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February 24, 2005
bulk update
So it’s been over a week and a half since I’ve last updated my training blog. And although some of you might think that’s because I’ve been slacking on my training again, the reverse is actually true. I’ve been too busy training to properly document it. So here it goes, in one big post.
Sunday, February 13th
This was the infamous nine-mile escape from stony creek.
Monday, February 14th
Ah yes, Valentines Day, or as I like to call it, singles awareness day. Seeing how I ran nine miles the day before, you’d think I’d take this day off. But in order to ward of the hey-you-don’t-have-a-date-for-valentines-day blues, I decided to put an easy three or so miles in. It was cold and raining. So much for kicking the blues.
Tuesday, February 15th
Played some volleyball as usual. We played okay, just didn’t win as many games as I though we should. Still having fun though, that’s what counts.
Thursday, February 17th
Sokker time again. This time I failed to score a goal, although I had a couple opportunities. I don’t think I’ve ever sprinted my self to the point of where I felt like throwing up before today. There were two minutes left in the game and I was tire. But that’s kind of a crappy time to sub in, plus we didn’t have many subs the way it was. So I just ran around some more even though I didn’t think I had anything left. I could barely keep some water and trail mix down afterward. It was a good workout.
Friday, February 18th
I met back up with a few of my captors from stony creek. This time we did ten miles on a rather cold evening. The pace was somewhere around 9:20 per mile. The reason for the distance is because a friend of mine is training for a half-marathon this spring. Plus I figure it couldn’t hurt to get some mileage in. Despite the length, I wasn’t too tired afterward. It felt good in a sort of strange way that only other runners would understand.
Saturday, February 19th
A much needed day of rest.
Sunday, February 20th
Today was our practice triathlon. We met at a local high school at 8:00 am and swam for 40 minutes, biked on our trainers for 45, and then ran four miles outside. Even though it was only a practice, and I’ve done a real event before, I still couldn’t help but to get nervous about it. I think I was just anxious about the swim. I made it all 40 minutes, but I had to side-stroke it. If only I could get the hang of freestyle.
By the time we hit the bikes, my nervous energy turned in to raw energy. I felt like I was able to go pretty hard on the bike, despite the oppressive heat in the room. I was sweating like swine. We then quickly changed in to some warmer clothes for the run. It was pretty cold outside, and to top it off, it was snowing. I’ve ran in snow plenty of times, but this had and odd mixture that made it exceptionally slick. Not so slick that you risk falling, but it was slick enough where you’d loose an inch or so of forward progress with every step you took. Regardless, I still managed to complete it in a tick under 30 minutes. I could have at least taken a minute off of it if the traction was better. Either way, it felt good to get all three courses in one meal.
Speaking of meals, a few of us went out to grab a bite to eat afterward. I don’t know what it is, but something about a good workout makes the food and company so much more enjoyable (not that I don’t like hanging out with all of you in the first place).
Monday, February 21st
Ran four miles out in Ann Arbor with a friend of mine. Also checked out some bikes beforehand. It’s always dangerous going in to a bike store, I was everything!. We didn’t get chance to shower before the Empty Pint Club social, but I don’t think anyone minded too much. Now why did they keep asking me to leave? Huh…
Tuesday, February 22nd
More volleyball fun. Given the fact that only four people showed up for our team, we played pretty well. We even one a game. It’s definitely a lot easier with five or six guys on the court. I did get a couple good swings in.
Wednesday, February 23rd
Ran out at Ann Arbor again with some fellow TNT-er’s. It was a five mile run that included some decent hills. Although I didn’t have my watch on me, I’d say we did it in just under 7:00 miles. Plus I had enough left to put down a pretty decent kick. I always run better when someone’s around keeping pace. That’s one thing about TNT that I’ve really enjoyed. That and the beer at Casey’s afterward.
Posted by ksmith at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2005
escape from stony creek
Whew, I just managed an escape that Houdini would have been proud of. My name is Kyle Smith, and I am a victim of a kidnapping attempt, and here is my story.
Notice: The names here have been changed to mock the guilty.
This weekend started out innocently enough. After yesterdays training session, I was invited to join some people this morning for what I was led to believe to be an easy six miles at Stony Creek. Little did I know that I was to be the next target of a metro-area kidnapping ring.
I was picked up early this morning at my house by an acquaintance, a Miss Holiday, who happened to be the organizer of the ‘run’. Once we made it to the park, we met up with several other ‘runners’ in a parking lot. I did happen to recognize one other person in the group, Rory Cider, who used to be a kernel in the military. I could tell right away that I was in over my head. But instead of backing my way out of the situation, and against my better judgment, I decided to press on.
Less than a mile in to the ‘run’, the others forced me to run at a frenzied pace, scampering over boulders all while trying not to loose what little footing I had on the ice. I tried calling for help, but those calls fell on deaf ears. There was no one around for miles. When we did stop after six miles, my request for water was denied. Instead, I was given some strange concoction of who-knows-what. Reluctantly, I slurped it down. I knew with absolute certainty, that this was not the end.
I was forced to sit outside for what felt like several long hours while the kidnappers planed out their next move. Just as hypothermia was about to set in, I was ordered to my feet and told that we would be running an additional two more miles. I pleaded for mercy, but was assured that I didn’t want to experience the alternative.
We were supposed to turn around and head back a mile in to the death march, but we kept on going. My inquiry in to turning around was met with devilish stares and wicked laughter. I wouldn’t get off that easily.
After nine miles of running through some of the most forsaken terrain in this country, I finally thought that it was over. I had survived! But my hopes were quickly dashed when I was wrestled back in to the car against my will. I was to be taken to their secret hide-out for questioning.
The next several hours are still quite fuzzy. All I can remember is being thrown scraps of food while my captors dinned in bliss. The ex-kernel wore a tremendously frightening headdress that would strike fear in to kids and bring grown men to their knees. However, the moment when I truly felt like I was a gonner is when they turned their two attack dogs on me. I have never seen such vicious creatures in my life. It was a fate that I wouldn’t even wish upon my greatest enemies.
Honestly, I’m not sure if I was able to escape, or if they let me go. Perhaps my pleadings finally turned their hearts, or maybe they were able to extract all of the information out of me that they needed. All I know is that I’m thankful to be alive, and at this point, all I am capable of doing is lying in my bed quivering. I certainly hope sleep finds me soon, and that no one has to go through the hell that I experienced today.
Seriously guys, I had a blast. Thanks for bringing me along.
Posted by ksmith at 10:49 PM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2005
a pr in the mile
After a couple weeks off, I finally made it back to one of our Saturday group training sessions. I wasn’t exactly taking the previous weekends off, I just happened to be up north snowshoeing and skiing, that’s all. Anyway, today’s training was held out at a Bally’s. We first used their spin bikes to spin for an hour then did some running. It was a gorgeous day outside, and I was hoping the we’d run out there, instead we ran on their squarish indoor track that’s 1/13th of a mile.
I initially thought that it was only going to be moderately more entertaining than running on a treadmill, but surprisingly, it turned out to be a lot of fun. Instead of just running to run, our coach had us run a mile a moderate pace. Then after a short rest, we would do it again, except this time we were supposed to run harder. It was kind of a test to see where our fitness was. For the first mile I ran with couple speedy guys and we clocked a 6:25 mile, which was hard to believe since I didn’t feel like we were running that fast. What was really shocking is that me and another guy knocked off a 5:25 mile for the second one, easily my fastest mile ever, and I still had some gas left in the tank. I was more than surprised by that result. Maybe they should have their track recalibrated.
All of this has got me thinking about seeing how fast I could actually run a mile. A lot of inspiration has also come from a book I read over New Years called, “The Perfect Mile”, where three guys around the world tried to be the first to break the four-minute barrier. Now while I don’t think I’m in any danger of running a mile that fast, I do think that I could possibly dip below five minutes. I can’t wait until it warms up and we can find quarter-mile track to try it out.
Posted by ksmith at 05:30 PM | Comments (0)
February 10, 2005
sokker and other stuff
I played soccer again tonight. It was a bit more fun this time around. I’m not all that skilled due to the fact that I haven’t played much, but tonight I though I had a better sense of where I should be, and where my teammates were. To top it off, I scored two goals in the second half, which leads me to think that half of scoring is just being in the right place in the right time. I just happened to be in a good position after a rebound. My second goal I actually tried to flip it over the goalies head because he was on his knees from blocking the previous shot. That’s about as skillful as I get. I stick suck as dribbling.
The only downside was that one of my teammates is a bit of an ass. Obviously he’s been playing a lot longer than me and he’s able to control the ball better as well. The thing that gets me was that I told him I was pretty new to all of this and would be willing to take in some advice. So in the most condescending tone he could muster, he proceeded to ‘advise’ me every few minutes. The kicker is that even though we had plenty of subs available, he wouldn’t get out of the game when he was tired and in turn, wouldn’t hustle at all. Arrogance isn’t something that should be brought on to any playing field. But I won’t let it get under my skin. The fact that I scored two goals to his zero helps too.
I also played volleyball in my usual Tuesday night league. We went 1-3 put played well. We kind of beat ourselves in a couple of the games. But we’re starting to play a little more cohesively.
I ran out in Ann Arbor last night with some of the west-side team in training crew as well as some members of the empty pint club. Great name for a running club. We kicked in about five miles. It was pretty refreshing to run in the snow in a park at night.
I’m not sure what I’m up to tomorrow. I might take it easy since we have a bike/run brick session coming up on Saturday. We’ll see.
Posted by ksmith at 09:43 PM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2005
team in training recommitment
Today was recommitment for my Team in Training triathlon this spring. I’m on the hook for the remaining $2,800 or so I need to raise to meet my goal. I guess I better get busy. I'm excited in a hesitant anticipation sort of way.
Posted by ksmith at 10:37 PM | Comments (0)
February 07, 2005
slushy skiing
Good times this weekend. It had the potential to be great, but there were just a few minor set backs. But all in all, an enjoyable weekend.
Dave, my old roommate from college and one of his friend from back home, Seth, and myself left early Saturday morning to head up north to Boyne Mountain for some skiing this weekend. We made it up there just before noon and met up with a couple people who drove up separately. The line to rent skis was extremely long, which only made me more anxious to get on the slopes and try this skiing thing out one more time.
With skis in hand, er, underfoot, we set out to warm up on a few greens. One of the guys that went hadn’t been snowboarding in several years, and it was the first time on skis for another one. Now I wasn’t exactly expecting Colorado type runs, but the trail map online looked promising. The major downside was that it was a balmy 50 degrees outside. While it’s cool that you can ski in a t-shirt if you wanted, the drawback is that it made the snow very wet and slushy. Slushy snow doesn’t make for good skiing. It’s heavy and hard to push around with your skis. It also tends to knock you off your line a lot easier too.
With a few hours left Dave and I set out to try some tougher terrain. Unfortunately, they had over half the runs shut down. Some were due to a youth slalom race they had going on, and I’m not quite sure why the other runs were down. Either way, there was only a few green runs open and a single black and a single blue. After a successful run down the blue, we headed for the black. The black was a pretty steep run, but it was also void of any harsh terrain. The first time down we tried the right side, which turned out to be very slick. Half way down I couldn’t make any turns and built up speed very quickly. Luckily I didn’t crash, or else it would have been a total yard sale with skis, poles and maybe even body parts heading off in all directions. We tried the left side a few times and I was a bit more successful in traversing the hill. I think we ended up running that black five or six times, and not once did I take a spill. I don’t know how though.
After eight hours of skiing, we were are beat and decided to make the 45 minute trip down to Traverse City to our hotel. A lukewarm shower and clean clothes have rarely felt that good. Our party didn’t leave the hotel in search of food until 10:50. It was a stroke of luck that we were only a block away from this cool Argentinean/Mexican/Brazilian restaurant. A few pork chops and beers later, I was happy as a pig in slop, and ready to fall asleep.
Things started to break down in the morning. At the beginning of this weekend, we had intentions of hitting Crystal Mountain on the way back south for some more skiing. Due to the lingering soreness and the prospect of a lengthy drive after a half day skiing, people started bailing out left and right. I though that there might be a possibility of a few of us hitting it anyway, but kind of faded. Although I would have rather skied, it turned out to be okay. I wouldn’t have had any fun if the people I was with weren’t having fun. On the up side I was able to watch the superbowl in its entirety, bad commercials and all. And hey, at least I have an excuse to go back up there later on this winter.
To make up for the lack of skiing on Sunday, I ran about four and a half miles once we got back. It wasn’t anything too fast, about 30 seconds per mile quicker than my usual recovery run pace. Plus, that put me at seven consecutive days of doing something physical. Despite my athletic tendencies, I don’t think I’ve ever done that.
Posted by ksmith at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)
February 04, 2005
spinnin' my wheels
Spun on my bike and trainer for 45 minutes today. I took it a bit easier today then usual. I wanted to save my legs for skiing this weekend. I tempted myself in to a half-dozen power intervals. I kept them to a minute each instead of the usual one and a half to two minutes.
It’s going to be a relaxing Friday night. I feel like trying my hand at some cooking. Wish me luck.
Posted by ksmith at 06:56 PM | Comments (0)
February 03, 2005
wind sprints with a ball
Played indoor soccer tonight for the first time in a year. They should change the name of the sport to ‘Endurance Sprinting’. Because when you don’t have many subs, and you make as many mistakes as I do, you end up sprinting around a lot. Sure there’s the occasional jog, but they’re few and far between. Good news is that I assisted the first goal for our team (it was ugly) and scored the second (even uglier). Bad news is that we lost by a decent margin. Oh well, there’s always next week.
Posted by ksmith at 11:18 PM | Comments (1)
snowshoe shuffle
Simply put, last weekend was awesome, great people, good activities, beautiful non-urban scenery. Even the four-plus hour car rides were enjoyable. Knight, myself and some other team in training members headed up north to Traverse City for the annual Bigfoot Boogie snowshoe race put on by Running Fit, good guys. There were two main draws to this. First, I’ve lived in Michigan for over a year and a half and I’ve never been up to TC. Second, what better way to try snowshoeing for the first time than a race? I know, I’m sick.
Actually, snowshoeing wasn’t has hard as I thought it might be. Literally, if you can walk, you can snowshoe. And if you can run, then you can run in snowshoes, just a little slower. Within ten minutes of strapping on my rent-a-snowshoes, the race had begun. I use the term ‘race’ loosely. Pretty much, it was whatever you wanted to make of it. You could go fast and try to race if you wanted, or you could hang back and enjoy more casual paced hike. There were plenty of people doing both. There were also two distances to choose from, 5k or 10k. A few of us were talking big the night before and when morning came around Saturday, we couldn’t back down and signed up for the 10k. Great, my first experience on snowshoes is going to be a six mile race.
There were about a dozen of us goofing around before the start, so we found ourselves in the back of the back. No biggie, this is supposed to be fun. After making a few moves through the crowd [like ambulance drivers] a few of us found our way up toward the front, tromping through the woods. Unfortunately, within a half mile or so we were split up. Might as well keep pushing on.
The first loop seemed to go on forever. As I was finishing it, I seriously entertained the idea of packing it in and just doing the 5k, I was beat. Of course then I realized that if I did that, there would be great volleys of heckling and ridicule aimed in my direction, so I decided to trudge on.
The good thing about the second lap was that there weren’t as people on the trail, so you could settle in to a nice rhythm. I only think I passed three or four people the entire last loop. The real challenge was to hold back enough energy to finish strong and not bonk.
About a mile in to the second loop I spotted a lady running up ahead by about 80 yards or so. I figure why not try to reel here in. It took me the last two miles to finally catch up with her, she was bookin’. To top it off, she was running in the old-school style snowshoes. The one that look like tennis rackets. With about a 100 yards to the finish I finally pulled up even with her. I asked her how much gas she had left in the tank and she said I could pass her if I wanted. Yeah right, I could tell by the ease of her run that she could have out kicked me if she wanted to. Plus, she had pulled me along for the last two miles. I doubt I would have, or could have, ran as fast if I didn’t have a hare. I wouldn’t say I ‘let’ her finish before me, I realized that it would have been a shady ending and I’d rather concede. Final time, 68 minutes. Results are here.
After the ‘race’ we were hanging out at the clubhouse partaking in the free chili when they started handing out awards. Turns out the lady that I ran in with won the overall women’s race. She was also twice my age. I sure hope I’m in that good of shape when I’m her age.
A piece of advice to anyone thinking about trying snowshoeing, wear pads around your ankles. I lost count of how many times I clipped the inside of my ankles while running with those things. The first time is stung like crazy, but after awhile it went numb and didn’t hurt as much…until I stopped that is.
Afterwards, we bummed around Traverse City for a while. A few people (or maybe it was just one) wanted to go climb up some dunes in the area. Crazy folk, too much energy, bless their heart. Meanwhile, the rest of us complained about wet socks and feet.
We then cleaned up at Rick and Evie’s house (two very gracious hosts I might add) and then went wine tasting and grabbed some dinner. All of this was followed by a night on the town. We ended up at some local bar with a pretty good band playing. It was a bit loud, but a good time was had by all. Nice way to end the day. At 2:30 am, we all slept like babies.
Sunday was a bit more lethargic than I expected. The day before we had talked about doing some hiking or maybe some sledding before we headed back down south. It was kind of a sleepy late morning and nothing ever panned out. You’ll have that sometimes.
All in all, a very good weekend. Good for the soul and the body (with maybe the exception of Saturday night). Good company too. I enjoy meeting new people, especially when they share some similar interests with me. I met a few marathon runners and some fellow triathletes. One guy is even training for an Ironman this fall, rock on. Picked up a few new running partners as well. Some of which I ran with last night. And my roommate had some social victories as well.
Here are some photos that some of my cohorts took.
Can’t wait to go back up there this weekend for some skiing with Dave and Co.
Posted by ksmith at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)
February 02, 2005
west side run
Just got back from a nice run out in Ann Arbor. It’s a bit of a drive, but worth it. I was actually able to run with people for a change. Plus we hung out at a pretty cool bar for a few hours afterward. All I have to say is that I train with some pretty cool cats.
Oh yeah, the run was pretty nice too. A brisk pace for something like five miles. It felt good so I’m really not concerned with my time or pace. After word, someone had the great idea to run sprints. Just what I needed. Surprisingly, it was a pretty good ending.
It’s midnight and I’m beat. I’ll get on that snowshoeing post soon.
Posted by ksmith at 11:58 PM | Comments (1)