Training
New Bedford 1/2 Marathon RR
Mar 20th
Woke up, I had ground my coffee, filled the maker with water and set the timer, so I woke up to a few great cups of 53x11coffee, oatmeal, sat around for awhile. Then realized I was still hungry so I had a slice of bread with Nutella on it, about to walk out the door, still felt empty, so had another half a PB&J sandwich.
Race was at 11am, I hate ‘late’ races, too much time to sit around. Finally made the 80mile drive up to New Bedford.
Walked around, figured out where to pick up my race packet, dropped it in the car and looked for the Port-A-Potties. Stood in line waiting for the bathroom. Line was moving super slow, some of the doors were marked ‘locked’ but I had seen anyone moved, I asked if people saw anyone go in, they thought they had, finally first guy in line knocked, 3 Port-A-Potties where empty. Line moved much quicker.
Then jogged around for awhile and shed some layers. I still had a ton of time, so I sat around debating what to wear.
Actual run was pretty good. Went out a bit too fast, passed the Hoyts, then settled in and pushed more and more the further I got into the race. I got passed and passed a ton of people throughout the run.
Sort of disappointed at my overall time. It was a great PR for me. Turns out race was chip-timed, but it wasn’t chip timed. It counted your chip as you finished but not as you started, so people that were seeded further back got hurt. Normally it doesn’t matter.
What could I have done to improve? Check my Garmin 305 in the morning (it was DOA), I was up for 2.5hours before I left. I think I could have pushed a bit more after the initial hills.
Test out new shorts on a longer run. I wore a pair of Brooks Infiniti shorts, super comfortable. However I had worn them once before. They are my first pair of ‘short’ shorts. My normal running shorts are just around/just past mid thigh. These are short. My legs don’t really touch, or at least I never thought they did. Sometime around mile 5 my thighs starting burning, by mile 9 they were on fire. I do not think this really effected my race much, except that it added some serious pain. I thought I lubed up well, but didnt go down far enough.
Seriously an awesome race. Everything was setup perfectly. Shops had post-race discounts, tons of free food I skipped out on. Only improvement would have been Gatorade or something similar at the water stations.
Results: 1:36:06
http://www.coolrunning.com/results/09/ma/Mar15_32ndNe_set1.shtml
Taper
Mar 12th
Does anyone else diskike tapering? So instead of my normal ten hours or so of training a week its more like 3 hours this week. No caffeine/coffee. I got desperate and tried decaf coffee today. Couldn’t finish my cup. It will all pay off at my race come Sunday right?
Team 53x11Coffee
Feb 19th
So it is an easy equation, Late Night Trainer Rides + A Daughter that Wakes Up Early = Coffee. I ran out of coffee late last week, and have been struggling in the morning. My only hope was that I knew my coffee shipment from 53x11Coffee was on its way. I also decided to get the single cup filter that they sell so that I could make the same great coffee at work.
So click the image, buy some coffee, its coffee for cyclists by cyclists. Great coffee by a great company.
New Gear From Brooks Running
Feb 19th
This is my current stable of running shoes from Brooks:
From left Ghost, Cascadia, Racer ST4, and T6 Racer. I can not believe how lightweight the T6 Racer is, feels lighter than the shoes my 2 year-old daughter wears. A big thanks goes out to Brooks, and looking forward to some serious PBs this year.
Overtraining… a non-reality?
Jan 27th
Many of the limits that we bump into on IM race day are coming from the brain protecting the body — by blowing through those in training, we can access more of our potential. That, however, is not without risks to our immune systems and general health.” –Gordo Byrn
More proof to me that there is no such thing as overtraining, just underresting.