On the way back down to lone pine.

Another complaint about the heat

Yep, I'm doing it.  Just got in from a tempo run in 95 degree heat.  Brutal.

However, the tempo miles were 7:38, 7:15, and 7:11.  I'd like to see those a minute faster or more, but in the heat, I can't complain too much.  I'll consider those encouraging, especially since I'm only in week 3 of training and I have some weight to drop.  It sure will be nice to log some cooler miles in Wisconsin in August to see what my fitness is really looking like.

2nd Place AG

I did the inaugural Granger Lake Sprint Triathlon today.  Although I'm not in prime triathlon shape, and it was FAR from my finest performance, I notched 2nd place in my AG and 12th OA.  The conditions were absolutely brutal.  With the wind coming across the lake, almost the entire swim was in whitecap conditions, which resulted in almost 5 minutes over my projected swim time.  On the bike, it felt like we were riding into a headwind almost the entire route.  The only portion we had a true tailwind was on some gnarly chip seal.  The run was no better.  It was getting hot, so when the wind was at my back, I was overheating, and when it was blowing in my face to cool me...well, the wind was blowing in my face.

All things considered, everyone raced in the same conditions, so I can't complain too much.  Especially going into the race not completely prepared.

Texas Heat

I've been back in Texas for over three years now, but I've not really concentrated much on speed since I've been back.

Speed + Heat + Humidity = Slow

I forgot just how much the heat affects an attempt to increase pace.  Distance isn't an issue for the most part, but trying to do speed/tempo work proves incredibly difficult.  I just have to remember that if I put in the work, it will all pay off when the temperatures start to drop in the fall.

Another 100

Today I registered for the Arkansas Traveller 100 miler.  Guess its time to start running!  October 4th will be here way too soon.

I'm taking a slightly different approach to training this time around, which I'll post more about later.

Texas 4000: Thoughts from 10 years later

Ten years ago today, forty of us started pedaling toward Alaska.  Much has changed in the past 10 years, but barely a day goes by that I don't reflect on the summer of 2004 in one way or another.  As an Aggie who somehow "infiltrated" a Texas student organization, I always suspected there was a bit of initial resentment that I was an outsider from a hated rival that had made it into the group.  Though, if that was the case, it was never outwardly apparent to me.  No one ever made a comment, it was just purely a feeling I always had.  If there truly was any resentment, it definitely melted away with the miles and over the years.  Those who I keep in contact with and I see treat me as one of their own.

To me, being a part of a "rival's" organization was somewhat of a representation of the in-discrimination that cancer has.  Cancer doesn't care if you are a longhorn or an aggie.  Cancer doesn't care if you are black, white, orange, muslim, jewish, or christian.  We were all there for the same reason, regardless of our backgrounds.  I feel incredibly lucky to have been a part of such a wonderful organization.

Texas 4000 was obviously an personal experience.  I got to see and do things that many people will never be afforded.  Yet the trip was much more than that.  I allowed me to grow as a person and reflect on life in a completely new way.  Hopefully, we affected many people along the way in a similar fashion.

The organization has changed and grown leaps and bounds over the past ten years.  That was apparent just from joining the Atlas Ride yesterday.  The growth and popularity of the organization is a good thing for both those involved and the charity, but its hard for me to imagine setting out on that journey with so much set in stone prior to a single pedal stroke.  For me, part of the journey was the unknown.

Regardless of what you think of Lance Armstrong, one thing he said has always stuck with me: Its not about the bike.  He's right its not; it's about all the things that surround the bike ride.

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.