Myrtle Beach Marathon

This past weekend I ventured down to Myrtle Beach (road trip!) with 3 of my Team Z teammates- Jen, Holly, & Susan. Susan & Jen planned to run the 1/2 marathon, whereas Holly and I planned for the full.

I was rather relaxed about the entire idea. Myrtle Beach was to be my 9th marathon. In many ways, I knew what I was getting into, yet on the other hand, it was sort of a new beginning. It was to be my first marathon giving heart rate monitor training a try.

To make a long story short, I was long skeptical of using a HRM in my training or racing. After a few heated debates with Coach Ed and a kick in the head recognizing that I seemed to routinely bonk during endurance events, I decided it was time to give the heart rate monitor a try.

Regardless, I approached Myrtle Beach as sort of a long training run in pursuit of the grand prize this summer. I wanted to see how the heart rate monitor would work for me, especially since I knew my marathon preps were not quite textbook, as my longest training run was only 16 miles.

Upon our arrival in Myrtle Beach, we were giddy with a sort of cabin fever after the long drive. We zipped around the race expo, taking full advantage of the free local microbrew to calm the nerves. Did some shopping, took advantage of the pasta dinner, and soon it was time to crash for the night.

Race day started at 4:00 in anticipation of 6:30 start.

Turned out to be an absolutely perfect race day: 50 degrees, no rain despite the forecast, and little wind. I bid temporary farewell to Holly, Jen, and Susan, and was on my way. I kept a comfortable 10:00 minute/mile pace, staying in zone on my heart rate monitor. The course was pleasant, flat, and fast, along Ocean Blvd.

I faded out about mile 16, where my lack of training began to show. I elected to take it easy for a while, walking a bit and chatting with some fellow runners. I played cat & mouse with a fellow TriCAT (who recognized me from my TriCAT shirt), chatted up with an Ironman Florida finisher, and gave high 5s to spectators along the course.

The rest paid off. My second wind came about mile 19. I knew I wanted to break 5 hours and possibly finish the day with my second best marathon time ever. As fellow runners hit the notorious "wall", I began to run almost as though my day had just started. As I approached the finish line, my eyes welled up as I saw Jen, Holly, and Susan there to greet me at the finish line.

And so, I finished in 4:52 by my watch. (Chip time was 4:54.... I stopped the watch for a much needed pee break at mile 9.) And I succeeded by beating my previous 2nd best time of 4:55 from Marine Corps Marathon a few years back. (Best time is 4:12 at Vermont in 2004, where I had an amazing 1/2 marathon split time but wound up paying for it by nearly crawling to the finish.)

I loved traveling with Holly, Jen, and Susan to race. All 4 of us had a great race. What I love about our team is the fact that we share each others' victories. And from afar, we cheered on our teammates that elected to race locally in the GW Birthday Marathon.

So, now what? My race strategy has paid off by rewarding me with a speedy recovery. Nevertheless, giving the legs (and mind) a break this week before my training season truly starts next week.

New Year....

All right. So, recovery from Miami Man is past, holidays have past, it's time to get back into action.

Next up: Myrtle Beach Marathon on Feb 18th. Wow. My 9th marathon. Sounds a little crazy. And my 9th State.... So far (in order): Chicago, Marine Corps (DC), Mardi Gras (New Orleans), Shamrock (Virginia Beach), Disney, New Mexico, Vermont, and Marathon in the Parks (MD). I am not sure how much longer I can hold out with marathoning though; the knees are not as forgiving as they used to be. I guess I need to get through this go-around, and through Ironman, and after that it will be time for a knee break.

This marathon is not so much of a focus as a "training run". Somewhat psychotic to consider a marathon a "training run", but I guess nothing is quite sane when it comes to Ironman.

I'm getting re-vitalized with fundraising for the American Heart Association too. Friday February 3rd is National Wear Red Day. Wear red to support the fight against heart disease and help raise awareness of heart disease and women.



Thanks again for all of your support.---

Miami Man Race Report

Time to jet set away for my third Half Iron distance triathlon. Destination: Miami.... And even without the race, how fun to skip town to warm Southern Florida with 20 of my friends!

I was rather motivated going into the race. By now I had proven to myself that I could finish an endurance triathlon and was looking to up the ante and see if I could work toward improving my performance. I was disciplined myself by eating right, consuming plenty of water, and avoiding alcohol. Managed to watch the entire LSU game on Saturday (GEAUX TIGERS) versus Alabama without a single beer. Slept well and was ready to race come Sunday morning.

My coach, Ed, noted that I looked rather nervous as we approached the start line. I kept insisting I was fine, or perhaps I was telling myself that I was fine. I guess a few butterflies in the stomach never hurt. Wave after wave began until it was my turn to enter the water.

We could not have asked for better swim conditions. The water was clear, a perfect temperature, and as calm as a pool. I swam with ease and comfort. Very nice.

Upon exiting the lake, it was about a 1/4 mile hike to transition. I peeled off the wetsuit, put on the bike helmet, and was on my way.

The bike course was quite lonely. And not exactly scenic. It was distressing to see palm trees laying about as a result of Hurricane Wilma. The winds picked up as the race went on as well. It was almost a struggle to keep the bike erect. The bike course had two loops. Some of my non-racing teammates were hanging near the start of the second loop, which was a boost. Soon thereafter, I encountered my teammate Holly (who has been a great training partner this season). She and I were equally thrilled to see one another and chased each other back and forth for the duration of the second loop. Even better was when I ran out of fluids with 10 miles left on the bike and she managed to come to my rescue.

Coming into transition, I was again greeted by fellow teammates and Coach Ed. It was time to set off on the run. Having run out of fluids and seeing my heart rate sky rocket, I elected to play it safe. It was my first race using my heart rate monitor and I decided to allow it to dictate my speed. That meant walking. I'd run a little, then walk to bring the heart rate down.

The run meandered in and out of the zoo. It made for great opportunities to see fellow teammates (both racing and spectating). Our team looked so strong; it motivated me. I ran with teammate Jim for about 4 miles. He was taking it easy as he's planning on doing the Philly Marathon this coming weekend. (And I thought I was a bit of a nut!) Regardless, it was fantastic to have a running partner for a while through my 2nd loop in the zoo.

As the run progressed, I felt better and managed to kick it in a bit at the end, resulting in a negative split in the run. I was a little extra motivated knowing I wanted to get a personal best.

I wound up finishing the race in 6:27, missing a personal best by 3 minutes. I was rather down and out about it at first, all the time recognizing that finishing a 1/2 Ironman in itself is huge. And the race conditions weren't exactly favorable.

What lifted my spirits more and more was sitting there along the finish line, cheering the rest of my teammates in. Their drive was inspiring. There was Helen, who suffered through 4 flats on the bike course and never gave up, even though it would have been very easy to forgo the run. There was Durst, who was suffering through knee pain as I did during my first 1/2 Ironman, but found something deep inside to finish the race anyway. There was Siri, who I swear could be smiling through simultaneous flood, fire, and an endurance triathlon. And there was Mead... He was equally cranky as I as he was less than satisfied with his run. And as we talked I think we both realized that how ridiculous we sounded. How many people can say they can successfully complete a 1/2 Ironman distance triathlon? So, live and learn, and look forward to the next race...

One thing I realized more than anything this weekend was the power of our team. Our energy at the finish line was infectious. I think Terry said it best when he noted that traditionally triathlon is an individual sport, yet Team Z manages to do it as a team. I'm already looking forward to next race season.

Towards Miami

Wow, I'm a little overdue since my last post. I'm trying to stay afloat between the day job, the Navy job, and training. I'm hanging in there.

Next race is Miami Man, 14 November. Guess where? Miami? It's a 1/2 Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run). My goal is somewhere between 5:30 and 6 hours. Think I can do it?

The Lums Pond Triathlon

Yippie! Race weekend. This time Team Z and I headed up to Bear, Delaware for the Lums Pond Triathlon. It was a sprint distance... just a teaser race.

Anyway, we made the trek up there on Saturday to camp for the night and have some socializing and pre-race chatter. The mosquitos and heat were in full force but it did not dampen our spirits too much. The adrenaline in anticipation of a race was high.

With all the factors, none of us slept too much. We were up bright and early to chow on some bananas, bagels, and oatmeal... key pre-race food. And then it was off to the race.

Now, the swim was a little interesting. To say the water was murky would be an understatement. The water was 87 degrees and it was impossible to hands in front of the race. Who knows what was in that water. At least nothing came out and attacked me, other than the occasional expected bump from a fellow triathlete.

The bike course was flat and fast. The scenery consisted of farm fields and wetlands. Not much to be expected of middle-of-nowhere Delaware. But it was hot out there. Fluid intake was absolute key. The bike was a personal success.

And lastly, the run. The 5K run was primarily in the shade. Thank goodness. The out-and-back course helped to see fellow teammates out on the course to cheer one another on. Then on top of it, other non-racing teammates were along the course cheering as loud as they possibly could. One had a cowbell. The superfans cheered us all in and I wound up with my fastest 5K time in a triathlon, only to be bested by two other races which didn't have a swim or a bike beforehand. Talk about a benchmark.

Post race, we gathered back to share our stories of success, chow on leftovers, and prepare to head home. I cannot reiterate enough how much I love training and racing with my teammates.

And check out the links to the right. In conjunction with Ironman, I'm fundraising for the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Campaign to stop heart disease. Thank you in advance.

Motivated Already....

Tonight a few of us gathered... some from my training team (TeamZ) and some from my triathlon club (TriCATs). We all shared one thing in common: we're all doing the Ironman in Lake Placid next year.

After a beer at happy hour (yes, even though we train hard, a beer comes in handy every now and then), Coach Ed invited us over to watch his DVD from this past Ironman (just a couple of weeks ago) up in Lake Placid. A few of my teammates traveled up there to cheer on the participants and also register in person for next year's race. The DVD made us all choke up a bit and shed a tear. It is simply inspiring to watch people place mind over matter to complete such a tough event. It is especially inspiring to watch the back-of-the-packers... the final swim finisher (who had an arm injury) and those finishing the race as the midnight cutoff approaches.

My mom registered for her hotel room already and is probably almost as excited about the race as I am.

For now, our team is not quite doing Ironman-level training. Our focus for the moment is a half-Ironman scheduled for mid-November in Miami. And there's some other races here and there leading up to that. This weekend a bunch of us are doing a sprint (the shortest triathlon distance) up in Lums Pond, Delaware.

Until my race report.....

Well... I'm signed up now

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would commit myself toward the Ironman triathlon. Several people I've met have associated the Ironman with triathlon and automatically think Hawaii. And so when I tell people I'm doing the Ironman next year, they tend to think I am Hawaii bound. No, not quite.

On July 23, 2006, I will participate in Ironman USA with the beautiful Adirondack Mountains as a backdrop in Lake Placid, NY. It was the first Ironman brought to the continental US. Hence the name.

Come join me along for the ride. It will have its ups and downs, like the hills I bike ride through Virginia. This blog will keep you up to date as I train with my teammates from TeamZ, our races, our adventures in training, and perhaps a few other tidbits.