All week I have been struggling on the run.  Actually, more accurately, I have been struggling on the last mile of my runs. I did three runs earlier this week.  8 miles, 6 miles and 5 miles.  The runs have all started out great, but after 7, 5, and 4 miles respectively, I fell apart.  The last mile of each run was over a minute slower than the rest of my miles.  While my average pace on each run was above average for me (7:45, 7:58, and 7:57), I finished each run mentally defeated because the last mile was so much slower than the rest of the run.

Today, however, was different.  I embarked on my weekly long run.  I set out with Jennie on the bike for 12 miles; my longest run since Steelhead.  It was only 80*F, but the humidity was 82% which meant I was dripping with sweat after the first mile.  I started out nice and easy.  The first 8 miles were between 8:30-8:40 min/mile.   After that, I picked it up a bit and finished the last 4 miles between 8:00-8:15.  So, not only did I get in my long run for the week, but I also was able to pick up the pace at the end without falling apart.  Redemption!

I think the biggest difference was having Jennie on the bike carrying water.  I went through about 32oz of water on the run stopping at every 1 or 2 mile mark along the way.  Even so, I was down a couple pounds when I got home so I chugged some more water and chocolate milk to refuel.

But that isn’t even the biggest news of the day.  The biggest news of the day is that Jennie did her first brick workout! After biking along with me for 12 miles, we went on a 1.5 mile run immediately afterwards.  So, now Jennie has felt the feeling in her legs that is a brick workout.  And not only that, but she is looking at getting her own RoadID.  She has a birthday coming up, so well have to see what happens.

In my opinion, she looks too good for having just done a brick workout.  At least I’ve never looked this good after a brick workout.  Come to think of it, I don’t look this good on a normal basis.

I generally look like a sweaty mess after my workouts.  In this case, I left a nice swass mark on the deck after I got up.  Yep, these clothes aren’t allowed inside until they have air dried.

Now, we are spending the day vegging out on couch and watching TV.  Jennie is currently engrossed in some Gilmore Girls reruns during which she has seen ice cream sundaes, fresh strawberries, hamburgers/fries, donuts, and baskets of fresh bread; all of which are leaving her with insane cravings.  It is only a matter of time before she starts baking…

Jennie and I attended our first Grand Rapids Beer Run tonight.  Don Kern, the race director for the Grand Rapids Marathon and all around kick ass dude, along with New Holland Brewing Company have been putting together a beer run once a month at local bars.  We weren’t able to make it to either of the first two events.  The third event though was only a mile away from our house and we didn’t have anything else on the calendar.

So, as soon as Jennie got home from work, we headed up to the Derby Station in Gaslight Village.  I couldn’t believe how many people were there!  The final count was 155 runners.  It cost $5 per runner, but half of the $5 was a donation to the American Diabetes Association.  The other half bought your first beer, covered the snacks, and entered you in a raffle.

After we “registered” it was time to take off.  We actually got a bit of a late start because we were the last people in line.  I headed off on a 4.5 mile route around the lake while Jennie went off on her own for 2 miles.  Because I had late start, I was motivated to catch as many people as I could.  The first two miles were spent catching people.  After that, it thinned out a bit and I spent the next half mile trying to catch up to a single guy in the distance.  When I reached him, we chatted a bit.  I recognized him from when I have run with the Grand Rapids Running Club in the past.  We pushed each other for the final mile or two.  I ended up finishing 4.56 miles in 32:23 for a 7:06 min/mile pace.  It was actually faster than I had planned on going, but that is what happens when I run in a group. 

Jennie had finished up her run shortly before I got back and was walking around Gaslight Village.  This was her first completely solo run (she had one half solo run a couple weeks ago).  I’m very proud of her – she is doing awesome!

After we chugged some water, we headed into the Derby Station for our beer.  We each got a glass of New Holland Mad Hatter IPA; absolutely delicious – Jennie (a non beer drinker) even drank about half a glass.  Then they started to put out appetizers which was a surprise to us.  The giant platter of nachos was my favorite.  I could have eaten the whole platter by myself.

Next up.  The raffle.  I totally wasn’t paying attention when they called my number.  Thankfully, Jennie’s ticket was number off of mine and she realized that I was the winner. I won a cool New Holland Brewing Company t-shirt!!!  As we left, everyone got a New Holland Brewing Company bottle opener.  All that for $5! 

Also, today I did a quick workout in the pool.  This was my first swim since Saturday.  I was really just testing out my sunburn to see how healed it was.  After doing a little warm up and feeling pretty good, I decided to do a 500 yard time trial.  The sprint tri on Saturday is a 500 yard swim and I wanted to get an idea of what to expect.  This was the first 500 yard time trial I have done in about 3 months.  Last time I did one, I clocked 8:1X.  Today, I knocked out a 7:46! My first time under 8 minutes for 500 yards!

All around, a great day!

Tool time!  Taper time!

Yep, less than a week until the Steelhead 70.3 which means it is time to rest up.  I’ve logged the hours, put in the time and effort, and now, as Kristin and Lindsay say, “The hay is in the barn.”

My training for this year began on February 1st for my Racing for Recovery Tri in June and continued on after that.  Since that time,

• I’ve logged 673 miles in my Brooks in 91 hours, 21 minutes
• That’s the 13.1 mile distance more than 51 times
• I’ve logged 2,181 miles on the bike in 120 hours, 2 minutes
• That’s the 56 mile distance nearly 39 times.
• I only logged 2,612 miles in all of 2009
• I’ve logged 9, 50+ mile rides
• I biked my first century
• I’ve logged 85.13 miles in the pool in 48 hours, 26 minutes
• That’s the 1.2 mile distance nearly 71 times.
• PR-ed the Marathon distance with a 3:34 in April
• Semi-PR-ed the HIM distance at Racing for Recovery (shortened course)

My goals for Steelhead are as follows:

• Log an official 70.3 PR on a full course.  Ideally in the 5:20 – 5:30 range. (I finished in 6:08 last year)
• Don’t bonk on the run.  I’d love to see an 8:00 minute pace (or better) for the run.  (I completely bonked last year and moseyed in with a 2:14 run split)
• Have fun!

Here’s to hoping I don’t go taper crazy!

Lastly, a prayer of thanksgiving as Jennie walked away unscathed from a potentially serious car accident today.  The last thing I wanted to see when I got home from my bike ride was a text message mentioning the accident and missed call from her.  Some bone head was in the left turn lane of a 55mph road and decided he didn’t want to turn anymore so he turned back into the flow of traffic leaving Jennie no choice but to slam on her brakes and skid out onto a side street.  The two cars behind her didn’t share her cat like reflexes and it ended up being a 4 car accident.  Thankfully Jennie was unharmed and although less important, the car had very little damage; a couple of scratches and some paint transfer.  I’m glad to see that her guardian angel was on duty and paying attention!  I can’t imagine what I would do without her!

Happy Birthday to me!  Although it would have been much happier had I not woken up a with a crick in my neck.  It is kind of a slap in the face.  Congrats, you are a year older.  Now feel the pain of aging.  Nevertheless, I must have slept funny and now the left side of my neck is sore.  At least now I am my actual “race age”.

So now, like Derek Zoolander, I can’t turn left.  However, when swimming or biking, I really don’t have the option of doing a 270 degree turn to the right to compensate for it.  By the end of my swim, my neck and loosened up a bit, but it had tightened back up for my bike ride.

Oh well, I am sure that the delicious looking ice cream roll cake that Jennie made last night will cure all ills.

This was Jennie’s first attempt at making my favorite kind of cake.  It looks like she nailed it on the first try.

Finally, a quick update on Jennie’s running progress.  She is doing awesome!  She has even gone out the past two evening (in the heat and humidity) to get her miles in.  Not only that, but she has already picked out her next 5k.  Mitchell’s Run is in August and is a nice flat, fast course.  It may even be an opportunity for me to shoot for a sub 20 minute 5k myself.  She may never admit it, but she is turning into quite the runner!

Today was the annual Reeds Lake Run.  I have done this race the past 3 years and it is right around the corner, so I figured why not make it four in a row.  There was a worry that it would rain, and possible storm, but thankfully it turned out to be a beautiful, sunny morning. 

5k

First up was the 5k.  This was Jennie’s race.  As always the 5k and 10k are staggered by 45 minutes so it is relatively easy to run both events.  As her coach, I ran along with her to provide encouragement and a kick in the butt if needed (it was not).  She did awesome all on her own!  She set a PR, both for a 5k and for a single mile split time.  When she was done, she had a huge smile on her face.

Here she is at the first mile.  The first mile was pretty crowded, but she did a great job navigating the crowd and passing as many people as she could.

Only .1 to go and a huge smile on her face.

Celebrating her great race with round one of the post race refreshments.  The real food would come after my race.

10k

On to the 10k.  This race sucked.  No other way to put it.  I had a good time, but it flat out sucked.  I don’t know what the actual temperature change was, but it seemed a lot warmed even though it was only 45 minutes later than the 5k start.  I had sort of hoped for a sub-45 time, but today was not the day for a fast time.

Taking off out of the gate.  I started further back than I probably should have, but it wasn’t too crowded and made my way forward.

I felt pretty good at first, but I rapidly started deteriorating.  My legs felt like cement by the 2nd mile and I was ready to be done.  I trudged along as best I could, but I couldn’t find any speed.  As the race progressed it seemed to just get hotter and hotter.  I was almost wishing for rain at this point.  Anything to cool down.

Headed to the finish.  I had nothing left in the tank at this point.

I ended up finishing in 47:12 (7:37 pace).  Not the time that I wanted, but I was happy to be done. 

Now, it was time for time for the post race party.  The Reeds Lake post race party is like none other.  It is open to runners as well as the general public and everything is free.  Burgers, hot dogs, fresh fruit, chips, pop, Gatorade, frozen yogurt and more.  For the kids, they have balloon animals, air brushed tattoos, and other games.

We both ended up with burgers, fresh fruit/veggies, and chips.  Unfortunately, I started to go down hill quickly. I got a splitting headache and was nauseous.  I don’t know if it was the heat or what, but I felt like crap.  I laid down on one of the park benches while Jennie got her (second) frozen yogurt of the day.  I passed on the frozen yogurt.  Yes, I was feeling that crappy.

We headed back home after that were I proceeded to pass out on the couch in the cool basement for a good two hours.  Jennie even came down a couple of times to make sure I was still breathing.  Thankfully, after a nap I felt a bit better, my head is still a bit fuzzy feeling.

Upon further reflection, I am more happy with my race than I was immediately afterwards.  First off, despite having a bad race, I didn’t feel mentally defeated at the end.  I sort of just blew it of a “Oh well, maybe next time.”  Second, I logged pretty consistent miles (7:33, 7:22, 7:40, 7:31, 7:32, and 7:40) and even managed to negative split the course (23:46/23:26).  Third, I managed a decent time even after a hard week of training (92 miles on the bike, 32 miles running, and about 7,000 yards in the pool). This bodes well for how I will perform during the running leg of my next tri.  If I can knock out a 7:37 pace during a tri, I’d be very pleased with that.

I leave with you a picture of a costumed runner from this morning.  I was able to grab a shot of him during the 5k.

He was wearing a caveman toga and running barefoot.  Yaba, dabba, do! Or don’t?