Myrtle Beach 1/2 Marathon

Well,

I wasn't quite sure what to expect for this race. Slammed at work, limited sleep... I figured my race wasn't going to be top notch anyway, so I enjoyed beer at the race expo and wine with dinner beforehand.

And somehow I had a really good race! It wasn't my fastest time, but certainly up there as one of my best! To top it off, I negative split the race! (In other words, I ran the second half faster than the first half.) I've never negative split a race! Maybe in a 5K once? Anyway, they didn't truly have the halfway point for the race, so I timed the first 6 miles (56:28) and then the second 6 miles (55:51). My overall finish was 2:03 flat, according to the watch.

Many people on Team Z had a great race too, between the half and the full.

Don't you love Carol's Accelerade Mustache?

Difficult Run?

For an easy training weekend (well, taper for next weekend at Myrtle Beach), I thought of a "difficult run"... as in the stream in Fairfax County, Difficult Run.

Difficult Run is the largest watershed in Fairfax County, with some fabulous hiking/trail running/mountain biking/horse riding adjacent to the stream. I was long overdue for a visit. I am not sure how the stream quite got its name, but it seems that going down the stream in a kayak would be quite difficult. It's rather rocky and steep in some sections, sort of a microcosm of Great Falls along the Potomac River, which is nearby. In fact, the Difficult Run trail connects to the Great Falls Park trails. And that's what I did today. A trail run. I took it easy, not wanting to fry the legs and just took some time to enjoy the scenery.

Tomorrow is slated for a 25-mile ride. Hmmm. Seems that the weather is not going to quite cooperate. The wind chill is going to be potentially unbearable. I think it'll be a good opportunity "train on the Ironman Lake Placid" course again, as ride the trainer, watching the training DVD.

Mardi Gras Weekend

I succeeded in dragging myself out of bed this morning to go for a run. I knew it wouldn't be pretty. (1) I was up well past midnight last night watching parades. (2) Dinner last night consisted of 2 pieces of Popeye's chicken and 2-1/2 Abita beers. (3) No means for pre-run breakfast. Oh well, some run was better than no run. So, I headed out with a bottle of Accelerade in hand to scope out the early morning action along the parade route and in the French Quarter.

I remember why I tend to steer clear of the French Quarter during Mardi Gras, particularly Bourbon Street. I ran only three blocks of Bourbon Street, before I could no longer take running through the mysterious goo on the sidewalks. (Stale beer, discarded beads, and a lot of stuff I don't want to think about.) So, I switched to running along Royal Street, peeking in the windows at more art I'd love to add to my collection.

Returning along Decatur Street, I paused to flirt with the group of guys trying to convince me to trade in my Accelerade for some beer. Maybe I should have?

Anyway, it was a short run, but I managed to knock out something. Besides, does the 4 miles I walked to and from parades last night count?

Pre-Parade Speed Work

Hello from New Orleans. Here for business again, it also happens to be Mardi Gras time. The coincidence! I won't be here on Fat Tuesday (Feb 5), but it's still great to be here for many of the parades and mayhem.

So Wednesday = speed work at the track. Instead of the track, I ran in Audubon Park. I've logged many many miles in that park. It's a 1.8 mile loop under the live oaks. I had a nice run until the catfish during lunch began to haunt me and I managed to hurt my ankle. Boo. As for the catfish, I generally avoid fried foods, but when I was running around the swamps with my client yesterday and that's where they wanted to stop for lunch.... that's the way it goes.

So, Mardi Gras. I lived in New Orleans & Baton Rouge (80 miles northwest of NO) for a total of 8 years. I came to Mardi Gras 3 times while I was in college. And I've visited the city many times since moving to DC. The Mardi Gras Guide has a list that states "You are a true New Orleanian if you find nothing odd about these statements..." (my comments in italics)

• My hairdresser, Bruce, will reign as queen of a Carnival ball - hmmmm... I guess referring to Krewe du Vieux, which tends to be quite satirical, off-color, and the one parade where I'd recommend not bringing children too- yes Mardi Gras is overall a family event.
• Float #17, upper deck, neutral ground side - The neutral ground is the road median everywhere else. I used to ride in the Krewe of Tucks, and rode on Float #15, lower deck, neutral ground side. You need to let your friends know where to find you to catch the good loot!
• My dogs are named Iko and Jockomo. Need to name the pets in true New Orleans fashion. I got my cat while I lived here. Her name is Socrates, pronounced so-CRATS as in Socrates Street in the Algiers section of New Orleans. That's how the street is honestly pronounced, and she was named by a couple friends of mine after the street. I also used to have some fish, named Comus, Momus, and Proteus after three old line Mardi Gras krewes.
• The men used to hold their balls at the Municipal Auditorium. Formal balls are part of every Mardi Gras krewe. There are many more krewes than the ones that parade. Many krewes used to have men-only membership; some still are. The Municipal Auditorium has not held a ball since Katrina.
• I caught these panties off a lady from Venus. Yes, you can catch panties off a parade float. I prefer beads. Beads are meaningless outside of New Orleans, but here, it's an exhileration like nothing else to catch a good pair in the air.

Run from Fletcher's Boathouse

Saturday was our last long run before the Myrtle Beach Marathon, a 20 miler. I, of course, since my knees were giving me a bit of grief recently, am doing the 1/2 marathon instead. Nevertheless, I wanted to get a long run in to essentially follow our Ironman training schedule and ran 16 miles. Running from Fletcher's Boathouse is fun, as I can say I ran from DC-MD-DC-VA-DC.

Carol "Camel" and I ran the first bit together, from the Boathouse all the way into downtown Bethesda, MD. We did the run-walk thing, feeling good. Coming back was a net loss in elevation, and we managed to negative split the 5 miles by about 10 minutes. Who-hoo!

We refueled back at our cars, said hello to those who ran shorter distances, and went back out to finish the run. Carol wanted to retrace her steps on the Capitol Crescent Trail, back into MD, whereas I wanted a change of scenery and be able to cross the Key Bridge to say I indeed ran into VA, so we separated. Besides, she needed to run the longer distance as she'll do the marathon.

There's something therapeutic about running solo, along the Potomac River and the C & O Canal. The canal had a sheet of ice, suspending itself in time. What I like most about running in Washington D.C. is the opportunity to observe and enjoy all that the city has to offer. All too often, people zip by, busy with their lives, and never have the chance to notice what's around them.

To Do List (in other words, future athletic endeavors)

Hmmmm.... Anyone want to join me?

• Hood to Coast Relay http://www.hoodtocoast.com/
• 24 Hours of Adrenalin http://www.24hoursofadrenalin.com
• 24 Hour Adventure Race, i.e. Odyssey Wild Wonderful http://www.oarevents.com
• Climb Mt Rainier http://www.climbmountrainier.com/
• Mount Baker Hill Climb http://www.norkarecreation.com/hcinfo.htm
• Ski to Sea http://www.skitosea.com/
• Chesapeake Bay Swim http://www.bayswim.com/

?????

A monumental run

I had the opportunity to venture on one of my favorite running routes today. I love exploring Washington D.C. on foot. Seems that each time I run through the city is a unique experience. The knees are still giving me a wee bit of trouble, nothing too serious, but do need to take it easy. I ran for the first 30 minutes, then switched to run 4- walk 1.

Take a View of the Skyline

Typical weekend... run, bike, eat, sleep...

Saturday's run along the W & OD trail from Arlington. Joanna and I, the walking wounded, opted to run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute for our workout. It actually went well, and we unpredictably passed some who were running the entire time. Maybe there's some true logic behind the Galloway method for marathoning? Hmmm... she and I went for over 2 hours, a total of 12.2 miles. At that time, Joanna went to use the elliptical trainer, and I went out for another 1/2 hour of run-walking, for about a total of 14-15 minutes. Good news that the knee was pretty much in check the entire time. Wha-hoo!

Sunday... ride from Marshall, Virginia. The ride is called Skyline Views, but I'd like to call it Winery Views. We passed by Farfalu, Rappahannock, and Oasis Vineyards. And several others were nearby. May have to open a bottle of cabernet sauvignon tonight!

The ride started out awfully chilly (thank goodness for the toastie toes and hot hands that Santa put in my stocking!), but I warmed up by about mile 5. The ride was pleasant for the most part. Scenic, relaxing, rolling hills... My knee was bothering me a bit, but at the rest stop, I raised the saddle a bit, which helped alleviate troubles.

During the second half of the ride, it began to cloud up and became downright chilly. Carol Camel and I made the best of it, both suffering a bit. Neither of us can imagine ramping up our mileage quite yet. Ug. My pedal cadence began to go down the tubes. Goal is to have a pedal cadence of 90+ rpm; I was at 60-70. It was depressing when this elderly man, wearing knickers (he looked like he was dressed cheesily to play golf vs ride a bike), riding this sorry ass bike with a load in back, passed me by. I kept telling myself that hopefully he was just at the start of a quick commute down the street and I was nearing the end of a 40+ mile ride.

Check out the route:

Geaux Tigers - part II

WOW! After an absolute crazy season of college football, LSU is on top. And gladly, this time, it's not a split National Championship Title. We're #1 all the way around.

I watched the game with McKinney and several others, primarily from the Kingpin in New Orleans. (On a side note... I love the Kingpin. It's a couple blocks away from my old place in New Orleans-- and of course opened after I moved away--- but I feel part ownership of that place. I know the owners, painted the ceiling with one of them, and have had many happy times there.) The place was wild last night. It's truly a locals' bar. There were a couple of sad looking Buckeye fans there, though. I kind of felt for them. About midway thru the game, they just gave up and wound up playing darts.

So, now bleary-eyed, but back to reality, I'm here pounding CC's Coffee once again, prepping for another day at the office.
I love LSU. I those those Tigers.

Geaux Tigers - part I

Good morning from the CC's Coffee in Baton Rouge. I certainly wish we had a CC's Coffee in the Washington DC area, but alas, I guess having it only available in Louisiana makes it all the sweeter.

I'm visiting Baton Rouge/New Orleans officially for work (heading to the consultant's office in a bit), but anyone who knows me, knows why I'm really here: tonight's BCS Championship game. I received my master's degree from LSU and was a university employee for 3 years, so although I was not born with purple & gold blood, I certainly have made up for it and cheer just as loudly as any other Tiger fan. I've got my purple and gold on today for work.

I arrived into New Orleans Saturday night, with plans to run the 101st annual Jackson Day race Sunday morning. Recovery week.. easy run. Fun run, and great to see lots of old faces from New Orleans and Baton Rouge. It's a 9K, sort of an odd distance, about 5-1/2 miles. I finished in 53:44. Not bad. Best thing was that knees did OK. Actually, my limiting factor was the heat and humidity. I'm certainly not used to it. It actually hit a record high of 80 in Baton Rouge yesterday! I started to feel a little dizzy about midway through the race and had to take it a little easy. I finished just fine. Here's a picture from the post-race party... McKinney and The Braz (my former commanding officer from my Navy days) drinking several beers at the post race party.

You see, it's unheard of to have a race in New Orleans and NOT have beer afterwards. No one would come. And there's lots of beer available.

Off to work....

Geaux Tigers!

Happy New Year!

2008...

I started out my workouts of the year at the Rotary Resolution Run all the way out in Leesburg. Carol Camel has made it a tradition of hers for the last few years and talked me into joining her. I was signed up for the 10K, but with the new knee troubles, I wound up changing to the 4K fun run.

I did ok running, experiencing little knee pain, so that's a good sign. I think my limiting factor more so was the NYE shenanigans from the night before!

I'm going to take off from running and biking the rest of the week and do extra swimming in the hopes that I fully recover rather quickly. My next run will be in New Orleans on Sunday at the 101st annual Jackson Day Race. (fun time!)

So, off to New Orleans. My official reason is business, but everyone knows deep down that I'm really heading there to be in town for the BCS Championship. I'm not going to the game, but it will certainly be fun to be surrounded by fellow LSU Tigers as we take on Ohio St for the title.

GEAUX TIGERS!

No Day at the Beach

Ah, so the last bike ride of 2007 started from Harwood, MD, which included a ride along the boardwalk at Chesapeake Beach. It was relatively warm (up to 60), no wind, but cloudy, making for a very nice 48-miler.


However, during the last 10 miles or so, I suffered from knee pain. UG! I had been doing so well! The next morning was slated for a 10 mile run. Needless to say, I only ran-walked 4. UG! Hmmm... I emailed the Myrtle Beach Marathon peeps to see about switching from the full to the 1/2 marathon. After all, there's no real need for me to do a winter marathon. I already know I can finish a marathon. It's more important for me to get and stay healthy for when the "real" Ironman training starts in the spring.

Merry Christmas!

Last night I participated in the Christmas Lights Run. Imagine 500 or so runners zipping through Washington DC, hitting the Mall, the National Christmas Tree, the Willard Hotel, Judicial Square, and Union Station, singing Christmas carols. Fun time, but we ran a little harder than I anticipated. My legs were sore from the tough track workout from the previous evening! I came home, and there was Socrates. Who was more tired?

I'm running 16 miles in the morning, then off to Chicago for Christmas!

'Tis the Season!

Happy Holidays. This past weekend was recovery weekend. Good thing too. I had two holiday parties to attend. The first was our Team Z party, with the world premieres of both the Ironman CDA video and photo book. I was there for the race this year, (as a spectator), and it just made me teary eyed, thinking about my race. Lots to look forward to over the next few months!

Saturday night was our office party. I arrived with my coworker James. He and the photographer just made me laugh. Check out our picture. James is like a kid brother and I just pick on the poor guy all the time. He and my other coworkers (Joni, Hunt, Dave, etc) are part of the reason why I do enjoy my job.

The next two weeks are going to be tough training... and with the holidays thrown in there... ouch! The debate this week is when/where to run 16 miles. Do I suffer in the chill of Chicagoland and run 16 on Saturday (and also have to drag all my long distance run gear with me), or take off the day Friday, switch out the workouts (do hard bike Tuesday instead), and do long run Friday before I hop on the plane? I'm thinking the latter....

Swim, Swim, Swim as Fast as You Can!

Yesterday morning, at Team swim practice, we did time trial sets. Goal was to set a baseline and establish our pace per 100 yards. OK. Typically, before our swim practices (5:30 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays!), I consume a gel to get some energy into my body. The one morning I miss out on taking one, we have a time trial... erg.

The time trial was a total 600 yards, with a 10 second break at the 300. My pace wound up being about 1:50 per 100. I'm noting this for future reference. I've been working to improve the efficiency in my stroke, just starting to get used to the change, so hopefully I'll see those swim times drop over the next year?

Thanksgiving in Las Vegas

So, my second trip to Las Vegas in two months... crazy! This time it was a girls' trip with Mom. We were actually rather low key. In fact, over the 4-day weekend, the only night we were out past 10pm was Saturday night. Pretty sad, huh? I guess I'm used to waking at about 4 or 4:30 eastern time, and as a result was up freakishly early in the morning and could not stay awake into the night. So, we made the best of the daytime. We went to Red Rock Canyon on a perfect day (seemed that everyone else thought so too, as it was quite crowded). We ate some fabulous food. We saw Blue Man Group.

A fun weekend, but I'm anxious to return home and back to reality. I write from the Las Vegas airport. Take the red eye tonight, head essentially straight to work Monday morning (after heading home to shower and pick up Socrates from the kennel), work on a project for the Corps (which I'm also doing at the moment), and then fly out Tuesday morning to New Orleans/Baton Rouge until Thursday night. Whew! Crazy.

Exhausted just thinking about it....

Solo on the W & OD

Nice day for a bike ride! Being one week out from the marathon, I thought I'd take it a little easy, skipping out on the hilly ride with Team Z and going solo on the flat W & OD rail trail instead. It was rather pleasant out there, and lucked out by seeing a deer. I did a respectable 30 miles, opting to take it a little easy and not push it.

I ran 6 miles yesterday and felt pretty good.

Hopefully I'm fully back in action quickly to rejoin the Team Z schedule. Ironman training has begun after all.

Looks like LSU is back on top. Can we hang on until the BCS Championship?

New York City Marathon

All right... I'll just come out and say it: the NYC Marathon should be on everyone's to-do list! What a fabulously fun race. The crowds (an estimated 2 million) certainly make it easy to pass the miles by. The support and volunteers are absolutely first class. With that, here's my report on the weekend....

I took the bus up Saturday morning (day before the race), immediately making a stop at the race expo upon my arrival in Manhattan. I picked up my number, chip, and shirt before making a quick spin around the expo itself. It was a zoo (the trick is to go there Thursday or Friday apparently) and I had to leave the expo rather quickly. Besides, ESPN Zone in Times Square was calling my name. (It was COLLEGE FOOTBALL SATURDAY after all.)

After lunch and some football, I took a swing by my hostel. (I elected to stay at a hostel vs a hotel to save some coin. It was $37/night, 2 blocks from Times Square, and clean. Can't beat that.) It was soon time to go to the pre-race dinner at Tavern on the Green in Central Park.

Walking through Central Park got me very excited about next morning's race. Seeing the run route leading toward the finish line, lined with flags and bleachers got my heart pumping. Additionally, it was a beautifully crisp fall day, with foliage in full swing, which made for a setting exactly like one would think Central Park would look like in the fall.

The dinner was outstanding. I wondered how they would feed nearly 40,000 runners (and their guests), but they seem to have it down to a science. Volunteers cooked up 6000 lbs of pasta to feed us. I sat with a couple of guys who were also there solo to chat up. One of them was a first time marathoner and he was as excited as a kid at Christmas.

Post dinner I ventured back to the hostel to catch the LSU-Bama game. About 8pm I wasn't happy with the Tigers' performance and was getting tired, so I called it a night. (Thanks Mom for the voice mail with the outcome--- LSU wins!)

I woke early the next morning, delighted to have the hostel room to myself. I soon headed out to meet the race bus to make the way to the race start at Staten Island.

And then it was time to wait. And wait. Racers need to arrive early at Staten Island as they close the Verranzo-Narrows Bridge early for security and for those that start the race earlier than the crowd (pro women & athletes with disabilities). Plus, with nearly 40,000 runners, there's a lot of logistics to take care of pre-race. At least there was plenty of coffee, bagels, and other food to keep us happy.

By the time I crossed the start line at 10:30 (race started at 10:10), I felt like half the day was over. (I had boarded the bus at 4:30.) Needless to say, I was very happy to finally be running!

The run across the bridge is highly exciting. It's the iconic picture of the NYC marathon. Upon exiting the bridge into Brooklyn, the crowds are phenomenal. Most of the first half of the race is in Brooklyn, running through the various ethnic neighborhoods. I saw parts of NYC I'd never otherwise see.

I knew going into the race that I was under-prepared. I did not get the long runs in me. I had a 14-miler and a 17-miler and that was pretty much it. It took me a long time to fully recover from my bike crash over the summer. (I could bike and swim rather quickly, but experienced a litteral pain in my butt whenever I ran from an internal bruise.) Plus, I overly scheduled fall travel. (See prior blog entries.) I opted to go through with the marathon, knowing I'd still be able to finish by playing it smart and taking it easy. I knew I'd have to walk a bulk of the 2nd half. So, I decided to just have fun with it. Relax and kick-start my Ironman training. I figured it would take me about 6 hours.

So, have fun with the race I did. Every time we entered a new borough, the crowds came to life. And finally, with entering Manhattan the second time, we could feel the energy in the air. I saw on my watch that if I kicked it up a tiny notch, I could potentially break 6 hours. Hmmmm. I kicked it into high gear for the last mile, fully running with everything I had, but it wasn't quite enough. I finished in 6:00:05. At least my 6 hour prediction was right on.

I experienced no real trouble during the race. No knee problems, no bonking, none of that. Simply didn't have the training in me to run the entire distance. The only problem I did experience was my shoes. They were way too tight on my feet. I have quick laces on them, and as my feet expanded, I felt like they were being crushed. No way to adjust the laces. I could no longer stand it shortly after I crossed the finish line and elected to walk barefoot the mile or so to collect my gear bag. (The unfortunate thing about having a last name starting with "T" was that the truck holding my gear was near the end.)

I hopped on the subway back to the hostel, got cleaned up, and had a decision to make: post-race party or Irish bar next door. The post-race party was part of my entry fee, but it had unknown food and required walking+subway or a cab ride. The Irish bar was next door and had what I truly had a taste for: burger and a good beer. Needless to say, the Irish bar won out.

All in all, fantastic race. This is a race I would surely do again. And now I'm truly inspired to get myself in gear and honestly train "by the book" for my winter marathon.

Link to my race photos:
http://www.brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=18469&PWD=&BIB=28252

Fall is in the Air

Ah... the leaves changing, cooler weather, mid-season in college football... MID-OCTOBER!

I spent Saturday of last weekend on a bike ride up in Thurmont, MD. Helen, Andrea, and I decided to take the ride leisurely (as to ride like "normal" people), taking in the sights, sounds, and smells (well, many of the smells were not-so-pleasant) in the Maryland countryside. I nearly strangled Helen with a thorn bush, however, as we stopped mid-ride for a much needed pee break. The ride was an easy 26 miles (the rest of the crowd went 33, but for some reason, 33 just seemed so much further than 26 miles, so we stuck with the shorter route).

So, fall Saturdays.... COLLEGE FOOTBALL. I was rather fired up for the Tigers. It was my first opportunity to watch the game with the LSU alumni. I hung out with them for the 1st 3 quarters, and feeling pretty confident, I elected to leave and join the Team Z end-of-season party. I listened to ESPN radio enroute to the party, and my confidence levels were quickly dashed. At least it's been a season of upsets for EVERYONE. Lee Corso (from ESPN) still has LSU-OU as his pick for going to the BCS Championship.

Sunday, Sunday, I needed to knock out one last LONG run in preps for the NYC marathon. It helped a lot not traveling or racing and simply having a normal weekend at home for once. For the first time in 6 weeks, as a matter of fact. I did a nice run around Washington DC, along Rock Creek Parkway, thru the Zoo, down Conn Ave, by the White House, along K St, along the Mall, and back on the Mt Vernon path in Virginia. About 17-18 miles in all. Was a little tired at the end, but it gave me a lot more confidence for NYC. NYC will be a marathon-for-fun, but it'll give me a head start for winter Ironman training.

Viva Las Vegas

The final trip of my whirlwind of a September/early October concluded with a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate Dad's 60th birthday. A group of 4 of us made the trip for a memorable weekend: Dad, Patrick, my uncle Frank, and yours truly. Patrick had never been to Las Vegas before and figured it would be fun to come, especially with the opportunity to take advantage of Dad's comps.



The weather was unseasonably cool, with highs in the 70s. Friday, Patrick and I ventured out to Red Rock Canyon, with plans of doing an easy hike. However, the winds were strong (heard up to 50 mph gusts), making it feel super chilly. So, needless to say, our visit was confined to the vistor's center and the scenic drive, with the occasional popping out of the car for photos. Very pretty though.

Later on Friday, Dad decided to treat all of us to a helicopter trip over the Grand Canyon. I'd never been in a helicopter before and it was certainly surreal. The flight to the Canyon only took about 1/2 hour, flying essentially along the Colorado River, over Lake Mead, and over the Hoover Dam. With the high winds, the ride was a little rough. The pilot kept assuring us that we were perfectly safe, that helicopters can handle a lot, and the winds were "nothing". I'm not so sure I'd want to find out when the winds are "something". The Grand Canyon was rather breathtaking. As much of a National Park buff as I am, it's surprising I'd never been there before.

Saturday was little more low key, with a walk along the Strip and our actual 60th birthday celebration with decorations and cake.

Saturday evening ended fantastically, with going to see Jay Leno do standup and a fabulous LSU victory.... GEAUX TIGERS!

So, today is Sunday and everyone from our group has departed except me. Yes, I went for a long run. No, I did not go as far as scheduled. I felt great, the weather was perfect.... but I need to start wearing compression shorts during a run. I got some nasty chaffing inside my thighs. Ouch. I simply couldn't take it anymore. Needless to say, my final long training run is postponed to next weekend at home. I am shortly going to venture to get a massage at the spa, chill at the pool, and get a mani/pedi before leaving for the airport later tonight. Back to reality tomorrow....