Quad Cities Half Marathon 2016

Yet another race is in the books! This past Sunday I ran in the Quad Cities half marathon. This was my 4th half marathon and I was able to post yet another PR time finishing in 2:19:28 which is more than 10 minutes faster then my previous PR.

It was a beautiful day to run a race and I was lucky enough to do it running beside the most beautiful woman that I know, my wife! This was her first ever half marathon and I feel so blessed and lucky to have been able to run it with her. Early this year she started showing interest in running a half marathon. After a couple of months I went ahead and signed her up for the Quad Cities half, because in our house, if you bring up running a race, then you had better do it.

First Half Marathon!

She asked me to coach her and requested that I run it with her. I put a training plan together for her that included running the Bix 7 in late July and got her plenty of miles in before the race. Her determination and willingness to listen to my suggestions was the first thing that impressed me. Don't get me wrong, I had no doubt that she could do it, I was just concerned that she may convince herself otherwise. The more she ran, the more that I saw her self confidence grow. And not to sound too sappy, but it made me fall in love with her even more than I already was. Thinking back over the summer, I can't remember more then 1 or 2 times that she missed a training run.

The race went quite well for both of us. My mother-in-law and our oldest daughter came out to watch us. We first saw them around mile 4 holding up signs and cheering like crazy, then they then greeted us at the finish line. It was a very special moment for all of us. Abigail got to see mommy and daddy accomplishing something great and learned a valuable lesson about hard work paying off. Erin not only became a gorgeous and fit woman, she also learned how to believe in herself.

We finished together

Our Biggest Fan

 I can honestly say that I have never been more proud of anyone, then I am of Erin right now. She truly is beautiful, both inside and out and I am so lucky to be able to call her my wife.

AMAZING!!!

In a few weeks we will have another opportunity to race together as we will be participating on a marathon relay team for the IMT Des Moines marathon. Beyond that, I'm not quite sure what the future holds, but whatever it is, I'm just glad I get to do it with her.

31 In Review

It is safe to say that 31 was one of the best years of my life. As I look forward to everything that 32 will have to offer, I wanted to take some time to reflect on everything that happened in the last year.

• I ran my 1st half marathon (Quad Cities) a week after turning 31
• I ran my 2nd half marathon (Des Moines) 3 weeks later and my 3rd (Dam to Dam) last June
• I ran in 4 additional road races
• I lost over 50 lbs (290.2 to 236.8)
• I learned how to swim freestyle
• I completed my first triathlon (Des Moines Olympic Distance)
• I ran 740.05 miles
• I swam 45.15 miles
• I cycled 1,782.53 miles
• Last year on my birthday, I ran 5 miles with an average pace of 13:32 minutes per mile, this year on my birthday I ran 12 miles with an average pace of 10:42 minutes per mile
• I started this blog

Of course there was a lot more to my year then just training and races, but this really has become an integral part of my life. The confidence that I have gained has spread into other areas of my life as well. No matter what happens in the future, nothing will ever be able to take away everything that I accomplished last year.

Here is to making 32 even more epic then 31!

Double Digits (Guest Post)

Ten miles.....10 miles....1 - 0 miles!!!

On Saturday, I completed a training run at Saylorville Lake that was 10 miles long.  It included MANY hills, lots of friendly hellos and some serious will power.  It was a little bit cooler than my runs during the last few months of training so I pulled out the long sleeves and pants.  I am used to doing my runs early to avoid the heat but today I waited until 7 to let it warm up a bit.

Because the last few weeks of my training are longest run personal records for me, I am really trying to work on pacing myself to not run out of gas at the end.  I started my run right where I had planned and felt good at the beginning.  

As I continued the run, my thoughts turned to how much I have changed throughout this training process.  I used to start a run and hope to just finish it.  I now have specific goals and aspirations that drive my training.  The most interesting realization that came to me during my run was that I am now in control of my body.  I decide how fast or slow to run and when to push myself. 

In high school, I would have given one of my fingers away to run a 10 minute mile and yesterday I had a 9:55 average for ten miles.  I ran each mile faster than the one before while dealing with difficult hills.  

I finished my run feeling good, not sick.  I even took Abigail to the Farmer's Market after a quick shower.

Running a double digit training run is something I had never even dreamed of completing before this year.  Next weekend I get to run with Patrick and the weekend after that is the big half marathon!  I am super excited about the race and proud of how far I have come.  It is truly awesome sharing a hobby with my hubby and pushing myself to the limit.  Thanks to everyone who has asked about my training, given me a compliment or waved a hello.  I am now officially a runner!

Excellent Weekend

With only 3 weeks between races, I knew that I wouldn't have a large chance for resting recovery following my triathlon next weekend. I struggled a bit through my mid-week training runs, but did cut swimming and cycling from my schedule to help. After my normal rest day on Friday, I had some very successful training runs this weekend.

On Saturday, I had a 5 mile pace run on the schedule and I set out just after lunch. I was happy to feel that my legs felt fresh and rested and I was really able to push my pace. I ended up with a fantastic pace of 9:26/mi and set a new 5K and 1 Mile PR.

After such a great run on Saturday, I wasn't sure how my legs would take to putting in 11 miles on Sunday. I made sure to hold back for the first 6 miles holding a a pace just under 10:30 min/mi (which is really good for me on such a long run). With my legs holding up, I pushed the pace on the next 4 miles to just under 10:00 min/mi before easing up the last mile to cool down a bit.

I ended up breaking my 10K PR on that Sunday run, meaning that I set 3 new PRs in the same weekend of training. 

What is even better then breaking records or having a wonderful weekend of training is how fit I have become. Even last year at this time, my day would either have to consist of a training run or doing housework and playing with my girls, but my body couldn't handle both. On Saturday I lifted and walked in the morning, took Bridget on a ride behind my bicycle, completed my training run, mowed the lawn and then spent the afternoon/evening playing outside with the girls. 

Life has just become so much different, even through all of the sacrifice that comes with training and racing, it is just so hard to imagine life differently at this point.

A Family Affair

Saturday, August 27 was a very special day for our family. Both my wife, Erin, and my oldest daughter, Abigail, ran in a race at Christ the King parish in Des Moines. I will openly admit that as my wife's running coach, I discouraged her from doing the race due to where it fell in her training schedule, but it all ended up working out.

To start with, my wife (hands down the most beautiful woman on earth) ran in the 5k race. Both of the girls and I watched her start and finish the race. She did awesome! It is almost hard to believe that this is the same woman, who just 2 years ago was a self identified non-runner. The same woman who just last summer said that she was done with running after finishing the Bix 7 and injuring her foot in the process. And now, the same woman who is training for her first half marathon that is just 2 1/2 short weeks away!

Looking fabulous!

All of my girls, pre-race

She ran a great race and set a PR time in the process. I could not be any more proud of her! The best part in all of this is that Erin and I are working together to make fitness and family go hand in hand. Our hope is that by developing a tradition and culture of running and fitness, it will pass onto both of our girls.

Shortly after Erin's race, Abigail got a chance to run in her first race ever and she loved it! Both Erin and I are very proud of her for doing her best and running the entire way. The smile on her face the entire time showed us how much she loved it.

And they're off

Heading back to the finish line

All smiles with her medal after the race

I am more and more excited every day to see what the future holds for our little family. But things are pretty darn great right now too.

Des Moines Triathlon

So the day finally came, and not only did I survive, but I crushed it. Everything went very smoothly, especially for my first race. With the exception of dropping my bottle with Gatorade on the bike route, I can't think of anything that even remotely went wrong.

Erin and my dad rode down to the race with me and we made our way to transition around 5:15 am in the pitch dark. After getting marked, I got my transition area all set up with plenty of time to spare. I checked out the bike in/out as well as the swim in and the run out before making my way around Gray's Lake to the swim start.

Heading into transition before the race

Erin and I before the race

Dad and I before the race

My brother rode his bicycle down and joined us just before the start of the race. 

Me and my bro before the race

Staring out at the lake, the buoys all seemed so far away and the total distance seemed like 10 miles instead of just under 1. I tried my best not to let my nerves get to me and before I knew it they were starting the race and then shortly after calling for my swim wave.  

Lining up for the start of my swim wave

And I'm off!

The water temperature at the start was just above 76 degrees, which is below the 78 degree threshold that makes the race wet suit legal (by USA Triathlon standards). Since I don't own a wet suit (nor have I trained in one) I knew the water would be cold without it. However, when I entered the water it actually felt warm compared to the air temperature that was around 60 degrees. 

Just keep swimming

Well, you can see the first buoy in this picture...

No matter how many times I read about it, nothing actually prepared me for swimming in a lake with a bunch of other people. For starters, I couldn't see more then 12 inches under water. On top of that, it took awhile for me to get used to being hit and kicked by fellow swimmers. After the first buoy, I made sure to take the rest of the corners plenty wide to avoid the traffic jams.

Based on my training, I had expected to finish the 1,500 meter swim in around 50 minutes. That is a really slow time, but considering that I taught myself to swim freestyle and just began swimming last December, finishing the swim would make me plenty happy. Boy was I surprised when I stood up out of the water, looked down at my watch and saw a time of 44 minutes. That feeling of excitement was amplified when I reached the top of the hill to see a huge cheering section waiting for me!

Coming out of the swim

My VERY creative cheering section

Transition 1 went about as well as I had expected. I took a little under 4 minutes to get dried off, put my socks and shoes onto my wet feet, and get ready for the bike course. T1 is definitely one place that I could improve on as many people complete it in 2 minutes or less. 

Heading out of T1

 Once on the bike, it didn't take long for me to realize how well I was riding. Going in, I thought if I rode very well, I might be able to break 1:25 on the bike. Never did I ever think I would be able to break 1:20, but what I lacked in swimming skill, I more then made up for on the bike with a time of 1:16:39. I averaged just under 19.5 mph! 

Finishing loop 1 of 2 on the bike

I was feeling awesome as I came into transition 2. I quickly racked my bike, swapped my helmet for  a visor and headed out on the run course. I had trained hard on the bike to run transition, so the heaviness in my legs didn't surprise me. I could tell that my legs didn't have enough left to push it too hard during the run. Knowing that I had banked over 15 minutes of unexpected time through the first 2 legs, I settled into an easy pace and finished the run 1:03:21. About a minute off of my PR 10K pace, set at the BIX about 1 month ago, but pretty impressive considering that I had swam and biked first. 

Heading to the finishline

Because of the rolling start, I had no idea what my actual time was until I retrieved my results printout...

Results card

3:09:46!!!! I couldn't believe my eyes. At first I was also excited about a 4th place finish as well, but when looking up the official results at home, I realized there were only 4 people in my division. That didn't bother me though. When I started the race, I was guessing/aiming at a finishing time of 3:30 with the thought that I just wanted to finish. I had just crossed the finish line more then 20 minutes faster then I had hoped for and to top it off, I felt great!

Best cheering section of the day!

This is what success looks like

 To all of those who came out to support me and to everyone who kept me in their thoughts and prayers, thank you all for your love and support on this journey. Most importantly, I want to thank my wife, Erin, and my 2 little girls. Not only for their love and support, but for the sacrifices that they all make that allows me to continue on this journey. None of this would be possible without them. 

Me with my #1 fan

I'm happy to say that my journey is still just beginning. I have a lot of goals and a long way to go, and although it isn't always easy, I'm loving every minute of it. 

Next up is a half marathon with my wife, her first, in the Quad Cities at the end of September.

Pre-race Reflections

So here we are, it is less then 3 days until my race and I have officially finished my last training session. The race this Sunday has been the focus of my training for the entire year, although the goal has changed since then. At the beginning of the year the goal was to complete my first sprint distance triathlon, but as my season progressed (and with some nudges from my wife) I switched my registration to the Olympic distance.

This year, in preparation for this race, I have ran 544.97 miles, biked 1,601.62 miles, and swam 42.6 miles. I went from running a 12 - 13 minute per mile pace, to running a 9.5 - 10.5 minute per mile pace. From barely being able to swim a single length of a 25 yard pool to being able to swim farther then the 1.5 km in open water that is required for the race. Not only have I become faster, but I have grown much stronger, both physically and mentally. I've spent hours reading articles and watching seminars and how-to videos. I am as ready as I can be.

Training for this race has also helped me to build my confidence and that confidence has spilled over into other parts of my life as well. From my time at work to my time at home, from interacting with friends and neighbors to waving as I run by complete strangers, I always seem to be carrying my head high these days. Not everything has gone perfectly, but I have truly enjoyed the ride.

All that is left is for me to rest, to wait, and to leave it all out there on the course come Sunday. No matter what happens at the race, I am already a winner and I have already succeeded.