I just started up a new run club in the Joliet area. If you're interested in running with us, let me know.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/191978207594079/
No fee to join!
Hope to hear from some new runners.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Chicago Monster Dash 2012 Race Report
So, October 21 was my second half marathon of the year. Training wise, I felt better for this race than pretty much anything else I've done this year.
I've added sprints and lots of interval runs to my training and my diet was WAY better going up to this race than the Latebird Tri.
Early results were really good. I was trekking along at better than 8 minutes per mile pace. Much better than the last time I ran a half.
Around mile 7, I stumbled over a transition in pavement and something went wonky in my knee. I kept trying to push but by the end of mile 8, I realized I was in a LOT of trouble. I was positive something was torn. I couldn't stride and was in immense pain. I saw the 8 min pacer then the 8:30 pacer pass me by while I tried to get my knee to relax.
I ended up having to stop every half mile to try and stretch my quads.
By the end, I was at the breaking point, but I managed to finish.
I've added sprints and lots of interval runs to my training and my diet was WAY better going up to this race than the Latebird Tri.
Around mile 7, I stumbled over a transition in pavement and something went wonky in my knee. I kept trying to push but by the end of mile 8, I realized I was in a LOT of trouble. I was positive something was torn. I couldn't stride and was in immense pain. I saw the 8 min pacer then the 8:30 pacer pass me by while I tried to get my knee to relax.
I ended up having to stop every half mile to try and stretch my quads.
By the end, I was at the breaking point, but I managed to finish.
I ended up with a PR by 6 minute over my spring half which also had an injury issue, but this time I started out much faster.
Team Ortho knows how to put on a great event. They always have really good swag and their medals look really nice too. Highly recommend this run as it's a great jaunt down the lakefront pathway. I could do without the hairpin turn at the halfway point, but it's a great course all around. I'll definitely be doing the Polar Dash in January then the Lucky 21k again in March.
As for the injury, appears I had micro tears in my hamstrings which messed up my knee. On top of that, I hurt my neck on the following Wednesday. Battling injuries absolutely blows.
Taking a couple races off, then doing a small 5k on November 17th before the Turkey Trot in Naperville on Thanksgiving.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Rest week.
My body told me this week. OK. That's enough. You need to take a damn break. I have been sore, beat up feeling, etc. So this week, I decided to take about three days of training off and just concentrate on my diet. The result? Lost 7 lbs from Saturday. Crazy, I know.
The key was to redirect my diet to make it as absolutely clean as possible, increase my vegetables and my fruit intake and voila! My system is completely cleaned out. I feel SO much better.
Obviously, that means I need to work on my triathlon diet because I shouldn't feel so bloaty all the time when on it.
I still have my Chicago Monster Dash Half Marathon in just over two weeks. So I'm back to hard core training tonight with some hill sprints then an eleven mile run tomorrow.
But sometimes, you just need to listen to your body when it says "Shut it down".
Finding the difference between "I can push a little more" and "I need a rest" is a fine line, but I think I found it.
I guess we'll find out in a couple weeks.
The key was to redirect my diet to make it as absolutely clean as possible, increase my vegetables and my fruit intake and voila! My system is completely cleaned out. I feel SO much better.
Obviously, that means I need to work on my triathlon diet because I shouldn't feel so bloaty all the time when on it.
I still have my Chicago Monster Dash Half Marathon in just over two weeks. So I'm back to hard core training tonight with some hill sprints then an eleven mile run tomorrow.
But sometimes, you just need to listen to your body when it says "Shut it down".
Finding the difference between "I can push a little more" and "I need a rest" is a fine line, but I think I found it.
I guess we'll find out in a couple weeks.
Monday, October 1, 2012
J-Hawk LateBird Triathlon 2012 Race Report
The key to this race was my diet. Or lack there of.
I fell off the wagon big time before this race, and didn't train on the bike as much as I should have, but anyway, here's my recap.
The drive up to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater was quite nice. Virtually no highways and some beautiful scenery.
Arrived about 3 hours early and I knew going into the race I was in trouble. I had ingested pizza on Friday, cheesecake on Saturday and had ZERO bowel movements. Sorry to be disgusting, but that's something that is very important to one's digestive health and with no movements, I was concerned about cramping.
The Swim
The swim was staged in waves of 3 in each lane. I was in the 44th wave. One of my competitors didn't show up, so I shared the lane with another guy in my division.
I felt slow instantly. The other guy took off and was WAY ahead early. I could tell he slowed near the end after he opened up the huge gap, but he was a length ahead of me when he got out of the pool. I felt my side tighten during the 6th lap. Not good. Ended up with a 9:45. Not too bad, considering I did a 9:32 for 400 meters in Naperville and this was a 500 meter swim.
T1
First transition was something I worked hard on to fix. At the Naperville Tri, I had a 3:35 Transition as I struggled to get on my socks, shoes, etc.
This time, I went sockless and had no problems getting going and did a 1:34. Not bad at all
Bike
As I jumped onto the bike, I saw the leader in my division and the guy in my pool lane just ahead (I trimmed some of the two minutes I lost on the pool by hustling to T1 and getting that transition done quick), I figured, hey I can catch these guys and pull ahead.
This is when it went all wrong. Not 5 minutes in, I started to cramp everywhere. Legs, back, side. I was in pain and felt like I was riding in molasses. Just couldn't get going and watched the leaders disappear in the distance. I lost 4 minutes on the bike ride. 44:04 as opposed to 40:48 in Naperville. True we were more exposed in the wind, but I blame myself. I just didn't have any energy and was fighting my body.
It was the worst part of any race I've ever had outside of the last two miles in the spring half marathon.
T2
1:35 for my second transition. This included one of my toes getting caught in my toe shoes. I will not be wearing them next year for any tris. However, due to getting out of my cycling shoes faster, I improved from 2:07 in Naperville. So not bad, but I should have been closer to 1 minute flat.
Run
I had trained hard for the running portion and that saved this race from being really bad. I was in pain from the outset of the run. Couple notes. This was a trail run. Which I instantly loved because that's how I train usually is on the trails of the Crumby Rec Area. However, I didn't have the right shoes for this run at all. I was hurting from the rocks going into the bottom of my Vibram Five Fingers early on.
About a mile in, I finally settled into a halfway decent groove (Couldn't push any harder due to all the cramping and pain in my side). Mile 2 wasn't too bad and I caught one of the guys in front of me that was REALLY struggling. I dusted him, then as I hit Mile 3 and another climb, my quadriceps started tightening up... I tried to push through it, and at one point tried to stretch my leg, but couldn't bend it far enough into my hand. I just decided to get through it. It loosened up during the next downhill section and then as we hit a tenth of a mile to go, I was able to FINALLY go hard. Not my usual 5th gear run, but I pushed hard. Final time 25:28. All things considered, on a MUCH tougher course than Naperville, this wasn't that bad. However, with my training, I should have been down in the low 23's at the most.
Overall time 1:22:17
Diet killed me. As did my lack of bike training and my newness to the swim. I really felt that I could have won this in my division. And if I would have eaten correctly (My diet since August 5th has been pure garbage.) I probably would have and definitely would have placed in the top 3. I ended up as the 38th best time and 4th best in my division.
I like this race (However, not a huge fan of the cotton t shirt. Note to all races. Please give out tech shirts rather than cotton. I'll happily pay an extra ten bucks for it.) and I'll be back in May for their Earlybird Tri and next fall for their Latebird tri.
Next on the docket is a buttload of strength training for the next three months. Then, I'll be planning my 2013 Schedule. Already planned are these two races, the Naperville Tri, the Chicago Triathlon, and the South Shore Tri. That's five, plus races I'm waiting to hear on are a Ironman 70.3 that's close, the Rev 3 Tri in Wisconsin Dells and whatever else I can pick up. I'm hearing there are a lot of tris in the Wisconsin area, so I may be looking there.
So the key to performance isn't just training. It's your diet. Lesson learned. Time to get better.
I fell off the wagon big time before this race, and didn't train on the bike as much as I should have, but anyway, here's my recap.
The drive up to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater was quite nice. Virtually no highways and some beautiful scenery.
Arrived about 3 hours early and I knew going into the race I was in trouble. I had ingested pizza on Friday, cheesecake on Saturday and had ZERO bowel movements. Sorry to be disgusting, but that's something that is very important to one's digestive health and with no movements, I was concerned about cramping.
The Swim
The swim was staged in waves of 3 in each lane. I was in the 44th wave. One of my competitors didn't show up, so I shared the lane with another guy in my division.
I felt slow instantly. The other guy took off and was WAY ahead early. I could tell he slowed near the end after he opened up the huge gap, but he was a length ahead of me when he got out of the pool. I felt my side tighten during the 6th lap. Not good. Ended up with a 9:45. Not too bad, considering I did a 9:32 for 400 meters in Naperville and this was a 500 meter swim.
T1
First transition was something I worked hard on to fix. At the Naperville Tri, I had a 3:35 Transition as I struggled to get on my socks, shoes, etc.
This time, I went sockless and had no problems getting going and did a 1:34. Not bad at all
Bike
As I jumped onto the bike, I saw the leader in my division and the guy in my pool lane just ahead (I trimmed some of the two minutes I lost on the pool by hustling to T1 and getting that transition done quick), I figured, hey I can catch these guys and pull ahead.
This is when it went all wrong. Not 5 minutes in, I started to cramp everywhere. Legs, back, side. I was in pain and felt like I was riding in molasses. Just couldn't get going and watched the leaders disappear in the distance. I lost 4 minutes on the bike ride. 44:04 as opposed to 40:48 in Naperville. True we were more exposed in the wind, but I blame myself. I just didn't have any energy and was fighting my body.
It was the worst part of any race I've ever had outside of the last two miles in the spring half marathon.
T2
1:35 for my second transition. This included one of my toes getting caught in my toe shoes. I will not be wearing them next year for any tris. However, due to getting out of my cycling shoes faster, I improved from 2:07 in Naperville. So not bad, but I should have been closer to 1 minute flat.
Run
I had trained hard for the running portion and that saved this race from being really bad. I was in pain from the outset of the run. Couple notes. This was a trail run. Which I instantly loved because that's how I train usually is on the trails of the Crumby Rec Area. However, I didn't have the right shoes for this run at all. I was hurting from the rocks going into the bottom of my Vibram Five Fingers early on.
About a mile in, I finally settled into a halfway decent groove (Couldn't push any harder due to all the cramping and pain in my side). Mile 2 wasn't too bad and I caught one of the guys in front of me that was REALLY struggling. I dusted him, then as I hit Mile 3 and another climb, my quadriceps started tightening up... I tried to push through it, and at one point tried to stretch my leg, but couldn't bend it far enough into my hand. I just decided to get through it. It loosened up during the next downhill section and then as we hit a tenth of a mile to go, I was able to FINALLY go hard. Not my usual 5th gear run, but I pushed hard. Final time 25:28. All things considered, on a MUCH tougher course than Naperville, this wasn't that bad. However, with my training, I should have been down in the low 23's at the most.
Overall time 1:22:17
Diet killed me. As did my lack of bike training and my newness to the swim. I really felt that I could have won this in my division. And if I would have eaten correctly (My diet since August 5th has been pure garbage.) I probably would have and definitely would have placed in the top 3. I ended up as the 38th best time and 4th best in my division.
I like this race (However, not a huge fan of the cotton t shirt. Note to all races. Please give out tech shirts rather than cotton. I'll happily pay an extra ten bucks for it.) and I'll be back in May for their Earlybird Tri and next fall for their Latebird tri.
Next on the docket is a buttload of strength training for the next three months. Then, I'll be planning my 2013 Schedule. Already planned are these two races, the Naperville Tri, the Chicago Triathlon, and the South Shore Tri. That's five, plus races I'm waiting to hear on are a Ironman 70.3 that's close, the Rev 3 Tri in Wisconsin Dells and whatever else I can pick up. I'm hearing there are a lot of tris in the Wisconsin area, so I may be looking there.
So the key to performance isn't just training. It's your diet. Lesson learned. Time to get better.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Shorewood Scoot Race Report 2012
This past Saturday was the 2012 Shorewood Scoot.
I was pretty excited about this race, as it was being held at Rock Run Preserve. That's my home running area. I know the trails there as well as anyone, so I figured I had a good shot to PR.
The race started in the Joliet Public Library parking lot and about a tenth of a mile in made a sharp right turn onto the paved trail. I knew it was going to be tight through there, so I made sure we (Jerry and I) started near the front.Once clear of the turn, I attached myself to a group of men and women that were hustling and I decided to make an effort to stick with them. 2 of the women scored a podium finish, so they were quick. First mile went by and I felt great with a 6:45 effort.
Second mile was still at 7 min, but the third mile I dropped back a bit. I still ended up staying at a 7:04 avg pace, which was by far my best effort.
Finished with a 21:55. My PR and 4th in my Age Group.
All in all, a great event. Fun course. I hate that they didn't use chip timing, (every race should) but it was still a great overall event.
Next up is the J Hawk Latebird Triathlon in Whitewater, WI on September 30.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Why are you waiting?
Today, I'm going to just talk a little about procrastination and the benefits I've had from getting going eating better and working out.
Some of the things I've heard are "I'll start up when i'm in shape" (don't get me started. You'll get in shape when you're in shape?), "I'll start on Monday", etc.
Look, I've been there. I can't tell you how many times I've said "Ok, I'll start my workout schedule on Monday", or "I'll be eating better come Monday". Why wait? Do it today.
When you put off a workout or the start of clean eating, what generally happens is that something comes up. We're all busy. Have jobs, kids, etc. When you don't make it a priority and get after it today, it makes it much easier to duck your workout by saying "Oh I'm not feeling quite right", or "I'm going to my kids practice today so I don't have time to workout".
You MUST schedule your workouts ahead of time and get them done. They MUST be as important to you as your job, your family time, etc. I'm not saying to go late to work, or miss time with your family, but schedule it ahead of time so you can do everything. Maybe you don't need to watch American Idol this week. Will that kill you? No. Will not working out and eating like crap kill you? Yes, eventually.
Let's discuss some of the benefits I've had in the last year or two due to me getting in shape.
First, this is what I used to look like:
Some of the things I've heard are "I'll start up when i'm in shape" (don't get me started. You'll get in shape when you're in shape?), "I'll start on Monday", etc.
Look, I've been there. I can't tell you how many times I've said "Ok, I'll start my workout schedule on Monday", or "I'll be eating better come Monday". Why wait? Do it today.
When you put off a workout or the start of clean eating, what generally happens is that something comes up. We're all busy. Have jobs, kids, etc. When you don't make it a priority and get after it today, it makes it much easier to duck your workout by saying "Oh I'm not feeling quite right", or "I'm going to my kids practice today so I don't have time to workout".
You MUST schedule your workouts ahead of time and get them done. They MUST be as important to you as your job, your family time, etc. I'm not saying to go late to work, or miss time with your family, but schedule it ahead of time so you can do everything. Maybe you don't need to watch American Idol this week. Will that kill you? No. Will not working out and eating like crap kill you? Yes, eventually.
Let's discuss some of the benefits I've had in the last year or two due to me getting in shape.
First, this is what I used to look like:
I made the conscious decision to stop eating fast food everyday, make my portions smaller, and eat six times a day. I'm down about 60 pounds and feeling as good as I ever had.
Here's all the positives I get from being smaller:
I'm able to hold my son, Derek, and play with him at his rate for hours on end (I used to be fatigued after 5 minutes and would have to pass him off to Andrea)
I don't break folding chairs when I sit in them anymore
I don't fall down as often as I did before (much better balance)
I recover from small injuries much faster
I get to wear more flattering clothes that I never could have worn before
I'm able to compete in all sorts of races, 5k's, half marathons, triathlons, etc.
I sleep better
I'm depressed far less
Sex is MUCH better (trust me, people. Being healthy and having sex sure beats being heavy and trying to do it :) )
I have gotten a much more diverse pallet when it comes to food. I eat a ton of new foods than I ever tried before.
These are just some of the great things that have changed in my life.
are
These would never have happened if I kept pushing things off until tomorrow.
So the question is... Why are you waiting?
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Race Report for Naperville Triathlon
August 5th, 2012 was my first ever Triathlon at the Naperville Triathlon. I had always been intrigued by the format of three different disciplines in one race and was happy to finally give it a shot.
I got to the race at around 5am and found my transition area. It was under a tree. lol
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I got to the race at around 5am and found my transition area. It was under a tree. lol
Good news is that it was easy to find. Bad news was that it was on the grass.
The start sent us out in waves of 4 people that went out every 5 seconds. We lined up by our projected swim speed. I originally said I would swim at a 10 min pace. However, I got impatient after waiting for 20 minutes or so and decided to move towards the front of the line.
Finally got in, and actually felt comfortable swimming. I was worried about wearing myself out during the swim, so I took it nice and slow. Ended up around a 9:32 swim.
I made up some time on the way out of the swim as I'm more accustomed to running barefoot than most of the other runners.
Ended up passing two or three people on the way up to transition. T1 wasn't good. I wasted too much time getting on my cycling shoes and socks. Now, I know better and I'll just be putting on the shoes without socks and not putting them on until the bike starts.
My bike ride was about 40 min flat. Not too bad, considering again, I wasn't pushing real hard because I wasn't comfortable with the shoe/cleat system (I bought them about 5 days before the race). I still made up some good time during the ride and wasn't tired as I came into T2. Again, made a mistake here and kept my shoes on my feet. I have since practiced and I'll be getting out of the shoes closer to transition and going barefoot.
Finally, the run. I've been struggling running this year as I tried switching over to closed toed shoes and I just have not had the speed I've been looking for, nor the speed I had back in March. So about two weeks before the Tri, I switched over to my Vibram Five Fingers again.
I did ok on the run. 24 min. Again, was worried about gassing out. I shouldn't have that issue next time.
All in all. Great time. I'm hooked. This was the best experience I've had in any type of racing. Overall, I finished in 1:20:27. Not bad for my first one. My goal for the next one is going to be around a 1:14.
Thanks to Andrea, who has been fantastic supporting me. The next Triathlon is the J-Hawk Latebird Triathlon in Whitewater, WI at the end of September. Next 5k is September 2nd in Bartlett.
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Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Injuries Suck! and other crap
Sitting on my ass is VERY frustrating for me. It drives me batty. I can't just sit and not train. Drives me insane. However, I know that if I push it, I won't be able to run my triathlon next week.
So, instead of working out, I'm having to adjust my diet. I was enjoying eating a ton of carbs all day when I was burning off 1500-2000 cals a day. Now I'm forced to cut WAY back.
Bummer, I know.
But I'm just over a week from my first triathlon.
Here's the equipment I have for it. It's a ridiculously long list.
Trisuit (sexy)
Swim goggles
Timing chip strap
Swim cap (to be provided by the tri)
Cycling shoes and pedals
Aero bars
Softride bicycle
Helmet
Garmin 305 GPS watch
Clif Shots for nutrition
Water bottle filled with gatorade
Vibram Five Fingers outfitted with Yankz shoe lace system
Number belt
Headband or Visor (Haven't decided yet)
All this tucked neatly into a cool transition bag
Can you believe all that? For just an hour and a half of work... WHEW!
Anyway, I'm hoping to start training people next year for Tri's. So, let's hope this goes well!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Triathlon training
So my next challenge for this year has been training for the Naperville Triathlon. I'm about halfway through the second week of training. It's AWESOME! I never thought I would be one to enjoy swimming, but I've been looking forward to my swim/run workouts. Tough stuff but I'm getting better. After the first day where I panicked and couldn't figure out how to breathe, I've come MILES forward. (Literally almost).
Strangely enough, cycling has been the one where I feel like I'm going to be weakest. I'm ordering aero bars this week hopefully which should help a little, but of the three disciplines, I feel like I'm behind on cycling. Running is fairly strong (hoping it's going to top off a bit by race day) and swimming gets better everyday.
So to show you all my training schedule so you can see how much suffering I'm doing...
WEEK 1: The first week of training is designed to get your body comfortable with logging consistent time and distance in each sport.
MONDAY: off Always use Monday to let the body recover and rebuild. This is your only day off every week, so don't feel obligated to cross-train.
TUESDAY: swim 500 meters, run for 30 minutes
WEDNESDAY: ride for 1 hour, weights/strength training
THURSDAY: swim 500 meters, run for 30 minutes
FRIDAY: ride for 45 minutes, run for 20 minutes right after bike session
SATURDAY: ride for 1.5 hours, weights/strength training
SUNDAY: swim 750 meters, run for 45 minutes
* WEEK 2: The distances will increase only for weekend workouts. Hills and speed training are added during the week.
MONDAY: off
TUESDAY: swim 500 meters, with 5x25-meter sprints; run for 30 minutes, with 3x sprint work on a short, steep hill
WEDNESDAY: ride for 1 hour, 20 minutes moderate intensity, 20 minutes hard, 20 minutes moderate; weights/strength training
THURSDAY: swim 500 meters, with 5x25-meter sprints; run for 30 minutes, including 5x1-minute hard intervals with two minutes of easy running in between
FRIDAY: ride for 45 minutes, with 3x sprints on a hard hill; run for 20 minutes easy right after bike session
SATURDAY: ride for 1 hour 45 minutes, weights/strength training/strength training
SUNDAY: swim 1,000 meters, run for 1 hour
* WEEK 3: Continue to build on previous workouts and increase speed training.
MONDAY: off
TUESDAY: swim 750 meters, with 10x25-meter sprints; run for 30 minutes, with 4x short, steep hill sprints
WEDNESDAY: ride for 1 hour, with 25 minutes of hard effort in the middle; weights/strength training
THURSDAY: swim 500 meters, with 4x50-meter sprints; run for 30 minutes, including 4x2-minute hard intervals with two minutes of easy running in between
FRIDAY: ride for 1 hour, with 3x hard hill runs; run for 20 minutes right after bike session
SATURDAY: ride for 2 hours, weights/strength training
SUNDAY: swim 1,000 meters, run for 1 hour
* WEEK 4: This is race week, so drop off on your training intensity as the big day approaches.
MONDAY: off
TUESDAY: swim 500 meters, with 5x25-meter sprints; run for 30 minutes, with 5 minutes of fast-paced running in the middle
WEDNESDAY: ride for 1 hour, with 10 minutes of fast-paced riding in the middle
THURSDAY: swim 500 meters easy, ride for 30 minutes easy, run for 15 minutes easy
FRIDAY: off Always take off the training day two days before the race
SATURDAY: run for 10 minutes, ride for 20 minutes, swim 300 meters Easy, short training sessions in each sport to loosen up for the next day's race
SUNDAY: Race day
This weekend I have a brutal 1 hr and 45 minutes bike and a 1000m swim/ 1 hr run on the other day... BUSY weekend.
Since starting, I've dropped 10 pounds. I've completely changed my diet. Protein is now only about 15-20% of my diet with about 60% carbs and the rest fat. Big change from what I'm used to. Swimming is doing wonderful things for my shoulders, abs and chest, btw.
So, I hope if anything, my workouts provide you some motivation to get out and get active. Not everyone is going to do a triathlon, but find something to shoot for.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Competition and GOALS!!!
Walking up the stairs at my office job was absolutely awful. I was exhausted going up a single flights.
So, I decided I needed a change.
I needed to make a goal. First goal was to run further than a mile without having to stop. Done.
Then I decided to run a 5k. My only goal was to finish it without stopping. Did it, even though my calf cramped up.
Then, it was to do a Warrior Dash. Did that last year.
Then to finish Spartan race. Done last year as well.
This year, I had to set new goals. A sub 23 min 5k. Done.
Competing in a Half Marathon. Done.
Then finishing in the top 10 % of Warrior Dash competitors. Done.
The point is, every time out I try to set a goal for myself to smash.
New goal is to compete in my first ever triathlon in August. I also plan on running Spartan Super Sprint, and possibly two more Half Marathons and a duathlon.
If you're not setting goals for yourself, you're stagnating. Even if today's goal is simply to run a 1/4 mile, make a goal, and get after that finish line!!!!
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