Polar Bear 5K

Had the first race of the season today; a 5K in Portland.  I ran this race last year.  Last year it started at Peak Performance.  There was a pretty good hill right at the start of the race that climbed from Marginal Way up to the Eastern Prom.  This year they started on the Eastern Prom, went downhill and then had a very tough hill at the end.  Below is the elevation map:

I went out Monday to run the course for the first time.  I parked my car in the little round about at the end of the Prom.  When I opened my door, the wind caught it and blew it open.  I thought it was going to blow it off.  When I got out, the wind took my breath away.  Was 20 degrees out with wind blowing at about 20 MPH. 

Today, it was much nicer!.  No wind to speak of and in the high 20's.  There was close to 300 entrants this year. 

The race started off fast on the downhill.  It was a bit crowded but thined out pretty quick.  I hit mile marker 1 at 7:10.  This is waaayyyy to fast for me.  The first 1/2 mile was down hill and the other 1/2 was flat.  I knew I had to slow a bit.  The next mile was pretty much flat along the water.  The sun was shining.  I finally settled into a decent pace.  Heart rate was around 170.  I usually am in the high 170's during a 5K.  I was taking it easy because I knew I had a good hill comming up.

Then the hill.  It was rough.  It started at just before mile 2 and is close to 1/3 mile long.  By the time I got to the top, HR was at 180.  I passed mile marker 2 half way up the hill at 15:30.  After the hill, the course flattened for the rest of the race.

I could hear someone running behind me the whole way up the hill.  SLAP, SLAP, SLAP was all I could hear. Finally this 70 year old lady goes by me.  She was cruizin.  She had on those running shoes that are nothing more than fabric covering your feet.  Basically gloves for your feet.

With a 1/2 mile to go and my HR back down to 165, I decided to kick it up.  There was an OK crowd as I approached the finish.  I was feeling pretty good.  I made it past the 70 year old and a few more before finishing.  Overal time was 24:24.  Works out to about a 7:53 pace.  Not my best, but OK for my first race this year.  Main goal was to stay under an 8 minute mile.

Will definately sign up for this one again.

Good week

Had a good week training.  Got a total of 12 miles running, 30 miles on bike trainer and possibly getting a swim in tomorrow.

Had a birthday this week.  Just turned 37.  I don't feel it though.  Maybe late 20's.  Definately not late 30's!!!  Where does time go?  It is sobering.

Love the new bike trainer.  I have it setup in the basement in the utility room (furnace room).  Average temp in there is around 78.  Makes for a warm ride.  But a hell of a sweat!.

Have Polar Bear 5K next weekend.  Will try to get out this week and run the course a few times at lunch.  Will be interested to see how my time compares with next year.  I feel as though I was in better shape last year.  We shall see.

Thanks for the birthday cards everyone and the birthday wishes on Facebook. 

Bike Trainer Finally Arrived!

Went together quick.  Crystal's bike and my bike slide onto it like a glove.  Going to give it a try tonight...

Signed up for first race of season

On Friday, Crystal and I signed up for our first race of the season.  It the Poalr Bear Sprint in May.  It is a fun race.  Pool swim with a pretty flat bike and run.

The sign up was at Gorham Bike and Ski this year.  Hats off to Tri-Maine this year.  It was one of the best sign up procedures yet for this race.  They had 2 registers open so I was in and out.  Doors were supposed to open at 7:30 AM for sign up.  I got there around 7:15 and they were already open.  This worked out great because I had an 8:00 AM meeting to get to.  Got there in plenty of time..

Bike training still has not showed up!.  Damn eBay sellers...  Crystal is out birthday shopping for Paige.  She is going over to St Joes to hit the pool when she gets back.  I am going to try to get over tomorrow.  Will be doing Kenpo tonight with P90X.  Always a good workout!

So the 2010 season is here!!

So, the new year is here!  For Christmas I got P90X.  I have been doing it for about three weeks and have noticed a difference already.  It is a tough program.  I realized last year when I did the Kennebunk Olympic race that I need more leg strength if I am ever going to get to the 1/2 Iron distance.  P90X has a couple great leg workouts.  The Yoga routines have helped my flexability also.

We just ordered a fluid bike trainer.  We got pretty much the cheapest fluid trainer out there.  It is a Kurt Kinetic.  It has a lifetime warrentee so it should last us a while.

I have been hitting the gym at lunch 3 days a week to get in 5K 3 times a week.  I have a 5 K in a couple of weeks.  It is named the Polar Bear.  Gotta love winter in Maine.  Last year it was in the 30's so it was not too bad.

I just posted my planned races for 2010 in the column to the right.  I put the Pumpkinman 1/2 Iron on my list again this year.  Last year I did not make it.  This year I will.

Of the 8 events planned, it looks like Crystal may be doing 5 of them with me include the Blackfly.  That will be her longest event to date.  .25, 21 and then 5.  Strange distances, but it will work into my schedule perfectly!

It's official, I am now out of shape.

• Last time I ran - over a month ago
• Last time I biked - at last race 2 months ago
• Last time I swam - 1 1/2 months ago -(for 15 minutes)

I guess it is just about time to end "the off season".  I am signed up for the Polar Bear 5K in February.  I need to get my ass in shape if I am going to beat last years time.  I am about 15 pound heavy right now.  I usually call that winter weight, but it has not even snowed yet. 

So, Starting Thursday before turkey, Crystal and I are going to get back into training mode.  I am going to hit it hard this year.  Wait and see...

The end of the season is near...

Soooo. It has been a while since I updated my blog. Last update was after Beach to Beacon. Since then, I have been training fairly steadly. I completed my first olympic distance race. .9 mile swim, 25 mile bike and 6.2 mile run.

The Beach 2 Beacon was a great race as usual. I never run the course other than during the race. I really love the course. It has just the right amount of flats and hills. It is a fast course. I took a few minutes off last years time. It turned out pretty hot during the race. Way hotter than I like. I felt good though. Next year, I am looking to break 45 minutes. We shall see..

The Olympic race was TOUGH. I knew I would not be in the front of the pack. The swim was moved from the beach area on Mothers Beach in Kennebunk to a protected cove. There was a tropical storm of the coast and there were 6 - 8' seas. Kind of like the Scarborough tri last year.. It was a 2 loop swim. They were big loops though :) I never really got into a groove until close to the second loop. I felt fine during the second loop and actually passed a few people.

T1 was slow. I was not rushing. Crystal, Nolan and Rhonda were right next to my transition area. I giggled with them a bit about how slow I was. It was fun... Off on the bike.

The bike was a 25 mile loop. Fairly flat. I had just got new clip in pedals so I was really happy with my time. I felt good when I got off the bike.

Then the run. My legs felt a little crampy. I thought they would come out of it. They did not. They hurt. They just were not strong enough. I ran the whole 6.2. I was satisfied with the time though. 55 minutes for 6.2. Beach 2 Beacon 6.2 was 48.27.

Crystal and I have our last race this weekend. The Mainiac Sprint Tri. It is in Biddeford. 1/4 swim, 15 bike, 3.1 run. I may run the 1/2 marathon in a couple of weeks. Still up in the air.

After that, a few weeks off. I will then concentrate on leg strength and cardio for the next few months. I attached some pics also. Orange shirt and wetsuit is olympic tri. Other is B2B finish.

Beach to Beacon

It was HOT! 48:28. Took a little over a minute off last years time. More to come.

Just signed up for Kennebunk Olympic Tri. This will be my longest Tri yet. Just starting vaca so I will update blog this week..

Another trip to Crystal Lake

Well last night I got back on the bike after over a week off. I put some new straps on the pedals called power grips. They work great. I do not have any $ to buy pedals and shoes right now, so they will do. (thank you state of Maine for providing me with a $220 speeding ticket). I did 20 miles and averaged 17 MPH. I hope to get a 40 - 50 mile ride in this weekend... My toe / foot is feeling better so I may be able to get a short run in and see how it feels..

This morning at 6:00 AM, (yes I was up at 4:45AM again) I met Kyle at Crystal Lake for a swim. Air was 54. Water was mid 60's. It is funny how water in the 60's can feel warm. I got in my 1/2 mile swim. After that, Kyle headed off with his buddy to do another mile or so..

I was really tired during the swim. I only had a bagel for breakfast and had just biked 20 miles the night before. Excuses aside, I need to spend more time in the water if I am going to swim 1.2 in the Pumpkinman in September..

No Urban Epic for Me

So, last Friday I got up 4:45 AM so I could drive to Gray to go to Crystal Lake. 4:45AM is way early for me. Way early. I had everything all laid out from the night before.. Wetsuit, goggles, towels, clothes to change into at work etc... While scrambling around the night before, I stubbed my toe really bad. It literally brought me to the ground for a couple of minutes. Then, right before bed, I stubbed it again.. To the ground again I went...More to come on that..

I left the house at 5:15. I was at the Lake at 5:45. There were already 10 other cars in the lot. Kyle, a guy I work with was also pulling in at the same time. He is doing the Peaks to Portland swim in a few weeks.. By the time I got into the water, there were about 20 swimmers. You start the swim at the boat launch. There was a guy putting his boat in to go fishing. He asked, "Is there a race or something this morning?" Someone answered, "Nope, just our Friday morning swim"

At Crystal Lake, there are basically 3 different swims you can do. A small across and back -1/4 mile, a swim to a point on the shore and back - 1 mile and swim the whole lake and back - 2 miles.. Needless to say, I did the 1/4 mile twice.. The water was not too cold. The first across and back I was by myself. On the second one, I joined in with to girls. Their pace was similar to mine so that worked out great. I am going to head back up on Thursday this week for another. Next week, I hope to make it up there twice. 4:45AM is rough though...

Back to the stubbed toe.. Over the weekend, we went to Acres O Wildlife camping. I could barely walk due to my stubbed toe. It is now Tuesday and is still very sore. Swelling has gone down, and pain has subsided. I am unable to run on it though. I was going to still try to sign up for Epic and run it this coming weekend though. On Monday, I went to sign up. I had not researched a lot of the details yet. When I went to sign up, I realized they were charging $105!!! ($95 for USAT members).. I am not going to spend $105 for a sprint race. That is crazy..

So between my bad toe and high race price, I will not be entering the Urban Epic this year. I will however be doing a full swim/ bike / run in Hollis on Saturday or Sunday to simulate the race. If anyone is interested, let me know.. No charge!!

The pic is Crystal Lake at 5:45AM. Notice the steam. Air was about 60. Water about 68. Summer in Maine!