Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Keepin it Fresh - '10 The First Half

After the 50k in January I took some time to rest and enjoy the sweet things in life that I deprive myself of during the season (beer, candy, staying up past 11pm, Taco Bell etc.) But most importantly I took time to takemy mind away from the sport. Come February I was refreshed and mentally ready to get back into agrove. At times the Cleveland weather was a bummer but overall the month's training ended status quo.

March and April went by smooth too. I picked up some new training along the way. Occasionally I swam with the good people at Shaker Middle School Masters program, a nice way to step up my swimming form and put some variety to my stroke. Plus I need a better excuse to wake up at 4:45am a few times a week. I did a few circuit bike races in the spring too. Admittedly, not my usual style but I have to say I had a tons of fun during the series and it really helped to improve
my early season bike fitness. Most races I just sat in and tried not to get chewed up and spit out the back. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not. I did manage to win a preem on one lap in one race. A small victory, but a victory none-the-less. :)

To round out the spring I trained for and ran the Cleveland Half Marathon. Ready for the meat of the season to start I wanted to put my legs to the test and go for a PR. To start, training went
well. Coming off the 50k only a few months ago I had endurance on my side, the hard work was finding the lost leg speed. So the process took place just as any other. Naturally I had good workouts, bad workouts and just blah workouts leading up to the race. I was confident going in, even though I had an ambitious goal set for myself. Morning of the race there was no shortage of the typical "daze" I was ready to run hard. The family was out to support, friends all around both running and spectating and the weather was perfect.

Jody and Started together. We ran together for the first six miles or so. We were running very strong and fast and I honestly knew it was only a matter of time until he would drop me. He was super fit and going for a PR also. When he pulled away around mile seven I was stoked for him, he looked strong. I on the other hand was not feeling terrible but unable to keep the 6:30 pace we were clipping at. I slowed to a more sustainable 6:42ish pace and pushed on.

The finish was as inviting as any other and I was super happy to cross the line. 1:28:25, 6:45 pace. I thought I could/would have run a bit faster but was totally happy to have PR'ed. I gave it all the juice I had that day, that is for sure, so for an early season race, I was happy. Lots of
friends and family were hanging afterwards and it ended up being a great day.

Finishing the half marathon was important, because it meant the start of the multisport season. I had a full schedule: NEO Sprint Triathlon Kickoff at Clay's Park, Maumee Bay International, Steelhead 70.3, Revolution3 Half Distance, Ironman Florida. A full plate for sure but that is what I wanted.

The early season tune-up sprint race was just that, a tune up and an opportunity to get my triathlon legs back on. A small local race I was happy to be 5th overall and 1st in my age group, basically among friend.

I wanted to really have a go at the international distance at Maumee Bay. I have always felt this distance could suit me if I put a bit more effort into it. My coach and I decided to put that effort into it this year, fine tune the leg speed and see what I could pull off. A much tough day for sure but successful. I swam like crap, rode super hard and ran okay. Good enough for 12th overall, 3rd in my age group and a PR for the distance. It made me feel good to know that with some distance-specific training and focus I can excel at the shorter distance races. Definitely still room to improve (swim) but it was another great day of hearty racing among friends and
another successful early season race to gain fitness.

After Maumee Bay my focus was switched over to the longer stuff, Half-Iron and eventual Ironman. This included lots and lots of training and less racing for the meat of the summer. My sights were set on Steelhead and I wanted that race bad. I wanted a fair chance at Clearwater and I wanted to PR the distance. I knew these were within my abilities, but it would take big effort. For those reasons, the next few months I put my head down, woke up earlier, made plenty of sacrifices and trained harder than I have ever had in my life.