Thursday, October 23, 2008

A fine line between supergenius and insane.


I can't run. Even when I could run I couldn't really run, but that was changing last spring. I set a goal of qualifying for the 2009 NYC marathon by doing the 9 NYRR races that guarantee entry and was actually getting faster. Although no one would mistake me for lightning or rocket fast, I was finishing races closer to the middle of the pack than with the stragglers at the end, running the whole way. They were mostly short races but races are races. I got the 9 done.

I entered to lottery for the NYC08 marathon but Yolanda Vega didn't pick my number. I thought of the next best thing and signed up for the Philadelphia full marathon on November 23, 2008. This was going to be my first full marathon having walked the Long Island half marathon in May 2006 and run/walked the Disney Half in January 2008. I wanted to actually run (vs run/walk) Philly.

Then reality struck when I hurt my leg shutting me down for most training all summer. I've started training again but my longest run in months was this week: 48 minutes of 5 on/1 off. It wound up being a little less than 4 miles and I was hurting afterwards.

But I still have an entry into Philly. I downgraded it from the full to the half but they don't offer refunds. Maybe I can do it, maybe I can't, but I'm going to see if the training progresses enough to give it a shot. Stay tuned to see if the shot turns out to be a dud.

PS: Weight Watchers says down 9.2 pounds this week. Who woulda thunk it?

Friday, October 17, 2008

10/16/2008 will be the last day that you are expected to report to work.


Yesterday I had a hand delivered letter that included this title as one of the first sentences so today was my first day as a somewhat unemployed rock star. My thoughts are still a bit jumbled trying to figure out which is the best path for me but it does indicate another step on the journey is required after being with the Brothers for 11+years. Based on the news, it wasn't a complete surprise.

In the short term, it is giving me more opportunity to train while I look for a job. Making lemonade out of lemons......

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Are we making headway on the body composition front?

Got this question asked of me by BikeMike, my coach. I was planning on rejoining Weight Watchers on Tuesday and this just cemented it for me. I bundled stopping running due to my leg injury with eating excessively. I got on the scale and found this mix has resulted into a recent weight gain of almost 25 pounds from my "low."

Stay tuned as there is a reason why there aren't many fast fat guys.

Cedar Beach Tri

On Sunday, October 12, I completed the Cedar Beach Triathlon in Miller Place, New York.

















I could write about:

  • How I wasn't ready for this race this year due to my leg not letting me train for the run. I was just going to do the race as a training exercise.

  • How the water conditions were hard with swells and currents causing a lot of people to bail out (maybe they were the smart ones as my time for the 3/4 mile swim exploded from 29:49 in 2007 to 38:45 in 2008).

  • The almost wipe out on the bike on wet pavement going downhill at about 30 mph. Did the second bike lap with a wheel out of true.

  • The nonrunning run being close to last year's time. Huh?

  • My lame attempt as a Capt. Morgan wannabee looking more like the Heisman.

But the most important thing about this race was my cheering sections. Courtney and Papa got up at O'dark hundred. They were there at every transition and helped me keep going just by my knowing that they were there. I couldn't image facing them if I gave up the swim as it was "too hard." Yup, guilt works.

The 2009 Eagleman team was well represented with Captain Casey Morgan getting the golden flipper award as first out of the drink and Fran nipping him at the end after a blistering bike leg. I heard Eaglechick Christine's name announced over the loudspeaker finishing as I still had about a quarter mile or so to go. Lots of TNT and TRE folks there too with lots of stories, some good and some less so.

Thanks to Robin (aka Mrs. Capt. Casey Morgan) for the picture of Courtney and the Rockstar!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Last night I went for a run.

What's the big deal? People run all the time. Triathletes probably run more than most Joe citizens. Triathletes that expect to complete a 1/2 ironman would expect to be able to run fairly frequently. I won't even get into the speed or lack of speed issue now.

It is a big deal to me since the last time I ran was June 18 at the JPMorganChase Corporate Challenge. The rain started about 10 minutes before I started running with 18,000 of my close warm personal friends around 3.5 miles of Central Park. Some were running with umbrellas. Really. The thunder and lightning started when I hit the 1 mile mark. My left calf, left hamstring and left butt started hurting once we started going up the hills on the north side of the park. When I finished I could barely walk. I still finished and cut off about 10 minutes from my time the previous year. The next day was agony.

I tried rest and that didn't fix it.

I tried ART and chiropractic and that didn't fix it.

I saw my regular doc for muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatories and that didn't fix it.

I started PT and that didn't fix it.

I saw the doc who did my back operation years ago. He told me it wasn't my back but most likely muscular.

So, I've been out of the game for for over 3 months. Cancelled doing the Mighty North Fork Tri. Deferred out of the NYC Tri. Walked the Mighty Hamptons Tri 2 weeks ago.

So I was pretty happy with running a mile at a 13:05 and then walking home. I look forward to going for another run soon. We'll see how my leg holds up.