Dallas Marathon 2016

So this was supposed to be my second time to run the Dallas Marathon but the first one was iced out and forced me to go south to run the BCS Marathon in College Station in 2013.  So this is now my first official time to run the Dallas Marathon.

First let's start with the thing that got my irk up.  I had to pay $15 to park for packet pickup.  Oh I tried to stay in there for a long time to get my money's worth but in the end I basically paid $15 for one hour of parking.  There just wasn't much at the expo worth hanging around for sadly.  And here I thought cities like Chicago and Boston were expensive.  But enough with the bad.  I hated it but I have moved on or at least now I will be moving on from it.

Race Day comes early like 3:50AM early.  I got up and started to move around and finally after eating and changing I head over to the hotel to meet with the Luke's Lockers runners.  Once it started to get closer to the time to leave the warm room I looked at the weather.  Oh great temps are to be in the 50s which means it is too warm for cold gear and too cold for not wearing it as well.  So I decide to take Nick's advice and wear what I want to be wearing middle of the race instead of the beginning of the race.  And I fought the temptation to put on more clothes.  I went out of the hotel and in, out and in and once again out and in before deciding short sleeves was going to be gear I would wear.

At the hotel I met up with Robin and Karthik.  I lost Robin during the meet up for the runners but Karthik and I started together until that is when I had to go to the restroom for one final time.  But we found each other again and I don't know how during the first 5 or 6 miles.  Until he finally had to pull back.

My run was great for the first 15 or so miles.  I kept my pace at the pace that I kept for our training runs.  I was on pace for a 4:40 or so finish.  It was feeling great although the first part of the race I felt some pain but ran through it.  I didn't allow myself to speed up and I tried not to slow down.  I kept drinking water and gatorade and kept with my fueling plan as well.  Didn't miss any of those.  Kept my race plan on par with how I planned it.  But then like when you hear a pop in your car and you know it is trouble something happened to me that I knew was going to be trouble for the rest of the run.  My legs started to feel tired, my feet started to hurt and then the real problem.  I felt the cramps coming on in my legs.  But still I kept going although this time it was a bit slower.  That became a little bit slower still and finally to even slower than that.  Heck people may have been looking at me and wondering if I was even moving but yes sir I am moving.

Now during my last 6 miles I almost got hit by a car.  Thank you officer for sending me and the car at the same time.  And if that wasn't bad enough I also almost got hit by a stroller.  How can a stroller hit the only person in front of you.  You had many directions to go to avoid me and yet you went for the only thing in front of you.  Yeah real smart there.  But I am a survivor I tell ya.

Finally I cross the finish line after running for 5:39 and yes I said 5 hours and 39 minutes.  Hey I want to get my money's worth just like the parking fee.  And boy did I get my money's worth on this race.

So this race was faster than Cowtown 2014 but about an hour slower than my first marathon with the BCS Marathon 2013.  So it wasn't the worst I ran that is for sure but I can see that I need to improve on the back half of these races.  Both the BCS and Dallas Marathon's I ran the first half as good as I could have expected only to fall back on those paces during the second half of the marathon.

Next goal is to do either Flying Pig 2017 or 2018, Cowtown Ultra 2018 or Chicago 2017 or 2018.

Confident Builder

I went into Saturday's run with a lot of doubt.  Had a bad week of running and then to head into a 21 mile run seemed impossible for me.  I actually woke up feeling good for a long run but still wondered if I had it in me.  21 is still a long distance for someone who didn't have a solid week behind him.

We started the run a little fast for me.  But after the 2 mile break I got into my running pace for the rest of the run.  The weather was perfect and I was over dressed to say the least.  Never believe the weather app for your temperature I have learned yet again.  But I still wore what I will be wearing for my December 11th marathon unless it is still warm by them.  But this guy is hoping for a nice 30s temperature throughout the race.

I loved both of my running coaches that I ran with yesterday.  Both were great and neither allowed me to really walk during my run.  I did feel that Kim was a better pacer with me though.  She and I ran about 12 or so miles before we ran into Nick and them.  We switched coaches and I spent the rest of the run with Stacy.  She is great as well.  Talks a little more with me which is good unless you are cold and your jaw doesn't seem to work and you cannot talk due to it being cold.  She had me pacing slightly faster.  And at the end of the run I felt very good.  Not good enough to run again granted but felt good and without too many pains and aches.  The run lasted for a little more than 4 hours.  Yes I get my money's worth when I run long distances.  And to think I actually really hate running long distances.  But I do it because that final mile and finishing is just such a rush.

Finally we start tapering so I have that to look forward to until my actual race.

20 Miles I Think I Can Do It

Going into Saturday's long run I was having doubts that I can finish my next marathon.  I haven't run 20 anything in over 2+ years.  But while I was a sloth on the run I at least finished it.  Slow as can be that is for sure.  My wall hit me sooner than I expected so I need to improve that over the next long run in a couple of weeks.  That weekend will be 22 miles.  My wall came in around mile 15 and lasted for the remainder of the run.  So yeah that needs to change because 11 miles of wall running is no fun.

I am still debating doing the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati.  I heard one from our group mentioned that she wanted to do that race as well.  It is a good one and tops the annual Runner's World top marathons.  But that would have to be worked out since it falls a week after mother's day.  And I can only travel up there for one of those weekends.  But it is on my bucket list that is for sure.

Next week is only 12 miles on Saturday plus my half marathon on Sunday.  So I will get a lot of miles in that weekend.  Or at least a lot of miles for someone like me.  A person who actually hates running for long distances.  Even though my favorite race distance is the half marathon.  I can handle 13 miles and do enjoy that distance.  But I am seeing my times for the half getting slower and slower lately.  Not sure if that is due to my age now or I just don't train correctly for those races.

Cooper Tri - Part 2

Ok so I have not seen my results yet.  Race was only last weekend.  So this will be without the bias feelings of knowing what I actually did for my second Cooper Tri this year.

Before the swim even started I was already anxious.  The race being delayed sure as heck didn't help me either.  Once I finally get into the water I start out strong.  Swimming like Coach Lyndsi taught me.  And then it started.  I couldn't catch my rhythm and my breath.  I felt like when I could control it I swam great and I felt strong for a change.  But unfortunately those moments were very few and far between.  Heck I do not even have a clue how long it took me to swim it.  I am pretty sure the sun went from rising to high noon before I got out of the pool.  But like all good or bad swims it sure feels great to get to the end and see my fat ass getting out of the pool.

The transition between swim and bike was actually pretty good and quick for me at least.

The bike was felt slow and felt like the 12 miles would never end.  Once again there were basically no flat areas on the course. It was just a long ever gaining incline that never seems to end.  Yeah I just love those kinds of courses.  But then again it could be worst.  It could have been Keller and those mountain type hills that they forces us to do them over and over again.  Bike was decent but I still felt like it was not my best.

The transition between bike and run was not so good.  Had to sit down a no-no.  But I did it anyway.  I believe Coach Lyndsi didn't see me do that so that is good.

The run started great.  But it didn't last long.  I had a very good first mile.  Took the hill by foot and then finally got back to running once the ground leveled out again.  The run was a typical run for me after a bike.  Not as fast as I would run a 5K without the bike that is for sure.  I finished strong on the run and in the end that is all that matters.  It is how you end.  Don't leave the tank with any fuel left.

Now I am about to look at my results.

Swim00:16:38Place274 / 276

T100:01:52Place157 / 276

Bike00:45:18Place239 / 276

T200:02:14Place238 / 274

Run00:36:42Place242 / 273

As we can see I did at least manage not to finish last on the swim.  My transition was decent.  My bike was actually faster than normal which is good but as you can see I am still slow.  I was only better than about 37 people.  Second transition was bad.  And my run not as good as I felt it was.  Dang...

And lastly I finished with these numbers

Chip Time01:42:43

Overall Finish259 / 275

Gender Finish179 / 185

Age Group Finish28 / 29

So I did not finish last in my age group so that is good.  I managed to beat 6 other men out there although those were probably the 6 men that were 80+ in age.

Oh well Round 3 is coming...

Cooper Sprint Triathlon Report

Woke up and the first thing I see outside my window are rain clouds and lightning. Then there was heavy rain on my drive up to McKinney.  Driving through Frisco I thought I just wasted money on this race because surely they will be cancelling this one.  But once in McKinney the rain went away and only lightning remained and even that only last another thirty minutes.  Finally found Dawn and we got ready for the race, walked around and I wanted to check out the pool depth.  Which she already knew the answer to so that was nice.  Then we found Coach Lyndsi and talked to her for a little while.  I, being me, had to do my pre-race routine of going to the restroom.  Once out Coach Lyndsi found me and had me watch people jumping into the pool because, yes, that is what caused my freak out last race.  Strange as it might sound but last race I jumped in feet first and within a second of hitting the water my anxiety jumped through the roof and the swim before it even got started pretty much ended for me.  It was horrible and Coach Lyndsi knowing about that event made sure to pull me aside and have me watch how all these people were entering into the pool because seeing all of those entries did help me when it came my time.

Finally jumped in line with Dawn and followed her into the pool.  I entered the pool how I prefer to do and the swim actually started pretty good.  I will admit the depth of only 4'11" did help my mindset.  I swam but still had to stop every now and then.  I did pretty good but was still swallowing some water or at least taking more water in then is normal even for me.  When I got to the 200 meter mark I saw these feet coming towards me and at that moment thought, oh great, they are kicking me out of the race for being so slow.  Yes I really thought that.  But to my surprise it was Coach Lyndsi.  She told me about the good I was doing and reminding me that while I was doing good that my stopping was mostly in my head and that I could do this.  That I had done this before and can do it again.  Inside I agreed with her, but, also inside, all I could see were miles of distance between each end of the pool even though it was only 50 meters.  When I finished the swim I actually felt great.  This was the first race I did not leave the pool with anxiety high and me not being able to calm myself down to focus on what was next for me.  But this time when I exited the pool I was clear minded and could focus on getting my bike gear on and starting the cycling part of the race.  Side note is that I swam the 350 in 14:54 which was third worst for the race and that included the people over 70 who killed me in the swim time.  But what I see is that for 350 meters to have that swim time is a great start to improving my overall swim game.  Because I would normally swim that in a race that had a distance of 275.  So I was extremely happy with this swim and cannot wait for the next Cooper Tri to see if I can better that time.

Transition time for me was great between the swim and the bike.  It was my fastest transition time for me at least for any race.  A 1:19 is still not fast but compared to the previous two years of transition timing this made me like like Superman changing clothes.

The bike portion got me hard.  First it was cold and I do not handle cold.  Then it was one of those slight yet steady inclines that never seems to end type of hills and to top it off there was an extremely strong wind that was pounding me head on.  Of course it would be head on.  Why would wind be a benefit in your ride and help you up that hill.  I just never saw myself able to maintain a speed that was anything but the speed that I always seem to ride and that being 15mph.  So while it was a very short distance of 12 miles it also was a very hard 12 miles.  The bike time was 48 minutes which for me is, sadly, about what I would do it in for either a race or training session.  I just cannot seem to get my average speed to increase even after all these years, yes, all two of them.

For the second transition time it was a little slower but still better than the previous races between the bike and the run.  I did it in 1:45 and mostly due to my shoes not fitting when I tried to put them on.  But on a positive note.  This was the first race where I did not sit down during either transition to change gear. So lets see that as a positive thing I can get from this race.

The run started good for me.  Then my legs finally caught up with my mind and bam it hit me.  My legs are worn out.  I went from run to run / walk.  I did my run in what I thought was a pretty good run.  Even though my run time would show differently but I didn't know that during the run or right after.  Although yes I did know because I was wearing my Garmin but it felt faster for me.  I talk to several people for a brief moment but it was mostly me just focusing on each turn, each step and trying to find the water stops to help me figure out what distance is still needed to finish.  I love how running is a strong suit for me but when it comes to triathlons it is not.  But that is of course more because I use so much energy in the bike that I just seem to wear out my legs before the run can even start.  Time for the run was 34 minutes and yes that is a little faster than my last couple of triathlons so yes another positive thing from this race.

Overall time was 1:40:00 which is my first time under 1:55 or 2 hours.  The time looks great compared to those other races but the bike ride was a few miles shorter in distance then those other races but still seeing that time does make me happy.

I finished third from last in my age group which is actually an improvement by one or two spots.  :)  The one thing I noticed was that if I can shave off even just 2 minutes I would be out of those lowly final three spots for the age group.  I think I could do that.  Heck I know I should be able to shave at least a minute off transitions and my swim should see some time savings as well down the road.  I think I need to continue practicing doing the 50s that Coach Lyndsi is having me do because for this race each lap is going to be 50 long no matter how much I would like to change that it will not change.  And if the hurricane winds were not there I can see my speed maybe increasing a little which would also shave off some time there as well for me.

Next race I believe is Wounded Warrior.  Going back to my running races for the next one.  But lots of swimming in the meantime.

Race Report - Texadega Nights

First what a great concept for any event even for an old man like me.  It has been a few years since I pull something like this.  This being staying up late until the early morning hours.  But it was worth it.  Met some great people, as usual.  And I, being me, got their early, which made the night even longer.

So my day starts with me and Dawn swimming at LA Fitness that morning.  I got in around 1200 meters for this swim.  And they were some hard earned meters at that.  I spent the whole morning just trying to catch my breath.  It was like I was swimming during a race.  Which after about half way through I decided to treat it as such.  A race type swim instead of just swimming.  And well it was just hard.  For whatever reason I just couldn't get from one end to the other consistently without either swallowing water or just having an race type attack.  But I didn't quit and in the end the swim was finished and, as usual, I was fine again.  So with that being over I headed home to try and get a nap in there and something to eat before the evening event started.

Got to the race track at 9pm, got my race distance changed, and then just hung out for a few hours before the race started.  Finally it is 11:45PM, and yes I said almost midnight, my portion of the race starts.  I start my run towards the 9 miles I signed up for.  I thought I might even run more before the race started.  The first two miles were strong for me.  I ran both of those miles in a 9:30 pace but the uneven ground finally caught up to my back and I sent the next 3 miles fighting that issue.  But with my body I have learned that eventually the pain or tightness will go away.  Once my body realizes that I am not quitting it gets back to normal.  So the next mile was me deciding to run to the finish line or continue on to the final three miles.  Well, of course, I ran the final 3 miles but any additional milage just left my mind.  I was finished and to continue would just be unfair for the rest of the group to witness.  Nothing more pathic than seeing a grown man crying and crawling on towards the next mile or two.  So to save them and myself I just headed off to the finish line.  It ended up not being a bad run for me after all.  And I would do this race again in a heart beat.  Now that I know about the surface I would be better prepared for the run next year.

So I get home around 3AM and the day is finally over. 

No Caveman this year

I have decided to use this race this weekend as one that I watch and study.  To see how others transition between swim to bike and from bike to run.  To take what I have been taught by Coach Lyndsi and to see others apply it and then see what I need to fix or correct for my future races.  Plus I am leaning towards more Cooper Tri's because from what I am told the pool situation might be better for my anxiety and this could lead to me actually enjoying the race completely without panicking during the swim.  I might still be bad at the swim but at least when I have to stop I can stand up and who knows for me that might make all the difference.  I will still do Old College Tri and Monster as well so I am not going to get rid of deep water swimming in my future but limiting it by one race could be a wiser decision for me.

Plus this would feel so different for me to be at a race and not partake in it.  I can actually cheer on my mates like Ms. Novia and Dawn, if they are doing it.

Anyway lately it has been me just swimming here and swimming there and swimming everywhere.  I have put more time in the water than most labs.  And labs actually love the water.  Ran against mother nature and she won, sadly.  But I did finish so take that mother nature.  So up yours mother nature.

I biked in strong winds and cross-winds that made me ponder death and where I would like to be buried.  Thanks for that Coach Lyndsi.

And now I got a few days away from the water on my schedule so I have more running and biking to come.

So my next race is TBD I guess.  Probably Cooper Tri in May or June I believe.  Better find that out so I don't miss it.