My Triathlon Quest

Walt Disney World Marathon Recap!!

2010-01-19T13:25:00.000-08:00

A year of work culminated in one moment, and just like that it is over. My serious training started last January and in that span I completed a 12K, 10K, Half Marathon and Sprint Triathlon. All of that was building towards January 10, 2010.

Allison and I flew down to Florida a week prior to the race to visit with my family before heading off to Orlando. Prior to leaving we were looking at race time temps in the low 50's. Perfect, we thought! We packed accordingly and set off. Every day we were there the temperature for the race dropped a solid 10 degrees. INSANITY. First lesson learned, when traveling for a race, I don't care if it is in freaking Jamaica, I am packing ALL of my running gear. Cold, hot, wet, dry... you name it, I am packing it.

I wasn't as worried about the actual race itself, more so waiting at the start line for the better part of an hour and half. The night before the race Alli and I set out to find some cheap sweats and things we could shed at the start and not feel bad about. We probably spent a little more than we wanted at Target, BUT it was well worth it. We also found disposable gloves for $3 at the expo which came in handy. A lesson that I learned the easy was to not totally pitch the gloves if I think I am too warm in the hands. I held on to them and they came in handy, sadly the second time I took them off I did pitch them and I wished I hadn't.

Race started in the dark, which causes problems for me due to my vision. I have a pair of prescription Oakley's that I wear for running, though I imagine I looked a little peculiar running in the dark for the first eight miles or so. Once the sun came out I was grateful I had them.

My pacing was all over the place and I think my lack of experience got the better of me. I was able to get my calories in starting before the race. I had a few mini bagels. As I set out I was able to pack down four Gu packets and two bananas.

At the half way pace I was at 1:52:40 seconds which would have put me in right at my goal of 3:45. I was feeling good, the crowds were starting build along the course as it warmed up a bit (it was 25 degrees at the start of the race) and I was starting to think that this was going to be a real possibility. As I look back though I realize that my pacing was very erratic in that first 13 miles and I would pay for this later on.

At about mile 18 my hamstrings started talking to me. Those of you that have run these distances know what I am talking about. A little pang of something every few minutes, then my calves kicked into the chorus and I had a feeling I was in trouble. The organizers of the race had something called Bio Freeze on the side of the course and I made a decision at this point that I was NOT going to utilize it as I have never used it before and didn't know how my body would react, looking back I wonder if this was a mistake given the fact that I KNEW I was going to cramp at some point. It wasn't a matter of IF, rather when.

Mile 20 rolls around and I at this point I have dropped to an 8:46 pace. At this point this will still get me in under the 3:50 mark, not bad considering. Realistically all I wanted to do was come in under 4:00. With 1:05 to spare that would have meant a 10:29 pace, surely I could handle this... right?

WRONG. All hell broke loose on mile 22. My hamstring quit, my knee was killing me and my will was broken. I pride myself on my will, my ability to keep going when things are stacked against me. However, I did not count on the sheer beating that a marathon puts on ones body. The folks that do these things regularly, you are amazing. You may also be certifiably insane.

I ended up finishing in 4:07:58. Looking back, I wonder if I could have run a little more. Moved a little faster or done a little more to get under that 4:00 mark. Had it not been for Mark, my guardian angel on the course, my time would have been a lot worse. He came up behind me and talked me through the last two miles. He told me he had run ALL 17 of these and his knowledge of the course came in quite handy.

He knew where the crowds would be and where you wanted to run through, and where the good rest spots were. I also think he slowed down a little for me which went further to reaffirm the amazing camaraderie that runners share. I owe Mark a debt of gratitude for helping me through the finish when I was ready to quit on myself.

I got my medal, grabbed the food like I had never eaten before and made my way to the bus to head back to the hotel.

The worst part of this was the flight back on the same day. We got a direct flight and by the grace of God we had three seats in our row and we had the ONE empty seat on the flight. I got up every so often and stretched out and walked the isles but everything below my waist was swollen. My right knee got particularly bad for a few days, probably just some fluid build up but it made me nervous. I took about four days before I started feeling normal again.

One year, countless miles and five races later I realized that I have found something special. Somewhere to help channel my energy and something that fuels my competitive fire in a positive way. I won't be winning my age group anytime soon, but as long as I can continue to compete with and push myself I'll be happy. I am ready to do the next one. Not right away, but soon. I am preliminarily putting together the 2010 race calendar and trying to figure out what is next.

Right now some rest, climbing and light work so I don't put that weight back on is all the Dr. ordered.

My Thoughts on Technology

2010-01-18T20:08:00.000-08:00

(This blog post took shape when flying on my way from Seattle to Florida for the Walt Disney World Marathon. That blog post is still being written, but this one kind of came over me. It isn't running related, but I hope you enjoy anyway. Marathon post forthcoming!)

In this era of Podcasts, RSS Feeds, ReddIt and any other number of new hip ways to be in the know I have a confession to make. I still go to cnn.com, or espn.com. While others are using their phones for this app, or that function I am stuck making calls and sending texts. This comes as a surprise to a lot of people when they learn that I am in the technology industry, and yet change and progress is something that I am sometimes slow to embrace.

For years I swore you would have to pry Windows XP out of my cold dead fingers, I have upgraded to Windows 7 on my netbook and can say that I am glad I made the change and am pleasantly surprised. NETBOOK you say? Seems a little too hip for me. Well, the netbook was only purchased after I finally gave up on recycling HP Pavilion laptops which were current when Y2K was all the rage.

I don’t play games on my netbook , because naturally the specs don’t support it. I am a console guy. I buy three games a year and play them on my two year old Vizio 42 inch plasma TV. I can’t tell you the refresh rate, or any other number of specs on my TV because I don’t know or care to know. I know that when I turn it on it works, and the picture still looks damn good for what I paid for it and how long I have had it.

I don’t use my Xbox as a media extender and don’t stream Netflix to my Blue Ray player. There are certain things I will embrace more quickly than others. I want a Blue Ray player, but it will more than likely be another year or two before I get one. My DVD’s in my Xbox (for those of you who care, it up scales to 480) look just fine to me.

I would never dream of doing away with cable and just watching TV through the computer, and I hate that EVERY single website that does any type of news reporting feels the need to include a video along with it. If I wanted to watch the video, I would just turn on the TV for God sake.

There are a lot of things I love about where technology is taking us as a society. The knocking down of barriers, the ability to give people a voice and a forum, and the way it allows people of all races, types and colors to communicate is amazing.
If it wasn't for technology being what it is today I certainly would not be employed. But that does not mean I you’ll ever catch me on the bleeding, or even leading edge of a lot of things.

Brad Paisley has a song called “Welcome to the future”. The opening lyrics are, “When I was ten years old, I remember thinking how cool it would be. We were going on an eight hour drive, if I could just watch TV.” Well, when I was ten years old and we were going on an eight hour drive, my favorite thing to do stare out the window, keep whoever was driving company and calculate what our time of arrival was going to be.

Without a GPS.

Four Days, Three Nights, 15 Hours of Sleep and 25 Miles later…

2009-12-09T19:46:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I decided to make a much needed trip home after learning my mom was dealing with some potential medical issues. At the forefront of my trip is the good news that, for right now anyway, things are fine as far as she goes, which is quite the relief. The trip from Seattle to DC is never an easy one, what with the time change and all. It had been three and half years since my last trip back to DC and as the trip loomed closer I realized I was setting myself up for a whirlwind few days.

In the midst of the regular training that needed to take place (an 8 mile tempo and 18 mile long run) there was also the usual commitments of seeing family, friends and restaurants. Normally the title of this sans the 25 miles worth of running would be enough to send me into a fatigued state, but something was different about this trip.
Being as close as we are to the WDWM I had NO choice but to get my runs in, and I did. Despite what I thought as far as what the runs would do to me in terms of fatigue and being able to meet my other social obligations they actually had the opposite effect.

I was able to successfully complete my runs (shorted the 18 miler by one, which I will get into later), see all my family and be out all hours of the night with friends.

After landing Thursday night and doing the obligatory dinner with family (forgot how much I missed Mom’s cooking) I spent some time catching up with my brother, sister, mom and dad. Once it was evident they were all fading I went and spent some time with Aaron (best friend from high school and best man in the wedding).

I wasn’t sure whether this was a mistake or not as I did have a solid 8 mile tempo run I needed to get in the next day, but it had been a while since I had seen him so I figured what the hell? Got home around 2 a.m. and up at 6:30 the next morning I was off to do my run.

My folks reside in McLean, VA which is very close to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail. After getting some advice it was decided this would be the trail I would use as it runs from DC and goes 45 miles out into Virginia. I borrowed my Mom’s car to get there and set off.

Weather was overcast and 50’s. The trail was sparsely populated and made for ideal conditions. From what I have heard about the W & OD trail running it anywhere east of where I picked it up can be challenging with all the stops at major streets, so I was fortunate that I picked it up in an area where it flows well and headed west.
Hit all the targets for the tempo run and felt good. I had taken the last few days off as I was feeling some discomfort in my Achilles area and did not want to push it. My long run the previous weekend went well and I was feeling strong. After consulting with Tracy we decided a few days off would do some good.

Went home, grabbed a shower and set out to spend time with family, go visit my former place of employment and hit up my favorite kabob restaurant in Crystal City.
The visit to the employer went well; it was great to spend time with my bro and sis too. Sadly I found that the Kabob Palace (it had started gaining some national notoriety) went downhill after we left the area. They doubled their prices and were serving a much lower quality product. This was sad for me as I have fond memories of going there at 2 a.m. and getting a GREAT plate of chicken kabobs for $8.

That night it was out with some old friends Ryan and Heidi. We had a blast hitting up a few places and Ryan and I sang a stirring rendition of Sweet Caroline at the karaoke bar. (I should mention that there was a young lady there with a great voice, so it was decided we would enlist her to front our singing efforts. We did a great job with the chorus and getting the crowd into it though.)

After ensuring that they both got home ok (I was DD) I ended up in bed at about 2:30 a.m. At this point I felt like I was in trouble in terms of getting my 18 miler in. HOW the hell was I going to get up and get going within five hours to get the run in and make my brothers basketball coaching debut?

I decided to make the run a game time decision but made myself set the alarm for 7 a.m. The next morning an amazing thing happened. I got up feeling relatively good, but more importantly instead of trying to talk myself into my run I was actually trying to talk myself OUT of running. I couldn’t believe it. Normally it is the other way around.

Luckily reason prevailed and I began getting ready to set out. I ate a plain bagel, drank some water and got dressed. I checked the weather, which was SUPPOSED to be slight rain and a high of 35. No problem with running in the cold I thought to myself.

The same trail I had run yesterday was actually accessible without car from my parents; I would need to use some sidewalks and a few side streets to get there, but no worries.

I was wearing my new Salomon running pants, some Brooks cold gear up top and an ear warmer. The run started off well enough. Running in the rain is nothing new for me. Then it got ugly. The sleet started coming. Again, no worries I thought… nothing I can’t handle.

The snow started coming down in big flakes shortly thereafter. The trail was practically deserted and going through some pretty rolling hills made for a very serene scene. It was when the snow REFUSED to stop that I got concerned. I was less than five miles in and the snow was coming down at a solid clip.

At this point I felt pot committed. I had gotten up, gotten dressed, gotten to the trail and there was NO way I was going to turn around. The plan was to do an 18 mile out and back and I was pushing along nicely in the driving snow.
I made it deep into Reston, VA (if you are familiar with the Northern Virginia area that is quite the hike from McLean, but apparently not that bad as the crow flies) and hit a fairly large road intersection in the path. This was at the 8.5 mile mark and at this point soaking wet, freezing cold and no sign of relief from the snow I decided that my 18 mile would only be 17 on this day.

It had gotten so bad I actually had to pry some snow from my Garmin 305 and the water bottle which I had filled with tepid tap water was ice cold.
This was also the first run I had ever used any kind of nutrition on a run. I used Chocolate Power Gel and actually felt like it made a difference. I decided to break into it around the 8 mile mark and worked my way through half the packet over the course of the next three miles. I actually wasn’t sure whether it would make a difference or not, but I felt like it did help. Allison actually got me more interested in using some type of nutrition (though I knew all along I would have to at some point) when she used Chomps on a long run and came back raving about the difference it made.

Ended up making it back to the house after a detour at Starbucks and meeting Heidi (who I am sure along with the other patrons there thought I was nuts) to say hi and meet her daughter for the first time. She too appeared unsure of what to make of me.
Got home, grabbed a shower and made it to my brother’s first basketball game (as a coach). Much to my surprise the league did not cancel the games despite the almost 5 inches of accumulation that had occurred throughout the course of the morning.

His team played well and fell short by only four points, I was impressed with his ability to manage the game and keep his kids in the game when they had fallen behind by 10 early in the second half. In fairness, with these 6th grade boys a 10 point deficit is fairly steep.

Went to the old stomping grounds of Tyson’s Corner Mall and found a GREAT deal on George Mason sweatshirts, naturally I had to pick one up. With the two for $40 deal they were running I got one for my bro as well.

The rest of the day was a blur; met up with Mikey (also a good friend who was in the wedding) and his girlfriend Sarah at the mall. Then again later for dinner at PF Changs. Went to Karin’s (former co-worker) annual holiday/birthday party and was even talked into a late night trip to Mario’s. Was sad to realize that I had built Mario’s up in my mind, sober it is not nearly as good.

Home at 3 a.m. and up at seven my brother and I went to visit my Mom at Starbucks, grabbed some breakfast at Silver Diner (which WAS as good as I remembered) and headed home to pack. My aunt came by to visit for a bit, I was fully packed up and just in time Aaron came and picked me up to drop me off at National Airport for my trip home. Got to watch the first quarter of the Redskins game, which I would later learn they blew in OT, and as I write this I am cruising over 30,000 feet above one of the Dakota’s.

All in all this was a GREAT trip from many stand points and showed me that I could put in some tough miles under adverse conditions, which is valuable knowledge to have.

Random Thoughts and Closing:
- Apparently “turbulence” is no longer a PC term. “Rough Air” seems to be the new way to describe it.

- Our landing into National on Thursday was INSANE. Apparently we hit a monster cross wind right as we touched down and at one point only one wheel of the plane was on the ground, the pilot made a GREAT recovery and some nice jokes about it after we were safe.

- I do not understand people’s aversion to checking bags. Aside from the fact that Delta charges $15 per bag I found it nice not having to worry about where I was going put my bag in the over head bins.

- My flight into Minneapolis on Thursday from Seattle was running very late, which caused me to have to run through the airport to make it to my connection in time. Amazingly I was more winded after that sprint then I ever am after a good length run. I guess the stress adds another element to it.

- My brother, apparently inspired by seeing me dedicated to running, mentioned the desire to sign up for a 5k. I told him I would pay his registration if he would commit to trying it. He will be training for the next two weeks and running his first 5k on December 20th.

- One of my favorite memories from this trip will be driving home Saturday night at 2:30 in the morning and hearing “Who Says You Can’t Go Home” come on the radio. With no one in the car with me I cranked it up and sang along.

Sorry for the long winded post this time around, this was a great trip and if nothing else I wanted to capture my thoughts on it for myself to look back on. Till next time, see you all at the finish! Disney Marathon is just over ONE MONTH away!!

The Nod and Random Catch Up Thoughts

2009-11-30T20:22:00.000-08:00

Just over a month to go until the Walt Disney World Marathon and training is in full gear. I am finally feeling good about this thing and lucking out with some dry weather on the days of my long runs. I recently purchased a pair of Salomon cold running pants which are fleece lined. VERY nice!

I am impressed at the number of people that I still run into on the trail and I will say that there is definitely a lot to be analyzed when two runners pass each other and give acknowledgement. I am always curious what the nod means when I get it from someone. I am pretty much saying a. I am out here too and you aren't going to out run me / b. respect for the fact that you are crazy enough to be out here.

I think overall runners do have a great deal of respect for each other. How could we not? We all know what we go through to get out there and put in our miles.

- We went car shopping yesterday and ended up settling on a 2010 Mazda 6 for Allison. Car shopping is one of the most stressful annoying things you can deal with, and honestly the sales people there don't make things any easier. We were able to work a good deal and get something we wanted.

- I have a trip coming up to DC to go visit some family and friends, been having a hard time finding an area to do my long run this Saturday... put some feelers out to a forum I belong to and ended up getting some good suggestions. This site was suggested to me and I am very excited to use it to help find some new runs when I go to different places. http://www.usatf.org/routes/search/

- Work at the Firm is still going well, I am now more than two months and feel like I am a fully contributing. I have a lot more training to do and a lot more to learn, but I feel like things are moving at a slower speed. When you first come into something new like that everything feels like it is moving 100 mph. I am seeing things a lot more clearly now and feeling a lot more confident in my actions.

- My favorite sports season of the year recently kicked off. College basketball is by far and away my favorite thing to watch. My George Mason Patriots have done what I have come to expect of them up until now, been up and down. They are going to be a young fun team to watch for sure. On Wednesday George Mason (my school) plays George Washington (Allison's school) so there is a bit of smack talk going on in the house. Though I think Allison does it to humor me more than anything.

Overall things are going well, as I said I am very excited for a trip to DC and then the following month going to Florida. Hopefully the weather gives us a few more nice weekends to complete our training and go into marathon feeling strong.

Almost forgot one last though. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and go see The Blind Side. Do yourself a bigger favor and read the book. Whether you are a football fan, or just a fan of life and amazing stories you HAVE to know the story of Michael Oher. It is one of great inspiration!! Chec it out.

The Work / Workout Balance

2009-10-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

As I said in a previous post I started a new job about a month ago... things at The Firm (that's what I'll call it) are going great... But like any major law firm the perks come with a price. The work is demanding and the hours are long.

With the day light in Seattle fading fast finding time to run out doors is getting kind of tricky. (That and the rain, which is not helping) I have tried doing some running on the treadmill in the gym, and to be honest I can't stand running on a treadmill. My hats off to anyone who can do that for a long period. So the question then becomes, when do I squeeze in these runs?

I recently invested in a reflective vest and so that will help somewhat. I am also going to need to get some cold/wet running gear. I think the hardest part has been the adjustment to the duration of my day. In my past job my commute was 20 minutes round trip and I could afford to take 2 hour + lunches. As it stands now my commute is roughly an hour, if I time the buses right, and my lunches are a lot more restricted because of my work load.

I guess as I read back now it looks like I am kind of whining a bit, but this will probably be the toughest training I have done from the stand point of being able to do everything scheduled and meet all my goals.

I realize that I am going to have to suck it up, find the time to do the training and deal with it. It makes me realize that much more the incredible dedication it takes to get to Boston or Kona. Yeah, it is always impressive for the pros, but my respect is more so with the folks that do it because of a love for marathons and Iron Man's. Those are the folks who are probably in my situation, trying to find that time to train while living life.

Another thing I am missing is climbing. Haven't been climbing in a gym in God knows how long. Went outside a few times with Kevin before the weather turned, but I can honestly say I see and feel a difference in my body when I am away from rock climbing (whether it be plastic or other wise).

Not mentioned in all this is also the importance of spending time with Allison and family.

As a result of all these things, last night I came to a decision. It is time to start scheduling. I am going to put a focus on setting time aside to do the things I want and need to do. Then the trick is just to stick with them. In this I have also decided that I will leave time for some "fun". So for now, that is the plan. We'll see how the follow through goes.

Random closing:

- Interestingly I have really also dropped off my twitter activity, with work being so demanding I have kind of let that slip. Interestingly enough though the folks that I connected with on Twitter I have found other ways to stay in touch. Though I do miss it I just don't have the time to dedicate to the feed anymore and I don't like being the type of twitterer that goes on and says what I am doing without some interaction with folks.

- Going Home: I have booked a trip back home for the beginning of December. I found a cheap ticket and I haven't really been back to Northern Virginia since I left. With Mom facing some medical issues and me missing out on my younger brother and sister growing up I think it is time for a visit.

- The Redskins: Suck.

- Trip to Portland: Went down to Portland last weekend for Allison's grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. WOW, to be there one day. Enjoyed my visit, had GREAT weather for my long run on Saturday and found a network of trails that runs from Beaverton through Tigard and presumably somewhere towards Portland eventually. I need to get a map of trails there and figure it out. It was gorgeous weather, nice trails and just a great day of running.

That's all for now!! See you at the finish!

Don't Call It a Comeback

2009-10-05T22:35:00.000-07:00

It's been TWO weeks... Even I am shocked that I was able to rest for two weeks. I am not talking active rest where I ran a few miles here, or did some biking or swimming there... I am talking TWO whole weeks of doing NOTHING (except climbing outdoors twice, which I will discuss later)...

It was amazing, and it felt great. I took it a step further and went on a see food diet. I figured after ten straight months and completing all of the goals I had set for myself I could let myself splurge.

Today, I got back on the wagon. Walt Disney World Marathon is 96 days away and it is time to put in some work. I got some great new gear at the Brooks truck load sale a few weeks ago and I will probably get a new pair of Asics GT2140's in the next few weeks. I put in a nice four mile run today and was relieved and glad to find that I hadn't totally lost everything I had built up.

That was kind of my biggest fear with all of my training, IF I take time off will all the work I have done go away? The answer, that I know now, is no. I can tell my body needed the rest and I am glad I did it, but it was nice to get back out there.

In Other News:

- My fantasy football team sucks. With the roster I had I thought we would do well and we are off to a 1-3 start. This is the first year that I have done fantasy football and not had a good team, so it will be a test of my commitment to be fair to everyone else in the league and continue to pay attention and try to field a competitive team week in and week out.

- These past two Sundays Kevin, Connor and I have gone climbing up at Exit 38. That is the great thing about Seattle, 20 miles away is some of the best sport climbing in the state. The bummer part of it is, everyone else knows it too. So we typically get out there early to avoid the crowds, which ends up being very worth it in the end... though the last few days it has been COLD... Kevin got a few good shots of me on Ellie's Sweet Kiss which is in the Eastern Block area on 38... (pictures at the top because Blogger sucks for picture placement)

- The new job is still going well, settling into a groove now... I am very eager to prove myself but need to realize that this is not a sprint but a marathon and I'll have plenty of time to do my thing... Learning lots of things and meeting lots of very incredible people while doing what I love... what more could I ask?

Tri Tri and then Tri Again...

2009-09-23T19:37:00.001-07:00

The Kirkland Triathlon is in the books. The good news: I met my goal. The bad news: My goal was only good enough for second to last in my age group.

Don't get me wrong, I am VERY VERY happy that I finished. But I also realize that I have some work to do. Admittedly my training in the last six weeks dropped off big time. I think I could have finished a LOT stronger had I really focused on my training as I had for the half marathon. I need to keep reminding myself that I have only been training for endurance sports for 10 months and my first race EVER was less than 6 months ago.

Pre Race:

The Thursday prior to the race Kevin and Tracy came over and Kevin gave the bike a quick once over. We also made a pre tri check list which proved to be extremely helpful. During the day on Saturday I went and picked up my race packet, racked my bike and got marked. It wasn't that big of a deal, but it would prove to be one less thing to worry about on Sunday and I was glad I did it. Saturday night we had several people over for a carbo loading party. Allison made some killer home made spaghetti and and meatballs.

Everything was laid out and packed in my my big duffel on Saturday and Allison and I got up at 5 to head down to the race. We arrived at Carrilon Point at 5:50 and laid out my area. From there it was the hurry up and wait game. There was a little delay in getting the race started because some idiots parked on the street despite the two weeks worth of signs warning them not to.

Swim:

This was going to be my weakest event, or so I thought. I ended up taking a few shots to the face at the start, as expected. However overall the swim went very well. Had some issues staying the course because I can't see without my glasses. I completed the half mile swim in 22 minutes, which was about 8 minutes faster than expected.

Bike Time:

Came out of the water and the cramps hit relatively hard in my stomach. My transition was less than five minutes, despite feeling like it was longer because the wet suit gave me some issues. Not sure if I swallowed too much water or just swam too hard, but I was STRUGGLING. The 12 mile bike started with some rough hills. My goal, as it was all along for this event, was just to finish. Particularly I did NOT want to get off the bike and walk it up the hill. I am weak on the bike. I know there is a strategy and science to it and I just don't have it down. I am strong going up the hills but have not gained enough confidence to bust it down the hills the way I should. The last three miles were a cake walk as they were all down hill, and it felt good. I ended up finishing the 12 miles in 48 minutes, I have NO doubt in my mind I can improve on this.

Run Time:

If the cramps could be considered bad on the bike, they were downright PAINFUL on the run. Going into it I thought this was going to be my strongest event. It wasn't my weakest, but I certainly did not put in the type of time I was anticipating. About half a mile in I was doubled over and thought for sure I was going to end up walking. A woman ran by me and gave me a quick tip to stretch and it might help the stomach cramps. I did so, and it really didn't help much. I finally just decided that I had to finish this thing running strong. Despite the cramps I did complete the run in rough 27:30.

I kept my legs moving and as I got further into the three miles my stomach got better. As I came into the finish there was a guy (won't mention the age group he was in) who was being encouraged by his friends to beat me. The jets came on and I came tearing into the finish feeling good.

As I said, I did meet my goal. I am very proud of this. But I definitely want to be more competitive in the next event I do which will be the Memphis In May Triathlon.

After doing this I think I realize my strength is going to be in the Sprint and Olympic distance Triathlons. The goal of completing a Half Iron Man is still on the horizon but I think the shorter Triathlons will be my bread and butter.

As if the Tri wasn't enough I started my first day at the new job on Monday. I can honestly say that I am VERY excited for the opportunities on the horizon at the law firm and while I haven't completed my first week I am starting to think I made the right move.

Changes Keep On Coming

2009-09-18T19:02:00.000-07:00

On to the latest round of changes in life... this is the reason, not excuse, for why my posts have been fewer and further between...

The move is done now, we are fully unpacked and hosted a brunch house warming which went off very well thanks to Allison's ability to put together a monster breakfast... The Kirkland Triathlon is this Sunday and I am very excited/nervous... I feel like I am ready, I could be more ready BUT under the present circumstances and the duration of training I have been doing I feel good... I never thought I would say that I am actually VERY excited for the two weeks of rest which have been mandated by Tracy...

Kevin and Tracy came over last night and we went over the pre-Tri check list as well as a quick of tune up of the bike by Kevin.. I just did a quick ride up a wicked hill and I feel like the bike is ready to go...

Even MORE exciting is that I will be starting my new job on Monday... It was tough leaving work today as I have made many friends being in IT... It is easy to forget how quickly bonds can be formed with people that you work with, but I definitely think as far as a career move goes I am making the right move... not sure of the etiquette I should follow so I'll hold back on listing the name of the law firm for now... but I am excited to be working downtown and getting to take the bus to work and not worry about driving...

I will have a full race report after the triathlon on Sunday... hope everyone has a good weekend~!!

It's been such a long time...

2009-08-26T19:03:00.000-07:00

I think I should be posting... just kidding... that is enough with the Boston references.

It has been an interesting few weeks since my last post regarding the Lake Stevens 70.3. The training has been going in peaks and valleys, but I definitely learned that the body needs a rest from time to time. Took a little three and half day break and definitely came back strong. The good news was I could tell my body needed it. The bad news was that it came over a weekend which usually cover my most important work outs. BUT, I am definitely feeling strong this week and ready to make the final push for the Kirkland Triathlon.

I am looking forward to some much needed rest after the Kirkland Tri before I gear up and start training for the Walt Disney World Marathon.

In other news:

- We are moving this weekend and I have learned something. Packing sucks. I haven't even done the majority of it and I realize how bad it is. My hats off to Allison who, as usual, has taken the bull by the horns and really spearheaded our moving effort as she does with so many other parts of our lives. I cannot wait to get settled in the house and have the freedom of making (within reason) as much noise as we want and watching Roxie run around the large backyard.

- For the first time this year I tried to start my own fantasy football league. Without going into details I will say I fell flat on my face, I think from now on I am going to stick with being in my brother in law's league and not worry about trying to start one.

When It's Over...

2009-08-16T18:23:00.000-07:00

Today I had the privilege and good fortune to witness my friends Tracy and Kevin complete the Lake Stevens 70.3 Half Ironman. It has been a while since my last post, but after witnessing what I saw today I was inspired to write again.

There were many amazing things I got to see today, and many amazing people I got to speak to. I was fortunate enough to witness some of the elite's transition as well as Sister Madonna Buder cross the finish which was quite the thrill. What struck me the most though was not the start of the race, not during the race, rather what took place after.

I also saw many people, many just like you and me, cross the finish line. Some to a throng of several dozen cheering and others like the guy who sat down on a sidewalk next to me who was greeted by no one. Not a single friend or family member there to see him complete his first Half Ironman. I spoke with him for a few moments, congratulated him and looked on as he devoured a banana and some water.

Once Tracy and Kevin had finished competing we made our way back to the car to head back to a friends house for some pizza. On the way I saw other folks, no different than you or I, loading their bikes on to their cars. It got me thinking... what drives them? What drives us? At the end of the day, when the race is nearing completion and the tank is running on empty, what pushed them across that finish? Unless you are an elite there is no check waiting for you, no endorsement deal and in some cases you even have to drive yourself home.

For me the answer to the question lay in the faces of the finishers, in the faces of Kevin and Tracy, in the face of a smiling Sister Madonna Buder and in the face of the finisher who did it with no one there to watch him. The look of sheer joy and triumph. The look of accomplishment. The look of confidence and knowing that all the training they did, all of the work they put in led up to this one moment and put them over the top and made them Ironmen.

I had some serious doubts, as I prepare for my Sprint Tri, as to whether I would ever want to take my training to the level of an Ironman or even half. Today I was given my answer. It is by fortunate grace that I have been at a point for the last few weeks where I feel like I am going through the motions of training and not sure how much further I want to take this. After seeing this amazing event today, and seeing the looks of accomplishment, triumph and exuberance I now have no doubt in my mind that I want to do this.

I want to congratulate and thank all of the participants and finishers for reminding all of us again why we get up at the butt crack of dawn to put in our swims, do our biking and put in our runs.

Congratulations to you all and thank you for continuing to inspire.

A Primal Run

2009-08-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

I ran yesterday. I call it a primal run not because I left my iPod at home, not because I went without my $100 running shoes and not because I left my knee strap at home. Believe me I had ALL that stuff with me. I call it primal because it was one of necessity. I dropped my car off for service and decided that running back to pick it up would be the best bet.

I probably glamorized this a bit more in my mind and tried to imagine that this is what people did in times when combustion engines and even horse drawn carriages didn't exist. Not to mention the folks that don't have access to any other mode of transportation living in the world today.

Well, by the time all was said and done this run was anything BUT glamorous. For starters it was a little above 90 at run time, and honestly I have had the luxury of not having to run in extreme heat yet. (Not sure how Allison managed some of the races down in Memphis) Then I ran into the slight issue of having to use the restroom (serves me right for having TWO Rockstar drinks during the day). Finally, and the most FRUSTRATING part was that I got lost. I printed out Google's walking directions, and well that turned out to be a disaster.

LUCKY for me I took my cell phone with me and Allison happened to be near a computer and after a few minutes of figuring out what is north and what is south I was able to manage finding the dealership. The lesson learned in this instance is a simple one: if you are going to go for a run make sure you know where you are going. Having been in Seattle a year on August 18th I can honestly say I have not really invested the time into learning the roads like I should, having a GPS definitely makes me lazy about it.

The good thing about this run is that I did it. I don't regret doing it, and even take some pride in the fact that if I NEED to get somewhere I can always rely on myself and my body to take me there. I honestly feel like there is something to be said for that.

There would have been a time where 9 or 10 miles would have been an unthinkable distance to run or even walk for that matter.

As August rolls in I am now well under two months before my triathlon. The good news is my swimming is improving dramatically, the bad news is I am concerned the improvement curve is not going to come at a fast enough pace for me to tear through this thing. It is important that I remind myself this is purely a learning experience and to help me understand the scope of what I will be dealing with down in Memphis for the MIM Tri.

As always the beat and the training goes on, with a recovery week coming up I am hoping to heal up and lose some of this soreness in my body to gear up for the last few weeks of training.

Pushing Through a Wall

2009-07-23T21:46:00.000-07:00

It is not surprising that I find myself hitting a wall at this stage in my training. Not including a short respite here and there I have been training pretty much non-stop for the last seven months.

There is a HUGE difference between training for a road race and a triathlon event. The time investment for the triathlon definitely takes its toll and my hat goes off to folks that train for Iron Man distance events. One of the tricks I have discovered when it comes to tri training is a simple: show up. The hardest part about doing the swim in the morning isn't the swim itself (though that is a struggle), but rather getting up at 5 to be at the pool by 5:30.

I am proud of the fact that I only missed one scheduled workout this week, though it was an important one: biking hills. I learned very early on in my run training that you CANNOT beat yourself up for missing a work out. Just don't miss the next one.

With all of the training going on, my very part time job at the climbing gym, rental house hunting, weddings and the sudden increase in demand for my computer services it has become a struggle to juggle everything. Fortunately prior to all this my free time was taken up with watching TV and playing video games, so it was not difficult to look at my schedule and know where to allocate my time and resources. Though with the release of NCAA Football 2010 on Xbox360 I will have to make a LITTLE time for some gaming.

My friends have always said, and as time goes on I tend to agree, that I am the type of person that does not thrive unless I have a million balls in the air. So here I am; juggling away. The training definitely gives me a good outlet to deal with all of the other "crap" that is going on in life.

With another week in the books and September 20th looming ever closer it is time to focus and keep driving forward towards my goal. See you at the finish!!

Introduction

2009-07-19T08:20:00.000-07:00

I am a young IT professional, less than a year ago I had never done an endurance sport of any kind, and definitely enjoyed my stagnant lifestyle. On a whim and a dare I decided to see if I could run a half marathon. I did not blog about that part of my adventure however I recently completed the Inaugural Seattle Rock N' Roll Half Marathon. When I started my program (which a good friend put together for me) my long run was 1.25 miles. I remember coming home from those runs wondering what the heck I was getting into. As a fanatical wearer of basketball shorts I found it odd that as my distances went up I kept trying to find shorter shorts and was suddenly investing in something called Body Glide.

Did I mention I am now addicted to running? I figured, once I complete the half, it was time to take it to the next level. (Which my wife, Allison, and friends said I would do once the half was over) Over the next ten months I will be undertaking a series of endurance events with the culmination being the Memphis In May Triathlon. In preparation for this event I will be doing the Kirkland Triathlon which is September 20^th. I completed my first brick workout yesterday (bike and run) and realize that I have a long way to go but am very excited. Swimming is a completely different story, and I am actually very worried about whether or not I will be ready for the Kirkland Tri swim. It is only a sprint, but for someone with NO formal swim education it is going to be a daunting task.

Allison and one of her friends, in their infinite wisdom, decided that running the Walt Disney World marathon would also be a good idea. So add that to the schedule as well. That race will be on January 10, 2010 in Orlando and I am excited that Allison and I will be completing our first half and full marathons together. There was definitely some concern on my part about my ability to prepare for such different events but after talking to Tracy (my good friend and program coordinator) I think I will be able to make it work.

Those of you that know me know that after Allison and my family my next love is Roxie (she is featured in my profile picture with me). Being someone who grew up in a family that did NOT have pets I was not sure what to expect when Allison said she wanted to get a dog. The minute I saw Roxie sitting in the kennel (Allison was off checking out a German Sheppard) I knew this was the dog for us. We brought her home with us on a rainy October Memphis night (had to carry her up the stairs to our apartment because she wasn’t quite sure how to navigate them) and it has been a learning experience ever since.

It is because of Roxie’s undying love and loyalty that I have learned how amazing dogs can be, so we started doing some work with the rescue (volunteering at the adoption events, fostering, etc) which eventually led to us picking up a few strays ourselves. The fostering also brought a cat by the name of Shelly to us for a week, that was over a year and half ago and we still can’t get rid of her. I can’t imagine, nor do I remember, what life was like before these two came into our lives and I am grateful for every day with them.

I will be doing the MIM Tri on behalf of Saint Francis Animal Rescue and Refugee and hope to raise some money for them.

I have often flirted with the idea of starting a blog but I was afraid that I would let it die after a few posts. I have had several accounts created but have just never been able to get one going. Like the half marathon and many other things in my life I usually belly up to the bar when I am ready for it and so my inspiration to sit down this Sunday morning and do this tells me one thing: I am ready. I have many friends that I send emails to updating them about many of the things I am doing in my life, including training and climbing. I hope that they find this as an amusing and entertaining way to keep up with what is going on with me and in turn feel more inclined to share what is happening in their lives.

The title of my blog, Triathlon Quest, was chosen because it is the inspiration for me to start this thing and while the majority of posts on here will be in relation to my training I hope to share some other areas of my life as well. Personally I find it hard to separate my training from the rest of my life, so forgive me if I am violating some blogging etiquette.

Slowly but surely I will change the background and make tweaks to my blog, I apologize for the boring design at first. I look forward to sharing the next ten months (and beyond) of my life with those who want to read and share in it.