The Season Is Over, So What Now?

My racing season has been over for more then a week, so what now? For starters, I took an entire week off of running. It gave both my body and mind time to reset. I also started back up with my strength training regimen, hoped back on the bike, and started visiting the Urbandale pool again.

As stated in previous blog posts, my main focus this off season is to get my weight down below 220 lbs. I'm also working to maintain a solid base in all 3 of my triathlon disciplines while continuing to  improve my strength, especially core strength. Another focus is to spend some time relaxing with several hunting trips to my cabin as well as spending time with family for the holidays. It was a very intense year, and I want to enter next season fully refreshed and ready to continue my improvement.

My off season training will include the following:

• Swimming - 2 days per week
• Bicycling - 3 days per week
• Running - 3 days per week
• Strength Training - 4 days per week
• Walking - A LOT

Unlike in season training, this schedule will be much more flexible and fluid (not a big deal if I miss a workout or 2 each week). Also, I don't have set distances or times for each training session. With a focus on strength training, I have reduced the number of sessions per week from 6 to 4, but plan to make them longer and include core exercises during each session.

I am also starting to research and work on my training and racing nutrition. Erin bought me a book for my birthday that is all about fueling for triathlon training and races (from sprint distance to Ironman distance). Nutrition is the one area that I have the most room for improvement and I hope to learn and implement a lot of changes going into next year.

So what does next year have in store? I plan to share my tentative schedule in another blog post, but I will share that it does include completing my first ever marathon. My official 18 week marathon training program begins on February 7. From the time I started training nearly 3 years ago, my plan was always to run a marathon. I have a long road of training ahead, but I can honestly say that I feel excited and ready to focus on this next goal.

Relay Reflections

THAT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!

If you have been reading my blog, you know that last weekend I competed with a team in the IMT Des Moines Marathon Relay. 26.2 miles broken up between 5 people. My team consisted of myself, my wife (Erin), brother-in-law (Ben), co-worker (Megan), and friend from college (Joni). It was probably the most random group of people brought together, and all of us had different backgrounds in running, but I think that is part of what made it so fun.

I started off the race by running the first 6 miles, which included a few significant hills (for Iowa anyways). Joni took the baton next to run the next 4 miles, which included a lap around the blue oval in Drake stadium. Megan followed that up with the next 5 miles. Megan is fairly new to running and even outdid her own expectations. In fact, she finished so much faster then expected that Ben wasn't even ready when she ran into transition 3. Ben ran the next 5.2 (which turned out to be more like 5.6) which included a lap around Gray's Lake and a stroll up MLK. Erin anchored the relay by running the last 6 miles. The rest of us joined her at mile marker 26 and ran the last .2 miles to the finish.

Although the relay itself was a little less structured then I expected. We drove our own team car between all of the transition sites and with the exception of some unexpected road construction at the end, the turn by turn directions provided by the race were very good. The transition areas were well marked and spaced well enough that we had plenty of time to drive between them all and watch a lot of the race along the way. Another bonus is that with all of the driving and conversation in between, the race went by ridiculously fast.

We finished in a time of 4:19:48 coming in 54th out of 111 teams. Not that time or place really matters in a race like this, but I think everyone on the team was at least a little surprised at how well we did. As I stated previously, with such a unique team make up, it was hard to know what to expect.

Everyone on the team ran very well and I was excited to end my season on such a positive note. I was able to complete my 6 miles in under an hour (which was my personal goal going in), averaging 9:53 min/mi.

Although running is usually a very personal and individual part of my life, I can honestly say that I had a fantastic time doing this relay. Although it was a little stressful at times organizing and coordinating the team, it all turned out great in the end. Erin and I agree that this relay will probably remain on the schedule for both of us in the years to come. It really is a fun way to enjoy some time with friends and family while doing something that we love and staying healthy.

2016 - A Season In Review

With my last race of the year less then 2 days away, it is time to begin reflecting on the past racing season. As you may recall, my focus this year was to lose weight and build my fitness base to better prepare to run a marathon. I did lose a significant amount of weight, about 50 lbs, and I greatly increased my running endurance, but I accomplished so much more then that. 

Usually for a post like this, I would head on over to my Garmin Connect account and pull a bunch of numbers out to post, but I decided to make this post more about the intangibles instead of the tangibles. By this point, you all are aware that I have run, biked, and swam a ridiculous number of miles this year. However, I haven't always done a great job of sharing how I have felt along the way.

Last year I would have described running as a hobby, but this year I would say that it has become a lifestyle. Although I truly believe that anyone who runs can consider themselves a runner, I don't think that I really felt like a runner until this year. From the day my official training started for the year, on February 29, this year just felt different. The prior 2 years I eased into the sport and still had a lot of doubts in my training and preparation for races. This year, my confidence was high and I never once questioned my ability to do it.

Although I'm still not sure if it is a good or bad thing, another difference this year was how much my training and races impacted the rest of my life. From what and when I ate each day, to when we took family trips and visited family, nearly everything was scheduled around training and races. Another change is that it became a family affair as my wife, Erin, trained for and ran her first half marathon. My oldest daughter, Abigail, also ran in her first race at 5 years old.

This year I also completed my first triathlon and loved it. Running will always be my main passion, but the added challenge of working towards mastering 3 disciplines really hooked me. It also helps to take the monotony out of training. As I work on forming my long term goals, my focus has started to shift from road races to triathlons and that has me even more excited.

Another big development of the year is that I started to realize how my story and journey can serve (and for some has already served) as an inspiration to others. From family and friends (both old and new), to coworkers and complete strangers, I have heard from countless people how much they get out of hearing or reading about my story. In fact, I have had 5 individuals ask for my help in getting them started. For something that started out as a very personal and individual journey, it has been very rewarding to both directly and indirectly be helping others. In fact, this is an area that I hope to build on next year. I find that helping others start or work on their journey is something that I am good at and really enjoy doing. Not only that, but working with other people really inspires me to keep working hard myself.

If you would have asked me 5 years ago where I would be today, I probably would have jokingly said "dead". However, with the path I was on, that wouldn't have been far from the truth. I certainly don't have life figured out, but I do feel that I have discovered a big piece of what had been missing from my life and am excited every day for what my future holds. I have some big goals, but am confident that I will meet and exceed every one of them.

This off season I plan to focus heavily on my diet and nutrition as well as strength training while maintaining a fitness base in running, swimming and biking. I have a goal to lose 20 lbs by the time I start training for my next race next winter/spring. I am no different then anyone else in that the holidays and winter make it more difficult to reach these goals, but right now, with what I have accomplished, I feel like anything is possible.

For now though, I have a race on Sunday. It is a marathon relay with 4 other individuals. It may not come with the accolades of some of my other races, but I am really excited for it. It should be a blast and the perfect way to end my racing season.

To everyone out there that is still reading, I want to say thank you. Thank you for taking an interest in my journey and encouraging me along the way. Although this season is ending, there is a new season just around the corner with another set of challenges.

Weekly Update

With the Quad Cities half marathon come and gone, I am staring down the final race of my season, the Des Moines Marathon Relay on Sunday, October 16. I will save my "year in review" post until after that race, but I've already found myself spending a lot of time reflecting on the past year and looking forward to what next year has to offer.

For my birthday, my wife and girls gave me a book on nutrition for training and competing in triathlons. I have only made it a couple of chapters in, but I have been using what I have learned so far to help focus on fueling my body for training instead of just mindless eating. The book is very good and in less then a week, I have already noticed a difference. My recovery time has shortened and I have seen a measurable improvement in my running. I look forward to spending the off season playing around with my nutrition to find out what works for me.

With 3 weeks between races, I made a decision to cut out swimming and bicycling and increase my running to 6 days a week. The first week was a little grueling, but I got through and ran the best that I have all year. I ran over 32 miles on the week and my body held up well.

 

 After the relay, I plan to take an entire week off running while I work on setting up my off season schedule. I'm still playing around with it but I'm thinking about including 4 days strength training, 3 days running, 2 days swimming, and 3 days bicycling. Just like last year, I plan to incorporate a lot of walking into my routine as well. I have a goal of dropping around 20 lbs before the end of the year and another 20 before next June (more on that in a future post). 

I've also started to make some tentative race plans for next year. It may seem early to many, but much of my racing requires several months of training, so early season races require an early start to the training season. Once again, more on my plans for next year in a future post. I'm also starting to take inventory of my gear and order anything that I might need for the winter training months. Most of my cold weather gear from last year has become too small so I've been placing a few Amazon orders.