Sunday, April 26, 2009

final on Marathon

4:33:37 chip time, 479 out of 1035 runners. 55 division place...still finished in the top half of some really good runners

Road to Ironman Arizona (4/20-4/26/09)- Karl

Monday Strength and Balance Workout (morning); 1:15 hour run, 7.86 miles run (afternoon)

Tuesday Houston work trip (no workout)

Wednesday 1 hour bike workout (30 second accelerations throughout)

Thursday 30 minute run, 3.06 miles run

Friday 50 minute bike workout, 90+ RPM in small chain ring

Saturday Red Poppy Ride, 64.6 miles (100K), 3:33 hours, 18.19 avg speed

Sunday 3 hour run, 15.92 miles

The first glaring omission this week is swimming. I had no swim workouts. I could make excuses, but the reality is that the life/family/work/training balance is not always balanced. Just didn’t make it to the pool for a variety of reasons. My swim has been coming along better than any of my disciplines, so I’m not beating myself up over it. I’ll just get back in the pool this week and pick up where I left off.

I’m really proud of my bike ride on Saturday. The course was rolling, so the hills were nowhere near what the LBJ Ride’s were a month ago, but the wind was again blowing at 20 mph. Considering how often I was going no faster than 10mph, I was very pleased to have achieved an 18.19 mph average over that distance. That said, and to put it into perspective, at that speed it will still take 6:09:25 hours to complete the Ironman 112 bike ride.

My run this morning was better than I had imagined. I had already planned a route that would allow me to bring it home anywhere between 1.5-3 hours depending on how my legs responded after yesterday’s ride. As you all know, there is no route around my home that doesn’t have some pretty long, sustained climbs with high grade hills. I took it easy doing as my training schedule said and kept my heart rate in Zone 1-2. So while 15.9 miles is a pretty slow-go, I was proud to finish the time goal. At this point in my training, it’s all about building the endurance for a 13-17 hour day. I feel like I’m doing that well.

All said, it was a good week. Work is really busy and we are hoping to buy a home in the next few weeks, so stress and time constraints are high. I’m just trying to stay consistent and disciplined with my training and doing the best I can. I still feel motivated to train and am still enjoying it, so that’s a good sign that I’m doing it right.

Until next week, KIA KAHA!

The winner of the marathon turned a 2:41:31 pace..... This shows how the weather affected all. not a good time for an elite runner. So this made me feel a little better about my expierence... Many were carted out in ambulances and at various medical tents. All in all.... I suppose I faired pretty well.

Dinos Weekly

Mon: 4 mile run at 7:29 pace
Wed: 4 mile run at 7:46 pace
Thu: 2 mile easy run at 9:34 pace
Sat: KY Derby full Marathon: 26.2 miles @ 10:27 pace

Where do I start? I feel like I did everything I could have possibly done to succede in my first marathon. Ate right, logged in the miles, and had a great taper. The one thing I didnt do was order the appropriate weather and didnt have any time to aclimate to such weather. I suppose I had no control over these issues. The one thing I could have done better was to be smarter about my pace setting. I felt so strong, I thought I was invincible. Nothing was going to keep me from running under 4 hours. I really was thinking more like 3:40 or less. I also wanted to see how long I could go for a 7:30 pace (big mistake). I knew this was a wrong way to think and I knew Karl was letting me learn the "hard way" and did not discourage this thinking. Deep down he knew I was going to hit the wall (and I did). So here goes my tale: ran beautifully for 14 miles. A personal best at the 13.1 mile mark (1:37 and some change) Felt good. However at the split where Mini-marathoners went left and the full marathoners went right..... I lost a lot of motivation and felt very lonely. I went from shoulder to shoulder runners to just a few here and there. Its definately the "Road less traveled". Also, the remaining runners were not just "regular joes" like myself. These runners were skilled and expierenced runners who have already tasted the "Wall".... After 14 miles I was stuck in full sunshine and hot air blowing in my face. Then came Cherokee park with more hills equal to Iraquois park......I went from qualifying at Boston on mile 14 to walking at mile 19.5..... I would walk a bit and jog a bit. Had to urinate. Pissed myself a bit before I decided to piss in some dudes front yard leaned up against a tree. Then I carried onward with a slow jog....Then the cramping began... Nothing I could do... stretch, walk, cramp. Couldnt take more than 5 steps without cramping in the calves, groin, and body....So, I really felt like a failure. How could this be? I drank so much water. I was still urinating. yet cramping like none other. I held my head low and cursed myself for being so naive. The 3:20 pace setter went flying by. then the 3:45.......Then here came the 4 hour pace setter trying to recruit anyone he passed. I tried, but began to cramp more. I walked about the last 5.5 miles.... the walk of shame......As soon as is saw the finish... began to jog again.... the cramps were gone and I managed to jog the finish line...It was ugly... got much sympothy from many spectators. much encouragement. That helped a bit.... soon as I finished, I could not go on....had to visit the medical tent briefly just to lay down a bit. Melanie took care of me after the medical tent and i began to recover ever so slowly. I was excited to finish but a little disappointed with my time. However, we bought a book at the expo by Dan R. (the guy who ran 52 marathons in 52 weeks) In this book was a stat that helps me. Only 1 in 1,000 people in the world have ran a marathon (26.2) If you do the math that is 1/10th of 1 percent.... A pretty elite group. Proud to be in that 1/10th of 1 percent. I owe much thanks to all that Have made me strive for such a goal. Thanks to all that "Bettered the I am". And now looking back on yesterday.... my body is recovering nicely (a little sore in the Achilles tendon area)....I lost 8 pounds on the run and have regained about 3 back so far. Ive been eating everything in sight. And yes men....... I shall run again soon. And yes, I want to do yet another marathon ..... maybe in december or jan when the weather is cooler..... I learned some valuable lessons during my run...... You tend to learn more from the failures........I will succede on runs to come. I will break 4 hours.... and who knows maybe even better!

Dino Bravo

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Ky Derby Mini Marathon Report- Bacon

Interesting day for my first half marathon. First my results:

CLAUDE BACON #470
OWENSBORO, KY, USA

Age: 37

Chip Time- 1:56:34
Overall Place- 1404 / 9397
Gender Place- 1067 / 4148
Division Place -193 / 605
Pace: 8:54

Now the details. It was unseasonably hot and windy, good at the start of the race, but quickly moved into the too hot range. Irquoi Park was a beast; it provided some shade but 5, or felt like 5, killer switchback and long hills added to the fun. Carried a strong pace through the entire park and passed a bunch on the hills. Plenty of goofball runners too...Elvisises, horse costumes, chicks in derby hats and more. Race was very well organized in my opinion, I'll run it again. Felt great this morning, hit the bathroom a few times before the start and was ready to run. My first mistake of the day was hanging in choral C, that means there was an A and B ahead of me and that was about 8000+ people, most of which were not aiming at what my goal was so that became a real source of frustration for the first 2 miles, I spent the vast majority of my energy and time making my way to the front....it cost me some time and additonal energy, plus mental focus...so lesson learned. But I could have easily cut multiple minutes off my time if I positioned myself to the front. The first 8 miles we good and on my training pace of 8:30...miles 9-12 fell off slightly to about a 9 minute pace, mainly due to some leg fatigue and heat. Picked it back up at mile 12 and smoothed out another 8:30 mile; then a sprint to the end. Also learned that I need to carry my own Gatorade. I just coudn't rely for their random locations....they were everyplace I did not need it. Plenty of water stations though. I picked up a girl about mile 12 and asked her if she wanted to hunt down about 50 people...we did and both increased our finish times by about 50+. Felt good to help someone else too. She was struggling and I needed some motivation, so we helped each other. Top 15% overall, top 25% of men so I feel good about my results. Can I run it faster? Yep and will choose another soon so I can know for sure. Congrats to Dino for the finish...trust me, you don't know how much I respect your finish cause I know how tough the conditions were today.



Friday, April 24, 2009

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Ironman Racing Q&A with Byrn and Friel

http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/fitcity/entries/2009/04/22/ironman_answers.html

The Agony of Victory

The first of a series of finish line photos by Timothy Carlson captures the apparent agony of extreme triathletic effort.
http://www.slowtwitch.com:80/photos/Detailed/41.html

Consistency killers

The distance between the average and the good, and the good and the great, is often measured by the adherence to routine. Consistency makes the champion; nothing bedevils the the Age Grouper more than consistency killers.
 
http://www.slowtwitch.com:80/Training/Consistency_killers_769.html

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Bacon Weekly

Mon- travel to Atlanta
Tues- return from Atlanta
Wed-Sat- sinus infection plus rib strain
Sun- 4 miles @ 8:32 pace

Interesting week....started with a travel week that turned a small bit of exaustion to a full flegded sinus infection. Then, some crazy back strain that moved to my ribs forced my training to an overall hault until today. I did, what I hope turns out to be, the smart thing and took the time to heal. That said, it was the first weekend of turkey season and I pushed the sinus infection to hit the woods with Brent Thomas. Lucky for us, some 25 minutes into our hunt, I called up 2 monster gobblers and with the old "1-2-3" we took both of them at about 10 yards....instant death...I'll post the pics later. Later that evening, Brent also saved me from a trip to the emergency room and an end to my Derby run. We were dismantiling our turkey blinds, we had set-up two, and as I turned one of them over I stood all but 1 foot or less from a nasty,coiled, water moccasin (cottonmouth). Brent grabbed my shirt and jerked me quickly out of the way. After several heart pounds, Mr. Cottonmouth was chewing on the end of a lead pipe...a 4 footer that would have made a mess of month, and probably year. He was in the blind too, fortunatly we did not hunt that blind; otherwise we would have crawled in the blind with him on a dark morning and likely been bitten. OK enough drama....running felt good today...I have a nice week of training before the race....I WILL BE READY!!!!!!!!!

Dinos Weekly

Tue: 7 mile run at 8:37
Wed: 6.7 mile run at 9:14
Thu: 5 mile run at 9:00
Fri: 15 mile bike at 18.6 mph
Sat: 10 mile run at 7:58 and all day at Louisville Bats game/Thunder Fireworks

Nice taper week. Long run only 10 miles (real cool... ran it fast) Still feel like I need to do more. Next week will even be less until my marathon on Sat. Will do some short 3-4 mile runs and eat right. Will also get the required 8 hour sleep needed. Took a couple of vacation days to get a massage and Chiropractor visit in. Will be prepared as long as I eat correctly this week. Im either going to knock the lights out of this marathon or Im going to go to fast and tank at the end. Who knows, its my first one at 26.2 miles.......

Who has the best abs (female) in the sports biz?

 
http://www.examiner.com/x-2490-Endurance-Sports-Examiner~y2009m2d24-Who-has-the-best-abs-in-the-sports-biz

Weekly Training Review- Karl (4/13-4/19/09)

Monday Travel from KY to TX

Tuesday 45 minute swim (2400 yards)

Wednesday 45 minute run, Z1-2 (4.7 miles)

Thursday 45 minute swim; drills (2300 yards)

Friday Off

Saturday 2 hour bike/1 hour run brick workout

Sunday  1 hour bike (90+ RPM in small chain ring)

After last week’s emotionally and physically draining events, I welcomed this week’s “rest” schedule. The volume was lower and my body responded well to the needed rest. It culminated in yesterday’s brick workout and I was pleased with my performance.

Due to early morning rains, I did the 2-hour bike ride on the trainer. Not sure how many miles I did, but given my heart rate zones, gearing, and RPM’s, I have calculated somewhere between 36-40 miles. My transition was about two minutes before heading out for the run. I did 6.4 miles (9:22 pace) on a hilly course and kept my heart rate in Z1-3. I finished without feeling excessive aerobic or physical fatigue. That pace allowed me to stay smooth and strong after the aerobic endurance bike session. To think that this time last year, I was training for my first Olympic distance triathlon and now I’m doing those same distances in training. The human body is an amazing machine!

Looking forward to another high volume week culminating with a 54 mile bike ride on Saturday. I’m doing the Red Poppy ride in the northwest Hill Country around Georgetown. I’ll be thinking of my fellow TTT training partners doing the Derby half and full marathons that day and will look forward to hearing their race reports when I return. Have a great race, men. I know you’ll kill it!

Until then…Kia Kaha!

Weekly Review- Karl (4/08-4/12/09)

Monday  Off

Tuesday  3100 yard swim (morning); 1 hour run (afternoon)

Wednesday 1.5 hour bike ride

Thursday Travel to KY

Friday  40 minute run with Mark through the streets of Cloverport, KY

Saturday Off

Sunday Off

This was the week we buried my grandfather. RIP, Gramp. I’ll miss you, but I know your spirit lives within me.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Bacon Weekly

Mon-off
Tues- Swim (approx 800 total meters of training; not consecutive)
Wed- 4 mile run
Thurs-2 mile hotel run (cruddy treadmill)
Fri- 3 mile run(easy pace in rain)
Sat- 4 miles race pace (supposed to do 6 race pace and 6 easy)
Sun-off

All in all a decent week, but just didn't have it together for my long run on Saturday...wind was blowing and was a bit cold, my watch was on the fritz, stayed frustrated and just didn't want to finish the entire run...this is the first time this has happened and don't expect it often,but it happens I guess. I'm over it. Picked up a wicked stich today and it's put me down...traveling to Atlanta tomorrow and hope the car trip helps versus hurts...

Dinos Weekly

Mon: 10 mile run @ 8:20 pace
Wed: 7 mile run @ 8:06 pace
Sat: Papa Johns 10 miler, Louisville, KY 1:13:21 --- a 7:21 pace. Placed 304 out of 6694. 47 out of 507 in Division.
Sun: Core, 45 min. Bike (big ring)

Good week....... tappering a bit for the 26.2 in 2 weeks. First week I didnt run over 30 miles in quite some time. Good rest with a 3 day weekend. Havent eaten particulaly well with all the good eats for Easter. Got 2 weeks to my big test. Got to maintain the taper and trust my training.

Dino

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Weekly Review- Karl (3/30-4/05/09)

Monday Strength and Balance workout

Tuesday 2400 yards swim interval workout; 45 minute, 3.89 miles interval run workout

Wednesday 1 hour high-spin interval bike workout

Thursday 30 minute run

Friday 1 hour 90+ rpm small chain ring bike workout

Saturday 3200 yard swim (600 warm up, 2000 straight, 600 cool down); 2:30 hours run, 14.17 miles

Sunday 3:15 endurance bike ride

The volume picked back up after last week’s “rest” week. Training my body to burn fat through long endurance sessions in heart rate Zone 1-3. Swimming is coming along nicely. Bike is gaining in strength, speed, and technique. Have some work to do in endurance. Legs get significantly weaker around the 3-hour mark. Run is slower than I’m used to, but I’m trusting the training and understand that training for an Ironman run is different than training for a marathon.

All in all, I’m really pleased where my training is at this point. I can sense my endurance building and I’m recovering well from all the workouts. I did have to cut today’s bike ride short due to family obligations (was supposed to go 4:30), but I did a longer ride last weekend than scheduled. I have another 60+ mile bike ride later this month and a 100 mile ride scheduled for May. Due to the importance of the bike portion to Ironman success, I plan to put my emphasis on that throughout training. As a matter of fact, the GABRAKY will be my final big volume bike weekend prior to IMAZ.

A special thank you (there will be many of these throughout the year) to Jennifer and the kids. They have to do without Dad for several hours throughout the week while he concentrates on his training. I do what training I can on the treadmill and bike trainer so that I can at least be around them, but it’s not the same as truly “being there.” They understand what an important goal this is for me and they are part of my “racing” team. I owe them and all of you thanks for helping me stay focused “on the prize.”

Have a great training week and with the rest of your lives and family.

Kia Kaha!

Dinos Weekly

Mon: 7 mile run @ 8:12 pace
Tue: 1 hour bike and core
Wed: 7 mile run @ 8:20 pace
Thur: 5 mile tempo run @ 7:20 pace
Sat: 16 mile run @ 8:16 pace

really strong this week... beginning to taper for my 26.2 on Apr. 25th. My 16 miler was awesome..... felt real strong at the end. Fast pace. Im going to concentrate on more short and fast pace runs until the Derby. Need to get my eating better...... Didn't eat so good this week, but oh, well...... rock on!

dino

Dick and Rick Hoyt to start 999th race - MassLive.com

 
http://www.masslive.com:80/sports/index.ssf/2009/04/dick_and_rick_hoyt_to_start_99.html

Bacon Weekly

Mon- off
Tues- Swim (700 meters)
Wed- 45 minute easy run
Thurs-Tempo Run (1 mile warm,6 miles 8:30, .5 cool down) Swim- cancelled (storm)
Fri-45 easy run
Sat- 13 mile long run
Sun- off

Got back in the training groove after making some decisions to completly focus on the Derby 1/2 marathon race in a few weeks. The change juiced me back up and regained my focus for the race. My watch ran out of juice during the long run so don't know anything about it other than I got thirsty a time or two cause I just didn't plan my bottle placements so well (don't have my fuel belt yet) and HATE carrying my bottle. And I took 1 honey stinger, 1 cliff bar, 1 bottle pure protein, and 1 bottle water and still felt like I needed more, so I'll add a 2nd gel for race simulation next week, plus another bottle. Swimming took a big turn for me this week as I did my first 500 meters in a row. Also realized,through help of Karl, that my first tri-swim is only 800 meters and I was thinking it was 1600. This helped me mentally a great deal cause I was struggling after the 500 and was going to find it difficult to be at 1600 by June. The revaltion gave me a huge lift going into this weeks training. If I come out of the water in decent shape, I think I can score well overall cause I feel good on the bike and even better in the run...put'em all together and I see how I feel!