…an Eel

Yesterday, I felt like an elephant.  On April 16, I hope I feel like an eel.

Eel or elephant? I briefly touched on this the other day in a dailymile post, but I figured I would reiterate the point here as well.  While both eels and elephant are actually quite adept swimmers, I have to imagine that swimming comes much more naturally to eels and that it is much more difficult for elephants. Eel’s bodies are completely streamlined, and they seem to glide effortlessly through the water. Elephants, on the other hand, look much more labored in the water. They flail their legs around and appear to move rather slowly. That’s exactly how I felt yesterday.

My first few swim workouts had gone great. I was experiencing minimal soreness and rapid progression. Yardage increased from 2000 yards up to 3700 yards. But yesterday was a different story. Every set felt like I was dragging bricks along with me. I couldn’t find a rhythm and felt like I was flailing around in the pool. Add to this the fact that the entire time I was swimming, I was thinking about my competitive swimming days and the quick paces I could easily maintain and how far away from those I seem to be. I was definitely an elephant.

So as all of you know, I am an aspiring triathlete. For the past 2 years, I have been running and slowly lowering my run times. Last year, I added biking to the mix and began to enjoy the benefits of cross-training. However, there was still one component missing from the mix: swimming. I used to rationalize my way around this fact by saying “Oh, I swam in high school and college,” ”I’ve been swimming since I was 4,” ”Swimming comes naturally to me” and other excuses like that. The truth is, I haven’t really swam since I graduated from college eight years ago, and my swim skills are nowhere near where they once were.

So, with a new resolve and the Escape from Ft. DeSoto sprint tri in April (course map), I set out to change my swimming ways. I purchased all the essentials I would need: swim bag, suit, goggles and a kickboard. I also purchased a book of workouts called Workouts in a Binder: For Swimmers, Triathletes and Coaches. The only thing missing from my awesome swimming comeback plan was a pool. With memberships to the Y running somewhere north of $60/month, I had to find a better solution. Enter Gandy Pool, our city-run lap pool. The same pool I trained in as a high schooler offers single visits for $3. Additionally, you can purchase a 20 visit pass for $40, bringing the cost down to $2/visit. That was much closer to my kind of price range. Then, my mom happened to be working at the Open House for the city community center, and they were offering 40 visits for $60 or$1.50/visit. They were speaking my language! Then, to make things even better, my mom purchased the pass for me as her way of showing support of my goals and endeavors.

I know that every athlete has good and bad days and that it is not realistic to expect every workout to be a stellar one. Some days you feel like and eel and some days you feel like an elephant. Here’s to hoping I have more eel days than elephant days! So join me as I Tri To Be…an eel.

…Patriotic

Happy Independence Day!

Thanks to all the men and women who serve or have served in our armed forces. It is because of your sacrifices that we are able to enjoy the freedoms that we have today.

One of my favorite parts of July 4th is coming to my family’s condo in St. Pete.  It sits right on the bay and provides an amazing view for fireworks. One year I counted no less that 40 different fireworks displays across the horizon. The marina across the bay puts on an amazing display, some of the best that I have seen. Boats start anchoring out on the water days in advance to gain prime viewing spots for the show. It truly is amazing.

So, enjoy your holiday weekend, take some time to watch fireworks and remember to thank the service men and women that have helped get our country to where it is today.

Here are some “great” fireworks photos from my original iPhone’s 2.0 megapixel camera.

	The bay pre-fireworks

…Famous

Well, it’s been another month (almost two) but here is the update that I promised. I have completed 8 races this season and still have several more that I plan on running. As teased in my previous post, I ran with someone famous during the Race the Lakes 5k.

This year’s Race the Lakes 5k was the Road Runner’s Club of America’s National Championship race and several runners from all over the country came to attend the RRCA convention and run in the championship race. Around the two mile mark, I was passed by an older man. As he passed, I remarked to him that these little hills sneak up on you and he agreed. I then noticed that almost everyone passing in the other direction acknowledge this man by name. “Hey Bill!””Keep it up, Bill!” “You’re on my turf now, Bill.”

This puzzled me as I had never seen this man before and didn’t know why everyone would know his name. I commented to a woman I had been yo-yoing with “Is there anyone he doesn’t know?” and “This makes me wish my name was Bill.” I finished the race in 22:55 (after having run the Race the Lakes 10k 45 minutes before) and 2 places behind this mystery man, who finished in 22:35. It was only later, during the awards ceremony, that I found out that my mystery running partner was none other than Bill Rodgers, four-time winner of the Boston Marathon and the only runner to winner all three majors (Boston, New York, and Fukuoka) in the same year.

If only I had known, I might have been able to muster a :20 sec faster run and add beating Bill Rodgers to my running resume! Granted, he‘s 62 and I’m 29, but it still would have been cool.

Since my last race recap, the Rotary 5k, I have completed 7 other races. You can check out the results of all my races here. Here are a few details about those races.

• Bill Duncan Memorial 5k: New 5k PR! 20:46 on a familiar course but run in the opposite direction
• Race the Lakes 10k: First ever 10k. Set a new PR here as well
• Race the Lakes 5k: Ran this 45 minutes after the 10k and ran with Bill Rodgers
• Mayfaire 5k: Largest local race. Finished 4^th in my AG and won a mug
• Five Finger Frenzy: First off-road race. Course was a tough mountain bike single-track. Won my AG
• Watermelon 5k #1: First race of the series. Discover my AG has a lot more fast guys than last year. Finished in 11^th with a 21:18 with the top 4 guys all under 20:00.
• Watermelon 5k #2: Moved up to 8^th place overall.  :09 seconds away from 6^th place.

Here are some photos to from the past few months to help fill in the gaps:

Race the Lakes 10k Finish	Me, in red, approaching the Mayfaire turnaround	Mayfaire Finish Line
Five Finger Frenzy AG Podium	Me and one of my AG competitors Brad	Watermelon 5k #2 Finish Line
	Me and Sandy in Daytona this December. Not a race photo but still one of my favorites

…Back

This is just a quick note to say that a new full post is coming soon. While we wait for the new post to arrive, here is a short update of what has gone on since my last post.

• I ran and completed 4 races.
• I set new PR’s in the 5k and the 10k (It was my first ever 10k)
• I ran step-in-step with a famous runner (and didn’t know it until later)
• I finally got over my half-hour bike workout hurdle and began to log some longer rides.
• And much more.

Anyway, stay tuned and I promise a new update soon.

…Connected

No, I haven’t forgotten to write this week. I just don’t have an Internet connection. And I have 1 (or fewer) bar of cell service. I’m on a road trip to north-western Florida until Saturday and didn’t want to type a full-fledged post on my iPhone’s virtual keyboard. So until then, enjoy this picture of my living quarters for the next few days.

…Warm

I hate cold weather. PERIOD. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. I consider anything under 80 degrees as cold. If you follow my twitter feed you have seen tweets such as:

• “Sunny” central FL is 49 degrees. I’m running out of South to move too.
• If my winter weather tweets make me sound like a pansy Floridian, it’s because I AM!
• Dear Florida, I thought you were located in the South. Until you find your bearings I’ll be in St. Lucia! http://yfrog.com/3nd45nj
• Just finished a 5 mile run in sub 30 degree weather. I have a new respect for you Northern runners
• At the Santa Sprint. It’s 54 degrees. Coldest I’ve ever raced in. I’m a pansy in the cold.
• Dear Santa, Forget gifts this year. All I want for Christmas is the warm weather back.

I have no shame in admitting that I am, indeed, a cold weather pansy. After having spent 4 years living in Ohio during my college years, I can appreciate warm climates all the more. My wife, Sandy,  is from Indiana, so every Christmas I get to re-experience the cold all over again. This year, on whim, I convinced Sandy that we needed to run a race while we were up there. We found one in Kokomo (the Club Kokomo Road Runner’s New Year’s Eve 5k) and signed up.

Me ready for my first sub-30 degree run.

In order to be acclimated to the weather for the race, we decided it would be necessary to run outside a couple of times before the race. While the temperature was below 40 degrees, I still wore shorts. Everything else was, what I would consider, bundled up. Three shirts, one pairs of gloves, socks (I’m normally a sockless runner), and a hat. The run was a short 3 miler around Sandy’s small hometown, and although it was cold, it didn’t feel unbearable. We completed the run, and I felt like I could have kept going.

The next run was a 5 miler out of town and back. The temp was slightly colder so I bundled up a bit more. This time I included Under Armor ColdGear tights in addition to my shorts, 3 shirts, 2 pairs of gloves, socks and hat. The first mile in-town wasn’t bad but things soon got worse. As we left the confines of town and approached the empty cornfields of rural Indiana, I began to realize a problem.  In town, we had been protected from wind by the many buildings. Out on the rural roads, there was nothing to block the harsh wind and blowing snow. In spite of my two pairs of gloves, my fingers were soon numb, and I couldn’t really feel my face. For the entire 3 miles we were out of town I was asking myself why I was doing this.  Judging by the strange stares we received from those passing by in the comfort of their warm car interiors, everyone else wondered the same. Did I really enjoy this? Was this supposed to be fun? I was seriously reconsidering running the race we had scheduled for 5 days later.

The CKRR New Year’s Eve 5k came and went, and everything went fine. It was cold, and the neighborhood roads we ran on were unplowed, wet and slushy, but I managed to run a 22:29. The chili and gift exchange (in place of awards) after the race were a lot of fun and definitely made the race worthwhile.

Race day conditions

Me enjoying the post-race chili!

Sandy and I post CKRR New Year's Eve 5k

I bring all this up to say this: when I woke up at 7:00am this Saturday morning for my 6 mile run, I saw the temperature was 40 degrees. Nope, back to bed for me. I waited until 4:00pm to get my run in. By then it was 54 degrees and much more bearable. The wind still stung my face and made my ears hurt, but I finished. This time the answers were clear to me. Did I really enjoy this? Absolutely. Was this supposed to be fun? You bet! And as it continues to warm up down here in the South, it will only get better!

While I enjoyed the CKRR New Year’s Eve 5k, I still hate the cold weather. However, it gave me a new found respect for northern runners and their dedication to the sport. I don’t think that I could regularly run in that kind of weather and I know that I couldn’t (or wouldn’t) run 16 miles through shin deep snow like Geek Turned Athlete  did! And when I hear the northerners say things like “3-day weekend + temps in high 30s = much-needed outdoor runs” it makes me appreciate living in the south even more.

So join me as I Tri To Be…Warm.

…Proud

Proud – feeling or showing pride, having or displaying excessive self-esteem, much pleased, having proper self-respect.

Normally, being proud of my accomplishments is not something I struggle with. Recently, however, I’ve been doing just that: struggling with my expectations versus my actual performances. Let me back up a little before I begin.

Sandy and I at the Rotary Twilight 5k '09

My first road race ever was the Lakeland Rotary Twilight 5k on February 6, 2009. I was nervous and excited and didn’t know what to expect. Sandy described me as cute and annoying all at the same time. I was worried that I would miss the start. Worried that I would trip at the start and be trampled to death. Worried that I would look funny to all the “experienced veterans” since I thought I was going to be the only newbie out there. Worried that I would not be able to finish a whole 3.1 miles.  As a result, my expectations were rather low. I wanted to finish the race and not walk. I wanted to have fun. And, if possible, I wanted to finish under 25:00 minutes. My final time was a 26:23. I finished 5^th out of 15 in my AG and 154^th out of 490 overall. More importantly, I had fun! I enjoyed every moment of it, and I was proud of what I had accomplished. So much so that I returned to the finish chute after the race to pick up my finisher ribbon that I missed coming out of the chute. That single race turned into the start of my racing “career.”

1st place AG award for the Santa Sprint 5k '09

Fast forward 10 months now to December 19, 2009, at 7:30 AM. I have completed 13 more races of distances up to 5 miles. I lowered my 5K PR to 21:12. I’ve placed in my age group in four of the races (3^rd in Race the Lakes, 2^nd in Faster with FITniche, 1^st in Aching Quad, 3^rd in Rattlesnake run). I’ve also just completed the Santa Sprint 5k in 21:21. I finished 1^st in my AG and 9^th overall, but I was rather disappointed. You see, I came into the race hoping to break the 21-minute barrier.  I had just tied my Florida 5K PR (my 21:12 was run in Indiana) and taken 9 seconds off my time on the same course, but I was still disappointed. My expectations didn’t line up with my performance. I wrote off the wins to a small turn out of runners. A lot of the people I ran against in the summer were absent, and I considered it a half-hearted victory at best.

Fast forward now to this past Friday, February 5, 2010—the anniversary of my racing career. The night was cold and the rain relentless, but I didn’t care about the conditions. I hadn’t raced since the end of December and had been training hard (and consistently) for the past several months. I was ready. Tonight was going to be the night that I broke my 21 minute “curse.” The rain lessened slightly while we waited anxiously in the corral, and before I knew it, we were off. The first mile passed in 6:30, and while I was wearing my watch I was treating the run as if I were “naked.” I was determined not to look at my watch. The rain and the running continued as I jockeyed position with an older man who reeked of body odor. Mile two came at 13:20 and I knew I was doing great. I had 7:40 to complete my final 1.1 miles. I was sure that I was going to bury that 21 minute barrier. Mile 3 had something else in mind though. As I continued around the lake (the course was one complete lap around Lake Hollingsworth) the rain picked up and so did the wind. I continued running strong, proud that I was doing so well. Soon, I could see the lights at the finish chute and hear the announcer congratulating runners as they crossed the line. As the time clock came into focus, I couldn’t believe my eyes: 20:45, 20:46, 20:47, and I still had almost a full .1 miles to go. How could this be! I had been so sure. I crossed the finish line in 21:11! Aaaggghhh!!! Not again! I backtracked on the course to run in with my wife and to help myself forget about my disappointment as I encouraged her and other runners to finish strong.

1st place in AG at the Rotary Twilight 5k '10

When the dust had settled and the results were posted, I saw that I had won my AG (19 runners) and finished 19^th overall (389 runners). I also saw that I had PR’d by over .5 sec. But still, I was slightly disappointed. I had come into the race with certain expectation and failed to meet them. I was proud of my accomplishment but not of my performance.

I collected my medal and proudly wore it the rest of the evening. And as Sandy reminded me, I had a lot to be proud of. Proud that I had been racing for over a year now. Proud that my 5K time has dropped by more than 5 minutes. Proud that I had accomplished more than those who chose to stay home and not participate. Proud that I was healthy and able to run.

I am learning to be proud in everything that I do. Not the having or displaying excessive self-esteem type of proud, but the having proper self-respect type. Because as a friend recently told me: A PR is a PR and any PR counts, especially this early in the season.

So, join me as I Tri To Be…Proud.

Kissing my medal at the Rotary Twilight 5k '10

…Naked?

No, I’m not referring to the original Olympic Games. Nor am I talking about the Dare to Go Bare 5k  (SFW) in Lutz, FL. I am talking about Rule 1.44 from Mark Remy’s The Runner’s Rule Book.

“One day a week, run naked. No we’re not suggesting you break the law…just leaving your running watch at home for one run a week. You’ll be amazed at how liberating it can be.”

For the past month, I have been doing exactly that: Running without my watch. Not by choice, but out of necessity. Normally, I run with my Suunto T6c strapped firmly to my wrist. It doesn’t come off unless I am in the shower. Since purchasing it last April, I have become addicted to its ease of use and the abundance of information that it provides both during and after each workout.  However, I recently noticed that if was acting a little erratic. Data on the watch was not matching up with data on the computer. While the watch would say I had a sub-par workout, my computer would indicate that I worked too hard.  I tried new batteries in both the watch and the HR belt, to no avail. Finally, after some help from Jan of runtotri.blogspot.com, we determined that my problem was due to a faulty HR strap. While normal HR straps have an error rate of less than 10%, mine was reporting an error rate of over 80%! So, I sent it off to Suunto and have been running naked ever since.

While, some may find this liberating and therapeutic, I, on the other hand, have simply found it annoying. I enjoy being able to see my HR at all times during my workouts and races, and I love analyzing the data when I’m done. Having run naked for the last month, I am ready to be “clothed” again. My watch arrives on Wednesday!

I’m not saying running naked is altogether unappealing. Many people enjoy these “freeing” runs every year and even more enjoy leaving their watch behind once or twice a week, but I am not one of those runners.

It wasn’t for me, but give it a try anyways. See if you can make it without your watch. Lose the excess and run naked once in a while.  Break free of your dependence on technology.  You may find that you enjoy the experience. 

Until next time, join me as I Tri To Be…Naked (errr… or maybe not!)

This Week’s Schedule: This Week is my first race of the season. Lakeland Rotary Twilight 5k. Consquently, I cut out all cross-training for the week but am still maintaining my normal run workouts.

Monday	Rest
Tuesday	Intervals	2 miles WU @ 8:34/mile – 4 x 100m @ 4:00 w/400m RI – 1 mile CD @ 8:34
Wednesday	Rest
Thurday	Tempo	1 mile WU @ 8:34 – 3 miles @ 7:10/mile – 1 mile CD @ 8:34
Friday	Race	Lakeland Rotary Twilight 5k
Saturday	Long	6 miles @ 7:40/mile
Sunday	Rest

…Consistent

I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. I haven’t made one since sometime in high school.  Back then I made a resolution not to make anymore resolutions and so far I have stuck to it.

That being said, I’ve decided that I am going to start waking up early to get in my workouts. It’s not a resolution, just something I decided to do.  You see, for the past year, I’ve done my runs sometime in the afternoon or evening. I had no set schedule; just a training plan that called for certain runs to be completed on certain days. Even the days were pretty flexible.  A Tuesday workout could easily become a Wednesday workout and my long runs just had to be done sometime on the weekend. However, I soon found out that it was very easy to miss workouts this way. Things would come up. Sandy and I would head into town for a while, a favorite TV show would be on, guests would come over, etc.  Life happened and I would miss workouts.  That’s why I decided to start getting up early.

I’ve been at it now since the beginning of the year, and I’m happy to report that so far I have not skipped a single workout. I am finding out that “life happens” in the morning too, but when I start my day early there is still plenty of time left to find the time to complete my workout.

For instance, last week I had the privilege to watch my parent’s dog, Porsche – an 80 lb yellow lab—for a few days.  He’s technically my dog and lives with my parents but that’s another story. The problem is that Porsche and I have very different schedules. While we both get up early he is accustomed to being fed and walked first thing in the morning while I am looking to get on the treadmill or stationary trainer.

On the day in question, I woke up at 5:30 and got out of bed. My feet hadn’t even hit the floor, and Porsche was already up from his bed in the corner and raring to go. On his own, this would not have been a problem as he is a very compliant dog. Enter Gus, our 13 lb Yorkie. Unlike Porsche, Gus has a stubborn streak in him and can be quite difficult at times. This was one of those times.

The boys followed me into the workout room, begging for food and the chance to go outside.  I told them they would just have to wait; I would be done in 40 minutes and then I would feed them. I gave them each a small bone to keep them occupied and started my workout. 

Within 30 seconds, they lost interest in the bones and began barking at me. I managed to get 2:30 in before I thought the barking would wake Sandy.  I stopped the workout, fed the dogs, let them out and by the time they were all taken care of, it was time to get ready to go for the day. Fortunately, I was able to finish my workout later that day.

While I have managed to complete all but one of my workouts in the morning, I’m finding that I tend to push things as far back as possible and end up rushing for most of the morning. I need to get back to waking up at 5:30 and build a little bit of margin into my mornings. That way I have plenty of time in the morning to get everything done, and I don’t end up rushed. This reminds me of a clip from one of my favorite comedians, Brian Regan.

On a side note, thanks to PowerTri.com for their awesome 12 days of Christmas contest.  Each day leading up to Christmas they posted a question on their Facebook page. The first person to find the answer from their website and post it won the item of the day. I am happy to say that I won 3 of the 12 days and was awarded a sporty red Suunto T3c, a pair of Zoot Ultra Race 2.0’s, and a whole box of Nuun. Amazing!

So, once again, join me as I Tri To Be…Consistent.

…A Writer

This is my attempt at writing about my journey from couch potato to triathlete. It is my goal to inspire, encourage, educate, and entertain myself and others on my path as I Tri To Be…A lot of things.