Saturday - May 25, 2013 - Tri for Joe

Saturday - May 25, 2013

Today was the Tri for Joe, a sprint distance triathlon at Coney Island.  Sprint means short.  500 meter swim, 20 kilometer bike (12.4 mile), and a 5 kilometer run (3.1 mile).  Race started at 7am, so we got to Coney Island at 5:30 and started setting up our gear in the transition area.  I ran into a couple Cincy Express guys and my Wednesday swim partner signed up also.  And, we had a few friends show up to cheer us on. 

My wife and I were wearing our wetsuits, and the swim had us arrange ourselves based on our 500m estimated swim time.  I joined the 9:30 to 10:00 minute group and worked my way to the water.  They let us go about every 10 seconds.  I jumped in and went way too hard, so at the end of the first lane, I was gasping for breath.  I blew up, like an amateur.  About halfway through the swim I found my groove and then got cruising.  The wetsuit held me up great and I really enjoyed the last half of the swim.  Getting out of the water, the distance from the pool to the transition area was about 1/10th of a mile (which they count in your swim time).  My swim time was 12:00 flat, ranking me 222 of 306.  Pretty weak, but the first half killed me.  I was literally treading water or holding the wall trying to calm my nerves and find a groove.  It sucked.

When I got to the transition area for T1, I was light headed but stripped off the wetsuit and started throwing on clothes for the bike.  It was 72 degrees in the pool, but only 45 degrees outside, so I wore a light windbreaker jacket on the bike.  A tip I heard at Sunday's Cincy Express lake swim and bike ride was to roll my socks up like condoms, making them easier to roll on with wet feet.  It worked like a charm.  I grabbed my bike and headed out of transition for the bike course.  My T1 time was 4:27 - pretty slow.

The bike course was pretty much flat, out and back.  Because I was with the slower swimmers, I didn't get a chance to see the hot shot bikers - like I wanted to do.  I think I was passed by 5 people on the bike.  Three of which were stud triathlete types and two were hardcore biker types (no tri bikes).  At times on the bike, I looked down and saw my speedometer saying things like 15.6 mph.  What the heck was this?  What about all those miles I biked over the last couple weeks?  Then, I got even harder on myself and thought, "Why don't I just walk!"  "Wimp!"  But my bike time was 42:02, with an average speed of 17.7 mph, which surprised me.  I now realize that I ramped up my training too much in the last couple weeks, and it actually hurt me here.  So, a weak swim and bike so far.  I was not enjoying this race at all.  My bike rank was 159 out of 306.  They didn't separate the second transition time, and I think it was added to the run time because my bike time was higher than expected and my run time was slower than expected.

The run was a flat out and back through Coney Island, and I fell into a groove that felt like my recent 8:30mm runs.  Nothing exciting here except when I passed my awesome wife.  I passed my buddy James (Wed swim partner) on my way back, and we high fived and then about 30 yards behind him was my wife.  Before I could say a word she said, "I'm going to get James!"  Sure enough, she ran him down shortly after that.  No surprise here, she's a great runner.  I finished the run in 28:43, for an average pace of 9:15mm.  I think I was really doing 8:30mm, so I think they added about 2 minutes for my T2 to my run.  My run ranked 182 of 306.

My overall time was 1:27:11, finishing 164 of 306, or 130 of 200 males.  My wife's time was 1:30:20, which is amazing because she did almost no training at all.  She's tough, what can I say.  I train fairly hard and just beat her by 3 minutes.  Some areas of improvement would be a steady, easy swim and not increasing my bike miles so much before the race.  I might not do anything between now and the Little Miami Triathlon, which is Sunday, June 2nd. 

Here are some photos from Rosi (thanks Rosi & Andy!):

Wednesday - May 22, 2013 - Ride

Wednesday - May 22, 2013

I don't remember many details of the ride, except I rode the route with a co-worker.  He shot up Indian Hill in his hill gear, while I struggled in my middle gear.  He was doing 10-11mph and I was doing low 9's.  This "motivated" me (read - annoyed me) enough to take my gears apart and adjust the derailleurs (both front and rear) so now I have access to all gears. 

AM ride with Andy on BAM route
23.3 miles
1:27:45
15.9 mph avg
135 avg HR
855 Garmin cal

I also rode Wednesday evening on the bike trail with a buddy from out of town.  It was only 8.5 miles or so.  After this evening ride, I've ridden about 80 miles in 4 days (Sunday to Wednesday).

Here is the AM ride Strava data:
Here is the PM ride Strava data:

Tuesday - May 21, 2013 - Ride

Tuesday - May 21, 2013

There's a problem with NOT writing these things when it's still fresh in my head.  I don't remember anything specific about this.  Here are my notes when I wrote the draft.

23.8 mile ride
moving time 1:26:24
avg speed 16.5mph (max 37.8 mph)
875 calories per Garmin
Beautiful morning

Here is the Strava data:

Sunday - May 19, 2013 - CE OW Swim & Group Ride

Sunday - May 19, 2013

Open Water Group Swim

This was a big day for me, my first lake swim in the new wetsuit.  Everyone met at Caesar Creek near Wilmington, exit 45 up I-71.  It's near the Renaissance Festival site, which I didn't realize.  As I approached the CC beach area, I got very nervous.  Open, deep, dark water terrifies me.  Thank you Steven Spielberg for your 1975 thriller 'Jaws'! 

Seven Cincy Express (one of my triathlon clubs) members were there, as we all geared up in our wetsuits.  I wore my bike bib shorts and triathlon jersey under my sleeveless wetsuit, to simulate race day as much as possible.  I'm not going to lie, as I've said before, I feel like Batman in the wetsuit.  Something about it is just purely bad ass.  Triathlons are pretty bad ass, and so it Batman. 

There was one other virgin lake swimmer there, but the other 5 members were great with tips and tricks as we walked to the beach (leaving our bikes locked up on our cars).  At the beach, it was early so there were not other people except one guy in a full sleeve wetsuit doing laps.  The beach at CC is about 400 yards long and about 50 yards out into the water they have swim buoys to keep the boats away from us.  About halfway to the buoys is shoulder deep (I'm 6'2"), and the 7 of us started swimming. 

This is where/when my semi-panic turned into full panic.  I've swam more since November than I have my entire life.  I was just never around anything more than a 4 foot above ground pool as a kid.  The clouds were overcast, so the water was cold and dark.  Terrifying, really.  But since I could touch the bottom at any time, it helped a little.  Now, when you swim, you exhale slow and steady when your head is in the water.  I started off and was so nervous/scared that I couldn't exhale smoothly AT ALL.  This causes me to sort of hyperventilate and only swim about 10 yards before I have to gather my breath.  When you can breath right, like I normally do in a pool, you can swim all day.  Here, I couldn't breath.  So much so that one of the CE guys checked on me twice.  He said to go to shallower water to make everyone feel like I was safer.  Hah ha.  He actually said that and I had no problem.  I didn't care about getting in a good swim workout.  Today was about trying the wetsuit and exposing myself to the lake.  For anyone afraid of water, like me, I would look over and see the beach about 40 yards to my left and when I looked to the right I just saw this HUGE expanse of water.  Like the Loch Ness monster was going to jump up or something.  My first lap down the beach was the slowest I've ever swam (since November) and every branch I touched with my foot or hand instantly turned into a great white shark or snapping turtle (those are mean!).  I was a mess. 

My lap back was a hair better, as the CE guys were all lapping me big time.  After the 2nd lap we talked for a second and when they found out I started swimming 7 months ago they said, "Well, no wonder!"  I then said, "But I'm good in the pool."  They understood, as we've all been there, and said that after a few trips to the lake it'll be no big deal.  That's where I want to get.  I want to get to the point where I can swim in the lake or ocean like I do in the pool.  I'm a very decent pool swimmer, so I look forward to being able to do that where it counts.  We went for another lap down and back and I did much better.  My breathing was better and I swam somewhat non-stop, maybe stopping every 50 yards or so, instead of 10.  Once I got going, two things jumped out at me.  One, it's hard to swim in a straight line when you're not in a pool.  Two, wetsuits keep you warm and they really do make you float.  They are awesome!  Batman would be proud.

30 Mile Group Bike Ride

After that we walked back and changed for the 30 mile bike ride around CC and the LMT/Fort Ancient route.  The LMT (Little Miami Triathlon) is June 2nd, so I was excited to ride part of it.  Seven of us here, and all but 2 (me included) had aero bars on their bike.  Aero bars are the bars that you see triathletes or time trial Tour de France guys riding when they lean on their forearms to become more aerodynamic.  They make about a 1-2 mph difference for me over riding the bike regular (on the hoods).  Actually, I think 4 of us had high end triathlon specific carbon fiber bikes.  Very nice.  One guy had Zipp wheels, which are amazing.  This is a serious group.  No Huffy or Schwinn bikes here. 

This was also the first chance I would get to use my new wheels, Fulcrum Racing 7.  They're made for cyclocross, which is gaining in popularity and very hard on equipment, so they should easily hold up for what I'm doing - normal road riding.  Though, they might be a little heavy.  Also, the new seat (ISM Adamo Century) worked well and I had no issues at all.  I also love my Pearl Izumi Quest Bib Short.  Through Promotive.com I got them for 40% off, about $42.  Great deal and I will never buy another non-bib short again.  The shoulder straps make you look like a wrestler, but my bike shirt hides them and they hold up my shorts perfectly.  I wear XXL and there's not shoulder strain, as I've heard people say the straps dig into their shoulders.  Mine are great and the fit is perfect.  I want another pair!

We set off and I stayed near the back of the group, since I've fallen apart on group rides.  But I held on fine.  We went along, 2x2x2x1, on country roads with little to no traffic all day.  I would talk to whom ever I was near.  One guy training for Ironman Wisconsin (full distance Iron race), who also ran the Tough Mudder I did recently.  Another guy just starting out.  Another guy who has done a bunch of Olympic distance stuff.  Great guys, all doing what I'm doing and loving triathlon.  There was only one female today, who I've ridden with before on my first CE ride, and she actually was the 2nd overall female winner (1st in her age group) at a triathlon a couple weeks ago.  Since she was the only person here I've met before, we caught up.  She's also married with kids, so I think I can relate more to her than anyone.  Some of these guys are single, without kids.  If I was into triathlon, single, and didn't have kids, I'd have a couple $5,000 bikes and train 2-3 hours every day.  I would be make of steel and have no body fat at all.  I would chew glass for breakfast and be a complete animal, so I get these guys.  They're into it and they can afford the time to train a lot, and they don't have a 529 college savings plan to worry about funding.  I get it.  Anyway, I talked to all but one or two guys over the course of the ride.  We rode for 30.6 miles in 1:46:56, avg speed of 17.2mph, which is pretty easy even after swimming.  My granny gear up front wasn't working right, so I had to work hard on some hill climbs, but otherwise it was a great, confidence inspiring bike ride. 

After the ride, one guy took off for a run and 3 guys went out for a 2nd 30 mile loop.  I felt fine, but told the family I'd be home at a decent hour and left.  I was happy with the ride and thinking that Leah and I need to hit the lake a few times before we do a triathlon with open water - like the half Ironman races I want to do. 

Here is the 30 mile bike ride Strava data:



Bib short photo:

Friday - May 17, 2013 - Lunch weights & run

Friday - May 17, 2013

Friday mornings are my wife's, so no chance to workout there.  I think she swam at the pool.  Anyway, I went to the Blue Ash Rec Center at lunch to 'only lift weights'.  A co-worker also went to run on the indoor track, as it was raining on and off all day.  I did about 6 sets on two different machines, throwing up big numbers (wink!), when I saw my buddy running.  The track is on the 2nd floor, and I was sitting on the machine downstairs, pumping away, watching him just cruise around.  He was having a great run, and I was bored. 

I was surrounded by tons of guys lifting serious weight.  This was my scene from about 2002 to 2006 (pre-kids).  I loved the weight room and didn't care about cardio at all.  Back then my bench press (max) was in the 300's, and I wore a 54 jacket (chest, 47 today).  I used to be the guy people would ask to help spot them.  My how things have changed.  It was all I could do to finish my 6th set and return the weight to the racks before I jumped up the stairs to join him.

He was running about 7:30mm pace, as the track is 1/10 of a mile and they have a giant digital timer on the wall.  I ran a few laps with him, before he stopped to do pushups and some other stuff.  I saw this as a chance to do some intervals.  From what I understand, the best way to run faster is to run faster.  Hah ha.  How?  Just run a short distance faster, then recover, and repeat.  This and the higher cadence is what took my 11:00mm avg pace down to 8:30 or so. 

So, I ran a lap or two slower, maybe 9:30 or 10:00mm, then ran a couple laps "fast" at maybe 6:30 or 6:00.  Back and forth, slow then fast.  I know I ran several laps at about 6:00mm flat, which to most runners is nothing (they get into the 3's & 4's) but for this guy (me) I was having a mini party in my head.  I would have never thought I'd be a sub-10:00 minute guy, now I'm doing even better.  I love it. 

All endurance athletes hate intervals.  To do them properly, you need to actually run to failure, just like when lifting heavy weights.  They do their fast laps as fast as they can run.  Imagine you're running from a bear.  Now, do that and then rest, then do it again.  It's painful and miserable, but it really works.  So, I could have gone faster but it was lunch break and I did what I did.  The next intervals I do outside, I'll picture a bear chasing me and see if I can't hit the 4's (I've hit the 5's a couple times).

Photo of the day:

Thursday - May 16, 2013 - Lunch Run

Thursday - May 16, 2013

No AM bike ride.  It's okay to say it... "Slacker!"  So, I decided to run at lunch.  3.16 mile (5K) route that I've run hundreds of times.  I was cruising along and at 2.25 miles I fell apart.  By "fall apart", I mean I started walking.  Who walks during a 5K?  Wimps, that's who! 

Trying to find a reason, it was a little warm/humid.  Maybe I didn't drink enough water (which I never do - need to work on).  Not sure what happened. 

From 2.25 to about 2.5, I walked.  Then, from about 2.5 to 2.75 I ran and then walked again.  Right when I started walking the second time, a friend called to discuss a road bike (Cervelo Soloist!) he was going to look at and might buy.  His phone call was a very welcome distraction from my horrible run.

Details: 3.16 miles in about 35 minutes, 11.1mm pace (which used to be good for me and now signifies my giving up - I love progress!), 162 bpm avg HR, 395 calories.  Fun fact for you, you actually burn slightly more calories running slower vs. running faster. 

Disappointing day.  No AM workout, bad lunch run, and nothing at night.  These are the days that make me want to watch the Notebook and eat a pint of ice cream on the couch.

Here's the Strava data:

Wednesday - May 15, 2013 - Swim

Wednesday - May 15, 2013

I met my buddy at the Blue Ash YMCA at 5am for a Wednesday morning swim.  Last Wednesday, this place was jumping.  Six lanes, in the main building (the Ferris building has 6 or 8 more), and today we had empty lanes to choose from.  We talked while we swam.  Nice pool, really.  It's not like the Taj Mahal, I mean JCC, but it's great.  I do miss the JCC.  That place was immaculate, plus the pool was always empty.  The YMCA is very busy and the normal wear and tear shows.  But, my wife and I decided we'd rather spend time at Y since it's full of better "athletes" and our kids are more likely to find kids they'll see in school.  The JCC is full of older, wealthier people who will probably send their kids to private school.  It was nice being the fastest guy in the pool, the fastest guy on the treadmills, and the strongest guy in the weight room (by a lot, sadly).  The Y and Rec Center are more my speed. 

My buddy and I swam about 56 laps, doing 10 regular laps, then 10 laps with the hand paddles, then 10 regular, then 10 laps with the foot flippers, etc.  Not a bad workout.  I think I can do one mile easily, and since my swim is "good", I might be taking it too easy.  We'll find out if/when it bites me in the butt at a race.

We went to Starbucks after and got coffee and discussed the Tri for Joe triathlon Saturday, May 25.  He and I are going to enter the race, as is my wife.  Should be fun.

No lunch or evening run or weights.  Very easy, slacker day.

I think the picture of the day speaks for itself:

Tuesday - May 14, 2013 - Morning Ride

Tuesday - May 14, 2013

I went out for a solo bike ride today.  It was 43 degrees when I left the house, so it felt like 33 when I was moving.  But I put on my tights and a jacket and I was fine (plus 2 pair of gloves and 2 pair of socks and ear warmers).

About 2 miles in I felt a “pop” and thought I might have broken another spoke – yep!  This is only my 2nd ride since getting my wheel straightened and now it’s bent again!  But my gears held up today, or maybe I just learned how NOT to shift.  Either way, they worked well.  I rode the Queen City Wheels/BAM Racing route from Blue Ash to Madeira to Camp Dennison to Milford to Indian Hill to Madeira and then back to Blue Ash.  23.7 miles total in 1:33:53, with an average speed of 15.2 mph (which is slower than my last ride on this route, but today felt much better/faster.  Huh?).  I burned 1,097 calories, my max speed was only 32.0 mph at one point today.  My Strava data says my Indian Hill climb was 9.6 mph, so I think I was climbing around 8.8 mph today.  Last week, it said 9.9 mph and taking out the flats I was around 9.1.  So, still a solid ride.

It felt great though.  I saw a couple other solo riders out, but no groups.  At least it was dry today.  If my buddy wants to swim tomorrow, I’ll meet him, otherwise I’m going for a run.  The Joe is only 2 weeks away, and the LMT is only 3 weeks away.  It's cram time!

I told my wife about the broken spoke and said I needed a new rear wheel (maybe $150?) and she suggested I stop putting money into this bike and save for a new bike.  But with two 70.3 races this year and several smaller races (not to mention the hundreds of training miles between now and winter), I can’t ride with a broken spoke.  It has a bad bend in the wheel that rubs the brake pad, slowing my down a little with each revolution.  This also puts more stress on the remaining spokes, and they’re more likely to break too.  If I’m out and 1 or 2 more spokes break, I might have to have her pick me up.  I'm thinking new wheel soon and a new bike next year.

Here is my Strava data:

Monday - May 13, 2013 - Lunch Run

Monday - May 13, 2013

I went for a lunch run today.  I haven't done any exercise since Tuesday, the 7th, and was desperate to get out.  It was a beautiful day for a run, and I ran my typical 5K route from my house to Montgomery and back.  I covered 3.16 miles in 27:33.55 for an average pace of 8:42mm.  I missed my PR for the route by 23 seconds.  Not bad, considering I ate brownies for my morning snack and thought I might puke on the last mile.  I burned 386 calories, had an average HR of 176 and a max HR of 191. 

I haven't added a photo in a while, with my Strava data below:

Wednesday - May 8, 2013 - Swim

Wednesday - May 8, 2013

I met a friend at the Blue Ash YMCA today for a pre-work swim at 5am.  At 5am, with 6 lanes in the main building pool, all lanes were full and a couple were doubled up.  In lanes 1 and 6 was a single old person with a floating belt, walking back and forth from one end of the pool to the other.  I thought, "How inconsiderate.  We're all doubled up and actually working out, and they're both taking up a full lane just to walk in.  Could they at least share a lane?" 

Anyway, a lane opened up around 5:15 and my buddy and I hopped in.  We would chit chat here and there, but we swam for an hour and probably covered 60 to 70 laps.  I used my paddles and a YMCA pull buoy for 30 laps, and I used my flippers and a YMCA kickboard for 20 laps.  The rest were regular freestyle.  My buddy is a good swimmer, so we just kept at it (versus me helping him).  He may join the Y and swim a couple times each week before work.  I liked this routine and wouldn't mind doing it each Wednesday.

Great morning swim.  My sinus infection is in full swing and I feel miserable, but the swim as great!  Eventually, the infection has to go away, right?

Tuesday - May 7, 2013 - Bike

Tuesday - May 7, 2013

Before today, I ran a half marathon Saturday with some friends and was ready to get back out there.  I met the BAM Racing guys at the Blue Ash YMCA at 4:55am for a ~25 mile group bike ride.  It had stopped raining, and the roads were still wet, which might explain by only 3 of us showed up.  But we headed out at 5am and go on our way.  About 3 or 4 miles into the ride, I started to fall behind the lead two when my chain popped off.  My bike is 10 years old, and the gears need adjusted pretty badly.  I yelled for them to stop and got the chain back on.  I recently bought a head lamp to wear, and it was great for seeing the chain today.  I have a 1,000 lumen head light on my bike, but it's attached to the handlebars.

Anyway, by the time I was ready to go, I was all alone.  At 5:10am it is pitch black, especially in the Madeira/Indian Hill area (nice part of town) where houses are huge and far apart.  Well, I kind of knew the route and thought I might be able to catch them.  I went ahead to the next big intersection and waited for a minute, nothing.  "Maybe they'll be up at Shell", I thought.  I sped down Loveland Madeira to Shell and waited, ate an energy bar, sipped some Gatorade.  A group of about 5 or 6 bikers passed me going the opposite way, but no BAM guys.  After about 5 minutes, I went on. 

Up until this ride, I was concerned my bike fitness was very poor.  I had nothing but problems on group rides, no matter the group (BAM or Cincy Express).  But today's ride showed me that my issue is with the group ride.  In a group ride, you ride inches off the rear tire of the rider in front of you.  At 5am, in pitch black night, at 18-20 mph, this is very nerve racking.  I didn't think anything of it until today's ride, but I just don't feel comfortable yet in a tight pack.  I was cruising today in some spots over 20mph without much issue.  Once I had this revelation, about 7 or 8 miles in, the entire mood changed.  I was riding alone and loving it. 

The route goes on the Loveland Bike Trail, which is very flat and fast with no cars.  I didn't even see another person on the trail today.  I was loving it.  I took the trail from Camp Dennison to Milford and hopped on Indian Hill road to start the worst part of the ride, the "hill".  There are a few roads that climb back into Indian Hill from the river valley, and the last time I went up Indian Hill I had to walk some at the top.  But that was with my time trial/triathlon handlebars and shifters.  About a week before today, I got my bike back from the shop wtih normal road bike brake lever/shifters.  I also added my new ISM seat.  These made a HUGE difference, especially climbing the hill.  I could quickly shift gears on hills, up and down, to maintain my pedal RPM (cadence).  I remembered hearing a co-worker say he went about 5 mph up Indian Hill recently, and that "fast" guys are going up the hill about 12-14 mph.  I was able to maintain about a 9.1 mph speed going up the hill.  I was very proud of myself.  No walking, and 9 mph isn't too bad.  It's not "good" or "fast", but it's much better than walking the last 1/4 of it. 

After the hill, I cruised through Madeira and made my way back to my house.  In total, I went 23.4 miles in 1:29:54, according to Strava.  Strava pauses if you stop, so my overall average speed was 15.6 mph, not the 14.1 my Garmin told me (it doesn't ignore pauses).  I burned about 1,000 calories and had a great ride.  I have a sinus infection, so I feel awful, but the ride was so good I forgot about all that.  Awesome ride.  I now have Tuesday and Thursday mornings to myself to ride, with swimming on Wednesday (my wife has Mon & Fri).  If I can ride 23 miles twice a week and get a long ride in on the weekends, I might do okay this season.  I'm hoping for 60 miles Saturday early, before my daughter's birthday party! 

Here is the Strava data:

Saturday - May 4, 2013 - Capital City Half Marathon

Saturday - May 4, 2013

Today would be my fifth half marathon, 13.1 miles, in just 14 months.  Crazy.  The race is the Capital City Half Marathon, but they also had a quarter marathon and maybe a 5k.  The race is held in Ohio's capital, Columbus.  I stayed with my parents in Columbus, and we went out for pizza and beer Friday night.  Not the smartest thing to do, but my allergies were in full swing and I felt miserable.  I just wanted my head to stop ringing and my nose to stop running.  I usually don't get spring allergies. 

Anyway, the race was at 8am and I got to the start around 7:45am.  I was running the race with a buddy and his wife, and this was their first half marathon.  Up to this point, they had run a 10K race and their longest run was 10 miles in training.  From day one, I told my buddy I would pace him and just help him get through it.  He and I are both tall, so I figured we would easily find each other.  As the start got closer and I couldn't find him, I was thinking of what to do if I have to actually "run" this thing.  My runs have been decent lately, and I thinking I would go for the PR and if I blew up who cares. 

About 5 minutes before the start, I spotted my buddy, his wife, and a few of their friends.  This was a pretty big race, with a lot of people.  We were in corral E of F.  For those not familiar, racers start with racers of a similar pace.  When you register for a race, they ask you for your estimated finish time and then group people together accordingly.  You wouldn't want some of the fast guys running over new runners.  Unfortunately, people must overestimate their times because the first mile of all races involves a lot of dodging people.  Why would someone say they're faster than me, and then I pass them as they're WALKING half a mile into it?  Maybe they had a last minute injury that forced them to walk, but still.  All runners know what I mean.  I almost want to put a time that's too fast for me, just to get ahead of some of these people.  But that's not really fair either, or honest. 

It took us about 10 minutes to get from Corral E to the actual start.  I started my watch as we started our run.  Before the race he estimated a pace of 11:00 to 12:00 minute/miles, with walk breaks here and there.  He then revised that a couple days ago to 12:00 to 12:30m/m.  I didn't care and just followed his lead.  We would cruise along well, then walk some, then cruise along.  I really enjoyed pacing him.  Normally I run alone, and we just chit chatted the entire time, making jokes and talking about the old days.  I wanted him and his wife to enjoy this, as the distance can be daunting for anyone, so that they're more likely to do another race and stay active.  I love encouraging new runners.  He was talking about joining me at the pool before work sometime.  Maybe I can get another triathlete hooked! 

At one point, on a slight decline, we decided to "let the ponies out" and cruised along at a 6:00m/m pace for a bit.  Like I said, we had a great run.  We did the same thing at the end and crossed the finish line in an official time of 2:53:24, with an overall pace of 13:15m/m.  My overall place was 7364 of 8089 people, and 3223 of 3373 males, and 583 of 598 men in my age group (30-34).   I actually burned more calories in this race (1,176) versus the Mini Heart Half where my time was faster and my HR was higher. 

The finisher's medal for this race was very nice.  This year is the 10th anniversary for the race, and the after party was better than the Columbus Full Marathon and rivals the Flying Pig.  This was a great race, on a flat course on a beautiful day through Columbus.

Not sure if this link will work to show my result details:
http://www.mtecresults.com/runner/show?race=1412&rid=9085

Finisher's Medal:


Here is my Strava data:

Tuesday - Apr 30, 2013 - Run

Tuesday - April 30, 2013

Tuesday after a quick dinner, my wife took the kids to my daughter's soccer practice.  This freed me up to cut the grass and put down some fertilizer on the yard.  Once this was done, I headed out for an easy 5 mile run to stretch the legs.  I was still pretty sore from the Tough Mudder.  I ran my typical 4.7 mile route at an easy pace with a slow(er) cadence, roughly 10:00m/m to 10:30m/m for the first couple miles.  There were many people out walking on the sidewalks, and I guess they've never been passed by a runner as none of them moved over and I almost hit one guy.  Sadly, my anger gets the best of me and I was just thinking, "I dare you to say something."  Cooler heads prevailed and I got into a nice groove. 

I have to be honest, now that I upload my runs to Strava, I feel like "everyone" can see my run.  I know that blogging about it is the same thing, but only a few people read this and I could easily lie (though I don't).  The Strava data comes straight from the Garmin and is there for the running and biking community to see.  When scanning local Strava runs, someone can easy see:

Brandon Bistor   4.7 mile run   47:49 time   10:07m/m pace

That little Scarlet Letter is now in the back of my head.  Not only do I want to beat my previous run times, unless it's a recovery run like this, but I want to have the fastest pace of everyone on Strava.  This is ridiculous, obviously.  There are people on Strava running at all paces, but I still don't want to put up a "slow" time.  This thought caused my last two miles to be the fastest.  At one point, on Cooper road during a slight decline in front of the Junior High, I was going 6:45m/m and holding it pretty well.  I'd love to get to the point where that was my pace!  I felt like Ryan Hall (American Olympic runner)!  This helped my 4th mile pace average 9:30m/m.  Higher cadence is the way to do it.  Less injury, faster paces, nearly the same HR as slower paces with slower cadence, it's great.  I know the running community has known this forever, but for some reason I'm just now embracing it. 

The run turned out to be a great stretch.  I ran 4.7 miles in 47:49, with an average pace of 10:07m/m, burning 537 calories with an avg HR of 162bpm (best pace was 6:25m/m).  The old me would have loved this 10:07m/m pace for a regular run, now it feels slow.  Gotta love progress! 

I have the Capital City Half Marathon in Columbus, Ohio, this Saturday, so I will be resting the rest of the week.  I hope my soreness goes away.  Even my feet are sore from the unusual climbing I did at the Tough Mudder.  I still have some pretty gnarly bruises on my arms and legs.  This weekend I'm just doing the Cap City run as a casual run, nothing serious.  I'll be pacing a buddy as it's his first half marathon, my fifth.

Ryan Hall photo:



Here is my Strava data:

Monday - Apr 29, 2013 - Bike Ride

Monday - April 29, 2013

A co-worker recently bought a new road bike, and wanted to go for a group ride.  There is a Blue Ash ride from the Queen City Wheels (QCW) website that leaves the Ravenwood neighborhood Monday through Friday 6am to 7:30, covering roughly 25 miles.  Since this is next to my house, my co-worker met at my place Monday morning at 5:45am.  When he showed up it was sprinkling, and had been for a while.  Most group bike rides cancel with rain or wet roads, as it's not safe.  He and I were bummed about the cancelled ride, as we were both ready to go in full biking attire.  Just as he was about to leave and head home, and just as I was about to crawl back into bed, we saw a biker coming toward Ravenwood in a QCW jersey.  We watched him pass and said screw it, let's go!

We get to the meeting point, and meet up with 5 other people on 4 bikes (one bike was a tandem).  The 7 of us take off out of Ravenwood with little to no introductions, light rain and all.  We headed east on Hunt and then south on Kenwood road, then east on Galbraith road.  This turns out to be the nearly exact same route the Blue Ash triathlon team bikes Tuesday and Thursday at 5am.  Just as we're cruising down a hill by the Kenwood mall, my buddy's chain pops off and has to pull over.  By the time he got it fixed, I waited for him, the QCW guys were gone.  They were going at a pretty decent speed and were gone in no time.  Their website, and most group rides, say "No One Left Behind" or NOLB, so I was surprised they didn't wait for us. 

By the time the chain was fixed, we were getting soaked and decided to turn back and head home.  The entire ride took about 15 minutes, covering about 5 miles.  I was still sore from the Tough Mudder, so it was a welcome day off for me. 

Here is my Strava data for the ride: