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Every day I look at those numbers and still can't believe that I ran the races. My proudest one though, will be the one my wife wears when she finally does a 5K. She has a way to go but I think that she is motivated enough to get there.
Hey, I didn't take offense. Good luck Saturday.
Dude...you had one foot in the grave. You should be proud of your accomplishments and do whatever it takes to keep you motivated to make every day better than the last. Furthermore, your story has been an inspiration to many on this board.I keep an old 4x6 on the bathroom mirror. It's there solely for those days that I'm feeling lazy as a reminder that hard work is rewarded. My Mt. Mitchell number is on my bike pump as a reminder that every ride should have a purpose.
VERY VERY
I've been doing some real soul searching lately about my running and my fitness, and the reality is that I'm very disappointed in myself right now.
it wasn't pretty...actually the second time i've done (previously when I was in junior high)....it's not an automatic garage door, so I have to lift and pull down the door each time, so the door had its creases and they open when it rounds up the track on open and they come together when the door closes....well, it doesn't close all the way when someone has their fingers in those creases...thus some smashed finger tips at the first knuckle...Way to go "Einstein"Sorry that happened - I'm trying to picture how something like that happens...
Well I plan to post even if everyone ignores me. But now it is time for me to retire. You don't keep a gorgeous body like mine without the beauty sleep.
That there's some irony!Darrin, I've got a few triathlon pics on a basement wall along with age group award medals. It's cool ...a little vain, sure, but cool.
For all of us on this board, I'd argue that it's healthy to be a bit "full" of ourselves. Like others have posted, I get down when I'm not training at the level I want to. If you are going to be down when you aren't happy w/ your training, you'd better balance it with some pride when you are. Placing the pic's on a wall just gives you a reminder of what you have done, and will hopefully motivate you to do more. It's not vanity, it's therapy
!
I'm just sayin' I'm willing to kick in a few bucks here... Glad you still have fingers to hold your kids!! Good luck with the running for the next few days.it wasn't pretty...actually the second time i've done (previously when I was in junior high)....it's not an automatic garage door, so I have to lift and pull down the door each time, so the door had its creases and they open when it rounds up the track on open and they come together when the door closes....well, it doesn't close all the way when someone has their fingers in those creases...thus some smashed finger tips at the first knuckle...Way to go "Einstein"
Sorry that happened - I'm trying to picture how something like that happens...
got off easy this time as it was a simple smashing of the fingers...the previous time, the sections were separated by metal and they cut into my fingers and I almost lost 2 of my finger tips...
This is EXACTLY how I felt going into the Green Bay Marathon this past May. I'd been training to run the half marathon until about 5 weeks prior to the race, when I changed my mind and decided to run the full. I ramped up my mileage a little bit, did a couple of long runs (16 & 18 miles), and then tapered. (Under a normal 18-week marathon training program, I'd do at least five runs of 16+ miles.)I don't know if it was the fresh legs or what, but I ended up running the race of my life. Qualified for Boston by running 3:10, a PR by 35 minutes. Go figure!pigskinliquors said:
I'm pretty confident that this won't be "the race of my life", but I am looking forward to it :fingerscrossed:
Will this be your second half IM? What did you learn from your other half IM's that you are doing this time differently? I'm hoping to do my first one next October, and will need all the help I can get.
Yes, my second 1/2-IM. What did I learn? The general lessons were of energy conservation and the importance of nutrition. I have re-learned, too, the big difference between pools and lakes. I'd say that I will be doing more training with swim paddles to try to simulate the harder effort required in a lake environment. I'll find out if the marathon training in any way carries over to the run phase of this race - hopefully so. But basically, it's just a longer, tougher race (race avg, and my time, were just under 6 hours ...I hope to bring that down). A big key is an understanding spouse - it takes a lot of time to get in sufficient number of swims, bike rides, runs, weights/etc. each week. Those training distances will be longer as well.
I haven't framed my numbers and medals....yet. I have my eye set on something like this, but I'll probably come up with something myself (a little pricey for my tastes lol). Two more races, and six more medals to go!!
Next up, would be this. 
Ya, I saw people stopping early on and drinking and I was like "Suckers!". I'd blast through there thinking I was picking up all this time. They had the last laugh. You're right, it's not just about taking fluids at the stations, it's about making sure you get as much of those fluids into you as possible. I think I'd watched too much TV and thought the run while you drink thing was the norm.I got away with it on the halfs.
Another similar tip was a guy would walk as soon as someone handed him a drink (usually a little before the aid station). Then he'd drink as many cups as possible while walking until people stopped handing him drinks (usually a little after the aid station).FWIW, I love the people at the aid stations. They just seem so pumped.Tomorrow I am going to do a nice, slow, 5 mile recovery run. Next week I am going to only run 3 days and make it an easy week to help my legs recover a little bit. I plan on doing 5 miles on Tuesday and Wednesday, and 7 miles on Saturday, with no run on Sunday. After that it is back to my regular schedule. I believe that it will be better for me to have a light week every 4 or 5 weeks. In the last 5 weeks I have done 26,27,16,31, and 28. With a 10K race on the beach during the 16 mile week, so I am counting that as extra. Does taking a light week sound like a good idea to you guys?I really don't have a lot of experience with this.
Definitely. It's a tough habit to develop, but beneficial ...take a day off each week, and back off every third or fourth week.14 mile run this morning. Eight loops of my urban 'hill' route (each loop has two passes over an expressway) - worked the 'hills' up and down, with light running in between.
Great job on the race. You are much faster than I am.
when i got to running i told myself not to count steps, or look at the stopwatch, just run.
Awesome Job Furley!! You're taking much more than "baby steps" at this point. You've come a long ways, and future steps will be much easier than the one's you've taken.knocked out 20 minutes of straight running on Friday. wound up being 1.6 miles.
Great Race Cowboys!!!
Absolutely - that's an excellent race!! Great report.Uh, liquors?
I posted my slowest 5K time ever, but I'll
by adding that I did run with my wife for the first 1.3 miles, and this was her first race ever. She started the couch to 5K program about 6 weeks ago, and seeing her finish was more important than anything else for me.This week I start getting serious, because I have my first tri coming up in mid September and haven't been in the water yet this summer. :(
Congrats to your wife. You did the right thing by taking it easy and running (jogging) with her.And now ...get your butt in the water. I don't know your swimming background, but if it's your first tri, you're in for a completely different swimming experience. As I've said in the past - triathlon swimming is a contact sport. You need to be strong enough at the distance so that you can also absorb the contact and absorb the harder effort of a lake swim.I posted my slowest 5K time ever, but I'llby adding that I did run with my wife for the first 1.3 miles, and this was her first race ever. She started the couch to 5K program about 6 weeks ago, and seeing her finish was more important than anything else for me.This week I start getting serious, because I have my first tri coming up in mid September and haven't been in the water yet this summer.
. I called the front desk to say WTF (they sent somebody there, but they didn't really care). They were still loud a half hour later, so I knocked on their door, and asked them to please keep it down (there were at least 15 people in their room ). They apologized, and I went back to try to sleep. They were much quieter, but as some of them left (around 3:00am), they pounded on my door (waking me up again ). I did go right back to sleep, but it seemed like 2 minutes later that my alarm went off. I got ready, made sure I knocked loudly on their door before leaving, and got to the park by 6:00am." ). ), but I did make it w/o re-injuring my calf or my knee.
Awesome job Rock!! + you got major husband points today!tri-man 47 said:Congrats to your wife. You did the right thing by taking it easy and running (jogging) with her.And now ...get your butt in the water. I don't know your swimming background, but if it's your first tri, you're in for a completely different swimming experience. As I've said in the past - triathlon swimming is a contact sport. You need to be strong enough at the distance so that you can also absorb the contact and absorb the harder effort of a lake swim.Rock Lonemilk said:I posted my slowest 5K time ever, but I'llby adding that I did run with my wife for the first 1.3 miles, and this was her first race ever. She started the couch to 5K program about 6 weeks ago, and seeing her finish was more important than anything else for me.This week I start getting serious, because I have my first tri coming up in mid September and haven't been in the water yet this summer.
I'll re-iterate what Tri-Man said..Get in the water. I only had two training swims (due to injury) in the six weeks prior to my race today, and I suffered for not being prepared.
Damn you were motoring on the bike!!! Great report.pigskinliquors said:FYI: I'm Alive...Barely, but alive (sorry Tri-Man = I'm keeping my bike).
Since my primary goals were to finish and not get hurt, the day was a success.
Race Day/Night Diary
I drove up to Dallas yesterday, checked into my hotel, set my alarm for 5am (ALL racers had to be into the park no later than 6:15, as a Juniors race started at 6:30), and was in bed by 9:30pm. My wife (who is in Cali.) called me at 10:00 (I had just fallen asleep) to vent about my MIL, and our 2 year old, who for some reason is acting like a 2 yr. old. 45 minutes of earning husband points later, I finally got back to sleeping. At 1:30am, I'm awoken by a party (full-on) in the room next to me. I called the front desk to say WTF (they sent somebody there, but they didn't really care). They were still loud a half hour later, so I knocked on their door, and asked them to please keep it down (there were at least 15 people in their room
Pre-Race Hilarity
The person announcing the race (he actually did a play by play for the whole event!) had these gems prior to the race:
"Everybody go down to the Lake to watch the Juniors start. They're a bunch of studs and babes, who have bodies worth watching (these are under 18 yr. olds
"Guys, you are going to be passed by some beautiful women during the race. When they smoke you, don't be alarmed, just tell them to keep going"
The Race
Swim (1,500 meters +) =
The morning was very calm, but quite humid. For some reason, the race organizers only did 3 waves of swimmers (w/ 500 competitors) = the beginning was a cluster. We had over 200 in our wave, and I nearly drowned 4 times before swimming even 50 meters. Once out about 300 meters, my goggles were useless. They were filled with water, even after I readjusted them twice. I was about ready to swim back to shore, but sucked it up. After turning at the supposed 400 meter buoy, I actually had a great stretch (for me) to the supposed 1,000 meter buoy. The final supposed 500 meters was a cluster, with too many people in too small of a space (it was very narrow). I've never been happier to be on land, and as I feared, my heart rate was up higher than I hoped. [EVERYBODY's swim times were extremely slow, and the race organizers acknowledged that the course had to have been longer than 1,500 meter].
T1 =
I took a little extra time as my right eye had a big fog over it, so I flushed it w/ water (which actually helped!), and I wanted to take in some extra fluids. I was out in less than 2 minutes = not much time lost.
Bike (26.2 miles) =
Conditions couldn't have been better for the bike (low wind, and a flat course!). It included two loops, which meant four U-turns = slowed the course down a bit. After the first loop I was averaging 22.2 mph and the little man in my head (the smart one) said slow down to save your legs (they were starting to burn a bit, with a lot of race left). I took it down a notch, and with 3 miles left (entering the park again), a gorgeous 23 yr old (your age is marked on your legs) with a teeny-tiny suit on was directly in front of me. I decided this would be my best opportunity to rest my legs prior to the run, and stayed my 3 full lengths behind her the rest of the way in (no drafting allowed). I lost maybe 30 seconds by following her, but it was time well spent. My final bike split was 21.8 mph (.3 mph better than I had hoped for
T2 =
Not much to say here = change shoes and go. My legs did feel weird, as I didn't get a brick in at all prior to the race (last one was 7 weeks ago, and what caused my calf injury), but no pain. [under 1 minute = I'm OK with that]
Run (10k) =
Starting the run, I felt good, but knew it was going to be an effort. I had anticipated running at about 7:45 pace. My first mile was 7:54, and knew I wasn't going to be going any faster than that the rest of the way. With my second mile at 7:59, I told myself to try to settle into 8 minute miles. My body didn't want to play that game though. My legs were rubber at the end of mile 3 (8:15), and they literally had nothing in them. The heat got to me big time, and the only thing that was comforting, was that it looked like everybody was struggling). I decided to walk through the last 2 water stops, and to just reach my goal of finishing. Three slow miles later, and I kicked it in (what little I had left) the last .2. Right as I crossed the finish line, my right quad cramped up = thank God it didn't happen sooner. My final pace was 8:28 (a personal worst
Overall, I finished 4 minutes slower than I had hoped for, though I was ecstatic to have completed it. The day took a toll on the field as 10% didn't finish (51 people). The weather (heat) played a role, but the longer swim (+ the cluster) kicked a lot of people's butt (including mine!).
Post-race =
It was strange not having my family there, though they had MULTIPLE sponsors w/ a ton of goodies to consume. They held us hostage at the site until all runners were on their last leg = 11:30am. I then went back to my hotel, showered and met the Amazing CuldeusTM for a couple beers (he's as cool as anticipated), at his neighborhood pub.
Overall, a great day!
Great race and report. Most importantly it sounds like you had a good time. You tri-guys are much more energetic than I am. I suppose I could do it if I liked to swim. I like going to the pool and the ocean, but it is just to float and play.pigskinliquors said:FYI: I'm Alive...Barely, but alive (sorry Tri-Man = I'm keeping my bike).
Since my primary goals were to finish and not get hurt, the day was a success.
Race Day/Night Diary
I drove up to Dallas yesterday, checked into my hotel, set my alarm for 5am (ALL racers had to be into the park no later than 6:15, as a Juniors race started at 6:30), and was in bed by 9:30pm. My wife (who is in Cali.) called me at 10:00 (I had just fallen asleep) to vent about my MIL, and our 2 year old, who for some reason is acting like a 2 yr. old. 45 minutes of earning husband points later, I finally got back to sleeping. At 1:30am, I'm awoken by a party (full-on) in the room next to me). I did go right back to sleep, but it seemed like 2 minutes later that my alarm went off. I got ready, made sure I knocked loudly on their door before leaving, and got to the park by 6:00am.
Pre-Race Hilarity
The person announcing the race (he actually did a play by play for the whole event!) had these gems prior to the race:
"Everybody go down to the Lake to watch the Juniors start. They're a bunch of studs and babes, who have bodies worth watching (these are under 18 yr. olds
"Guys, you are going to be passed by some beautiful women during the race. When they smoke you, don't be alarmed, just tell them to keep going"
The Race
Swim (1,500 meters +) =
The morning was very calm, but quite humid. For some reason, the race organizers only did 3 waves of swimmers (w/ 500 competitors) = the beginning was a cluster. We had over 200 in our wave, and I nearly drowned 4 times before swimming even 50 meters. Once out about 300 meters, my goggles were useless. They were filled with water, even after I readjusted them twice. I was about ready to swim back to shore, but sucked it up. After turning at the supposed 400 meter buoy, I actually had a great stretch (for me) to the supposed 1,000 meter buoy. The final supposed 500 meters was a cluster, with too many people in too small of a space (it was very narrow). I've never been happier to be on land, and as I feared, my heart rate was up higher than I hoped. [EVERYBODY's swim times were extremely slow, and the race organizers acknowledged that the course had to have been longer than 1,500 meter].
T1 =
I took a little extra time as my right eye had a big fog over it, so I flushed it w/ water (which actually helped!), and I wanted to take in some extra fluids. I was out in less than 2 minutes = not much time lost.
Bike (26.2 miles) =
Conditions couldn't have been better for the bike (low wind, and a flat course!). It included two loops, which meant four U-turns = slowed the course down a bit. After the first loop I was averaging 22.2 mph and the little man in my head (the smart one) said slow down to save your legs (they were starting to burn a bit, with a lot of race left). I took it down a notch, and with 3 miles left (entering the park again), a gorgeous 23 yr old (your age is marked on your legs) with a teeny-tiny suit on was directly in front of me. I decided this would be my best opportunity to rest my legs prior to the run, and stayed my 3 full lengths behind her the rest of the way in (no drafting allowed). I lost maybe 30 seconds by following her, but it was time well spent. My final bike split was 21.8 mph (.3 mph better than I had hoped for
T2 =
Not much to say here = change shoes and go. My legs did feel weird, as I didn't get a brick in at all prior to the race (last one was 7 weeks ago, and what caused my calf injury), but no pain. [under 1 minute = I'm OK with that]
Run (10k) =
Starting the run, I felt good, but knew it was going to be an effort. I had anticipated running at about 7:45 pace. My first mile was 7:54, and knew I wasn't going to be going any faster than that the rest of the way. With my second mile at 7:59, I told myself to try to settle into 8 minute miles. My body didn't want to play that game though. My legs were rubber at the end of mile 3 (8:15), and they literally had nothing in them. The heat got to me big time, and the only thing that was comforting, was that it looked like everybody was struggling). I decided to walk through the last 2 water stops, and to just reach my goal of finishing. Three slow miles later, and I kicked it in (what little I had left) the last .2. Right as I crossed the finish line, my right quad cramped up = thank God it didn't happen sooner. My final pace was 8:28 (a personal worst), but I did make it w/o re-injuring my calf or my knee.
Overall, I finished 4 minutes slower than I had hoped for, though I was ecstatic to have completed it. The day took a toll on the field as 10% didn't finish (51 people). The weather (heat) played a role, but the longer swim (+ the cluster) kicked a lot of people's butt (including mine!).
Post-race =
It was strange not having my family there, though they had MULTIPLE sponsors w/ a ton of goodies to consume. They held us hostage at the site until all runners were on their last leg = 11:30am. I then went back to my hotel, showered and met the Amazing CuldeusTM for a couple beers (he's as cool as anticipated), at his neighborhood pub.
Overall, a great day!
Good job there Rock. Making the wife feel good is more important than fast times. Right now my wife is planning to try a 5K next February. It is a 10K & 5K event, so I am going to run the 10K for me, then do the 5K with her.Rock Lonemilk said:I posted my slowest 5K time ever, but I'll
