No break from the heat

OK, I am officially tired of the heat. I like the fact that we get four seasons in the year. And summer is a great time of year, but come on, 80 degrees for overnight lows? Maybe in Arizona with no humidity!

You know it is WAY to hot to run when you soak your shoes and socks on a 6 mile run at 6AM. The only benefit of that time of day is that the sun isn't beating down on you yet. Even you evening fitness folks are dealing with warmer temps when you get out, how do you do it?

I finished whining. Since I havent updated this thing for a month, I figured the least I could do was share some heartache with those who can relate. Be sure to drink lots of fluids and don't overdo it.

God Bless,
Kevin

1st Triathlon

It has been a very busy two months for me, thus the long pause in blog posting. I don't see how some people find the time to do this regularly...

OK, so last weekend I completed my first triathlon. I enjoyed the overall experience, even though the conditions were terrible. At 5:00AM as I left the house, it was already 79 degrees and humid. I knew then it was going to be an interesting day.

My swim started off a little rough, first time in a wetsuit and i felt the extra weight on my legs just 200 meters into it. Once I got past the mental challenge of that, I found my rythym and began to swim well. Until the cramp anyway... Just a couple hundred meters from the end of the swim, my right calf locked up like a rock! I lay on my back screaming in pain and trying to "rub" out the cramp. Fortunately, there was a person with a flotation device next to me so I had some additional bouyancy while I worked out the cramp. Even with the 3 or 4 minutes lost, I still swam 5 minutes better than I had expected.

The first transition went well for me and the bike ride was nice. With the temps pushing 90 and heat index in the mid to upper 90's, the wind felt great. Being in teh last wave to start, I had the opportunity to pass a number of others on the 20 mile course. I came in feeling good and ready to run. (so i thought)

This was supposed to be where I shined. A 6.9 mile run that surely would allow me to pick up anywhere from 10-15 minutes on most of the field. Not on this day. I felt great when I left the transition area, but only 1/2 a mile into the run, something wasn't right. My heartrate was racing, my stomach was cramping and I couldn't catch my breath. So I walked, then jogged a little, repeat. We had water stations every mile and a half, I dumped two cups of water and drank one at every station, but could not get my body temp down. I had overheated and it seemed that 10 minute miles were all I was going to see today, yuck. It was at mile 5, just past the third water station that I began to cool down and was able to maintain a reasonable pace. 4 minutes later, a storm moved in and dropped the temps 25 degrees, REFRESHING! For the last mile and a half, I felt great and finished feeling strong.

2 hours and 44 minutes was my official time. 14 minutes slower than my goal, not bad considering the conditions and my first time out on this type of competition. I will definitely do it again. I enjoyed the atmosphere as well as the physical aspect of the race. Thanks to all the supporters and congrats to everyone who went out and did their best. Thank you Lord for keeping me safe and allowing me this experience.

Kansas Marathon

Well, I did it. I started and finished a marathon healthy, that was my number one goal for Sunday's race. The weather was awesome and the hills were brutal, but overall it was a great experience.
A few weeks ago, I learned about the importance of my lactid threshold and how keeping my heartrate at or below a certain level could improve my ability to avoid "the wall" that many runners experience in a marathon. The wall is when your body has no more energy available for the legs to function and you just stop. It is a terrible feeling, the spirit may be willing, but the body says NO.
With my new found knowledge, I wanted to see if this scientific stuff actually worked. So I set out with the goal of watching my heartrate and keeping it from climbing above my limit (165 bpm-beats per minute). With 5 miles left in the race, I felt better than I ever had in the previous races at this point. I began to increase my pace and give it everything I had to the finish, I was going to set a new PR (personal record). Based on my time and current pace, it seemed my new marathon time would be around 3 hours and 12 minutes.
God is in control. It was at 24.7 miles that He reminded me of that. Painfully reminded me. I began to experience a stabbing pain on my right side that required me to stop and walk. After 3 or 4 minutes of walking and my heart rate slowed, I tried to run again. NO WAY!!! I could not believe that I could not even jog without having excrutiating pain in my side. So I walked, one and a half miles to the finish line.
OK, not quite to the finish line. About 200 meters out, I began to jog and crossed the finish feeling rested and healthly. The biggest hurt was my pride. 3:27:55 was my time at the finish. 2nd in my age group and 14th overall.
As I finish up this blog, I am reminded how much God loves me and wants what is best for me. I could whine and complain about how things turned out last weekend, but what does that say about my faith in Him? I am blessed to have the physical ability to run well, and thankful to have the opportunity to share His love with those in the running community who don't yet know Him.
Thanks God...

Marathon ready

Wow, I didn't realize it had been a month since I have posted anything. Time really flies when you are busy!

Kansas Marathon, April 18. Three weeks from today, I plan to run my first "healthy" marathon since my inaugural run Nov 2008. Had a great 20 miler yesterday and am ready to begin my tapering process. This month has been a great month of training. With the interesting weather, I have still been able to get hill workouts, long runs and even a couple races completed. Last Saturday, ran a 10K trail race in 6 inches of snow (18" drifts).

I am really excited about April running. The weather will finally warm up and the runners I know are already racing or gearing up to start running lots of races. Some of our local runners where recognized in the paper today as they prepare to run Boston in a couple weeks. What an exciting time for them!

The Topeka Tinman Triathlon is now just three months away and I still haven't been out on my bike yet. I really hope those spin classes I have endured all winter pay off when it's time to ride. My swimming is slow going as well, I am lucky to get to the pool once a week. It's a good thing my running partner is a tri-guy, he will help push me to do what needs done to be ready.

Is spring coming this year?

Ok, I am a native Kansan and pretty accustomed to winter here, but COME ON! Enough already... I have avoided the "dreadmill" this winter, but I know all you runners in the area can agree this year has been just unbelieveable. We usually get a break each month through the winter with a minor warm up and some sun to remind us that we dont live close to the Artic Circle, but not this year. A friend of mine told me yesterday we have set a new record for the number of days below 60 degrees. Looking at the forecast, we've got another week to 10 days before we get there too!
If there were ever a year we are ready for Spring, this is it. Not just for the weather to warm up, but it is also racing season! There are so many great runs to take part of in the area, whether you are a trail runner, walker, competitive athlete, or just enjoy being a part of local races.
It has only been in the past two weeks that I have finally been back to a semi-regular schedule for my running (thanks to weather). With the Kansas Marathon only six weeks away, I need to get busy! On a nice 15 mile run yesterday with friends, I was sharing that my only goal for this race is to start and finish healthy. In the three other marathons I have ran, there has always been a not so pleasant ending for me. Whether I didnt finish due to injury or had to take off 2-3 weeks for recovery, something has always gotten the better of me. For the mental encouragement alone, I need to finish a marathon and be able to run later that week. That would be a great accomplishment for me in April.
My two other goals this year are to compete in the Topeka Tinman Triathalon long course (and finish top 25) and run a fall marathon under three hours. I plan to run other races throughout the year to support our local running community and spend time with friends, but achieving those two items will make my year.
Thank you for taking time to follow this blog. God Bless!

New PR!

I decided a week or so ago that I would run a local 5k to see how I was in my recovery and fitness. Being out of commission all of December and not having any speed work yet this year, I was eager to see how well I could run a shorter/faster race. At the Lions Club Journey for Sight Blizzard Run 5k yesterday, I set a new PR! 18:39 is a time I certainly didn't expect to hit this early in the season. That certainly makes a believer out of me that rest and recovery is important. Like most of you crazy's out there, I pushpushpush myself all the time. It seems like I am never running enough miles or pushing hard enough on the hill or track work. I guess there is something to be said about letting your body rest...
Now that I have said all of that, I hope that I can remember that this year as I seek to stay healthy and injury free in 2010. Many friends have suggested that my past injuries were due to pushing to hard, or ramping up miles to fast. They are probably right! The million dollar questions is, can Kevin be smart enough to train in a way that he doesnt overdo it? Man, I sure hope so, being unable to run is depressing. I certainly don't want to spend 4-5 months in recovery mode like I did in 2009.
I want to give thanks to God for giving me the talent and ability to run well. Without His hand on my life, I wouldnt be where I am. God Bless...

Group runs

The last two weeks it has been nice to be back out running with familiar faces. One of my favorite things about running is the time spent in groups, both with people I know and those I don't.
A year ago, I was introduced to a small group that would challenge my fitness level. It was great having 3-5 others pushing each other and me to get better. The past six months, everyone of us has been out with an injury at one time or another. It will be nice tomorrow to have most of the group back on the road.
If you run, or are considering getting started, I can't stress enough the importance of running with others. I don't know anyone who has just hopped out there and done it all alone. It is tough to start running anyway, a very easy to get discouraged on your own. Believe me when I tell you there are LOTS of people out there just waiting for you to come along and run with.
When you run by yourself, your mind will get the best of you. "you hurt, you're too slow, this won't help" and other demovitating thoughts will run rampid in your head! You get out with others, they will encourage you, educate you and empathize with where you are in your fitness level.
Remember this, almost everyone out there started off unfit just like YOU (and me). I was 45 pounds heavier and couldnt run 1/2 mile just a few short years ago.

YOU CAN DO IT!!! Find a group and get in...