Over trained

I am a bit frustrated. It has been hard to get into a steady groove of triathlon training since IMAZ. I was very meticulous about my schedule for that race and rarely had a problem sticking to it and logging the time and miles. I registered for the Camp Pendleton Olympic Triathlon on July 19th because I wanted to race the Olympic distance but I do not feel ready for the swim AT ALL! The logistics of running, commuting by bike and swimming is really difficult. It is really hard to find the time to swim in the morning, so I try to schedule it at night. By the time I am done working, I am in no mood to get in the pool. It is causing me to question the cost/ benefit of triathlon for me at this point in time. Would it be better to concentrate more on running the rest of this year and get my marathon time down? I could still cycle to work and get plenty of those mile in as well. I need a lot of work on my swim and maybe with a little less pressure ......... Wow! even writing this is painful for me. I am making excuses and that really makes me wanna puke.

I’m not gonna make any rash decisions at this point. I’ll do my swim sessions the next 3 weeks and see how it goes. I do not want to DNS. I was sick for 2 days last week and the whole week of training was off. I think I am feeling the classic symptoms of overtraining. I did listen to my body and took it easy.

I did cycle to work 2 of the 5 days. The plan is to do 4, but as I said, I was sick for 2 days. It is so cool to bike past the gas station and feel the liberation in knowing that you aren’t a slave to the oil companies. Let’s hope that I can get 4 days in this next week.

I have the HB 4th of July 5K on Friday. I am looking forward to a fast time and hopefully a PR. It will definitely be a PR for the course since last year I paced Brittany due to a nasty case of Plantar Fasciitis. We’ve got a bunch of friends doing the race with us and it will be their first 5K. How fun! We are all gonna go out for lunch afterwords and try to make it a special day for everyone.

Paul

Cycling it is

After Mondays Camelback fiasco, I reverted to the old gas guzzling Xterra to get to work yesterday. I felt a little defeated but went back to the drawing board and formulated a different plan. This morning I woke up at 5:30 am and headed off to the gym. I ran 1 hour on the treadmill and got in about 20 minutes in the pool. I took a shower, drove back home and grabbed the hybrid bike and rode to work. I figure that my main objective is to commute using my own power. The most sensible way to do this is to cycle to and from work, which will be 22 miles a day. I can do that in about 1 1/2 hours leaving me plenty of time to run and swim before or after work. Running to work and back would tilt my training much to heavily toward running and away from cycling and swimming. Perhaps in the triathlon offseason when I am training for ultras, I will revisit a more comfortable way of packing my necessities and run the commute. I would love to do that many running miles per week, but right now it doesn’t make sense.

The only down side today was arriving to work pretty sweaty. Luckily, being a sound engineer, I dress casual and I dried off rather quickly. The plan is to do the bike commute 4 days a week. I am very happy. Being in the fresh air beats being in a car any day. There is something about running and cycling outdoors that keeps a person grounded. We, as humans, are just built to be active and moving. There is something about the beauty of the outdoors and the smells that conjures up great memories of being a kid and reminding you of who you are. And I even had the opportunity to interact with some other people along the way, a crossing guard and a fellow cyclist. I think I am really going to like this

Paul

Alternative modes of transportation

After putting it off for way too long, I finally worked out the logistics and ditched the SUV as my way to and from work today. Gas prices being as high as they are, along with the fact that it seems silly to drive to the gym, run on a treadmill and ride on a stationary bike for what amounts to over 2 hours a day, then hop in the car and drive to work. I figure the prudent thing to do is expend all of that energy actually GOING somewhere instead of WASTING electricity at the gym. Not only will it save me money but it is also a far more efficient use of time.

So, I came up with a plan. I live about 11 miles from my studio. That’s a pretty short bike ride but a decent distance to run. I decided to ride my bike to work and run home. The plan, then is to run back to work in the morning then ride my bike back home at night. then,....... well you get the idea. The ride this morning was great. I decided to ride my hybrid instead of my road bike so I wouldn’t have to gear up. I could wear street clothes and my running shoes. If I don’t get too sweaty, I can wear those clothes all day, then change into my running clothes for the run home. So far, so good.

Then it came time too run home. I decided on a camelback that I bought for a Yosemite trip with Jasmines school a couple of years ago. It is a little big, but would work out good since I could put my laptop and running clothes in it. As soon as I strapped it on and started running, I knew I was in trouble. The thing is just NOT made for running. It has straps that go around your torso but it still kinda sways from side to side. After some adjusting, I was able to get it a bit more stable but then it kept rubbing on my lower back. Arrgghh! I was able to hike my shorts up enough to protect the skin on my back and prevent anymore serious chaffing. The shoulders straps however, were a lost cause. Pretty much all of my shirts are tank tops. I was wearing one today and no matter what I did, the straps dug into my shoulders. There was nothing I could do about it aside from lifting the straps off my shoulder every couple of minutes for relief.

I knew that the Camelback was gonna be heavy. I just didn’t realize HOW heavy. The weight immediately threw my stride off. It took a couple miles to readjust and feel semi normal. There are so many bio mechanics at play while running, that the slightest thing can really mess you up. I will have to monitor this closely and make sure that any differences that this causes don’t cause harm. I am hoping that the extra weight will make me a stronger runner without hurting me. We will have to see.



The last couple of miles were really tough, which can almost assuredly be attributed to the Camelback. When I got home I weighed it and it was 14 1/2 pounds. I may have to think of another way to get stuff to and from work or not take my laptop.

I am pretty sore and I am supposed to run to work tomorrow morning. I think I’ll be okay as long as the raw spots on my shoulders and lower back aren’t too sensitive in the morning. We’ll see. Chevron may still get my money after all... Damn it!

Paul

Father's Day

I had a really great Father’s Day! Brittany and I went on a run on the trail that we mountain biked on 2 weeks ago. I have been dying to go back there, so I was very excited when Brittany told me that that is what we were going to do today. Last year she surprised me with a 5K race in LA called the “Dad’s Day Dash”. I am sensing a trend here. She sure knows her Daddy.



After our run, we headed back to the house and had a BBQ. Brittany, Jasmine and I took some Father’s Day photos and after some very close scrutiny, we agreed on A picture. I have posted the 1 approved picture below.



Time is a crazy thing. The older you get the faster it seems to go by. The most recent way that this phenomenon has reared is ugly head is in the fact that Jasmine, my youngest daughter, has gotten her learners permit. Up until this point, she has driven with her Mom. Today she said that she wanted to drive with me. I am not the most patient person in the world and my girls know this so I think she was a little nervous. And so was I. But, I am here (thank God) to say that I kept my cool which wasn’t hard at all because she is pretty good behind the wheel.



It is so hard and scary when your kids get to this age. All they want to do is grow up and all you want to do is protect them. I am so lucky to have such wonderful girls as they made today a VERY special Father’s Day!

Paul

Mountain biking!

Even though I don’t need another activity or hobby to spend my money on, my daughter Brittany and I went on our first mountain bike ride today. We went with her boyfriend Eric and he showed us the ropes, since he is experienced on the trails. We don’t own mountain bikes so we went to Rock ‘N’ Road Cyclery to rent a couple of Specialized “Stump Jumpers”.



We had a hard time finding an appropriate sized bike for Brit because she is so short.



After getting our bikes, we headed to the trails. We went to the Aliso Canyon Wilderness Park in Laguna Niguel. Brittany was worried about mountain biking due to a pretty nasty accident that she had when she was 10 years old. She did really well however, despite some sizable downhill sections and some fairly steep climbs. She stayed on 2 wheels, which is more than I can say. I ate it less than 10 minutes into the ride. My clipless pedals were way too tight and on an especially steep incline, I couldn’t get out of them in time. So, down I went. I brushed myself off, regained my composure and asked Brittany to stop laughing. After that, the ride was really cool. It really is so much more fun to ride and run on trails rather than on the road. And the scenery is absolutely gorgeous!



We are so lucky to live in the area that we do. I can’t believe that I have lived here all of my life and am just now discovering all of these amazing places. Next weekend I plan to go back and demo a different bike. I am going to try the Specialized “Epic” which, according to the girl at Rock ‘N’ Road, will be better suited to the type of riding that I plan on doing. I plan on getting a couple of hours of riding in and then do an hour or two of trail running.



Paul

A new PR!

Boy, did I need todays race! I have been feeling a little down lately. I have done 2 very long races in pretty bad conditions in the last month and a half. Granted both races had record DNF’s . Add the fact that both of these races were my first crack at these distances and being that they were my first, I was very, very slooooooow. I have trained so hard in the last year and these times make you start to wonder if you are doing something wrong.

The half marathon distance is my favorite road race distance. I race it at, what is for me, a comfortable level of exertion. Not redlined like in a 5K and not at a pace where you have to worry about going just a little bit too fast and bonking close to the end. No, the half marathon is just right! The half marathon is also the race, aside from the 5K, that I have raced most. This was
my 6th half and it was perfect.



Brittany and I got up around 5 am, ate breakfast and were out of the house by 5:30. The race was about 20 miles south and we arrived at the race site around 6 am. It started sprinkling on the way down and we couldn’t help but wonder if today might end up like the Surf City, or better known now as “Soak City” Marathon in February. It was a little chilly but not unbearable. We waited around until the last possible minute to give up our outer layers, then headed to the start.



I felt especially good this morning. I have been in one or two races like this before, where everything just felt right. The temperature was perfect. I felt well trained with no injuries or soreness to speak of. I had my pacing strategy together and a clear goal in mind. I wanted a PR and was gonna push myself hard to get it. Even if it was only by one second.


The gun went off and we were on our way. My previous PR of 1:56:02 translates to an 8:51 min/mile. I planned on holding an 8:30 min/mile pace for the first half of the race and if everything went well, I would try to negative split and kick it up the second half. Well I got a little excited and ran an 8:17 the first mile. Not too far off, but still a little faster than I had planned. The first mile or so was flat and went around the Laguna Hills Mall. Once we left that area, the course took us out to Alicia Parkway. This was a very beautiful course. There were rolling hills, but they were gentle and the elevation would gradually decline over the first half of the race. This would reflect in my mile splits. It felt pretty easy to keep my pace at around 8:00 min/miles. I run according to heart rate. I have a max HR of 210. I try to keep my HR in the lower part of the 180’s for a half marathon. I knew if I wanted to PR today, I would have to step out of my comfort zone and push harder. I figured I would let it hover around the upper 180’s and see how it went. The only thing that worried me was the hills and the overall elevation change. There was no course profile on the website so I was flying blind. I ran a risk of slowing down significantly, the second half of the race, if we had to make up the elevation lost on the first half of the course. But again, I was going to push it and I am glad that I did.

Here are my splits

Mile 1 8:17
Mile 2 8:03
Mile 3 7:39
Mile 4 8:06
Mile 5 7:54
Mile 6 8:07
Mile 7 8:08
Mile 8 8:03
Mile 9 8:39
Mile 10 8:15
Mile 11 8:25
Mile 12 8:27
Mile 13 8:34
Mile .1 8:59

I finished in 1:48:17. thats a 8:17 mil/mile pace. Avg. HR of 190. Much better than what I expected. The second half of the course was up hill. I am very glad that I was able to hold it together and not slow too badly. I can’t really fault myself for not negative splitting on this course. Had I ran by pace and not by feel and HR, I don’t think I would have ended up with as good a time. I also felt that I left most everything out on the course. I pushed hard and felt that I executed my plan well. It was a great feeling at about mile ten, when I was doing the math and figured that as long as I could maintain a 9 min/mile or better that I would break 1:50. There’s something about those ten minute increments and I have looked forward to breaking this one for awhile. I am very pleased!

Brittany had a good race as well. She really enjoyed the course and went at a comfortable pace to finish in 2:41:45, about 20 minutes slower than her best, but she hasn’t been training as much because of school. She is starting her training again soon for her 2nd full marathon in Long Beach in October.

We were both pretty sore, but managed to pick up a cool shirt for Brit, then hauled our butts to Mimi’s for some breakfast.

Another amazing day!

Paul

Back on the road

After spending a good 3 or 4 days recovering from last Sundays 50K, I was finally able to do some running the latter part of the week. My daughter Brittany and I had planned on doing the Laguna Hills Memorial Day half Marathon, but I wanted to wait to see how I felt and if would get my legs back in time. So we are running it and are very excited. I am not sure if it is a hilly course or not, but judging from the times from last year it looks to be relatively flat. I ran the 5K last year the week before the San Diego RnR marathon and set my 5K pr of 24:08. Hopefully the half marathon course will be as good to me and I can best my half time of 1:56:06. That would be nice. I need a decent time after the last couple of really slow finishes that I have had.

I have decided to do the Mt. Disappointment race in August. Only I will be doing the 50K instead of the 50 miler. My plan was to do the Sycamore Canyon 50K in preparation for the 50 miler at Mt. Disappointment. But after my troubles last Sunday I want another crack at the 50K to dial in my nutrition and get a lot more hill training in. I have been scouring the internet in search of more ultra marathons. As hard as it was last Sunday, I think I am really going to enjoy the challenge of trail running and racing in so many different beautiful locations in such varied terrain.

Paul