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!

LL Bean 10K finish...

LL Bean 10K Recap

First off, how can anyone not sign up for this race. The first 400 entrants get a free pair of decent running sneakers. Hats off the Beans and New Balance....

This was a great race. I had heard it was hilly. I think it is overall about the same as Beach to Beacon. The starts was crowded and slow. I really pushed hard after it opened up. I hit mile marker 1 at 7:40. This was gun time. I was 35 seconds before i crossed the start line. So this was a little over a 7 min mile. That is cruzin for me...

I kept this pace up until mile 4. Wheels started falling off. This is also about the time a person juggling past me.. That was humbling.. Mile 4 to 5 was tough for me.. I started picking up again at mile 5. I had energy again. Then the crowds started to appear as I got close to the finish. I sprinted the last several hundred yards. Great race. Gun time was 48:48. Chip time was 48:13.

My father in law Reggie also ran in the race. He beat his time goal and also never had to stop. Great job Reggie. My neighbor Renee also ran. She did great also after overcoming an injury recently.. This is definately a race I will sign up for next year..

Time to concentrate on Urban Epic tri in a couple of weeks..

That's right...Gettin serious now...

Well, I am starting to push it.. It feels good..

Friday I went out and did a brick consisting of a 20 mile loop bike loop followed up with a 4.5 mile run. During the run, I was extremely hot. When I got home, I looked at the thermo. It was 90 in the shade. No part of the run was in the shade.. I am guessing 100. Man that was rough. Felt good though!!

Saturday, after reading about someone else (Ange) doing her 100+ mile ride, I told myself it is time to change gears. If I am going to do this 1/2 iron this fall, I need to start acting the part. We put the kids down for nap. I told Crystal nonchalantly I was heading out for a 40 miler. She gave me a few encouraging words like "Don't be stupid" "Your going to hurt yourself" and off I went. You see, I have never biked more than 25 miles in my life. She means well. Last year, I increased mileage too fast and was injured most of the season... She had to listen to me complain about being injured and sore all the time.. Love ya hun :)

Anyway... after the first 20 miles, I felt great. I was averaging close to 18 MPH. The weather was in the mid 70's and the sun was actually out. Those of you not in Maine, this is a rare occasion lately...

As I started on the second 20, I kept saying to myself this can't be right. I should be in much more pain than this. I should not be able to maintain this speed... The wind started picking up...25 miles, 30 miles, 35 miles pass by on the bike computer. I am still going????!!! When I pulled back into the house after 40 miles, I could still walk. I averaged 17 MPH over 40 miles. I could still communicate with people and I was fine. Absolutely fine... I dare say I could have done 20 more... Maybe next week....

Time to get Serious

Over the weekend my buddy Trevor flew his dad from Vegas to Buxton for fathers day. We went over Saturday and visited. I drank several six packs of Shipard, along with a couple of lobstahh drenched in butter. On Sunday morning, Crystal and the kids made me breakfast in bed. 4 homemade Belgian waffles drenched in syrup... Last night I sat on the couch and finished a pint of Ben and Jerry's that I had just purchased an hour earlier. I got on the scale this AM assuming I would see the results of my weekend splurge. What, how could this be true??? I lost 3 pounds over the weekend.. Weight loss is a complete mystery to me!!!

I have been running almost every other day. Today I ran a tough 5.2 loop. I have been alternating between either a tough hill climb run or a fast 3.4 loop. I have been staying off the bike and out of the pool. On July 4th, my father in law and I are running in the LL Bean 10K. I have heard the course is hilly. We shall see I guess. Thus this is why I have been running on the hills of Hollis. There are only a couple, so I just keep running up and down them!!..

I do need to get out on the bike and back in the pool though. I think as I start to taper for the Bean 10K, I will get back onto the bike and into the pool for a few light efforts. Right after the 10K, I need to get my ass in high gear to get ready for the Urban Epic tri.. .5 mile swim, 13 mile bike and 3.7 mile swim. Should be a fun, fast race... I have never done the Epic. It was an Olympic distance in the past. They shortened it this year..

Overall, I am happy with my progress this year. I feel good. I am stronger on every run. Faster on every bike ride. I did read an article today that was talking about getting to the next level in personal fitness. This could be running a faster 5K, a longer long run or a faster or longer bike. They compared it to transitioning from a teenager to an adult. It is a difficult transition. You will make mistakes. I am at that point. I feel I am close to breaking through. I am ready.... I guess I just need to spend less time with Shipyard and Ben and Jerry's though... Maybe not though. Maybe they are the key to my weight loss??! Nothing will change though if you do not get off the couch. I have never regretted going for a run or a bike ride. I have regretted sitting on the couch... Does that motivate you Sonya :)??

I know an IRONMAN

It is a pretty cool thing to be able to say you know an IRONMAN. My cousin Logan (pictured here)completed another full Ironman this weekend. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Although this was not his first, it is an amazing feat to me still. As I read his blog and others aspiring to be an Ironman, I am amazed and inspired.

10 years ago??? Logan moved away from Maine. At that point, Logan was not much of an athlete. Unless you consider beer drinking and having a blast with friends a sport.. Neither was I by any means either. I was usually drinking with him on the weekend.. I was smoking 2 packs a day and drinking several six packs a week. I then started getting e-mail from my cousin Logan. He was running in races. These were not normal races. He had to run or crawl through mud pits, climb walls or something weird like that. I thought the TX sun was getting to him for sure. It sounded like he was having fun though!!

Then I got an e-mail that he was doing a Triathlon!! I had no idea what triathlon was really about. I knew it was on TV once a year. It looked impossible.

To get a better understanding of what it was about, I volunteered at the Wildbear Sprint tri here in Maine. I was amazed that people of all shapes and sizes were competing. I decided then and there, this was something that I had to Tri...

I entered the Polar Bear the next year and have been competeting in Tri's since.. My wife got the bug too. We train and race together now. It is an amazing spot and has changed my life in so many ways. Thank you Logan!!

His blog can be followed here: http://coachlogan.blogspot.com/

Few pics from Pirate