Ahh...progress.

Alas, I see some positive results! This winter I have done a better job keeping up with my biking (sort of!) and swimming, while continuing the running base. Last two years I did a marathon and the biking and swimming got set aside for a few months. Well two months ago I hired a coach to help plan the training and keep things moving forward. Even with several rounds of colds/sinus infection in the last couple of months, I am seeing progress.

How do I know? Well, all of my run/bike workout efforts are heartrate based. So, if I'm doing the same courses in the same heartrate ranges with faster times, that equals improvement. Which I am starting to see. It's not a huge paradigm shift, but it is steady progress. If I can solidify my base some more, I know I'll have significant race improvement. See, I've survived athletically on my generally high pain tolerance and never say die attitude. It served me well through a collegiate soccer career (never was the most skilled, but definitely the most tenacious) and has showed to come in handy in endurance events as well. I think if I can get back the big base and the metal fortitude, I'll see the paradigm shift I'm looking for. Now to cut back the calories and loose 7-10lbs to get ready to race!

Here's to slow and steady producing fast and ready!

Zebras Do Exist 5k

We're less than two months away from the 2nd annual Zebras Do Exist 5k Charity race that I direct. This event raises awareness of rare medical conditions ("Zebras") and raises money for the medical bills of Nick and Samantha Napier.

It should turn out to be an great event. This year we have chip timing, a certified course, and $1,000 in cash payouts to the top 5 men and women. All courtesy of the nation's largest triathlon production company: Setup Events!

Last year we had about 280 participants and with our sponsor's help raised $10,000 for the Napiers. Sounds like a great first year and a nice amount of money, but it barely scratched the surface of their needs. These two kids have had 5 brain and spinal surgeries that are "out of network", read: "insurance is not paying for it!"

If you're available to run/walk on April 18th in the Spartanburg, SC area then you need to go to www.zebrasdoexist.com and register. If you can't make it, but want to contribute, then you can securely donate to the cause on the same website with your debit or credit card. See you there!

What's goin on...

Pretty much been putting in some base miles/meters in preparation for the upcoming race season, speaking of, it looks something like this:

3/28 Little River 8K
5/16 Clemson Sprint
6/7 Fest of Flowers Oly
6/27 Go Tri Sprint
8/16 Greenville Sprint
9/6 Hartsville Oly (this one's a maybe)
10/4 SC Half
10/17 Hickory Knob Oly

My swimming is getting better slowly and my bike is a little stronger too. Run is pretty consistent, but I'm not working hard to get faster there yet. I really need to get a bigger bike frame because I'm very closed up/cramped on the 51cm I'm currently on. I think getting the right fit would immediately give me a 5-10% power gain or more.

Green Valley 8k Report

First time I have run this 8k race at Furman University. It was a fairly well done event. My only complaint would be the lack of aid on the course. One water station would have been nice. Pre-race, I picked up my number the race "jacket": this tyvek looking thing that I might do a boiler inspection in but not actually wear in public. I ran about 1.25 miles and stretched some. Then I went looking for the bathroom. I had my Garmin Forerunner on which doesn't show the time in training mode, so I let the race start sneak up on me. There were plenty others in the building, but they were running the 10miler that started 15 minutes after the 8k. When I exited the building, I had to sprint out about 200 yds to the start and the gun went off about 10 seconds after I arrived.

The first mile was faster than I wanted to go at 6:09, but it was pretty flat and it was the start. Mile two was closer to where I thought I would run at 6:32. I was feeling pretty good, but then mile three was mostly a slow uphill climb the entire way. I slowed down to 6:50, but I passed at least 10 people that mile. Around there I met up with Hal Outen, a local tri guy and we talked briefly and then kept each other working to the end. There were three guys within site of us and we both agreed to make sure we brought them back to us by the end. Mile four was 6:29 and mile five was 6:14. We caught the group in front on the last little hill before the flat mall finish. I pushed just barely ahead of the group with about 0.4 to go to see what the response would be. They all responded, but no aggressively. I let them all catch up, mostly just messing with their heads, and then at 0.25 to go I took off and put a big gap between them all. My last 300 ft (after the Garmin autolapped) was a 4:51 pace. HR was 197 bpm at the finish...yikes!

Total time was 32:32 and was good enough for a 2nd place in my new AG 30-34! I was pretty pleased with the outcome since I haven't been doing any real hard or fast running in the last few months.

Bummer...

Sinus infection, full-blown. I've been so happy this winter to be sinus infection free...I have a history of chronic sinus problems, but my luck has finally run out. So between MLK holiday (pool closed) and sinus junk, I've been sessile for too long now. Wednesday is usually a rest or very light training day (other time committments with family and church typically supercede training), but I'm going to try and get a swim and a run or bike in to get moving again.

On the upside, I just got my cadence sensor and quick release mount for my Garmin Forerunner 305 today. I'm glad to get that setup on my bike so I can be all anal retentive with even more data! I also like the velcro wrist strap better than the factory rubber one, because the loose end never stayed in the holder and always got on my nerves flapping around. Furthermore...Coach has raised my saddle over 1" so far and I can definitely tell the difference in power. I'm riding the trainer on a higher resistance setting in higher gears than I ever have before. I would love to of had a watt meter to see the difference in output.

Thanks Coach...

Since cycling may be my least favorite sport to train, I suffered through 90 min on the trainer today. I was instructed to keep it at 60% (136bpm), which I did fairly well. Mentally, I was definitely ready to quit at 45 min, but managed to hang on. I put in Ghostbusters DVD, which lasts almost exactly 90 min, so it was a big help. Honestly, without a coach to answer to, this workout would not have happened!!

Found a Coach!

After much searching and deliberation, I finally found a Triathlon coach: Steve Pyle. He's a former pro cyclist and seeing as how that's my weakest link, I'm looking to make some huge gains there. Tomorrow is my first official coached workout session. I'm excited that someone else will be doing all the thinking/planning and that I can be held accountable for my training. To be honest, my training last year was less than adequate in several areas, but still managed to race well. I plan on really tearing up the courses this year. My "A" race will be the SC Half. I want to go in the low 5:XX's maybe even under 5 (stretch goal)!! I also want to qualify for Boston this winter. I'll post a tentative race calendar a little later.