Race Report - Holiday Run @ Sharon Woods

The racing weather gods were smiling on us yesterday at the Holiday Run. There was a winter weather advisory posted for Saturday night for freezing rain and possibly .2 inches of ice. Not a good scenario for the race. But thankfully, I awoke Sunday morning to some drizzle and temps in the low 30’s.

The 4 mile path around Sharon Woods Metro Park was paved and cleared of snow for the race. Over 430 people showed up for the race. All in all, it went pretty well. I was able to complete the race in 1:03:46. My average pace was 15:56 minutes/mile. Here are my splits for the miles: (1) 16:16, (2) 17:01, (3) 16:03 and (4) 15:02. I came in 423^rd out of 438 participants.

Here is a link to photos from the race and will be available until 1/31/08.

December 5, 2007 - Walking in a Winter Wonderland

I woke up this morning to find that Central Ohio did get the snow that the weather forecasters were calling for. The ground was blanketed in white. We got about a total of 3-4 inches of snow overnight and into the morning. It really made a mess of the morning commute. Took me one hour to get to work - normally a 20 minute trip. Thanks, Columbus "Snow Warriors" (insert sarcasm)!!??!!

At first, I decided to forgo the lunch walk in the park. Then I decided to go ahead and walk but not at the usual brisk pace. Good decision on my part. It was awesome to walk while the snow was falling. It really was peaceful. The snow muffled most of the sounds around me. I had the park to myself. I guess that no one wanted to be out when it was about 28 degrees with a wind chill of about 19. I did have to watch my step - especially on the wooden boardwalks. Only slipped a little once.

I would highly recommend walking in a winter wonderland if you get the chance!

Training Log - December 4, 2007

I think that today's weather is more like what December should be like. It was cloudy and cold. Tonight we are to get our first snow accumulation of the winter. Forecast is for 1-3 inches tonight and another 1-2 inches tomorrow.

Went to Creekside today to walk. Forgot my windbreaker. Not good. The temperature was about 31 degrees but the wind chill was in the 2o's. Ended up walking with my winter coat on. Just too cold to go without it. Walked 2 miles today. Time was around 36 minutes. Nothing too special to report. Will remember the windbreaker tomorrow and also some ear covering.

As a note, I have added a few of the pictures that I took during the Columbus Half Marathon in October to the other pics from the race. I have decided that I will be doing the full marathon this fall.

2007 Ironman World Championships - Some thoughts

I forgot to post a reminder that the 2007 Ironman World Championships were shown on NBC this weekend. If you didn't get a chance to watch it and it is shown again some time, I would highly recommend checking it out. Even if you aren't into triathlons - you will be touched by the stories of ordinary people that have overcome or are in the process of overcoming various challenges in their lives. I have yet been able to watch one without tears rolling down my face. Their stories are an inspiration to me and countless others.

This year was unusual in that many of the ranked professionals dropped out of the race. Last year's winners: Norman Stadler and Michellie Jones both left during the 112 mile bike portion due to medical issues. 2005 men's champion, Faris Al-Sultan did not even start the race due to a stomach flu. Natascha Badmann wrecked her bike into a traffic cone and fractured her collar bone. This left the field open for anyone to claim the prize.

As interesting as these events were, I found the stories from the non-professionals or "age groupers" more riveting. Stories like the 65 year old woman in her first Ironman as a competitor. She has volunteered in previous years. Or the legally blind gentleman who also was taking on Kona for the first time.

The story that hit me closest to home was the story that was not told in the broadcast. It was of Murray Frank of Canada. He was bib # 644. I saw him get out of the water and knew that he was the one racer that I was going to be rooting for. He was mentioned at the end of the program and they showed him crossing the finish line - becoming an Ironman. I checked his info and he finished with a time of 16:44:08. He was 161/162 in the 45-49 year old men. He was the 1677th finisher of the 1685. He weighs in at 285 pounds.

He is my role model - if he can do it then so can I and so will I.

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.