Loving it

I’ve been really enjoying training lately. I have been doing great at Time Trials, even scoring a new P.R. of 36:57:17 on a night with some pretty burly winds. I just hunkered down in my aero bars and seemed to cut right through. I am starting to really like those things. Now if only I can stop losing so much speed on turns…

Besides biking, I am stoked because open water swims have finally started again. I had to miss the first one of the year since I am on the Run the Woods 5K committee and we had a meeting, but I am raring to go for the next one. I still got a taste of open water swimming since I attended a multisport day at the Timber Point Outdoor Center. I got to kick the day off with some trail running, then pull on my wetsuit for open water, and polish it off with a 30-mile bike ride before lunch.

I am proud to say that despite some untamed wilderness, I did not fall at all during the trail run. I am not fortunate enough to say that the thick gravel in the camp driveway had no effect–I unclipped, hit a tall patch and flew out of the seat. Luckily it was onto a grassy area, so just some light bruising on my knees. Really if someone had told me at the beginning of the day that I was going to fall off the bike, I would have hoped for this spot. Grass beats gravel and pavement any day! Plus I didn’t damage any of my gear! Flesh grows back, helmets do not.

Tri-shark is in 11 days and I am feeling ready. I am in Salt Lake City the week before the race, so running will be my only training, but I think I can make that work.

Bring it!

 

Under 100

I just realized I haven’t posted anything for April. Bad form Steve! You know that in social media content is key! And yes everyone, social media encompasses more than Facebook and Twitter! At least I am getting this post up at the (close to) midnight hour.

April was a great month for half marathons. First off I had the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon in Springfield. It was a great course. Perfect weather and what some people might consider challenging hills. Hills have never really bothered me so long as it isn’t too many. The Lincoln impersonator was also fun and the medals for the race were nine kinds of awesome. I managed to come in at a little over 1:41, which was a new P.R. My last P.R. was 1:45, so it was great to update that number.

Only a few weeks after I had the Illinois Half Marathon. With the great performance at the last race, my coach set the bar even higher and really packed on some race pace training. Race day didn’t start as well as I would have liked. It rained the whole way to Champaign-Urbana, which had me on pins and needles for the race. And then traffic was so bad that I eventually parked roughly a mile away and ran to the start line. I still missed the start of my wave. But no reason to panic. Chip start! Plus panicking wastes energy that I can use during a race.

I took some time to stretch and make myself ready, and took off right before the second wave was released. I was assigned to the first. I am proud to say I had virtually no problem holding an overall 7:30 min/mile pace. Though once again I have to credit that to the work I put into it as opposed to fluke natural ability. My overall time was 1:38:26, which is less than 100 minutes! It may seem weird, but I like how that sounds… “I can run 13.1 miles in less than 100 minutes!”

Of course that makes sense if you know that during any running I phrase the timing in such a way so that it doesn’t sound as bad as it is. Example: After about two minutes of running a half marathon I announce that there is only 12 miles and some change to go. Mentally it helps. And that’s all that matters.

I have always loved the half marathon distance. It’s definitely my favorite running race distance. I’d pick it over a 5k or 10k any day. The signs people hold up are hilarious. Plus there are beer and hot dog aid stations, which are cruel since I can’t actually partake, but also funny. Don’t get me wrong. There is a moment when I am getting dressed at 4:30 a.m. for these races on Saturday morning that I am thinking about how much I’d rather be sleeping, but overall I wouldn’t trade it. Way too much fun and it makes you feel way too good. If I sound like I’m full of it, do one and then I’ll listen to whatever you have to say!

I’m looking forward to switching modes to triathlons in the near future. My biking needs to be improved. I am confident in my running. I can slog my way through most swims, but biking is something I need to learn to love. In time. In time.

The great shoe crisis continues

By now you’re all probably really sick of reading posts of me complaining about shoes. Well for what it’s worth, I’m really sick of writing posts complaining about shoes, so we’re in this together.

I got the new Kayanos in like I mentioned earlier. I immediately noticed that there is a shorter tongue that slips down some, but at least it isn’t lopsided like the Brooks. Still, it feels off compared to the older versions.

These could very well be my future former shoes.

Plus, even though they should be well broken in by now, they start feeling bad on my feet after a few miles. Tonight I cut an eight mile run (which I was kicking a whole bunch of ass on) down to six after my feet started feeling bad. Normally I would have run through it, but I have a 12 miler tomorrow morning I don’t want my feet ruined for.

We’ll see how the run goes tomorrow morning. That’ll be when I make the decision on these. Not sure what I’ll try next if I don’t like these. I suppose (shudder) I could always go with the 18s…the ones I was so eager to get rid of. Hot spots are better than tough running. But c’mon. What cruel joke could fate be playing that has me crawling back to those awful shoes yet again?! I mean seriously?! Really?

Too much tongue

I guess I spoke too soon about the Brooks shoes. I put several miles on them and quickly realized they had a problem. The tongues kept sinking way down and to the outsides of the shoes. I tried everything, but they kept doing it. Finally I was on a 14 mile run today and got fed up at mile 9. So I did the unthinkable.

I went back to my place and went into the spare room where I had thrown my Kayanos that I hated so much. If shoes could talk these would have said, “Well, well, well. Look who has come crawling back.” It might sound crazy, but they actually looked smug sitting there. I put them on and did the last 5 miles of my run.

I returned the Brooks and decided to order the new Kayanos. They have some in, but frankly I am not wild about the color. Hopefully they’ll be able to get the other style in.

On a final note, I didn’t think it’d be necessary for me to get up early in March for my long runs, but this crazy heat proved otherwise! That was a VERY toasty 14 miles!

First half marathon of the year in two weeks. Stay tuned!

Never come back!

I finally broke my Asics Kayano 17s to the point where I could justify new shoes. I did not like the 17s. The 16s and the 15s were great, but the 17s were a disappointment. They took forever to break in and unlike the previous models, they created a lot of hot spots on my feet after any run longer than 6 miles. Ridiculous!
When I went to Often Running to pick new shoes it was between the Asics Kayano 18s and Brooks Trance 11s. Both pairs felt great. The 18s were a lot more comfortable to walk in in general, but the 11s were slightly more comfortable when running. The guy helping me did let me know that the cushioning on the 11s activated during running, which explained the difference in walking versus running. Both offer support to correct over pronation.

The 18s felt great while walking around, but I’m not buying walking shoes dammit! I’m buying RUNNING shoes!

Brooks Trance 11. These shoes will make Hermes' winged boots look like cinder blocks!

So there we go. I have two weeks to decide if I like them. And can you believe they cost a paltry $135? (There’s the reason I want to slug anyone who says running is an inexpensive hobby.)

If they don’t work out I’ll trade them in for the Kayano 18s. Either way I am stoked to be done with the Kayano 17s. Worst shoes ever!

Rookie mistakes

I ran the St. Pat’s 5k today in Bloomington. Good race as usual. They had around 750 people sign up and 650 finish. Weather was nice despite a forecast for rain and the after party band was good.

Even though this was my third time doing this 5k, I made some stupid errors that I am sure cost me. Overall I did okay, but some of these things I should have known better.

1. Started off fast. I did this on purpose. I wanted to see what would happen…and I did. I was at a 5 min/mile pace for the first half mile. It tired me out quickly (big surprise) and likely cost me. Basically I was thinking of my P.R. at the Beach Palooza when I got 20:40. I didn’t rely on my watch then and P.R.’d. Thought I’d try just running however I wanted again.

2. Layers. This is a traditionally cold race. Not today. I was wearing under armor and a long-sleeved tech shirt over it. The forecast called for around 50 degrees. I heard at the time of the race it got to upper 60s. I was warm before the race began. The overheating didn’t help.

3. Shoes untied. My right shoe came untied half-way through. I should have checked them before the race started, but I didn’t. I can’t say for sure it cost me time, but I can say the shoe laces flapping around were definitely on my mind. I am happy that no faceplants occurred!

None of these are so awful, but they would have been easy to correct. My lesson is not to overlook the little things. I still did okay. I came in at third in my age group and 32nd overall. My time was 20:45. I would have liked to be closer to 20 minutes if not below.

I’m counting it as a good day. I got to see a few friends debut on the 5k circuit, and they all did quite well. Some of my other friends placed, and one that I know of got a P.R. I’m talking about you Aimee Dziekan. She also managed to beat me by a few seconds (5, I think?) I’ll make sure to give her a run for her money next time!

 

The copycat

Let me begin this post with a story. A friend of mine who is a seasoned runner was lined up to begin a 10k. While standing there, just minding her own business, three girls who she had never met walked up to her and declared that they are going to pace off of her for the race. My friend didn’t know whether they picked her because they thought she looked like a good runner who knew what she was doing, or because they thought she was slow and would be easy to pace with. Near the end of the race two of the girls dropped back, but not before telling their friend “Don’t let her win.” My friend heard it and made sure they all ate her dust. Moral of the story is that it can be flattering when someone imitates you or it can be insulting.

I had a 2050 yard swim workout tonight and my first copycat. While swimming I started to notice that the guy in the next lane was doing similar things shortly after I started them. I chocked it up to coincidence (after all there are only so many drills you can do in the pool). But when I was checking the workout I had written down in a plastic bag between sets, he asked me about what I was doing, what I was training for, etc.

Soon after he declared, “I’m going to do whatever you do.”

And so it began. The poor bastard could not have known that there was a lot of kicking planned. So the workout Laura planned for me caused twice as much misery as usual. Actually after one lap of kicks on the board he asked what was next. “More of these” was his answer. He didn’t look happy.

Overall he did a decent job of following. Granted I was a lot faster and usually got done with a set in half his time, but he kept trying, cutting sets short and beginning the next thing whenever I did. And though I am no swim coach I tried to give a few tips here and there. The guy was full of compliments and it was apparent that he just wanted to test himself against someone who swam a little more often them him. I can respect that. I kind of like to do that myself.

If I had the chance to swim against Michael Phelps I totally would just to see how royally bad I’d get beaten. It’d be an honor. I’m guessing he could do several laps in the time I could do one. Plus I’d get to meet Michael Phelps. So win-win… or lose-win…however you want to say it.

So there we go. I have officially moved up from the bottom rung of the swimming ladder. I am now a slightly bigger fish in a small pond.