Racing?????

Had another weekend off from school so at the last minute I registered for not one but two back to back criteriums in Lexington last Sunday. It seems that multiple crits is what everyone does, and since I drove up I thought I would torture myself. Fast, fast, fast was the name of the game. This event is like racing at Bristol Motor Speedway, it may as well be on an oval with a hill. My primary event the CAT 5, I hung on most of the race, but got separated from the field with three to go. I maintained a high pace and finished 32/47 with the main filed in site. The second race the Cat4/5 started just 45 minutes later. Needless to say I got absolutely hammered. To say I finished at the back is an understatement. But, I had a blast. I averaged over 20mph for consecutive 30+ minute races. I am just having fun, school is more important at this moment then racing. The racing is just an outlet. I was excited to do it. Rebecca my wife suggested that a few of us go up and do this weekends Shelbyville tri. It was a great idea, except when it turned cold we deiced to save the money/gas/entry fee and designed our own. So yesterday five of us, two women and three men designed a 13.4 mile bike (outside), 5K run (outside), and finished with a 500 meter swim in the HWC center (had to do the swim last because of the pool hours and daylight). It was a blast, the guys I train with are all fast runners so we just got after it. If I had any chance of creating a little gap I had to blister the bike. Finished - Bike43:12. T1:59:14. Run:31:16. T2:4:39. Swim: 11:45. Total: 1:31 We all had the best time, it was so much fun. Props to my wife for setting it all up and competing. Another great week ahead! L3-Live, Learn, and Lead Schmidty

Bacon Weekly

Mon- 5 miles Tues- 4 miles Wed- 1500 Meter FS Swim Thurs- 45 minute trainer Fri- off Sat-4 miles Sun- 1 hour trainer (while watching UK whip that NC butt) Great 6 day training week as Im preapring for ramp up for Spring events....had some early warmth this week and knew the cold was coming so chose to run early in the week and do some inside stuff later in the week...has been back in the 30's-40's raining, sleeting, and spitting snow for the last 4 days.... travel this week to include a running event for a Marriott conference in Indianapolis...more to come on that.... Got my new running shoes this week and got 1 run in them on Sat...wow, big difference...as soon as you think.."man, it may be time for new shoes"...it is! For me that was 2 months ago! I added the Adidas Adistar Ride 3 for this year....neutral and designed for heavier runners...

Panhandle Week

Monday Rest Day

Tuesday Travel to Lubbock; visited Texas Tech campus; saw the Texas winds make the sky “red” with sand and dirt

Wednesday 35 min treadmill run (included 16x30” intervals at VO2Max) at Amarillo hotel; flew back and attended school event until 9pm

Thursday Day off

Friday 40 min. Fartlek Run (6x30” at VO2Max)

Saturday 2 hour bike ride on the trainer; used my Ironman Wisconsin training ride video and listened to TedTalks. Jenn and I took the kids to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2. Good movie. The kids read the books and then we take them to see the movies.

Sunday 1:05 hours long run; Going for a 2100 m swim in a few minutes while my family does the grocery shopping. 

Took a couple of days off this week due to work. It allowed me to concentrate on my running and I could really tell the difference on today’s long run. It took me the first 30 minutes to warm up after yesterday’s long ride but the last 35 minutes were strong. I negative split my run by nearly 3 minutes…and I was running against the wind much of the way back.

I made a promise to myself before the training year began to keep things flexible and basic. If I feel abnormally tired or I’ve had a long day/night of work (as I did Wednesday this week, then I’ll choose a rest day rather than training on the following day. On the “basic” side, I don’t wear a foot pod or heart rate monitor and I don’t use a cadence or mileage reader on the bike. I do everything based on feel. The result so far is that I’ve taken off at least a full minute off my best 5k and have increased my bike strength exponentially (this has been a result of doing much more big gear work than in the past.).

I have had a little back pain after my long rides and runs, so I know I need to get back to some core training. I plan to add that back in this coming week. 

In closing, I want to give my congrats to Dino and his bride and Claude and his bride on their runs this week. It’s motivating to know my TTT mates are toeing the line in beginning their 2011 training and race year. I’m also excited to hear from Jeremy and Ashley this week confirming their upcoming visit to Austin in April. Will be fun to spend a few days with my brothers.

You guys inspire me! Thank you!

Kia Kaha!

Papa Johns 10 Miler, Louisville, KY

One of my favorite races is the PJ 10 miler. Love to finish on the 50 yard line while projected on the jumbo tron of the stadium.... Free Pizza is a nice perk as well. This race is also the one that I ran very fast a couple of years ago, then hurried to New Bethel to pay my final respects to one Orville Miller. In the past few years I have adapted some mystical beliefs combined with my christian background and am a firm believer that there are spirit guides and powers of the universe that we dont understand... there are powers that look over us in trying times, dangerous times, and when we face the many adversities of life. I feel Orville's presence a couple times each year... and one is always around this race... its strong, warm, and very pleasant... he is happy with his life on earth and even more with the afterlife... and very pleased with his accoplishments as well as the family he left behind... Its very odd that this year as I stood at the table to pick up my packet in the Brown and Williamson club at Papa Johns stadium.... my cell phone rang as the lady handed me my bib number... Yes, it was one Karl Miller, Orvilles grandson... Amazing, it was like Orville himself wishing me luck... here is your sign. so many signs in this world and sometimes we are just too busy to see them. I also picked up about 10 lucky pennies this day... I consider pennies on the ground as blessings from above... always pick these pennies up! Anyway, to make a long story short: I was not feeling prepared for this race... I was 11 pounds over my idea race weight... was not logging the required training miles nor doing the core work.... and sure wasnt eating and drinking properly... Also, it was about 39 degrees with a 15 mph wind and I hadnt done any hill work in preparation for Iriqois park... Nonetheless, I toed the line to do my best.... I finished in 1:17:08. Average miles of 7:43. Well pleased with the race. Finished 510 overall out of 7,013. Not bad for an old bald overweight bum.... Also, at mile 6 on the last hill in Iriqois I was visited by Orville giving me the thumbs up... Crazy, I know... but true. This race may have rejuvinated me for some summer training to get back in shape... Rock on men... enjoy the story.

Bacon Weekly

Mon- 4.5 mile run
Tues- Strength Program
Wed- off
Thurs- 5 mile run
Fri- 1600 M FS swim- 35 minutes
Sat- St. Patricks Day 10K- unsure of place 52:52
Sun- off

This was a return to fitness week and missing an entire week the previous due to the flu and it really set me back in preperation for the 10k..... my race time was 3 minutes slower than the previous year, but treated it more like a training run than a race; however I reached out and passed a few when I could...started with a slower pace which was nice for me compared to my normal rabbit style but I just didn't have it in me to run fast....great overall fitness week though as this was my long swim for the start of the season and I felt great in the water overall...a pinched nerve in shoulder is causing me some neck pain though. I'm very proud of Samantha as she finished her 5k yesterday in 35 minutes...as you know this is 4 months after full foot sugery so she was pleased that she could run and finish despite some pain...adapt and overcome... Bacon

Racing for fun

I have not had a weekend away from class in 6 weeks, and since my injury in the gym my workouts and especially my cycling has been pretty minimal. Lots of swimming and physical therapy. This past week I started back on the spin bike and actually snuck out for a chill ride to test out the leg. It works great on the bike, its the weight bearing stuff that is so uncomfortable.

All that being said, I couldn't stand not getting to be competitive, so I drove up to Louisville on Saturday and raced in the first spring series race. I guess I needed something to get me out of this funk of not being able to follow my normal routine, to see where my fitness actually is, and to see if this leg is getting better.

Race was fast as usual. 1.7 mile circuit at Long Run Park, in 31 minutes I covered 10.8 miles for an average of 20.4 mph. Finished 32nd out of 47 with the lead group 30 seconds in front. I felt good, pushed as hard as I could and definitely could feel the weeks missed off the bike and in the gym. At the end of the day I was pretty happy, hopefully I am turning the corner from this injury. Cole was my pit crew, and my dad made it out to the race as well. Always awesome to have family around cheering you on. Fun day!!

Stay well brother.

L3-Live, Learn, and Lead
Schmidty

Karl Weekly Update

Monday Recovery Day

Tuesday Bike Trainer Short Hill Climbs 1 Hour w/ 7X1 minute in BG/11

Wednesday 45 minute foundation run

Thursday Bike Trainer Power Intervals 1:20 hours w/ 8x20 seconds in high gear

Friday Rest Day (Took the day off work to volunteer at my daughter’s school. Big fun!)

Saturday 50-mile ride. 25 miles north with wind at our back were terrific; 25 miles back were BRUTAL! Took about 30 minutes longer coming back. I felt really strong on the bike yesterday. I can tell the bike workouts are paying dividends. I was in the big gear most of the day. Passed a lot of riders and my motivation was high.

Sunday 1 hour foundation run. Legs were HEAVY from yesterday’s ride. Had a hard time finding my rhythm and not feeling like I was clopping along. The last 30 minutes felt a little smoother.

Still have not been to the pool. Plan to remedy that this week. I have a couple of days off to spend with the kids during their spring break, so I’m going to take advantage of that time to at least make it to the pool to get my membership paid for. That way I can start getting at least one good long swim session in per week each weekend.

Working on a personal project for which I could use your prayers/send me good Karma. I’ll brief you guys more as things develop.

Make it a great week, All!

Kia Kaha!

Bacon Weekly

Mon- 5 miles run
Tues- Mark Allen Tri-Strength Program
Wed- off or maybe a 5 mile run (i forgot)
Thurs- 1500 meter swim, FS and drills
Fri- Mark Allen Tri Strength Program
Sat- 1 Hour Bike Session
Sun-off

Great fitness week for me as I rolled out my new strength program that I will keep for the season.It's Mark Allens 12 top exercises for triathletes and can be googled and found easily online if you'd like to see...I can finish the entire program with core work in just under 1 hour...perfect for me...ear infections finally ceased and enabled me a nice swim session and I felt good so I had a great swim despite being absent from the pool for several weeks. Drove to Atlanta for a conference on Sunday.

weekly

did some running, 4 miler, 5 miler, 5 miler... did some biking rode the fuji, rode the schwinn, got a flat... rode some more... did a little abs and a bunch of bad eating... drink a few and took in a UL baseball game with youngest son... played some ping pong and visited with mom and dad.... pretty average hum drum week... but it was awesome.... break in the weather is getting me out of the winter blues... time change comming up next sunday, yeah! may head to the tanning bed just to get some UV light and pull me out of this aweful winter... spring is around the corner. have fun men and enjoy the good life.

Round Rock Project Graduation 5K and Weekly Update

 

Monday  Rest Day

Tuesday 55 min Bike Short Hill Climbs (6x1min) on Trainer

Wednesday 40 min run

Thursday 50 min Bike Power Intervals (5x20 seconds)

Friday Rest day to give legs a break before tomorrow’s 5k

Saturday Round Rock Project Graduation 5K: I pulled off a top 10 (7th place) in my age group with a decent 7:46/mile pace. The guy in 6th place is a friend from my marathon training group 4 years ago. The top 3 were all under 7/mile pace (#1 was under 6/mile!). One thing about this area, we always have a strong field.

The race was epic! After a week of 70 degree temps, a cold front blew through on Friday night and Saturday morning. We had temps in the low 40s at race time with wind gusts averaging in the 30s. Wind chill was 36 degrees…and then it started raining. By the time I crossed the finish line, we’d had lightning, thunder, AND pea-sized hail. And I was wearing a short sleeve tech shirt and shorts. That will teach me to check the weather BEFORE I leave the house next time.

It was another tough week at work. I won’t go into the specifics here, but suffice it to say that my head was not in the race. That said, once the gun went off and the rain began to fall, I had to smile. It reminded me that life is not always bright sunshine and cloudless skies. There are cloudy days and stormy nights. It is the dark times that make the beautiful ones even more special. And as the rain beat down and the thunder roared, I gave God thanks for giving me the health and the opportunity to be right where I was.

Life is good!

Kia Kaha!