Race Report - Columbus Turkey Trot

A little late – I’ll agree - but here is the race report for the 2007 Columbus Turkey Trot 5 miler.

The weather forecast for Thanksgiving was for drizzle/ light rain turning to a rain snow mix later in the day. Woke up and got ready to go and noticed that it wasn’t raining but was a chilly 35 degrees. Drove to the race and was able to park about 2 blocks from the starting line.

I got there early enough to watch the 3 races for the kids. Was great to watch the kids racing and enjoying everything about running. They loved it and they each got a ribbon for doing it.

The time finally came for the over 3500 of us to line up for the race. As fate would have it, it began to drizzle. The closer it got to the start time – the heavier the rain got. I thought that this was not going to be a good way to start the race. Oddly enough, as soon as the race began, the rain stopped. So all we had to deal with was the wind.

Times for the mile spits were as follows: (1) 15:47, (2) 16:00, (3) 16:22, (4) 15:37 and (5) 15:59. Total time for the 5 miles was 1:19:44 with an average pace of 15:57 min/mile. Felt great at the end and felt great about the times.

I only had a few issues with the race. The first was that even though there were quite a few walkers behind me – it appeared that they were beginning to shut down the water station. They were also tearing down the finish line when I got there!!! The other issue that I had was that there was no post race refreshments. Every other race I have been in has had at least water available at the finish line.

Other that these things, the race was good for me. It was the first competition since the half marathon and I was very pleased with my performance.

If you want to check out my photos from the race, please go to the following website:

http://www.fairfieldphoto.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery=10500

These pictures will be available to view until 12/31/2007.

Mini Recovery over - November 12, 2007

Well after posting the last entry, I did a 3 mile walk the next day and aggravated the muscles/tendons on the outer side of my left foot. Same spot that was bothering me before. I ended up taking the next few days off.

It is starting to feel better so I set off today to do a little light intervals. No jogging today - only some faster pace walking. Also put in about 20 min. of regular walking. Foot feeling OK. Did get a little rain while out walking around the neighborhood. Nothing to complain about - temps were in the mid 50's.

After announcing that I have the goal of doing the 2010 IM Louisville, I started to take a look at what steps need to be taken to reach the starting line. I have checked into some training plans but it occurred to me that there are many smaller steps that need to be taken care of first. Right now I need to keep my focus on the first step - the foundation that everything else will be built upon. That would be to lose some weight but keep the muscle. Not an easy task but it is something that will need to be done. That will mean getting back to lifting on a regular basis. I have already started this but now I will be keeping a separate log online of my progress. I will add the link to this blog later.

Well, off to the shower. See ya!

Recovery Over - A New Mountain to Climb

After taking the last 2 weeks to recover from the half marathon, I return to my work outs. Today I went back to Creekside to do some interval training. It doesn't take as much time to do but can really kick your butt. I only did 4 repetitions of a 30/90 second interval. That is 30 seconds of in my case fast walking or jogging and then 90 seconds of recovery. My first fast interval was a fast walk and the other 3 were a very slow jog. A starting point.

I have decided to set my long range sights on the 2010 Ironman in Louisville, KY. Pretty ambitious I know but I know that if I can train and do a half marathon at 320+ pounds. I can get in better shape, lose weight and train to do the IM. For those that don't know, that is a triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride and ending with a 26.2 mile race. That gives me about 2 years to get ready. Buckle up 'cause here we go again!!!!

If you want to get an idea of what the IM is like, the Ford Ironman World Championships will be on TV on December 1st on NBC. Very beautiful and inspirational. I have a hard time watching this without getting emotional at some of the stories.