2013 Turkey Trot 5 miler

This was my first time at this race and my first Thanksgiving day race.  Unlike most runners, I'm not a big fan of turkey day races.  My philosophy is that I spend most of the year doing races or workouts that its nice to just have a fat day.  My sister was running this race and talked me into doing it.

It's been a cold November here in Ohio and today was no different.  It was freezing and the wind off Lake Erie cut right through you.  To make things even more pleasant.  It began to snow about an hour before the race.  Luckily, they had a building open for us to stay warm in prior to the race.  Just forget using the potty as the line was as long as the race.

Since it was so cold out.  I made the mistake of being late to the starting line.  This was a pretty large race with close to 8,000 runners.  So, it wasn't a bright idea to start in the back.  During the first mile, I just zigged and zagged.  Trying find open space and dry pavement.  The road was still packed through the first mile and a half.  It was so bad,  I ended up running on the sidewalk to trying to establish a pace.

The route

Next up was the only climb of the race and I made my second mistake of sticking on the sidewalk.  Apparently, quite a few others had the same idea and they all decided to walk up the hill.  To make matters worse the sidewalk is blocked by a cement divider and I had no place to go.  Time was clicking by and I was pinned in till mile 2.  I had a goal of running 45 minutes as I had a Christmas Ale bet with my friend Liz and to have a shot of winning.  I needed to run a 44-45, but was already close to a minute off pace with 3 miles to go.

Elevation chart

The last 3 miles were flat.  The snow was continuing to come down and road conditions became worse with every stride.  I still picked up the pace and planned on trying to run a 5K pace back into town.  Race traffic wasn't terrible the last 3 miles, but the road conditions were miserable.  The slush had become so slick that I had zero grip with my shoes (which were new).  It became a fine balance between trying to go fast without pulling a muscle.

My splits for this race. 

Miles 4 and 5 clicked by and I finished in 45:13.  Despite the weather conditions it ended up being a pretty good race.  I've been doing speed workouts the past month and it was good to see them begin to pay off.   I hadn't been running well this Fall as doing runs after long rides this summer left me with zero speed.  I ended up 110/256 in my age group and 1683rd overall.  I'll definitely take being in the top half as this was a very competitive race.

Post race with my sister. 

2013 Clays Park Triathlon

Today I am continuing to take a look back at this year's multi-sport races.  This past May I competed in the Clays Park Triathlon.  This race continued the tradition of poor racing weather this year as the temperature this morning was a balmy 37 degrees.  Yep, a triathlon with an air temp below 40.  Luckily this race took place on a shallow inland lake and the water was fairly warm.  I had a lot of nerves going into this race as I wanted to do well for several reasons.  I wasn't off to a good start to this point with a DNF in Knoxville and a 2nd place in Sagamore.  Plus, my relatives live in this area and this would be the first Triathlon they've watched.

I got to the race early to get set up so I could point everything out to my parents and sister.  Due to the air temp being as cold as it was.  There was a thick layer of fog over the leg and to make matters worse.  I tree had fallen onto the race route.  As a result, the race ended up being delayed 90 minutes.



Swim
The water itself was pretty pleasant compared to the air temp.  My wave was the first to go and each following wave was separated by about 5 minutes.  I really enjoy being in the first wave as its always fun being up towards the front during the bike leg.

The horn blew and the race got off to a furious start, which is typical for sprint races.  It quickly became hard to navigate traffic as a lot of people went out too fast and were stopping to take breaks.  This lake is very shallow and when you tired you could just stand.  It was easy to see this was the first outdoor swim for many.  I made it do the turn around point, which was across the lake.  I to went out too fast as my shoulders began to burn on the way back.  Sucking it up, I made my way to the beach and exited the water.

Time:  400 yards in 4:22

Transition 1
It was a bit of a run up a hill to the transition area.  I made the quick decision to not put any additional clothing on to ride the bike.  Not sure what I was thinking, but I decided to gut it out in a TRI kit.  I ran into a bit of delay getting my shoes on as my feet were wet and numb.

Time:  2:05

Bike
This was a point to point course with no major climbs, but full of rollers.  Due to all the rollers it was hard to settle into a rhythm.  About halfway through, I began to regret my decision not to put on additional clothing.  My feet were completely numb and my skin was pink from the cold air.  I was so cold that it became hard to breathe.  Luckily it was only a 12 miles course and I was happy for it to be over with when I got back.

Times:  12 miles in 36:06

Transition 2
I was able to get in and out fairly easily as I had a spot on the edge of the bike rack.  We were separated by our divisions, so it was good to see nobody else in my group was back yet.  I quickly put on my running shoes and took off.

Time:  51 seconds

Run
This run was a 5K on a 2 loop course.  It isn't the easiest course to run as it was rolling too and consisted of gravel and road.  It also takes place in a camp ground that is full of people celebrating a festival.  Most of the people were still drunk from the night before and/or busy getting drunk that morning.  It was pretty funny getting cheered on by them.  The only annoying thing was they built camp fires on the side of the road for us.  I was already on the verge of hyperventilating due to what felt like the onset of hyperthermia.  The smoke made things really tough and I had to pull up and walk a few times to regulate my breathing.  With a mile to go, I finally regained feeling in my feet and ran hard to finish strong.

Time:  5K in 29:32

Smart wardrobe choice for 37 degrees. 

Finish
This was hard, but fun race.  The frigid temps really compounded things.  Luckily, all my hard work paid off as I finished first place in my group.  My total time was 1 hour 12 minutes and 58 seconds.  Good enough for a 4 minute lead over 2nd place.  I was so happy to win this with my parents and sister present.  I think they were in awe of the sport.  Triathlons can be pretty crazy and it was cool to share this experience with them.

The Great Buckeye Challenge Half Ironman

After watching the Ironman World Championship yesterday.  I was inspired to finally share the story of this journey.  For those of you not family with a Half Ironman.  Its a 70.3 mile race that consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and a 13.1 mile half marathon.  

This journey began back in the Spring of 2012.  My dismal performance in the 2012 Cleveland Marathon left me feeling lost.  I was burnt out from training and racing.  Retreating to the world of cycling, I began to find myself again.  I started tagging along with some friends who were training for a Half Ironman that Fall.  After a month, they confronted me with....Your already training for this race.  You might as well sign up and do it.  My intention wasn't to do a race of this distance so soon, but to just get in better shape.  As race day approached, I began to panic about the swim and pulled out of the race.  I promised to return a year later, ready to finish the challenge.  The offseason was spent focusing on swimming and attempting to become more comfortable with that discipline.

The weather this Spring wasn't conducive to early season multi-sport speed.  The races I used to prepare for the Half Ironman this Fall were as follows:

Revolution 3 Knoxville:  DNF

Nordonia Hills Duathlon:  2nd in AG.

Clays Park Triathlon:  1st in AG.

Twinsburg Duathlon:  Qualified for National Duathlon Championship

Munroe Falls Triathlon:  1st in AG.

Huntington Beach Duathlon:  1st in AG.

The rest of the summer was spent focusing on increasing my endurance and perfecting my swim.  I made the decision to compete in the Buckeye Challenge Half Ironman as it was an inland lake swim and I felt more comfortable with this over a Lake Erie swim.  Training had been going perfectly until the morning of August 4th.  I was about 25 miles into a 56 mile ride / 6 mile run brick when I got into a bike wreck.  It was my own fault as I was not wearing cycling gloves on a very humid day.  I hit a bump at 25 mph and my hands slipped off the handle bars.

I finished the 56 mile ride, but didn't run.  You should have seen the weird looks I was getting while riding. 

It was a miracle that I didn't break anything, but my right side was riddled with road rash and I bruised my ribs after landing on a curb.  This was a complete disaster and I wasn't able to swim until a week before my race.  It also hindered my ability to run as it felt like someone was poking me with a knife in my ribs every time my right foot landed.

I thought long and hard about pulling out of this race.  The only real training the month leading up to this race was cycling.  Even that wasn't great, as I was too skiddish to ride my TRI bike and just stuck to my road bike.  I made the decision to finish what I started no matter how much it hurt or how long it would take.

In the days leading up to the race, the nerves began to set in.  It seemed like each day, the forecast became hotter...80's...90's...100.  I increasing became nervous about hydration as I've had cramping issues in the past during hot events.  I spent the days leading up to the race drinking anything I could get my hands on.

Believe it or not...I fit all this in transition. 

My bike set up for the big race. 

Swim
Saying this was the most important part of the day would be putting it lightly.  I've had my issues with swimming and I was beyond nervous.  I wasn't paying attention and left in the wrong wave and even made a wrong turn at some point too.  I was attempting  to focus and push the panic out of my mind.  Stroke, Stroke, Breath..Stroke, Stroke, Breath...Shit this is insane.  Stroke, Stroke, Breath, Fuck! why am I doing this.  I pushed on as my shoulders burned.  I could feel the flutter of feet in front of me and settled in attempting to benefit from the draft.  My nerves calmed a bit as I hugged the shore praying for it to be over.  Finishing the swim in 44:37.  A rush of excitement engulfed me.  I had made it!!!

Transition 1
It was a bit of a run up a hill from the beach to the transition area.  I made my way to my bike.  So excited that it felt like I was floating.  Off with the wetsuit, shoes and helmet on.  It was time to ride.  I opted for a standard road helmet over an aero as I thought the cooling benefits would be more important than aero.

Bike
Full of adrenalin, I monitored my heart rate a lot the first few miles to ensure I didn't go out too hard.  I was one of the first waves and I was coming up on the people racing the sprint and olympic distances.  It wasn't overly hot yet.  Even though the road was rolling a bit, it was smooth as silk.  There was a steady stream of slower riders on the right.  I just kept to the left as I passed one after another.  It was the perfect balance of speed, focus, and barely any effort.  It was cycling nirvana.  After passing through the turning points of the shorter races.  It was just me and the road.  It was a smaller race and there wasn't anyone else in my immediate area.  I could only see the next rider on long straight aways about a half mile ahead.  It was just me, the countryside, and the hum of the wheels cutting through the wind.  Everything was going well until mile 24.  I began to have discomfort in my left hip.  I'd never experienced anything like this and fortunately it went away.  My bike was set up with 3 bottles full of electrolytes and I was burning through it, but still on pace to make it do mile 36.  We had 3 options for a package drop and I selected mile 36.  It was starting to get warm out as mile Garmin temp gage was reading 99 on the road.  I was looking forward to a break as I approached the checkpoint.  I had caught and passed that rider in front of me finally, speeding away to the water stop.  The volunteer were great and found my bag quickly and I refilled my 3 bottles before heading out.  It was a quick right and a climb into a headwind.  I quickly began to worry as I didn't feel right.  My legs just didn't have any power left.  The temp was now reading 105.  I made it through the next 5 miles and the sun was just frying us out on the road.  Cramps in my quads had begun to set it.  I stopped a couple times in hopes that it would work out.  Counting down the miles, I just prayed for it to be over.  Shaking my head and cursing myself...I made it do the finish.

Transition 2
I caught a small 2nd wind as I whipped around the transition to the bike mount.  The road was lined with people who were cheering us on.  I dismounted and made it to my designated spot.  I was shocked at how many bikes were still missing.  Despite all the issues, I was still towards the front of this race.  Cycling shoes off, running shoes on.  It was time to finish this.

Run
I eased slowly into the run.  My legs were full of spasms and the temp was still pegged at 105.  The run was a two loop course that was flat except for 2 climbs up to the turnaround point.  It was primary a bike path with almost no shade.  I clomped along for the first mile and those spasms turned into cramps.  My leg completely locked up.  I just stood there in a panic.  Tears began to well up, was this it?   Am I done?  I made it through the swim, how could this be happening?  After a few minutes the cramp released and I began to walk.  I would the jog and cramps would set in again.  I knew if I was going to finish.  It was going to be a fight and it was going to be harder than anything I had tried before.  It was a walk...jog..cramp..walk...jog...cramp...walk.  I made it through the first loop in what seemed like forever and a day.  I was mostly walking at this point and my garmin was telling me it was a blistering 106.  To this day, I don't know how I made it those last 6.5 miles.  I had cramps at one point or another in my legs, arms, face, and hands.  My legs locked up on several occasions and it was so bad that my foot turned into what felt like a ball.  I just kept shuffling along, refusing to be denied.

Postrace
Certainly, the result wasn't what I expected and it was a small miracle that I even finished.  It was an even bigger miracle that I still finished 2nd in my AG.  Judging by the splits, I had an hour lead at one point.  Sometimes I wonder what may have been if I didn't have issues, but it was never about time.  It was about finishing what I started way back in 2012.  I feel more like a Half Ironman survivor than a finisher.  This was definitely the hardest thing I have ever done.  They always say you don't know what you're limits are until you push them.  I pushed them this day.  Pushed them farther and deeper than I ever imagined were possible.  I'm not sure what the future holds.  I had planned on doing an Ironman in 2014, but I can't imagine doing double what I did this day.  I don't have any desire to do long course triathlons again, but I learned a long time ago to never say never.  Plus, who knows.  I've been known to make some crazy race decisions after drinking a few Christmas Ale during the offseason.

Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon: January Training Recap

Wow, that went by quickly.  Hard to believe we are already 4 weeks into our training for 2013.  Lets hope February goes by just as fast.  Overall, this was a pretty successful month of training.  I continued to build on the foundation that was built over the holidays.  I've settled into the following training schedule:

Monday:  Speed work - I warm up for 1.5 to 2 miles then do a series of 6 intervals of 800s.  My pace for these intervals are slightly faster than my 5K pace.  I rest for 400 in between intervals and then another mile cool down.

Tuesday:  Spin class at Psycle Therapy

Wednesday:  Swimming

Thursday:  Spin class at Psycle Therapy

Friday:  Swimming

Saturday:  Cycling / Run brick training

Sunday:  Swike!!  Swim / Cycling brick training

I'm pretty satisfied with the results i've seen in my riding and running this year.  We were fortunate to have a couple 60 degree days here.  It was a gift from Mother Nature to get outside and see where I was at and I was very satisfied.  Swimming was another story.  My form this offseason has improved dramatically.  Unfortunately, my endurance in the pool hasn't improved.  I've narrowed it down to not sitting high enough in the water.  Its been a struggle keeping my butt high in the water.  To help counteract this, I've been doing more work in the pool with a pull buoy.  I really didn't want to do this as I wanted to swim the bulk of my training without it, but in the long run.  Its not as big of a deal as i'm making it as I will be racing again this year in a wetsuit.  I'm a bigger guy, so its hard for me to stay higher in the water.

Thanks to Bryan @TriDocB for this photo.  I was having a swim panic meltdown about my training and this helped a lot.

Here's the totals from this past month:

Miles ran:  53.53

Miles ridden:  484.24

Miles swam:  8.38

Total miles:  526.16

Calories burned:  37,548

Time training:  40:01

I hope everyone's training is going as well as mine.  February will be much more of the same for me. I may even sprinkle in some 5k's and Indoor Triathlons!!

BEAL

Heroes - My thoughts on Lance Armstrong and other Athletes of my generation.

From an athletic standpoint all the heroes from my generation cheated in some fashion.  Cycling, Baseball, Football, and even the Olympics.  Sure, I bought into the dream that Lance was an American hero who beat cancer then went on to defeat the best athletes in the world for 7 years.  I don't agree with cheating in any way, but I do understand that it was part of the athletic culture back then.  I hope we as a society can learn from the past and promote clean competition in all sports.  

I also hope as a society we make better choices in our athletic heroes.  I'm guilty myself of looking up to athletes who achieve success.  But what constitutes success?  Winning? Championships?  Being the best at what you do?  In the past I used these attributes.  Lately, I've realized I was wrong.  We should choose heroes like ourselves who manage to promote healthy lifestyles while managing careers, families, over come disease, illness, tragedy and deal with the daily stresses of life.  All while doing the most with the talents we were blessed with.  We are the true heroes and we need to support each other in what ever path we decide to take.  Too often we choose to tear down instead of building up.  So, the next time you see someone choosing to be "their" best.  Cheer them on as they are the true heroes.  

The good, the bad, and the ugly. A look back at 2012

With one day left in 2012, I decided to take a look back on the past year.  It ended up being very interesting and a mixed bag of results.  Things were good at times.  There were bad times and it got ugly sometimes.  In deciding if this year was a success or not.  It really depends on how you look at it.  I enjoyed some of the biggest successes in 2012 and I had some massive fails this year too.  I learned a lot from those fails and have been working hard the past two months so they do not happen again.

The good:  Coming in too 2012.  I had never won my age group or placed in a race.  Not only did I do that, but I placed first in my group 3 times this year.  Even winning my group in my first ever olympic distance triathlon.  Speaking of triathlons,  I completed my first ever Triathlon this year.  It had been a goal of mine for a long time and it was an experience i'll never forget.

The Bad:  The 2013 Cleveland Marathon.  This race was a complete debacle.  When I talk to anybody who ran this race.  We never mention our times.  This race wasn't about time, it was about survival and the will to not let the weather get to you.  I think everyone who ran this race looks at the their finish medal and considers it a badge of honor.  Still,  I was pretty crushed with how this race went and it was months before I did another road race.  I spent over 100 hours preparing for this race and it just wasn't my day.  I guess thats just a life lesson.

The ugly:  Rev3 Sandusky.  I really mishandled the preparation for this race and had a mild panic attack while thinking about swimming 1.2 miles in Lake Erie.  Doing your first ever Triathlon then your first half ironman 6 weeks later ended up being a bigger task than I anticipated.  I spent so much time getting my swim endurance, that my bike and run suffered and I made the decision to DNS.  The good news is that I learned a lot from this whole experience.  I get asked a lot if I regret my decision not to start the race.  No, I am not upset with my decision.  I tried my best to get ready and wasn't able too.  I'll never be ashamed of trying my best.  I'm looking forward to finishing what I started and returning to this race in 2013.  I'm already counting down the days and my official training will begin on 3/3/2013.

You'll notice that I haven't mentioned much about 2013 in this point.  Good news!!  I was asked back to be an Official Cleveland Marathon Blogger for a 3rd year!  Look for my first post next week in which I will discuss next year!


Training totals:

Swimming:  41 miles

Running:  1,029 miles

Cycling:  3,738

Total miles in 2012: 4,809

Hours spent training:  404 hours 39 minutes 49 seconds

Calories burned:  362,659


Races completed in 2012:

Pigskin Classic 5K
Twinsburg Turkey Trot 5 miler
Midtown 10K
Akron Marathon Relay
Vermilion Triathlon - 1st in AG
MS 150:  Pedal to the Point
Fairport Harbor Triathlon
Lorain Summer Sprint Triathlon - 1st in AG
CrossFit Duathlon - 1st in AG
Twinsburg Duathlon
Cleveland Marathon
Shamrock 15K
St. Malachi 5 miler
Twinsburg Indoor Triathlon

2012 Akron Marathon Relay: Beal's B*tches

Post race beers with Angela, Molly, and Steph

This past weekend I competed in the relay division of the Akron Marathon.  Akron is my favorite race of the year for several reasons.  Before I was a runner, I would always admire how fast the leaders of the race were as I would watch them run through my neighborhood.  The race also special to me as I grew up in Akron and my first road race was in the half marathon event 2 years ago.  I can not recommend this race enough.  It is very well supported by the town, has a challenging route, highlights the whole town, and is extremely well organized.  If you ever get a chance to run this race.  I highly recommend doing it.

This past Spring I met with my sister and some of her friends for happy hour and a little Melt.  They were forming a relay team for Akron and asked if I would be interested in joining.  How can you say no to a bunch of good looking girls who like beer, running, and Melt!  So, I joined the team.  Jokingly I said we should name our team Beal's B*ches.  They loved the name, except for my sister who would be running her first race with us.  Sadly, due to a work conflict.  My sister had to drop out.  With an open space, I decided to reach out to someone who would fit in with our team and that person was the Logo.  The Logo has been fighting injuries since April and I couldn't be happier that she was able to make her return to racing with Beal's B*tches.

Waiting at the finish with Jess and my buddy John (who crushed his 1/2 PR that day)

I was running the 2nd leg of the marathon.  This leg starts downtown and winds through lower Akron and Firestone park then ends at Akron U.  I spent most of the summer working on running after riding for Triathlons.  My comfort and speed had improved a lot.  I figured that I would immediately switch to running only and be faster since I wouldn't tired from the bike.  Well, this wasn't the case.  I struggled mightily in the week leading up to this race with my run.  My pace was about 1 minute off from my brick workouts.  I was really worried I'd hold my team back with a bad run and even considered riding to the race to help warm up.  I decided to rest as the more I tried to get my run straight, the worse I felt and hoped it was just due to fatigue.

My route was 4.9 miles and I felt good at the start.  After taking the slap bracelet from Jess, I immediately began a climb up the on ramp back into the race.  Yes, the first exchange was under a bridge.  Nothing like kicking a race off with a climb.  This route is mostly uphill.  You only get two moments to catch your breath around Firestone park and on Brown.  I felt pretty good on my run except for a little shin discomfort.  I had a great run by making it through the 4.9 miles in 40:37!

After passing off to Stephanie, Molly and Angela jumped in and rocked this course.  Our team finished in 3:41:03!!!!  Good enough for 183rd place out of 1,224 teams!!!  Needless to say....My b*tches are fast!!  I had a blast running with this team and hopefully we get the chance to do it again.

The logo leading us off with SPEED!!!

The man in black returns!!! 1st run only race since the marathon.

Stephanie flying into the Valley

Molly is literally floating out of the valley. 

Angela is making it look easy as she flies to the finish.  

You can find Jessica's race report here:  Akron Marathon Relay

You can find Molly's race report here:  Akron Marathon Relay

You asked, Siri answers.

I was lucky enough to be due for a cellular contract renewal and even luckier to be one of the first to get the new iPhone 5.  This will be my 4th iPhone, so it's safe to say.  I'm a big fan of them.  Since this will be my first with Siri.  To have some fun, I decided to let people on Twitter and Facebook  choose some questions for Siri.  Below is what you guys requested.

Question:  Where's the closet place to find bacon?

Siri:  I found 11 restaurants in your area whose reviews mention the word bacon.


Question:  Talk dirty to me?

Siri:  The carpet needs vacuuming.


Question:  What mile will Christian Heller puke during his marathon?

Siri:  Searched the web and found Christian's blog.


Question:  Where have you been all my life?

Siri:  There are 15 churches in your area.


Question:  Where is the meat?

Siri:  I found 4 restaurants in your area that mention meat.


Question:  When will the Cleveland Browns win the Superbowl?

Siri:  Sorry, even I can't predict the future.


Question:  Where do the cougars hang out in Westlake, Ohio?

Siri:  According to reviews.  Savannah Bar and Grill is a cougar hang out.


Question:  How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Siri:  I imagine ground hogs would prefer a different question by now.


Question:  What is a cheater bike?

Siri:  According to reviews, the Specialized Shiv is a cheater bike.