The Time Has Come

I have completed my first half-marathon in 2 hours 20 minutes.  Surprisingly, I was not as tired as I thought I would be despite the deplorable conditions.  Let me set the scene.  When I signed up for this to run I thought January in Orlando would be nice.  You know mid to high 60's and sunny.  Perfect weather to run in.  Who would have ever guessed that we would experience the coldest day in 20 years?  We watched the weather in disbelief ad the forecast got colder and colder.  We went to bed wondering.  I am NOT a morning person, so getting up at 4 AM is not for me.  First thing was to tune into the Weather Channel and see the conditions.  Radar was showing precipitation and 28 degrees!  Oh well, good or bad, you signed up for this so get dressed and head out to the bus.  Standing in the start corral I look up and feel ice hitting my face.  The fireworks go off and here we go.  Nope, that was for the elites and para-athletes.  The fireworks go off again.  That one is for us.  We all start walking to the start line.  There it is and the crowd seems to all start on the same foot.  Me and 17000 of my closest, craziest friends were in Orlando on the coldest day in 20 years to run 13.1 miles.  Four months of training came to this moment.  Was I ready?  I was ready for the run just not the conditions.  Running in the dark, down a highway toward the Magic Kingdom, was a little boring.  I see the Cinderella's Castle and realize that I am not thinking about running. We turn down Main Street and toward the castle.  It was not as big as I thought or remembered.  Out of the Magic Kingdom and back on the highway toward Epcot.  Mile eight was a food stop.  They were handing out Cliff shots.  I grabbed one and it was rock hard (frozen) and had to stick it under my arm to get it to thaw.  It was lighter and the sleet had turned into a light drizzle.  Running around Spaceship Earth I knew it was almost over.  The crowd was growing and cheering everyone on,"You're almost there, it's just around the corner".  You could hear the music and the announcer.  The finish line was in sight!  I did pick up the pace a little to get across.  I did it!  13.1 miles in 2:20:09.  The fun had just begun!  I got my medal and my mylar and started the long cold walk to get my bag.  I had to stop for a photo and that is when I realized that the temperature had dropped a bit and it was still drizzling.  Since I was not moving as much anymore I started getting really cold.  I was soaked with sweat and rain.  Standing and waiting to get my bag that had a dry clothes I stopped shivering.  I had to get warm quickly.  Finally made it back to the room and took nearly two hours to warm up.  I will do the run next year.  Hopefully, the weather will be a bit better.
I just saw my finish line photo and I was BLUE!  I have never been blue.  People that know me know that I do not get cold unless I am sick or it is like the Arctic.
With all of that I would have to say that it was the BEST birthday I have ever had.  Thank you, Sami! 

What am I doing?!!??

For the past couple of months I have been preparing to run my first half-marathon.  Running is, for me, boring and tedious.  Competing in triathlons I have come to see the run as a necessary evil that must be done to get to the finish and to a cold beer.  I know that I could improve my running but would rather ride 300 miles than run 3.  This past Sunday I went for a little run.  I completed 11 miles in 2 hours!  I think that I will be ready for my half-marathon in January.  I have planned an active 2010.  My A race is going to be an Ironman 70.3 (1.9k swim, 90k bike and 21.k run).  The plan has me doing a couple of sprints(750m swim, 20k bike and 5k run), a couple of Olympic/International (1500m swim, 40k bike and 10k run) before the 70.3.  The goal being that I will complete a mid-season Ironman (3.8k swim, 180k bike and 42.2k run).  The swimming and the cycling have mot been a problem.  I have only been concerned about the running part of the event.  I have participated in a couple of local 5k races here and my last race I was able to set a PR (personal record) of 29:35 minutes.  The events that I am doing are endurance events and running for time is a bit foreign to me.  There will be a day that I might want to run for time, but for now I am happy just finishing and not throwing-up on the finish line. There are some cool things on the horizon for me and I will keep you up on the training and the progress, or lack of progress.  I will continue to ride as much as possible.

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I sit listening to my music and try and make some sense of what is going through my mind. I put this out there, not to elicit help, but to see it in writing. Going back and reading old posts and looking and what has happened between then and now helps me to see if I am heading in the right direction. Lately, I have felt that I have become stagnate. I have great friends in my life but.... There are times that it is not enough.

There is a happiness there but it is small. Time will nurture, attention will let it flourish. It is the absence that kills. The trick is not to let it go completely. Thoughts keep it going. I let my thoughts carry it along. The happiness returns stronger. It has strings attached and some of the ties will not be broken. Time does loosen them but they hang on, being able to untangle them makes them manageable. There is an endurance factor that has to come into play. Will you wait for it to come? Are you willing to go the distance it wants? If you worry about the hurt then walls go up and become so thick the are impenetrable and then happiness dies.

Dealing with the Wind

My only strategy is to work the gears to keep my cadence right and curse....curse a lot! I curse like a guy with Tourette's who has anger management issues and just stubbed his toe because he is running away from someone who kicked him in the jimmy. That kind of cussing!

Listen

I sit
quietly
I hear music
It grows louder and I begin to look for the source
When I cant find it I sit quietly and listen, where it is coming from
I let the music carry my thoughts
it is soothing
it carries emotion
I hear it clearly
There is music
the rhythmic tempo, the bass, the melody
Listen
I start to feel that it is trying to tell me something
there is a message
Listen
Heartsong
it does exist
faint for some and huge marching band for others
Where does yours rank
it ebbs and flows from day to day
going from whispered, hushed tones to a cacophony of voices
Can you hear it
Be still and listen
it is there
close your eyes
Can you hear it
you have to be quiet
Relax
Calm
What makes the heart sing
so much of life and the world is in turmoil
stressed and pushed to physical and mental limits
pain, conflict
Why now
what has changed that I can hear my heartsong
Be logical and analyze
the music fades
Relax
Calm
It returns
The mind is free
the heart is happy
relieved
there is something there
beating with the music
setting the tempo
time creeps and the tempo remains
absence and the tempo remains
The mind follows the heart
attempting to make sense of it all
confused and asking why
The music fades
Relax
Calm
It returns
Showing possibilities
revealing
lighting up the dark
The mind recoils
thoughts brought into the light
showing the pain that has been inflicted
the heart calms
the mind relaxes
the music is beautiful
I sit
listening
quietly

24 Hours of Booty (old post)

This was an amazing event. Me and 5000 of my closest friends out to enjoy a bike ride. I arrived at Queen's University in Charlotte and immediately saw that this was going to be an adventure. I was lucky enough to find a parking spot just around the corner on a residential street. This would be MY home base. The ball field had been transformed to Bootyville. Just walking through and seeing bikes of all sizes and makes with the crowd of people having fun and ready to ride got me excited and ready to ride. I was a bit apprehensive at first because I was there by myself. That quickly faded when I saw that we were all there for the same reason.
About 6:30 everyone started to suit up and you could hear tire pumps hissing all over as everyone was making the final checks to their bikes. We were instructed to make our way to the start line for a survivor victory lap. Promptly at 7:00pm the clock started and the cancer survivors were up front leading us ALL on our first lap, it was a moving experience to see. Many stayed out for a few laps, but the field started to thin out as teams sent out the first shift. Some teams were riding laps others riding time. The field was really thin, about 200 riders, about 9:00pm. This allowed many of us to get to know the course a bit better and we watched our speeds increase and the laps quickly clicked by. The first break I had I got my bike ready for night, headlight, taillight and iPod (I created a 4 hour playlist with some real driving songs, AC/DC, Kiss, Korn, and some good instrumental with fast BPM). I was expecting to get 7 hours out of the headlight battery and of course that was not the case. Everyone settled into a rhythm and the time and laps quickly passed. I was able to click off the 3 mile lap in 8 minutes.
When you needed to stop to get a water bottle refill you just pulled into the rest area. Drinks, gels, food and almost everything you might need to make it through the evening. I was finding that about every two hours I would need to stop to refill and down a gel and have a little pb&j (a cyclists best friend on long rides).
4:00 am and I noticed that the headlight was growing dim. The speeds we were going I needed a bright light to see the road. The way the course was laid out it was all right turns around the University. There were three sharp 90 degree turns. The second turn was at the top of a little climb so that one was a little slow. The other turns were at the bottom of descents where we were reaching 30 mph. Slower riders were instructed to keep to the right to let the faster riders pass. I was amazed at the speed of this course and that there were only two incidents for the whole ride.
I went back to the Jeep and contemplated changing into a fresh pair of shorts, socks and a dry jersey. I got changed and decided to catch a few ZZZs before the sun came up and I would be able to see the course again. I went for my phone to post on FB and my phone had started acting crazy. I reset it and nothing. I started to get a bit ill because that is my lifeline. I laid back and knew that everything would be better with a clearer head after a quick snooze. I did manage to get in a 3 hour nap.
My phone was still on the fritz and decided to leave it and would check on it at my next break. I went into the rest area and was amazed at the number of people up ready to ride. I got back in the saddle and started to click off the laps. There were at least 500 riders out on the course. This meant that it would be a bit slower. I settled down into my rhythm. It was a bit slower but I still managed to get and average speed of 18.5 mph for the entire ride. I was not there for time just distance. The goal was a lap for the years that my Grandfather (Dada) was alive before succumbing to cancer. He passed at 63. 63 three mile laps would be 189 miles. I just could not leave the course with an odd number. 200 was the mark.
It was the last 5 miles that I started thinking what am I doing. My legs are tired, my butt is toast and my arms hurt. My bike is the Specialized Transition. This bike is designed for time trials and triathlons. This bike was designed to go fast and slip through the wind. When you ride this style of bike you are in a forward position with you upper body weight resting on your elbows. The problem that I had was the padding. Normally, the pads are thick and absorb road vibration and protect the rider from the hardware underneath. I had flattened the pads from riding in that position for 10 hours. I could feel every bump and I really felt the hardware underneath.
The best thing was that I was really strong through most of the ride. I have never ridden this distance and did not know what to expect. I have ridden centuries (100 mile) before and the last one I rode was just last Sunday. I could feel that I was someone was there keeping me up, even though I was riding alone I never felt that way. There was an energy level from the other riders, but this was more. Yes, I am a bit tired but I would not trade the experience for anything. It was an amazing atmosphere. It really has to be experienced.
I will be back next year! Hopefully, I will have a few people with me to experience what I did.

My season is over?

My season ended with the completion of the Wrightsville YMCA Triathlon, however many of my friends are still training. There is Ironman Cozumel, Arizona and Beach 2 Battleship still to come. This means that I still get to ride and train. This morning, just after sunrise, I was asked to ride and ride I did. Paced at 21 mph for 1.5 hours. I then got to ride with another friend later that same morning. Rode 60 miles and averaged 20mph. Looking at it I will probably go out and get another 10 miles and have a century done.
Having the opportunity to help my friends complete their training and push them a little harder than they would normally makes me feel good.
I continue to run and attempting to get time in on my feet. I have and anticipate running in some local 5k's. I have been entered into the Disney Half Marathon in January and want to be able to finish the run. I have re-found a training technique that helped me run distance in the past. I am now running with Navy SEALs and Marines. Not physically, but with their running cadences in my ear. Hearing the cadence calls at 160bpm sets my pace at a 9 minute mile. Just like in cycling, being able to judge a cadence keeps you from burning yourself up. I trained and continue to train with music on the bike. This helps me in keeping that cadence steady. My legs know what a 90-95 cadence is and naturally spin at that rate. Using the same approach and training my running legs to keep that 160 cadence will get me through the run. The countdown has begun to Disney.