A Delayed Frenzy

So I'm a little late posting this blog...for some reason work keeps getting in the way.  Regardless, it's time to post my last race report for my triathlon season.  The race was a local event...practically in my back yard, the Parker Fall Frenzy.  The race is in its 10th year and for a little town like this, that's pretty good.

Race day started off pretty much as I expected.  I got up early, knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway.  The race officially started at 7:00, but since it was a pool swim, they started in waves based on anticipated swim time for the 500 yards, slowest to fastest.  I was anticipating a 9 minute 30 second swim, so I was towards the end of the swim start.  I figured this would mean I'd start around 9:00.  Needless to say, this gave me plenty of time to get my spot in the transition area set up.

My little piece of the transition area

Not wanting to be late for my swim, I headed into the pool area well before 9:00.  This meant I did a lot of standing and waiting.  I did get to chat with my coaches and wife, son adn mom while I waited so that helped pass the time.  Unfortunately, there were some delays with police forces working traffic so I didn't start until 9:45.  As I finally got up to my wave, the nerves had set in.  Each lane was set up with a group of five sharing the lane.  Since everyone was supposed to be swimming about the same time, this shouldn't be an issue.  We all talked and decided I should lead our group...this ended up being a good decision.  We got in the pool and it was finally time to start.  My plan was to swim a consistent speed that I was comfortable with from training. I was successful with this plan for the most part.  I noticed after I swam the first length, that it seemed too fast.  I trusted my body though and kept up the pace since I felt good.  On the fourth lap, I had to make the first pass.

I was feeling good in the pool!

For the remaining laps, I passed people more than I didn't.  In the end, I passed one person two times.  This was shocking to me!  Could I really have swam that fast, or did everyone in my group severely over-estimate their speed?  Not likely!  As I bailed from the pool and headed out to the transition area, my coach yelled "8:13!"  Are you kidding me!  I knew I felt strong, but come on.  Well, as I found out a few days later, the pool I train at is 25 meters long, not yards.  While this isn't a huge difference, it amounts to about swimming about 1 lap less than what I've trained for.  I sure wish I would've known this before, but it worked out pretty well in the end.

The run to the transition area was pretty long...nearly a 2 minute run.  I ran in and quickly, got my bike and gear and was out of transition in 45 seconds.  I struggled getting my feet in my shoes, which bothered me, but once they were in, I felt strong.  The first mile was on a bike/running path which concerned me with possible crowds.  I lucked out and didn't run into any traffic jams and just had to pass a couple people.  I felt great on the bike (how could I not riding my new Blue Triad in its first race) and everything just clicked.  The bike portion was on roads that I ride regularly, so I felt I had a little advantage.  I didn't get passed at all on the bike which added to my confidence for the race.  I finished the 11 mile bike in 31 minutes 15 seconds...just over 21 mph average.

Wife got this photo right after the gutter and right before the turn to T2.

I sped into T2, which was a short run to my spot.  I didn't forget my sunglasses this time and was out of T2 in 1 minute 3 seconds.  My coach was there on my way out cheering advice and tips.  It was nice to have all the support and it certainly helped my run.  I felt great still, but was starting to feel the legs.  I paced as best as I could hoping that I wouldn't leave it all on the trail too far before the finish.  I made the turnaround and started looking for those that were swimming about the same time I was and in my age group.  I didn't notice any of them for nearly a mile, so I was pretty sure I was in a decent position.  I did get passed once on the run, right before the last hill to the finish, but he was a young guy...nowhere near my age group.  There was a short hill up towards the last 100 yards of the run.  I know this hill is short and not impressive at all...unfortunately, it didn't seem that way this day.  I was beat and could tell when I was at the top of the hill.  My coach was again waiting for me and ran me in, almost all the way to the finish.  It was great to have him cheering me on an pushing me until the end.

Tired, but ecstatic!

I crossed the finish in 24:19 for the run, for a total time of 1:07:28.  That time put me in 5th place for my age group.  I'm pretty happy about that for my second race.  I still have a long way to go if I'm going to place top 3, but I will work on that for next year.  Once the results were posted, I was surprised to find that my time would've put me in first 20-24 as well as the 30-34 age groups.  I guess the 35-39 AG is pretty competitive...as I've been told.

In the end, I had a great personal race and am extremely happy with what I've accomplished this year.  So much so, I can't wait for next year!

I'm fortunate that I had my wife and son support me through this year of learning to tri.  It's a time-consuming sport, but I love it and I hope Teresa and Seth got some joy out of watching me compete this year.  I also am grateful to my mom for coming down to watch me race this last event.  Lastly, I'm so pleased with my coaches, Jeff and Diane at PRS Fit.  They're absolutely the best!  Not only did they coach me throughout the season and prepare me for these events, they came all the way down to watch my whole race!  Not many 'online coaches' will go that extra mile when they don't have to.

Plans are now in the works for 2011.  I've discussed my schedule for the year already and have already made some plans.  I'll reveal all of that in a later post....it's going to be good stuff!  Now to the off-season!

Thanks for reading!

- Brian

Warrior On!

Yes, I am a Warrior!  At least, according to the Warrior Dash I am.  That's about as far as I'll take it though...true Warriors are another blog post saved for Memorial Day.  But this was a different kind of Warrior.  Check out the link above if you haven't heard of this.  It's certainly not like any other race I've run...and I can't wait to do it again.  Below, you'll read about my perspective of the race.  I'm sure everyone you ask would have a different view and certainly each Warrior Dash race is different.  Either way, I hope the description provides half as much entertainment as the race provided for me.

So my wave was at 2:30 in the afternoon on Saturday.  The race was running waves every half hour with about 350 people per wave...in other words, a lot of people.  Arriving at Copper Mountain we quickly realized how serious some people were taking this event.  And by serious, I mean dressing in costume and playing the warrior part...or just ready to party.  I was lame and wore normal running clothes with worn out shoes.

I was running with several friends I work with and went to the designated location only to discover they were already at the start area.  I quickly put on my timing chip and race number and jogged to the start area.  Once there, I was informed that the plan was to wait for the 2:00 wave to go and then file into the starting gate.  This was necessary to avoid clogging up at the start, which was fenced at about 6 feet wide.  The downside to all of this is we were essentially stuck and couldn't get a proper warmup.

After 30 minutes of trash talking (all friendly of course), we were ready to go.  The starting gun for this race is replaced by large shooting flames above your head...the heat is pretty intense.  So the race has begun!  After running on a road for a short distance, we came across the first of the obstacles...two rows of vehicles to jump over.  The first row consisted two smaller cars and I easily leaped onto the hood of one and jumped off.  The second row was an old truck and a Scout...slightly more challenging than the cars.  To top it off, you could really only go on the hood of the Scout, or the hood and bed of the truck and human traffic was backing up.  I was able to follow one of my friends over the hood of the Scout since most were headed to the truck.

After clearing the cars, there was more running; through several ditches and up the hill a little towards the hay bales.  These were stacked neatly, about 10 feet high.  The quads were already starting to burn a little and this just added that much more fire to the legs.

For the next several minutes, the course climbed, climbed and climbed some more.  I heard an estimate of 300 feet elevation gain over this short half mile or so.  Legs were at inferno levels at this point.  Reaching the top, we quickly descended back down towards the resort. Most of the descent was on a pretty good service road, which was good for me as I'm not a very good trail runner.

Planning on the run...and quickly.

At the bottom of the hill, they had placed the one water station...unfortunately it was misplaced.  Right after the aid station, they placed the mud pit (would've been handy, but not Warrior-esque, to have water after the mud to wash out the mouth).  Oh, not just any mud pit, one covered with barbed wire to force you in the mud.  We had heard from others that diving in mud was a bad idea...it was loaded with sharp gravel and would shred your hands, knees or anything else.  I took that advice, and even a race volunteer was standing there yelling "don't dive."  Of course the cheering fans were yelling dive and quickly booed if you didn't.  No worries for me, I'm not that sensitive.

No diving for me!

Climbing out of the mud pit was a challenge.  First, you started heading uphill.  Second, shoes and clothes gained ridiculous amounts of weight...or so it seemed.  This was tough and many walked for a bit...including me.  Ahead, were the tunnels to crawl through.  Honestly, I thought this would be a very easy obstacle.  Wrong...and it wouldn't be Warrior-like if it was.  The tunnels were placed on a hill, so you had to crawl through and up.  Not too bad normally, but after being caked with mud all day, all you do is slide back down.  The trick for me was to grab for the joints in the tunnels and pull myself up.  This worked out quite well, but wasn't too kind to the knees.

After the tunnels, there was a short run to the cargo net...about 10 feet tall.  Again, ropes covered with mud = slippery.  This was a tough obstacle too.  After climbing down the net, there was about a 4 foot jump down...and downhill on rough surface.  I took this slow so I wouldn't trash already delicate ankles.

The flames sure seemed higher than that.

We were almost done now.  There were some planks to cross a ditch and a creek crossing, which only seemed to add more weight to the shoes after I started getting used to the mud weight.  And then, the end was near.  We ran for a short time and then you could start to see the smoke...Warrior sign for Finish.  Coming around the corner, I saw the two rows of fire (Duraflame logs) and thought it looked quite a bit higher than what it looked like online.  Nevertheless, you have to jump it to finish.  Of course there's very little concern for burns...mud on the legs provides quite a bit of insulation from the heat (besides the fact that my legs are shaved so there wasn't any hair to burn).  The finish was shortly after the fire and I was ready to cross the line.  I was tired.

The Warrior Crew

In the end, everyone I was with survived, mostly uninjured and with smiles on our faces.  We were officially Warriors now...with hats to match.  As a post race note, my hips were pretty sore for a couple of days...much more so than any other training/races I've done, including marathons.  No matter, I plan to go back next year if it's around and would recommend it to anyone with a Warrior spirit...or with a lack of common sense.

My son looks much better in the Warrior hat than I do.

Thanks for reading.

- Brian

I'm Blue

That's right...I'm Blue.  It's been a busy summer and I've struggled to keep my head held high.  Not because of work or anything like that, but because of my desires.  Yes, it's true, my mid-life crisis is hitting and I confess that I've acted on those urges.  You see, since spring, I've been desperately thinking of something new...a change in my life.  I've been faithful to the same machine for almost 20 years and I just needed a change.  So, after a great deal of searching, testing, reading, researching and yes...much dreaming, I've given in to my weakness and I've paid for my mid-life crisis.  Yep, you guessed it; I bought a new bike (certainly you didn't think anything else, right?).  Not just any bike, a Blue Triad TT/Multi-sport bike.

Isn't she pretty?

I've patiently waited most of the summer to finish at least one triathlon to decide if I liked the sport before purchasing a bike.  Obviously, I'm addicted already.  Had I not felt this way, I still would have purchased a bike, but it would've been a road bike.  Well, triathlons are the way for me right now so I decided I wanted the proper equipment.  I rode several other makes/models but ultimately chose the Blue for several reasons.  First - the bike, even though a relatively new manufacturer on the scene, has proven to be fast by many of the top triathletes in the world.  Second - Good warranty, lifetime frame, as well as a crash replacement program.  Hopefully I won't ever need either of these, but it's good to know they're available.  Third - I love the look and design...sure it was designed for speed and reduced drag, but it looks pretty sweet too!  Forth - full carbon frame.  Not that unusual here, but I've had my Specialized Allez (carbon) since 1991 and it's a great bike and I love the carbon frames. Fifth - Okay, I could go on so I'll stop at 5...purchase of this bike gets me an hour of free (yes, free) wind tunnel time at the A2 Wind Tunnel in North Carolina.

Wind tunnel???  Seriously? For an old age grouper like me?  Yes...and why not?  No, I won't be in the tunnel like Lance Armstrong was to test some top secret equipment.  No, I won't spend several hours there like George Hincape to help me compete in the Pro Tour races.  But I can improve my speed, and reduce my drag...for free...in a wind tunnel!  I may be a dork, but that's way too cool!  Blue's claim states that nobody has gained less than 10% improvement in aerodynamic wattage.  For long distance races (I'll talk about those plans in a later post) that can save serious amounts of time.  And 10% is the minimum...I'm guessing they could shave a lot more than that off of my form.  So, no...I have no aspirations (or talent) to go pro.  Yes, I am serious about these ridiculously crazy events and still have a competitive spirit.  I will be aiming for age group placements...not sure if I'll get any, but I will try.  Did I mention the wind tunnel is free?!?!  Oh, yeah...I did.

When it comes down to it, the most important part of the purchase was that I was happy with the bike, fit and what I think it will do for me.  As part of the purchase, I received a full certified fit that took over 2 hours.  This was a totally new experience for me, but I could see (and feel) quickly why it is so important to not only increase power, but also increase comfort.  That's an important thing when  you're going to be on the bike for several hours.

Drive train

Another view of where the work gets done.

Just looks fast, doesn't it?

So, for now i will be enjoying every mile I can put on my new ride.  Sure, I've given in big-time to my mid-life crisis (not really having one, just makes it easier to justify such a purchase) and I'm a little guilty about that.  Uhh wait, no I'm not.  Doesn't matter, I feel like a kid getting his/her first bike.  Or like a kid when they first take off the training wheels and head down the road on their own...hopefully paying attention to their direction of travel instead of those cheering them on.  Yep...I'm Blue, and I've never been so happy about it!

Thanks for reading!

- Brian

Tri and Catch Me...But Don't Pass Me

Well, I am officially a triathlete now!  And, as many of those veteran triathletes had suggested, I'm feeling an addiction coming.  What a sport!  The week before the event, I was traveling to Midland, TX.  Not a great place to train, but luckily it was an easy week to just keep the legs loose.  When I flew back into Denver Friday morning, I headed to Runner's Roost to grab my rented wet suit.  Walking out with that suit really kicked the nerves into high gear.  I then headed over to Campus Cycles to pick up my race packet.  Sure, I could've picked it up the morning of the race, but I wanted to be as prepared as possible so I didn't have to think too much the morning of the race.  I knew my pea-brain would be a little scattered with nerves so I was trying to avoid missing something in the preparation.  As it was, I double-checked my race bag that night a ridiculous number of times...may have even shortened the life of that zipper.

The transition area opened up at 6:00 a.m. and I made sure I was there right on time.  It's crazy to sit around for two hours before a race, but I felt it would reduce my nerves in the end run to not have to rush getting ready.  Plus, I was able to steal ideas from those who actually had a clue what they were doing.  My preparations went better than I had expected so all that was left to do was race...and I was nervous  As we all lined up for the start I could feel my stomach sinking.  Choosing to do this race in the traditional triathlon order (swim, bike, run) we had to start the swim with a 250 meter run to the lake.  This was to make it fair for those choosing a different order.  Running 250 meters in a wetsuit was not horribly easy, but I quickly forgot about that when I hit the water.  Keep in mind, this is my first triathlon and first open water swim.  Unfortunately, something triggered in my and I struggled to get a relaxed breathing pattern in the lake.  I'm not sure if it was nerves, the wet suit, cold water on the exposed skin, anxiety, the run to the water or what.  Didn't matter, I had a hard time the first 350 meters of the 750 meter swim.  By the time I got to the buoy at the halfway point, I was starting to calm down and get my swim groove on.  The rest of the swim I felt pretty good and I feel like I finished strong. Total time for the 750 meter swim (including about 500 meters of running) was 18:02.

I worked hard to mentally prepare for the transitions and my first one was 1:16.  That included shedding the wet suit.  It felt pretty fast to me...so fast in fact that I didn't even feel like I caught my breath while getting ready for the bike.  Off I went on the bike...feeling good to be doing an event I felt more comfortable with.  I got in the bike groove pretty quickly and started passing people which made me feel pretty good.  As a side note, I had a couple of co-workers (Shaun and Adam) racing that day too and was really hoping to have a chance to beat them...unrealistic really, but still a goal.  Back to the bike...after about 1 mile, the first of my co-workers, Shaun, passed me.  Being a collegiate level cyclist a couple of years ago, I knew I had no chance of catching him on the bike...he was gone.

The course was pretty hilly, (781' elevation gain according to my Garmin) but I felt like I was holding my own, feeling good and pushing hard.  The turnaround of the 12.4 mile course was at the top of a hill.  Turning around for a long downhill ride was great.  About  a mile past the turnaround, I saw Adam pushing up the hill.  He was closer than I had hoped as he's a much better runner than I am (and 8 years younger).  I pushed on, hoping to gain some valuable time.  Total time on the 12.4 mile ride, 36:22 or just over 20 mph average speed.

As I got into the transition area, I stripped the bike gear off and got ready to run.  I started out of the transition and realized I forgot my sunglasses.  I'm sort of a freak about running with sunglasses...don't know why, but it forced me to run back and grab them...probably lost about 15 seconds there.  Anyway, this second transition was a little longer at 1:30

Now the run.  my preparation bricks resulted in me running just over 7:30 minute miles.  For me...that's super speedy.  A year ago, running a 9:00 mile would make me happy.  I wasn't able to hold that pace for long in this run though.  First, my legs were shot from the ride.  I was a little too confident on the bike and pushed too hard given the hills and I should've backed off a little...rookie mistake.  Second, the run was pretty hilly.  Mostly short hills and probably not very steep on any normal day, but I was tired by this point so they seemed steep.  According to my Garmin, total elevation gain was 512 feet over the 3.5 miles.  Regardless, I was here to race (and learn) and I pushed as hard as I could.  Just before the 2 mile mark, the course headed back towards the finish and down a hill.  As the course turned, I looked up and saw Adam...about 1/4 mile behind me.  It wasn't looking good for me.  Well, the inevitable happened and he passed me at about the 3 mile mark.  Kind words (but of course) were exchanged and he too, was gone.  The finish included running back through the transition area out again and about 200 meters to the finish line.  It wasn't ideal to race through the transition area when others were still there moving on to their next event, but it didn't slow me down too much. Total time for the 3.5 mile run...29:19 or about 8:32 minute miles.

Finally, I crossed the finish line and I felt like I was going to collapse.  I didn't...but it was close.  It was great to be surprised by Teresa and Seth at the finish...even though I had told them to stay home because it was so early and Seth had baseball shortly after.  They came anyway and at least got to see me lumber across the finish line.

Wow...sorry, I should've warned you before posting that picture.  You should now scroll down far enough to hide that photo from view.  Total race time for my first triathlon:  1:27:52...a number I'm pretty satisfied with.  This put me in 7th in my age group for those who chose the traditional triathlon order.  Wow...top 10!  I like that.  Of course, that was only out of 24, but still.  My friends, Shaun and Adam both did great in their respective age groups too (both are many years younger than I am but obviously good athletes in their divisions).

What's next?  Well, I'll be continuing my training for my next triathlon, the Parker Fall Frenzy in September (suddenly that seems too far away and I want to sneak another one in).  Before that, I have the Warrior Dash coming up in 3 weeks.  Adam will be running that with me too, along with several other friends.  It's a completely fun race/obstacle course and we'll be racing strictly for bragging rights...and maybe beer.

After those two...well, I'll be preparing for racing season next year.  I see longer distance tris in my future...maybe (okay, probably) even a 70.3 next year.  Crazy??? Yeah!  Fun???  Yeah!  Oh...and the bike shopping has begun.  Yes, a triathlon/time-trial bike appears to be in my near future!

Thanks for reading!

- Brian

Tri and Stop Me

First off, it's been a long time since I've blogged.  It's not so much that I didn't have anything to say...just didn't have the time to write.  Well, I still don't have time to write, but I need to anyway.  I'm not even going to get into the work time constraints except to say that work is burying me.  Enough said about that.  Since the marathon (seems like so long ago) I've been continuing my training, but with the triathlon approaching next week, I've obviously incorporated much more swimming and riding.

The riding has been going very well...but I spend most of my time on my 20 year old bike dreaming about a new one.  By the way, it's a little dangerous to daydream on a bike at 20 mph. Regardless, I have a great desire to obtain new wheels!  I'm struggling though...new road bike or new tri specific bike.  I honestly won't decide until I finish my 2 planned triathlons this year (well, maybe one).  Of course, right now I would lean towards a tri specific bike, but I want to make sure I'm going to enjoy these tris before I spend the $$$.  Bikes, after all, are an investment.  I'm sure there will be more updates on this in future posts...hopefully near future.

After the marathon, when I really started hitting the pool, I had to go through some swimming growth.  Those that know me, know that I've never been a strong swimmer.

I didn't grow up swimming...could barely even get a lap in the pool in high school.  A friend of mine, Rich taught me to swim (for exercise) in my early 20's.  As much as that helped, I only swam then for about one year.  Now I'm in my 30's...okay, late 30's and I'm trying to take it back up, with no help in the pool...for triathlons?!?  Now, I'm jumping in and cranking out 2800 yards at a time.  Okay, it's been a struggle at times though.  For example, I've had several instances where I've tried to concentrate so hard on my swimming, that I forgot to turn my head out of the water to breathe.  Not good, when you don't have gills.  Luckily, I was able to work through those issues.

Now that I'm getting pretty comfortable in the pool, I've decided to try and improve by implementing flip turns.  This is actually, quite funny to me...the thought of me doing flip turns.  I have very little coordination in the pool and if you could see my attempts at flip turns now, you'd laugh.  So far, out of the maybe 20 turns I've done, I've had maybe 4 where I thought "hey, that was pretty good!"  Of course, those were followed by ones where I thought "wow, that was really not good and hopefully nobody was watching."  Usually these are the ones where I've turned much earlier than I should (you really have to get pretty close to the wall to do it right, but I fear cracking my heel on the concrete) and go to kick but my feet find nothing but water...this is a disappointing feeling.  So far, I've learned one very important lesson for those attempting to learn flip turns on your own.  Make sure you've completed your rotation before you kick off the wall.  If you don't, you push off the wall and drive your head right into the floor of the pool.  I don't recommend this method.  Fortunately for me, I had two advantages in this particular situation:  1) the floor of this particular pool is smooth and designed for lap swimming; therefore, it hasn't been left rough like many public pools.  Had it been that way, I would have lost approximately 16.2% of the hair I have left.  2)  I have a very hard head.  My dad and brother will back me up on this.  Sure everyone's skull is pretty tough, but the Taylor boys seem to be a little more so...either that or we've been hit so hard so many times that those portions of the brain no longer recognize the pain and simply sacrifice a few more brain cells.  Still, hitting my head was not that pleasurable and I will try to avoid this on all future swims.  If I'm unsuccessful, I'll be the guy in the pool wearing my bike helmet...makes for faster transitions anyway, right?

I'm now down to one week until my first triathlon...a sprint distance (750 meter swim, 14 mile bike and 3.5 mile run).  I'm nervous...but in an anxious way, so I think that's good.  I've rented my wet suit (water temps of high 60s...well, maybe not after this week's heat wave) and have all the gear I need.  Now I just need to get to the race and give it all I can.  My next blog should be my race report...I know you're waiting to read it.

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve Prefontaine

Thanks for reading.

- Brian

Post Colorado Marathon Post

Well, the big day was yesterday and I survived.  Not only that, but I trimmed my marathon PR by 50 minutes (according to my Garmin anyway).  Here is how the weekend unfolded.

Saturday:
After a busy morning, we headed north to Fort Collins.  We got the Cambria Suites in town, which was a great hotel by the way, and quickly checked in.  After hauling in some luggage, I rushed out to get to the expo and meet some fellow dailymile runners who were running the marathon.  I met David and Sean there and we talked for a little while about the race, running and marathons.  It was great to meet some virtual people (up to that point) in person.  After that, I headed into the expo and picked up my race packet.  I have to say, the expo at this marathon is pretty small.  Having said that though, there are less than 1000 marathon participants, so what do you expect?  While there, I was able to meet Coach Jeff and Coach Diane from PRS Fit.

(Photo of Coach Jeff and I talking race strategy...taken by Diane at PRS Fit)

This is a rare treat as most of their clients will probably never meet them in person.  Both Jeff and Diane were great and we discussed my plan for Sunday.  They've been very helpful the last two weeks...I just wish I would have signed on with them earlier.  Regardless, we set a plan for me to run 8:35 minute miles for the entirety of the race.  While this was a lofty goal (finish time of 3:45) I felt I was ready to push myself.

After a nice talk with the coaches for a bit, I finally headed back to the hotel to pick up Teresa and Seth.  Teresa was excited to go to the kitchen store downtown before getting dinner at Canino's.  Luckily for me, the kitchen store has a nice comfortable chair where Seth and I relaxed while Teresa shopped.  I was desperately trying to stay off of my feet as much as possible and this was perfect.  We then had a great dinner with my Mom at Canino's...me carbo loading, but only a little.  I didn't want to be weighed down in the morning.  After getting back to the hotel, I gathered all my necessities for the run and headed to bed.  This is a requirement for me as I knew I wouldn't be thinking clearly at 3:00 a.m.  I finally when to bed and I think I fell asleep around 10.

Surprisingly, I actually slept well for the first 3 hours or so.  This is rare for me in a hotel and especially before a big event.  Well, once 1:30 a.m. rolled around, my mind apparently thought I had slept long enough, which was untrue by the way.  I fought that battle for about 50 minutes, but eventually lost.  At 2:20, I finally decided to crawl out of bed and get ready.  We had a king-suite room with Seth sleeping in the "living room" area.  Unfortunately for me, that meant I was getting ready in the bathroom to avoid waking him up.  This included drinking a couple cups of coffee and downing a bagel, yogurt and GoodBelly.  I don't usually recommend ingesting pre-race breakfast in the bathroom, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.  It worked out anyway, and Seth stayed asleep...can't say the same for Teresa though.  I felt bad that she woke up, but I could only be so quiet.

I left the room about 3:20 and headed down to the lobby to catch the shuttle to the race busing area.  I can't thank the general manager, Scott, at the hotel enough for running about 8 of us to the busing area.  Obviously, he wasn't required to be there at 3:30 in the morning, but he went WAY out of his way to make sure we all got to the buses on time.  He and the rest of the staff at the hotel were GREAT!  It was also good to talk to the others on the shuttle.  I was the only Colorado Marathon veteran so a lot of questions were thrown my way and of course I was happy to answer them.  There was a lot of nervous, but positive energy in shuttle so it was fun.

The bus ride to the start was less exciting.  I made every attempt to get little cat naps but I wasn't very successful.  I was done eating before the race, sticking to a 2 hour no eating zone, but I did continue with hydrating.  The bus got to the start around 5:00...one hour before race start.  I prefer to get to the start early, get ready, use the port-a-potty (before there is a long line) and mentally prepare for the run.  The photo below is from the picnic bench I sat at while waiting for the start.  The photo does not do it justice.

Sure I shivered sitting at a picnic table for 30 minutes, but to me, that's better than feeling rushed.  The sky was clear and moon was beautiful.  It was relaxing to sit and enjoy the beauty of the area before the start.  About 15 minutes before go-time, I shed the light jacket and running pants that were just barely keeping me from going into hypothermia.  I'm not usually cold, but sitting, waiting and being nervous for the race, I was chilled.  Stripped down to my thin t-shirt and shorts...I was downright cold.  I checked my bag and headed to the starting area.  Of course, I had to make one more nature call, but, being a guy...that was easy with all the trees around.

I lined up at the start..about midway through the pack.  Somehow a buddy of mine, Adam, found me there so we got the chance to talk a little before the starting siren.  The nerves were not as bad as I thought they would be and I was ready to get rolling.  I didn't have to wait long and we were off.

Just before the start!

The first two miles were dominated by two themes...crowd control and cold.  I was slowly warming up, but my hands and feet were quite chilled.  I knew it was temporary though as we could already see the sun hitting some of the peaks.  Crowd control was a little more difficult.  Starting in about the middle of the pack was fine for me, but obviously, a lot of people who planned on going much slower than I did, decided they needed to be out of the blocks first.  This made it very challenging to run my planned pace for the first couple of miles, when things finally thinned out a little.  I was a little frustrated at times, but decided to let it go...no sense wasting energy on something I couldn't fix, right?

I was doing a great job of holding my planned pace, thanks to my Garmin, and felt great.  My average heart rate was about 147 and I felt strong.  I even had to hold back at times as I just wanted to go faster.  I lost about 30 seconds about 8.5 miles into the race.  Unfortunately, all the pre-race hydration had caught up with me.  This hardly ever happens to me, but I decided it was best to empty the bladder rather than think about it for 18 more miles.  I was quickly back on track though and even ended up catching those I was running with before the pit stop.

Up until about mile 18, I was feeling great and thought I would achieve my lofty 3:45 goal time.  And this is after the course levels off somewhat (still net downhill, but much less so) and even climbs a little towards Ted's Place.  I pushed through miles 17 and 18 to maintain pace and was successful for the most part.  Then came the one hill that amounts to much of anything on this course.  Any other time running this hill, one would hardly pay any attention.  Sure it's a climb, but nothing that would cause lasting damage.  But, when the top is at mile 19 and you've hammered through the previous 18.75 miles...this one is brutal.  I ran about half the hill, but ended up in a walk the second half.  This was the beginning of the end.  That walk really tightened up my legs and the quads were screaming for me to stop.  I walked through the aid station at the top of the hill and then started running again.  Luckily, the course starts downhill right after the climb, so I was back to 9 minute miles quickly.


I was pushing hard though at this point to maintain 9 minute miles, which would've kept me at a sub 4 hour finish.  The legs were still screaming though and I was suffering.  I chose at that point to walk the aid stations.  I didn't have the energy it seemed to drink and run at the same time.  I did this consistently until about mile 23.  After that, I had to do the walk of shame several times.  I hated to do it, but just didn't have it in the legs to continue on running.  Doing so however, I quickly realized I would go over my 4 hour plan...but I was okay with that.  I was doing much better than the 2009 run and I was happy with my performance at that point.

Really suffering now...mile 23. 

In the end, I crossed the finish line running as fast as I could the last 0.2 mile to the finish from the last corner.  Of course, running at that point meant 10 minute per mile pace.  That was all I could muster out of those tired legs.  I crossed the finish line at 4:06:36 according to my Garmin 305 and 4:09 according to my timing chip.  I can only account for about 30 seconds difference between these two times for my pit stop, so I'm choosing to follow Garmin time.

Struggled across, but made it...happily!

I did miss two of the goals I had, but I'm very happy with my results.  I have no room to complain about shaving 50 minutes off of last year's time!  That's an average of almost 2 minutes per mile faster than one year ago!  I'll take it.

Overall, this year's marathon was a great experience and much more rewarding that last year's.  Teresa and Seth continue to support my lack of any common sense to sign up for such a ridiculous activity as this and they were cheering me on at every opportunity during the race.  That by itself is VERY rewarding...I can't explain how good it feels to see you're family cheering you on in such a taxing event.  Without their support (notice I didn't say understanding) I couldn't have finished this race.  I owe another big thanks to all my dailymile friends.  It's such a motivating community of athletes and I'm glad to be a part of it.  Also, a big thanks to Dr. Lloyd at 5280 Chiropractic in Denver.   Without him fixing my IT band issues several weeks ago, I would've been sitting this one out.

More good stuff!  I feel much better today than I did after last year's race.  Oh, I'm sore, don't get me wrong.  Walking down the stairs at this point resembles something like a 100 year old man walking barefoot on broken glass.  I must move very carefully.  My quads are shot and half useless for putting all my weight on one leg at a time.  But, other than that I'm just "normal sore" if that means anything.  My calves feel great which is the exact opposite of last year.  On top of it all, much to Teresa's dismay, I'm already considering signing up for next year's race.  I know, the insanity continues. It's absolutely a ridiculous and crazy event, the marathon, and I can't imagine why anyone would want to train like a mad person for months only to torture themselves on race day just to get a medal at the end.  There isn't any money in it, especially at my pace and age.  I don't get any national recognition or my name on a billboard somewhere...no fame to gain.  My photo won't be on a Wheaties box.  And a week from now, most people I know won't even remember that I did this, unless I'm still hobbling of course, then maybe two weeks.  Maybe I don't need to know why...it's just something I enjoy doing right now and it's a personal thing.  Nothing to hide...just something that makes me feel good...isn't that enough?

Thanks for reading.

- Brian

One Week To Go

Well, the time is quickly approaching.  I've been training hard for the last 4 months and it all comes to a close in a week.  Sure I have other races; and truth be told, I'm very much looking forward to those events.  But this is the biggy, the big kahuna, the mother of all running races (for me...I'm not an ultra runner...yet), the marathon.  I've put in over 400 miles, not including bike miles, since December and I think I'm ready.  I'm now into my last week of my taper with much less mileage but pretty intensive workouts.  I have one more sort of long run (relative) Sunday but that's only 8 miles with 6 of those at 10k pace.  Then, next week is the serious taper with very little mileage...until Sunday of course.

I've also changed my workouts this last week and at least through the summer.  How?  Well, I hired a coach.  I know...sounds ridiculous, crazy, insane.  Why would a 37 year old non-competitive, for-fun athlete hire a coach?  Well, I feel like I want to improve beyond what I believe I can do "coaching" myself.  I ran track in junior high and one year in high school, but I never really had a "great" coach.  They were decent, and I certainly commend their dedication to the athletes, but everything always seemed to be geared more towards the sprinters.  The distance geeks essentially just ran for miles...very few speed workouts or variety.  Now, I'm not saying that with the right coach I would've been a track star back then, but I may have been more competitive.  Anyway, reading books on training now, I realize that I really have no clue what I'm doing out there if I'm training myself.  I know having an expert to guide me along the way will help me to improve and enjoy my successes.  So, I hired Coach Jeff Kline from PRS Fit out of Loveland...ironically the town where I grew up.

I've seen many of Coach Jeff's successes through his other athletes on Twitter and dailymile and he's been very successful.  I contacted him too late to do much for the marathon, though he is helping me with my taper.  I know he will be a great benefit when it comes to the two triathlons, Bolder Boulder and Warrior Dash later this year though...especially the tris.

Anyway, back to the marathon.  I have a plan for the run and I feel confident I can get it done this year.  My goal since I signed up has been to break 4 hours.  The hard part is the last 6 miles.  It's relatively easy to make it the first 16 to 20 miles at that goal pace...especially downhill.  But that last 6 to 10 can be brutal.  Very brutal.  So, a 4 hour marathon is a pace of 9:09 per mile.  I think I'll plan on shaving about 10 minutes off of that and shoot for consistent 8:45 minute miles.  I know I will miss that pace on mile 19.  There is a decent hill that ends at the 19th mile and after 18 miles of downhill...the quads are burning and that hill feels like climbing Everest.  Luckily, after cresting that hill, it's back down to the river and into town.  So that's my goal.  I'm going to drink plenty of fluids, down plenty of gels and pinole and push like I've never pushed before.  In the end, if I finish, I will be a very happy camper.  If I finish under 4 hours, I will be a very ecstatic camper.

In the meantime, the plan for the next week will be to maintain fitness with some short, intensity workouts.  Nothing too drastic in the plans...just burn off the lactic acid and rest up the feet, knees and hips.  I also need to be VERY conscious of my diet this week.  I've been pretty good the last few months and Teresa has been coming up with some very healthy recipes.  The problem is that my calorie burn this last week will be significantly less than the previous 16 weeks.  The last thing I want to do is go into the marathon after gaining some weight back.  Portion control will be key.  Other than that, I plan to increase the carbs a little and stay very hydrated.  Finally...SLEEP!  I'm hoping to get a ton of great REM this week, especially Thursday and Friday night.  It's not even worth hoping for a good nights sleep on Saturday.  And, before I know it...I'll be crossing that finish line and hanging another medal around my neck.

My next post will likely be a post marathon report and I hope to bring lots of good news.  Thanks for reading.

- Brian

It's All Downhill From Here!

I see it's been quite some time since I've posted a new blog and figured I was due.  It's not that I haven't wanted to update everyone, it's just been so busy that I haven't had much of a chance.  Since I woke up this morning at 5:30 and couldn't sleep, I figured today was as good as any.

For the last several weeks, I've been continuing my marathon training but there have been some hiccups.  Just over a month ago, I started to feel my IT band after long runs.  For those that might not know, the IT band runs from your hip, along the side of your leg down to just below your knee.  I believe its purpose is to keep the leg aligned properly when you walk/run.  And, when that bad boy starts to hurt...it REALLY hurts.  This same problem ruined my first marathon in 1998 when it flared up at mile 10.  I finished, but it was brutal.  Feeling that same pain come back this year was quite frustrating.  I struggled through many runs, stretched and did everything I could to ease the pain, but nothing worked except resting...difficult to do while training for 26.2.  There were even two runs where I had to stop after 3 miles and walk home.  Not good!

Teresa had been visiting a chiropractor for some pains she had and I figured it was worth a shot for me.  On my days I head downtown for work, I saw a new chiropractor office was opening up so I checked them out online.  It turns out, Dr. John Lloyd at 5280 Chiropractic would save my marathon chances.  After researching his office, I was pleased to discover that he has participated in 10 Ironmans, Ultra Marathons and other endurance sports.  Who better to know the injury I was experiencing?  So, I made an appointment to see what he had to say.  After a thorough examination and x-rays, he said my IT band issues were quite clear...my hips were displaced.  My right leg was effectively 15 mm shorter than my left, which would cause the pain in my left IT band.  Amazingly, after one treatment, I was running pain free again!  I couldn't believe the difference.  The sound of the footfalls was equal again, legs felt strong and I was ready to go.

With Dr. Lloyd's advice, I've limited some of my long runs to make sure I stay healthy...better to have a few good 16 milers than one painful 20 miler.  I went down that path, but was feeling so good, I cranked out my 20 miler yesterday.  And, no IT band pain!!!  What a relief.  I'm continuing  my chiropractor treatments through the marathon, to make sure I stay on track.  It's amazing how much better I feel.

So, now that my 20 mile run is done, it's all down hill.  I've ran my peak distance and will start my taper for the marathon in 3 weeks.  My long run yesterday went pretty well too and I think I'm on track to go sub-4 hours.  This was backed up by my Yasso 800 predictive workout last Wednesday which put me at a 3:53 time.  My struggle now is the planning.  Given that the Colorado Marathon has over 1300 feet of elevation loss, most of which occurs in the first 18 miles, I'm trying to figure out my pace to go sub-4.  While going downhill seems easier, doing so for such distances can really burn your legs, making the few small hills in this run seem like Everest.  I know...that's how I felt last year for the last several miles.

To run a constant pace and go sub-4, I would need to hold a 9:09 per mile pace.  Relatively easy for the first 16 miles, but more difficult for the last 10.  So I'm thinking of building a buffer, running 8:30 for the first 16 miles, which gives me a nice 8 minute buffer for the last 10 miles. I'm sure I'll be tweaking this plan in the next 3 weeks, but that's where I'm headed now.

On another note, I've officially signed up for more races this year.  I've registered for two sprint distance triathlons; My Way or the Tri Way and the Fall Frenzy.  I'm very excited to venture into the sport of triathlons.  I am planning on signing up soon for the Bolder Boulder, where I hope to PR...love this race.  Finally, I signed up for the Warrior Dash in August.  This is a new one to me, but I'm very excited about it.  The race, which is held at Copper Mountain, includes a nice climb, followed by essentially an obstacle course.  I will have to leap rusted cars, climb hay bails, tackle cargo nets and much more.  Best of all...I get to leap through fire!  Okay, maybe best of all is the cool warrior hat I get at the finish...and the beer.  I will be running this race with several people I work with which will make it that much more interesting.

Between all of that and the family camping and other activities we have planned, my summer has quickly filled up.  If I find more local triathlons that fit in the schedule, I'll most likely sign up for them too.  A great summer awaits!

Thanks for reading.

- Brian

Natural Energy

Wow, I haven't written a blog in a while.  Good thing I never made any promises on how often I'd update this.  Regardless, I've been thinking and experimenting quite a bit lately with different sources of energy pre-run, during the run and post-run.  For the most part, I don't worry as much about this for runs shorter than 6 miles.  I still try to eat the right things, but I'm a little less rigid on those days (not that there are many of those in my plan right now).

As I stated in my first blog, I read and thoroughly enjoyed "Born to Run" and have changed my running style, in part, because of that book.  One of the topics I've taken an interest in specifically, is fueling myself for my longer runs...and in two months, the marathon  One of the sources discussed in the book is chia seeds...(pause for effect)...yes, I said chia.  The same chia that is used in the well-known Chia Pets.  I know it sounds odd and yes, I've heard many jokes relating to my receding hairline and nearly bald head as to my secret reason for eating chia seeds.  To clear the air, that is not why I'm experimenting with chia.  After doing some research, it seems that these tiny little seeds are a super food.  High in omega fatty acids antioxidants.  They are strange little guys.  When you leave them in water for a few minutes, they actually gel up the water.  It's surmised, or so I've read, that this may actually help as a long-lasting energy source by slowing the digestion.  Finally, about a month ago, curiosity got the best of me and while at whole foods one day, I picked up a small (but expensive) bag from Whole Foods.  I've started to incorporate the seeds into my pre-run routine.  For the Sunday long runs, I add about a tablespoon in my oatmeal about 2 hours before run time.  For all runs about 6 miles or longer (including the Sunday long run) I also add about 1.5 tablespoons to an 8 oz. glass of water with a little agave and lemon or lime juice for flavor.  I typically let it set for about 5 or 10 minutes before I drink it to let it set up.  I have to say, and this is completely subjective, that I really think they help.  I know it sounds crazy, and if you saw them I'm sure you'd have doubts, but I feel more energetic after taking the seeds.  So much so, that I even purchased a 2 pound bag of the seeds online (much cheaper too)...that's a lot of seeds!

There's another secret energy source in the book...pinole.  Pinole is a mixture of ground corn and other spices which can be ground pretty coarse or very fine.  Pinole is very difficult to find locally but there are a few places online where it is available.  It can be ingested several ways...mixed with water for a drink, mixed with less water for a paste or baked in the oven for portability.  I bought some online and have tried it on two long runs, one 10 mile hilly run and one 13 mile treadmill (yes, treadmill) run.  I think I mixed my drink a little weak on the 10 mile run, but I could feel some lasting energy from the mixture.  However, the next week I essentially doubled the amount of pinole in the water and had amazing results.  I was stuck on the treadmill due to weather (didn't feel like running 13 miles in 4 inches of fresh snow) and it was hard to get motivated to spend 2 hours in the basement staring at a 13" tv screen.  I won't lie...it was painful mentally.  But, the good news was that I drank an entire water bottle full of the pinole mixture throughout the run and felt great the whole run.  Not only that, but I felt so good with 1.5 miles left in the run, that I cranked up the pace by nearly 30 seconds per mile.  I even finished the run with energy left.  The only other source of energy taken in during the run was Hammer Nutrition's Heed energy drink, which I used all last year as well.  There is most definitely a difference with the pinole.  A couple things to keep in mind though...drinking it like I have will leave a chalky feeling in your mouth.  If that's going to bother you..don't try it mixed with water.  Second, it's mostly corn.  Without going into details, we all know corn is slow to digest, although quicker when ground. Do not use pinole after you start to feel the energy drain...it will be too late.  I started drinking it after 2 miles and alternated with Heed about every 2 miles after that.  A much better test will be this weekend's 16 miler!  Now if I can just find enough ways to carry all this liquid on my run.

Okay, now that I wrote all this, I realize it's kind of a dry and boring post.  I apologize if you've woken with your head in a pile of drool on your keyboard...truly sorry.

Thanks for reading.

- Brian

Is It Just Me?

I have this problem...okay, I'll be realistic.  I have only one problem which I've chosen to write about today.  Sweat!  Not too big of a problem from the onset, right?  After all, I'm running quite a bit, cycling some on the rollers and have even started lifting some weights.  The point is; I'm supposed to sweat.  True.  My problem is, I'm thinking I may sweat too much!

I think I've had this problem my whole life, but it really became more apparent during my first spin classes many years ago.  Now I know nearly everyone leaves a puddle during spin class; however, I left a puddle large enough that I had to shed the hand towel sized clean up device for a full size bath towel.  And that was when I parked the bike in front of the fan!  Even a friend I took to a class once, who incidentally thought I was exaggerating about the volume of sweat my body could produce, marveled at what he saw.  He still talks about that today...and this happened more than 10 years ago.

Jump to the present.  Last Sunday, I went out on my long run in the morning since we had plans in the afternoon.  When I left the house, it was about 18 degrees (F).  Knowing how my body operates, I dressed fairly thin given the conditions.  The plan is to start cold and warm up to a nice temperature for the remainder of the run.  Well, I was cold for about the first 1/4 mile.  By the  1/2 mile point - two drops of sweat ran down my forehead.  After completing my first mile, I was full on dripping sweat, wiping my forehead with my gloves, trying to keep my glasses clear enough to see where I was heading.

So, the run was to total 9 miles.  I ran on a path near home that took me 4.5 miles south and turned around for the 4.5 back home to the north.  Herein lies the issue.  I don't mind sweating so much in the summer.  I've come to terms that I was genetically predetermined to have this problem.  It's the sweating in the winter I don't enjoy.  As I reached my turnaround point, I quickly discovered that there was a stiff breeze coming out of the north, right into my face.  You don't have to be a meteorologist (although, I am) to know that a northerly wind in the Front Range of Colorado in winter means cold (or at least cooler) temperatures.  Anyway, as the breeze slammed me in my sweat-soaked shirt, pants, gloves, hat...everything, I thought I would freeze.  In fact, as Teresa can vouch for me, I had small ice crystals that had formed on my shoulders during my return home.  Of course, now my back was warming up quite nicely being protected from the wind by the front side.

I have yet to figure out a solution to this dilemma.  I have a warmer jacket which does provide more wind protection.  If I run in that garment I'd have to unzip it all the way to allow any airflow at all which significantly reduces the wind protection factor.  Leaving it zipped up would likely lead to 10 lb loss of water weight during a long run and dehydration.  I surmise, that maybe there is no solution, except to wait for warmer weather...of course famed weather forecaster Punxsutawny Phil has ruined that for me.  Stupid rodent meteorologist.

Thanks for reading.

- Brian

Baby Feet

So I, as probably most of the runners around have, read the book Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall.  This may not be a big deal for most, but I am not a reader...never have been and maybe never will be.  But a friend of mine recommended this book to me so I put it on my Christmas list and was fortunate enough to open it Christmas day.  Not being much of a reader, I'm not going to even attempt to provide you a review of the book, short of saying that I thought it was great.  I have no clue if there are any other books out there that just make you want to go run (again, not a reader) but this one certainly did that for me.  I liked it so much, I'm thinking of starting it again...and I just finished it last night.  Did I mention I'm not a reader?

Okay, that being said, the book also had me thinking quite a bit about barefoot running.  Prior to reading Born to Run, I simply thought barefoot runners were a few cans short, if you know what I mean.  I've since changed my mind somewhat and wonder about the real benefits.  Unfortunately, these thoughts are purely selfish in nature as I've read articles and research papers and believe the benefits for many are real.  That's great, but will it help me. As I stated in my last post, I'm extremely happy with my Newton Gravitys and All-Weather Newtons.  I've never felt better running...but could I feel even better without shoes?

Last Saturday, my marathon plan called for an easy 4 miles.  It was pretty windy outside and I had to run in the morning so I chose the treadmill.  In my infinite wisdom, I figured I could run 3 miles with shoes and the last mile barefoot.  Great idea right?  Partially!  Once I took the shoes off, the running actually felt pretty good.  In fact, I didn't even feel like I had to alter my form all that much (I've really been concentrating on not heel striking the last 5 months).  I was actually starting to crank up the pace quite a bit since it felt...well, right.  Unfortunately, I severely underestimated the toughness of the skin on the bottom of my feet, which apparently have the durability of a 2 month old baby.  Oh, that's not to say I didn't run the entire mile barefoot...I'm not a quitter!  In hindsight; however, I should have been a quitter that day.  The instant I finished my mile it felt like I was walking on a slightly cooled pizza oven.

This was a confusing moment for me - I felt great from the barefoot run, but felt horrible from the barefoot run.  I went upstairs to cool off a little (feet included) and proceeded to lance the several blisters that had grown quite large in such a short time.  The wife did not find this amusing, but I was relieved to get rid of that pressure.  Needless to say, I walked very gingerly for the next few days.

We were heading up to Loveland to visit my mom that afternoon and of course, I wore shoes.  Learning from my morning mistake, I asked Teresa to see if any stores in Loveland or Fort Collins carried Vibram Five Fingers.  I had already done a little research on these and thought I should at least check them out.  We found a store that carried them and checked them out...in fact, I ended up purchasing a pair.

After getting over the fact that when I wear them, I look like a gorilla that just escaped from the zoo, I really began to enjoy wearing them.  Number one...they breath quite well, which for me is a must.  Also, the look was kind of growing on me.  So, I decided to perform the same test on my Sunday long run and try the last 1 of 7 miles in the 5 fingers.  Again, this was on the treadmill as I really didn't feel like bucking 35 mph winds outside.

The resutls:  Great!  I really did feel quite comfortable in the "shoes" and didn't have any pain other than the blisters and a little bit of a sore arch, which is to be expected.  Where to now?  Well, my mileage for the May 9th marathon is increasing pretty rapidly and I want to take the almost barefoot running transition very slowly. I will probably continue to throw them on in the last portions of some easy runs until I'm sure I won't cause an injury to throw off my training.  I imagine this may be a continuing topic in the coming months.

Thanks for reading.

- BT