Crosswinds 5k.

I am the type of person that absolutely cannot get a stellar nights sleep before a race.  No matter how tired i am, i get so antsy and can't turn my brain of while thinking about difference scenarios and how the race will play out.  

That being said... i got 4 hours of sleep last night before the race, if that.

Up this morning at 7, even though i had been laying there for quite some time.  I feel like i was waking up every 5-10 minutes on my own, and although my alarm was set for 7 am, i hate that alarm clock sound so i just got up at 6:58 when i woke the latest time.

Moped around, got some fluid in me.  Felt hungry but resisted the temptation and decided to race this one without eating breakfast and only used the stored energy from dinner last night.  I knew it was a possibility that if i ate anything it might come right back up since the course was definitely harder than last week and i was feeling fatigued as hell.

Got to the race site at about 8am, registered, and the waiting began.  God i hate waiting.  It makes me even more anxious and antsy to get out there and run.  

While i was stretching, the only thing i could do was look around and scope out the competition... definitely a stronger group than in Philly.  A lot of high school and collegiate runners in their short shorts and running tank top gear.  I love being a sleeper in the crowd.  Out of no where i see an old friend from high school, Andy Crawford, who is insanely fast.  Of course, he was in my age group... welp... scratch winning my group.  

We got to talking and i asked him what his goal time was for today.  His nonchalant reply was "well, i'm coming off an injury, so if it feels good and i actually race it, i'll run it in around 16... but if i just treat this as a training run, maybe around 17."

Jesus.  Right.  Essentially what he was saying is that he will be showered, changed, and sat down to eat by the time i cross the line.  

As we line up for the start, i stay near Crawford thinking that i could probably hang with him for at least the first mile or so.  We muscled our way to the front of the starting group (always start where you plan on finishing, right Irial?) and off we went.  

Got off fast from the line and managed to secure myself in the lead pack.  Crawford passed me after about a half mile, but he was the only one to do so the entire race, so i was pretty happy with that.  Of course he kept going... and i knew there was no way i could keep pace with him.

He's a ridiculously strong runner.

Crossed the first mile marker in a time of 5:43.  Oh crap.  Out too fast... not good.  I knew it was going to be a struggle to keep a 6 minute mile pace from here on out and with the dreaded hill coming up between miles 2 and 3.1 ... i would be lucky to stay under 20 minutes.

From mile 1 - 2 it was a sharp downhill and flat, so it was a chance to rest a bit and just let the body go.  The first place guy was so far ahead, i couldn't see him, but i could still see Crawford (who was in a battle for 2nd with another guy,) that other guy, and an older man directly ahead of me.  I drafted off of him for about a half mile and then passed him at about mile 1.75.  My 2 mile split was 11:50, so i fell off my first mile pace a bit, but it was still under a 6 minute mile.

The end of the race was the hardest i've experienced in running.  All uphill.  My body kept telling me to "walk.  WALK DAMMIT!"  and it took all my willpower to shut off my brain and just enjoy the pain and go... one foot in front of the other.  

I could still see the 2nd -4th place people in front of me, but they were a minute ahead, and on the uphill, and nearly out of gas, catching them wasn't even on my agenda.  At this moment it was "alright nate, don't shut down and DON'T let anyone pass you."

The crowds along the streets helped a lot and there were a lot of people that i knew from high school and living in Canandaigua.  Old classmates, friends, teachers, etc.  It was great to see them all and the one constant reaction was "oh,  you're a runner?!"  

No, i'm not.  I'm a reformed soccer player.

Came into the finish area... lined on either side with cheering spectators and finally crossed.

19:11.  

5th overall.

3rd in my age group.

My goal was to get around 18 minutes and to win my age group, but considering the competition i had, the shape of my body after a hard week of training, and the difficulty of the course, i'm pretty happy with how things turned out.

I think i surprised a lot of people who didn't expect me to keep up with the big dogs... and thats just fuel for the fire.  I love to prove people wrong.

So there's still room for improvement... but at least i proved something to everyone and myself and that i am a force to be reckoned with.  I'll only get better and faster from here.

Oh, and i got a nifty engraved bronze medal too:) 

Oops. Race Tomorrow.

So yesterday i did mile repeats at the FLCC x-country course.  Essentially it's a speed workout where you try to keep a consistent mile speed, rest a couple minutes, and then repeat at the same pace 4 times.  

Splits:

Mile 1 - 6:01

Mile 2 - 5:54

Mile 3 - 6:02

Mile 4 - 6:07

I was going to do a hill workout afterwards but my hamstrings were tight and giving me problems over the last 2 miles.  Keep in mind these are X-COUNTRY splits... hills, grass, mulch, holes, etc ... so if my split times don't seem that fast, now you know why.

Today decided to go out and do an easy 7 miles.  Finished the first 3.5 in 23:09 and the overall 7 in a little over 50 minutes.  The second 3.5 i shut it down and just cruised, to the point where i could have a conversation while running.  Hamstrings again felt tight and i'm chalking that up to the intense workouts this week.

Now, I was planning on doing a 5k on Sunday, but when i got home, my brother informed me that no, we aren't doing the race on Sunday, but instead we're doing a 5k TOMORROW morning which gives me less than 12 hours to get rested and ready to run hard.  I usually like to have AT LEAST a day rest before a race, so this is going to be interesting.  Oops.

My time this past weekend was 21 minutes flat and that was getting caught up in traffic.  The winner of this race last year came in just shy of 18 minutes, so i'm hoping that i can latch on to one of the top guys as a pacer... because i know if i have to pace myself i will probably struggle as i will already be fatigued.

At the very least, i hope to win my age group.

We'll see how it goes!

8/29: Yeah, they just can't get enough.

There are a million and one ways to get injured when you run in a big city. The sidewalks are uneven, the delivery vans back up into alleys without looking, everybody wearing an iPod can't hear you coming and drifts towards the middle of the sidewalk, people take right turns without looking, bears, etc.

Every now and then, you go for a run and you suddenly feel as though you took a wrong turn into a life insurance commercial. This morning, I was almost run over three separate times, one young lady heard me coming late and almost threw her coffee on me trying to get out of the way, two young people threw open their car doors and almost took my knees out, and I was sprayed by a guy cleaning the sidewalk. Thank goodness the bears were hibernating, right?

I ran 4.4 miles in approximately 30:14, which ends up being about 6:51 per mile. This isn't a bad time considering a) city running, b) no extensive stretching at the beginning.

Running Music: The Hold Steady's first album: ...Almost Killed Me. I fell for The Hold Steady when I got Boys and Girls in America, I fell in love with them with Separation Sunday, and I just sorta liked ...Almost Killed Me. Now I realize that the last four songs on ...Almost Killed Me constitute the best 4 song set in The Hold Steady's repertoire. Hostile, Mass., Sketchy Metal, Payne Avenue, and Killer Parties. Highly, highly recommended. Killer Parties is one of the best album-enders out there. I dare you to not rock out to the last two songs like crazy.

Big ups today go to Ian for his successful run at the Livestrong 5K. Not only did Ian run over twice as far as he had during his entire training regimen, but he did it while clothed from head to toe in matching black and yellow Livestrong gear (save the headband, which wasn't black and yellow but came in the Livestrong SWAGbag.) Ian took a breather after the first mile, dropping the instantly classic excuse: "I was not prepared for this" (delivered while gasping for air.) Somehow, someway - probably by selling his soul to Tyra Banks - Ian recovered and put up a damn good pace for the last two miles. It is absurdly hard to run three miles if you have run a total of 1.5 miles in training. Maybe this isn't exactly the sort of feat that a triathlete blog would normally celebrate, but that's a pretty impressive achievement to me.

big UPS!

Crushed.

26:30.3 is a time of the past.

Tonight I did my own 5K in 24:00.6. Take that LIVESTRONG.

Wait.. that sounded bad.

Take that slow time. I knew I could be faster.

The first mile felt very good. The streets were empty and I hit every light just right. It was in the second mile that my ribs started to hurt. It felt like they were getting ripped out of me (sorry Akon...haha) but I powered through. By the time I started the loop back, the pain was gone and I started the small incline that lasts for 14 blocks. Sweet. 3rd mile was great and I had a great finish. I should really memorize the distances so I can get my split times.

All in all a good time and I feel good. Let's see how low I can get that time.

Cheers,

e


ps. Yes We Can!

8/28: The Morning Runs

4.5 miles this morning. There was a nice, late summer chill in the air, and I was in a hurry after waking up late so I didn't stretch. Consequently, my first two miles were slow as I got the kinks out, but the last two felt good, and I wasn't breathing heavily when I arrived back home. I hit a lot of the lights today so very few pauses in the run, which is a pleasant surprise in the city.

Today's Running Music: The Ting Tings. I didn't go to many concerts growing up, spending most of my musical capital on oldies who tended not to tour much. Simon and Garfunkel were my favorites, but The Who, the Stones, the Four Tops, etc. My first concert was Alanis Morrisette (sp.) (who cares).
The point is: I've gone to a lot of concerts over the past 2 years to make up for all the music I missed. I know it doesn't work that way, but if you're really cynical enough tell me that, you probably don't enjoy any redemption-themed movies (I have a major problem with redemption movies, one that was pointed out by my friend Aaron a while back. Post in the comments if you want to discuss, since I know only triathletes and sappy-movie buffs read this blog. Well, them and Naomi Watts. She's a huge fan, I hear... from the voice in my head.)
Now, the point really is: The Ting Tings put on the best concert I have ever seen. It was exciting from start to finish. Check out their stuff on www.myspace.com/thetingtings. I actually didn't check that address, so just type The Ting Tings into Google and figure it out for yourself, you're a big boy/girl/robot/Yankees-fan.

Back to training after LIVESTRONG.

Yesterday i got back on the bike and decided to do a serious hill workout.  Cycled around for about 10 miles to warm up and then headed to Lincoln Hill (which is the first climb on the Finger Lakes Triathlon course.)

Measured the distance from bottom to top and it came out to be .7 miles.  Shorter than i had previously estimated.  I remember two years ago in the last Finger Lakes Tri that i participated in i did the climb in just over 5 minutes.  With that as my only benchmark, i went to work.

Did the first climb in a little over 3 minutes, coasted down, 2nd climb took about 2:50, coasted down, and the next 3 climbs were all shy of 3 minutes.  I'm going to do 2-3 serious hill workouts a week now in preparation of the race since i know that is where i lost a lot of time in the past.

Ended the session with another few miles and hard sprints around the old Primary School bus loop.  A few young girls decided to join me (no i did not get their numbers, they were too young... even for me,) and kept pulling off to the side when i was about to pass them, saying "you're fast Mr. Bicycle Man."

It was cute.  Just take my word for it.

The total mileage ended up being 25.1 miles.

Today the legs felt good... i was surprised they weren't sore from the climbs yesterday.  Sooo i decided to head out for a 10.2 mile run.  

It had been a few days since i last ran, so my legs were fresh (minus the minor cycling fatigue.)  Went out pretty fast and was able to hold the pace... actually, i was able to go stronger and faster from miles 5 - 10.2.  The route i take passes my house at about mile 6 and i sometimes stop to stretch and get some water, but i completely bypassed that and ran the distance all the way through.

About halfway in i set my goal to finish in 1:10 (1 hour 10 minutes,) which would put me under 7:00 per mile on average.  Unfortunately, i finished in 1:12:44 which put me at 7:07 per mile, but this was still about 7 minutes faster than my previous personal 10.2 mile best.

This is way under my needed 7:50 per mile pace (or so) to finish the Baltimore Marathon in a time where i win prize money.  For those of you that don't know, the Baltimore Marathon offers a cash purse for those who have never run a marathon before and finish the race in under 3:25.  So fingers crossed, i'll be getting paid on October 11th.

Right now my hamstrings are a little tight and my calves are hurting a bit, but hopefully a nights rest will cure that.  

Tomorrows workout agenda:

- 10.2 mile run in the morning

- Hill workout on the bike again (approx. 25 miles)

- 3.5 mile run in the afternoon

- Lifting: back and shoulders

- If i feel so inclined... swimming 5,000 yards between 8:30 - 10pm.

There's a race i may do this weekend thats fairly local... another 5k.  This one is a straight up race so i'm hoping i can latch on to someone faster than myself, have them pace me, and then beat them on the final kick.  I don't mean to toot my own horn, but my finishing kick is pretty ridiculous.  

Toot toot.

8/27

Today we celebrate Eric's achievements in the race. I think it's fair to say that no non-survivors at the 5K worked harder to prepare for that run than EP. You guys (all, what, 6 of you?) read about his work on this blog, the rest of us heard his excitement every day. And so while Ian's outfit may have been snazzier, Eric deserves some serious props for his preparation and his run. Word on the street is that he's going to try the bike race next year, which means this will be his only Livestrong 5K. Suffice it to say it won't feel the same without him next year. Though there will be many men, many women, many children, a few dogs, the occassional manatee, and Bill the Self-Conscious Duckling running next year, it just won't feel the same. Where will the nervous energy come from?! The only thing that will stay the same next year is that Teresa will get just as good of a photo of Eric crossing the finish line (Just kidding, T, just kidding)

So give it up for EP!

Tomorrow we'll throw confetti for either Ian or MelissaKelly, unless I block her out of the blog with a misplaced forearm (my b).

More Pictures and VIDEOS!!!

Big ups to Teresa for all these goodies.

Updated Placings in the Race

Nathan Rychlik : 12/659
Adam Cann: 22/659
Adam Slevin: 68/659
Eric Puglisi: 147/659
Melissa Kelly: 264/659
Ian Riley: 296/659

8/26 - Chiro-practical or waste of money?

I want to start out by reiterating how impressive Nate's run was on Sunday. I ran as hard as I could and finished with 7:08 per mile, while Nate, hampered by a mob at the start, still finished well under 7 minutes per mile.

List of Animals Nate Could Beat in a 5K:
Koala, Toad, Sloth, Minnow, Small Yappy-Type Dogs, Housecat, Polar Bear, Falcon, Me, Tired Cougar, Lazy Cheetah, Chester Cheetah, Shia LaBoeuf, Flea (the animal, not the bassist).

List of Animals That Could Beat Nate in a 5K:

Ostrich, Greyhound, Eagle (bald), Angry Giraffe, Cougar, Rocket-propelled Snake, Bol Weevil on Ice Skates, African Swallow, Shia LaBoeuf's Golden Monkey Army, Iron Man.


I ran 3 miles this morning after a heavy drinking night at the Phillies game yesterday (3-0 win over the Dodgers and Manny Ramirez). If I can get one online, I'll post a photo of the poster I made for Manny Ramirez (Manny Being Mopey). I won 25 bucks off a friend by correctly guessing that the gal in front was older than 23 and that her name started in the 2nd half of the alphabet (Vanessa).

I went to the chiropractor this morning for the fifth time since my rib slipped out of place. That's $100 I've spent so far, and although I feel much, much better, I think I'm going to cancel my next appointment and stick it out from here. If things go south again, I'll go to a real doc. Thoughts on Chiropractics?

For the Dreamer

What Do I Do.. Stop Go Fail Succeed? Live or Die? I Just Got To Believe

Believe its worth saving
And to get lost, lost in a day dream
So why hesitate
Take me to another place
So far far away
So i can get out of the dark
High speed, like I'm racing
It's like lighting, sky is blazing
But you've lost your way, You've been lead astray
Are there better days for my fallen dreamer

Calling a Dreamer Calling a Dreamer
You don't even sleep no more
You don't even dream no more
Dreamer
Why don't you just dream again

Believe In You
You Got Something To Prove
You're A Star
Watch You Shine Bright On Your Way To The Limelight
Finish Line
The Sweat And Tears
You Can Channel All Of Your Fears
Open Your Eyes
Your Eyes And It Will Be Alright

Calling a Dreamer Calling a Dreamer
You don't even sleep no more
You don't even dream no more
Dreamer
Why don't you just dream again

Strong Living at the 5K

I finished the LiveStrong 5K in 22:06.08. That is approximately 7:08 per mile. So if you subtract the amount of time I spent hurtling over and around walkers, most of whom failed to abide by the stay-on-the-right rule, I had a decent showing. My back hurt a bit during the race, and the muscles behind my right shoulder blade kept seizing up. Sunday night was much worse though, when the back suddenly sprung into a painful frenzy of muscle spasms around the separated rib. I'll get you for this, Armstrong...


Nate ran an awesome race from what I hear, so I think he deserves a big hand

(pauses for applause)

Eric and Adam ran good races too, you can read Eric's summary below this.

Summary of my thoughts during the race:

"There are a shit-ton of people here. I wonder where Eric and Nate are... HOLY CRAP I ALMOST HIT THAT OLD LADY! Where the heck did she come from?? Man, she popped out of nowhe... OH MY GOODNESS I THINK I STEPPED ON A CHILD... oh, whew that was close. They should really mark all little children with reflectors or just leave them in incubators until they're 15 or so... WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT! Didn't that woman see me coming?? Why did she swing that beefy arm into me??? Why are there so many people here? Am I in the right race? Where's Ian! Is that you god? Oh, no. It's just some guy that looks like Billy Zane. There's the finish line! I should sprint, but this little old lady keeps moving around! She's harder to pass than Tom Cruise in Days of Thunder, jesus. OK, almost to the finish line... oh wait, that's just a big arch of balloons, the finish line is another twenty five feet ahead! What a cruel trick! If I wasn't so damn tired I'd pop every one of the balloons on that ersatz finish line! Where the heck is the water? Where the heck is Teresa? Where the heck... oh, hey Melissa Kelly. How come you got to bring an iPod???

LIVESTRONG Challenge

5:00 AM the day started. Adam, Nate and I got up and ate some oatmeal and got on the road by 5:45. Teresa wanted to go with us so she was waiting outside. All before the sun really came up.

I already had my timing anklet on and number pinned to my shirt. I.....was....ready.

After sitting in 1.5 hours traffic, we arrived. At this point my stomach was completely in knots and I was extremely nervous. A lot of prep had some up to this and I wanted to do my best.

After a quick warm-up run, the three of us got into position near the front of the line. There were so many people there I could not believe it. It was really inspiring to see so many people come out to raise money for cancer research. I think overall the entire race raised 3 million dollars!

We were addressed by Lance himself and got us started. The cyclers left first, in different groups for the 100, 70 and 45 mile distances. Nate and I decided that we are going to do the biking next year and we are really going to go gun ho on raising money. $25,000 would be amazing.

So we started the race about an hour later because it took so long for everyone to get going. The frustrating thing is that we started in the middle of the pack so we were behind walkers and slow people, it took us about .25 of a mile to really get out of the crowd. Nate was like weaving in and out of crowd to get a head.

A man on a mission.

I took to the grass on the side of the course to get out of the congestion. My only comment is that next year they should really let the runners go first. I mean it only makes sense.

The first mile felt amazing. It was in the second mile that I started to falter a little. I felt really hot and I was getting psyched out because at that point you could see the leaders doubling back and it just made you wonder how much there was to go.

And in the moment where I made the final turn and saw the crowd of hundreds cheering and showering the Cancer survivors with yellow flowers, it hit me. This was a big emotional thing and I should soak it all in.

I somehow managed to find a burst of energy in the last 20 seconds of the race. I mean it wasn't much but I passed 3 of 4 people at the end.

Official results are not posted yet but I think my time was around 25 mins and Adam's around 23. Nate finished 7th (which is a HUGE deal considering how far behind we started) and I am sure he is sub 20 mins. He could have easily won the entire race. Great first showing.

We met up with the rest of the team afterwards and got some free food. All in all it was a great day.

Here are some pics and I will also post 2 videos and many more photos as they become available.

Till the next race!!!

Cheers,

e

*****UPDATE****

Times:

Nate: 21:00.3
Adam: 22:06.8
Eric: 26:30.3

Nate and Eric

Sunday is the first of many big days. The race might not be long but it is still the start of something big. The first race in the string of many.

Potential Races for Eric:

October 18th - 10K AIDS Run

November 23rd - Philadelphia Half Marathon

On the way.....

TriGuys

Today the TriGuys will all be in the same city. Race 1 on Sunday!

Speed Workout #2. Whisper It... Sub 5 minute Mile.

So it's been roughly 3 weeks since my last speed workout at the track.  

Three weeks since I last wanted to cry from being so physically depleted.

At least this time I knew what I was getting into this time around.  Lets recap what I ran just 3 short weeks ago.  Actually... lets do a side to side comparison between the first speed workout and todays 2nd speed workout to show the differences.

.................July 30, 2008.......August 19, 2008

400  -.................1:24..........................1:15

800  -.................1:20.........................1:12

1200 -.................1:18.........................1:12

1600 -.................1:17 .........................1:13

2000 -.................1:22.........................1:13

2400 -.................1:23.........................1:11

2800 -.................1:27.........................1:13

3200 -.................1:25.........................1:14

3600 -.................1:25.........................1:14

4000 -.................1:21.........................1:11

4400 -.................1:22.........................1:16

4800 -.................1:12.........................1:08

Mile 1 -................5:29.........................4:52

Mile 2 -................5:37.........................4:51

Mile 3 -................5:20.........................4:49

3 Mile -................16:26........................14:32

One word: INSANE!  Not to shabby for a lil' old soccer player, eh?

My average times today were on mark with my fastest last lap time 3 weeks ago.  Keep in mind that I ran 14 miles yesterday, cycled 24 miles this morning, there was a strong headwind down the back stretch, and I wasn't running fresh.  So there is definite room for improvement!

Tomorrow it's up early for a swim session, another 20 or so miles of cycling (gotta break that 600 mile mark,) 10 - 14 miles of running, and ending up the day with a 2nd swim session since I was bad and skipped one today.  If I still have anything left, maybe go to the gym and get some lifting in.

I'm feeling great.  Fit.  Strong.  Confident.  Been icing the joints and so far everything is holding up.

There's still room to get better, faster, stronger.  Lots of room.

A Tweak here... A Pull There...

I forgot to mention a few things.

For the past month or so, my knee and body problems had seemed to all but disappear.  Today though, midway though my 10 + miles, the knees started acting up.

Right now, I have ice on my right knee, i'll be icing and heating the other and both ankles later on, and my left hamstring seems poised to snap.  No matter how much i stretch it, the tightness still remains.  

When I get sponsors / a semi - reliable income, I need to make weekly chiropractic and massage appointments to help keep my body in working condition.  

It's a scary thing feeling a tweak here, a pull there, and wondering if the next one could be the catalyst for events that would end your dream.

Milestone.

Well... hit a couple milestones this week, the most important being that I broke 200 miles running over the past month and change.  It doesn't seem like I'm running that far during training, but it's surprising and hard to stomach, looking back and seeing what I've actually done!

The other milestone was that I ran my 3 mile in a time of 18:02 and finally got my 5k time under 19 minutes.  Again... it's hard to believe that when I started a little over a month ago I was running 3 miles in 23 minutes and that I've already dropped 5 minutes off in this short of time.  Although it was a personal best by well over a minute, I wasn't happy since my goal was to get in the 17 minute range.  To miss by 3 seconds... gah.  Torture.

Today started the lead-up week to the first road race of the season:  the LiveStrong 5k in Philly.  The plan for the next few days was to run an easy 10 miles today with a 3 mile cool down, speed workout tomorrow, and then another 10 miles on Wednesday.  Rest Thursday, Friday, do an easy mile or two Saturday to loosen up, and then race like a bat out of hell on Sunday.  I would love to drop my 5k time to around 18 minutes... and if I can finally break into that 17 minute zone, I'll be one happy guy.

So I ran an easy 10.2 miles today.  Finished in 1:20:13 which is a little over my personal best, but still averaging 7:51 a mile.  I wasn't winded at the end at all... and I think the Baltimore Marathon shouldn't be too hard to conquer.  Especially my route here has more hills than in Baltimore.

Did a 3 mile "cool-down" and realized with about a half mile to go that my 22 minute pace probably wasn't the "cool-down" i needed.  I ran a faster mile pace than I did in my 10 miler.  Instead of feeling better after that run, I actually started to hurt for the first time.  After 13.2 miles, i was dead.  I can't wait to have aid stations with water and food during the actual marathon.  With that, i know it will be easy.

Looking forward to a personal best this weekend.

"It's not the triumph, but the struggle."

Spoken by the best athlete's of the work during the world's celebration of the Olympic Games.

Days later and the words are still sticking with me.

As I watch Michael Phelps win Gold after Gold, I am in just awe of him. He gives me chills just watching him push hard and breaking record after record. Go Team USA!

Now on to me... who is not quite an Olympic athlete. This past week and weekend has been actually really productive for me. After taking Wednesday off, I decided that I would focus on my swimming for the next two days. I really need to work harder on that but I honestly feel like I am getting a little better. Going to talk to a trainer in a couple days to get some pointers.

Saturday morning, Adam and I got up at 7am and went up to the bike trail on Martin Luther King Drive. What is great about Saturday mornings is that they close down the road so you have soooo much space to ride. No worries or pressures about cars. Ended up doing 18 miles which was a struggle with all the hills but felt great in the end.

Sunday morning was another day to wake up early and drive down to the beach at like 8am. When we got there, we decided to do a quick 25 minute run to warm up before jumping into the ocean. The water was freezing. Got to lay on the beach for about 40 mins before the thunderstorm started.

Really special driving and hour back while it hailed the entire way. Thanks a lot New Jersey.

Tonight is swimming again and by the power of Phelps I will do better.

Cheers,
e

Epic Cycling.

So last Thursday, i decided to take on my first real long distance cycling challenge.  The 100 or so miles from Canandaigua to Buffalo.

So i geared up, packed 3 bottles of water, 2 bananas, a sandwich, and my ipod... stoked about the journey that i figured would take me 6 hours, TOPS.  I planned on getting on the road by 6 am, but i actually left around 8.  Got about a mile in, and realized i had forgotten my cycling gloves.  

GREAT.

Turn around, pick them up, and i'm on my way... for real this time.  

It was overcast and the forecast called for severe thunderstorms at the day progressed.  I hoped that i could make it to my destination before those became a factor.

Driving this route in a car, i didn't realize how hilly it actually is.  The first 20 or so miles... all hills... and to make matters worse, i couldn't even get up to cruising speed DOWNHILL because the $%#&-ing headwinds were so strong.  I literally had to pedal to keep speed going down hills.  After pedaling hard up the hills and then having to do the same downhill... very demoralizing.

About 40 miles in, i decided to pull off and have a banana and a sandwich.  After a 15 minute food / fuel break, i saddled back up and headed off down the road (up more hills.)

Cranked away for another 15 miles and i suddenly realized that i was out of water.  Super.  Luckily, my father was leaving to head to buffalo a few hours after i left, in a car of course, so i had hoped water would be available upon his arrival.  

I was about half a mile into a mile climb and he blows by me and stops about a quarter mile ahead.  Not at the top of the hill, or just over the peak, but right on the slope so i have to stop mid climb.  

Thanks dad.

To make matters worse... no water.  It would have been really easy to break down my bike, load it up, and ride the rest of the way... but i resisted the temptation and kept on going.  Luckily, and much to my relief, my father came tearing back towards me about 5 miles later with 2 bottles of water.  He's my hero.  Seriously.

My hamstrings were cramping, my calves were cramping, i was getting sore being in the saddle, and my upper back was just killing me from being in that position for 4+ hours at this point.

Then started the rains.  Misting at first... then harder, mixed with headwinds and crosswinds that made each hammer of the pedals torture.  Mind you, i usually average between 18-20 mph on my rides... i was lucky to be between 13-14 mph at this point in time.  Again... demoralizing.

As the end of the ride neared, the sun came out, and for the first time i realized how close i was.  Only about 20 miles to go.  Only an hour and change.  But no, it would have been too easy to finish like that.  

The Place: Mile 77.5 - Bullis Road, just outside of Buffalo.

My back tire shreds.  AWESOME!  There was nothing i could do.  I had an extra tube and repair stuff, but with 20 miles left and no serious tire pump, i couldn't ride on.  So thats a big DNF.  

DID NOT FINISH.

The worse words an athlete can hear and words i hope to never experience during an actual race.  So now i have to head back out and attempt the ride again, and again, and again... until i'm successful.

So i called my father, he came to pick me up, and in the meantime i walked my bike an extra couple miles because i couldn't bear to just stand there.

The rest of the weekend was a gluttonfest and full of Rychlik family tomfoolery.  It was my cousins wedding on Friday, so naturally we had to party Thursday, Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday.

My family is more fun than yours.

So now, i guess you could say it's back to the grind.  I ate horribly, drank soda for the first time in probably at least 6 months, and enjoyed an alcoholic beverage or 10 with the family to celebrate the wedding.  

Time to detox and get back to it.

For real?

I come back from a weekend away and no one has posted since the 6th?  

I mean, really guys?  Really?  

Get your acts together.

I just got back into town (it's 2:30 am) and I have an appointment at 10 am, so i'll post about my weekend workout when i get time tomorrow.  

8\6

Hit the hills in New Hampshire this weekend. Almost immediately (and unsurprisingly), they hit back. I ran six miles in about 50 minutes Saturday and 5 miles in 40 minutes on Sunday, moving slowly because a) I didn't know where I was and b) hills. The road was often blocked off because a tornado passed through the area only a few weeks ago, so I swerved and leaped trees and tree limbs with astonishing frequency. I'm not sure how cars drove through the area; luckily I didn't see any cars because the roads were narrow and there were no sidewalks.

Tuesday upper body workout and a 4.5 mile run. Timed the first three miles at 7 minutes per mile, then slowed for the last 1.5 and concentrated on breathing rhythm and steady body movement.

Today, Phillies game: 12th row seats (Thanks, MALONE!)

New Personal Bests.

Well, tonite, not only did i run a personal best in the 6 mile (42:02) but i also reached a personal best in the 5k.  

After running a brief 2.9 mile "warm up" in approximately 22:40, i went on to run my fastest 5k to date without taking a breather or a break for water in 19:22.  

It makes me wonder... if i go out on less "warm up" and harder... how fast can i go?

I definitely had some left in the tank when i stopped...

To see a brief list of my running personal bests, go to my site:  Road to the Ironman.

Progress Update. One Month In The Books.

So, after a month which included over 400 miles biking, 150 miles running, and nearly 10,000 yards swimming... i was gandering at what my progress has been since the beginning of this training endeavor.  

And here... i will share my findings with you!!!

SWIMMING:

Ok, well i haven't exactly been swimming as much as i should be or want to... ESPECIALLY since swimming is my weakest discipline, but from what i've done thus far, there has been a noticeable improvement in my ability.  Now, keep in mind all my swims have been open water lake swims.

My first time out was mediocre at best.  I always swim with my friend Katie, and i had her stopping at EVERY buoy to catch my breath and rest.  If i couldn't have touched the bottom, there was probably a good chance that first time out that i would have drowned.  Alright, not really... but you get the picture.

First recorded swim time (2nd actual swim) - 40:37

Since that first swim, each subsequent outing has gotten easier and my endurance is noticeably better.  Katie actually asked the other day "have you been swimming without me?!"  

Last recorded swim time (5th actual swim) - 32:34

The distance is 1.1 miles... so, hypothetically, i should be able to finish the Ironman swim in about 1:20 on the high side, taking into account slowing down and inevitable exhaustion.  Still... it's clear i'm improving.

Improvement time - 8:03

CYCLING:

I was especially excited to come back from italy and get on my bike.  Now, i'm obsessed with getting a new one... a tri-bike specific to this sport.  Lighter, more aerodynamic, aerobars... just better in general.  Not to say my bike isn't great... but its a normal road bike... not ideal for my type of races.  But i digress...

I have a usual loop that i do... down the lake and back up around town.  It ends up being about 21 miles.  

First workout: 

Mileage - 20.8 miles

Time - 1:20:15

Top Speed - 39.8 mph

Average Speed - 15.5 mph

My main concerns with training are not only distances, but more importantly, my average speed.  If my average speed steadily gets higher, it shows i'm getting stronger in this discipline.  Top speed is irrelevant, but it's fun to look at, and time is just a byproduct of average mph.

Last recorded workout:

Mileage - 21 miles

Time - 1:09:09

Top Speed - 39.6 mph

Average Speed - 18.2 mph

I've done 23 workouts to date at various lengths and intensities... but there's no doubt that i'm definitely improving.

Improvement Time - 11:06

Improvement Average Speed - 2.7 mph

I want to have my average speed up to over 20 mph by Ironman time...  it needs to be in order to have a shot at the Kona spot.

RUNNING:

Well, anyone who has been keeping tabs on my training might guess that running is my favourite discipline and the sport i have been training the most in.  Ideally, i had wanted to keep my training ratio at 5:1 when it came to cycling and running (that is the race ratio) but it has become a ratio closer to 3:1.  My rationale - running is the last chance in a race to pull ahead and finish strong.  Many people crumble and collapse at the end, and i don't want to be that guy.  This is where i plan on passing those who may have passed me earlier on.

It's hard to put my improvements into numbers.  I started off my training mainly on a track and have since gone to the road and x-country courses to train (except for speed workouts.)  So i guess we'll show the distance improvements and times.

10 miles road

First run - 1:25:21 (8:20 per mile average)

Best run  - 1:17:07 (7:43 per mile average)

5k (3.1 miles) x-country course

First run - 32:23 (10:26 per mile average)

Best run  - 23:47 (7:40 per mile average)

5k (3.1 miles) road

First run - 22:39 (7:33 per mile average)

Best run  - 19:59 (6:40 per mile average)

The biggest changes i've seen is that i can easily run 6-10 miles at under 8 minutes a mile pace and not be winded at the end.  It's actually quite relaxing for me.  With lots of short races coming up, i worry that i'm putting too much emphasis on endurance and distance and not enough on speed and fast twitch muscle training... so i think i may have to do more hill / speed workouts to help me with that aspect of my "game."

Maybe i've been looking towards the Baltimore marathon too much and trying to get under that 3:30 threshold (i need to keep at least an 8:00 per mile to reach that.)  Who knows...

I GOT IT!!!  

Maybe i haven't improved more because i've failed to wear my Action Jeans while training!

Orrr maybe i'll just save them for race day.  We'll see!! If anyone can make sure i have a good race day, it's Chuck Norris.  Obviously.

So here i am, 10:45 pm on sunday night... and as i wind down this update, i'm looking forward to the easy 10k i'll be running not 10 minutes from now.

All in all... July was a successful month.  But i think August will be better.

Bicycle built for two

I can bench press!


Who freakin knew?!