Oct24-30

S: 22,600 yds
B: 5h 11min
R: 6h 15min


Total: 17h 23min


I raced a 5k!  Saturday morning was the Spooktacular 5k in downtown Huntsville and, not having raced a 5k in almost 2 years, I decided to sign up. I wasnt really sure what to expect, but I was hoping I could at least break 16:30.


It was a chilly (=> cold) morning as we went to warm up and although I had already gone for a swim, it still took a couple of miles of jogging in warm-ups before I started getting comfortable. With our jog of the course having been completed, I knocked out a few strides and it was game time!

Josh Whitehead took off out of the gate, as expected, and after the first half a mile or so I was leading "the others".  We came through the first mile in 5:15, and I felt great.  I knew I still had company, but wasnt sure how many were there. I pushed on and by the time I got to mile 2, at about 10:29, I felt like I had created a little gap and wanted to make sure it would stick. I was still feeling pretty good, so it was time to open it up as much as possible.  A sprint up the bridge saw me reach the 3 mile in 15:43, leaving a quick roll down the hill for a 16:15 finishing time.

A mere 15sec later, there was a mad dash for 3rd, as George H cruised in ahead of Eric C:

Happy Halloween!

Athens Half Marathon

No, I didnt fly to Athens, Greece, for a half marathon.  And, to my knowledge, there isnt even a half marathon competed in Athens, AL.  Rather, last weekend I drove to Athens, GA for the 2nd annual Athens Half Marathon.

Heading into the race I wasnt expecting much, as I was coming off an injury and had just started a new job. So the race report will come but the real reason for the trip was to meet up with some friends and family.  My sister, Katie, her roommate, Walker, and their friend, Mike, drove up from Orlando, while my friend, Hunter (who also happens to be Walker's brother), made a surprise visit from Houston.  Even more of a surprise was Hunter's entrance into the race, as he is most definitely not a runner... not yet, anyway.

But here he was, ready to travel 13 miles by foot!

Minutes before the start it is still dark and terribly cold

The race started in the dark at 7AM. Thankfully the first few miles wove through the relatively well-lit campus of the University of Georgia.  Although not being able to see the road was mildly disconcerting, it was probably just as well that I couldnt see the ubiquitous 'G' everywhere, as that certainly wouldve enticed fury if not projectile vomiting.  By about the third mile, two guys had moved up the road and I was running with two others.  Although we were still in the early stages of the race, this course was hilly.  The relentless changes in elevation made splits a bit of moot point, so I simply tried to stay focused on a good tempo and stick with the guys around me.  I did until a bit before mile 7 when they started slowly pulling away during a long uphill stretch.  I kept them in sight for the next few scenic miles, but couldnt seem to close the gap.  Mile 11 contained a brutally steep downhill during which I lost a bit more time, but then just couldnt get my legs moving any faster on the mostly flat 12th mile.  The last, then, was all uphill and simply survival mode... one of those "just keep moving forward so you dont roll backwards" type situations.  I finally made it across the finish line (which, incidentally, was noticeably higher in elevation than the start) in 1:15:59 and 5th place. 

Considering the difficulty of the course, I wasnt too upset with the time, as it is certainly a step in the right direction compared with where I was a month ago. Meanwhile, Hunter and Walker both finished, and even were in good enough spirits to enjoy a couple of spirits courtesy of America's Oldest Brewery after the race. 

Oct10-16

S: 20,200 yds
B: 5h 48min
R: 5h 44min

Total: 16h 51min

So last week I was in California for some supplier reviews.  While travel always interrupts training, I was fortunate enough to get to stay on the beach for this trip.  As a consequence, I swam in the Pacific on Tuesday and ran down the beach every day I was there.  We were staying on Huntington Beach, and there is a nice path that runs parallel to the beach for miles, easily allowing for long, uninterrupted running.

With that having been said, the highlight of the week was the ride to Nashville on Sunday.  DV and I left Huntsville Sunday morning a bit after 7, heading north on 431.  A quick jot on 271 over to 31 and before you knew it, we were in Brentwood, a suburb just south of Nashville.  A more thorough report is on the way, but the ride was just a hair under 100 miles and the weather couldnt have been better for it.  So how'd we get home?  We drove the Edge back! Needless to say it was well worth the trip, and now I'll be able to take it to Athens this weekend.

Oct3-9

S: 23,400 yds
B: 5h 2min
R: 7h 10min

Total: 18h 21min

We're running a little behind schedule around here thanks to a work trip out to California last week.  Catching back but, the week before last was another step in the right direction towards a decent race this coming weekend.

Saturday the 8th was the Monte Sano 15km up on, you guessed it, Monte Sano Mountain.  It was a great day for racing and I was looking forward to seeing what I could do.  At the start Antoine Batiste and I quickly separated ourselves from the field and came through the first mile at around 5:40. I was feeling OK, and wouldve been happy to continue at that pace.  The next couple of miles were about the same as we continued to run side by side, but then I began to drop back a bit as the hills began to take their toll.  Around mile 7 I had still kept Batiste in sight, so I wanted to give him a run for his money.  A bit after mile 8 I caught him and went past, but didnt get more than a step or two before he latched on.  I came out a turn just after mile 9 and tried to start "sprinting", but by that point I was already working pretty hard.  He easily covered my move and kicked it in to kick my butt. Results are here, but I finished in 53:58.  Nowhere near a PR, but something I'm pleased with for my first race back on a hilly course.      

Sept26-Oct2

S: 28,800 yds
B: 5h 9min
R: 7h 6min

Total: 19h 50min

I actually had a couple of decent running workouts this week, so all hope isnt lost for a respectable showing in the half in Athens (GA, not AL) in a few weeks.  Correspondingly, the weather here has been pretty epic for running, so that certainly hasn't hurt.  We'll see how the workouts go over the next couple of weeks, but preliminary evidence suggests that a sub-1:18 time is entirely out of the question.

QOTD

Professional athletes use coaches to make sure they are as good as they can be. 

But doctors don’t. I’d paid to have a kid just out of college look at my serve. So why did I find it inconceivable to pay someone to come into my operating room and coach me on my surgical technique?...

Self-improvement has always found a ready market, and most of what’s on offer is simply one-on-one instruction to get amateurs through the essentials. It’s teaching with a trendier name. Coaching aimed at improving the performance of people who are already professionals is less usual. It’s also riskier: bad coaching can make people worse. -Atul Gwande, from this article in the New Yorker

As a practicing surgeon, Dr. Gwande has given many novel insights into the health care industry, effectively diagnosing big picture problems and suggesting practical, effective solutions. For this article, though, he speaks to professionals in all industries. His thesis simply states that if you want to get better at what you do, you need a coach.  This may come as a shock to those professionals in industries where coaching is traditionally not used (Gwande uses teachers and surgeons as examples), but is also a good reminder for professionals in traditionally "coached" industries (ie sports) who think they can be "self-coached". Simply put, if you are "self-coached" you're accepting the status quo and leaving potential improvements on the table.    

Article here.

Sept19-25

S: 28,400 yds
B: 6h 57min
R: 6h 2min

Total: 20h 27min

Its nice to be running again, but after an attempted tempo run on Thursday, I certainly still have a way to go to get back to being competitive.  So it looks like the triathlon season will pretty much be done for me, as it doesnt make much sense to go to Miami or Cancun if I'm not in shape. (EDIT: It makes plenty of sense to go to Miami or Cancun when not in shape, it just doesnt make sense to go there for a race...)  Meantime, I'll jump in a few local running races in hopes of making myself run faster.  Should be fun and painful.

Sept12-18

S: 28,100yds
B: 9h 45min
R: 5h 16min

Total: 22h 25min

Last week was a little larger than previous weeks due to my lack of employment coupled with the century on Saturday.  The century was the Spring City Cycling Club's All You Can Eat (SCCC's AYCE) Century. It was a beautiful day for a ride, and the scenery didnt disappoint.  The pace was pretty chill for the first hour or so with me, Timo, and a couple other taking pulls.  In the second hour, things slowly started to heat up until over 2h into the ride, we hit a 3 mile long, 1000ft high climb which totally broke things up.  I made it up first, and stopped at the rest stop close to the top.

There was a bit of a regrouping at the top, and about 8 of us set out for the trip home.  We stayed together down the hill, but around mile 55 we turned onto a bumpy, hilly road. At this point I was wishing I had been on a mountain bike, as I'm not sure if the race directors couldve picked a worse paved road for us to ride.  Pretty soon, we were down to three as we all just wanted to get off that road.  The rest of ride was pretty steady, with Timo, me, and a guy from Nashville in an old school MaiPei kit just pushing to the finish.  Considering I couldnt remember the last time I had ridden longer than 3h, I was definitely hurting.  I was fine on the flats and gradual hills, even taking pulls, but the spikes in power required for the steep hills were killing me; I just didnt have an extra gear.  We finally rolled back into the parking lot at Madison County High School 101 miles and ~4h42min of riding.  

Then it was straight to the couch!

Sept5-11

S: 26,900 yds
B: 10h 23min
R: 3h 52min (~33miles)

Total: 21h 20min

In my last post, my "long" run for the week before last was 40min, whereas this past week I went a solid 57min.  Additionally, I ended up with around 33 miles for the week, which although not spectacular is not trivial, either.  So while I'm pleased with how things are progressing, I realize there is still quite a bit of work to do before I'll be able to race.  I haven't even started thinking about pace yet, and I'll first need a couple more weeks of "just running" before I can (hopefully) start incorporating some faster stuff.  But, after watching all the great racing last weekend, especially the 70.3 World Championships, I'm definitely chomping at bit to get back to competing.

In other news, I start a new job this week! Beginning Friday, I'll be a MP&P Engineer at The Boeing Company. I'll be developing materials and processes for the Space Launch System (SLS), NASA's next heavy lift rocket. I'm excited to get started, but hopefully it won't get in the way of training too much...  

Aug29-Sept4

S: 24,700 yds
B: 9h 18min
R: 2h 36min

Total: 18h 26min

I'm in Orlando, so here is a picture of Mr. and Mrs. Mouse.

Happy Labor Day!  Updates may start to sound a bit Groundhog Day-ish, but in this case that is a good thing.  The slow build in running miles continues unabated, and I'm now able to handle a whopping 40min at a time. This is nothing to write home about, but at least it constitutes an actual run. 

Similarly, the new position hasnt gave me any issues thusfar.  I havent had any problems adjusting to the 165mm cranks, and in fact I think the shorter crank length was just what I needed to relieve some of the pressure on my lower back/upper leg area which led to the injury.   

Aug22-28

S: 19,000 yds
B: 7h 58min
R: 3h 52min

Total: 16h 50min

Plenty of good news to report from last week. Most importantly, the running is coming along nicely.  I'm up to 30min at a time without any pain, so I'm hoping I'm in the clear on the injury.

Also, Saturday I drove up to Nashville for a bike fit from my coach, Dr. Paulo Sousa.  In the hope of opening up my hip angle a bit, I switched to 165mm cranks, which naturally required the fit on my bike to be adjusted.  Paulo used his unique state of the art tools and I was really pleased with the end result.  That afternoon I went for a ride with the new position and was very happy with how it felt. So after having been off the TT bike for the last six weeks, I'm really looking forward to getting back into some training.

So, hopefully I can put all the injury nonsense behind me and get back to training and (eventually) racing!

Aug15-21

S: 29,000 yds
B: 7h 29min
R: 3h 21min

Total: 18h 28min

On the road to recovery!  I ran four times last week and thus far havent had any issues, which I'm pretty excited about.  With that having been said, though, I'm still taking things slowly, as I certainly want to avoid a regression. I'm also trying not to think about a return to racing, yet, because that would clearly jinx matters...

This weekend is the Rocketman Triathlon, an Olympic distance race over on Redstone Arsenal, where I work and do most of my bike training.  I'm not racing because of the injury, but one of friends, Eric C, wanted to do a relay so I pulled my occasional cycling buddy, Dave Z, out of retirement to do the bike leg and I offered to swim.  Yes, relays are lame, but it should be fun.

Aug8-14

S: 30,600 yds
B: 5h 51min
R: 3h 13min => all in the pool

Total: 17h 7min

I got back to some kind of training, which is something, but if nothing else the week was informative.  I only rode once on the TT bike, for about 30min, and quickly discovered it was the source of the problems.  So, before getting back into any serious cycling training I'm going to need to change my position.

As usual, running will be the last activity to be phased back into the mix, a process which will begin this week with a bit of treadmill time. Fun times, indeed!

Aug1-7

On the mend! Well, the leg is finally, finally getting better.  With Dr. Houssain back in town, he was able to view my MRI and see that the hamstring was looking good.  This led to the recommendation of a couple of glut stretches/exercises as well as a foam wedge to sit on at work.  I realize this sounds a bit bizarre, but hey, it works!  And if sitting on a piece of foam is what it takes to keep my butt from hurting, then so be it!

So, looking forward, this week will start the reincorporation of some legs workouts, mainly water running and road biking. I'd say I'm looking further ahead, but considering how long this injury has lingered, I'm not ready to make any assumptions about it being totally gone. With that having been said, though, I dont think it is totally out of the question to rule out racing again this year.

Jul25-31

S: 38,100 yds

More swimming, similar hamstring pain, and still no training. Things were trending better, but have now frustratingly seemed to stall. In response, I talked to a PT in the area who used to work on the training staff at USC (South Carolina, not Southern Cal).  He recommended a light warm up then light stretching then icing.  I am also trying Muscle Activation Technique (MAT) therapy, per a recommendation from a reader, Alan.  So although things are a bit stagnant at the moment, I'm cautiously optimistic that this time next week I'll have some better news!