IM Louisville Race Report

Meg and I woke up at 3:53 am...no alarm needed. That's how race day started. Whether nerves or fear of oversleeping, it didn't matter, we were ready to get up and get after it. As we sped around the hotel room getting everything together, thoughts of the day ahead were creeping into my mind. It was actually here! 6 months of training all leading to this day! We were rested, we had done all the long bike rides, all the hot runs, and swam farther than I ever imagined I would. Nothing left to do but put them all together.

We hit transition about 4:45 am and dropped off our bottles and aired up our tires. It was a crazy sight to see. Thousands of people all preparing to go through the same adventure. It was a 3/4 mile walk from transition to the swim start. We hustled a little as it was a first come, first serve time trial swim start. We got there thinking we would be close to the start of the line, HA! Not even close. As we kept walking, we were thinking, "Are we going to be last?". Far from it, but we ended up about the middle of the pack. It was a long 2 hour wait for the race to start. Once it started, it was 15 minutes before we finally jumped off the dock and into a river of arms, legs and green and pink caps.

Our plan for the swim was to stay together. Because of the unique start it was the first time we have ever even had the opportunity to swim together, so we welcomed it. Meg is by far a better swimmer than I am, but in open water I tend to be pretty good. I am a little better at sighting the buoys than she is, so our plan was for her to stick on my right hip and watch me and I would sight. It worked great!! We had to swim over a lot of people over the 2.4 mile course, but we got out of the water in 1:02! We had hoped for 1:05, so we were very happy!

We wished each other good luck and parted ways as we went into our respective changing tents. The adrenaline at this point is high as you are excited to be done with one portion and ready for the next. In the swim we both used what is called a swim skin. It is a one piece suit that you wear over your tri suit. It is highly water resistant and works really well for a race that doesn't allow a wetsuit. This was the first time I had ever used a swim skin, so I unzipped it and took it off down to my waist as I raced through transition. I then hurriedly put on all my bike stuff, helmet, shoes, bib number, etc. As I ran toward my bike I was ready to get on the bike and roll! Right as I was about to jump on my bike, I realized I still had my swim skin on! Oh NO!! What to do? Go back to transition and lose time? Just then, a volunteer offered to take it for me, oh thank goodness! I ripped it off and handed it to him while telling him my number so he could put it in my transition bag. I then raced off and jumped on my bike. As I did a thought flashed through my head that, that may be the last time I see that swim skin....

The bike was 112 miles of rolling hills through the outskirts of Louisville. The first 15 miles were fairly flat as we made our way out of town. I tried to get rolling, yet stay calm as its a loooong way to go!! At about the 20 mile mark it starts to get really hilly with some severe up and downhill sections. One in particular is scary as it is an out and back with bikers coming both ways. I heard afterward that there were several crashes in that section. Then it is off to a 30 mile loop section that we do twice. My parents had come with us and were there to support us. Thanks Dad and Debbie!! They were there at the 38 and 68 mile marks in a town called La Grange. It is a fun section as there are thousands of people going crazy cheering.

Throughout the bike I knew I was aiming for 20 mph average. I could tell at times I was ahead and then the hilly sections I was losing speed. I tried to remember to stay within myself and that I still had a marathon to go. There were hard sections were I felt tired, but then shortly after I would feel good again. I was trying to focus on my nutrition as well, which is so important in this race. As I saw the 90 mile mark, I knew it was all downhill/flat from here. I started to roll and knew I would have to go a little harder to get my 5:30 time that I wanted. The last few miles I made sure I was using a high cadence to get my legs ready. I would stand up every once in awhile to stretch and I felt good other than I could feel my IT Bands were tight. I hoped they would be fine when I got off the bike.

I flew into transition in 5:29, right on time. I handed my bike to the volunteers and raced down the sidewalk. Halfway there I stepped hard on a rock right on my left heel. I let out on ouch, but didn't have time to think about it. Once again I passed through the changing tent, making sure I took off all the proper gear this time. A quick stop at the sunscreen tent and port-a-potty and it was marathon time!!

I felt great!! How was this possible after 112 miles on the bike? I knew from friends that no matter what I felt like, I should go slow the first couple miles. I had to consciously slow down, cause it just felt so easy. In the first mile I downed a gel and headed up the only hill of the course. An excuse to slow down, perfect! As I ascended the bridge I felt a slight twinge in my right hamstring. I stopped to stretch it out and luckily it went away. I passed the first mile in 7:02. Right on!! I made the turn around and headed down the bridge as my left hamstring started to speak up. I shook it out and kept going, whew! that was close. Because of the downhill mile 2 was a little faster with a 6:40. It still felt easy, so I decided to just maintain. I felt like I was flying! I was passing people like crazy and all the spectators were yelling, "You look great!". I continued to put out 6:45 miles for the next 4 miles. As mile 9 approached I started to feel something, something bad. My IT bands that had been a little tight on the bike were screaming! Every step now became a fight between my legs and my mind. With every foot strike a stab of pain went through my entire outer thigh. How long could I go like this? I still had over half the marathon to run!! As I got to mile 10 I saw Meg coming the other way. She looked great! She asked how I was and I said, "NOT GOOD!". I wished her luck.

Somehow I managed to make it to mile 13 at about 1:30, still a good time, but things were getting progressively worse. I had taken a bite of banana and now my stomach was killing me. I don't know if it was the banana or just my stomach, but I felt like I needed to double over and throw up. This went on for the next 5 miles! I would stop, bend over and push in on my stomach, trying anything to get it to stop hurting. My mile splits were now creeping well into the 10 minute range. And if that wasn't enough, now the cramping began. My left calf seized up and I couldn't even move. I stood there stretching it, massaging it, anything I could do. Nothing was working. Every time I tried to take another step it stopped my dead in my tracks. I must have done this for a good 5 minutes. Finally it loosened enough that I could shuffle my feet and at least make forward progress. Qualify for Kona was now out of the picture. I was in survival mode. All I could think about was, just finish, just finish! I was going to walk the whole thing if I had to.

Mentally, it was brutal. I knew in my mind, if I could just stop the cramping, i could at least run. But the cramps weren't going away. A nice gentleman saw my agony and offered my some salt tabs. I took them with a thank you. I downed the tabs and kept walking. I was at about mile 20 when the cramps finally subsided enough that i could attempt to run. So I came up with a strategy. I would walk for 20 seconds at the mile mark, then I would run to the aid station, which was about 4 minutes away, walk through that and then run to the next mile marker and repeat!!

It worked! I was able to run at about a 7:15 pace during the part that I could run. So, now I was doing about 8:50 miles. Not great, but better. It was all I could do to make it to the aid stations before walking. The pain in my IT bands was only getting worse and if they had snapped in half I wouldn't have been surprised. Oh and that rock I stepped on in transition, yeah it had bruised my heel and that was hurting now as well!

Mile 25 was a welcomed sight. I knew I was so close! I was determined to run the entire rest of the way in. I did! It was ugly, but I made it. As I crossed the line I heard the announcer say, "Trey Vernon, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!!!" It was wonderful and horrible at the same time!! It was over! Ten hours and seventeen minutes later, the longest, most painful day of racing was finally at an end. As soon as I crossed the line, I fell into the arms of the volunteers. I was done, my body had given everything it had and was shutting down. A big guy grabbed me and yanked me into a wheel chair. I couldn't even put my feet up on the foot pedals, because I was cramping again. I felt like I might pass out and the guy jammed something in my mouth and told me to bite down. I obliged and it was the worst tasting thing ever. Not sure what it was, but it tasted like pure pepper or something, awful!

They sped me off in the wheel chair to the medical tent. I was so out of it I could barely speak. They laid my down on a cot and propped my legs up. They ached so bad!! They asked my how I was, and I replied, "terrible". After 5 attempts they finally got the IV in. I was just too dehydrated for them to get a good vein. They kept wanting my to drink an electrolyte drink, but after 10 hours of doing that, it was the last thing I wanted. I told them I would probably puke it up, they didn't care. Down it went! They also checked my glucose level, 62, not sure what is good, but 62 is not good! They made me drink more and I ate a cookie. It tasted so good.

As I lay there, I was thinking of how Meg was doing. I knew I would miss her finishing and that really sucked. I had always envisioned getting to see her cross the line. After 2 bags of IV they let me leave. As I very slowly and gingerly made my way out, I saw Meg coming in. Her turn!! I asked how she did and she said, 11:14!!! Wow! That was awesome! So fast! She had biked 6 hours and then run just over 4 hours in the marathon! She is amazing! I was so proud! I sat with her as she got her 2 bags of IV and we talked about the race. At that moment I told her I had no plans of doing an IM ever again!

Now that it is over, I look back and try to take it all in. What an adventure to be sure! Although I wasn't fully satisfied with how mine ended, I knew it was my first one and it happens. I know know that I have to do another one, just to prove to myself that I can do it without stopping next time!

P.S. I never did see that swim skin again...

It's showtime!

Well, after 6 long months of training, race day is finally in sight. Sunday is the day! It feels like it came quickly, but looking back it has been a long and trying process. There have been many ups and downs, good days and bad. Through them all Meg and I tried to stay focused on the end result and trust in our training plan.

Am I ready? Yeah I think so. Legs are starting to feel better. It's always hard getting that taper thing down. Especially when you have never done what you are about to do. I think we got it pretty close, but we shall see. I think most of all it is the fear of the unknown. Neither of us has done this, so only in our imaginations can we try and picture what it will be like. Will my bike be fast enough? How will my legs feel when I get off to run? What should I take for nutrition? All things that only can be answered after the fact. But like I said, we have to believe in the work we have put in thus far. I know we have worked hard and I don't know if there is much more we could have done.
This whole process has taken its toll both physically and mentally. All the early morning runs in the dark, the Saturdays spent melting on the bike in 100 degree temps. All leading up to Sunday!
We are excited for this adventure and are going at it with open minds and determined hearts. Whatever the result, we know we will put everything we have out there in the course. Hopefully somewhere in the mix of swimming, biking and running we can take a little time to soak it all in and realize what a cool thing it is we are doing.
If you would like to track us, you can do so either by going to ironman.com and clicking on the Louisville link and searching our name or bid numbers. 201 for Meg and 1223 for myself. My dad will also be giving updates on my Facebook page. Thanks for all your continued support and I can't wait to tell you all about it!

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Buffalo Springs 70.3 Race Report

Well, the first 70.3 of the season is under the belt. I can say one thing about Lubbock, TX. IT'S HOT!!! The day of the race it hit a high of 110 degrees!! Luckily Meg and I were done before it got to that temp.

After setting up our transition, Meg and I headed to the start of the swim and put our wetsuits on. I was a little nervous, which is normal. My friend Chuck was also in the race and in my age group. He is a stud. He won our age group. I figured I would try and stay on his heels in the swim as long as I could. That lasted about 200m! After about 5 minutes of the swim, my arms didn't feel that great. This usually happens, but tends to get better as the swim progresses. I was left in no mans land for the first half of the swim, then I caught the heels of a group with about 1000m to go. It is so much easier to swim in the draft of someone else and conserve some energy. I got out of the lake and was a little disappointed with my time as I thought I had just swam 28 minutes. Later I would learn it was 26:52, which is not bad for me.

I had a bit of trouble in transition getting my wetsuit off my left foot, but finally did and ran the bike to the mount line. I was off on the bike. We had a pretty steep and long hill right off the bat.
It was a hilly and very windy course. The wind was blowing 15-20 the whole time. I felt like I was doing okay on the bike. I was getting passed by a few of my age groupers, but was trying not to let them get to far ahead. There were 2 out and back portions where you could see how far behind you were. Right before the 2nd turn around we had to go up a winding hill. About half way up I heard a hissing sound. I knew exactly what it was and I could not believe it. A flat!! Especially since I was borrowing wheels from a friend and they were tubulars. I had never ridden tubulars. It was supposed to be an easy fix with some Pit Stop fix a flat, but I couldn't seem to get it to work right. I put one cartridge of air in the tires and it seemed to hold. I made it about 6 miles and I realized I was still losing air. I put a 2nd cartridge of air in the tire and took off, praying that I could make it the last 15 miles on what I had left. It seemed to work, but I know the air in the tires was not what it needed to be. To make matters worse, the last part of the course was right into the wind. I grinded hard to make up for lost time, but paid for it. My legs started to burn and cramp. I tried standing up, but that didn't work. After the one last hill, I was so glad to see the transition area.

I jumped off the bike and was hoping to make up some time on the run. I started out and my legs were sore already. I figured I just had to shake out the bike and I would feel better after a mile or so. 2 miles past and I wasn't feeling better. I knew I had pushed too hard and was paying the price. There was a brutal hill at mile three and I felt like walking, but didn't, although I think I would have gone just as fast. After a second big hill and 2 miles into the wind, we hit the half way point. With the wind at my back, I started to feel a little better and my pace quickened by 30 seconds per mile. I felt okay, other than my quads were begging for mercy with every step. I was starting to catch some of the people that had passed me on the bike and it was giving me energy. The last 2 miles, were the longest ever! I made my way to the finish in a time of 4:36. I ended up getting 5th in my age group which wasn't bad considering my poor bike split.

I had to get an IV after the race as I was just too gone. I felt much better after, although the lady had to poke me in both arms to get the needle to work. Not sure how that was as you can basically see my veins in my arms. Two days later I am still feeling sore. It was a tough, tough race and I learned a lot. Thanks to all the people that spent the weekend with us, it was great!!

Father's Day

Once again its been too long since my last post. Since last time I have been swimming, biking and running...A LOT!!! The routine has stayed pretty steady, 4 swim, 4-5 runs and 4 bikes. Meg and I have gotten up to a whopping 5 hour ride in which I covered 100 miles! My first time ever!

We also got up to a 2:40 run which covered 24 miles. Let me tell you that was a long weekend and my legs were super sore.

Today we did a 2:20 run and I covered 22 miles. We have been using hydration backpacks during our runs, as it is the only way to carry enough water. They are great and a life saver.

Next Sunday is our Half Ironman in Buffalo Springs, TX, so we are pretty excited. Hopefully it will go well!

KC Tri

Well, it is a good thing that I am a better triathlete than I am a blogger! Sorry for not posting anything for so long. During that time, Meg and I have both been training very hard. Lots of running, biking and swimming. We are starting to see some improvement, which is always good.

This weekend we raced our first Olympic Distance Triathlon of the season. We also had our first day off in about 6 weeks. We participated in the KC Tri on Sunday and it went very well. I won the overall race with a time of 1:59.55 and Meg won her age group! She took over 10 minutes off her time from 2 years ago! I was able to take 7 minutes off my time.

It was a great day for a race, the weather was overcast and cool for the most part. I had a pretty good swim, although the water was pretty choppy coming back into the beach. I came out of the water in 23:30, which was 2 minutes faster than the last time I raced there.

As I got onto the bike, I really wanted to stay focused and try to push all the way through the ride. It was a little windy at parts, but not too bad. It was a 2 loop course, so after one lap, I had a strategy for the 2nd time around. I attacked the hills and tried to rest on the downs. I ended up with a bike time of 1:01 and an average speed of 24 mph. I was very pleased with that. I did have a little bit of a scare as I almost wiped out on some loose gravel coming into the finish of the bike. Luckily I somehow stayed upright and didn't crash.

On the run, I knew I would have to have a pretty good one to make it under 2 hours, which was one of my goal times. I felt tired the first 2 miles, but then started to settle in. With 1 mile to go, I looked down and knew I had 5:30 to make it 1.2 miles, so I took off. I reached the finish just under 2 hours! My run was 32:55, which was really good!

Overall, I was very pleased and excited about the race. I then went to cheer on my wife as she finished up. I am so proud of her, she did really well! Hopefully we can take this experience and work on some things for the next race.

Emporia Tri

It's been awhile since I wrote. I have been training very well the last couple weeks. This week was especially good. 4 Bikes, 3 Swims, 4 runs and 2 lifting sessions. It would have 4 swims, but lightening derailed that attempt.

Today Meg and I did the Emporia Spring Migration Triathlon. It was a beautiful day. We made a little mistake and put our swim times, much too slow, but other than that it was great. I swam about 6:30 for the 400m and then had a great bike ride. Not sure what the split was, but I got off the bike a little over 40 minutes in. I was really working on the bike, so the first mile of my run was pretty tough. Final time of 56 minutes. Good enough for 2nd overall! Meg was 10th overall and first female with a time of 1:06!!!

1 swim, 2 swim, 3 swim....

3 consecutive days of swimming!! Finally feeling like my swim is starting to take some shape. After working on my stroke last week, this week I have been working on my kick. I think it is paying off, I just need to get stronger with my legs.

Monday - 1 hour swim, tired so skipped bike
Tuesday - 10 mile run - 1:03, 1 hour swim
Wednesday - 26 mile bike on the trainer, 1 hour swim (10x100m) avg. 1:35

You know its windy when....

1. You are running/biking significantly slower than usual.
2. Your hat flies away.
3. You can't hear the music in your earphones.
4. You start swearing and wishing for it to stop.
5. You get passed by a tumbleweed!

Well, we have officially reached spring and with it comes the wind. Gotta love Kansas weather! On Thursday I was running in 35 degree weather in the rain with full tights. Today it was 80 some degrees and I felt like I might pass out before I reached home. 2 Hour Run in 80 degrees and 20 mph wind, not fun. I made it 18 miles, but then had to lay down for about 15 minutes and drank about a gallon of liquid. Meg and I both bonked hard with the heat. Not enough water for that long and that amount of heat when we are not used to it. the wind didn't help as I went the entire first hour against the wind. My thought was that I would feel better when I turned around, but that was not the case. I struggled my way back as best I could. I caught Meg with only a few minutes left on the run and we were both looking pretty rough.

Saturday we did a long bike ride. We went out on south 57 for 2 hours, straight into the wind for 2 hours! At that point we were only at 30 miles and we hit a tiny little town called Dwight. We were hoping for a gas station, but nope, at least not one that we saw. So we turned around and then we finally got the benefit of the wind. We were flying on the way back. We made the round trip in 3:42. Shaving 18 minutes off on the way back. It was a tough ride, as we were both sore afterward.

The rest of the week before that was pretty normal. Tuesday was a 10 mile run. Wednesday was an hour and a half bike with a swim in the afternoon. Thursday was a 10 mile run, with a short lifting session after. Friday was 2 hours on the bike.

Swim, Swim, Swim

Two swims in two days. Pretty good for me. I mainly have been working on my stroke. It feels very awkward at times, but hopefully it will get better. I know that it takes a lot of practice to make my stroke better. Just hope I don't go crazy waiting to see the rewards from it.

This evening will be probably about 35-40 miles on the trainer. Another beautiful day of snow yesterday means more rides inside. Its an easy day on the bike, so won't be bad.

Sunday, lazy Sunday

Saturday was a 2 hour run. Made it 18 miles and it was nice and easy. First half with Ben and then solo the last hour. I made sure not to push anything as I had a pretty hard week of running.

Today Meg and I got up early to bike on the trainer. Made it 3 hours and it felt pretty good. It has been awhile since I went that long on the bike. Glad it is over and nice to have the whole day left. Unfortunately, I will have to spend it alone because Meg is leaving for a conference this afternoon. It will be lonely without her.

Planning on making it to the pool for some much needed drills to improve my stroke. As long as the pool is open I am there.

St. Patty's Day 10K Race Report

Hey all! I know its been awhile since I posted and I apologize. The last couple weeks have been so busy, which is always I guess. Things have been pretty typical. Biking on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sundays. Runs on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The only real difference was last Saturday when Meg and I ran in the 10K in Manhattan for St. Patty's Day.

I had been dealing with a stomach flu a couple days before, so I wasn't sure how it would go. I talked to Kory and we thought we could go around 33:30. I thought that would be pretty good considering I haven't really done any fast runs in a long time.

During my warm up, I felt pretty tired and wasn't too sure on how it would go. When the gun sounded, Kory and I were off. We had a few people that we knew were going to be pretty fast, including last years winner who had run 32:30 previously. We had your typical couple guys who went out way too fast in the first few blocks, but weren't really worried about them. After a half a mile it was Kory, last years winner and myself.

We cruised through the first mile in about 5:12 and to my surprise I felt good and the pace felt easy. Kory and I flanked last years winner on both sides as the wind was coming from our right side and wasn't really affecting us. We passed the two mile in another 5:12 mile. As we rounded the turn at the 2 1/2 mile mark last years winner put in a little surge, but we were quick to catch back up as we started to go up a hill. At the 3 mile mark we were still maintaining pace and were at 15:40. We were started to drop the other guy and at this time I realized that if we kept this up, we were going to run pretty fast.

We blazed past the 4 mile mark as we came to the downhill portion of the course. We were at 20:50 at this point. We flew through the middle of campus and Kory started to pull away a bit on the downhill leading to Manhattan Ave. I was able to pull him back in as we turned right and headed back toward the park. With a little over 1 mile we had dropped down to about a 5 minute mile. We were really starting to push at this point and I could hear Kory and myself breathing hard. Neither of us wanted to give an inch. When the 6 mile mark came into view I told Kory to go if he had it in him. He put in a little surge and I didn't feel like I wanted to sprint it out with him. We finish a mere 4 seconds apart with Kory running 31:59 and myself at 32:03. It was a great effort and much faster than either of us had anticipated. It was a 30 second Pr for Kory, so I was really excited for him.

Then I was off to cheer my wife on. She came around the corner with only a straight away to go and I looked at the clock. It was in the low 41 minute timeframe. I urged her to go for under 42 and she sprinted past another racer. She crossed the finish line in 41:50 a 30 second PR for her as well!!! Good enough for 3rd overall in the female division!

Since the race, Kory and I have had one more really good workout. We did a 6 lap increasing pace run at Anneburg park. We went for about 6:20 a mile pace down to 5:20 pace the last mile. Finish 10 miles in 57:43. Great workout!! I told Kory that I felt like we were like Rocky and Apollo in the the Rocky movies, always going at each other, pushing each other to be better.

What just happened?

Monday was a good workout. Rode 1:30 on the bike trainer. Covered 35 miles. Watts were up around 250. Felt good after not biking for a few days.

Evening swim was good. SKIMPS with 5 x 200m (100m kick rest). Avg. 3:19. Not bad for such little swimming, but needs to get better.

Tuesday I had a good 10 mile run. Ran 10 in 1:02 and felt good. Then a quick lifting session.

Then something hit me. It was almost instantaneous. My stomach started hurting and to spare you the details, I will just say, it was still hurting when I went to bed. Going to have to take Wednesday off and hope I feel better.

Sleepless in Seattle

This last week was wonderful and crazy at the same time. Ben and I spent Wednesday through Sunday in Seattle, WA. We were at a Brooks Symposium. It was a wonderful time and the people at Brooks are amazing. They are very passionate about running and it comes through in all that they do. We learned a lot from them and the other store owners that we met. It was a great experience.

I did get some training and it went like this:
Monday: Bike 1:30 covered 35 miles.
Tuesday: Bike 1:15 covered 27 miles
Wednesday: Bike 1:10 10x20 seconds all out. I actually felt like I was going to throw up the last interval, so that was something i hadn't felt in a long time.
Wednesday: Ran 6 miles
Thursday: Ran 10 miles
Friday: Ran 8 Miles
Saturday: Swam 30 min. and ran 2 hours
Sunday: Rest
Monday: Bike 1:25 covered 35 miles

A case of the Mondays

This morning I did a 27 mile bike trainer ride through the French countryside. At least that is what the computer showed! It was a good ride. It was mostly uphill the first half and then down at the end. My HR was about 107 and 200 watts.

I was planning on swimming after work, but work ran very long, which is a good thing! You can tell its spring!!

Harder than it looks..

So, it seems that blogging about the Ironman is much harder than actually training for the Ironman!! It has been a week since my last blog, so not doing well at that. Here is a recap of the last week.

Monday: 1 Hour 30 minute bike trainer ride. Pretty easy, low 200's for watts.

Tuesday: 5 Mile run with Ben to take down flags from the race at Fancy Creek.

Wednesday: 1 Hour 20 minute trainer ride. Did 10 x 2 minutes at over 300 watts. It was a good workout and was tough. Felt good to do something fast for once.

Thursday: 10 Mile run in Manhattan with my friend Amy. It was a nice run that flew by. It always seems easier when you are running and chatting with someone.

Friday: 35 Mile bike trainer ride on the Louisville course. It is a pretty tough course with lots of hills. It is going to be interesting!

Saturday: 3 Hour bike Trainer ride. Meg and I rode the trainers together, so I took the cyclops trainer. She was on the Tacx and made it 50 miles on the Louisville course. We both were pretty tired at the end.

Sunday:18 mile run. Made the run in 1:51, which is close to 6:10 pace. It was an okay run, felt good in spots and not so good in others. Nose was running more than I was, which was really annoying.

I will try to do better!!

Fancy Creek Trail Race

Today was the Fancy Creek 5 mile trail race. It was a great turnout! About 80 people showed up to have a try at the Fancy Creek Trail. I think everyone one really enjoyed it. I know that I would have rather been running as it was really cold standing in the wind. But it is all for the good of the racers. The weatherman was a little off on his prediction of 55 degrees. It wasn't anywhere near that!! Great job to everyone that came out and raced and to those who volunteered to help! We appreciate all of you!!

This morning I did a 60 mile bike ride on the trainer. I had to ride by myself, because Meg has been sick this weekend. Was lonely for the 2:45 ride. Averaged about 215 watts and 22 mph for the trip. Felt good and didn't force anything, just put my time in on the saddle. Tomorrow is a recovery day!!

The Wind Breaker

I apologize for the lag in posting. It has been a crazy week. Tuesday I had a 10 mile run which was pretty good. Wednesday I did a really good bike ride. I did 3 x 10 minutes while averaging 300 watts. I could feel my legs burn during the 10 minutes hard, which felt good as its been awhile since I went for it.

Thursday was a brutal 10 mile run. It was a very windy day with 10-20 mph winds from the north to NE. I didn't really notice it as I left my house because I ran toward the west and then south. As I headed into mile 5 I thought " I am going to let loose and see how this mile goes". I went 5:40 for the mile. I had planned on doing one more hard mile, but this was the turn around point. As soon as I turned around I felt the wind. It sucked! I was still pushing pretty hard and I ran a 6:35. That is the difference the wind made, and the hill I was going up. I tell you, the difference in temperature the wind makes as well is amazing. I was sweating going out and a little chilled coming back. I ended up coming home 2 minutes slower than I went out.

This got me to thinking about the apparel I was wearing. I usually wear a black Brooks Infiniti Jacket (a simple windbreaker) that I have had since college. I love this jacket. It may be 5 years old or so, but it still works just as good as the day I got it. I would argue that the windbreaker jacket is one of the most important cold weather articles of clothing. When you live in Kansas the wind is always blowing and it just cuts right though you. However, with the windbreaker, it stops this chill. The other great thing is that since it is a jacket, you can wear it basically everyday and it doesn't smell. If you get a convertible version (the sleeves zip off) it turns into a vest and you can wear it even longer through the season. What could be better?

I would like to give an Honorable Mention nod to the wind brief. The guys will understand me on this one. Same concept as the jacket, but to protect those parts that you care so dearly about. Unless you want to shell out the big bucks on a pair of windproof tights, which I have a pair of CW-X ones that I promise are worth every penny, then the wind brief is just the ticket to save the family jewels. You and your wife can thank me later..

Friday I did a 40 mile bike ride on the trainer. It was a good session, averaged 220 watts and 23mph.

Today, Saturday, Ben and I went out to Fancy Creek to finish marking the course for tomorrow's race. We did the first loop and stopped and put up flagging so that people don't get lost or hit limbs. Then we ran a second loop to get a good feel of the course. There is a little snow on the course, but it is not bad. I had on the yak-traks and the footing was good. We averaged around 9 minutes per mile for the loop. It should be a great race tomorrow.

Double OT Downer

Last night we had our last basketball game of the year. After 2 overtimes and one injured player, we had to go home losers. At least we can say that for possibly the first time all season, we didn't lose because of the refs! Thanks to all the guys for such a great season and a wonderful time.

This morning I hoped on the bike trainer and did a 36 mile ride. The first 30 minutes seemed like a struggle and like I couldn't get any watts going. Toward the middle I started feeling better and ended it well. I averaged 208 watts and HR of 109.

I really can't wait for some warmer weather, it would be so great to finally ride outside!

The windy city...

Another early morning today. Started with a drive to Topeka for day 2 of the bowling tournament. I had 6 games and all but one were pretty bad. 179 was my high score. Guess you can't expect much when you bowl once a year. A good time had with the K of C group from Ft. Scott though.

A long bike was on the schedule for the day. I was feeling pretty tired, so started out slow. I chose the Bentonville, AK course and made it 56 miles before my computer trainer decided to lock up and crash. I was almost at 3 hours, so I called it a day. My watts were low at a little less than 200. Legs are feeling it now though.

Saturday at the Alley

Today we ran an hour and a half run. It was the longest run since the trail race. It felt okay and I made it 14 miles. My HR strap was giving me a bit of trouble so the HR average was off a bit, but it said 140. I am becoming the biggest fan of the 3/4 tights. Absolutely the perfect article of clothing for the 40 degree weather. Another great run in the Adrenalines as well. Not too much stretching afterward, as I was heading to Topeka for a bowling tournament.