Um, what??

2.22.15

A couple of years back, I joined FW Tri Club.  At the time, my hope was to expand my network of racing buddies, find some folks to train with, etc.

In the 2 years that I have been a member, I haven't done a single thing with the club.  No monthly meetings, no training, not even listing it as my club when registering of events.   As shame, really.

At the end of 2014, I saw a FB post encouraging members to use the online portal to enter all of their race results for the year.  So, I did.  As previously mentioned,  my race schedule last year was just plain stupid.

Well, last night, FW Tri Club held their annual awards banquet.  I did not attend.

I received a FB message this morning indicating that I had been identified as the "Grand Prix" AG award winner.  I suspect that I completed more events last year than most.

The timing of this recognition is timely, as I am having trouble getting motivated to train in '15, and I am feeling somewhat out of shape.

So...here we go.  Time to gear up for my 1st tri in 3 weeks and plug in to FW Tri Club!

Fast and Furious Du 2015

2.15.15

1st multisport event of the year...

Today was the 4th time I've competed on this course.  As a result, it is familiar and comfortable.  I know that there will always be some really fast athletes there, and, as a result, I keep my expectations low.

I went into today's event believing that it may be a bit ugly, as my training is still poor, I've spent very little time on the bike, and, Lindsi and I finished off a big dinner and 2 bottles of wine for VDay last night.  I kind of hoped it would be a bad day, so as to serve as a wake up call for me.

One change today from previous Du's at TMS:  the run course was on the NASCAR oval.  I'll admit, that was kinda cool.

It was an unseasonably warm day, so tri shorts and a sleeveless tri top was plenty.

The 1st run was fairly uneventful, at about 9 min/mile.  I felt better on the bike than I expected.  I did notice a little left knee pain, but, after a short time, it went away.  Other than some wind issues, the bike was ok.  With that having been said,  I really need more saddle time this year.

The 2nd run, as expected, was much slower, but, I ran the entire way.

I booked a 1:39:23.  5 minutes faster than last time I raced this course, and, only 2 minutes slower than my fastest time ever on the course.

I aged up to the next age group this year, so, checked my time to see how I ranked against others...at the point I left the venue, I was sitting at 6th of 8.

All in all, a good day.

I'm looking forward to finding some more Du's this year, and increasing my saddle time.

FWRC Countdown to Cowtown 2015

2.7.15

Last year, this was my first organized 10 mile run, and, went by a different name...Chocolate Chip 10 and 20 mile run.

Fort Worth Running Company puts these events on 3 weeks prior to Cowtown and Dallas Marathons, as a training run.

After last week's debacle, I felt the need to redeem myself.  I was still a bit bitter about last week's run, and, was seriously questioning my fitness level.  As a result, I signed up for this event...last night.

As per usual, this was a small and casual event, with a low price tag...$20.

Not a lot to report on this one...good weather, flat, familiar course.  My pace was slowish on this one, but, after last week, I wanted to run the entire way (which, I did), and feel good about the distance.

Quite honestly, although somewhat slow, I felt great on this one.

A few minor hiccups...My Garmin malfunctioned at the start, leading to ditching the headphones and going with iPhone strava app, etc, but, no big deal.

Slow and steady for 10 miles.  About a minute faster than the last time I ran this exact course (in the rain), but, 20 seconds per mile slower than my quickest pace on a 10 miler.

I'm good to go for my 1st multi-sport of the year event next week and cowtown in 3 weeks.

Texas Half 2015

2.1.15

This was a fucking disaster.   

I've toyed with he idea of running a half each month this year, and this one was relatively cheap and close. 

Mellew Productions put this one on.  meh-lew might be more fitting as these events are ok at best.  

After setting a PR in NOLA last week, I was curious to see how I would respond to a race just a week later. 

This was touted as a flat and fast course. It was not. 

The forecast was for a cold and rainy day.  Fortunately, we arrived to a warmish day with no rain.   I struggled a bit with what to wear, as it was warmish and humid. I settled in on shorts, a compression shirt and a long sleeve tech shirt. About 3 miles in, I realized I may need to shed some clothing. I unplugged my headphones and shoved them in my pocket, as I planned to shed the compression shirt at some point.  

I felt pretty good until the turnaround. I needed to pee, and the portlalets were few and far between.  I finally found one at about 7 miles, but had to leave the course and cross a field to get to it. Ridiculous. 

I never did shed the compression shirt, as the route (mostly on a trail) seemed to have cooled down a bit.  

Last week, I really enjoyed running without headphones.  The bands, scenery, crowds, etc, made it fun w/o headphones. This week...sucked.  No on course entertainment, shitty scenery.  

Then, it happened, I stopped and walked.  I'd had enough.  I wasn't enjoying the race, the wind had picked up, and in general, apathy had set in.  

I found myself walking quite a bit in the back half of the run.  Before today, I'd never walked in a half marathon before. 

At about the 11.5 mark, I started to run a bit, and felt the lingering hamstring pull and a couple of cramps.  

I did manage to run through the finish line, but did so in 2:25:45. My slowest time ever by 7 minutes, and, 10 minutes slower than last week. 

I grabbed my medal and headed straight to the jeep. I was ready to go. 

On the way out, I passed a gun show and a "right to carry" info table.  Just more stupidity on the day.  In that moment, I could think little more than shitty event, shitty town, shitty red state of Texas.  Nothing good to say about this one. Bad course, crappy town, etc.  

I'll skip this one in the future.   

nice splits, asshole.