Striders Duathlon

The Striders Duathlon this past Sunday marked the official end of my unofficial pre-season. I was debating doing a 5k at the Meadowlands this coming weekend, but between narrowly avoiding killing myself at the North Face race and then running my fastest 5k ever at the du, I figure I've got a good sense of my current fitness. Now it's time to plow ahead with the build to my super secret summer race (to be revealed soon for anyone that actually cares).

Anyway, Striders was the first duathlon I've ever done and it turned out to go even better than I had expected, especially in light of my knee still not 100% going into the weekend. Hannah and I raced the short course -- 5k run/30k bike/5k run. I finished 18th overall and first in my age group (of three starters, but whatever, a win is a win). What I'm most pleased about is I ran my second 5k faster than the first, and, as I mentioned, it was my fastest 5k to date.

More interesting (from a race perspective), is that I had the 9th fastest second run (compared to a 28th fastest first run). That tells me that a lot of people went out way too hard. Since most of the same people will probably be racing my super secret race (not so secret now -- you can figure out it's in San Angelo), that bodes well for my overall chances.

On a much more interesting note, I was passed before I finished the first 5k by a guy doing his first 8k leg of the long course race (8k/74k/8k). He ran a 26-something 8k. That's amazingly fast. It turns out it was Michael Lovato -- pro-extraordinaire -- stopping by on his way from Austin to Boulder or New Mexico or something. This is a guy that's twice placed in the top 10 at Kona (in '07 and '03), amongst dozens of other top results.

Between Dean Karnazes two weeks ago and Lovato this weekend, I've had a pretty good run of randomly seeing fast people on the same course as me. I didn't check Lovato into a bush though -- he was moving too fast.

Road trip!

Due to a slow-moving storm that stretched from Mexico to Kansas last Thursday night, I was potentially stranded in Houston (on my way to San Angelo). Generally, that wouldn't have been so big a problem, except Continental didn't cancel the flight until midnight (it was supposed to take off at 9:25 p.m.) and I had such a debacle with American two weeks before that I didn't want to deal with another extended delay/layover.

I wound up in an SUV with five strangers -- one of whom, the car's owner, needed to be in San Angelo at 7 a.m. We left on our 400 mile trip a little before 12:30.

It was definately surreal. Initially, everyone who wasn't sleeping was hesitant to talk much, but as the trip rolled on, and we realized that we likely would never see each other gain, conversation started flowing more freely. I learned to never get involved in a land war (in Asia or elsewhere), the Japanese love Blue Bell ice cream, we're training Iraqis who can't read (English or Iraqi) how to maintain airplanes, many pawnshops are actually managed as chains by a larger company, and lots of other strange facts I'd probably never have known.

We got to San Angelo around 6:30. I got home around 6:45. I said good morning/have a nice day at work to Hannah around 6:50. And I was sitting at our desk working on my laptop by 7:00. I then slept 10 hours that night and went to bed at 8:30 on Saturday.

The trip back wasn't nearly as dramatic. Although I did watch Walk the Line, so there was drama involved.

The North Face Endurance Challenge

Saturday was surprisingly warm and unsurprisingly wet and gross at the North Face Endurance Challenge at Bear Mountain, NY. Thank God I only signed up for the half marathon. It was possibly the hardest and unquestionably the stupidest race I've ever done.

The elevation changes were tough enough, but wet leaves on top of wet rocks on top of mud makes for a dangerous day. It took me over three hours -- I was expecting two, maybe 2:30. I didn't anticipate how rugged it was either: big rocks, little rocks, sharp rocks, fraggle rocks -- it was an ankle turning mess.

The uphills weren't even the hardest part -- it was the screaming descents.

All day long, you'd hear competitor yells of, "Are you kidding me?!?" and "This is retarded!" I suppose I could have gone faster, but my completely rational fear of death took hold. As it was, I fell anyway. Luckily, it was on an uphill and only resulted in a bashed knee.

I saw Dean Karnazes twice. The first time, he said, "Right on" to me. Of course, he said, "right on" to everyone he passed by, but it was still cool. The second time, I checked him into a bush. The group I was running with by the end had gotten into a groove, so we (or I anyway) didn't expect anyone to come cruising through. In the last mile, I cut to the left of the trail to dodge a huge mud puddle. Dean was blasting past at that exact second, so I knocked right into him. I apologized, he said no worries, and then he proceeded to race ahead. I gotta say, that dude has the most impressive calves I've ever seen. It was also cool that he was out there mixing it up with us non-ultra folk.

Overall, it was a fun -- and terrifying -- way to spend the morning. I think this also put the final nail in the coffin of my ambition to run an ultra marathon in the north east.

Update: It turns out I did better than expected. I finished 54th (out of 208 finishers; ~219 started) and 18th (out of 36) in my age group. Finish time was 3:05:31. The overall winner finished in 2:15:40 -- that's darn fast (but actually, not that fast at all).

Only 19 (of 65 starters) finished the 50 mile -- most missed the cutoff and got pulled off the course.

Legs of lead, patience of a llama

No, those aren't my superpowers.

I had a longish run in Texas on Sunday afternoon. It wasn't anything more than I've done over the last few weeks, and in fact, I ran it deliberately slower than usual because of the heat -- 86 degrees. Since that run, my legs have felt like garbage. I don't think I've ever thought about how significant the heat can affect your (my) body. I've run in high temps before, but it's always been after a summer of getting used to the weather. My last run before Sunday was 40 degrees in NJ. There's a lesson in here somewhere, although I suspect it's not: "Don't run in Texas."

I'm sure the flight back to NJ that I took almost immediately after didn't help.

As for the patience of a llama (I don't actually know if llamas are patient, but work with me here) -- I arrived in San Angelo 36 hours after I was originally supposed to. And Hannah had to drive to Austin to pick me up. All this was before the recent wave of American cancellations. Basically, AA blew it, but I'm optimistic they can reaffirm my faith in their airline. I have another four flights booked with them; we'll see if I have a fifth.

I've got The North Face Endurance Challenge this weekend. Looks to be rainy and hard. Here's the elevation profile. At least my lead legs will help me get downhill faster.

Thawing out

On Saturday I went for a trail run at Ringwood State Park (where I went for a hike earlier this year). It's amazing how different things look given some time to thaw out.


Or how similar they look, regardless of the season.


This time, since I was running, I covered a lot of the same ground in a lot less time. Feeling bold, I decided to run down to 287. For what it's worth, standing under the highway is a lot more impressive than this picture shows.


Naturally, I didn't really think about how quickly I came down the hill on my way to the highway. It wasn't until I headed back that I realized my planned run was going to be a bit longer.


Ah well. It was fun anyway.

Walkin' in Texas

Last weekend I flew down to Austin and met Hannah for a short visit. I got in Friday night around 11:00, we went for a hike on Saturday at one of the state parks about 70 miles outside Austin, then I flew out early Sunday morning.

The hike was the mental refresher we both needed. It was strenuous enough that we got a little workout in, but mostly it was good because we had an uninterrupted day (~19 miles) with no real agenda other than walking.

Despite being on a route that follows a lake shore, we only saw the lake for a tiny bit -- mostly just trees and brush. We were a little uninspired by the scenery, so we didn't take many pictures.

Those pictures that we did take... ummm... I'll leave it up to you to judge their quality.

Derrr... What's that up in the sky? A bird? A plane? A plane-shaped bird?

No! It's Hannah doing her best superhero pose!

Seriously, those are the best of the bunch. I blame our new camera.

Well, at least one of them came out okay:

The highs and very, very low lows

On Friday, I spent an uncomfortable two and a half hours trying to get from the Newark Airport airtrain station to the actual terminal a half mile away. In a nutshell, the airtrain was down, the Port Authority employees didn't know what to do, about 300 increasingly frustrated people waited in various lines while we were moved up and down the stairs to shuttles that may or may not have actually existed. A bunch of people missed their flights -- I was lucky I showed up almost four hours early (purely by chance). Even then, I only arrived at my gate about 15 minutes before boarding.

More disappointing than the lack of a contingency plan by the Port Authority is the complete lack of human decency displayed by many of the people that were waiting. Lots of cursing, screaming, tantrums, etc. One woman behind me called the police.

At one point, a shuttle actually arrived, full of people trying to get to the train station from the airport -- most of whom were coming in from international flights. Since they didn't know where to go, and no one in authority was helping them out, these folks would accidentally get mixed up in the lines waiting to go to the terminals. They'd then realize their mistake, walk out of line, and try walking into the building so that they could get a train. People waiting would then start screaming obscenities at them for "cutting" the line. Welcome to America, where we're all jerks.

Swim technique

Video swim 3/11/09 (backdated to '08 to keep it off the front page of the blog)

Front view, "regular" stroke


Side view, "regular" stroke


Front view, straight-arm recovery


Side view, straight-arm recovery

Consistency trumps talent

Final results from the San Angelo Road Lizards Trail Series are up, and suprisingly, I came in third overall. That's really because two other guys that thoroughly trounced me in two of the three races didn't do the whole series (one missed the first race and one missed the last one).

But hey, whatever. I'll take it. It's just more reinforcement that conservative consistency is what gets me my results -- professionally, financially and athletically.

Of course, the dude that won overall is talented and consistent. Hannah remarked that she was surreptitiously checking him out at the second race and couldn't figure out why his leg muscles were so defined -- why was he flexing? Then she realized he wasn't flexing. You don't get that ripped with talent alone.

No news is... ummm... not a good blog topic

Sorry. Nothing super significant to say. We have a new apartment in NJ. And a new house in Texas. We're a regular 21st century couple with the long distance commuting and the multiple residences (albeit one a rental).

We're taking a surprise trip to Austin over Easter weekend (Suprise Austin! Bet you didn't see that one coming!).

My race schedule may be shifting yet again. Basically, after the North Face race, it's looking like it's only going to be my super-secret event at the end of the summer, leading into my super-duper-secret plan for next year. Ohhh, the mystery.

With any luck, I'll have something more interesting to share in the coming days. In the meantime, check out Jill (Up In Alaska)'s blog. She finished the Iditarod Trail Invitational (350 miles through inner Alaska) the other day. Pretty freaking crazy (and cool!).

Mutton Bustin'

We had a darn good weekend in Tejas.

First off, my flight wasn't delayed by the storm in New Jersey, which was absurdly lucky. The flight to Houston before mine was cancelled and the flight after was delayed.

Secondly, I ran well in the last race of the San Angelo Road Lizards trail series. I finished 8th again, good enough for first in my age group for the series. It was probably the first time I've ever had a proper running "race" -- the guys that went into the last race in 5th and 6th in the series (I was 4th) were right with me for most of the way. I don't know how I placed in the overall, but I think I held onto fourth.

Thirdly, I went to my first rodeo, which was really cool. It was about what you expect: lots of livestock, lots of chaps and lots of guys flying into the air. Probably the best part was the mutton bustin' -- you take a bunch of little kids, get them all safety-geared up, plop them on a sheep and see how long they can hang on.

Sleep

As a result of all sorts of things going on in my life right now, I've been unable to get my brain to shut off at night. And that's preventing me from getting to sleep.

I've got a few tricks that I typically use in these situations, the first of which is a lifestyle choice.

1) TV/computer off by 8:30. This lets my brain calm down. I clearly don't have any scientific evidence behind this, but I know it works. There's so much noise on TV and the Internet -- when I cut it off early, it gives me a chance to wind down. When I'm not consistent with this, it's usually a sign that I'm over-stressed (either mentally or physically or both). Last night I powered down at 8:00. Tonight I'm planning on not powering up at all.

2) When I'm laying in bed, if I can't get to sleep, I start thinking about relaxing my body, starting from my toes and working my way up. I usually get bored around my calves and nod off.

3) If I still can't get to sleep after trying #2, I use this trick that I learned from this guy (while not even remotely endurance related, this site is impressive if only as a demonstration of the human ability to change its situation). With your eyes closed, look side to side as fast as you can for as long as you can. It's pretty hard and for whatever reason, really knocks me out. The only drawback is that if I need to do it for a long time, my eyes are tired in the morning.

4) Get completely hammered. Unfortunately, this doesn't help with the quality of sleep, but at least it gets my brain to stop working.

Hybernation Reflex

So it's finally CRFC in New Jersey. Or maybe even CRGDFC (you can figure that one out). My body and mind took this opportunity to lapse into a dull stupor. Yesterday morning it was like pulling teeth to get out of bed. Today it was pulling teeth without anesthesia. It makes you (that is, me) wonder, how this girl does it every day.

But, I realized how much I love science and cool things and remembered how much scientifically-influenced cool clothing I own. Thermoregulating and wicking and wind-blocking out the wazoo.

So, I sucked it up, layered up (but not so many layers; yay science!) and got out the door into the not-quite-single-digit weather. After five minutes, I was fine. Again, yay science!

Adjusting the schedule

It worked out nicely that I'm going to get to do the whole three-race SARL trail series (originally I was only going to do the first two). This is purely by chance and based on the costs of flights to San Angelo -- I did not plan my trips to see Hannah depending on whether or not I could run around in circles.

Right now I'm in fourth overall in the series. Of course, I don't actually have a shot at the top three, as the series points for the three guys ahead of me are 2pts, 6pts and 9pts, respectively. I have 17 points. Naturally, the spread from fourth to seventh is three points, so, while I can't move up, I can sure slide way back.

I've also decided to race in the Harriman olympic distance tri on May 17 instead of the Devilman sprint in the beginning of May. It costs more, but it's a better/closer race. And it will suit my road bike better as it's got a million feet of climbing. And they give out cooler stuff.

The dude goes to Texas

Somehow I managed to get this enormous beast into a soft-sided travel carrier, through security and onto two different airplanes without sedation. He's a tough little guy.

I believe he was a little shocked (as we were) at the expanse of yard available to him...


...and a little confused as to how he got to where he is at this second.


I don't know my result from the 12(+.4)k trail race on Saturday. Hannah thinks I came in around 8th again. Since I know I finished ahead of some people that beat me last time, theoretically, I've moved up in the series rankings. I do know that eating toast with margarine and jelly 45 minutes before a race is not a good idea. Ugghhh.

More shoes

I bought another pair of shoes. Seriously.


In my defense, I used a gift card from Christmas, so I didn't actually pay any of my money. And I can also say that they were marked down over 50%. And they're apparently some super environmentally friendly shoe that reduces carbon in the environment every time you take a step and actually saves baby seals from clubbings and oil from spilling and Al Gore from inconveniencing and Morgan Spurlock from supersizing and Michael Moore from being a sensationalizing jerk.

Ugh. Yes, I know I got another pair of shoes.

New Jersey?

My calves have been feeling a bit worked the last few days, so I figured I'd give them a little rest and went for a hike today up in Ramapo Mountain State Forest. It's always nice to be reminded of what New Jersey has to offer if you're willing to take a short drive (less than 30 minutes to Ringwood State Park for me -- where I parked and started my walk).

Of course, my calves got no rest, as the entire trail was over rocks and roots and seemingly went straight up. Still a nice couple hours though.

At one point the trail I was on merged with the Cannonball Run trail. For those that aren't up on their NJ history, the Cannonball trail is the route Washington's troops used to move munitions during the Revolutionary War. Kinda neat.

About halfway through my trip, I emerged from the woods to an opening where (I figure) the trees were cleared so a gas line could be inserted. In any event, the trail went right...
...but I wanted to know what I'd be able to see from the highest point around, which was left. So, I went left up the hill.

Almost there...
And there you go: New Jersey. You can wander around in the woods for well over an hour, but you can always find a highway.

Back on steel

My tri bike is all lonely and unused in Texas right now, and, for this winter at least, it's me and my old road bike. It's done it's job like a true workhorse over the years. It carried me from my first triathlons all the way through my first ironman. I've learned how to repair and maintain a bike, all using the roadie as a guinea pig. Some experiments were a success. Others... unsuccessful, but not ultimately damaging.

What's kind of nice is that I believe I've now gotten the bike into the best condition it's been in since it was new in 2001. Granted, it's got some dings and scratches and the drive train is a little worse for wear -- but over the years it's received a new fork, headset, saddle, wheels, and other small parts. I also just spent an otherwise glum Thursday evening cleaning the grime out of every nook I could get to.

Why am I writing about my bike when, normally, I don't talk about my bikes that often, instead choosing to gush about $60 running shoes? Well, there's a chance that this bike doesn't have much racing life left in it. At least, not without some significant purchases. Then the issue becomes: do you overhaul or just buy a new bike? Either way, it's pricey. And I have another bike anyway.

I guess I'm just a little down. If I agonize about throwing away old sneakers, imagine what it will be like if I need to scrap what cost significantly more.

But whatever, he's still got something left in him -- and we'll see what's there all winter on the trainer and in this spring's races.

Note: In reading this over again, I can tell I'm sentimental here: I've switched from "it" to "him" by the last paragraph.

San Angelo Road Lizards Trail Series 10k

Hannah and I ran in the first race of the San Angelo trail series on Saturday. Neither of us realized how cold it was going to be in Texas this past weekend -- race morning was probably sub 30, although it got up to mid-40s during the race.

Luckily, I had a pair of tights and some old rowing base layers in a box that showed up on Friday. We also had other mildly important things show up on Friday -- my bike, for instance.

Both Hannah and I expected the "trail" run to be in name only -- without having discussed it, we both thought we'd be running on a flat, groomed path. The course was not groomed, and certainly was not very flat. There was lots of scrambling over and around rocks and hills and cacti. And for every uphill there was a steep, technical downhill.

Overall, we had a good time. I placed 8th (of 49), a second out of 7th, but more than three minutes out of first (and the front two got lost and had to make up the course), so I clearly had no shot of placing in the overall. That said, I'm currently first in my age group (M15-29) in the series, so we'll see how I do in the big picture. I beat a bunch of younger army guys, but I think they were carrying boulders on their backs the whole time.

Eating "healthy"

Last week's training derailment also meant a nutritional breakdown -- too much fast food, white rice, deep-fried Twinkie-topped DevilDogs, etc. Part of that was because I didn't go food shopping for last week, so I was left scrounging through the pantry (or buying food on the day).

Normally I eat pretty well, mainly because I try to stick to the best piece of grocery shopping advice I ever received: shop around the outside of the store. Because I was feeling a little glum on Saturday, I figured I'd get myself some kind of treat from the supermarket. But because I didn't want to repeat my week of poor nutrition, I opted to "treat" myself in the organic section.

This typically results in something good, although a little odd. Hannah had once bought some type of Kashi cereal that was quite tasty, although because it had the consistency of rocks, you needed to let it soak in milk for 30 minutes to avoid breaking a tooth. I thought I'd be adventurous, so I bought some of this:

I tried it yesterday. Unfortunately, it tasted like this:

In my opinion, it's a sad breakfast when the only thing to look forward to with each spoonful is the milk.

However, because it cost $100 for a 1 oz package, I will finish it, although I'll likely try adding berries or yogurt or some other cereal.