Jun18-24

S: 17,400 yds
B: 8h 16min
R: 5h 18min

Total: 18h 24min

And so it begins... IM training at least. Sunday included a 101mi ride, which was clearly the highlight of my week. Seriously though, I switched to an ISM Adamo Prologue saddle a couple of months ago and I couldnt be happier with it. Although I had a bit of chafing during the first few weeks, that has subsided and now I have no complaints. I used to get that "burning" sensation you-know-where, but no more. This includes yesterday, when I still didnt have any saddle soreness issues at the end of the ride.

The rest of the week was lower key, as I had to travel to California for a PDR at a supplier. The silver lining, though, was the chance to swim at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center. With two outdoor 50m pools with digital clocks and an awesome Masters program, its hard to beat!

Southern Festival, Part Deux

After the fun that was had at the National Cornbread Festival 5k, a group of us decided we should head up to Bell Buckle, TN for the RC Cola and MoonPie Festival. And yes, this is a real thing. 

There were, however, a couple of factors we forgot to consider. First, the NCF was April 28th, while the MoonPie Festival was June 16th. In April it is still cool in the morning; in June, though, not so much. Next, the race associated with NCF was a 5k, while Moonpie was a 10 miler. I didn't major in math, but 10 miles is a lot longer than 3.1. And really... who puts on a 10 mile race in the middle of the summer in the South?? So with this in mind, some of us were having second thoughts... 

What are we doing here, again?

This SO dumb...

So ready to be done.

The race was... a race. The first few miles were pretty hilly, the next few were flat, and then we got to finish with a nice juicy uphill just after the 9 mile mark. I ended up 5th in 56:45, which is nothing to write home about, but certainly was a pretty decent workout.  

Now, enough about racing. The highlight, of course, was the festival! FWIW, I'll give a nod to the Cornbread Festival on food (selection, quality, and quantity), crafts, and overall size. But Moonpie definitely had the better race. Sure, the middle of June isnt the optimal time for a 10 miler, but you dont see the 10 mile distance all that often, so it gets points for that. And this race had close to 850 finishers, which is not too shabby for a race in the Middleofnowhere, TN. Finally, the post race food included fresh buscuits (sausage, chicken, or plain), bananas, muffins, and of course RC Cola and MoonPies.   

The Crew

Yep, they love their MoonPies here. 

Schedule

 

Jun4-10

S: 16,800yds
B: 5h 15min
R: 4h 7min

Total: 13h 38min

Nice little recovery week post half IM. I kept things pretty chill through Friday, then had a great run Saturday morning and solid ride on Sunday. Next weekend its back to racing with the Moonpie 10 miler. And yes, you read that right... I said:

Cant wait!

Racin in Macon (and Huntsville!)

It was a pretty busy week last week! Things started with a bang last Monday with the 32nd annual Cotton Row Run in downtown Huntsville. This is the biggest road race of the year in Huntsville, so its always a lot of fun. However, it is also always hot, humid, and hilly, so its usually a bit of a suffer-fest as well.

I kept things under control and ran 34:40, which was only good enough for 16th place. This race has a pretty substantial prize purse, though, so there were a few "local" Kenyans in town to make some cash.

Saturday, on the other hand, it was my turn to bring home the bacon, as thankfully some of the attributes that help Kenyans run fast, don't exactly help them swim fast. On the line was $1000 for the win in the Coliseum Rock N Rollman Half in Macon, GA. I had won the race last year and was excited to go back to defend my title.   

As for the race itself, there isnt much to report, other than it went pretty darn well. I broke away a few minutes into the swim and was able to get a nice gap on the field. 

Out on the bike, the QR felt great, but it was difficult to tell just how well I was doing, as the course was windy and hilly and I was riding my PRO disc (so I didnt have power). I always ride scared, though, so I just put my head down and pedaled hard. As each 5-mile split ticked by, I became more and more confident that no one would catch me.



Sure enough, I came off the bike in first. I finally got a glance at the second place guy as I was about half a mile into my run. I figured I had about 5' on him at that point, so I knew as long as I had a decent run, I'd be able to hold him off. At around mile 4 there was a turnaround and I had him at ~5'30" back, which meant we were probably running about the same pace. I was feeling OK running ~6' miles on the hilly course, so I knew as long as I kept things under control, I'd hold him off. By the second out and back around mile 9, I had close to 6' on him, so at that point I knew I just had to keep running and I'd get the win.

I ended up finishing in 4:10:09, breaking my course record from last year. Better yet, my bike split was 2'57" faster than last year and my run was exactly 3' faster. (2011 results and 2012 results, for reference) Now certainly the cooler temps this year helped the faster run split, but I'm really excited about the faster ride. I'd like take all the credit and say it was a gain in fitness, but I'd be remiss not to mention the QR CD0.1. That bike is fast!

Up next? Good question. The next big race on the calendar is Ironman Louisville at the end of August. Dumb, I know, but I think its about time I improved on my PR from 2005. In the meantime, there will be plenty of local races, as well as hopefully another 70.3 or two.