Oh, the Possibilities...

I am sad to say that I have already ran more this month than I did in January. 8.25 miles is all I have logged this month and I am beating January. But here is the thing that I have not felt in a long, long time. I am starting to...

 

I can honestly say that it has been awhile since I enjoyed it, but I guess a year off is the right amount of time to miss something!  Go figure! The hardest part for me has been taking it slow and building back. In my mind, I am still in Ironman shape (did I mention I was an Ironman? never mind) and I should be able to go out and knock out 10 miles no problem, but that is so not the case! My runs are short right now. As a matter of fact, my longest run this year has been 2.5 miles! This has all been part of my master plan though. I plan on using February to try and build some sort of base. I doubt I go over 4.5 miles in total distance. In March, I will add some biking and swimming and hopefully by May, I will be ready for my first sprint race in 3 years! (which I am really excited about doing). After this sprint in May, it is "GO TIME", time to focus on Redman 140.6. IM #2!!!

But before that, there are a couple of races I am thinking of doing and some I will do. Seems like every year I make a list of races I am doing, then life gets in my way and I only hit about half or less of them, so this year, this is my races that are on my radar list. So here they are and some quick thoughts on why I want to do them:

• Los Locos Duathlon- (April 12) This is a good race to gauge where I am at. It's a 2 mile run, 15 mile bike, 2mile run. It is in April though, which is a drawback for me, seems early, much preferred when it was in Sept.
• Rebelman Sprint Triathlon- (April 12) This is a nice little sprint at Ole Miss. The only thing I do not like about it is that it is a pool swim, plus it is on the same day as the Los Locos Duathlon, so choices will have to be made. A 480 yd swim, 13 mile bike and a 3.1 mile run might be a good refresher for me.
• Memphis in May Sprint Triathlon (May 2015)- This is a race I am looking forward to because I know so many people that race. Even some of my friends are planning n the sprint to be their first triathlon, so I definitely want to be there. My wife always races this one as well, so it could be our first triathlon together!
• The Harbortown 5K- (June 5) I did this race one time when I first moved to Memphis and loved running through the area. I really want to run this with my wife, just because it is something we can run together.
• Navy Nautical 10 Miler- (June 7) Never ran this before. I have learned that 10 nautical miles is closer to 11 miles for some reason. They have cool medals and would definitely be something new for me. I know I need to work on my running.
• Dragonfly Triathlon- (June 13) I hate this triathlon! It has a trail run on it and it is usually hot as fire! However, I have not raced this in about 4 years, so maybe it might be worth re-looking at. 1/2 mile swim, 18 mile bike, 4 mile run.
• Mighty Mite Triathlon- (July 18) Another sprint triathlon in Arkansas. Last year both my wife and I signed up for it and then realized we could not make it due to family obligations (bad planning). This is a point to point race, and is a pretty fun race. 600 yd swim, 13 mile bike, 3.1 mile run.
• Elvis Presley 5K- (Aug 15) How have I lived in Memphis for 14 years and only ran this once?? Last year my bride and I ran it and had a great time. We agreed to make it an annual race for us to run!
• Redman Full- (Sept 26) Everything listed above should have something to do with this race. This is my A number one race, with the main goal of beating 15:53 first and then on beating Brad D.
• Ragnar Relay- (Oct 26-28)- This is just straight up fun. The old team that I did it with in 2013 is back together and we are adding a good friend of mine to run. This will be a great end of the year race.

So again, I am not saying this is my race schedule, but these are the ones I am interested in running. If I hit them all, then that would be a lot of races for 2015. I am just happy I am actually looking at races again and even thinking about a schedule. I have to remember to build slowly and take care of myself, which I am doing, along with a 30 day ab challenge!!!

Rebelman Sprint Triathlon

Well folks, triathlon #2 is in the books. Last Sunday I drove down to Ole Miss University and competed in their triathlon. It was a great race except for the weather. It was 43 degrees that morning.

The race started off n the pool with a 400 meter swim. Each swimmer started in intervals of 10 seconds and you were placed in line by the swim time you gave them for that distance. A lot of people either lied or never timed themselves. I passed at least 6 people on the swim portion alone. It was also different for me because it was a 50m pool, and I train in a 25 yd pool. I felt fast and in control during the swim. I saw one guy that was ahead of me in line by at least 20 people and he used a snorkel! I did not know that was even legal! But I KNOW that he was not faster than me.

After the swim, I grabbed my towel as I ran out into the 43 degree temperature and tried to dry off as much and as fast as I could. I had already decided that I was going to take my time and wear my tights, long sleeves and gloves on the bike, screw the extra minute it would take me. It felt good to wear clothes out there.

The bike went great. I am so much stronger than I was last year, and I could tell all those late night trainer rides helped. I passed another 10-12 people on the bike or so and felt really good. It was hilly, which was surprising for Mississippi. I got back and made the easy transition to running, all I had to do was change shoes and take off the helmet.

The run is where I had trouble. My feet were killing me! I had really hoped my new orthotics would have arrived in time for the race, but they didn't and the run hurt so bad that at one point I knew I would have a stress fracture in my foot. I partnered with a college kid and we ran it in together.

After the race, I got a drink, a banana and a leg massage! I finished in 1:29, breaking the elusive 1:30 mark already! I was happy with the race results. Only thing is that my age group is so competitive, I finished 25 out of 42. My time in the younger age group would have awarded me 10th. Go figure!

Now I am starting my training for Memphis in May, I have my new orthotics, a newer wetsuit and confidence. I will let you know how it goes...