Training Day

Saturday at 3pm
Refreshed after the long training day.


8 Hours Earlier
7am at Lock 29 in the Cuyahoga Valley. Sleepy, but ready for the 6.5 mile run. My winter training is slowly warming up. Thumbs up for the brisk morning weather.


VR Training Run
40 runners of different levels, but all with fresh goals for the new year. VR Training is a running group for anyone that wants to accomplish the goal of finishing half marathons, marathons, or ultra marathons. This morning we ran 6.5 miles to and around Kendell Lake. Pleasant running route. I really like how the guys mix the routes. Passion for running really shows. There were 4 coaches with each leading there own group. For some reason this morning I was more motivated than other days and ran just behind the A' group. Enjoyed my conversations with a couple friendly runners I ran with for 45 minutes. Positive chit chat is always fun. I've never been around Kendell Lake and will have to do again sometime. Looking forward to my first transition of the training day.

Transition 1:
1 hour with 30 minutes at Rico Latte enjoying a medium size coffee and egg sandwich.


Excel in Cycling
Pete has big plans for us today. Excel in Cycling indoor program is 2 hrs of very vigorous cycling on your own bike, mounted on a wind, mag or fluid trainer with a substantial focus on: form, cadence, force and technique. The Excel In Cycling workouts are intended for people who want to become more proficient cyclists - whether recreational or competitive. Pete Gladden the excellent endurance coach had a nice and hard training ride in store for 40 of us this morning at 10am. Today's ride consisted with 30 minutes of warming up and 2 hours and 15 minutes of the killer program. During all the indoor rides Pete projects from his PowerBook professional level cycling races onto a huge screen with rocking good soundtrack. During the last 45 minutes of the training ride the front wheel of our bikes is on a elevated wood block and on projected screen in sync is mountain course of race. My CycleOps Fluid 2 proves once again to be a wise investment. Completely exhausted after the terrific ride.

Transition 2:
2 hours with 15 minutes having a long hot shower.

Weight Training
Rested a bit and then capped the training day off with an hour of core weight training at the gym. For my rewards the rest of the day was sunny.

Great New Years Eve Run - Race Report

5k Race - Stow Munroe Falls High School
Stow, Ohio

Looking forward to this race. Gets my new year off to fast start. For the past year I've been really into the technical part of sports nutrition. Bought some sports nutrition books and after much research a high end scale that measures body mass. Scale is useful because it's super accurate with weight and pretty consistent measuring stuff like body fat. My brother gave me a Xmas present of Chris Carmichael's Food for Fitness book. Solid read so far. Chris Carmichael has been Lance Armstrong's coach for more than a decade and I can see why.

Last year when I raced this course my weight was 165 and finishing time was 23:54. This year my weight was 150 and finish time 21:53. Stoked I knocked off more than 2 minutes! Think I could dial in a sub 20 minute time next year around. Looking into doing some speed work in the next quarter through run training groups.

Arrived at the race 45 minutes before start. Chit chatted with multisport buddies and running folks I know. 4pm start is cool because I'm warmed up already. Race temp was 37 degrees which is normal for this time of year. Roads were clear of snow and ice with overcast skies. 600 runners ready to go. Felt good at start through first 5 minutes. Forgot about the hills. Lost a little time going up hill. Cruised back down the hills and regained position. Great that on course racers and spectators cheered me on. That really keeps myself motivated during parts of course that are difficult. With a mile to go I felt strong and lots of reserves in the tank. Hauled myself to the finish line of cheering supporters.

After my race I cheered the finishers coming in. That's a lot of fun. Takes about 5 minutes to regain my senses after the race. One of the best features of the race is the chicken soup they handout inside the high school - yummy goodness. Enjoyed food and friendly conversation post race.