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March 29, 2005
team in training website down
The Team In Training website has been experiencing some troubles this past week. Unfortunately, this means that they can't process on-line donations. Hopefully that will change in the coming days. Please be patient. Thanks.
Posted by ksmith at 12:48 PM | Comments (3)
March 20, 2005
rock 'n run
This morning some members of our team met out in Northville for an outdoor run. Actually, we were supposed to have our first outdoor bike ride this year, but the combination of the cold temperature and dampness of the roads put a kibosh on that. In it’s place, we substituted in a seven mile run.
Because I new that my usual quick-pace running partner, ‘Speed Damon’, was going to be there, I had some high hopes for the run. After Friday’s run, I thought that a 7:00 mpm pace was easily in reach. The course was pretty hilly, and it was part of the same route that the Martian Marathon ran through yesterday. Oh yeah, it was cold too.
For this run I had borrowed Anika’s Forerunner, so I could accurately track my distance and mile splits. The only downside of wearing a device like that is that it can almost be too much information. It’s easy to start pushing yourself according to what the GPS or clock says, instead of how your body feels. I’ve found that it works best when you ignore it during the run and then use it analyze your performance afterward.
The run went really well. Like Friday, I started out really strong, logging several successive sub 7:00 minute miles. After the halfway point, the course was noticeably more up hill in nature. Around mile five I started to hit the wall but kept pushing on. I kept pushing all the way through the finish. I doubt that I had an ounce of energy left in my body when it was all done. It felt awesome.
Here were my mile splits for the run:
Mile 1 – 7:00
Mile 2 – 6:39
Mile 3 – 6:41
Mile 4 – 6:49
Mile 5 – 7:19
Mile 6 – 7:03
Mile 7 – 6:52
Total – 48:24 -> 6:55 mpm
Mission Accomplished!
On a side note, during my run I ran a 10k portion in under 43 minutes.
Posted by ksmith at 05:04 PM | Comments (1)
rapid run
When Friday rolled around, I realized that if didn’t do anything athletic that day, that would make for three straight. I couldn’t in my right mind let that happen. So I decided that I was going to go running after work. And since I hadn’t ran by myself for over a month, I thought that it would be a good chance to really push it and see what I’m capable of.
By the time I got home, I had a route picked out that Mike, Anika and I had run a couple weeks earlier. I remember it being around four and half miles, which seemed like a good distance.
Whenever I set out to do a hard run, I’ll set a goal for myself and use that to really push it at the end. My goal for this run was to average 7:00 minute miles. I figured that the run should take me about 31 or 32 minutes to complete. I was in for a surprise.
I started out really strong, I felt like I was running under a 7:00 mpm pace. I wasn’t sure how long I could keep it up, but I decided to keep the throttle nailed and see how long I could sustain that pace. Even though I didn’t have any real feedback during the run to tell me if I was succeeding, I felt like I was able to really hold that pace for the entire run. I was even able to find some extra energy at the end to finish with a strong kick.
As I crossed the stop sign by my house I glanced down at my watch and saw the numbers ’27:40’ across the screen. Oh my gosh, you have got to be kidding me. There’s no way I ran that fast. That absolutely rocks! Then a little bit out doubt started to creep in. Surely I must have been off on my distance estimates. I’ll need to check this out.
After I cooled down and stretched out, I hopped in my car to drive the route I just ran. As the odometer rolled on, I started to feel more assured in my previous estimates. When I crossed the same stop sign at the end, my odo had just registered 4.4 miles…a 6:20 mpm pace! Holy crap, I’ve never run that fast for that kind of distance. I think it’s pretty safe to say that I’m in the best shape of my life right now, and I still think I can go faster.
Posted by ksmith at 04:32 PM | Comments (0)
swimming progress
On Monday, Mary, our swim coach, held a wetsuit clinic where we tried on our wetsuits again while she gave us tips on how to put them on, how to take them off, and how they should fit. After donning our neoprene we hopped in the pool to do about 40 minutes of swimming. This was the first time we’ve had a chance to swim with them on.
All I have to say is wow! It’s crazy how buoyant the wetsuit makes you. It’s like giving you a few percentage points of body fat all over you body. For a natural sinker like me, it makes all the difference. And to sweeten the pot, the wetsuits are super slippery when wet, allowing you to glide through the water. I was able to complete the swim with out nearly as much difficulty as usual. The wetsuit will definitely be a boon for me in the water come race time.
After swimming around in the neoprene for a while, we took them off and did another 10 or so minutes of normal drills. As has been the case for the last couple of practices, Mary has watched me swim for a few minutes and offered some tips on how I might become more efficient. (Actually, that last statement would imply that there was some efficiency in my stroke, which is a lie if I’ve ever heard one.) Usually when she offers me some advice, I’ll try it out, but it has never been the silver built that will make it all click for me. I fell like in swimming, it’s all or nothing. You have to have a pretty solid package of stroke, breathing, body position, etc. in order to swim effectively. If you’re missing just one of those elements, it seems like the whole system breaks down. Of course that’s just my thoughts on the subject.
Anyway, back to Mary’s advice. She really wasn’t suggesting anything new, just the same tips for arm entry in to the water, but this time it seemed to click. Which helped with my body rotation in the water, which in turn cut down on my resistance and helped my breathing. I was pretty tired because of the swimming we had down earlier, so I didn’t have my energy to try out the newest addition to my swimming toolbox, but needless to say, I’ve very excited about our swim tomorrow. It’s been a while since I’ve said that.
Posted by ksmith at 04:08 PM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2005
arb run
Last Wednesday a few of us ran out in Ann Arbor again. This time we met at our usual park, but intead of tooling around there, we were supposed to follow a map around the town. There was just one problem, lack of street names. Needless to say, we got lost a few times, but we were never more than a few blocks off of the route. The run also seemed to violate some rules of physics, because we were constantly running up hill. Now I know what it would feel like to run in an M.C. Escher drawing. We covered somewhere close to six and half miles in some rather friged weather. Even though I couldn't get a good time, it felt like I was able to run a low six minute pace for the last mile. This makes me even more anxious to find a track when it gets warm and see how fast I can really run a mile.
Posted by ksmith at 12:35 AM | Comments (0)
March 15, 2005
a kidnapping and a running binge
So I’m woefully behind with my posting again, but it seems like some of you have been having fun with my wetsuit post, so I don’t feel so bad. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough time even now to fully unleash my creative power on this post. You’ll just have to bear with me.
So a couple of Fridays ago, I went on an afternoon training run with my friend, Ms. Holiday. You may remember her as one of my kidnappers from about a month ago. You would have thought that I would have learned my lesson, but no, I kept coming back for more. I must have Stockholm syndrome or something. That’s the only possible explanation I can come up with.
Anyway, it was supposed to be a 12-mile tune up for the Martian Marathon in a few weeks. I honestly thought that it was going to be the prescribed distance, boy was I wrong. So we’re running a long for a while and I’m being a slave to this Garmin Forerunner that I’m wearing. But a couple hours in to it, it’s telling me that we’ve ran 11.8 miles, and judging by our current location, we’re still a good two miles out. I should have know better. I could tell that Holiday miles were in full effect. Ends up we did 13.4 before it was all said and done. Go figure. Luckily, before any more torture could take place, a good Samaritan by the name of Jacob Michaels, showed up with vittles in the form of pizza and beer. A true gentleman that Jacob is.
By the suffering was by no means through. Both of the original kidnappers had planned a torture spinning and running session the next morning. And to make things worse, we were forced to spin outside in the freezing cold. I was laboring so hard that steam was rolling off my body. What followed was a torturous five miles, seemingly all up hill, and punctuated by a sprint though foot deep snow. As I was nearing the end, the released one of the vicious attack dogs again to take me down. Luckily I was able to dodge its massive jaws and claw my way to freedom.
When it was all said and done, I had ran 18.5 miles, spun on my bike for an hour, and managed to sneak in a few hours of rest, all in a 18 hour time period. That’s a definite first for me, although I was totally spent for the rest of the weekend. And it looks like I’m going to loose a toenail because of it too. Awesome.
Posted by ksmith at 07:34 AM | Comments (1)
March 09, 2005
local pool makes national news
While we’re on the topic of swimming, the local pool that we swim at once a week made the national news. Apparently there was a massive carbon monoxide leak from one of the boilers. Some kids at the pool got sick this weekend and several of them had to go to the hospital. Fortunately, they got everyone out in time and they’re all doing well. It’s just a little eerie though. Maybe I can pass that off as my excuse for my poor swimming, fat chance.
Posted by ksmith at 11:21 PM | Comments (0)
wetsuits gone wild
Last Monday marked my initiation in to the glamorous world of neoprene. I’m of course talking about my wetsuit for the triathlon. I picked mine up after work, and despite a long list of things that I needed to get done that night, I had to try it on. As one could imagine, I look ridiculous, and that’s an understatement. It feels like you’re shrink-wrapping your entire body. It’s actually kind of liberating….riiight.
I’m sure there’s going to be a few photographers down in Florida snapping photos to use to blackmail me later. So in an effort to circumvent their plot, I’ve decided to preemptively post a few pictures of my own. Warning! You may want to cover your eyes before reading any further. These images may not be suitable for small children.
I’m anxious to try my wetsuit out in a pool. I’ve heard rumors that the added buoyancy makes you float on top of the water. And since I don’t have much fat to do that now, the wetsuit might actually help me swim better. Because to be honest, this sinking thing sucks.
Posted by ksmith at 11:13 PM | Comments (5)
March 02, 2005
p!mp my ride
Saturday afternoon I ran about five miles with some friends in some pretty decent weather. It was the first time I’ve ran outside in a long time and not needed a hat or gloves.
However the big news of the weekend was that I purchased a new ride. I made the big jump and bought an all-out triathlon bike, a 2005 Felt S25. Now I wasn’t planning to purchase a tri bike until this summer, but a local bike shop, Great Lakes Cycles, was having an absolutely killer deal for Team in Training members. I ended up with over 20% off on the bike, wich is unheard of, especially for a current model year bike. The margins on new bikes are so thin that the best you can normally hope for is $50 under sticker. I don’t know how they did it, but I appreciate it. Right now my steed is on order, and I should be able to pick it up this weekend or sometime early next week. I’m totally geeked!
Posted by ksmith at 09:05 PM | Comments (0)
hitting the wall @ 8 mph
Last Friday was another long run. The build up during the week with my other running chums led me to believe that it was going to be an 11-mile afair. Well, the weather was crappy and everyone kind of felt worn out before we even set out. So in an effort not to kill ourselves, we decided to do a six mile loop and the reassess. The snow was blinding and streets were slick. I love running, but this was seriously trying my patience. At least I had some friends with me to share in the missery. After our six, a couple bailed and another guy along with myself decided to press on for at least two more. Lets just say I’m glad that we didn’t decide to go longer. I started to hit the wall about a mile in. Turns out I didn’t eat enough in the few hours beforehand. When we got back to my house, I was starting to feel light headed and seeing stars. A banana followed by a shower and some pizza took care of that. I got back my strength just in time to go out to some of the local establishments with my roommate and another training partner who just got back from the Motley Crue concert. They said it rocked like no other.
Posted by ksmith at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)
forever lost in the woods
So Thursday I skipped training to go to an adventure racing information meeting at Moosejaw. I have some friends at work who had done one this past fall, but were looking for some new teammates. I figured the least I could do is check it out.
The two gentlemen who put on the info session were from Infiterra Sports here in Michigan. These two guys took about and hour to explain what adventure racing (AR) is and isn’t. They went through the types of races (who’s ever hear of an eight hour sprint race?), what to expect in a race, what gear you need, and they even threw in a couple tips from seasoned veterans. As they went through their presentation, I found myself getting more and more excited about AR. Turns out they have a race coming up at the end of April called Spring Fury, and it would be perfect for newbies wanting to get their feet wet…literally. The only down side was that it was six days after my triathlon in Florida. That would barely be enough time to recouperate.
I was definitely sitting on the fence on this one. That was until they put all our names in to an drawing. The first few prizes were socks or water bottles, however, the final prize they gave away was a free entry to their Spring Fury race, normally a $75 entry free. Without so much as a drumroll, and much to my surprise, they pulled out my name! That was the push that sent me over the edge.
So now Damon, Jesse, Steve and I (aka, Team RaceStrong) are going to take the Michigan AR scene by storm come April 30th. Watch out!
ps - If you have a mountain bike I could borrow, I'd appreciate it!
Posted by ksmith at 08:40 PM | Comments (0)