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.