To My Wife......

Stephanie,

My beautiful wife.... You make me so incredibly happy.  You have given me 1 gorgeous baby girl and are cooking up another one.  You have given me a cozy home. You have given me more happiness than I could have ever imagined.

If I could give you the world I could... So consider the earings a gift!  I have no doubt that you will love them and I can't wait to see what they look like on you!

I would write more but am working hard so I can make it home on time.

Much love,

David and daddy! :-*

Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3 Race Report

I FINISHED!!!  That's right, all 70.3 miles, I made it to the end.  It was by far the hardest thing I have done athletically to date.  Marathons are quite the feat, but this was in it's own arena.  Not only was it incredibly hard physically, but the mental toughness it took to get through those last few miles on the run was incredible.  Not to mention that the weather was no help.  It reached 93 degrees on race day, one of the hottest days on record for that part of the Pacific Northwest.  Here is my recap of events that day:

The Swim

I basically made it out of the water.  This was the farthest I had swam at once to date.  it was actually quite daunting to look out at the turn around buoy and realize it was .6 miles away, and once I got there, I had to swim back.  I was waiting in line for the porta-potty, when they called my wave to enter the water.  I got zipped up thanks to Nick, who I trained with for this epic event, and dashed off to the start.   I jumped in the water, and it was surprisingly warm.  Water temperature hit 72 degrees on race day, like a bath. :-)

I started in the back of the pack, which is right where I wanted to be.  I am a weak swimmer and knew that I wasn't going to be passing a lot of people, but I also didn't want to be passed.  The buzzer rang, and we were off.  I started to go and immediately passed 2-3 people.  I started to head for the buoy line, which was a known fact about the swim in lake stevens.  It is a rowing lake, so they have an underwater buoy line.  This was an incredible tool.  It was like swimming in a pool.  I didn't have to sight every other breath, and I could just follow the buoy line.  This helped immensely.

I was by myself for most of the first half.  Once we hit the first buoy, I started to get passed by the fast guys in the wave behind me.  I tried to move over as I knew they were using the buoy line, so they could pass.  Well, the first guy got by fine, but the second guy not so much.  He banged me in the head with what was probably a palm or an elbow.  It knocked the goggles off my left eye, and I got water in it.  I used this opportunity to do the back stroke, and fix the goggle.  I spent an extra minute just focusing, keeping my heart rate down and doing a bit of recovery.  On the way back, I started to get passed by the really fast guys, which were 2 waves behind me.  A bit embarrassing, but hey, I'm not a swimmer.... yet. ;)

I finally saw my heaven at that point.  The orange mat telling me the swim was over. 42 minutes in the water.  I jumped out of that water and ripped off my goggles, cap, and ear plugs.  I began to head towards my transition area.  I had my top half of the wetsuit off by the time I got to my bike.  I remember hearing my family screaming "Go David!"  I never saw them at this point though, but I definitely heard them.  As I was taking off my wetsuit, my left calf began to cramp.  All I could think was "no no no, please don't do this."  I began to massage it out and it went away. (It was a bit tender the rest of the day, but didn't affect my performance).  I put my helmet on, got my race number on, sucked down a quick gel, grabbed my bike, and I was off.  T1 was only 3 minutes, not too shabby, when my last race was almost 4 minutes.



The Bike

The bike started out great. I felt great, and the weather was amazing.  It hadn't started to get hot yet and the sun was shining.  Thankfully, there were quite a few shaded spots on the course thanks to all the trees out here in the Pacific Northwest.

About 10 miles into the bike leg, I was going up a hill.  I shifted down my front gear to the lower gear, and I heard 'cling, cling, cling'.  I looked down to see my chain had fallen off.  I pulled over, popped my chain on pretty quickly and my hands were covered in grease.  :-)  After getting back and situated on the side of the road, I was trying to get back to riding.  Although, no one would let me in.  At that point Nick passed by and asked if I was ok, I said "chain fell off, all good now!"  About a minute later, a couple guys passed, who were, to be politically correct, overweight.  The guy says to his friend as I'm on the side of the ride "I hope only the skinny guys get the flats."  Finally, some guy coming up the hill moves over and waves me in as to let me get started.  Finally, I thanked him, hopped on my bike and started to take off.  Oh yeah, and I passed that guy who made that ridiculous comment and gave him a big thumbs up.  That felt good. :-)

Nutrition and everything came together.  I got in all the gels and bars I had planned to eat and hydrated enough to only have to pee once on the bike leg.  Coming into T2, I saw Rufus on the side of the road.  I was flying, trying to get off the bike so I could go run. And to be honest, after 56 miles and 3 hours and 8 minutes, my butt was a bit numb

Coming into T2, I was feeling good.  I shifted down the gears a couple miles before hand to get the legs spun out a bit.  I hopped off the bike and began to run to my rack where I saw my crazy family.  Screaming and yelling.  That was exhilarating.  I racked the bike, took off my helmet, and my shoes.  Put on my hat, and sucked down a quick GU.  I grabbed my running shoes and walked over to where my family was at.  I put them on and tied them while chatting it up with them.  I think I said "that was a long bike ride."  :-)

And now exiting transition in 1 minute, 50 seconds.  Not bad considering I stopped to chat with the fam:

And I'm off to run 13.1 miles:

The run felt good for the first 3-4 miles.  Then it really started to set in.  I was exhausted.  It was starting to get physically and mentally difficult to keep running.  I would tell myself "one foot in front of the other." or "let's get to the next aid station."  It was nice to see the family every lap, which helped with the mental side of things.

It was seriously the hottest race I have ever ran too.  Luckily they had an aid station almost every mile.  I would take 4 cups of water... drink 2 and dump one on my back and one on my chest.  By the time I got to the next aid station I was practically dry.  Most of the run was through a residential neighborhood alongside the lake.  There were kids and adults outside with hoses, spraying people down as they ran by.  That had never felt so good.  A shot of cold water was like an instant energy boost.  It was incredible.  Needless to say, there was some walking involved, but mostly running.  I was about a mile away from the finish line and I could hear the announcer and the music.  That pumped me up.  I took off, running like I stole it (thanks Dan Hayes).

Seeing that finishing shoot was an incredible feeling.  I turned the corner to see my family all lined up.  I gave high fives to everyone and saw my beautiful wife and daughter.  WOW!  That was powerful.  All the time I sacrificed to see them or watch Danielle grow up to achieve this goal of mine.  It hit me there, more than ever.  I saw her as a new person.  A baby girl that I will watch grow and achieve her own goals.  I will help her with those goals and help her become whomever she wishes to be.

I hit the finish line and just shouted, "YES!"

DONE! FINISHED!  I am a Half Ironman finisher!  The first thing I did when I finished, was head straight for where my family was.  Stephanie hates the ending of a race because it is chaos, and it's hard to find family and others.  Lake Stevens was not bad at all.  Most races, everything is fenced off and there is only one way in or out.  But this was just the finish and it was open, easy to find family.  It only took 1 minute to find them and Stephanie was relieved that it happened so quickly. :-)

We stood around for a bit and talked, took a few photos, and I grabbed a piece of pizza.  I couldn't wait to get that pizza.  I was hungry for some real food.  no more gels or liquid carbs.  I NEEDED FOOD!  After walking around for a bit, we headed back to transition so I could pack up and we could head out.  When you register prerace, you get a wrist band with your number on it so they know you take the right stuff.  As you exit transition after the race they check that number with your bike number and gear number, to make sure you take your stuff only.  I felt like a dork, but asked "Could I keep the band" and she was like "of course, I'll cut it over here so it looks better."

After exiting transition, I learned that the car was parked quite a ways away.  No problem I thought in my head, I need to walk to get the blood flowing and help the legs recover.  Although, I didn't know it was up a huge hill.  :-)

With all said and done, I finished.  Thank you to my family for being there on that day to cheer me on.   You have no idea how much that truly helps.  And to my wife and daughter for seeing me finish and enduring my schedule for the last 8 months, thank you.  I will make it up to you one day, I promise you that.

With all that said, and what many of you are probably thinking, "when is the full Ironman?"  I will tell you, in a few years.  I hope to do it before I'm 30, but who knows what life will be like. I want to be there for my kids to grow up and help them grow.  In the next years I will do sprint and Olympic distance races, which will only require at most 10 hours a week of training, compared to my 16 this year.  So more time with the family and I still get to race. 

To end it all off, this was an incredible experience, one that I will never forget and one I hope to share with others who want to participate in something like this.

Some last words....

With race day only 4 days away now, I am tapering.  Workouts are easier and shorter.  It can definitely be hard during this phase to push myself farther, but I need to remember that rest and recovery are just as important as exercise.  My feelings about now are 50% excited and 50% nervous.  I am so excited to see that start line and will be ecstatic when I see the finish chute!  This is my longest race to date, and will be out on the course for 6 hours.  There is a lot of mental work too, I need to stay consistent during all 3 disciplines.  I need to remember my nutrition and my hydration. 

The last thing I want to say, and the most important: I want to thank my family for going through this journey with me.  Thank you to my wife Stephanie, who missed her husband for dinner because he had to workout, and miss her husband for weekend breakfast for my long swims, rides and runs.  Thank you Stephanie for sacrificing so that I could accomplish this goal of mine.  Thank you to my daughter who, probably won't remember daddy was gone, but was so excited to see me home. 

Stephanie has always pushed me to do better, and she sometimes had to push me out of bed to make it to the gym.  Thank you so much honey, I love you and will definitely make it up to you when it's over.

I will post my race day recap and results next week.  Have a great weekend, and the next time I talk to you, I'll be half an IronMan. :-)

Race Plan For Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens

I have completed my race plan for the race, and thought I would share it with everyone.  Feel free to leave me comments if you like or don't like it. :-)

Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3 2010

Goals:
• It’s simple: finish!
• Pace, moderate efforts at beginning of each leg
• Have fun and don’t worry about time
• Race your own race, don’t worry about other athletes (especially when they pass you)

Key For Success:
• Good pacing in each leg and no bonking
• Stay healthy, no upset stomach or cramps
• Don’t forget to refuel and hydrate

Race Week:
• In bed by 9:30 every night
• 15 minutes of stretching/foam rolling morning and night
• Visualize a strong finish before sleep each night
• Eat clean, no soda, carbs at each meal
• Review race plan nightly

Day Prior:
• Packet Pickup
• Rack the bike
• Limit walking/activity
• Early to bed

Race Morning:
• 4:30AM: Wake up
• 4:45AM: Water and peanut butter & toast
• 5:00AM: Head to start
• 5:30AM: Head to transition
• 5:45AM: Get body marked
• 6:00AM: Prepare transition
• 6:00AM: Warm up & stretch
• 6:30AM: Watch pro start
• 7:00AM: Apply body glide, HR belt, put on wetsuit
• 7:15AM: Wave Start!

Swim – 1.2 miles

Goal:
• 38 minutes (1:47 minutes / 100 yards)

Key for Success:
• Relax, avoid anxious thoughts
• Find a good consistent rhythm
• Sight frequently and avoid zigzags
• Breathe often to avoid hyper-ventilating
• Think drills, drills, drills!!!

Axioms:
• Efficiency not effort
• Rhythm is king
• Sight, sight, sight

T1:

Goal:
• 4 minutes

Tasks:
• Unzip wetsuit after water exit
• Remove wetsuit at transition
• Socks on
• Bike shoes on
• Sunscreen
• Take 2 marathon bars, 2 gels
• Helmet & sunglasses
• Race Belt
• Quick hydration (+1 gel)

Bike – 56 miles

Goal
• 3:20 hours (16.8 mph average)

Keys for Success:
• Keep same effort on the hills
• Pace, pace, pace – aim for negative split
• Hydrate with Hammer Heed
• Gels every 1.5 hours (2 total)

• Gel 1:15 minutes and 2:45 minutes

• Bars every 1.5 hours (2 total)

• Bar 30 minutes and 2 hours in

• Remember Gel/Bar every 45 minutes, alternating
• Be safe, avoid accidents
• HR<160

Axioms:
• Light legs and high cadence
• Aero is the way to go

T2:

Goal:
• 3 minutes

Tasks:
• Rack bike
• Bike shoes off and run shoes on
• Helmet off, hat on
• Quick hydration (+1 gel)

Run – 13.1Miles

Goal
• 1 hour 45 minutes (8 minute / mile average)

Keys for Success:
• Follow Plan:
Mile 1 9:00
Mile 2 9:00
Mile 3 8:30
Mile 4 8:30
Mile 5 8:30
Mile 6 8:00
Mile 7 8:00
Mile 8 8:00
Mile 9 8:00
Mile 10 7:30
Mile 11 7:30
Mile 12 7:00
Mile 13 7:00
• Hydrate at every other aid station (every 2 miles)
• Gel every 45 minutes (2 total)
• Focus on form: stand proud, slight lean forward, mid-foot strike
• Don’t over-do it on hills (Remember high cadence/shorter strides)
• HR<169

Axioms:
• Stay in Proud form
• Light feet!
• Tight core

Planned Time: 5 hours 50 minutes


Post Race:
• Stretch
• Go for a swim?
• Nutrition (eat, eat, eat)
• Enjoy festivities 

 I'm so very excited to hit that finish line.

Weeks 2 and 3 done!

Well, 2 more weeks closer to Lake Stevens Half Ironman.  I can tell you that I get even more nervous as the weeks pass.  I am constantly thinking of what it's going to be like to hit that finish line....  I can't even imagine what it will be like now, but I can assure you, on race day, I will be soaking in every second of it.  My most favorite part of any race is hitting the finish chute and seeing all the spectators there, shouting you on for that last stride to the line.  Seeing family and friends there is always the best feeling, not only knowing they are there, but that they are supporting me through this endeavor I have decided to pursue.

My totals for the past 2 weeks are as follows:

Week 2:
Swim - 4250
Bike - 20
Run - 25.6

Yes, the bike miles and run miles are weak, but I had a long weekend in with an 8 mile Saturday run, and a 13.1 Sunday run (Race 4 the Roses Half Marathon)

Week 3:
Swim - 1200
Bike - 37.5 (50 miles planned for Sunday)
Run - 5.25 (10 miles planned for Saturday)

Week 2 was one of my better weeks, except for my mileage drop on the bike.  This was due to the Half-Marathon I paced on Sunday.  I paced the 9 min/mile group and we did awesome.  Finishing in just under 2 hours and getting my runners across that line alive.  For most it was their first half-marathon, but for one older man that ran with me, this was about his 12th.  He told me at the start that it was a life-long goal of his to finish a half-marathon in under 2 hours.  I told him, "if you run with me, I'll get you back to this line in less than 2 hours."  He smiled, and said "you're on".  The horn blew and we were off.  At around the halfway point, we were at 58:30, meaning based on that time, our finish time would be 1:57:00, which was perfect.  We continued on, and with it being a flat course, the pace was consistent around 9-9:05.  At mile 11 I turned to the man and said "How you feeling?"  He looked back and said "Um, if I pass out, just leave me. :-)"  I told him I would carry him to the finish line if needed.  We hit mile 13, with only .1 miles to go and 2 minutes to do it under 2 hours.  I told him we gotta book it, so we both took off, and several came with us.  We crossed the line at 1:59, under 2 hours.  He looked at me with a smile, and I gave him a high five.  It felt incredible knowing that I helped this man complete a life long goal of his in running.  It was a great feeling at that finish line.  I stayed around watching for my get fit live fit runners to cross the line, and giving them high fives as well.  It was a beautiful day and a lot of people completed something they have never done before, whether it be their first half-marathon, or their first half-marathon under 2 hours.

With all that running that weekend, I was unable to get a long ride in.  Needless to say, I'm not too worried, as my legs suffered enough with all the running, and were plenty sore that weekend.

Week 4 is starting with a bang this week, with a 10 mile run tomorrow, and a 50 mile ride on Sunday.  It should be a blast.

Week 1 of 20 is in the books

Well Folks,

Week 1 is in the books for my training towards Lake Stevens Half IronMan.  My totals for this week were:

Swim - 2000
Bike - 80
Run - 13.5

I actually had a slow start this week.  And for reference, my week will be Sat - Fri with my totals. 

Overall it was a good week.  Nothing really to say at this point except I'll be ramping up my swimming and running for sure, and the bike will slowly start to gain momentum as well.  No injuries and I'm feeling good. 

I will need to work on endurance for the swim, speed on the bike and will continue doing my normal 1/2 marathon training on the run.  These first few weeks will be focused on endurance and form.  Then once I have built myself up enough, I can start to work on my speed.

Two other quick things to note: I got my RoadID in the mail yesterday.  For anyone who doesn't know what that is, it is basically a bracelet that I wear while out riding or running that has my name/city of residence/emergency contact information.  So if/when I crash on the bike or if something happens while out running even, Someone can get my contact info right from my wrist which is pretty cool.  I know that Steph and I will both feel better knowing that someone can get that info very quickly and easily.  I have posted a generic picture of it to the right.



Next, I also won a Profile Design Aero Water bottle for my Time Trial bike.  The bottle will fit into my bars and will have a straw coming out of it so I can stay in the aero position and not have to bend down for my bottles when I need a drink.  This was thanks to Chris McCormack who had posted a contest on Facebook and he chose my answer as one of 6 winners. I have also posted a picture of it to the left.






I am very much looking forward to this season, and hope to stay injury free and have some great races!

The Road to Ironman Lake Stevens 70.3

Lake Stevens Half-IronMan is officially 20 weeks from today, and yesterday was the official first day of training.  To be honest, I am very excited to get the season underway.  But, I am also very nervous for this race.  It is going to test my mental and physical toughness to a point I've never gone before.  And this will only be preparation for my full IronMan in 2011.

I will now use this blog to post weekly updates on my training and any thing else I feel is "important" to share with you all.  I may also have sporadic updates during the week, but will try to update every Friday.

Yesterday being the first day of training, that started with a 10 mile hilly trail run.  The run felt good, and I felt good after the run.  Afterwards, I came home and got ready for a bike ride with Nick.  I brought the TT bike out and we met up halfway between our houses.  We then proceeded to begin our 40 mile ride.  Needless to say, about half-way through the ride, we were both feeling pretty fatigued.  We managed to finish the ride, but it was definitely painful.

I took the TT bike in for a tune-up after the ride as well.  It will be nice and clean and adjusted for the racing season.  Looking forward to getting back on the bike when it comes back.  There is still a long week ahead and will be updating again on Friday once the week is complete.

Countdown to Training

So it's been a while since my last post, but there is not much to report.  I've been swimming, biking, and running.  Not following any kind of plan yet, just taking it slow and building a good base so when training starts, I can reduce the chance of injury and recover quicker.

I will start my training plan for my Half-Ironman in 2 weeks.  I also have tune-up races planned in between then to practice my transitions and nutrition.  I've got some homework to do though.  I need to figure out my sweat rate and my calorie burn, so I can plan out my fluid and food consumption on the bike and run so I know how much I need to take in to be replenished, but not take too much.

I'm very excited for this year, and hope that my triathlon career starts with a bang!  And once my training starts, I'll be posting more, because there will be more to post about.

My journey to Ironman is now one step closer

So this Christmas was a special one for me.  Not only did I get my netbook from my mom, which I use constantly and am using to post this, but I got a Quintana Roo Tequilo TT bike from my in-laws.  It is the same bike that my father in-law used to complete his ironman.  It is an amazing bike, and I couldn't be happier with it.  I am so excited to begin training and racing using a TT bike.  Below is a picture of the bike, it is a stock photo, but the bike is in perfect condition.

Now I can begin training on this bike and get ready for my triathlon season and my Half Ironman in August.  They also gave me Dicks gift cards, so I used half of them for a bike trunk rack, so I can safely and easily carry my new "machine".  I will use the other half of the gift cards to get some more and updated livestrong gear.  I'm hoping they come out with some new shirts once the Tour De France get's closer next year.

Also, my month of fitness begins next month as well.  I am actually really excited to see what kind of results come from this.  I'm hoping to drop a good amount of body fat and build a great cardio base for the season.

I'll check in next week to let everyone know how it's going.  I hope you made your commitment and look forward to hearing about everyone else's experience.

My Month of Fitness Committment

Recently, a friend of mine wrote about this month of fitness challenge.  He was talking to a frequent Ironman participant who does this once a year, and for a whole month, he gives up some of his vices and trains like a crazy person (my definition).  Basically, you give up everything you enjoy for your health and fitness. 

We have decided to do our month of fitness in January, first month of the year, and right after the holidays where we all cheat a bit.  So my committment is as follows:

• I am going to give up soda pop and "junk food".  What I mean by junk food is chips, snacks, candy, etc.
• I am setting my fitness goal as 16 hours per week in the gym, including weights.  To be more specific, I'd like to get 2500 yards of swimming a week, 70 miles of cycling a week, and 20 miles of running a week.  I realize this may require 2 a days, which shouldn't be too bad with my bike trainer and a treadmill in the garage.

So, I challenge you to a month of fitness.  Pick a month and give up what you like, and enjoy a nice sufferfest of fitness.  Try to create a goal that would be difficult to reach to challenge yourself to the limit.

First full week of Triathlon Base Training

So last week was my first full week of triathlon base training.  This included obviously swimming, cycling, running, and a lot of weights.  All I can say is that I am ready to do this!  At first I was very skeptical of swimming, just because of how little training I have. 

Needless to say, swimming is much harder than I thought it was going to be.  Swimming is very cardio and strength centric.  At one time, you are breathing so hard, you just want to catch your breathe, and at the same time, you're just sore from pulling yourself through the water.  At this point, I'm so bad at it that I just want to continue to work on it and get better.  I thank Nick for forcing me to swim that first time, because now that's all I want to do, so I can get better.  Needless to say, the cycling, mostly spinning and the treadmill runs were basic, just keeping fitness up.  But swimming, is a whole new realm.  I can't wait to be better at it.

I also did a lot of spinning and weights.  Did some treadmill stuff, but not as much as I would have liked.  I am going to pick up the running some more this week.  Spinning and weights were a big focus last week.  Probably put close to 50 miles on the spin bike, and about 10 miles on the treadmill.  Weights was also a big focus last week.  I was definitely sore all week, and still sore this week.  It's always a good sore though, when you lift weights.  You know you are sore because you are getting stronger.  Most of my weight lifting has been for endurance (low weight, high reps), which will help with my new sport of choice.

So the journey begins.  I have a Half Ironman in 9 months, and many other short distance triathlons before then.  I feel that this winter base training is going to help me immensely.  I hope to have a healthy and exciting triathlon season and hope the same for you during your endeavors.

Invigorator Compression Sock Review

I was at first very skeptical of compression socks. They always looked "goofy" and just never saw the appeal. Well, that changed quickly. I got a pair of invigorators last Monday, and chose to wear them on my flight to Chicago last Tuesday. Needless to say, it was a quick turn around. All I can say is WOW, they worked great. Especially during the flight and after wards. Legs never felt so good after a plane ride. The next test was after my 5k on thanksgiving.

I ran the turkey trot on thanksgiving, as you can see from my previous post. My calves were extremely tight after the race and I began to stretch as normal. When we got home, I showered and immediately put my compression socks on. This was the true test, and they passed with flying colors. My calves had never felt better the night of a race as they did that night. It was almost as if I had not run my 5K on that morning.

If I were asked if compression socks work, not only would I say yes, but I would tell you to immediately get a pair of invigorators and try them for your self. I will continue to wear mine after my long runs and after most of my other runs, as well as after all my races. Because THEY WORK!

Frozen Turkey 5K

It was a cold and wet morning in Buffalo Grove on Thanksgiving. The temperature when we woke up was 38, and approached up to 40 at race start. It was also raining that morning, the type of rain that doesn't come down hard, but gets you plenty wet. The race started at 8, but we needed to arrive at 7:30 to pick up our packets. We got our packets and went back to the car to stay warm and dry. As we were sitting in the car, my mom said “wouldn't it be nice if the rain stopped for the race?” We all gave her the yeah right look, and I started to get my shoes on. As we were getting out of the car, we saw Barry and Paul so walked to the start with them. As soon as we got to the start line, the rain had stopped. Yes, it was a fantastic morning for a race. 40 degrees, overcast and no more rain. The roads were wet which wasn't much fun if you stepped in a puddle, but I managed to keep my feet dry anyway.



This was the first year of the race, so it was not the best race I have ever been to, but it was a lot of fun. The race started with a 1... 2.... 3.... GO! I started with the front group for the first half mile, until I looked at my watch and realized I was running a 5:15/mile. I started to back off into my pace, and lost a few places because of it. There was a nice little hill around mile 1.5, which I gained a few places back, and then hit the water stop. Just needed to wet my mouth really.

Coming around mile 2, I passed another guy who obviously started out way too fast, and started to decline quickly. As I passed him, he started to try to keep up with me, and was huffing and puffing even more. I kicked it up a notch, and lost him pretty quick.

Turning the corner for mile 3 was great. I looked at my watch to see I was at 19:00 even, and knew I could make my 19:30 goal. I saw the mile 3 sign and turned on all boosters. As I approached the finish line, I heard the slapping of feet behind, so I knew someone was trying to pass me. I thought to myself, no freakin' way!, and took off. We managed to tie, and I managed to finish at 19:36, which was a 6:19 average pace, also putting me in 19^th place out of 300. I was very happy with my time, and felt great for my last race of the year. I ran this race with my brother, who finished in 23:42, and was his second 5K ever. I am very proud of how far he has come in a very short time and have no doubt he could very well be faster than me one day.

One other note, I did have a mild injury after the race. My left knee was sore on Thursday and began to swell throughout the day. I awoke Friday morning, with a full on swollen knee, and took some ibuprofen. The swelling went down and it is feeling much better today as well.

Overall, I had a great season, finished in the top a lot, as well as the middle. PR'd all distances this year, and plan to do the same next year. Next year is also the year of the triathlon, and I am very excited about my Half-Ironman in August.

Happy Runs!

Quick Catchup

Hey Guys,

So it's been almost 6 months since my last blog and A LOT has gone on since then. Briefly, I've been raising a beautiful baby girl and running/cycling and racing. It's been busy.

To start, Steph and I have a beautiful baby girl who we both love more than each other. :-) It has been an amazing experience to be a "daddy" and to see her smile when I come home for the day.

I've also been running and cycling a lot. My biggest race was the Chicago Marathon, which I PR'd at 3:51:42. It was an incredible race and an unforgettable experience.

I have been doing a lot of training since and before the race, starting to slightly prepare for my triathlon season next year. My main race next year is my Half Ironman in August. I will be swimming more come the new year. I'm now trying to build up strength and endurance doing a lot of weights mixed into my training.

That's all for now. I'm going to try to stay more up to date with the blog as my training progresses, so stay tuned for more frequent updates.

Motor Tabs Evangelist!!

I am now an official evangelist for MotorTabs. For anyone that is not familiar with that, they are a company that produces tablets to drop into water for endurance athletes. (my speil) They taste great and work. I love them. I am also a fan of some other tablet drinks, but the others seem to have an aftertaste. Motor Tabs are great, and they taste like Kool-Aid.

You can view my profile on their website at http://motortabs.com/Endorsers/BrandEvangelists/tabid/84/Default.aspx

You will have to scroll down to the middle of the page to see me.

I'm also pacing my boss tomorrow at the Helvetia Half Marathon. He wants to break the 2 hour mark, so I'm gonna run with him and push him to his limit. :-) Just kidding, I'm there for moral support and to keep him motivated. It should be fun, and I'm really looking forward to helping someone reach their goal!

Look for a post race report this weekend.

I've been running

So after 2 weeks of no posts, the only thing I have to tell you is that I've been running. Actually, more than usual. I did 21 miles total over the weekend, and so far for the week, have 31 miles tacked on. I've also been doing a lot of weights, and have noticed a difference in my body. It seems, that according even to our bathroom scale, I somehow lost 10 pounds. Not sure if the scale is wrong, or if my previous weight was wrong, but hey, I'm not complaining too much. I've noticed that I am getting leaner and some of the body fat is coming off. I'm curious to see if my training and times are going to improve.

One other thing I have been working on a lot is my stretching. I'm trying to get myself in the habit to spend as much time stretching as I am running. (Not literally of course) I have been foam rolling as well as some basic static stretching as well. I'm hoping I will see an improvement in my training and times as well.

A couple runs I would like to note were my two runs last weekend. Saturday, I went out on Wildwood, which is a trail system of about 32 miles. I did 10 miles on it and it was great. Weather was in the 60's and overcast. Beautiful run. Kept it at an easy trail run pace, averaging around a 10 min mile. Felt great after the run. Sunday, I went running with Nick. He needed to do 11, and I figured that would be fun. So we met and did not really have a route planned, but just ran. It was great, I think it ended up being around 10.8 miles and we kept it around a 10 min pace as well. Feeling great after the long weekend. Only pain is in my calf, but that can be assumed with so much mileage. I'm hoping that this weekend helped in my training, and i'm sure that once I heal, it will be even better.

This weekend, I'm running a half with Nick, well, more pacing him during the race. His wife registered, but is now injured, so I'm going to take her place and pace Nick to his first sub 2 hour half marathon. I know I can get him there, it will just take some motivating. A 2 hour half marathong is a 9:15 pace, which on a hilly course, can be difficult. But we will mash the downs and the flats, and hopefuly without any injuries. (knock on wood) It should be fun though.

Well that's all I have to report this week. I'll try to get another post in about this weekends race. Enjoy the rest of your week!

A month of updates.....

So, I realize that it's been a month since my last post, and I apologize to all you readers (if anyone even reads this). Not much has happened to be honest. Still running and cycling.



Really, the only update is my 10K I ran a couple weeks ago. It was my best race yet, in my running career. Great weather, my mom was in town to cheer me on, and I finished 9th. It was incredible. I had a blast running it, but also feel like I could have been in better shape. I didn't get to my normal week before routine, because my mom was in town, but it was great. I could not be happier with my finish and time. With close to 500ft of climbing, I finished in 44:40, which is a personal best of mine. Can't help but think that with less hills, that could have been much faster. I also like this picture, I'm in the front and center of the group, and managed to line up to the kid who finished first, notice the difference:


Yeah, you can see why he won. It was still fun. And at the end, they had about a 150m chute to the finish, and me and another guy were tied going into it. I asked him what his 100m time was after 6 miles, and challenged him to a race. He accepted, and we took off at the cones. I won and managed to finish in the top 10.

That weekend was great. After the race we went downtown and took my mom to the coast. We picked up some crabs of course and feasted for dinner. The next day, we took a day trip up to seattle, and visited family and even celebrated a birthday. We also broke out the wiffle ball and Stephanie grabbed that bat and stepped up to the plate with her prego belly. Needless to say, she was amazing. She hit that ball like a pro, and i'm not being sarcastic. She may have done better than me. Here she is swinging like a major leaguer.

So that's all that's going on with me for now. Hopefully will have another 10K in a couple weeks and it should be a fast one. It will be flat and hopefully the weather will hold out.

Another Update.... to my countdowns

If you look at my countdowns again, you will notice that they have changed. I have, after long thought, pushed back my goals one year. I have made this choice because of everything that is happening this year. I am having a daughter in two months, and am trying to buy a home. Most of my determination and money, will be going into those. This is not a hard decision for me, because I have a great goal this year, the Chicago Marathon. But time and money are a constraint, and Steph and I have agreed to push the Ironman back one year. I will continue to train for the triathlon, and keep up as much as I can with the training. I will be cranking it out next year, and I know that I will have the support of my friends and family throughout this decision and the grueling regimen required to train for an Ironman.

Long Run #2/Long Ride #2

Saturday's long run this week was 10 miles, but mine ended up being about 10.3, not much different. My total elevation gain was just under 1000ft, which is an incredible training tool. I love the hills out here in Portland, not only am i faster up the hills, but also on the flats. Overall, it was a great run. Not very hot in the morning, but I believe the high hit about 82 during the day. We've been having great weather out here and it's been putting everyone in a great mood. Had a hammer gel around mile 5, or halfway. Trying to test out my nutrition during the run. Seeing what works best is better to do in my training, then during a race when it counts. It didn't upset my stomach at all, but I'm interested to see how it works when I take 3 or 4 of them. My 20 miler will be the true test.

Sunday was another gorgeous day. I went out for a bike ride with my boss, Nick. He took me out on his side of town, and put me to shame! We went out for about 33 miles and over 1000 feet of climbing. I felt slow and out of shape. It was always me just trying to keep up, forget about pushing the pace. I was just struggling to keep up. The weather was great though. I think when we went out at 2, it was about 80. I got a nice sunburn too:


My legs were burnt as well. Not as bad, but you can see my fabulous farmers tan now. At least I don't look like a complete ghost now, and I got a little color.

It was a great weekend and I was feeling it Monday morning. It's been since last season that I have put myself through that much in a weekend, and my body was not used to it. I love that feeling though, because you know the next time, it will be slightly easier.

Tuesday was a team run with H2C, although it was also the chili cook off at work, so it was only Tim and I that went out for a run. It was super hot, so we cut the 4.5 miler down to 3.5 to get back and hydrate before we passed out.

Great week so far, and I'm looking forward to another weekend of sun.

Long Ride #1

Last Sunday was the first long ride of the year, and I felt FAT!! I was slow and the hills felt harder than ever. I'm hoping this changes quickly with all the work I'm putting in during the week, including weights and time on the stationary bike.

About the ride: Cold and wet! It was raining the entire ride, but would change amounts. At some points, it was a slight drizzle, and others; a downpour. Good thing I brought my vest, it kept me minimally dry. I had only shorts on as well, and that kept some more water away as well, but it was cold. My feet were soaking wet and numb when the ride was over.

I went out with Mike, Dianne and her cousin Mark. We did the usual 27.5 loop, but skipped some turns, to edit it a little. None of us were up for making it any longer than it had to be. :-)

After the ride, I got into my car, with a towel on my seat (thankfully I remembered my towel) and turned the heat up full blast to get the feeling back in my feet. I think I'm going to need to get some booty's to keep my feet covered in the cold and rain.

Overall, it felt awesome to be back on the bike and out for a ride. Not saying I liked the weather, but I can't wait for this weekend. Temps in the mid 70's and sunshine. With a long run on Saturday and hopefully a long ride on Sunday with Nick, it will be a fantastic weekend.