2009 Cowtown Half

I finished the Cowtown Half Marathon this morning in 1:57: Not quite a PR (I was hoping to get to 1:50), but I'll take it.

Met with part of the Ranch View Gang near the starting area for some photo ops and pre-race inspiration, but it turns out that some of the smarter members of the gang had been waiting in the Starbucks around the corner.

The day started off cold and very windy (22 MPH average with 30+ MPH gusts).  Panicked due to the wind and bundled up for the start.  Consequently, I was completely overdressed for the race - gloves, two long sleeve tech shirts and two pairs of pants over my tri-shorts.

The shirts came off at Mile 2 or 3. And if they weren't my good wind-pants (and my running gloves were stuck in the pockets), the pants would have been tossed as well.  So I definitely wasn't in my "comfort zone".

The course what I expected since it was the same as last year.  After the initial steep downhill from the Courthouse, a steady uphill climb to Mile 8, then downhill for a couple miles and finally uphill again when approaching downtown Fort Worth to the finish line.  Elevation map in the MotionBased stats below.

I didn't have a great race, but it was okay.  Lowlights: Had to stop at mile 0.5 to adjust my PattStrap which had slipped down (probably from rubbing against my running tights - another reason I shouldn't have worn long pants) from its above-the-knee perch.  Also had to use the "portolet" at the Mile 6 aide station - I think I was just tired and convinced myself that I needed the rest :-P.  However, despite these stops, I still had a sub-9:00/mi pace, so it was still a respectable performance by me - the total time being almost exactly what I did in the Benbrook Half last month and the DRC Half back in November.   I'd like to do more running training, but am worried about reinjuring my stress fracture.  We shall see ...

Oh well, I still had a great time and got to see my friends before, (a few) during, and after the race.  Lots of good refreshments at the finish and an awesome medal (the first of a series of five!) to boot.  I'm already looking forward to next year!

Course map & MotionBased stats: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7706995

Full results at http://results.active.com/pages/page.jsp?eventLinkageID=17319&year=2009

2009 Texas Motor Speedway Sprint Du

Great day for race this morning. I thought the weather might be on the cool side when loading up my bike this morning, but it turned out not too bad and very little wind (yay!) Big crowd – 350 participants. Ironhead Jack said it was the biggest duathlon in DFW since he ran the Du National Championships back in 1996(??)

I ended up finishing with a 1:19:47. I’m very happy with this result because I shaved over five minutes off my time from 2008's race - despite that last year the run legs were only about 1.8 miles each and this year they were the full 2 miles. Granted the lack of wind (which was very strong in 2008) also helped.

My official results:

• 16th out of 30 in my age group
• 87th out of 219 men
• 94th place overall (out of 319 finishers)

• Run 1 (2 miles officially): 15:36 (7:48/mi, 162nd place)
• T1: 00:58
• Bike (16 miles officially): 45:44 (21.0mph, 57th place)
• T2: 00:54
• Run 2 (2 miles officially): 16:33 (8:17/mi, 191st place)  

(Obviously, my running is still the weak link.)

Here are my stats as recorded by my Garmin Forerunner 305 (split times very close to the chip timed results):


I'm pretty happy with my level of effort as my heart rate was fairly consistent and not out of control (keeping my speed down for first run leg helped):

Lee passed me at Mile 1.25 of the first run leg – the 2:00 head start that my age group had over his evaporated. I trotted into transition and was changing my shoes as he was heading out on the bike course. My 7:43/mi run pace was a little slower than last year’s 7:35/mi, but not by much. First run leg speed chart:


After a sub-minute T1 (nice, smooth transitions), I started the three loops around Texas Motor Speedway for the bike. I passed Lee at about Mile 3 of the bike (south side of the Speedway) knowing full-well that he’d pass me again back on the run. The lack of wind really helped my speed (and maybe those new tires that we got last summer). My bike avg was 18.4 MPH last year ... this year, 21.3 MPH (per GPS). Woo-hoo! I might have been able to go even a little faster I hadn’t gotten two Charlie Horses – right calf during loop 2 and left calf during loop 3. Yep, I had forgotten to take my SaltSticks. Live and learn.

Bike elevation:


Fairly consistent bike speed:


Luckily, the cramps had pretty much subsided after T2 and the start of the second run leg. As expected, Lee re-passed me at about Mile 1.75 for a strong push in the final stretch. My run pace was 8:23/mi per GPS (vs. 8:37/mi in 2008) so while still lumbering, it was actually a stronger finish than I felt it would be.  Second run leg speed chart:


In the final results, Lee finished in 67th with his great runs. My friend Archie, who I saw at many races in 2007, is back in DFW after moving out of state last year and obviously has been training hard ... he crushed us both at 36th place and a 1:13:49 time. Jenn, my spin LA Fitness instructor, had a good race as well and finished in 5th place in her age group.

Full results at: http://www.mychiptime.com/searchevent.php?id=3396

Next up: The Cowtown Half Marathon

Moving the Cheese

(Perhaps "moving the finish line" is more accurate, but I really like that book.)

The only way to get better (for endurance training, anyway) is to go longer and harder.  So I'm going to try to kick it up a notch the next few weeks until I begin tapering in mid-March for the Lonestar Half-Iron.

On Saturday, I started the morning by meeting up with the Keller Running Club at the Keller-Smithfield Node for their "6-miler" on the Bear Creek Trails.  I took a detour up the steep hill on Elaine St (both times - on the "out" and the "back") and did the loop around the baseball fields at the Keller Sports Part so my run totalled just over 8 miles.  Afterward, I did another couple of miles (oops, forgot to restart the Garmin) with a fellow Cowtown Half-marathoners - back west on Bear Creek Parkway to Keller Town Hall and the KISD Natatorium and then wound along the trails back to the Node (and my car).  About 10 miles total.  MotionBased data & map (for the first run): http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7619648

After the run, I hightailed it to LA Fitness and was surprised to find that even at 9:00 AM (15 minutes before the start of spin class), all the bikes were already reserved.  I caught a huge break when someone working out on a bike told me he was planning on leaving at 9:10 and that I could have his bike then.  Nice.  Not only did I get a bike when it wasn't looking likely, but the bike he was riding was "my" bike (you spin regulars know what I mean).

After 6 minutes on the rowing machine (while waiting for the clock to reach 9:10), I hit the first class hard (avg hr 155 bpm) and then took a 4-minute breather during the 15-minute intermission (note heart rate drop on chart from 1:05-1:09) and the tried to hang in there for another hour.  The second class was very hard - the run was definitely catching up to me and my legs felt very sore.  But overall, I ran 2.75 miles more than last week and added the 6-minute rower session - so definitely a significantly more vigorous effort despite the lower heart rate during the double spin-classes.

Today, after two 2,000 yd swims last week, I decided to go a little farther.  Total swim time: 52:44.6; Total distance: 2,500 yd.  My splits:

• 1st 500 yds: 10:31.5
• 2nd 500 yds: 10:29
• 3rd 500 yds: 10:25
  
• 4th 500 yds: 10:40
• 5th 500 yds: 10:38.5
  

Still a ways to go when compared with my 3,000 yd PR pace, but overall, not too shabby ...

Symmetric Week

Symmetric as in [Swim] - [Bike+Run] - [Bike+Swim] - [Bike+Run] - [Swim]

Monday (2/9) : 2,000 yd swim in 37:54.4 (splits: 9:28, 9:31.5, 9:25, 9:30).  Pretty fast time (5:45 faster than January 19) - mainly because I "cheated" and wore tri-shorts.  Taking yesterday off helped as well.  Still, it felt good to get in a longish swim.

Tuesday (2/10): 1 hour spin class (144 bpm avg heart rate - hmm, why so low? - lazy!) followed by a 1:16 transition and a two-mile treadmill brick run in 16:29 (8:15/mi pace; 153 bpm avg heart rate)

Wednesday (2/11): 1 hour spin class (149 avg heart rate - better intensity, but still doggin' it!) and then a 500 yd cool-down swim in 10:36

Thursday (2/12): A clone of Tuesday - 1 hour spin class (156 bpm avg heart rate) followed by a 2:53 transition and a two-mile treadmill brick run in 18:20 (161 bpm avg heart rate despite the 9:10/mi pace; I was a little tired after that spin class)

Friday (2/13): I ended the week the way I started it - with another 2,000 yd swim.  No tri-shorts this time so I'm back to my normal pace.  My time was 42:26.6 with splits of 10:23, 10:38.5, 10:41, 10:44.  Not bad at all - just 1:08 slower than my 2,000 yd PR.

Happy Friday the 13th and that "other holiday" tomorrow!

Weekend Accomplishments

Saturday's Accomplishment:

Woke up early and met up the Keller Running Club on the Bear Creek trails.  Got in a 5.8 mile run with a steady 8:30-8:45 pace (and 170-175 bpm heart rate) while running, but had two 3-5 minute water stops to break it up - so the total time was 58:48 and 161 bpm avg hr.  MotionBased info: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7585006 

After the run, I headed to the gym for spin-brick-spin workout.  First class: 75 minutes at an average heart rate of 159 bpm.  Then a 2:05 transition to wipe down the spin bike, change into my running shoes, and get upstairs to the treadmill (wow, I wouldn't have guessed it takes that long - I thought I was hustling) to get in a 1.5 mile run in 12:45 (8:30/mi pace) at 173 bpm.  The second transition was faster (1:21) so I got back downstairs and back on the bike quickly.  Second class: 60 minutes at 156 bpm.  It was tougher to keep the intensity up for the second session, but I think I managed to still make it worthwhile.

So the totals for today: 7.25 miles of running and 2.25 hours of cycling (equivalent to 45-50 miles).  Almost "Half-Iron-worthy."

Sunday's Accomplishment:

Not feeling too sore from yesterday. :-)

Multisport A-Go-Go

(Or "Stimulating the Economy with Race Entry Fees")

I just registered for the Ironhead Texas Motor Speedway Sprint Duathlon (Feb 22) and Dallas Athletes St. Patrick's Sprint Tri (Mar 15).

• http://www.ironheadrp.com/tms_du (register today or tomorrow for the $45 rate)
  
• http://www.stpatrickstriathlon.com (already 50%+ full!)

So let the 2009 multisport season begin! Who's going to help me kick it off? :-)

A quick week for workouts:

Monday: 1,000 yard swim.  Splits: 10:27 + 10:54 =21:21 for the total time.

Tuesday: 1 hour of spin.  149 bpm average heart rate - so a little lower than normal intensity, but still a solid class.  Followed up the cycling with a 500 yard swim in 9:54.  My first sub-10:00 set in quite some time.  That is encouraging but I really need to ramp up the distance.

Wednesday: 75 minutes of spinning madness.  155 bpm with no drops below 140 in the final hour.  Very consistent effort.

Thursday: Wanted to do a reverse tri today, but the swim fizzled out.  Started with a 2-mile treadmill run.  Completed it in 17:47 at an average heart rate if 166 bpm - the effort was a lot harder than the 8:54/mi pace indicates because I had a 5% incline for more than half of the run.  After a quick 1:24 "transition" (stopping the treadmill, grabbing my stuff, heading downstairs, and settling on the spin bike), I did a 45-minute spin class, which also ended up being a higher effort at 159 bpm average.  The post-bike swim started off well, but after a couple of laps, my shoulder developed an "interesting" pain.  I switched to breast stroke to try to get in more time in the pool, but after three straight days of cycling, my back just didn't want to arch that way when coming up for air.  So in the end, it was only about 350-400 yd in the pool, and it was slow and inconsistent.  Disappointing, but the run and spin felt great (or as great as a 64 minute 161 bpm avg hr workout can feel ...)

Friday: OFF DAY!  All I did was register for races and rested up for the weekend.  I have some tough training planned for Saturday and Sunday.

[Haha, my needling paid off.  Matt is joining me for the TMS Du.  Derek is in for the St. Patty's Tri.  And Lee and my spin instructor are in for both.  Now about those stimulus checks ...]