a 2nd in my age group and finished 23rd overall in 1:00:54. 22nd best bike and 8th best run. I won't mention the swim.
I had a great time and it is always nice to get an award. The weather overall was nice, but a little too breezy for the bike. That is part of the fun of things of racing no matter what the elements throw at you. I am glad I did the race and hopefully represented the club well.
I now I need to figure out what to do next? I am torn between concentrating on running or maybe do some more Tris? I might even do some cycling? Prayerfully I will figure it out soon as race season is definitely upon us. Results can be found here.
I have done this Sprint once before, but I skipped it the last several years due to doing the OKC Marathon. The races are only a few weeks apart and falls about the same time I need to get my last long run in. This year, the Owasso Tri club had several members participating and had built a lot of excitement around it, so I thought what the heck, I will sign up and do it and maybe just do the half at OKC this year.The race takes place at the Claremore Rec. Center and starts with a 400 meter swim, followed by a 12 mile bike, and a 2 mile run. This is really too short for me as my swim is my weakest link and it would not leave me enough time to make up on the bike and run. I figured I would give it my best shot and see if I could at least land an age group award. I knew my run would be strong, but I really had no expectations for the swim other than get on dry ground.
Here we are discussing some pre-race strategy before the swim. Really we were just watching the other swims ahead of us and thinking, my swim is not that bad after seeing some of the others.
The race starts a swimmer every 10 seconds based upon what you estimate your swim time to be. I put down 8:40 and thought that was being aggressive. I had not really swam that much over the winter and thought I would be somewhere close to that. A lot of people either don't time themselves or they just lie when they put down their swim time as we saw people ahead of us doing side strokes and back strokes to complete their swim. The swim is a snake swim and you have to duck under the ropes after every lane is completed until you finish. It usually ends up as a cluster somewhere as people bunch up sooner or later.
If you look behind me as I am going up the ropes, their is a guy walking. My understanding was that he walked the entire thing, except where he could not touch and then he did the breast stroke. All I know was that I kept kicking him and told him to go around. I would have thought he would have got tired of me kicking him, but maybe he thought it was part of some weird triathlon ritual. Either way, I think he needs to learn to swim.
Finally made it out and time to head to tranistion area in 9:01. A little over the 8:40 mark. Must have been the King Fu kicks I had to use on my opponent in the pool.Transition this year was in the shed on the tennis courts. The area itself was quite long and it made our times a little slower. I am not the best at getting in and out fast, so I will need to work on this if I am going to get better.
Made it out on the bike and it was time to head for the hills. Immediately after you leave the expo area, you have a huge hill that goes up by the University. Nothing like making you cry for your Momma before you have a chance to dry off.On the way out to the turnaround, I was flying past people who had faster swims and I made it to the 6 mile turnaround in 14 minutes. I turned around and all I can say it was like being in a wind tunnel. No wonder I was flying on the way out. The bike times started to drop. I was still able to pass others and did not get passed by anyone. My return to the transition took me 22 minutes. It went from 14 to 22. Brutal winds.
Transition number two heads out the other door for a short 2 mile run. I was feeling good going out and knew I had a pretty good clip going. I didn't have my Garmin, but had a stopwatch on and I did not know how fast I was going. When I made the turnaround, it looked like I hit the first mile in 5:40.
This is the fast and furious Eddie James heading out on his run. Eddie rocked the course and represented the Owasso Tri club well.
Here I am heading back into the finish. I knew I was going to be close to have a 12 minute even split and I came across the line in 12:01 for the 2 mile run. Not bad for an old guy.
Here is Eddie's better half, Sharon heading out on the run. She also rocked the course and got an age group award. I need to get an Owasso Tri suit instead of my Tulsa Triathletes one. Nothing against them, just need to update.
After it was all said and done, I managed a 2nd in my age group and finished 23rd overall in 1:00:54. 22nd best bike and 8th best run. I won't mention the swim.I had a great time and it is always nice to get an award. The weather overall was nice, but a little too breezy for the bike. That is part of the fun of things of racing no matter what the elements throw at you. I am glad I did the race and hopefully represented the club well.
I now I need to figure out what to do next? I am torn between concentrating on running or maybe do some more Tris? I might even do some cycling? Prayerfully I will figure it out soon as race season is definitely upon us. Results can be found here.
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