October Beer Fest 5K

After running in last weekends Fanwood 5K and actually liking it I thought I’d give it another go this weekend and race in another local 5K.  This time my sister agreed to tag along and run with me.  Being that she’s running in the Philadelphia Half Marathon in late November, we both agreed this would be a good training session for both of us.

Race morning was beautiful.  The plan was to run three loops around a small park that was lined with trees that were all in the midst of changing colors.  I felt ok going in, but I clearly didn’t prepare like I should have.  Two beers the night before, a poor excuse for a breakfast, and about 5 mins to warm up before we started.  I don’t know why I’m not taking these more seriously.  Either way, I was still able to run a decent time: CLICK FOR RESULTS I was able to finish 2nd out of 22 in my age group (30-34 yr old men) and 15th overall (239 participants) with a time of 21:09 (6:49 min miles).

Instead of walking away from this race disappointed that I was slower than last week (4 seconds), I’m going out with the mindset that I was still able to maintain a relatively quick pace even though I’m not even close to being considered “fit” by my standards.  Assuming I work hard and keep at it, I should only expect to get faster and faster in future races.

Oh, and I forgot … AGAIN … to stop my watch at the end of the race, so some of my Garmin data is useless.  Here are my stats: CLICK FOR GARMIN RUN INFO.

Fanwood 5K

After recently hearing about a friends recent success in a local 5K (Ironbound), I was inspired to get out and try one myself.  I’ve never been a runner – I actually HATE running, but by participating in races like these I’m forcing myself to get out and hit the road.

I guess the event itself was pretty cool – the set up, the other runners, hearing the kids cheering you on, but for me it’s all just a excuse to get me out of bed.  It’s much easier to say “Hey, I’ll run later” on an early Sunday morning if I don’t have something specifically planned.  No can do if I’m actually registered for an event.

To my surprise I had a decent showing.  I finished 2nd in my age group (30-34 years old) and 16th overall (418 athletes).  The goal was to run under 21 minutes and I came out just short of that at 21:05.  Had I actually taken the run more seriously (had a burger the night before) and been in better shape I think more than a few seconds could have been shaved off that final time.  CLICK FOR OVERALL RESULTS

You can tell by the data on my Garmin (CLICK FOR RUN INFO) that I shot out of the gates at a pretty quick pace.  After the first mile or so though I knew there was no way I was going to be able to keep that up.  I settled back into somewhat of a more comfortable zone for the rest of the race finishing the last 1/10th of a mile at a decent sprint.  I forgot to stop my watch after I crossed the line, so the data is slightly off at 21:45.

I still hate running, but I have to admit I’m glad I was able to get out and participate.

 

2011 Race Schedule

I’m getting tired just thinking about these …

April 2011 - Unite Half Marathon — 13.1 miles

May 2011 – Doc n Sok Triathlon (Sprint) — 0.3 mile swim, 10 mile bike, 3.1 mile run

May  2011 – Montauk Century Ride — 100 mile bike

June 2011 – Mighty Montauk (Olympic) – 1 mile swim, 22 mile bike, 6.2 mile run

July 2011 - Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island (Half Ironman) — 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1 mile run

Aug 2011 – Ironman Louisville — 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run

workout – 10.21.10

The good news is that I pushed myself out the door tonight and went out for a brief run.  The bad news is that I was reminded ever so quickly that I have A LOT of work to do.

CLICK HERE FOR RUN INFO

L is for “Lake City”

Roughly 45 mins northeast of where I grew up lies Lake City, MN.  A small community on the banks of the Mississippi where my grandparents lived for 30+ years.  I have fond memories of this area as we made countless trips up HWY 63 toward the smell of my Grandma’s apple pie and my Grandpa’s “funny” jokes.  As much as I love calling the NYC area home every now and then I yearn for the peaceful ways of small town living.

 

Excuses, excuses, excuses …

That’s all I’ve been coming up with lately.  For the past week or so I’ve been in a complete funk.  Haven’t felt like working out, haven’t felt like posting much on the blog, haven’t felt like much of anything, but spending time with my family and being “normal”.  Found this video last night and thought it was fitting.  Time to put on my big boy pants and get my butt in gear.

Mini-Goal #3: Stretch at least 20 mins per day

Mini-Goal #2 Review: Could have been better, could have been worse.  I think there were two days where I didn’t get the full 64 oz.’s in, so that means I accomplished just over 70% of my goal.  Like I said, could have been better, could have been worse.  I did make the move of purchasing a water bottle that I can carry along with me pretty much where ever I go, so I won’t have any excuses going forward.

Mini-Goal #3: Stretch at least 20 mins a day.  I have incredibly tight hamstrings and to reduce injury going forward I need to make sure I’m more flexible.  Stretching for a minimum of 20 mins a day should prove beneficial.

Rule(s): complete within 7 days.  Attempt to do this in the morning before going to work.

 

The Iron Nun

A friend of mine (Trirooskee) sent me an article on this lady a week or so ago.  I wasn’t able to post the article, but was able to find a quick youtube clip of her.  Pretty amazing.

“People always ask me how I’m able to compete in the Ironman competitions at my age and do so well.  I have a very simple answer.  I don’t know.”

– Sister Madonna Buder

K is for “Kool-Aid”

I used to drink this stuff by the gallon as a kid.   Our family was so entrenched in the Kool-Aid culture,  we literally had gear rocking the logo.  In retrospect, all that sugar probably wasn’t the best thing for me, but I was a kid – kids drink Kool-Aid!  Ahhhhhh … good times.

workout – 10.12.10

Who:   5 v 5

What:  Basketball

When:  10/12/10

Where:  Indoors

Why:  Cross Training

Distance:  –

Speed: –

Time:  1.5 hrs

Notes / Goals:  Made special effort to focus on rebounding the ball (jumping and increasing leg strength).  Also wanted to gauge / test aerobic and anaerobic fitness capacity.