San Antonio Marathon

Yesterday I ran the San Antonio Marathon and although I did not have the race I was hoping for I did finish and I should be back at it in a few days. Before I get into the details of the race I wanted to share my feelings on the pre and post race activities.

We arrived in San Antonio around 1:30 and you could see that it was total chaos around the Alamo Dome. There were a lot of roads blocked off and while I was trying to find a detour I found myself stuck in the downtown area and it just sucked. After 45 minutes I finally found some parking down the street from the dome. After we were yelled by a cop for crossing the street we finally made it inside for packet pick-up. This might have been one of the biggest disasters ever. They had a very small area set up for the pick up. It was so small that the lines were merging together. You could barely wade you way through the bodies. After getting my packet and arguing with the lady that was giving out the race shirts I made my way through the expo which was also a disaster. You could barely move or look at anything. Why they only had part of the dome open and set up things the way they did is really bizarre. The post race set up was just as stupid. For some reason we parked at the AT&T Center and were bussed over to the downtown area and then finished the race at the Alamo Dome only to have to wait in freaking line for hours to get back to your car might be the stupidest thing. We took a taxi just so we didn't have to wait. At the finish there wasn't much food and it seemed they were charging for the beer. Most races it is free. They also wanted you to pay for the finishers shirt. The Rock N' Roll people should call the event people from the Houston Marathon and ask them how to do a marathon.

Now for the race itself. (sorry about the complaining) When we got to the start it was very cold. I had a lot of debate over what to wear and I did not choose wisely. I wore thermal tights, a sleeveless shell, a thermal shirt and a long sleeve running shirt at the start. ( I am a sissy in the cold). I began running the race with Jarntip, Kyle and Crystal. When we got started I felt good and quickly pulled ahead of the other 3. I quickly got hot and had to start stripping off layers eventually throwing my thermal shirt away but I was stuck with the rest. I wish I would have just worn shorts and a running shirt. Around mile 4 I had to pee very bad so I stopped at a Port-O-Can. Shortly after I was back on the road and I took a Power Bar Gel and I had some stomach problems about 2 minutes later. I don't know what was in it but it did not settle well with me. I kept running at a decent pace despite my stomach but I had to stop around mile 6 to use the restroom. After I got back on the road I still wasn't feeling well and stopped at mile 10 and again at mile 13. All during this time I kept a good pace but I felt it taking its toll on me. I couldn't take any Cytomax as it seemed to aggravate my stomach and I really needed some energy. At mile 14 my stomach was still bothering me but I was through the worst as far my stomach goes. I kept going well until mile 19 and then things got really tough. My right knee starting causing me a lot of pain and I had to slow way down and eventually walk. I starting running again for a while and then walking and finally stopping to stretch until mile 23. That is when Crystal caught me walking. We walked together for about half a mile and then I just started running despite all the pain I was in. I pulled ahead of her and I was just trying to block out the pain. I wanted to stop and walk but I wanted to finish even more so I picked up the pace even more. I finally managed to get to the finish line and came in with a time of 4:27:41. This was my second marathon and it was a PR for me. I'm happy that I finished but I felt like I would come in closer to 4 hours based on my training. I am going back to the drawing board to tweak my training and I need to figure out why the gel made me sick. My next event is the Houston Marathon in January but I may do the Dallas Marathon in December if its still open.

I am pretty sure I will not do this race again at least not next year. It is two weeks before Ironman Cozumel and I don't want to take the chance of an injury. If the event gets straightened out then maybe I will do but it will take a lot of convincing to make me want to do this race. The course itself was good and it was nice seeing all my peeps from H-Town it was everything else that sucked.

Seattle

I was in Seattle last week and I must say it is a beautiful city. I see why the people there love it so much. It did rain every day but it didn't seem to bother anyone in the city like it does here in Houston. If we had that amount of rain in Houston I think the city would shut down. (Just kidding) I didn't get to do too much site seeing but we did head down to Pike Place Market. Its the place you see on TV where they throw the fish from person to person before they wrap it up and give to you. It was kind of neat. At the market we also visited the first Starbucks and a kick ass Clam Chowder joint. We also ate at Pegasus Pizza in Alki (a suburb of Seattle) with Mark Vega and his girlfriend. (Mark is Dave Vega's brother) The pizza was awesome and so was the company. I hope to go back to Seattle someday. It reminds me of Austin and San Francisco combined together.

When I travel I always try and workout. I didn't do as good of a job with this is Seattle. I did run on Friday morning at Discovery Park. The park was very nice and very hilly. My goal was to get a 10 mile run in but I strained by left calf early in my run. I was only able to get 5 miles and I have been limping around since then. I have done two runs since Friday. I did a 5 mile run on Tuesday and 9 mile run today. My calf is still very sore but I think I will be O.K. for the marathon on Sunday. Even if I'm not I'm still running. I may have to crawl to the finish but I am going to finish.

I'm Ready

Yesterday I finally did my 21 mile run in preparation for the San Antonio Marathon. I felt pretty good during the run and this morning I am just a little sore. I finished my 21.02 miles in 3:13:17 which includes a few stops at traffic lights. I pretty happy with that time and I feel that I am ready for the marathon.

Backing up a few days I was able to get a short swim in on Friday and I rode 46 miles on Saturday. My swimming is getting better but I need more time in the pool. That is going to be tough with my travel this week. The 46 miles I did on Saturday was great. It was the first long ride since the Longhorn 70.3.

Lastly, I have had a big debate with myself about what races I want to do in 2009. I am already signed up for Ironman Cozumel but my goal is to do two Ironman races in 2009. My initial thought was to do Ironman Brazil. It was the first one I planned for when looking at the 2009 schedule. The main issue there is the cost. I know I could be ready in plenty of time. While on the Ironman site the other day I noticed that Ironman Kentucky was still open. The cost to get to Kentucky would be a lot less but the issues there are a tough course and it is on August 30th. (Very hot!) I'm still not sure what I will do but I will make a decision soon.

Moving Along

My training for the San Antonio Marathon is moving along well. I am a little nervous about doing my 21 mile run so close to the actual race but it is necessary due to my schedule. I will do that run this weekend and hopefully I will be able to recover properly. I ran a little over 17 on Sunday and I feel pretty good. I plan to ride my bike today despite the cold weather. I have not been on my bike in over a week and I don't want to fall behind in this area. I will also get a couple swims in this week and a long ride on Saturday. My main issue right now is my diet. I have been eating really crappy the last couple of weeks and I need to pull it together and see if I can drop a couple pounds prior to the race. We will see. I do have to travel again next week so it may tough to diet.

On a weight lifting note, I have really been feeling good. I have been strength training 3 times a week for the last few weeks and its starting to pay off. I'm starting to feel my strength returning and its nice to be back in that mode even if its for a short time. I would probably weight train 5 or 6 times a week if it wasn't for the marathon.

The Beat Goes On

My training goes well this week. This last week I ran almost 40 miles for the first time in a long time. I have another run scheduled for Tuesday evening followed by 18 miles on Saturday. I feel like I should be ready to go for the San Antonio Marathon in November even though I am a little behind on my mileage. This week I plan to increase my swimming and biking a little just so I don't fall behind on the triathlon side of things. I really feel like I have hit my mark with my training over the last 6-7 weeks and look forward to my upcoming events.

On another note I want to say I am really proud of the Lonestar Team. I have really been pushing the miles with the team and they keep meeting the challenge. I really feel good about this team and I am sure that they will continue to do well.

No Rest for the Wicked

I have been feeling pretty good this week and despite some very poor eating and drinking habits I decided that I don't need to take time off this week to rest. I still have some marathons to run and I don't want to fall behind in my training. I have had three great weight lifting sessions that started with a superset on chest on Tuesday. I did a short swim on Wednesday and ran 7.25 miles on Thursday after a back workout earlier in the day. I finished off the weights with a good leg workout today. I am hoping to get a few miles on my bike Saturday with my team but I may have to ride SAG. I have a long run scheduled for Sunday morning before doing some "brick" training with some members of the Lonestar Team.

I am looking forward to watching some football and the Ironman Championship this weekend and seeing my friends and swapping war stories. I am also going to enjoy my last couple days of eating and drinking everything in sight.

Longhorn 70.3

Sunday marked my 7th and final triathlon of 2008. This season has been very productive for me. During the season I set several PR's and I have really surprised myself on how I have performed. My first race was the CBI Sprint in May where I did not PR due to a flat and some mechanical problems. A few weeks later I did the Silverlake Sprint where I beat my previous race time by 3 minutes. I finished off May with the Capital of Texas Triathlon where I beat my previous Olympic PR by 4 minutes on a hot and humid day. I didn't race again until August where I competed in the Clear Lake International Triathlon. This was the first year for the race and I finished in 2:07. Two weeks later I did my first Half Iron of the season competing in the PrairieMan Half Ironman. I had a cold and fever and I was still able to cut 27 minutes off my previous best. Last week I had my final tune up for Longhorn racing in the Stonebridge Ranch Olympic Triathlon and setting another PR with a time of 2:38:14 and taking almost 17 minutes off the PR I set at Cap Tex in May.

Now for my "A" race of the season the Longhorn 70.3. This was the first time racing in an official "M-Dot" event and I have to say it was a little exciting. When I arrived at packet pick up at the Sheraton Michellie Jones and Simon Lessing were in the lobby chatting. It was neat to see the pro athletes at the event. There was really cool swag in the packet pick up bag including a cool running hat and shirt. After I bought a couple things at the expo it was off to race site to check my bike in and then to the hotel to rest. One of the great things about the weekend was having the opportunity to race with Terry and Coach Liz. Both are tremendous athletes and as we were eating dinner I was thinking to myself I was just hope I can keep up with them.

My race morning started the same as usual. I woke up a little after 4 am and ate my pre-race meal of Capn' Crunch. For whatever reason it really works for me. I left for the race a little after 5 and when I arrived to the race site there were thousands of participants waiting to get on a bus to get over the transition area. There were so many people they delayed the start of the race to allow everyone to make it to the transition area. I was in the 5th wave and I was feeling a little nervous but I knew I was ready. I had an awesome swim shattering my previous swim times at this distance and coming in with a time of 36:52. I couldn't believe my time when I got out of the water. The bike course was little different than last year. Somehow they found a way to make it tougher by adding some extra hills. On top of the hills there was a horrible head and crosswind but I finished the 56 miles in 2:50:27 which matched my PrairieMan time. This was great considering the conditions. Then I was off to the run. The run course was same as last year. I wish it wasn't because there were some tough hills to run up. One hill, a very long hill, has the dubious honor of being labeled Quadzilla. Sounds fun doesn't it? The one difference from last year is that it wasn't quite as hot during the run due to a few clouds and wind. I ended up finishing the run in 2:08:22 and again I matched my PrairieMan time on a much tougher run course. The damage at the end was a time of 5:41:25 and another PR. I am still in disbelief. I expected to do well but not to beat my time from PrairieMan. To shave another 14 minutes of my PR is so sweet. On top of that I beat my time from last years race by 41 minutes. That is just insane. Needless to say I am really excited about my time at Longhorn and all my races in 2008.

Now for next season. I have tough work ahead of me with at least one but probably two full Ironman races in 2009 and a handful of other triathlons, marathons and bike rides. I need a little rest but I very excited about what I have coming up.