Is Winter Over Yet?

Winter has just about come and gone. We have changed the clocks and the first official day of spring is today. I have to admit that this winter has been motivationally challenging. Last year at this time, I had just spent the entire winter training for a 50K trail race. I was up early every day, running long trail runs with friends, doing hill repeats, speed work, easy runs, and tempo efforts. I had lots of early season fitness as I usually do after a winter of consistent training. 

This year has been different for sure. I have been less enthusiastic about braving the cold weather, and doing a lot less running. In fact, I have felt like Homer. However, I have increased the number of strength training sessions I manage to get in, so I am doing a little more strength and core historically speaking. And, I have been riding my bike like crazy. I estimate that in the last month alone, I have biked about 420 miles. But overall, I am doing less these days, taking more rest, and trying to find a balance between couch potato and epic over achiever. Historically I am a "go big, or go home" kind of person in just about everything I do. One of my goals is to figure out a sustainable workout regimen that keeps the fun, offers interesting challenges, but also allows me to have time for other things. Right now, I am suspended somewhere in between lazy and consistent. 

I did start out the year running a bit. Despite not really training much, I did the First Day 5K on January 1st, the Snowy Owl 10 mile trail race the following weekend, and the Frostbite 15K the following weekend. All of that running without the requisite training did cause a few niggles and issues with various body parts including a little bit of a knee problem. So, now I am mostly riding my bike and trying to rehab the knee. I am hoping that I will be well enough to run the Monument Ave 10K coming up in mid April.

My next big event is the Cap2Cap bike ride along the Capital Trail. I signed up for two days. My plan is to ride from my house down to the trail on the first day, May 12th, and then complete the entire trail from Richmond to Jamestown and back. Since I am adding some mileage from my house, I am looking at a 110 mile day on the bike. I anticipate riding mostly alone on that day.

Since I signed up for both days, I will do the same ride on Saturday, May 13th. I am hoping I will be able to meet up with some friends and share some mileage and some laughs. Or maybe we just hammer. 🔨

So, who is up for some riding? 

Do I like to race? Recap of the second half of 2019

I have been delinquent. I know. All my loyal readers have been waiting with baited breath for my latest race report. People want to know what other great feats of endurance I participated in during the second half of 2019. They want to know what place I came in in my age group. Did I suffer any hardships leading up to a race? Did I bonk hard in the last leg of a triathlon? Did I get injured and have to adjust my goals? Did I have to go to the doctor at all? Did I pee myself on the bike?  I have been down right mean by keeping everyone out of the loop. For that I apologize.

Today, I will get caught up through the summer of 2019. Once I get my loyal readers caught up, I will have a race report for the Richmond Marathon. And then, and only then, will I turn my attention to a new subject that should garner a bit more discussion I think. But first, here are some abbreviated race reports for the rest of 2019.

After Ironman 70.3 VA, we went to the beach for an early season vacation. I ate a ton of ice cream and generally took it easy. We did some hiking and lounging on the beach and one day we went for a run. It was a nice getaway. Here are a few photos from the trip. 

It was a fun trip that included ZERO races. 

We got back from the beach on a Friday. The next day, I rode my bike from my house down to the Cap 2 Cap start at Dorey Park. I had to push the pace a bit to get there before it started so when I arrived at the starting line for the 100 mile bike ride, I was gushing sweat after my 17 mile warm up. I did well for the first half of the ride but then all the ice cream caught up to me and I lost my mojo. It was a death march back to Dorey Park where I used the bathroom, grabbed a post race dinner roll, and then headed for home. Of course the skies opened up and I rode the 17 miles back to my house in pouring rain. I ended up with 135 miles that day and I must say it was rather miserable for the last 65. I had wanted to see how an extra long bike ride would feel. Now I know.

Two weeks later I did the Dominion Energy Riverrock Trail Trio which consisted of a Friday evening trail 5K, a Saturday morning trail 10k, and a Sunday morning trail Half Marathon. Let's just say I did well. I dropped in the standings as the weekend progressed but that was to be expected. I was kinda sore going into day 2 and quite fatigued going into day 3.  The weather was rather warm and I find it increasingly difficult to keep the gas pedal down in the heat the older I get. Here are my results from the three races.

Two weeks after Riverrock, we headed north to visit with Melissa's sister and family. They are always so accommodating and always make sure we are comfortable when we visit. It was good to catch up but in addition to some family time, we also did the Independence Olympic Triathlon. I was still a little run down from the beat down of Riverrock (run down from the beat down- could be a song), but I still did pretty well in the race, taking 5th in my AG. It was a fun race on a closed course which I would do again someday. Plus the pre-race grilled Salmon out on Diane and Scott's deck was quite satisfying and relaxing. 

Results below. 

After the June 2nd triathlon, I started up with the Sportsbackers Marathon Training Team here in Richmond, VA. MTT as it is know around here is a very large training team that prepares newbies and veterans for the Richmond Marathon in November. They have training plans, weekend supported runs, group hill workouts, group track workouts, advice, access to VCU Sports Medicine staff. Running with MTT is a good way to meet other like minded people. You know, people who want to run a marathon. They create the routes for the weekend long runs and have SAG stations every 3 or 4 miles on the routes so you can refuel with water, Power Aid, gels, and other snacks. MTT makes running in the heat and humidity of summer in Richmond slightly more bearable. 

While I was training with MTT, I was also keeping up with my triathlon training. I decided I would do one more triathlon, the Outer Banks Triathlon in September. I had done the race once before. It is a small race but a good race for all levels. Plus, my brother-in-law Dave decided to make this his first triathlon. He was doing the Olympic distance while I was doing the Half. I was looking forward to sharing all things triathlon with Dave and being there to congratulate him on his accomplishment. 

But before we get to that, I had one more small race to do in Virginia Beach on July 13th. The Allen Stone Braveheart Memorial Run/Swim/Run took place at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. The race is a benefit for the Navy Seals Foundation. The Navy SEAL Foundation provides immediate and ongoing support and assistance to the Naval Special Warfare community and its families. I happen to know the race director for the event who went to school with my brother Erik and who is an accomplished endurance athlete himself. He participated in the John Rosen Memorial 5K that I produced a couple of years ago. I was so happy to be able to support his event. 

This event consisted of a 1K barefoot beach run, then into the ocean for a 1K swim, followed by a 5K boardwalk run. It was great fun and I highly recommend this race to anyone looking for something a little different that supports a great cause. Check them out at http://www.allenstonememorial.com/.

I know what you are thinking, how did you do? Not too shabby. Got 3rd in my AG. I am not sure why I did not get swim splits. 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner - 3rd

On to the OBX Triathlon.

A week before the race, Hurricane Dorian blew through the region and the race was in jeopardy of  being canceled. Thankfully, the water receded from the roads and we were able to race. Unfortunately, the storm runoff from the hurricane meant the bacteria levels in the sound were deemed unsafe and the swim was canceled.  I was disappointed that the swim was canceled but it was the right thing to cancel. After all, a google search about swimming in open water with high bacteria levels came up with this:

Q: What could happen to me if I swim in water with elevated levels of bacteria? A: Exposure to bacteria in the water can cause symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, stomach cramps, chills and fever. Skin rashes and infections of the eyes, ears, nose and throat may also occur.

Gross!

Without getting into too many excruciating details, the run felt like a death march. It was so hot! I was burning up. I would run for a while and then had to walk to cool off. Over and over again, I found myself having to walk more than I wanted. It was my slowest half marathon ever in any race. However, I still placed well in a small age group. 

Well, that about wraps it up for Triathlon season. Up next would be the Richmond Marathon, my last "big" race of the year. Next time, I will enthrall you with my story of that race. 

Goodbye 2018 - Hello 2019

Post Race Blues 😞

After completing Ironman Arizona in November of 2019, I have to admit, I was slightly bummed about the way things went. I have yet to crack the Ironman code and have a perfect race. Chattanooga was probably my best performance overall but I still think I can do better. After the race, I started thinking about what I wanted to do in 2019. Did I want to try another Ironman? Did I want to give a full Ironman a break? Did I want to try doing an ultra trail running race? Did I want to take a break from structured training?  One idea I toyed with was doing a self-supported Ironman on my own. Basically a Will Turner style race. I had already committed to Ironman 70.3 Virginia in early May but other than that, I was not sure what I would be interested in doing. 

In these situations, when there is uncertainty or perhaps some moodiness, it is probably best not to make any decisions at all. So, I talked to my coach and talked about some options. After talking with him, I decided I would just try to enjoy a little time off and not worry about 2019 for a while. 

I took one entire week off where I did not do any workouts. I mostly went to work and ate a lot. It seemed like I was hungry every couple of hours for 2 to 3 weeks after Ironman Arizona. Melissa and I relived our trip and looked at finisher videos and photos and let her amazing accomplishment sink in. For the next two weeks I did not do much. I did a few very short runs and swims for a total about 2 hours of training per week for the next two weeks. But then, after my three week hiatus, I was ready to get back to it. On the 4th week after Ironman Arizona, I managed to put together a solid 10 hours of swim, bike, run training. After that, I was ready to start ramping things up. I was back to 10-12 hours of training. My shoulder still was not 100 percent but it felt good to be back in the groove. 

New Years 

For New Years, we traveled up to my hometown of Vienna, VA to visit with my family. I took my bike and running gear of course. On the the day before New Year's Eve, I went on a ride with some Vienna friends.  The temperature would have kept me inside in Richmond but I was determined to try to ride outside more in the winter and committed to meet some cyclist friends on the bike trail for a 2 hour ride. Boy, did it not disappoint. Riding with these two guys was so much fun. No expectations, no rigidity. Just an organic ride with a few short attacks on the hills and some easy segments where we conversed about everything from cycling to soccer to everything in between. We ended up with 40+ miles and it felt so good. That was my longest ride since IMAZ and really made me feel like my fitness was returning. 

While out on the ride, I noticed a sign on the trail advertising a New Year's Eve 5K which would be taking place the next day at 4 PM. Well, I could not pass that up. So I registered for the race. The next day, I ran to the start from my Mom's house which was about 2 miles down the bike trail. I did not know what the course would be like other than the fact that part of it would be on the bike trail. I was looking forward to a nice flat course. But when the gun went off, we turned onto a road that went up a nice little hill. I heard someone say, "This is not the steep hill." Great. "I was not aware there would be any hills" went through my mind which is sort of a little joke I say sometimes when running up a hill in a race just to be silly. I did not say it out loud on this particular day. But after a few more hills, the course did flatten out and we were running down the bike trail. From here, it was a simple out and back. As I approached the turnaround, I started counting the front runners so I could see what place I was in overall.  

I was in 25th place when I went around the turnaround cone. I could see a few people ahead of me and it looked like I was gaining on them slightly. From the turnaround back to the finish there was a false flat. I had run and biked this part of the trail very often and knew that the subtle up hill could feel like nothing on a good day. But with some fatigue and a headwind, it could slow you down a bit. But I kept trudging along. I picked off a few younger runners who had perhaps not paced themselves well. And then I had a little boost as my brother Erik and his wife Melissa were standing on the trail outside the local brewery and gave me a nice cheer. That was all I needed to help me claw myself into 19th place. And then, there was one more person in front of me who I managed to pipe at the line for 18th overall. 

After the race, I checked my results and saw that I had won my age group (M50-59). Wow! That was unexpected. The prize was a one hour massage. Not too shabby for a last minute entry. After collecting my gift card, I ran back to my Mom's house in the dark on the bike trail. Luckily, the moonlight was strong enough that I could see plenty well. It was a little creepy but there were still a few bikers and runners out there here and there. 

After I got home, I had a quick bite and we went to Erik's house for his annual New Year's Eve party where I had lots of fun talking to folks I had not seen in years. It was probably the most fun I had had a party in quite a while. 

First Race in 2019

On January 12th, I competed in another 5K, the first race of 2019.  Melissa and I both did the Run4Meg charity 5K.  It was a chilly January morning but after warming up for the race, I decided to run in shorts. It had been about 2 weeks since the last 5K and I had put together another couple weeks of solid training leading up to the event. When the gun went off, I found myself in about 5th place after the fist few minutes. I was going at pretty good pace, slightly faster than my New Year's Eve 5K pace. The first 3 runners were pulling away from me but I still had 4th place in my sights. Sightly past the half way point, I saw Melissa who was racing. She was going in the opposite direction as I had already reached the turnaround. She gave me a nice cheer which gave me a boost and I was able to pass the guy in 4th place. Now I just had to hold him off. I pressed down on the gas pedal ever so slightly and took a look over my shoulder. He was not able to react. So I held that pace for another half mile or so before turning up the heat for the last quarter of a mile. I ended up 4th overall and 1st Masters Male which entitled me to a $50 gift card at a local running store. Melissa has since used this prize to get some new shoes. After all, what's mine is hers. 

2019 Plans

So far, these are the events I have planned for 2019. There are a few I still have to register for but this is pretty much what I have in mind so far. 

• April 13th - Monument Ave 10k
• May 5th - Ironman 70.3 VA
• May 6th through the 10th - Beach Vacation
• May 11th - Cap to Cap Century with some extra miles
• May 17th through 19th - Riverrock Trail Trio - 5K Friday, 10K Saturday, 13.1 on Sunday
• June 2 - Independence Olympic Triathlon
• July 13th - Allen Stone Braveheart Run/Swim/Run 
• September 13th, 14th, 15th - Savage Man - Big Savage (Friday Prologue Swim/Run/Swim/Run/Swim/Run, Saturday Olympic Triathlon, Sunday Half Iron distance Triathlon.