SO here is another random blog post because I really just don't have one thing to talk about, but I want my blog to stay up. So here goes:
My running is going well. I am about 6-7 weeks out from my half marathon and I feel like I am where I need to be. My long run has been 9 miles to date and it felt pretty good. So I have no doubt on completion, just depends on fast I finish it.
I had my first visit to Cowboys Stadium in Texas last week. I went to watch my Arkansas Razorbacks play Texas A&M. Great game, but we lost it in OT. The stadium is very cool and the big screen is every bit as impressive as you would think it would be. #WPS
I am planning on doing four (4) half marathons through March. The St Jude Half in December, The Fort Smith half in Feb, the LR Half in March and the Germantown Half in late March. It may seem like a lot of running, but as you know, I need to work on running, so this will be good for me.
While in Texas, I was able to meet up with my Redman rival, Brad D. It was a nice visit and there was not a lot of trash talking until the end. We are doing the LR Half together, so it will be fun running with him. Photo evidence provided...
We are currently on Fall Break with the kids. It has been nice to get away from work for a few days and just hang out.
Today (Friday) I got to run with a guy a graduated high school with. He recently completed Vineman Tri in July, so we got to meet up and get a run in together and trade stories. We were only scheduled to run 4 miles, but when you run in a non familiar place, sometimes you go longer. We ran 6.5 miles in 1:00:42.
We went and watched the Equalizer the other night. Great movie!!!
Well that is all for now, hope everyone's training is going well!!! Thanks for reading.
I see a lot of my racing buddies already mulling over the 2015 race schedule for themselves. Many are looking to run IM's and some are looking to Boston and some are spreading to other type of races. When I see this conversation get started, it only leads me to start thinking about what I am going to race in 2015. I already know I am doing Redman again, but what else am I going to do to help me do better at Redman?
One of the main reasons I want to do Redman a second time is due to the run. My run sucked. I did a 7+ hour marathon. I know I can do better than that, and without going into excuses of why I was a 7 hour plus marathoner like blisters or whatever, I want to beat it. I know that if I can somehow have a good run, I could be closer to the 14 hour mark instead of the almost 16 hour mark. So that has really played into my thought process of 2015.
Running
Running
Running
Guess what I am going to focus on? RUNNING!!!
So here is my proposed schedule, which has not been approved by my bride.
December- St Jude half
January- Winter Cross Country series 3K and 5K
February- Fort Smith Half and Winter Cross Country 10K
March- Germantown Half and Little Rock Half
May- Memphis in May Sprint Triathlon
July- Mighty Mite Triathlon
September- REDMAN
So I know what you may be thinking, that's a lot of halves in there and no marathon, I mean if you want a better marathon, shouldn't you run a marathon? And to your thinking I would say "meh".
I really do not like training for marathons. I also think that a strong start to the year of running will fit in nicely to the IM training I will start in May, right after Memphis in May. I will have to find the right plan or coach maybe, but I think it is totally doable and will have my running base further ahead than ever.
I know I can do better than 15:53 and I know it all depends on my run, so that is my focus!
First thing first, the winner of the Schwagbox giveaway is...
Matthew Smith!
Matt also has a blog called Go Smitty GO! Check it out! And thanks to everyone that entered and a special thanks to Schwagbox.com for participating in the giveaway! Congrats Matt!
Germantown Race Report:
This race was a mystery going in. As you know, my main focus has been the Olympic triathlon I have in May, so a half marathon was not my sole focus. My longest training run had only been 9 miles going in, so I was really unsure as to how the race would go. I knew that I was going to be good for 8 or 9 miles, but after that, who knew?? My initial plan was to run it hard and see how long I could hold on. I soon realized that plan was stupid, I mean that has NEVER worked for me in the past, so why would it work now right? So in came Plan B.
One of my buddies was going to run the half also, so why we were talking, I kind of latched on to his plan. He was going to pace the run the first half and try to negative split the race. This sounded like a great idea and something totally different from my normal race plan. And it worked! We actually negative split the half marathon and I finished in 2:03.
Here were my splits:
1: 9:31
2: 9:47 (Uphill)
3: 9:46
4: 9:25
5. 9:35
6: 9:35
7: 9:28
8: 9:18
9: 9:13
10: 9:21
11: 9:18
12: 8:44
13:8:45
I really was surprised that I had anything left in the tank at the end of the race, but I felt strong. I was able to to turn it up a notch and finish really strong. I actually felt so good that I believe I could have gone sub 2! All in all, I was very happy with this race, I was scared I was under trained for it and would tank at about mile 10, but instead, I was ready to go and felt strong!
Alright, the winner of the Sync Hydration Belt from Profile Design is...
Big Daddy Diesel!!!!!
Congrats BDD! If you will email me at memphis2309@yahoo.com, I will send you some information about sizing and colors for you to choose your belt! Also if you are not familiar with BBD's blog, check it out by clicking here: TRI DIESEL
Thanks to everyone that read and entered! Profile Design makes a lot of great products, so be sure and support them in all your racing needs!
Other Ramblings:
I am making another change to my workout schedule, getting to tough to work it all in, so I am doing away with my Friday rest day. I am moving a swim over to Friday. Overall, I do not think this will make to much of an impact on my recovery days due to the way everything is spaced out.
Wednesday on my run, I was able to consistently hit a cadence of 90 throughout my run in my Brooks Glycerin 10s. I have been working towards a cadence of 90, and felt good to hit it. The run felt good and effortless.
This morning I wore my Timex Global Trainerin the pool for the first time. I know it says it is waterproof, but there is always that doubt in my mind. So, I tried it and it worked great. My next step is to try it in my swim cap so I can use it to chart distances.
Sunday, I am running the Germantown Half Marathon. This will be the third time I have raced this event. I am not sure how I will do because my focus has been the Memphis in May Olympic Triathlon training plan and my longest run has been 9 miles. My PR is 1:57 and last year I hit 2:07, so anywhere between those times will be great!
The kids were on Spring Break this week and it really made training harder. Normally I am up, done with workouts and back to take them to school by 7:20. Without the time goal of 7:20, I thought, well I do not need to get up as early as normal since I do not have to be back! WRONG!!! Stick to the plan JFord! That is what this Spring Break taught me.
Overall training is going well. My core workouts are really paying off also. I can feel the benefit of the crunches while swimming specifically!
Thanks to the new followers of Daily Trainings! Glad to have you!
Next week, Daily Trainings will have another awesome giveaway! This is definitely one you will want to be entered in!
March is over and here comes April, which means warmer temperatures and thunderstorms for us in Memphis. It also means race season is getting closer, so I have about 5-6 weeks of hard training before my Olympic race. If April is anything like March, then I am going to be happy. At the end of the month, I always like to look back and see if what I am doing is productive or am I just out there making it look like I am working hard. Again, this post is mainly for myself, but please feel free to make any call outs you see.
So let's dig in:
March Totals: Swim 9.24 miles 5:14:11 Bike 214.1 miles 9:41:00 Run 56.28 miles 8:29:36
Now based on miles alone, it looks about right as far as more biking than running and more running than swimming. A total of 23 hours and 24 minutes was spent training in March, almost one full day. I know I was short on my monthly goals, but I am I did increase my monthly time of working out by over 6 hours and 92 more miles!
I also completed a half marathon in March that I was seriously under trained. My longest run had only been 8 miles leading up to the race. This was a real confidence boost for me also. I know I can do the distance under trained, so by September, I should be able to rock my half Ironman distance race and marathon later in the year. I am happy with my progress YTD as well. (Yeah I have those numbers also)
1st Qtr 2012 Swim 28.41 miles 16:25:53 Bike 493.2 miles 22:47:00 Run 141.38 miles 21:18:15
Now it was important for me to have the same ratios of swimming/running/biking throughout the year, meaning I want my biking to be the majority of my workouts, followed by my running. I need a strong bike/run for me to hit my goals. The swimming is not a problem for me much anymore, but that dang run always gets me. I know January was mostly running for the first two weeks which is why the times are closer than I would like, but I still feel like I am on track. Judging by last years totals, (swim 48 miles, bike 959miles and run 546 miles), I am going to totally blow 2011 yearly totals out of the water because April will be more miles than March, and after my May race, I start training for my half iron distance which will mean more miles in training! All of this is leading up to my date with my full Ironman in 2013! I get excited just thinking about it!
Also in April, I am going to focus on adding some core work. I have committed to myself to 4 core workouts a week and to really focus in on a better diet in the month of April. I am already down to the 188lb range, with a goal of 183lbs by race day (May 20). I think it is totally doable, I just need to focus on the eating part and make smarter decisions. So April needs to be another big month for me, but I am feeling confident about my race in May already! I plan on sticking to my plan and missing as few workouts as possible while trying to stay healthy. Let's Bring It!
I will blog more about my Aprils Abs goal in my next post. Thanks for reading!
No PR today. I just thought I'd get that out of the way right off the bat. I did try though. So here is what we are going to do. I have a video we are going to watch, then I will go over the race report, and finally we will reconvene and discuss any takeaways and wins from this race. Sorry for going all Corporate on you , but Daddy can talk upwards when needed. ;)
First, the video. I found this the other day and I think it was pretty darn funny and even funny because I got passed by a flightless bird around mile 9 today! So please, enjoy.
So which one are you? Are you a Dandy???
Race report:
I woke up around 5 AM and took a hot shower, then I got dressed, went to the bathroom and finally headed out to the race. I got there in plenty of time. My chiropractor was there and he helped stretch me out before the race which was really nice. I knew a couple of guys running this race, so I spent some time talking to Richard and William before I headed over to my corral. I saw Steve and Dwight and we all planned on being in the 8-9 minute corral, so after the National Anthem, I said a prayer and then the race started. I had my Garmin and hit the lap data on every mile, so that is how this will go.
Mile 1- 8:10
I always hate mile 1 of a race because it always means weaving through runners, but this race was really step up well and people were int he right areas, so I really did not have to weave to much. It is very hard to stay with people in a race this size, so I lost one of my running mates pretty quick. I purposely did not look at my Garmin until I saw the mile marker and then I was a little concerned about that pace for 12 more miles, but I was feeling good, so I figured, why not.
Mile 2- 8:57
Mile 2 was an uphill section that was pretty tough, I knew from previous experience that after the uphill, I was good for awhile, so it was just a matter of gritting it out. Again I was OK with this pace because I knew it was one of the hills I would run up. I lost my other running mate on this stretch, but I was still feeling good.
Mile 3-5- 8:58, 9:03, 9:18
Only thing I can say about this stretch of the race was that when I got to mile 5, I was expecting the mile marker to say 4, so that was a welcomed surprise for me. I could see the elites coming back during this stretch (they were almost to mile 9), and this really gave me a boost.
Mile 6- 9:21
Mile 6 went through a park, or more like around a park. I did stop in the bathroom to pee at the 6.5 mile mark, so I this 9:21 is good. At this point I knew I was falling behind if I wanted to PR, and I am not great at math while running, but I though I still had a chance. I was still feeling pretty good.
Mile 7-9- 10:16, 9:42, 10:44
I stopped at mile 8 to take an E-Gel and some water, hoping that would boost me for the remaining mileage. I started the dreaded countdown of miles at this point, but I knew I had 4 more in me, my only question was how fast could I do those 4 miles in? At mile 9, I did get passed my a guy that was a flightless bird, I even said out loud "A flightless bird!" Luckily he had headphones on and did not hear me, but that was kind of funny and kind of depressing all at the same time!
Mile 10-12- 10:07, 10:05, 11:13
Mile 11 started back up a hill and I knew it was coming, but I was empty man. I was trying to maintain a pace and I wanted to run the whole thing, but I had to walk a bit here. I walked for 30 seconds between mile 11-12 and I hated doing that, but hey, it happened.
Mile 13- 10:15
I was not going to walk anymore, especially the last mile, so I gutted it out. I really thought I had a shot at a 2:05 finish, but it wasn't meant to be, so I just ran it out. I tried to hold off a guy that was sprinting to the finish line, but again, I had nothing left in the tank. I crossed the line at 2:07:08.
Age Group Finish 64/133 Overall Finish 606/1477
Takeaways:
I had not really trained for this distance. I have really just been focused on the MIM Olympic Tri and the 10k at the end of that race, so for me to be able to finish the half is a win.
I did not drink enough water on the course. I should have taken more drinks (they had more than enough chances for me). I also should have used my other E-Gel.
I am really sore as I am typing this. I wanted to take a nap, but the calve cramps are not allowing me too.
I did a poor job in fueling my body before the race. My stomach was not feeling stable that morning and all I had was a half of a banana and a little Gatorade. My fault there.
So overall I was happy with my run, I know if I had trained for this distance, I would have had a better time. I am also thrilled that alot of my friends that are new to running, or are just getting back into running had good days also! This run does give me a lot of confidence going forward with my training, PR or not.
This weekend I am running a half marathon on Sunday. The Germantown Half Marathon. It is a very good race and I ran it two years ago and set a PR of 1:56, so this year when I run I would like nothing more than to beat that PR and go 5 for 5 on races in 2012, but I am not sure that is going to or can happen.
All year I have really been focusing on the Memphis in May Olympic triathlon which has a 10k run on the end of it. So none of my runs have been over 9 miles. I really should have planned better for this race, but I didn't. So now I am torn about my race strategy this weekend.
I was able to hold an 8:36 pace on a 10K trail run a few weeks ago and I really feel like I am good for 8-10 miles at that pace, but after the 10th mile, it's a crap shoot. I am not really worried about not finishing the race, inasmuch as I want to have a good showing and keep the PR streak alive.
So I pretty much see me having two strategies on Sunday.
Strategy #1: Go as hard as I can for as long as I can and hope I do not burn out. Only problem with that is that I do not want to risk any injury that would be an obstacle to my MIM training. It is a race and I will be racing it, so....
Strategy #2: Run comfortably and bank any time I have. I figure I need to run an 8:50 pace to meet my previous time. So if I can get into that comfortable 8:30 pace (which is doable on the road, last 10K was a trail run) and hold it for 8 miles or so, that will put me at the 68 minute mark (1:08) that will leave me to run a 9:20 minute mile or so for the remaining 5 miles. If I can hold the same pace throughout the race, then I will, but knowing I can ease back a little and still beat my time would be good to know.
Or would it become a crutch? Am I giving myself an out if I look at a race this way? Thoughts?
