Broad St. Run - Big PR!

This was a breakthrough race. I had no idea I was capable of throwing this kind of time down with the light training I've been doing and lack of sleep due to stress at work and school. I honestly couldn't be happier.

I even got a little coverage on Philly.com (picture #23) which my mom found. She then sent me an email with this as the subject line haha

So a little about the race - I was a little nervous going into it. I didn't sleep much this past week. I only ran 2x before Sunday (a short interval workout on Tuesday morning and 50min steady run on Friday morning) and I did NOTHING else athletic. I had resigned to the fact that I would run a 1:02-1:04, and I was OK with it. Sunday I got up and hopped on the subway. I actually thought the race started at 8am, so I went through my routine a little early and then got in the corral to realize that it started at 8:30 haha. So I went through an abbreviated second warm up (maybe that is the key??). Anyway, I was in the corral right behind the elite runners. A co-coach and friend Darryl was running with them. Despite looking for him, I didn't see him before or after the race.

The first mile is fast and downhill. I didn't feel like I was pushing that hard, I honestly thought I would be around a 6:05pace until I looked up and saw that the clock read 5:25. YIKES! I knew that would come back to bite me. But on the plus side, I only had to hold 9 more 6min miles and I'd reach my goal.  I pumped the brakes a little bit and kept rolling. Mile 2 was 5:40, so much more in control. I was shocked how good I felt. I hit the 3rd mile in 17:07, which is pretty close to my 5k PR pace. I was worried what would happen if I kept it up, but figured why the hell not just lay it out there and hold on... I was hovering right around 5:50 for miles 3-8. Not much excitement, except I saw my mom at mile 6. Mile 9 was tough. I was hanging with the 7th place female runner and she broke away. I knew I couldn't hang with her, so I let up a little bit mentally. There weren't many other runners around, so running behind I slowed to 6:11 for the 9th mile. Seeing that upset me a little because I had been sub 6min pace for the whole race, so I tried to pick it up for stretch. I also saw the Philly Tri Club tent and got some cheers, so that helped me pick it up. A 6:01 final mile put me across the line in 58:30. I did get outkicked by 2 guys right in the last 50meters, but hey - I was WAY ahead of where I thought I would be. My average HR on the day was a mild 194 - I don't know how I don't blow up...

If these results aren't proof that a little speed work goes a LONG way, I don't know what is. Even with a drastic drop off in training volume, I've seen improvement AND almost no loss of endurance... Here is what my training looked like for the 4 weeks leading up to Broad St. - nothing over 8:15/week!

 I have a small 5k in the end of May, but that's the last running race until the fall. For the next 6-8 weeks it's going to be all about the bike.

Tough Mudder done, Broad St. to come!

Just quickly checking in because there has been some action in my racing life. Unfortunately I don't have enough time for a full rundown because it's also finals week at Villanova. This means I'm writing A LOT, running on very little sleep, and I'm still supposed to give classes from 8-3 and coach from 3-530... I am fairly confident I bit off more than I can chew this year. Nevertheless, the updates...

This weekend was a very different kind of race for me. I headed to the Poconos with a couple friends from high school to take on a Tough Mudder. According to the website it's "probably the toughest event on the planet" - I don't know about that, but it was a challenging event. I was more challenged than I thought I would be (I admittedly have a little bit of an Ironman ego), but I had a lot more fun too. The worst part was the cold. It was 32 degrees when the race started, and about 15 minutes in they make you climb into a dumpster full of ice water and make sure you completely submerge yourself. It's very appropriately called the "ice enema." From that moment on I lost most feeling in my hands and was unable to successfully complete some of the obstacles because I could not clench hands to hold on to anything (ie: monkey bars, ropes, walls, etc.). The most feared part of the course was the live electrical wires that we had to crawl though and then run through. They actually weren't as bad as I feared they would be, although they certainly did sting a bit. Overall it was a fun day and I didn't hurt myself, which I was a little fearful of. If I did do it again I would only do it during the summer months, and I would like to try to race it to see how fast I could do it - we went at a pretty leisurely pace.

Next stop- Broad St. I did this run back in 2010 and I'll say it was my first break through race. I didn't do anything extraordinary, but it was first time holding a sub 7min pace (I ran a 1:07.xx). Based on the half marathon on April 1, I should be down under 1:02, which I'd be very happy about. I would LOVE to see 59:59 on the clock when I cross, but I don't know if that is a real possibility just yet. I have been slacking a little with my workouts and I haven't been sleeping much because of all the work I have for Villanova. It's nice to know that going sub 1:00 is within my grasp even if it doesn't happen this weekend. My more realistic goal is to be under 1:02, which would be an improvement on my half marathon pace. We'll see though. I really don't know how it will go. I'm going to start near the front and go out hard and just hope I can hold on.

Come Tuesday of next week all my finals and papers will be finished, so it's all about the BIKE! And maybe I'll start swimming again too haha.

Move over volume, it's time for intensity

Talking with a good friend, David, today, he pointed out an interesting fact - I'm not training for any long course races this year. So why am I spending so much time going long and slow?? Example - today I went out on my long run. I have Broad St. coming up, which is a 10mile race, but I ran 18 today... A great run, and I feel great about it, but I don't need to put in that sort of mileage training for a 10 miler and then some shorter races this summer. The longest run as part of a race that I have planned after Broad St. is a 10k. I've only been doing 1 interval workout/week for the past couple months. I think it's time to step it up. I understand that building a strong aerobic base is important, but right now I want to go fast. I need to build my top end speed to be more competitive. So, I need to get the wheels spinning!

I'm not going to change anything for the next 2 weeks, but I am going to try to bump up to 3 intervals workouts/week after May 6. I'm thinking 2 will be on the bike, and I'll keep my 1 on the run. Then I'll see how my body responds. I think I have enough of a base under me right now that I'll be able to hold off injury even with the added stress of high intensity training.

Another suggestion he made that I am looking into is switching crank length on my bike. I currently ride with 175mm length crank arms. From what I can gather, shortening to 167.5 or 165 should let me raise my seat a bit, giving me a more flat back and aero positioning, and it should also open up my hip angle a bit while I'm down in the aero position allowing me to breathe a little better and without requiring such a large range of motion with my legs - and I am quite inflexible, so this should help me quite a bit. The downside to shorter cranks is said to be a little less torque/power, however, from what I've read on slowtwitch (and I even saw an interview with Lance Armstrong), I think the marginal decrease in torque is outweighed by the comfort and breathing, so there is actually no net loss of power. Lance said he rides a 172.5 on his roadie and a 167.5 on his TT bike. If he's doing it, it must be right, right?

OK- the busy week shall begin with a little less sleep than I wanted. Maddy was down in Miami for a bachelorette party this weekend, and her plane got delayed, so she won't be in until 1:30am. No biggie though. We'll make it work.

Thanks for reading.

As suspected...

Work needs to be done on the bike. I did a 7.6mile TT this morning, and it did not go very well. I guess I kind of knew my bike was not very strong right now, but it still hurt to see the results of me pushing. 7.6miles in 20:30, which is about a 22.3mph average. It was flat, very little wind, and perfect temperature. YIKES! I did ride 2x yesterday, a short morning ride and a longer evening ride, but I don't think it was fatigue from lack of recovery that was holding me back today. The fact is, I need to work on speed/power on the bike. This was a wake-up call. I will not be the rider that I want to be if this keeps up. Starting May 7 (the day after the Broad St. Run) my focus switches to the bike. I'm still thinking about how I want to attack it (ie: how I will restructure my week to directly focus on the bike), but I'll write about that some time in the near future, I'm sure. I've got to do some reading on cycling...

Running continues to move along. I had a good interval run on Tuesday morning - 12x400 all between 1:17-1:13 on 45 sec rest. It was tough, but it was good. Long run tomorrow, shorter interval set Tuesday, moderate Friday, and then Saturday 4/28 is the Tough Mudder. Not exactly the ideal plan for a taper before an important race, Broad St., but it should be fun. I'm doing it with a group of buddies from high school and we have a house in the Poconos for the weekend. It's not going to be a race to compete, but just to have fun and get it done.

Swimming...yeah...ummm...not a whole lot happening there.

There's a lot of stress coming in the next 2 weeks also with the end of the semester. I was pretty sleep deprived this week, and the real pressure hasn't even begun yet. I hope I can stay organized, stay focused, and DO GREAT WORK!

Thanks for checking in.

Learning to suffer on the bike

Is something I need to work on if I want to see some improvements this season. I did a short bike workout Saturday and it HURT! I don't know what the difference is between hard run intervals vs hard bike intervals, but for whatever reason I can handle (and actually almost sickly enjoy) the run intervals, but bike intervals are physically uncomfortable and mentally difficult to get through for me. I want to quit after only a short amount of time. That is one reason I hate the trainer so much - I don't have the mental fortitude to push through. I suppose only maturation and repetition will help me with this, so I'll be making a point of incorporating more high intensity on the bike over the next 2 months.

It was a pretty easy workout too, which bugs me. I did 4x1min single leg (per leg) with 30sec recover. Then 2x5min at a pretty hard effort (didn't wear HRM and don't have power, but it was on the upper end of my potential), then did 2x2min hill climbs.

Climbing has always been "easy" for me, but pushing in a big gear is much harder. I think I have a pretty strong base, which is why I typically race any distance between 20-22mph, but I also think my max speeds is about 23mph haha. Hopefully I will be able to bring that max speed up a bit before I race this summer. I'd love to see 24+mph average in an Olympic distance race AND the legs to run afterward. One day I'll get there (hopefully soon!).

Looking forward to the summer. This weather makes me feel like it's already here - it's supposed to hit 88 today! Also, I got a job at an outdoor pool this summer. If that doesn't encourage me to swim everyday I don't know what will. It's also about 14 miles from my apartment, so I'll be commuting by bike daily. This summer should bring lots of fitness, which will hopefully translate into some results!

First 100(ish) days in 2012 analysis

OK, I know it's only been 97, but I was trying to come up with a creative title and I thought about the 'first 100 days in office' thing...

I've been pleasantly surprised at some improvements and successes so far this year despite a less than ideal training volume. My focus so far this year has been on grad school and living life much more so than training and triathlon, however, I've still been getting some work done, and I've been really enjoying all my workouts, which I can't say was true last year...

So let's see what I've been doing since Jan 1 and compare that to 2011:

swim: 9hrs (35hrs in 2011) - 75% decrease
bike: 31hrs (52hrs) - 40% decrease
run: 30hrs (32hrs) - 6% decrease
strength: 6hrs (2.5hrs) - 140% increase!
total: 76hrs (112.5hrs) - 33% decrease
average/week: 5.8hrs (8.7hrs) - 33% decrease

There's been a huge drop off in my swim and bike training. I barely spend any time at the pool now a days. I know I said a big goal of mine is to improve my swim and to do so I need to get in the water, but it's tough to find time because of my pool's limited hours of operation, and frankly, I just haven't made it a priority... This summer I will be working at a pool, so I should be able to get something in 5days/week.

The bike is coming along... My goal for the year is to work on some top end speed, which I haven't tested yet, but I imagine it is below where I would like it. Next weekend starts weekly time trials along West River Drive in Philly, so I'm going to try to make it a priority to get out there and see how my speed comes along throughout the season.

My run is strong. I have been very pleasantly surprised at how well it has come along with the lack of overall training hours... I think the use of specific workouts really helps as opposed to just getting out there and running (I realize this might be a "no shit, Sherlock" comment, but bear with me). I really believe you need to do 3 different workouts to become a good runner. The first is a long easy run. The second is an interval workout run with spurts of high intensity. And the third is a steady state run, somewhere between the other 2 in terms of speed and effort. I also believe complementing the run with 3 similar workouts on the bike is extremely beneficial. My legs get pretty beat up from high run mileage, but I respond well to moderate run volume with well planned, moderate-high bike volume.

With the Broad St. 10 miler coming up in just 4 weeks, I will continue my run focused training. I know things are going to get busy the week before the race because I have a final exam, a presentation, and 2 final papers to write... But I'll do my best to hold it together. After that I'm switching gears to bike focus (ha! see what I did there? "switching gears"...). I'm going to try to really focus on the same 3 workouts I use running on the bike (long/easy, interval/speed, steady-state) in varying forms. Then come mid-June I'll start working in the swim while trying to continue a bike focus. My "A race" of the season is Aug. 8 as of now, so I should be good to go by then. It'll be back to running in the fall with another XC season.

For now things are coming along very well! I hope I continue to see improvements. It's hard to compare to previous seasons/races because just about every race I do is a "new" distance, but I know I'm improving.

Just looking at running races:
2009 marathon - 3:52 (8:51min/mile pace)
2010 broad st 10 mile - 1:07 (6:42pace)
2010 5k - 18:55 (6:06pace)
2010 marathon - 3:00 (6:52pace)
2011 5k - 17:36 (5:39pace)
2012 half marathon - 1:21 (6:13pace)

I know that part/most of my improvements come from still being new to the world of swimming, biking, and running, but I'll take it! One of the things that keeps this so exciting for me is seeing the improvements, so keep 'em comin'!

Thanks for reading.

What a race weekend!

Let's not beat around the bush here - I had a great race on Sunday! My goal was to be in the 1:22-25 range, and I didn't even know if that was possible because I had been under the weather and I just haven't been training a ton. I also had a little mishap in the morning and forgot the shoes I wanted to run in, whoops! Luckily I had a pair of trainers, which did just fine. As you can see below, I was able to do significantly better than I thought I would.

So here's the rundown- woke up at 4:45 Sunday morning ready and raring to go! I packed my bags the night before, so all I had to go was make a pb&j for breakfast, grab a banana and my bags, grab a coffee at 7-11, and hit the road. I was pretty sick at the beginning of the week and passed along my bug to Maddy, so she was pretty under the weather. My Dad decided to join me for the ride down to AC though to watch and support me in the race. Everything was going perfectly. We got down to packet pick up with no problems and in plenty of time. Then I realized I only brought one of the two bags I packed... And the bag I left behind was the one with my racing flats in it. Luckily I had another pair of shoes, but they were my trainers that I bought to walk around in. I had actually never worn them to run, and they kind of hurt my feet because they have some lateral support, which I don't need. Oh well!

The race got under way and I headed out with the front group. By mile one the leaders were out of sight. The guy who won ran a 1:05 and second place was 1:09...

Here is my race by time and heart rate.
1 - 6:04 (174)
2 - 6:17 (178)
3 - 6:11 (177)
4 - 6:14 (180)
5 - 6:12 (181)
6 - 6:14 (181)
7 - 6:16 (185)
8 - 6:14 (187)
9 - 6:21 (184)
10 - 6:12 (184)
11 - 6:14 (190)
12 - 6:07 (192)
13 - 6:19 (191)
.1 - :39 (191)
Total: 1:21:36 (184)

Like I said, I'm stoked. Despite a shoe mishap and being a little under the weather/under trained, my body came through. I'm always shocked at how high my HR gets and how I don't bonk... I was going to put a HR cap on myself to keep things in check, but honestly I'm glad I didn't. My HR has always run high during races/fitness tests, so I haven't really come to understand it yet. My max HR "should be" (according to the 220-age formula) 193. I hit 196 during the race, and I've recorded as high as 205 in a 5k... But I don't have time to figure this thing out right now.

Some areas to improve - I did get caught by a guy, actually a friend and the president of the Philly Tri Club at mile 12. I hung with him for about 800m and then had to fall off. He was strong! Perhaps I went out a little hard. I would love to have a kick some day...

Moving forward - the Broad St. 10 miler is the next race on the schedule in a little over a month. With this performance at a 13.1, I'd REALLY love to get as close to 59:59 as possible... This week will be a little recovery, then it's back to work next week, so we'll see what happens. I'll be updating my training program over the next couple days if you want to have a look.

Other notes - my Rudy Project shades are awesome. I ordered the Genetyks, and they rock. Light weight, nice lens, comfortable, durable, and they look boss.

The Oceanside 70.3 and Galveston 70.3 were awesome races as well this weekend. I love Andy Potts, and the field at Galveston was ridiculous. I used to think breaking 4 hours was impressive for a pro. Now a days a 3:59 won't get you on the podium apparently... I am very tempted to get into a 70.3 this year, but I will hold off.

Sorry for the rant!
Thanks for reading.

Gearing up for AC 13.1

A couple wrinkles have come up over the past few days in preparation for the first race of the season. I found myself pretty congested early in the week, and it manifested itself into a full blown face and chest infection. On the bright side I woke up this morning feeling better than I have all week, so I think the worst is behind me, and I should still be able to have a decent race tomorrow. The other wrinkle is the weather. I had been getting used to the unseasonably warm weather this spring, but it seems that race morning will be a bit chilly! The race goes off at 8am and should be over closer to 9am than 10am, so I'm looking at racing through 40-42ish degrees...

First of all, I don't like the cold at all. I typically wear long sleeves and tights on my legs until the temp gets above 50-55. Secondly, I don't think I perform as well in the cold because my muscles stay tight and I feel like the air is a bit harder to breath. I had planned on wearing some Philly Tri Club shorts and long sleeves, but I might have to throw on some tights as well... I just don't know yet.

Other than those unknowns, I'm excited. At the very least I'll get the wheels spinnin' tomorrow, it can't be too long of a day, and I think I'm going to place a couple bets after the race - after all, it is in Atlantic City!

I'll check back after the race tomorrow or Monday.
Thanks for checking in.

Track workout and shoe reviews

Beautiful day today - 70 degrees and sunny - and I'm on spring break, so there was nothing to get between me and my workout. I didn't get my speed work in on Tuesday because we were in the car driving back from Vermont, so I hit the running path today with 4x1mile. That is kind of my go-to workout. I've done it enough times it's an easy gage of how fit I am, it takes about an hour (15min warm up, 30min main set, 15min cool down), and the mile is short enough that I get the legs turning over, but long enough that I can't (or rather I shouldn't) floor it.

Anyway, I felt great today (at the start). I laced up my Brooks t7's and headed out. Not really knowing what to take it out in, I figured I would do what felt good for the first one and try to stick to that for the rest of them. Let's just say I went out a little too hard...

Mile 1- 5:40 (2min recover) it felt good, but I should have known this was way too hard...

Mile 2- 5:40 (2min) still felt good, but I was pushing through the last quarter. I was happy to hit the same pace though. I was thinking that because of the 2min rest, I might be able to get through the last 2.

Mile 3- 5:50 (2min) this is where I fell apart. I had gone out WAY too hard, and getting to the end of this one was a struggle. I was about 2:50 through 1/2 and 3:00 for the second 1/2. 

Mile 4- 6:24 (1min recover before cool down) The last mile I had nothing left so I figured I would pace it as if it were the end of the half marathon. I wanted to stay poised without feeling like I was pushing, and it actually felt pretty good. I was happy to be able to hold goof form and, despite my heart rate, not feel like I was pushing. And I hit even splits.

What I can take from this- if I want to have a good race on April 1, I MUST stay within myself. I'll be wearing HR so I can keep tabs on how hard I'm actually pushing. I guess with all the shorter speed work I've been doing it doesn't hurt right away getting the wheels turning. However, if I go out too hard, like I did today, I'm toast. Although today's workout wasn't what it should have been, I won't call it a failure because I learned something. One more long run and one more speed day before the race. I'm excited to see how it goes down in AC on April 1!

Now for some shoe reviews...

Below is a picture of what I've been running in for the past couple months. Probably more shoes than a guy needs, but sometimes I just can't help myself. I got each pair for less than $50, so I just couldn't pass them up!

What I currently run in

The Brooks Green Silence have been getting most of the mileage as of late. I have come to really like them. They give enough support that I can take them on long runs and feel great, but they are still very light and have a racing flat feel to them. The 2 minor complaints I have are that they don't have any durable rubber on the lateral forefoot, which is where I typically land. I have a feeling these will wear within about 300miles, and I would love a shoe that I could wear for 500+. Also they have a weird shape to them. The sole is kind of bowed, so although I'm not a heel-striker, it gives my foot that shape.

Brooks Green Silence

I also got a pair of t7's. A friend and coach of Tatnall's XC team is a Brooks sponsored athlete. The dude is fast. I think his 13.1 PR is around a 1:07. This is what he races in, so I figured if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me. They are great racing flats. Although they have a noticeable heel to toe drop, which I don't love. They are also a little loose in the forefoot. They don't hug my foot as much as I would like while doing speed work - I felt like I was slipping around a little. They also came untied twice today. I always double knot my shoes, and I've never had this problem before... Maybe it is the operator, not the shoe, I don't know. But otherwise, very good shoes.

Brooks t7 racer

The K-Swiss K-Ruuz I got on sale and they are very similar to the t7's. A smooth ride and nice racing flat. They have better tread on the bottom, which should hold up a little better. I've heard of a guy putting 1000+miles on these, which I like very much. I also love the way these bad boys look. Vain, I know, but just wait until you guys see the race kit I have planned for a 4th of July spring I'm doing this year :) The one thing these lack is some cushioning. They have a much harder ride than both Brooks. The upper is a little loose like the t7's.

K-Swiss K-Ruuz

I've written about the Asics Hyper Speed 4 before. They are great. Here are two pics, one of the pair I'm currently using (left), and then a pair that I wore out (right) - actually the pair I raced IMLP in. They are the most responsive and cushioned racing flat I've ever worn. They have a very low heel-toe drop, and are probably the best shoe I've worn to date. I think I wear a size too small in these, although I love the snug feel they have on my foot, because every time I have toenails and wear these to do any sort of long run, they fall off. I should probably size up, but they feel OK, and who needs toenails? I don't know if I have anything negative at all to say about this shoe except that they wear through after about 250mile on pavement. They also have a lot of drainage holes in the bottom, so when I wear them running trails or through any sort of water, it seeps right through and into my socks immediately. On a side note, they stopped making this color scheme, so before they did I bought an extra 2 pairs that are sitting in my closet. My plan at the time was to save them for my next IM. We'll see about that.

Asics Hyper Speed 4 (New/Old)

These are some of the other shoes I've worn over the past 2 years. The Zoot's were OK. The elastic laces don't do it for me. I was sliding around too much in them. They also have a pretty pronounced heel-toe drop. The Asics Pirahna's are a great flat, but I wouldn't recommend them for anything over a 10k. I raced a half iron in them and thought I broke my foot after. They are super lightweight, although they have about as much cushioning as a pair of socks. The Adidas Rockets were a good shoe overall. I don't know what it is about them, but I just never fell in love with them. They, like the K-ruuz, have a hard ride.

The oldies

Still not sure what I'll wear for the AC 13.1. Each shoe has it's pros and cons. I really don't think it will make a difference in my performance.

If you made it this far in the post, congrats! Some more good news - I picked up another sponsor, Clif Bar products! I couldn't be happier about it. I'll write more on this later.

Happy training!!

VT Trip

As part of a wonderful birthday present from Mad, we headed north this weekend to Killington, VT. The plan was originally to spend Sunday traveling and checking out the local scene, Monday skiing, and Tuesday relaxing before heading home. Since it was between 58-73 degrees (!!) the whole time, skiing went out the window. But that meant more time to spend relaxing, hiking, and enjoying the area. 

This is a view from our room!

We ate great food, as we always do on vacation and pretty much planned everything around our next meal and some great local beers. Monday we went to Long Trail Brewery for a little brewery tour and to sample some of the local favorites. Then after dinner we sat out by the firepit and had some s'mores!

I was able to get a little bit of running in on the trip. Saturday, before we started traveling, I had a good 2 hour run up on Easton, PA, where Mad's parents live. Although I've spent a lot of time up there, I really didn't know any running paths in the area, so I went out to explore. It was AWESOME! I found some really cool trails along the Delaware River and felt strong throughout my entire effort including getting up and down the huge hills around Lafayette College. It was definitely a confidence booster going into the AC half marathon on 4/1.

In Vermont my exploring continued, but I didn't find as many good trails. I did find a LOT of mud. As it turns out the snow just melted on a lot of the trails, so there were times when I was sloshing through 4" of thick mud. Only made it out for about 30min on Monday, and this is what my shoes looked like when I was finished. They were nice and white when I started...

It's getting a little late, so I'm going to hit the hay. Check back in the next couple days as I do a shoe comparison with what I've been training in as of late. I'm trying to decide what to run the 13.1 in, so if nothing else, it will be a way for me to get out some pros and cons and help me narrow down my decision. Above are the Brooks Green Silence, which I've been logging most of my miles in as of late. And I've come to really like them.

More later. Thanks for reading.
PW

Check me out - I picked up a couple sponsors!

If you check out the right side of blog now, you'll see a couple new additions - sponsors!! I'd wondered for a while how one goes about getting sponsors and what a sponsor does for the athlete. Well, I found this website www.hookit.com, which pairs up sponsors with athletes of a variety of sports and skill levels. It's pretty awesome. I filled out my profile and searched for anyone that might take me. Within 2 days I've acquired 2 sponsors!!

The first is Rudy Project. Everyone reading this blog probably knows what/who they are are, but in case you don't, they are a sunglass/helmet company that makes some very high quality products. I've had my eye on Rudy Project eyewear and helmets for a while, but frankly, I couldn't afford it. It first caught my eye when I saw Andy Potts (one of my favorite athletes) rocking their products. He's a word class athlete, Ironman winner, 4 time collegiate all american, and competed on the US Olympic triathlon team... Not a bad resume. I'm sure he gets a slightly deeper discount than I do, but I'm PSYCHED to get my hands on some Rudy Project gear! Today is payday, so I'll probably place an order soon. Product reviews will follow. Based on what I've already read, I'm sure they will be stellar.

Here is what I'm thinking of ordering - the Genetyk sunglasses and the Sterling helmet. To start anyway :)

I'm equally as psyched for the second sponsor, SportMulti. On their website they sell just about every nutritional supplement an endurance athlete could need. And at great prices! From simple, everyday multivitamins to gels, bars, recovery drinks...they have it all.

Some other nice features of the website - they have a list of all the essential vitamins, what their purposes are, and what foods you can find them in. They also have a great product comparison chart, and maybe most importantly, SportMulti is made specifically for endurance athletes, who obviously have different needs than the average Joe. I'm excited to see how they improve my training.

I can't express how excited I am to be on board with these awesome companies. Orders will be placed soon, and product reviews to follow. I strongly encourage you all to check them out as well.

Spring break starts in 2 hours! No school = lots of free time to train!
Thanks for reading!

The excitement of the unknown

I hit the path around Boathouse Row yesterday for a good 1:50 run. It was the first time since IMLP that I wore my HR monitor, and it might have been the first time I've had a GU since the big dance as well. As for the HR, I had been purposely not wearing it at first because I wanted to get away from the numbers. Then, during XC season, I realized I was consistently running at a much higher HR than I normally would. I have read a lot about 'junk miles' and the 'dead zone', when your HR isn't low enough to build that aerobic engine efficiently, but isn't high enough to make it a worthwhile effort... So, figuring I was putting in a lot of junk, I stopped charting the data. Very scientific of me, right? Well as I suspected, the pace at which I have become "comfortable" running, is right in that dead zone. I'm still not quite sure if it matters though, because I'm doing so much less volume this year... I feel like training at a lower HR is really beneficial when you get lots of time there... I don't know. Either way, I used the HR strap, and it slowed me down a bit, helped me stay in check.

As I ran I couldn't help think about this half marathon I have coming up in just over 2 weeks. I've never run a straight half marathon before. On the one hand I want to take it out full throttle! It's ONLY a 13.1 mile race, right? I consistently put in longer training runs than that... On the other hand, it's NOT a 5k where I can just push, push, push, and hold on for dear life. As such, I have no idea what I can or will do. I guess I have an idea, but the not knowing is I think what draws me to these endurance sports so much. I love that I don't know what I can do! I can't wait to decide on a plan of attack, put it into play, and then see what comes of it. There are decisive moments in a race when you just say "hell, I'm going for it! Let's see what's left!", and I LOVE those moments! It's so exciting!

I hope that being relatively new to endurance sports isn't what keeps this feeling alive for me. I hope as I get older and have already raced many different distances they don't start to lose their allure... And I don't think they will.

Still a bit of stress coming down from work this week, so I'm doing my best to stay on top of everything. After a presentation tomorrow, I should be able to cruise through the rest of the week. And then TWO weeks of spring break! Followed by my first race of 2012...

Happy training.
Do great work.

Struggling with stress

Since my track workout a week ago I have tanked. With an overwhelming amount of work from grad school and teaching, I haven't put any time into training. Without going into too much detail, I had a mid-term paper due on Thursday that I spent 4+ days working on because I haven't been getting the grades I want in the class. On top of that I had to give mid-term exams to all 5 of my classes, and term grades and comments for each one of my 84 students were due today at noon. I finished at 11:40... I have also had to deal with a lot of stress surrounding some struggling students - meeting with parents, school administrators, and such is incredibly mentally taxing on me. I like teaching because I get to do my Spanish teaching thing in my classroom with my students. Having to carefully word emails and/or conversations with concerns or suggestions to people that probably don't want to hear them is never enjoyable, and that accounts for 90% of my interactions with parents and administrators. Nevertheless, it's almost over. Tomorrow my life will return to normal if I can recover from the sleep deprivation by then.

In the past 8 days I did the track workout last Tuesday and a decent one hour run on Saturday, and then this morning I did a 40 minute baby interval run. No swimming, no biking...no bueno! Something odd is that my legs have actually been hurting more than they normally do after a week of 5+hours in the saddle and 4+hours running... Even my back is aching, and I haven't done anything with it! Anywho, I need to make training a priority through stressful times and use my time better. It isn't really that I haven't had time to get my workouts in, but rather I haven't used my time as efficiently as I should. I've been using the "this year I'm focusing on other things" as an excuse, which makes it easy to let workouts fall by the wayside. UNEXCEPTABLE!

The fact is I love to train and race. It makes me feel good physically and mentally. Therefore, I am finally committing to making this year a successful racing season. That's right - it's ON! No excuses. No prisoners. Just PR's! (I hope...)

So amigos, that's all for now. I feel rejuvenated mentally. I will be writing up a 3-4 week training block some time this week. Running is still the focus through April 1, but the bike and swim will finally start to get some attention. Thanks for reading!

Back on the track

A good track workout today fueled by 50 degrees of sunshine and seeing some of the XC distance runners working out on campus for winter nationals. They have continued to be extremely successful all winter long - 2 of our girls flew out to Seattle this past weekend to run in the Brooks High School Invitational. Our Georgetown-bound senior placed 2nd in the 2 mile with the second fastest time in the country this year 10:14.

I've been consistently getting in my 1 interval workout, 1 tempo run, and 1 long run in for 3 weeks now, and I can already feel a difference.

Today I did a 20min warm up then hit the track for 8x400 (1min rest) and then 2x800 (1:15rest). Times were as follows:
1:16
1:15
1:14
1:15
1:16
1:12 (this is when the XC team came out on the track. it was hard not to push with them watching)
1:13
1:12
2:42
2:39

Then I hung around with the team a little bit as they started a workout. One of the girls was lagging a little bit on their first set (a hard 2mile), so I hopped in and did the second mile with her (~5:57). I was temped to try and do a little more of the workout, but it would have killed me. The workout they had planned was 20min WU, 2mile, 4x400, 2x800, 1mile, 4x200, 10 CD with drills. INSANE!

This week is extremely busy with work and grad school, so I skipped my swim last night, and if I don't get my paper done tonight, I might skip it again tomorrow... At least the running is coming along! If I can just maintain a formidable level of fitness on the swim and bike, I'll be content through the end of the semester. Although I don't know how much will change bc I'm taking classes this summer as well...ugh.

Speaking of class - I better get going. Headed there shortly. Happy training, and thanks for checking in.

DO GREAT WORK!

Weekend Training on the Charles River

Mad and I headed up to Boston this weekend to visit her sister and Bryan (of Royal H Cycles - aka the maker of my ride). We were off from school Friday and Monday, so we made a nice trip out of the weekend. Friday night we had some vegan pizzas because our hosts are both vegan. Then Saturday while Mad and Lesley went out to try on bride's maid dresses, the boys were allowed to have some fun cycling around Boston. Bryan and I only did about 25-30 miles on the day, but I got to see Boston in a way I hadn't before. We stayed out of downtown for the most part, but we ripped up and down the Charles River and hit some of the neighboring towns. Then we ended our day with a beer tour at Harpoon Brewery, which is conveniently located right next to the new Royal H shop. It was a great day all in all. There was also a lot of talk about another Royal H build coming my way in the future... Let's just say I've got my eye on a couple Xterra races for 2013/14, and I'll need the wheels to do them with... I'm VERY excited about this!

Sunday, after seeing how beautiful and runner-friendly the Charles river is, I went out for ~13miles. It was a great run. Not quite a "break through" run, but it felt awesome, and it was my longest in quite a while. After a 20min warm up jog down to the river, I did ~30min up tempo. There were a lot of fast people running along the Charles! People that pushed me way harder than those I normally see running around Philly. I didn't really plan on pushing it, but when some guy blew past me, I couldn't not try to chase him down (and I did). Then I cooled things down a little bit, back to a normal pace, and ended with ~10minutes of hill repeats. It took me 1:40, and 5 weeks out from a half marathon, I'll take it.

I have been trying some new kicks out as I got a deal through a friend who runs for Brooks. I got a pair of the Green Silence, and a pair of T7's. They both feel pretty good, but going out for 14 miles the first time you wear a pair of shoes probably wasn't the best idea because I ended up with a toenail about to fall off and 2 other blood filled blisters... I have pictures, but I won't post them. I know I wear my running shoes tighter than you are "supposed to," but I don't like having extra room at the end of my shoe. As such I just have to deal with lost toenails every couple months. There are worse things in the world.

Followed up the weekend run with some interval stuff this morning. Only 45minutes, but lots of quality! I updated my blog a little last week. On the right you'll see I updated my race schedule and my planned workouts/training log. The only other notable entry is that I got into the Philly Broad St. Run, which reached it's 30,000 runner cap in less than 3hrs. Pretty insane.

Happy training.
Do great work.

Some new books and Lance's first 70.3

I got some very nice bday presents today at my birthday brunch!

Please notice the cupcakes carefully placed next to "Racing Weight" haha

I think I'll enjoy reading these ^^ more than I will enjoy reading the books below, which I have to read for my classes at Villanova this term focusing on Chilean poets and postmodern Spanish literature.

I am learning a lot at Nova, and it's not to say that I don't like what I'm studying, but the pursuit of my masters degree is much more about the end product than it is the journey. By getting an MA, I'll make myself more marketable and hopefully get a raise. On the other hand, I'm really enjoying the journey of my triathlon endeavors. And while I care about where it takes me (hopefully to Kona), I'm just happy training day in, day out, and racing a couple times a year.

Now on to some more tri-nerd commentary... I like Lance Armstrong, a lot. I'm not even going to touch on whether he did or didn't ever do anything to enhance his performance during his cycling career because, to me, it doesn't matter. The fact is, he's a damn good cyclist, and, as it turns out, a damn good triathlete as well. He raced the Panama 70.3 today, and in his first 70.3 distance race, placed 2nd overall in a time of 3:50.xx! A 19:xx swim, 2:10.xx bike, and 1:17.xx run is impressive - not to mention the dude is 40. I can't wait to see what he does as the season unfolds. I don't think he will win any of the big events, but I love the attention he brings to the sport, it's exciting to see someone new in the ranks, and the Livestrong foundation is an amazing philanthropy that will benefit greatly from Lance's participation in Ironman events. As Michael Scott from the office would say, it's the ideal win-win-win situation.

I also really liked a quote he put out there in both a pre-race interview, and post race as well, "the run is the most important part of this thing. In golf they say you drive for show and you putt for dough. In tri, you bike for show and run for dough—I’ve gotta get that run or I’ll be a middle-of-the-packer." -Lance Armstrong.

It makes me feel good about my training focus right now, which is biggest on the run. I'm not even in the same league as Lance (or any of the pros for that matter), but even to be competitive at my level, hearing/reading that make me feel like I'm doing it right.

I'll post my rough program some time in the coming days. I've put in a speed workout every Tuesday morning, which I hope gets my turnover up. I've also got a long run between 1:20-2:00 and a long ride between 2:00-3:00 every weekend, which will get some endurance back. The long run feels strong right now - put down ~11.5 miles yesterday in 1:21, and I didn't feel very strained.

That's enough for now.
Thanks for reading, and happy training!

US Age Group National Championship?

I logged on to USAT's website today to renew my membership and got a nice little surprise...

Obviously I hadn't logged in for a while since I qualified at IMLP (over 6 months ago!). This race is very tempting, so I haven't made up my mind one way or another yet. On one hand, it's cool to qualify for and race a national event of this caliber. It's also an olympic distance race, which is what I said wanted to improve this year. It's in August, which is a good time to race for me because I have the summer to train. And lastly, it's not very expensive (~$150+travel+lodging), nothing compared to an IM...

But on the other hand, it's a little far (Burglington, VT), and I wasn't planning on any "big" races this year. Also, I think I'll be able to qualify again, I'll be working and taking classes this summer as well, and while it isn't expensive, it's still not cheap. Plus I should really be saving all my pennies for the wedding. Lastly, there are going to be A LOT of fast guys there... REALLY fast guys, so I won't do very well in my AG anyway... I know that might sound kind of odd to some people, but I don't really want to drive 10hours, pay for a hotel and all that jazz to compete in a race where I think my best day will land me ~15/90 in my AG and ~80th overall... (I think I could do 2:05 on a pretty good day, and compared to the 2011 results that is where I would land). Meanwhile I could do a race at the Jersey shore or somewhere in PA that same weekend (that I could wake up and drive to) for less money, and I might get on a podium with a sub 2:10 performance.

So the wheels are turning, but I'm leaning toward not doing the race this year. The decision hasn't been set in stone yet, maybe if I get some serious bday money I'll treat myself...vamos a ver! I still don't have any tris on the calendar for 2012, and I think I will sign up for one as a birthday present to myself within the next couple days.

Two posts in one day, crazy right? Well I have about 120 pages of Gabriela Mistral poetry to read for tomorrow night's class, and I'm procrastinating... I also wrote out a nice program I'm going to try to follow over the next couple weeks into my April Fool's Day half marathon. I'll post that some time later.

Racing season is coming...

I'm slowly starting to realize that the racing season is knocking at the door. I also know that real results are achieved by the work we do during these winter months. For some reason the way I was remembering my winter training last year was much different than it actually was... Before I went and looked up some of my training hours from Jan/Feb 2011, if someone had asked me what sort of training I was doing, I would have probably said ~10hrs a week broken up between 2-3 swims, 2-3 rides and 3-4 runs - not a whole lot different from what I'm doing now. However, looking back over my training log I saw that I was putting in 13-18hrs/week! And that continued all throughout baseball season. These aren't monster numbers that some top tier age groupers are putting up, but it's significantly more than I'm doing right now. I know I said I was going to ease off a little this year because of grad school, and I'm glad I have because the mental stress of both has a strong negative effect on my performance and mood, but the bottom line is that if I want to see some results this summer, I need to kick it into gear a little bit ASAP!

I guess I really started thinking about this when Maddy asked me what my goals for the AC half marathon are. My currently 13.1 PR is 1:30, which came in the Jerseyman 70.3 (after a 1.2mile swim and 56mile bike). I also went sub 17:40 in a 5k in the fall while only running 3x per week. I should easily be able to better my 1:30 PR in a straight running race. However, I have no idea where my run fitness is right now because I've only been running 2-3 times a week, and all of the runs have been ~1hr at a moderate pace. I know that to get in running shape I need to do speed/interval work mixed with long, slow runs, and some good work on the bike.

What does this all mean? Well I'm taking some time to write out a training plan for the next couple weeks leading up to my race April 1. Hopefully scheduling workouts ahead of time will help me avoid falling into the trap of just doing what I feel like doing when I feel like doing it. Just because I'm not racing an Ironman doesn't mean I don't want to see improvement this year!

One last note - yesterday was my 27th birthday. Despite the fact that I had to trek out to 'nova to talk about postmodern Spanish literature for a couple hours after work, it was a great day. Mad and I went out to dinner after class, and she surprised me with a 3 day ski/romantic trip to Vermont over our spring break! Let's hope it's cold enough for snow in March!

Joining a tri club

Tonight is the Philly Tri Club social and annual kick off event. And I'm going. The past 2 years I've been very much a one-man wolf pack. For a variety of reasons I decided it wasn't worth the money to join a club and all that jazz. I had personal goals, and I didn't want anyone else influencing the outcome of those goals. I also get a little nervous meeting new people, but who doesn't?

Anyway, this year things are different. It's all about having fun. I want to get to know some people interested in the sport(s) and not have to do all my training alone. I also hear they get great deals from some of the local shops, which is a selfish perk... Nevertheless, it should be fun tonight.

On the topic of fun, I found a couple things this week that made me smile.

With the wedding coming in a mere 9 months, I have started to think about attire. I'm not sure if I'm going to go with a french cuffed shirt or not, but if I do rock the french cuffs, I'm definitely wearing these sweet cufflinks!

www.tiebar.com

I am 100% serious by the way. If I wear a shirt that requires cuff links, these are them. This is not a joke.

And I found this clip over at Steve in a speedo's blog. He's always good for a laugh, and if you haven't seen this clip yet, it's hilarious. I will be the first to admit (shamefully), I've said a few of these lines before...

Happy training people! It's in the 50's in Philly today, so I'll be out on a nice long ride this afternoon.

Each day something learned

I find myself constantly collecting data from my trials training and racing. Input, input, input...hopefully this will lead to some great results in the future. My favorite form of input is that which I can deposit in the "pain bank". When I do something that is uncomfortable while I'm doing it, but I come out alive and hopefully in better shape than when I went into it.

I made a deposit in the "pain bank", and maybe the stupid bank, this morning. Despite the temperature at a chilly 20 degrees with 15mph winds, I was up at 5am, bundled up, and out the door with my bike. It was freezing. Less than a mile into the ride I had to put on my sunglasses to stop my eyes from watering and the tears from freezing on my face. I have pretty good gear, but I should have worn an extra pair of gloves and tights. The first 35 minutes of the ride were straight into the wind. It was cold and painful, but one thing that drives me is knowing that I can put this workout in the bank. It makes it easier to overcome discomfort and adversity when you have "savings" (memories of uncomfortable situations that you worked through and came out of OK). It also makes me smile when I don't see anyone else out there in the morning. Philadelphia is a populous city with a lot of endurance athletes that workout on Kelly Dr. I didn't see anyone else on a bike this morning during my 75min ride. I know they are probably on the trainer indoors because it was SO cold, but nevertheless, I was out and they weren't - I win.

Something else I can take away from this morning is that I probably could have gotten a better workout on the trainer... I'll set the threshold at ~30 without sun and ~20 with sun for my rides now. I struggled last year to get good rides in while on the trainer. Perhaps the solution is not to get outside for every ride, but rather to focus on the mental fortitude I need to get it done indoors.

To end on a positive note - I had a pretty good swim last night. I ran for 45min before hitting the pool, and for some reason my swim seemed easier than it normally does... Breathing was easy, and I felt smooth... I can't really explain it, but I'll take it. That's all for now.

Happy training!!

Winter training

Winter is here. It only hit 32F today with winds of 15-25mph (but I still got out for a good 2hr ride). Grad classes haven't started yet, although they do next week, and with no coaching responsibilities, life has been good. There has been little to no stress as of late - the way it should be.

Training has been going, but nothing crazy. I'm enjoying (most of) it. My typical week is: Monday ride easy, Tuesday pool and core/weights, Wednesday ride, Thursday pool and core/weights, Friday run, Saturday longer ride, Sunday longer run. The bike/run feel great. Even in the cold I'm getting out and getting it done. I'm running faster that I ever have on my longer runs, averaging between 7:00-7:15min/mile without feeling like I'm really pushing. I haven't put the HR monitor on, so I'm not sure what my body is really saying, but it feels good. Getting outside on the bike is 1000x better than riding the trainer for me. I hope to develop some better top end speed by keeping a strong base through the winter. Last year I think my trainer rides really just helped spin the gunk out of my legs.

Swimming continues to be a struggle... I've been easing into it. Probably easier than I should. But I've decided to go with this approach because I feel like I hit the swim hard last winter and then kind of tired myself out by the time the race season came around. I figure I'll start really ramping up my workouts/yardage in the pool in March/April so that I can peak in July/Aug. Realistically I know if I want my swim to see improvements I'll need to join a masters team and get in the water 4-5 times per week, but with my schedule this semester it really isn't an option.

My problems in the pool seem to be based around breathing and efficiency. I'm finding that regardless of how "easy" I go, I end up grasping for breath. I also find that during my kickboard sets I'm gasping for breath... This tells me that my legs just suck up all the oxygen in my body. Not really ideal in the pool, but I'm not sure how to address it.

More to come later. Maybe something of more substance. Thanks for checking in. Happy training!

Building the race calendar for 2012

Some (moderately) exciting news is beginning to surface as I plan out my race calendar for 2012. A couple days ago I got an email from Schwaggle! (like groupon for active.com members), which promoted a half marathon in Atlantic City on April Fool's Day for less than $30. How could I pass that up?! It will be my first go at the 13.1 distance without a 1.2 mile swim and 56 mile bike before it. I'm excited to have something real on the calendar, and it doesn't carry as much stress because it's a distance I know I can handle without changing my routine too much, plus it only cost $30 so even if I end up missing it for some reason, it won't hurt me financially. An early season running race should definitely keep me motivated as grad school starts back up. I didn't do a single workout in the fall semester on days when I had class. I might have to start doing the early morning thing again a couple times a week.

Signing up for one race has made my mind start racing looking for other races this summer. I want to do 2 Olympic distance races and just let it rip. I'm thinking I'll do some smaller local races rather than something big and expensive. I would love to do the Philly tri again because it's an awesome race, well run, and right in my backyard. But it's also $185, and I found a couple smaller races for less than $100. There's also no way I'll podium at the Philly Tri - there are some FAST elites there, not to mention the pros... It's also in June, which isn't ideal. Training in the spring with work, school, and coaching baseball is going to be pretty difficult. I'm thinking a mid-late July race and then one more in August before XC starts up again. ¡Vamos a ver!

Lastly, I made a list of books I'm going to try to get my hands on over the coming months. I sent them to my mom for birthday present suggestions. It's coming up in February if any of you readers out there feel like getting me one.

What do you think of the list? Have you read them? Other recommendations?



Racing Weight: How to get lean for peak performance by Matt Fitzgerald

Strength Training for Triathletes by Patrick Hagerman

Going Long: Training for Triathlon's Ultimate Challenge by Joe Friel

Iron War: Dave Scott, Mark Allen, & the Greatest Race Ever Run by Matt Fitzgerald

Triathlete Magazine's Essential Week-by-WeekTraining by Matt Fitzgerald

Triathlon Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way by Terry Laughlin

The Paleo Diet for Athletes: A Nutritional Formula for Peak Athletic Performance by Joe Friel

2012 Goals!

I can't believe how quickly this winter break has flown by. I'm back in school teaching tomorrow, and back at Villanova 2 nights/week starting Jan. 17. And for the many weeks following that, I'll lay out my goals for 2012...

1 - Have fun living life to the fullest, spending time with those I love, balancing work with play, and, of course, staying healthy and fit! A couple things were listed here, but they all tie together. I got pretty tied up with myself in 2011, and I just want to make sure I spread the love. If there is one thing I have learned from this past year it is that there is always time to do everything you want, you just need to schedule properly and want to do it.

2 - Be confident/competitive in my swim come summertime. This is going to require discipline and consistency. I need to make sure I get to the pool, do workouts with a purpose, and push myself. I'll be shortening up my race distance this summer, so I won't have to worry so much about making the distance (something that weighed heavily on me leading up to IMLP). I have some numbers/times in mind, but for right now I'll keep them to myself. The goal is just to be confident and competitive in my swim. I don't need to be winning out of the water, but if I need to be within striking distance.

3 - Get on an overall podium and/or win my AG. I've had a couple AG podium appearances in smaller local races, but I haven't gotten top 3 overall yet. That would be pretty cool. Realistically I won't be racing a ton in 2012. I only have 1 race on the calendar thus far, and on top of my own wedding, Maddy and I are going to 5 others. They are going to be a blast, don't get me wrong, but they eat up a few weekends.

I think I'll keep it at three simple goals for 2012. I have almost everything I could ask for right now, so as long as things keep going the way they are going it should be a good year.

In the next couple days I'll try to lay out my 2012 season vision - how I'm going to structure my training and racing.

Happy New Year, all!! Live it up!