My First 100 Mile Month

Today I ran an easy 5.4 miles on a new route with some rolling hills and subtle elevation change. When I entered the data into the computer, I suddenly realized that I had run just over 100 miles for the month of July. 100.5 to be exact, but with 3 running days left in the month, I may be able to hit 115 or 120 for the month. Here's the mileage for the last 4 months of training.

April: 50.3 miles
May: 74.5 miles
June: 78.0 miles
July: 100.5 miles and counting.

I took my old mountain bike out for a ride on Sunday, since my new road bike has not arrived yet.( I'll save that rant for another post) I rode just bout 5 miles and it was horrible. I am riding a 20 year old all steel mountain bike with big tires. I was discouraged when I returned home as I only did 5 miles and I felt horrible. How was I going to ride 10 miles in a sprint triathlon in 2 weeks? My neighbor gave me some encouragement...he got out his road bike which is very similar to mine and told me to take it for a spin. I went about a mile and it felt great and I felt like I could keep going except he was getting ready to go for a ride. When I got back we compared the 2 bikes, what a difference...about 22 lbs to be exact. I am hoping that my road bike arrives today.

Thanks to everyone for all of the kind words of support.

My First Triathlon...as a volunteer that is.

This morning I attended my first triathlon, not as a participant, but a volunteer. I decided that I wanted to try a sprint triathlon (400m swim, 10 mile bike, 5K run) this summer but I needed to see what it was about. I emailed the race director and asked if he needed any volunteers and he told me to show up Saturday morning at 7:00am and he would put me to work.

When I arrived there were several volunteers hanging around and only a couple of participants. I got my instruction as to what my job would be and then took a walk around. I checked the lake where the swimming portion of the race would be held and then walked along part of the path of the 5k run. After a meeting with all participants, I took my place...I was directing traffic in and out of the bike transition area. The gun went off and I could see that there were swimmers in the water. About 5 minutes later the first women made it o the transition area. I spent the next 20 minutes waving my arms and telling people to be aware as they rode on the streets. After the last rider left, I moved up he road a bit and waited for the first wave of cyclist to come back in. It was my job at that point to not only direct them into the transition area but get them to slow down to a safe speed. Many listened, a few did not. Oh well, no accidents or injuries.

After th last rider came in, I moved down to the finish line to cheer on the participants until the last one came in. It was a great experience for me as I was able to get a feel for the sprint triathlon, give back for some many of the races that I have run, and to meet some really great people. I am hoping to do this same triathlon on August 9th...I am pretty confident I can do it, it is my equipment(bike) that I am unsure of at this point.

Not Feelin' It Today

I headed out the door for a scheduled 4-5 mile run and after about 1 mile, I just wasn't feeling good. I decided to turn back and head home after 1.5 miles. On the way back I felt so sluggish that I walked for some time. Not sure if it was the benadryl that I took before bed, but I haven't felt so sluggish in a long time. Hopefully I can shake this funk today and back at it tomorrow.

My First 10 Miler...WooHoo

Today I was able to cross off one of my goals in this training I am doing for the half marathons later this fall, I knocked out a 10 mile run...10.24 miles to be exact. I did it in a time of 1:38:50 (9:40/mile pace) which was just below my goal of 1:40:00. I felt good for most of the run, I started to feel a sore knee about mile 8, but I just kept going. The knee seemed better by the end of the run.

I did try my new Amphipod Run Lite 4 belt today. I loaded all 4 bottles with liquid and headed out. The bounce was minimal although I did notice that the belt and the bottles seemed to want to move around a bit. About half way through the run, I stopped and tightened the belt a bit more and those problems went away the rest of the run.

Spent the rest of the day with family as we hosted my nephew's 6th birthday party. Boy did the pool feel good on my legs.

Split Workout Today

Today I decided to split my running into 2 segments, one in the morning and the other after work. I ran 4.1 miles at 5:30am this morning with a time of 37:27 and 5.1 miles (44:46) after work. I started out the afternoon session a bit too fast (about 8:00 per mile) and then cut it back a bit to about 9:00 per mile. I really have to force myself to run slower. I really like doing these split workouts as I can get more miles in during the week when time is limited.

Tomorrow, I will be running with the Thursday Night Fun Run group at the Runner's Circle. There should be a few more people this week, always fun.

My Longest Run to Date...

I set out this morning at 6:45am with 16oz of gatorade and 16oz of water for what I thought would be a 6.5 mile run. I ran the same route I ran last Sunday but in reverse. When I got to the street I should have turned on, I felt good so I kept going another 1.5 miles then headed south. I got to mile 6 and it felt like I was on mile 3, so I kept going. I had to make a quick pitstop and then trudged on, next thing I know I am hitting mile 8, so I decided to start heading back home. When I got home and looked at the Garmin, WOW...9.2 miles...my furthest run yet.

I had one issue and that was my Amphipod water carriers. I took 2 -8oz bottles on my belt, but the extra bottle made the belt bounce too much, so much that I took one off the belt and carried it my hand. I am looking for another solution to carry water. Possibly a single bottle containing 20oz, a camelback, I don't know. If you have a solution, let me know.

Bob

Thursday Night Group Run

Tonight was my second time running with the group from A Runner's Circle in Los Feliz. Had a great time, I started out with Chris, running a pace of about 8:00/mile for the first 2-1/4 miles. That pace was a bit faster than my normal pace and I didn't think I could sustain it for the entire 5 miles. I slowed up a bit to my normal pace of 9:00/mile for the rest of the 5 mile loop we did. Mike passed me at about mile 3 but I never lost site of him and finished not too far behind him.

Total time was 43:24 which gave me an average pace of 8:49/mile which is a bit faster than my normal training pace. Friday will be an off day for running, but wife and I will do a 4 mile walk in the morning. Planning on 6.5 or 7 miles on Saturday, depending on the heat.

Smokin' Deal

I saw that Sports Authority had Russel brand running shirts and shorts on sale this week. I made a point to stop by and pick a couple more shirts and another pair of shorts. I spent about 30 minutes cruising the aisles, found the Russell sale items under the sign marked $12.99, picked out a couple of items and headed to the register. Upon checking out, I discovered I was charged $19.99 for each of the items. I bought this to the attention of the cashier and he told me they were not on sale. I proceeded to show him the ad in the newspaper and he called over another cashier. When the other cashier came over, she said that these are not on sale and then began to put the shirts back onto hangers. I pointed out the section in which I got the shirts and shorts from along with the sign marked $12.99, all she could say was that they were not on sale. I asked for the manager to come over and speak with me. I stated my case about the $12.99 sign and all of the Russell stuff on the racks and shelves where these signs were. The manager went to the shelves with the ad to see if he could straighten it out. After a few minutes, he came back to the register and said that they had to honor the $12.99 price and that the signs were placed incorrectly. In addition I had a coupon for $10.00 off if you spent $50.00. When the smoke cleared, I paid $10.76 for each of the shirts and shorts. A good deal.

Bob