Enduradventures

2011: The Year of the 40

2011-01-20T10:56:00.002-05:00

I'm not the the big bottles of beer people drink in the ghetto, but the year I turn 40. Most people either hide the fact they are 40, or dread it. Me, I'm excited about it. At 40, I still feel like I am 17 years physically. With certainty, I am in better shape and healthier than I was in my 20's. Not many 40 years olds can play and work at the pace I do. They don't have the opportunities I do. It is sad how many folks have let themselved deteriorate to where they are haggard and tired at only the halfway point in their lives.

Being healthy and happy at 40 is a big deal to me. My father and several uncles died of perfectly avoidable health issues way before their time, leaving many loved ones greaving. My son will only be 3 years old when I turn 40. I want him to have some time with his old man, an opportunity I was not afforded. Most importantly, I have seen too many people work hard their whole lives, run themselves into the ground with terrible eating, drinking and sleeping habits, compounded by the stress caused by chasing the "American Dream", where in the end they never get to enjoy their lives. It is sad, sad, sad! In the last 10 years of my life, I have attempted to change the paradigm for myself.

On my birthday, March 12, 2o11, I will reveal the 40 Adventures at 40. This will be 40 things adventures risked, skills acquired, fun had, habits altered and goals accomplished between March 12, 2011 and March 12, 2012. It will be on this blog, posted on Facebook and shared with anyone else who cares. I hope it will push me to sharpen myself, keep me strong, build relationships, teach me a few lessons, and prepare myself for a happy second half of life. If successful, I hope it will serve as an example many people approaching (or has already approached) this point in their life.

Plus, it will make me update this blog every once in a while!

Going Long Offroad, Sort-Of

2010-10-11T23:09:00.004-05:00

The next few months will encompass the most challenging atheltic achievments of my life. If I pull it off, it will really take my running to the next level. When I started running again, I never though it would really get to this point. November 6th will be my second Shut-In Race, followed by the Tsali 50k in early January, which is a training run for the 4o mile Mt. Mitchell Challenge at the end of Feburary.

In the next few weeks, I will make the journey to Hard Times Road, to climb the Shut-In Trail. Last year was my first year running this trail classic. I was happy with a 17th place finish (out of 200 runners). My training was focused and consistent. This year, my training has been on and off. Summer was good, then the early fall got messed up with my work schedule. It got back on track when in preparation for the Blue Ridge Relay, where I ran with the 5-time Championship team, Norms Maggots.

After the relay, work got crazier and we moved, which put things behind again. Last week was my first textbook training week in a long time. It had intervals, tempo runs on the trail, heavy use of the Garmin and even two a days. Sunday approached and the long run with a couple of the Maggots was supposed to finish off a perfect training week.

About on hour-fifty minutes into the run, my ankle took a turn on a rock and the wheels came off a great week. I hobbled and shook it off, but as I went up Shut-In trail, approaching Bent Creek Road, something was not right. Frankie, Chris and Mark waited up for me, as I had falled behind. After drinking some water and assessing the damage, I was out. The went back the way we came and I limped down Bent Creek Road, hitching a ride to the next vehicle that would come that way.

My ankle is still somewhat sore when I step on the wrong rock or stick. On flat surface it is fine. Tuesday,I am going to attempt to run on asphalt and see where it's at. If all is well, I will continue my training, but stay on the pavement until Shut-In.

Shut-In Trail Run - Race Report

2009-11-25T19:47:00.005-05:00

For anyone who even happens upon this blog, and even knows who the hell I am, you will be glad to know that I actually did what us self professed endurance athletes are supposed to do...RACE!

On November 7, 2009, I completed the Shut In Ridge Trail Run. This is not really a race, but a running adventure to be survived. The finish line is over 3000 feet higher than the starting line. There is about 5000 feet of climbing and 2000 feet of very technical and tricky downhill. It starts at the North Carolina Arboredum in Asheville, NC.

I trained for this race, as I would a marathon, with 5-6 runs a week, which included a track workout, or hill repeats on Tuesdays; Easy Days on Wednesdays and Fridays; Thurdays are for tempo runs and Sunday is a long run on the Shut in Trail and surrounding trails that are near the Arboredum and Bent Creek. Getting workouts sent to me and getting coaching by Norm Blair, the race director and owner of Jus Running prepared me, along with training with past top-10 finishers. I am really thankful for the help of the "Maggots"in preparing me for this challenge.

The beginning of the course begins innocently enough through the gentle, rolling, well landscaped roads of the Arboredum. This leads people to take off fast, like they would their local 10k. As we got deeper into the property, we hit an ironically named road called Hard Times Road. That is where the uphill begins. In my flatlander days, this would be considered difficult. Now it is a warmup. From Hard Times we hit the first single track, which is where the race really begins.

The Shut In Trail is the singletrack trail George Vanderbilt took his friends up to his hunting lodge at the top of Mt. Pisgah, from his castle fiefdom, better known as the Biltmore Estate. It is also part of the Mountains to Sea Trail that connects the mountains all the way to the coast of North Carolina. It also zig zags across the Blue Ridge Parkway, a fantastic recreational motorway, which gently snakes through the National Parks and Forests that go from Virgina to North Carolna.

Hard Times road does not seem so hard, when you get the first taste of the Shut In trail. Immediately, we were on an uphill grade that people were walking. Wise trail runners walk these sections, because it is impossible to gain any speed by trying to run. The advantage versus energy wasted give the walkers the advantage. I even passed people who were trying to run, while I was in a brisk hike. There are also switchbacks and many rocks, roots and even small stream crossings.

My pace was in the first three miles through the Arboredum and hard times was slow. I ran at an 8:30 pace and I was way back in the pack. This stategy was advised to me by many veterans of the race. The race gets more difficult as it goes along. Leaves, rocks, roots and other obsicles require extra energy. Fatigue can turn these things into a race ending accidents. In the dark moments of a road marathon, you can zone, put one foot in front of the other and think happy thoughts, not so with a trail race. Zone out on the Shut-In and you will be eathing dirt and pcking a rock out of your kneecap. Therefore, I ran my own race and conserved my pace.

The conditions were another factor, From when I started trail running at the Arboredum in August, the weather was mild and rarely exceeded 70 degrees, especially in the weeks leading up with the race, where it was in the 40's and 50's. On race day, it shot up into the mid-70's. Most of the leaves fell the week before, making them slippery and thick, leaving many treacherous suprises undereath. For instance the 2008 winner won again this year, but was 15 minutes slower. The heat did not bother me too much, but the leaves made me pucker my arse on the downhills.

Those runners who treated it as a race in the early stages were starting to show up on the side of the trail, stopped at relief stations, or just in a pittiful shuffle. I seemed to be stronger on the uphill sections, passing several people at a time, only to have them pass me back on the downills (good for the that this race is mostly uphill), then they would stop at relief stations, never to be seen again. I really lost count of the folks I passed along the way. It was odd, because I was crawling along quite slowly. It was like the hare versus the tortise and I was the tortise.

One of the nice things about the Shut-In race is the trails criss-crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway. Friends and family can cheer on and provide supplies for their peeps who are competing. It was uplifting to see Christa and Jensen. I would pat little dude on the head and he would try to follow me into the woods. It was also fun to get cheered on by my fellow "Maggots" who I run with on Tuesdays at Jus Running.

The race was steady and pretty uneventful until the 16 mile mark, or where the trail and Parkway crosses 151. The last 2 miles are legendary. It is straigt uphill. Guys who are winning the local 10k's at times of 31 minutes, run this last two miles in 25 to 27 minutes. There is a lot of carnage along that part of the trail. The girl who was leading the women lost 90 minutes in that section and became a middle of the packer, after dominating the first 16 miles. Those last 2 miles make or break the complexion of the race.

I smoothly ran and power hiked the first mile of that section and passed a couple of people, including the female leaders. There was a section that flattened out and there was a spectacular view. That did not last too long, before it became a straight uphill wall of rocks, roots and misery. My legs cramped up and I fell. At that point, I knew it was within the last mile no way that I was going to become another casualty. After getting back up and walking like Frankenstein, I got my legs back and finished the climb. At the end, I hooked up with another runner and let him have some Gatorade. We pushed each other the rest of the way and finished withing a couple of seconds of each other.

My time was 3 hours, 11 minutes and change. That earned me a 17th place finish, which was good enough for the coveted stained glass which is awarded to the first 20 men and first 10 women. I really could not have been any happier with the result. It was a hard race, but a lot of fun. It was nice to have my family and my running family at the top of the mountain. The only thing I will do differently next year is to take in more nutrition and start out a little faster. Shut In is now my favorite race.

Off Roadin'

2009-10-07T16:37:00.002-05:00

I have discovered a new love, that is the love of trails and running on them like a crazy caveman. There are no cars, no hard sidewalks, or other tenents of civilization that takes away that running zen. My new fears are bears, copperheads and what will happen if I sprain my ankle on a root out in middle of nowhere. My new obsession will culminate into a race called the Shut In Ridge Trail Run. It is an 18 mile race point to point trail race that ends 3000 feet higher than where it started. There will be 1500 feet of down hill and 5500 feet of uphill work. The last two miles is the kicker. I have seen 30 minute 10k runners take 24 minutes to finish that last two miles.

My long runs have been with a group of experienced trail runners, ultra racers and triathletes. They take place in the Pisgah National Forest, starting at the North Carolina Arboretum. Long runs seem a lot more fun with a group on beautiful scenery. Another plus is most of the trails are within crawling distance of the Blue Ridge Parkway, The Arboretum and other parts of civilization. Last week's run went about 17 miles and pretty much was my anticipated race pace. At the end, I was pretty much spent and sore in parts of my body that I forgot about.

I'm not ready for the shut-in race yet, but will be, by the time it arrives on November 7. If all goes well, I will continue with my training, up the long runs and jump in on a December Marathon, just to measure what kind of shape I am in.

I want to have a shout out to my friend Nick Brunson, who qualified for the Ironman 70.3 World Championship. It seems like yesterday he was a new triathlete and I was able to keep up with him at times, now he is just smokin' it! Good job Nick!

Take Me to the Smokey Mountains Way Down South

2009-03-19T09:52:00.005-05:00

In the time since I talked to you all, I have become gainfully employed and moved to the beautiful world of western North Carolina. Every run is a hill workout and I am discovering the world of trail running. Jensen is growing up and celebrated his first birthday. He is starting to run already. Christa is doing well, except for her shoulder, which is worn out from whipping my butt!

After a seven month hiatus, I am back with the Boy Scouts. My new responsibilities are with the Daniel Boone Council. I will be working with the volunteers in Haywood, Jackson and Macon Counties to start a new District. It is great to have the challenge of starting a new District and living in the heart of the Smokey Mountains.

Currently, I live at Camp Daniel Boone. It is a wilderness wonderland at the base of Cold Mountain (the Cold Mountain which the book and movie are based) and at the trail-head of the Art Loeb Trail. From there, I could pretty much hike anywhere. The lodge I live in sits next to the Little East Fork of the Pigeon River. I literally sleep ten feet from the babbling brook.

With that, I am totally focused on running. My mileage is in the 40 mile plus range and I am getting ramped up for a marathon. My plans include finishing a marathon this summer and trying to qualify for Boston in the fall. It is a no brainer that I am taking advantage of the opportunities around me by trail running. I made a treacherous ten mile run up Cold Mountain. My pace was a walking-like 13 minute pace.

This weekend will be the first race of the year. The twist is that it will be a 12k trail run at DuPont State Forest. The fifth time I have trail ran will be a race. I've met some new folks to run with. On Tuesday night, Jus Running, a running store in Asheville host a track workout. Norm, the owner has us run from the store to the UNC Asheville track where he lets us know what kind of pain we will be in that evening. There are a great group of folks there, who are known as "Norm's Maggots". Right now, I am at the tail end of the middle pack. They have some wicked fast runners show up. I try to schedule my week so I can run with them, but that is not always possible.

This area is downright hilly. You have to look around for an area flat enough for a recovery run. My first few weeks here were pain filled. Of course, it does not help to do long runs on the Blue Ridge Parkway. 3000 feet of climbing in a 12 mile trek can be downright painful. The Parkway is great this time of year, as the snowbirds from Florida and Atlanta have not arrived yet. In my hour and a forty five minute run, there were only three cars pass by me. The only disconcerting part was the bear poop (with fur in it) on the side of the road. One evening, I heard what may have been a bear in the woods, but I learned not to look in that direction when wearing a headlight.

Jensen is freaking hilarious. He is a little clown, who runs around, carries the biggest thing he can carry, laughs and smile all along the way. He also has been trying to find the smallest crevice in the house and wedge himself into it. It looks like we have a class clown on our hands!

I need to get the camera out and get some pictures of the scenery. Stay tuned!

My New Swimming Partner

2008-07-07T21:32:00.003-05:00

We took our first family vacation with Jensen. Our friends Tom and Mindy invited us to join them for their 4th of July vacation in Myrtle Beach. It was a lot of fun and provided some much needed rest. Jensen took his first dip in the swimming pool. He took to the water quite naturally and even kicked his legs. As you can see, he looks pretty content. After the picture was taken, he saw what was behind him and learned to do the backstroke! :)

My Proudest Race

2008-06-29T20:39:00.005-05:00

Last weekend's Lake Carolina Triathlon is the race that I am most proud of in my triathlon career. No, I did not win my age group, get a top 10 overall, or set a PR on the distance. In fact, I did not even race! It was the race that the Strictly Running Triathlon Training Group had been training for. IT was the celebration of 8 weeks of hard work by Steve, the coach, John, the other coach, myself and 15 soon to be triathletes.

In addition to it being the big race of this training group, it was also my first foray as a race volunteer. My volunteer duty was to head up the kayakers who watch out for the swimmers. I was teamed up with an outstanding group of lifeguards, kayakers, EMTs and other folks wanting to help. I feel we had one of the safest water legs of any triathlon out there. My ulterior motive for doing this was so I could be out there with a few of our training folks.

We all got organized out in the kayaks and before long it was time for the first wave to start. It was interesting to watch the smooth fast technique of the elite athletes and the first big age groups put on a water version of the WWE on the first corner. Of course, it was the novice groups that we were going to earn us our free t-shirts. At the first 100 yards, a lot of novice women needed us to calm them down and provide a place to rest.

We had one participant name Shannon, who provided a lot of inspiration. She had worked hard the whole time, starting out with a long way to go. Last Saturday, she hit the water with the physical preparation down. She had the strength and skills to complete the distance, but today would test her confidence and persistence. She started last and we had Tricia swim with her to coach her and cheer her on. I let the other kayaker look after the remaining swimmers and I followed Shannon on her journey.

Shannon swam remarkably smooth, stayed straight, just taking it a buoy at a time. Just a couple of weeks ago, she would spend a portion of the workout holding onto the dock, in fear of the open water. This week, she was in a full blown race, hardly even acknowledging the kayak, that she would have grabbed onto a few weeks ago. If fact, she seemed to actually be gaining on some of the swimmers in front of her.

On the last corner, she took a small break and we hear a loud bunch of cheers from the great Wednesday night folks from Strictly Running. Chants of "Shannon, Shannon, Shannon" got closer and closer. We got close to the shore and there were tears of joy, cheers and sighs of relief. The girl who almost did not sign up for the race, just conquered the thing that would keep her from being a triathlete.

I missed a lot of the other action from the other folks in the training group. By the time I got the kayaks packed, got everything and everyone back to shore, a lot of folks were out of range, getting their races finished.

The finish line is a festive place at a triathlon. The friends, families and other participants are cheering the finishers, the announcer is congratulating each finisher as the cross the line and there are lot's snacks, drinks and goodies for the finishers to refuel. The triathlon community gets together, catches up and talks about the day's race. One by one, the remainder of our folks joined the rank of triathletes.

Finally the cheers erupted and it meant one thing, Shannon was on her way to the finish line. Her family and Strictly Running family was there as well. SHE DID IT!!!. An eight week journey was finished and Shannion was now a triathlete.

After the race, I watched the award ceremony and Darrell, one of our runners placed on the 48 deep men's novice division. My friend Nick placed 1st in the 30 to 34 men's division.

Afterward, went home to get Christa and Jenses and we went to Kim's house for a post race party. We had a lot of fun eating good food, talking about the journey and we got to show off Jensen. As usual, he charmed the ladies!

There were a lot of great stories from the Strictly Running Triathlon Team, who I did not get around to mentioning in this blog. Everyone has a story that is equally as compelling as Shannon's. In the end, I will have to run quite a race, to finish the day as proud as I was today.

Sorry I have been away for a while. This has not been a exactly a lazy summer for me. A lot of going on at work and at home. So far, 2008 is becoming a transition year. My next post will reveal more of those details.

Strictly Running

2008-06-09T13:25:00.003-05:00

Well, with all the changes taking place in my life, I am going to take a break from triathlons and focus on my running. Really, running is my first passion and I can accomplish more in the little time I have by running, than trying to do all three sports.

It is hard for a race to go by and my name not be part of the results and I may do another couple of triathlons before the end of the year, but my main focus is going to be to build up my endurance for another marathon and to qualify for the Boston Marathon, which means running a marathon under 3:15.

My most important priority lies with getting my son started off right, keeping his momma happy and getting things ready for our move. Once I manage to get things right in those areas, then I will be able to have disposable time to devote to triathlon training.

The sport of triathlon is a big love of mine, but it is an enhancement to my life. I don't want to cross any lines where it is a hindrance to it.

I am so proud of the folks in the inaugural Strictly Running Triathlon Team. Every week, our new triathletes are making gains and pushing themselves to new heights. They are really enthusiastic about them sport and what they are accomplishing. It will be fun to watch them cross that line, knowing they are triathletes. Thanks to Steve, John and the whole crew for giving this opportuninty to share something that has meant a lot to me.

Lake Murray: A Fun Day

2008-05-18T13:05:00.002-05:00

Not a fast day for me, but sometimes you have to just enjoy being there. It was great seeing a lot of my friends from the Northwest YMCA, Strictly Running and it was even better to see my friend Nick have a stellar race, which led to an age group win.

As far as my race goes, it was the race I pretty much deserved. With all that is going on, I have not put in the training, so therefore, my race results can not be expected to break new ground. I hate that I have allowed myself to trail behind folks who I normally should be racing with or beating. They have put in the work, so they deserve the success they get. Overall, there were no major mistakes or catastrophies in today's race. It was a solid effort for the preparation I put into it.

The swim was the worst part. It was the choppiest water I have ever raced in. I even saw a few white caps. Steve Rudnicki, who was out on the kayak lifeguarding told me he pulled 5 people out of the water. I just swam along and tried to stay straight and stay afloat. My swim needs to improve, it really is starting to drag the rest of my race down.

I felt good on the bike. In the end, it was probably the strongest part of my race. My average speed was at 22 MPH, which for me is pretty good. Nobody that started in my wave passed me. The only people that went by me were those really strong cyclists who started in the waves behind me, like my friend Nick who ended up averaging a SMOKING 24 MPH on his new Scott Plasma. At the end, my legs got a little wobbly and I decided to start saving my legs for the run in the last mile and a half.

When I got out on the run, my legs were kind of wobbly from the bike, as to be expected. It seemed like I was in 10k Olympic distance race mode. It was not until the second half of the race where I started to run like it was a 5k race. This is my worst run leg I have had at this distance. My training has not been sub-18 minute 5k material, or even sub-19 minute material for that fact. It is time to get back out on the track and suffer a little bit.

Overall, I finished in 52nd place (out of 259 male participants) and 6th in my age group (out of 41 male participants). Here are the numbers:

Swim-750M T1 Bike-16 miles T2 Run-5k
15:12 1:17 43:11 1:07 20:49

I really enjoyed spending the day with my friends like Nick, the folks at the YMCA and Strictly Running. My favorite part of Triathlon is the many positive friendships I make. There are not too many things you can do where you can live somehwere new and already accumilate this many friends. Most of my friends had great races and it was fun to watch their hard work pay off. They better watch out, because when the fall races roll around, I will be kicking their butts! As a bonus, the post-race food was from my favorite restaurant-Moe's!

What's Harder That A Brick Workout?

2008-05-13T20:17:00.003-05:00

Ahhh, I just got a good poo in...life is good!

Wait...Where's Momma?

Watching Jensen while Christa is out shopping. That's what's harder than a Brick Workout!

When she leaves, he is fine. Once he realizes momma is gone and daddy is the one to keep him comfortable, all hell breaks loose. Daddy has to figure out how to calm Jensen down. Once daddy figures it out and Jensen is happily sleeping, daddy needs a nap too!

Langley Pond: Bad Races Happen

2008-04-26T16:26:00.003-05:00

I usually wait until I have the official results before I write race reports. Also, I usually tend to skip doing race reports of bad races. Today's race report will be different. The bike was shortened, so the time was really irrelevent. Mostly, I need to reflect on why my race was not up to my standards and renew my committment to the multisport lifestyle.

Late Swim and The Trouble Begins
As we were gathering at 8:00 to start the race, lighting and thunder stopped the start until 9:00 AM. We almost had to make it a duathlon. Luckily, we were able to start. The swim seemed to be smooth, except for a fairly crowded start. My breathing was smooth and I felt like I finally got my zig zag tendancies out of the way. Toward the last 500 meters, my right leg started to cramp up a little bid, but nothing I could not work through. At 100 meters, it hits: my right leg locks up, in pain, completely unable to move. I finished the race in a backstroke, or only using my arms. I hobbled up to transision area and hoped that all this went away.

Same Cramp Different Bike
I got back to transition to see all my stuff in a mud puddle. my helmet had rain water in it and my shoes were soaked. I got my wetsuit off, helmet on and started hammering on the bike. On lap one, I bet I passed at least 50 people. My bike felt great, my legs were at a good cadence and I was still thinking this race could still be doable. The new bike, my Blue T-14 felt great. My position felt great. On the first lap, nobody caught me. My average speed for the irst lap as 22.3 MPH, which for me is pretty stout for a hilly course. As I started the first hillclimb on lap 2, the calf on my right leg locked up again. It took away my momentum and I was riding at the single digits up the hill. Throughout the second lap, I would work out the cramp/pain in my right calf and at get some kind of speed going again. Once the cadence was where it needed to be, that calf would lock up again. After lap 2 my average speed went from 22.3 MPH to 20.9

A Blistering Run
The transition area looked like the muddy remnants of the 1969 Woodstock. My shoes and socks were completely soaked, as was my towel. I got my wet running shoes on with no socks on. My calf was just nagging me and I pretty much just resigned myself just finishing. Some of my typical competitors and my friend swimshady was 3 miles ahead of me. Suddenly, some dude passed my me. I never get passed on the run and having that guy go by me just got me motivated. I picked up the speed and ran at least within a couple of minutes within my target time. At the end, I had at least 3 blisters on each feet.

My Own Damn Fault
There are a lot of things for this race being what it is. Really, it all comes down to me not training and eating properly. In the last couple of months, my training has not been consistent. I have good weeks and others where I practically can not consider myself any kind of triathlete. My friends and family like to call me a triathlete and I like to think of myself as a triathlete as well. The thing is, to be a triathlete, you can't just show up to a race, get your ass handed to you and brag about how you toughed it out, despite a cramp here or a blister there.

Real triathletes properly train and prepare for the races they are doing, so the race is simply a reward for those 5:00 AM morning swims and lunch time runs. They learn skills and form to make it happen more efficiently and make the most out of the strength and endurance gained in training. True triathletes eat in a way to fuel their bodies. The Ferrari F1 team would not put the leftover gas from the lawnmower in their multimillion dollar race car, so why would I put junk food in my body before my race?

Simply put, my training and overall preparation for this race was a half-assed effort. My eating and hydration is what led to my cramping. Simply put: If I did what I knew I needed to do, I would have had a better race.

Despite it being a bad race, I had a good day and it was fun. Everyone out there is blessed to be doing what they are doing, now matter how their race is going. Think of all the people in cancer treatment, revering in hospitals from bad car wrecks, or even those who let themselves go to the point they have to borrow the wheelchair from wal-mart to do their shopping. They wish they could do what we do. I'm thankful for the health and even more thankful for the friends I make in this sport. Now it is time for me to do the training and have the races I know I can.

He's Home...

2008-02-17T20:51:00.000-05:00

...and we're tired. It's been a long but great weekend.

Meet My New Buddy!

2008-02-15T20:25:00.004-05:00

Meet Jenson William Lawrence. He is built like a future runner at 1'7" and 6 lbs. 4 oz. He has enough blonde hair to part on the side like a little man. His big blue eyes look everywhere at the strange new world around him.

It all started at 10:40 Thursday night and he finally came into the world at 4:00 PM Friday. It was a long, long day for Christa. She was a real trooper through it. Her mom, brother, sister-in law, nephew and father came down to see it. We love our little boy and look forward to all the happy things we will learn and do together.

Any Day Now

2008-02-14T13:15:00.002-05:00

The next phone call from Christa could be the one telling me to get to the house and take her to the hospital, the new kiddo is on the way. Last night we went to a "Baby Basics" class. That little booger is going to be much more complicated to work with than my bike, car or even our dogs. You can leave dogs at home all day and they just go over to the bowl when they are hungry. I learned it is not so easy with babies.

So far the names picked are:
Boy-Jenson
Girl-Emery

I will keep you updated!

Am I Really Fit?

2008-02-07T16:15:00.000-05:00

This article from Tom Demerly of Bikesport Michigan really got me thinking about my own fitness. http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/editorials/0000119.shtml

I can swim farther than 90% of the population could run, I can run more than most people could even ride a bike. I can bike longer than many people have the patience to drive. It's something I enjoy and have committed myself to doing to stay healthy. I have had to build up to that type of fitness gradually. People in my office, family and among my sedintary friends consider me one of the most fit people they know.

Let's say you know someone who has a hard time doing pull-ups. Push-ups are a struggle. If he had to drag a injured person out of a burning car, adrenaline would have to take over. After a long bike ride, even wrestling an 18 pound bicycle into a car is a chore. When moving heavy furniture around the house, he always needs to stop and take breaks sooner than the person carrying the other side of the couch. Would you say that person is fit? Probably not.

Well guess what. That second hypothetic person is actually me. Do runners, cylcists, triathletes and other endurance athletes allow themselves to be too specialized for the sake of crossing the finish line sooner or going farther than they ever have before?

I guess the same can be said of many athletes who specialize in limited areas. Of the powerlifters and other gym rats who live in the free weight section, a very minute few could finish a 5k. Even fewer could even swim 100 meters. Believe me, I have seen them on the next treadmill over for barely 5 minutes, before they wander back to the weights. My favorite is when they try to race. They will look at my speed and run a mile per hour faster for a short time, then leave with their tail between their legs. That is just when I am doing a 40 minute recovery pace run. Of course, my foray over to the bench press would be a total joke, so I better not get all cocky.

It reminds me of a conversation with my friend Madre Hill. He is a former football running back who led the SEC in rushing in 1995 for the Arkansas Razorbacks, held many of their rushing records, and played 4 years in the NFL. He asked me about the distances I go in my races and workouts. I told him about some of the races and some of my typical training days. He went on and on about how he could not fathom doing what I do. It's funny he says that, because I could not fathom the weight training, getting the crap knocked out of me by a 280 lb. defensive lineman or any of the other vigors which make the NFL short career. It shocked me that an athlete of that caliber would find it difficult to do what I do for fun. The only reason I started running cross country was that I was too much of a skinny weakling to play football and I wanted a letter jacket too.

Maybe I need to go to the other side of the gym (away from the cardio stuff) and at least get fit enough to pass President's Fitness Exam.

Eco Rocket

2008-01-27T22:25:00.000-05:00

I'm a car guy. I hate to admit it, but if I happened upon some money, I would be sporting a banshee of a car. The combination of design, performance and engineering makes me drool. Cars always have been a thing for me.

In this day and age, it is not politically correct to lust after, or own high performance vehicles. This is especially the case with us spandex wearing triathletes. We are supposed to ride bikes on our daily commute. When we are forced into motorized personal transportation, we need to drive a homely compact powered by kitten farts, or a Toyota Prius.
A couple of years ago, Audi was running away with Lemans victories. Domination of their sport was getting boring for the folks at Audi, so they decided to play around with it. In 2006, Audi developed and raced a Lemans with a diesel. The oil burning engine did not stop them from continuing their reign over Lemans.

Audi, the purveyor of clean Bauhaus looking TT's and tasteful designed sedans decided to take their Lemans victory to the street with a sports car on the chassis of it's Lamborgini Gillardo cousin. Everyone loved the R8 and Audi continues it's climb up the prestige car ladder.

As an experiment for the Detroit Auto Show, they decided to place a V12 diesel engine in their new R8 sports car. Supposedly, it will go 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, 186 miles per hour, while getting 26 miles per gallon and producing zero emissions. If they produce it we can go like stink and still be green. It is good to see eco friendly cars have already found a way to be truly lust worthy. Add this one to my lottery list.

I wonder if you can order a bike rack?

The Offseason

2007-11-06T16:09:00.000-05:00

Football Games, Mountain Biking, Backpacking and 5k Turkey Trots. These are a few of my favorite things. As much as I love triathlon, it is nice to have some time off from it to do some other things I enjoy. When you are training and racing, you have to sacrifice other weekend activity to get in the training miles and the full March-October racing schedule in the South.

I still swim and run, bike...well, not as much. Most of the biking is on a mountain bike, due to a bent up Cervelo and the lack of sunlight this time of year. My running volume has gone down, but intensity has gone up. My swimming will have a structured workout a couple of times a week, but otherwise, I will go and do what I want.

Most importantly, we have to get ready for the new addition to our household. Christa has a lot of creative ideas which will keep us busy.

Yesterday, I almost ended this off season by signing up for a marathon, but today I have come to my senses and passed on that idea.

For now, I kind of enjoy being a little lazy, we will see how long that lasts.

New Duct Tape Shoes

2007-10-29T21:24:00.000-05:00

There is nothing like new shoes! Not only new running shoes, but a new brand and new model than what I have been wearing. For the last 3 years, I have been wearing Mizuno (with one failed experiment in Pearl Izumi). My last two pairs of Mizunos have been ill fitting and just did not feel like part of my feet.

Today, I went back to the shoe that put me through my high school cross country years. I'm coming home to Asics. Not just any Asics, but the comfy, supportive Kayano.

Like a kid with a new toy, I took them out and did a strong seven mile run. All the foot pain I have suffered under the worn out Mizunos is a thing of the past! The only problem with them is it's silver material used in the upper looks like duct tape.

Closing the Season on a Borrowed Bike

2007-10-17T20:46:00.000-05:00

The Thursday before the Hickory Knob Triathon, I came to the realization that my new Cervelo will not arrive in time for the last race of the season. Luckily, my friend Stephanie was able to find a bike which I could borrow for the weekend. It is a pretty sweet Trek Equinox 9 which was ridded by Amy, an elite triathlete in these parts. Let's hope her speed rubs off on me!

I really wanted this to be my best race of the year. The weather is perfect and I seem to do well on hillier courses, so there is no reason I cannot do well here.

The swim started out ok and I seemed to stay with my wave. As the swim went on, I was even passing the previous waves. I seemed to get off couse, but not anything too bad. Next year, I am going to get some goggles with a heavier tint, as my current goggles are not sufficient in keeping the glare out of my eyes. At the end of the swim, I was feeling good about my swim, but getting out of the water was the real challenge. It was a big gap from the water to the top of the dock. Once I was on the dock, there was a big climb up the dock and up a hill. It may have been the biggest climb of the day.

It was a hilly bike ride with a bunch of hills and college athletes. Sometimes the collegians were more challenging thatn the hills. Nobody explained the rules of riding, passing and drafting in triathlons. Even though the bike felt great on the test runs, it still felt awkward. It is wierd to race a bike the first time I have ridden it. Throughout the bike, I just never got in the groove. Whenver I looked down at the computer, I saw speeds that even seemed slow for a training ride.

The run started smooth and stayed that way. I knew that my swim and bike put me at a disadvantage, but I still wanted to have a great end to the season. I passed a lot of people, but it was not enough, as I saw competitors way ahead of me before I got to the run turn-around. At that point, seeing some folks in my age group got me charged up to run a little faster and go after a few of them. I passed two people in my age group and a few more people. The only bad part is one of my rivals (yet a friend) passed me about 50 feet from the finish line. Despite the fact that my run was the fastest of my age group, I still did not get a podium.

This race is a reflection of the fact that I am a one trick pony in need of work on the bike and swim. It also shows that slacking off on my training during my busy time at work has had a negative effect.

After the race I ate a big ass Hardees burger. After that, I went to visit my friends from the YMCA: Amy, Dave, Stephanie, Kelly, Mark and some other folks. We watched the college football games, ate some junk food and talked about our season. We all headed over to the SCTS awards banquet where we ate a great meal, got some good swag and I even won a big box of hammer gel.

Despite the lack of satisfaction with my results, that has to be my favorite race. I can't wait to go back next year.

The Numbers:

Swim 00:32:01
T1 00:01:43
Bike 01:03:05
T2 00:01:24
Run 00:43:05

Total 02:21:17

Old School Hardassery

2007-10-10T19:26:00.000-05:00

I hold a high amount of admiration for the pioneers of any sport. Think about it. The early football players did not have the body armour they have today, they wore leather hats which were supposed to be helmets. NASCAR pioneers drove ill handling jalopies without being cocooned by the protection of roll cages, Kevlar, a Hans device, straps and Nomex. When a sport is around for a while, the athletes benefit from the trial and error of their predecessors.

Triathlon is no exception to this. Even though triathlon started in the late 1970's, Swimming 2.4 miles, Cycling 112 miles and running a 26.2 mile marathon in one big raced pushed the envelope in training, nutrition and equipment. The pioneers of the Ironman were true adventurers pushing into the unknown. Early Ironman athletes built the legend, which drives everyone who trains their butts off, decicates their spare time and disposable income to reach the dream of being an Ironman

Please take the time to read these blogs writted my Mark Montgomery, a lifeguard turned professional triathlete where he recounts his first Ironman, which took place at the first Ironman in Kona. These are truly some tales of hardassery!

Part 1
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Features/The_first_Kona_Ironman_A_retrospective_blog_Part_I__64.html

Part 2
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Features/The_first_Kona_Ironman_A_retrospective_blog_Part_II__71.html

Part 3
http://www.slowtwitch.com/Features/The_first_Kona_Ironman_A_retrospective_blog_Part_III__72.html

The Hay Is In The Barn

2007-09-16T19:26:00.000-05:00

This weekend was my last hard training weekend of for the South Carolina Half. Yesterday was a fifty mile ride and today was a 24mile ride/12 mile run combo. The later part of today was full of naps. In fact, any time I was not training this weekend, it seemed like I was napping. They call this point of training "the razor". I have pushed my body as hard as I need to at this point, now it is time to recover.

The next two weeks I will need to hold myself back from training and eating. Training ramps up the eating, but when the training ends, the appetite does not. Most of what I do will for the next couple of weeks will involve keeping loose and keeping speed.

Let the taper period begin!

Persistence

2007-09-15T12:15:00.000-05:00

Every once in a while, I get a life lesson from this triathlon stuff that I do. Something happens in a race that inspires me in real life. At last weekends International Distance Triathlon in Hartsville, SC, I had one of those moments

Last weeks race at Hartsville had all the makings of a catastrophie. I had a cold the week before, a headache the night before, my shoe fell off in the bike mount area, I went off the road into the sand, I cramped up and my shoes came undone.

Despite this chain of setbacks, I had one of my best races ever, resulting in a top 10 overall finish and second in my age group. How did it happen? I attribute two phrases to my success last weekend: 1) It does not matter; 2) Press on!

When my problems came up in the race, I worked to keep in mind that the little problems in my race were very small in a grand scheme of the 2 1/2 hour race. I likely lost a minute when my shoe fell off. What is a minute in a race that long? There are plenty of places to make it up.

Many of the type A triathletes of the world get bent out of shape about these little things, that they make it a terminal to their whole race. You can not do that in a race or in life. When you are hurting, sore or have a small or major blip to your plans, you should not make it matter, because in the grand scheme, it does not matter.

Most races, workout or life in general has it's dark moments. We are fools to think otherwise. Success is about how you press on when things get difficult. Stay focused on the goals for the race and keep doing what needs to be done. In fact, when things got difficult, I pushed harder, because I knew that there was some making up to do for the tough moments. I made up for going off the road by passing about 5 people on the next uphill.

I was so busy pushing in that race, I had no idea how I was doing. I passed several people on the run, including some competitors in my age group. As the finish line approached, I heard the announcer say "all the elite guys are in" which meant I was running close to the front. After all the problems and pushing through, I had one of my best finishes ever, thanks to good old fashioned persistence.

Festival of Flowers: Where's the Damn Flowers?

2007-07-26T15:00:00.000-05:00

I ran my second race of the year, the Festival of Flowers Olympic Distance Triathlon. It is a big race, since it is a Southeast Region qualifier for USAT Nationals.

Christa and I went down Saturday, so I could check out the course and pick up the packet. When I went into the Chamer of Commerce in Greenwood to pick up the packet (which was a different location than the race, a big pet peave of mine), I asked about the Festival of Flowers. My wife likes flowers and that is how I conned her into coming with me to packet pickup. They told me that the Festival will be another weekend. So there were no festivals or flowers for my wife to see at the Festival of Floweres Triathlon.

I got to the race on Sunday, set up my transition area and said hey to a few friends. After drinking the last of my liquids, I headed to the swim start. Lake Greenwood was a little choppy and the swim was a big C shaped affair, plus it was a non-wetsuit race. The first one of those I have raced in a while. We got in the water and the starting horn went off. While I was swimming, it felt like my timing chip was ready to fall off. It made it hard to fall into a groove. Then at one point, I got mixed up with a group of swimmers that got off course. I just felt disoriented the whole time I was out there. Overall it was a bad swim.

Transition one was fast, since there was no wetsuit to strip. I got on the bike and went. I had to hurry up, since I just had a slow, sucky swim leg.

The bike was a nice big one looper. It's hills were somewhat rolling, but I have certainly raced on worse. I could not take my eyes off the watch, as I wanted to finish the race under 2:30, without killing myself on the run. Toward the very last part of the bike leg, I got passed by the women leaders of the race. That usually happens earlier in the bike, so I was feeling pretty good. I finished the bike in a decent enough time and a heck of a lot better than my last race.

In Transition Two, I took it pretty easy, finished the liquids that were on my bike and took off. It's the first time Transition One was faster than Transition Two.

For some reason, I thought my time was good enough on the bike, that I would not have to kill myself to finish under 2:30. My run start was a little too casual and I just buzzed right along. Plus, my slow swim and so-so cycling abilities gives me a lot of people to pass, which I did. Passing so many people gets me too complacient at times. When I got to the turnaround at the 3 mile mark, I realized that I screwed around on the run and I was going to have to kick it into high gear for a decent race. After turning on the heat, I started passing many folks in my age group, including the current leader of my age group in the S.C. Triathlon Series and the guy in my age group who beat me at Langley Pond. At the end of the race, to my horror, I realized that I did not finish under my goal of 2:30. Instead, I ran it in 2:31:03. I still got 10th out of 34 guys in my age group, which qualified me for the USAT Nationals!

The drive home was long. I had to stop at a gas station and splash water on my face and I even drank caffiene. This race really took it out of me!

Here is the stats from the race, for you number geeks:

Swim
00:34:38
Transition 1
00:00:53
Bike
01:08:09
Transition 2
00:01:04
Run
00:46:21
Overall
02:31:03

10th place in my age group (35-39) out of 34 competitors
74th place overall out of 192 male comptetitors

Race Report: Caesars Creek International Triathlon

2007-07-24T18:57:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know it has been a while since I have updated my blog. It is hard to keep my boss, wife and others happy, while trying to train. Sorry!

I was really excited about this race. It is the only race I will be racing for two years in a row, which allows me to better gauge my improvement. Caesars Creek was my best race of 2006, so it would be a real victory to beat last years time.

My preparation and taper for this race was solid. In the month since I the did Festival of Flowers Triathlon, I have focused on this race. It should go pretty well. The night before, spent some time with my buddy Fern. I have to be careful not to get drunk or stay up late when I visit him the night before a race. Fortunately, we had a good visit and I managed to get to bed in time to be ready for what will be a key race for me. Dave is a great friend to have and I really appreciate him getting my pre-race fuel at LaRosas and a place to crash.

I was one of the first people at the race, even though I picked up my race packet the day before. My transition area was the way I wanted it and my warm up was solid. Most importantly, I made the much needed trips to the restrooms. They need more restrooms at these races. There is always a huge line! Mom made it down to cheer me on and she got to the shore, right about the time I was putting on my wetsuit. Ever since I was a high school cross country runner, my mom has been a big fan and supports me even as a crazy adult trying to recapture those days.

For the swim, they said it was wetsuit legal, but they must have thrown a barrel of ice in the area they took the temperature. It was warmer than the 82 degree YMCA pool I swim in regularly. Plus my tinted goggles broke, so I am wearing clear goggles in the dang sunlight. Oh well, there is always something! We took off and I stayed with the crowd and stayed on course. On lap two, I got a little off course, which messed up my split. Overall not a stellar swim, but it will not ruin my whole race either at 31:59 and it is a slight improvement over last year.

The first transition at 1:54 was a little slow, with a little hitch in my wetsuit removal and some trouble getting my bike mount down.

My bike started out blistering fast (for me) at around an average speed of around 24 miles per hour. All seemed well until we hit this nasty hill which really dropped my speed. In triathlons you are not supposed to draft, but it is hard when you are in a crowd of riders that keep passing each other back and forth. There was this one girl who seemed to draft off over everybody. I never really was able to drop her on the bike. I found out later she was the overall female winner. Another rider I sparred with was Christopher Seely, he trained at the same gym when I lived in Ohio. We greeted each other and put the hammer down. The one lap course had an out and back spur. I got aggressive on the that part. Most of the folks I had been sparring with were all lined up in front of me, drafting like a Tour de France pelaton. I saw an opportunity to to gain about eight places, so I hauled ass around them and busted it to stay ahead. A couple of them got ahead of me before we got to transition, but overall I am happy with my bike leg, which was 1:08:38, with an average speed of 21.7 miles per hour.

Transition two was a rest stop after that effort I put in at the end of the bike. Anything longer than a minute on the second transition is way too long. Having Fern and my mom cheering me on.

As I started the run, I just did not have my usual running mojo. My mindset was: "this is going to suck". It was about 90 degrees and I was soaking myself at every aid station. The two lap up and back trail and gravel road run can drain you really fast. Even though I tore past a lot of people, I still did not have the speed kick in and had one of my worse runs of the year, about 4 and a half minutes off from my personal best at 47:03.

I was disappointed with my overall time at 2:30:43. It seems that it was a tough race, where the race winner did not even break two hours. Plus, I was almost two minutes faster than last year. In the end it was a solid race, but I wish I could have squeezed out a couple more minutes.

First Race of the Season: Langley Pond

2007-04-29T11:14:00.000-05:00

Over the winter, I could not get excited enough about my training to be bothered to blog about it, especially with injuries and such. I have read some other blogs and am glad to see everyone is heading into a new season, ready for fun! Now that I am back, somewhat improved and excited about racing, I thought I would write about my race for anyone who wants to read it.

Yesterday, me, Christa and Big Tom (our greyhound) headed to Aiken, SC to race in the Langley Pond Triathlon. It is the Olympic Distance Race which is a 1500m swim, 24.? mile bike ride and a 6.2 mile run. It was nice to get back to the races and see some of my friends/competitors. In fact, I got so caught up in talking to people, I almost did not get my transition area set up in time. Going into the race, I was feeling pretty good about my post injury workouts and my new bike position and I could not wait to see if my swim coaching in the "off season" paid off. My pie in the sky goal was to finish the race under 2 hours and 30 minutes. After a warm up and a pre-race toilet session, I was off to the starting line.

Swim
The swim started out kinda rough. This year, I am trying to be somewhat competitive, which means I am mixing it up in the crowd. Sometimes it seemed like I was swimming in a washing machine, a kick here and a slap there. Plus, I was adjusting to the lack of visability and choppiness I dont get in the pool. The first lap(of two), my mind kept saying "I need another damn hobby, this sucks".

At the end of my first lap, my time was 15 minutes, which means I could beat my best time, If I do as well in the second lap, So I got focused and swam hard on lap 2. When taking a breath, someone slapped the crap out of my face. It knocked my goggles loose and made me choke on water. That just pissed me off and motivated me to swim hard enough to smoke him at the finish. I beat my swim split personal best by over 3 minutes, so I was on track for a good race.
Swim Time: 29:09

Transition 1 was organized and smooth (for me), except I had some trouble getting my wetsuit peeled off.
T2: 1:44

Bike
The start of the bike leg in this race was a real jacked up mess. You had to leave the transition area, run the bike (with bike shoes) in grass and gravel 400 yards to the bike mount area and ride. The bike course went over several railroad crossings, so there was a danger of a train ruining the race. Everytime I heard a train whistle, a cringe went up my spine. As the ride started, I realised my computer was not working! I use that to keep track of my average speed and cadence, to keep me pushing. I rode hard, but had no idea how fast I was going or anything. One of my friends was along the road with a flat, so I threw him my spare. Maybe that would send some good karma my way, because I could use it! I just kept an eye on my watch and made sure I got done riding quick enough to make a fast run worthwhile. Pretty much a crappy race on the bike, but not bad enough to take me out of the game.
Bike Time: 1:13:25

Transition 2 was slow. I ran past the row where my stuff was and one of the Yanks on my shoes were jacked up and I could not get one of them tightened. After fiddling with it for a while, I said "the hell with it" and took off with a loose shoe.
T2: 1:45

Run
One of my coaches used to say "just run your ass off". That is what I had to do to make my goal time for today. I went out there put it on the line and ran hard from the start. If I could hold on good, if not, then at least I could go home knowing I tried. My legs were a little tired from the end of the bike, but I worked that out and became a running machine after a half mile. It was an up and back course so I could see who was ahead of me. I knew I was doing ok when the elite stud dudes were still on the run course when I was!!! I was a little farther behind the elite women than I wanted to be. I must be running fast, because not one person passed me the whole run and I picked off those who passed me on the bike, one by one by one.

At the turnaround, I got a shot of enthusiasm as I checked my watch. If I do the second half of the run the way I did the first, I was going to make my 2:30 overall goal! At that point, I went into what seemed like a dead sprint. I passed more people and got to the finish line tired, sore and happy as hell! I beat my best run split by over 2 minutes.
Run Time: 42:29

Afterwards, I was flat out tired, physically exhausted, but great all at the same time. I finished with a 2hr 28 minutes and 31 second time. That time was good enough for a 2nd in my age group out of 14 other people! The only downer is I could not get my post race junk food fix, because I was really sick to my stomach, so I slept the rest of the day. Overall, I am ecstatic with my performance and will be working on my bike riding, so I can get better!

Overall Time 2:28:31
Overall Rank 26 out of 74
Age Group (35-39) Rank 2 out of 14

I'll post some pictures later!

You Might Be A Tri-Geek If:

2006-12-03T09:14:00.000-05:00

A Tri-Geek is a term used to describe when a triathlete's efforts pretty much envelope the rest of their life, to the point where it becomes an obsession. Triathlon can be such a complicated sport and some people really revel in that, those are the real tri-geeks. Here are sone sure fire signs you might be a tri-geek as compiled by various members of Slowtwitch.com. Am I guilty of anyy of these? I would not tell you if I was!

A hot girl goes by on a bike and you check the bike out first.

Your idea of a nice relaxing evening is just you, your bike and some cleaning solvents.

Your bike cost more than your car.

The guys at the gym have seen you naked more in the last six month than your wife has.

You say "on your left" when you go past people in the grocery store. ...

You no longer have underwear, only "baselayer." ...

You consider body hair a disease.

Your friend invites you for a bike ride and you bring running shoes for the "run off the bike"

You always have a bike pump, running shoes, gu, towel, swim cap & goggles in your car

You carry a picture of your bike in your wallet.

You record your heart rate during bowel movements.

you own more shoes than your wife, but each of them has a specific "purpose".

When you bring your bike on the honeymoon.

A marriage counselor has to settle your argument as to whether bikes are works of art that should be prominently displayed in the living room.

You insist the paramedics check your bike for fractures before they look at your bleeding head.

You have mastered the art of peeing while riding a bike.

You have a Ken doll chest because you shave it and your nipples have chafed off.

You do laundry at three times a week. Twice with bike/run gear and once for the rest.

My Journey Back to Fitness

2006-10-15T11:41:00.000-05:00

It was not long ago that I was what you call a "high school has been", or a former athlete. Recently, I have returned to a part of me that was so important to me in my formative years. It would probably be a good idea if I told you all a little bit about my journey back to fitness and the many self caused snags along the way. At one time I was that skinny kid who was always running. You know, that kid who left people scratching their heads saying "where does that kid get all his energy". Whenever I was done running, I would play basketball at one friends house or go for a bike ride or spend hours roughhousing in the neighbors pool. That did not last forever, I got fat and lazy like the rest of the good old USA. But, 2005 was the year that skinny kid came back!

Ever since high school Cross Country, I have wanted to run a triathlon. Back then, I ran, rode my mountain bike on logging trails near my rural home all day long and completed the mile swim at Boy Scout camp. In the late 1980's there were not a lot of opportunites for a hillbilly from the sticks to formally compete in a triathlon. I only heard of guys like Tinley and Scott, despite all the biking, swimming and running I did, I never thought of myself in that context. Too bad there were not the opportunities there are now!

After a short and pain filled attempt at running at the college level, I started mountian biking and I even completed a few races. One day when I was out on a training ride, I had a wreck that broke my nose, put 22 stitches down my shin and put a major hurting on my kneecap. My Cannondale was demolished. After that, I had a fear of riding fast on anything that did not have a seatbelt and windshield. At that point, I was injured, frustrated and college life was waiting with it's beer, girls and roadtrips.

After college, exercise and fitness was not really something that I had the ambition to do. Occasionally, when I looked down at my newly formed belly, or wanted to go out with a good looking young lady or made a New Year resolution, I would join a gym, or some other half assed effort, but overall my physical condition went to hell.

As I started to end my 20's, I became one of the people I never wanted to be. My weight went from 150 lbs. in high school to 205 lbs. There were parts of my anatomy that did not exist before, like a beer gut, double chin and love handles. What really really woke me up was the daily climb up the three stories to my apartment. It pissed me off that such a simple task became such a epic for a someone who once ran, biked and swam for miles in high school and college. One weekend a group of us were getting ready to go out for my bachelor party. As I was changing shirts, one of my friends looked at my pitiful physiche and said "Damn Bill, where are working out these days? China Buffet?". That pretty much got me into action. They say tough love is the best.

My days as a Boy Scout and Cross Country runner gave me an appreciation for the outdoors. I figured I could combine those interest and take up backpacking. It was perfect! I could do my excersise in the woods, far away from people that were in better shape than me. The scenery and other distractions would make it seem like I was not even working out! That was partially true, I started getting in better shape, but I still had a long way to go. In the summer of 2002, I went of a 85 backpacking mile trip in New Mexico. My hiking buddies told me I needed to get in better shape for this trip. A trip like this could be dangerous for someone in bad physical condition. There was no way I was going to ruin it for myself and the people on the trail with me. I went back to the gym and started swimming and I went on regular walks. My diet also improved, no more Hooters Wings and Blizzards. By the time my backpacking trip I was in good enough shape to complete a 85 mile journey and I had lost 20 pounds since the days of my Dairy Queen Workout.

After that, I was somewhat active. My weight was at 175 lbs, but my Body mass index was still at 22 percent. It 6'1" that is not bad, but I was wanting to do better. After a few years of going to the gym and riding my mountain bike and going on backpacking trips, I wanted to step it up a notch. In 2005, at 34 years old, I wanted to start running again. Hell, I had 11 years of rest, why not!

In June, I started walking this hilly 5 mile loop that I used to run in 35 minutes in high school. Eventually, I started running at various parts of that loop. On July 29, 2005, I finally ran that whole entire 5 mile loop...yes, I RAN the whole hilly thing! On top of that, it was 93 degrees and humid! After that, I felt like I could do just about anything.My inlaws decided to run their first marathon. They all decided to run the Disney Marathon on January 8, 2005. There was no way I was going to go down as the wuss son in law, so I got in on it. From then on, my exercise took on a focus that I have not had since high school. Since then, the training has progressed. Through hot days, cold days, ice storms, thunder storms, death in the family, work committments, aches, pains and flat out injuries.

2006 was a year that has been my "Breakthrough Year", which will be the subject of my next post.