OWWWW

my foot/ankle hurts. Everything else feels great though. I even felt good enough on Tuesday to try and take an easy run on the treadmill. It's when I started running that I realized something wasn't right. I took it easy; did the R.I.C.E treament, but it still kept hurting. I went to the doctor on Thursday nervous that I had a stress fracture or something else bad. We did some x-rays and the Dr feels pretty confident that it is just tendonitis. He gave me some anti-inflamatory pills and said to take it easy but not to stay off of it. I'll go back on New Year's Eve day for a follow up. If it's still hurting, I'm pretty sure he will send me for an MRI. Today is Sunday, and it still hurts. Hopefully it will start to taper off over the next couple of days. I'm going to limit myself to strength training, swimming, and biking this week.

As of today, I'm not scratching the First Light Marathon off my list. If I feel better towards the end of this week, I'll try to get in a run this weekend. I'll use the run to gauge the possibility of still making it down there.

The 2009 Ironman World Championships were aired on NBC yesterday. Just watching it stirs up feelings of nervousness and excitement. I know I've got a long road ahead of me. It's gonna be a lot of riding, running, and swimming. It's gonna rock!

I hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Eric's Quote of the Day: "So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable." ~Christopher Reeve

Rocket City Marathon Race Report

Well, I did it! It was by far the most physically exhausting thing I’ve done. The folks up there know how to put on a race. It was very well organized; the volunteers were wonderful; and the swag was top-notch. I felt like my nutrition plan worked out well. I took a Gu every 45-55 minutes. I didn’t feel like I was exhausted due to lack energy, my knees and ankles just didn’t want to work too hard towards the end of the race. Overall it was a great day. So, just sit back, relax, and follow along…

Pre-Race
The alarm went off at 3:10 Saturday morning. I was curious to see if I hit my fighting weight of 238….I did! My feet hit the ground and I went downstairs for a cup of coffee and my breakfast (Turkey Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Sandwich). I tooled around on the computer for a few minutes just to try to settle my nerves (see previous post). I jumped in the shower and got dressed and headed up to Gardendale to meet Jeff around 4:30. On the way, I ate half a peanut butter sandwich and sipped on some vitamin water. We met up and got on the road around 5:15 (had 1 Ensure on the way up there). We got up to Huntsville right around 6:30. It was definitely a little on the cold side up there. The wind was whirling around which would be the case for the rest of the day. We went and got our race packets. The Nike technical shirts are pretty awesome. We put on the rest of our layers and sat in the car to stay warm and then went for a quick jog to warm up the legs. The race director was very adamant about getting everyone lined up and sounding the gun at 8:00. At 7:45, I took the first of many Gu’s that would be taken over the next 6 hrs and finished sipping on some Gatorade. I lined up towards the rear near the 5-5.5 hr pace group. The gun sounded and our journey began

Race
As I crossed that first timing mat, I hit the start button on my watch and said a quick little prayer. I was on my first segment of 5 minute running. Doing a run/walk routine was apparently pretty popular. After the first 4 minutes, you could here beeps coming from everyone’s HR monitors, GPS watches, and stop watches. The first 4 miles were great even with a stop for a bathroom break around the 5K mark. I was going along at around a 12 min mile pace. I felt comfortable there for the time being.

Miles 5-8 were still good. I averaged closer to 12:30 minute miles. Some people passed me, but I passed some as well. So far, all the running had been thru neighborhoods. You’d think that would have helped with the wind, but somehow, there always seemed to be a headwind.

Miles 9-14 were pretty rough. These were in one lane of a big 4 lane highway. The wind was pretty brutal. I was so happy that I had bought a set of running gloves and an head band for my ears. My splits started to drop even more here. I was in the 13 minute miles. I was slowly getting closer to the 6hr cutoff pace. After I hit mile 10, I got a little nervous. My longest training run was just 10 miles. I did the half Mercedes Marathon last year, but for all intents and purposes, I was in uncharted waters. How were my legs gonna hold up? Will I start to cramp up? Will I have GI problems? So far, I was fine. No pains in my knees or feet. No stomach problems. Other than a runny nose, I was golden. I crossed the 13.1 mat at around 2:57. I was a little disappointed to have not beaten my time at Mercedes. It was beginning to look like I was going to be racing the clock to come in under 6hrs.

Miles 15-21 are where my mind and legs started to get in the way. They were yelling at me “Why are you still runnin?!” I kept asking myself, “what the hell was I doing this for? I’m nowhere near ready to be running 26.2 miles. Holy crap! Did I really sign up for an Ironman?” I started laughing thinking that in a little less than a year, I would be at mile 18 of a marathon after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112 miles. As scary of a thought as it was, it is what made me regain focus. I had a “come to Jesus” talk with my knees and feet. The pain was still there, but it wasn’t as sharp as it had been. I quit taking longer breaks and got back in my 5/1 routine. My splits didn’t really improve, but mentally I felt better.

Miles 22-26 were up and down. I felt good and then just needed to give my legs a break from the pounding. I walked a little more. There was a group of 3 of us that played leap frog there for a while. One of the runners, Susan, asked me if I wanted to do a 3/1 run/walk with her. So for the next couple of miles, we talked, and complained. It was nice having someone right there. She had just had a baby boy about 10 months ago and was out there doing a full marathon…wow! We got to mile 24 and saw the dreaded sweepers (two runners running at a 6hr pace to bring up the rear of the pack). There were police cars and an ambulance following them. We started to try and run a little more. We kept telling ourselves that we just have a 8 more laps around the track. Then just 6 more laps around the track. I wanted so badly to go faster. My knees were hurting so bad at this point. I clinched my fists and started running faster. I passed the 25 mile mark and couldn’t believe that I was 1.2 miles away from being a marathoner. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t keep up the pace I was running. I started power walking. Then with .75 miles to go, the sweepers were right there with me. I’d be damned if I was going to come in behind them. I started running again. Then I hit it, the 26 mile mark.

Just 0.2 miles left…not even a full lap around the track. I looked over to the sidewalk, and my buddy Jeff was there cheering me on. He jumped out into the street and started running with me. The finish line was right ahead. Susan was about 50yds ahead of me. Jeff split off to the sidewalk and I started kicking a little harder. I looked at the clock and was disappointed to see that it had already ticked past the 6hr mark but I still kicked those last strides hard. I finished! I was fighting back the tears. A volunteer met me with my finishers medal and hat and a blanket. I headed on inside to hit the food line.

Post Race
I was hurting. I tried to walk a little bit. Then I sat and did some stretches. My ankles & knees were pretty mad at me. The swimming complex next to the host hotel was open for runners to take showers (a very welcomed treat!). We got cleaned up and hit the road back to Bammerham. Our post race meal was a delicious pizza. Most would think that pizza is hard to eat in the car. I’m here to tell you that it is really one of the easier things once you find out what to do with the box.

A quick thanks to my buddy Jeff (Harper Fitness). Thanks for prepping me for this distance and making the trip. Your support on that last 0.2 mile stretch was priceless.

My ankles are still a little sore three days later. I feel like this was a great experience. I know what it is like to go 26.2 miles. My official time is 6:01:18. I’m an official finisher! I wasn’t last in my age group nor was I the last one to finish (not to mention all the people that couldn’t go the entire 26.2 miles). It was a huge accomplishment. I’m looking forward to taking the knowledge and determination I gained/showed in this race and pressing on in my journey to becoming Iron!

Eric's Quote of the Day: "Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn" ~ C.S. Lewis

Game On!!!

So, the day is here. My first race of the off season. To say I'm nervous would be a definite understatement. I'm undertrained, it's gonna be butt-ass cold, and there is a chance of rain The chances of rain don't start until later in the race so it's kinda like kickin a man when he's down. I know, I'm exaggerating a little. I'm pumped about the race. I am nervous, but no more nervous than I was for my first triathlon. It will be cold (the wind will keep it in the 30's for the entire race), and yes, there is a chance of rain. I have a feeling that it will be a welcome change during the 26.2 mile course. This is going to be a huge learning experience. I'm anxious to see how my nutrition plan works out. I'm planning on taking in 1 GU (about 100 cals) every 45-60 mins. I'll try and supplement the rest with gatorade. I'm sure I will need more as I start to run more during my marathons. This one is all about finishing and "going the distance," which will be my theme song for the day (thank you Cake). I'll be rockin a 5/1 split. Running for 5 mins then walking for 1 min. I'll try my best to stick to this and if I have a lot left in the tank around mile 21, I'll pick-up the pace or increase my runtime to 8-10mins. Have a great Saturday everyone. I'll be back as soon as I can with a race report.

Eric's Quote of the Day: "He's going the distance..." ~Cake, album: Fashion Nugget

Week 8---not too good

So once again, the weekdays go well and then the weekend sucks. After next week, I’m going to be changing up my training plan. I talked with a buddy of mine and 13.5hrs for your prep phase is a little steep. I’m going to drop it down to about 9-10hrs each week. This means I will be revamping my entire training schedule, but that’s cool. It shouldn’t be too hard to refigure everything.
I’ve also decided to alter my race calendar. I will not be doing IM 70.3 in Orlando in May. Instead, I’m going to do a half-iron distance tri in Panama City in May. The race follows the same course as the IM race in November. This way I can have a little bit of practice on the same course.

Onto the training…

Monday
WO 1: Masters Swim. I finished the entire set this time. It’s one of those man, I don’t want to feelings, but you feel awesome after you do it. 75mins, 2550m (1.58mi)
WO 2: Strength Training. The MT phase is a lot quicker…35mins

Tuesday
WO 1: Prep Phase Run-S1. Not a good interval run. I never could find my legs. 2.31mi, 30mins
WO 2: Prep Phase Bike-E1. Easy endurance ride on the trainer. I tried to focus on relaxing my lower legs and feet. 28.3mi, 75min.

Wednesday
WO 1: Masters Swim. Felt great on the swim. I might try to get there earlier to work on more drills and try to improve my stroke/form. 75mins, 2500m (1.55mi)
WO 2: Strength Training. MT Phase 35 mins. Didn’t feel great in the gym at first, but felt great afterwards.

Thursday
Sometimes, you are just tired and need a break

Friday
WO 1: Masters Swim. I think the rest on Thursday paid off b/c I felt awesome in the water! 75mins, 2750m (1.71mi)

The weekend was a bust. I didn’t ride or run at all. I could copout and blame the weather, but I should’ve dragged my butt out of bed both mornings. These would have been my last big workouts before my first full marathon. Hopefully, it is a blessing to give them this rest.

So out of a planned 13.5hrs, I got in 6.17hrs. Next week (race week!!) is going to be an easy week. So far it hasn’t been very productive. I’m just hoping to stay loose and keep my legs rested. Nutrition will be a big focus for this week leading up to the gun going off. It’s gonna be a close, but I might be able to hit my goal “fighting weight” of 238. We will see. Today (Wednesday) I’m sitting right at 240. I finally dropped past that stupid 242 wall. Right now, the forecast for Saturday is cold and rainy. It ought to be an interesting first marathon.

Eric’s Quote of the Day: no quote, just a shoutout to my buddy Justin (Cornbread & Shiftin) for finishing the St. Jude’s marathon this past weekend with a time of 4:24:58. Not his goal of 3:30, but still awesome!