Pandora's Box of Rox

On Saturday, Katie and I went out to Reveille Peak Ranch and ran Pandora's Box of Rox.  Since we are still in our building/base training, we both opted for the half marathon option.  We've previously run a race out at RPR, so I knew the terrain was challenging.  With that in mind, and the rising temperatures, we set out at a manageable pace to keep plenty of gas in the tank for the later miles.  For a good chunk of the race, Katie and I sort of leapfrogged each other.  I'm definitely feeling stronger on the hills.  Although I don't feel faster, my legs are not fatiguing as quickly as before.  I'm fully attributed that to taking up TRX a couple times a week, which has also strengthened my core.  Eventually I pulled away from Katie and felt like I was moving at a pretty good pace, even as the temperature climbed.  I did trip over a rock and hit the ground pretty hard, losing the skin off my knee.  After that, I slowed down a bit and tried to be more careful as I picked my way through the trails.  Once I hit the 2 hour mark, I felt the tank hit empty.  Luckily, I knew I was only about 2 miles from the finish, much of which was downhill.  I finished in just over 2:13, which isn't blazing, but was a time I felt good about on a tough course.  I finished 25th out of about 140 people, so I couldn't complain too much.  I have a long way to go, but each little win is a step in the right direction.

the dreaded DNF.

Well, the race wasn't meant to be, I guess.  First, my goggles came off when I hopped in the pool.  I had to get those back on and by that point, I guess my brain decided it was time to panic.  I couldn't catch my breath and struggled in the pool.  I must have looked like I didn't even know how to swim.  When I finally got out of the pool and went to transition, I had a flat tire.  At that point, I decided to abandon the race.  I didn't have anything with me to change the flat since the race was so short.  One of the volunteers offered to go to her car and get a tube, but I decided to mail it in.

After the race, I went home to run.  Katie and I set out to do 12 miles, but that wasn't meant to be either.  It was ridiculously humid and the temperature shot up.  Additionally, my leg started hurting.  I limped, ran, jog, walked, and complained my way through about 11 of the 12 miles.  All-in-all, it was one crappy training/racing day.

First Tri of the season

Tomorrow morning, I'll be doing my first tri of the season.  Its a super sprint, which really just means "super short."  Since the race is definitely not an "A" race, and probably not even an "C" race, I'm just going to red-line it the whole time.  I'll either have a good race or completely blow up.  Its only a 200m swim, 7 mile bike, and a 2 mile run.  If I blow up, it'll likely be at the 1 mile mark on the run, so suffering will be minimal.  We'll see how the tactic works.  Tune in tomorrow...

Escaping the trap

Its no secret to those that know me that I've fallen out of the kind of shape I was in a couple years ago.  I've eaten too much Mexican food and drank too much beer.  I'm still probably in better shape than most of America, but I'm a long, long way from any PRs.  Falling out of shape didn't happen overnight, but rather was caused by a series of occurrences.  The first, and probably the most major, was moving back to Texas.  When I left NYC, I lost my teammates, training partners, coach, accountability, and a lot of my motivation.  The second major piece was a little bit of mental burnout after stringing together two Ironmans and a 100 mile run, plus all the training, in a two year period.  I decided to dial back the training and take a break, however, when I tried to get back into things, my entire support infrastructure was gone, and I struggled.

My previous attempts at getting back in racing shape have been thwarted by my own mistakes, mainly doing too much too soon.  It was hard to put the notion of big miles out of my head, despite the fact that my body hasn't been physically ready for that toll.  In my head, I was still an Ironman.  I was still a low 3 hour marathoner, and I was still a 100 mile runner.  I'd log a few weeks of medium distance and then start piling on the mileage.  What resulted was a series of nagging issues that ended up putting me back on the sideline drinking beer or running races "for fun."  "For fun" would be the phrase I used to disguise the fact that I wasn't in shape and was internally angry at myself for not being able to run fast.  As a coach, I knew better.  Yet, I repeated the pattern over and over.  No matter how many times I told others the correct way, I was turning around and doing the opposite.

I'm now on the path to success.  I've forced myself to go back to the basics and slowly build.  I'm now in week 5 of a base building program, before shifting into a true distance training block for the summer/fall.  Additionally, I've started doing TRX to build up my core and supplement my run training.  I've noticed big gains in time to fatigue in my quads, especially when running hills.  This isn't to say that I'm running fast yet, but I'm noticing differences in how my body feels on runs.  Additionally, I've noticed that my legs feel stronger on the bike as well.  Yes, I'm incorporating rides and swims to my routine as well.  It seems like a lot, but the riding and swimming is low-impact, and I'm listening to my body.  I've taken days off when I felt overly fatigued.  The last piece that is contributing to success again is finding a group run.  Its not the same as a training group or a team, but at least one day a week, I'm running with others, including people that are faster than me.  Its bringing that social aspect back, and causing me to push myself a little more than normal.

Sometimes its best to just step back and start over.

Spin class, my own personal hell

It's no secret. I hate spin class, or any sort of "stationary" exercise really. However, I am learning to tolerate it. I've been doing spin classes at work during lunch, but the instructors aren't the greatest. Yesterday, after doing the regular lunch spin, Katie and I went to Pure and took an hour and a half class taught by an instructor who races. What a difference.  She destroyed my legs, and the class flowed in a way that felt shorter than my lunch spin.

I will always prefer to ride outside,  but I will definitely be going back to the Tuesday class at Pure.

Overall,  yesterday was a solid training day. I got in about 2:10 on the bike and added an easy 2 mile run after the longer spin class.

Tonight, I did a quick run with Jens, and now I'm headed to the gym to test out my chest in the pool. I've had what is believed to be inflammation in my rib cage, so swimming and lifting have been set aside for almost 2 weeks.

First brick of the season

Katie and I put down our first real brick of the season today.  We knocked out an hour and a half on the bike, with the second half riding into a stiff wind.  I'm definitely starting to feel the strength return to my legs, but I've still got a long way to go before March 30.  I consider myself extremely lucky to be able to get in outdoor rides in January.  This is the time of year in NYC when I had the bike put up for the winter.  Now, if we could just get to the time change, I could ride outside after work too and stop going to so many spin classes.

After the ride, we made the short drive over to Georgetown Lake and did a 30 minute run on the Goodwater loop.  It was actually very warm on the run, and Katie and I both struggled quite a bit on the short run.  By the next brick, I'll hopefully feel much stronger on the run portion.

My long lost friend Mo

Last week I reconnected with an old training buddy of mine.  Mo and I really haven't seen much of each other since I moved back to Texas, especially since finishing Ironman Texas.  We sort of kept in touch on and off through my training over the past couple years, but it was mostly fleeting.  Last Monday, we finally got together and made it through an entire week of training together.  Mo was there for every workout, even sometimes reminding me that I'm "fat and slow."  He was a little mean about it, but it was needed to get me out the door a couple times.  Mo was there with me to push me through the last laps in the pool when I really wanted to get out.  He was there when I had to sit on a spin bike for an hour due to it being too cold outside.  Mo was there when the wind was blowing 20+ mph in my face on my Saturday ride.

I was 7/7 in workouts last week, my first week of HIM training, which is a pretty solid week for me.  Its sad that I'm excited for not missing a workout, but I've gotten really bad over the past couple years.

Mon - 30 min swim
Tues - 1 hour spin, 30 min run
Wed - 30 min swim
Thurs - 45 min spin, track work
Fri - 30 min swim
Sat - 1 hour swim, 1.5 hour cycling
Sun - 1 hour run

Mr. Tivation seems to me with me again this week, and I'm hoping that we'll continue to train together for a long, long time.

Many thanks to MoTivation for helping me through the week.

12 drizzly miles

I knocked out 12 miles tonight on what was the best I've felt on a run in probably over a year.  I did 6 miles with Jens, then dropped him off and knocked out the other 6.  I averaged right at 7:20/mile, which is pretty good for my current fitness level.  I still need to drop some weight, but tonight's pace is encouraging.  Once I add in some speed/tempo work and lose a few pounds, the average should start coming back down to where it should be.  I know its going to take a while, b/c I didn't let myself get in terrible shape overnight.

Hill Repeats

Tonight, Jens and I did hill repeats in the dark on trails out at St. Edwards.  The climb is about 3/4 of a mile up some pretty steep, technical terrain.  I took a headlamp and clipped a light on Jens and we ran 3 round trips.  Nothing amazing, but got in about 4.5 miles on tired legs.  Looking forward to working my way up to 5-6 repeats.

New distance PR for Jens

This is what Jens looks like after 8.2 miles. It is also what I will look like after my long run tomorrow.