Back in the Saddle

Day 44

Boston Qualifying Training. I find myself in a very familiar spot. As I have been doing most mornings on Tuesday, I wake at 5:00 AM, grab my gear and hop in the car. I back down the driveway, and make my way out of the neighborhood pointing my car to LTF for Masters Swim Class, just as I have done now for the last month and a half. But rather than joining my friends and other athletes in the pool, I am hit with the balance of life.

My destination this morning is the airport. An all too familiar spot, last year I spent every week in airports. This year I have been fortunate to significantly reduce the amount of time I am traveling. Today however business calls and the call is coming from Miami. As I write this I glance at the time and know the main set would be done, and pool water would be calming as swimmers would be cooling down with a social kick or a 200 meter cool down.

Back in the saddle

I hate to have missed the swim this morning it would have been number 12 in a row, not bad. Clearly the conditioning swimming provides is very effective in maintaining, even building my fitness on those days I am not hitting a quality run.

I will struggle to find a time to workout today, it is more than likely to not happen at all, my flight is an out and back and unless I can find a way to make an earlier flight, swimming will be out of the question today. My bigger goal is to get home early enough to tuck the boys in to bed and say good night.

Tomorrow may or may not require a trip to Tampa and another day trip; however it is my hope to close business on the phone and avoid the additional travel as well as cost to the company. After all, I know that my trip to Chicago on Thursday and Friday is unavoidable as I am a presenter and the world needs to know more about healthcare banking and concept of a “total cash and clinical data transaction platform” and its importance to real-time claims processing and revenue cycle management... oh and I get to go to Portillo's!

As I sit here I think about how diligent I have been on my training as this is the first workout that I will miss and Thursday will likely be the second. Frustrated sure, but reflecting on the work done so far I feel good and know that I need to stay consistent. Tomorrow I will hit my tempo run, 8 miles, 1 EZ 6 at a 7:45 pace and 1 EZ. I look forward to that run as well as the 13 miles at weeks end. I think the run at the end of the week will be very telling as I close out my 7th week of training. I am not concerned about the distance, heck I could do the marathon distance right now if needed, but rather how will the pace feel. I have always considered anything north of an 8:00 minute per mile pace pedestrian. This run will be 8:15, however after having spent the last several weeks running at a slower pace, 8:45, I wonder to myself about an 8:15. Earlier this year I ripped off 7:35 per mile for 13 miles and knew I had more in the tank. This will be different, but I will stay on pace and know that it is one step closer to my goal and the race that awaits me in December.

Will this running slower actually work… For thousands of others it sure has. For me, I expect it will, thought it is certainly an unknown road and gives me a lot to think about. What I do know is my past training with the concept of every run being focused on the goal time left me in considerable pain and unable to complete a full training program or with legs that were too tired to run when race day arrived.

On a family note, I pulled in the driveway last night Kim was putting the finishing touches to the Halloween decorations, they looked great. She has a great way of making our house a home. Entering the kitchen, it was warm with activity as the boys finished their homework and Kim had made a great pot of Crab Chowder, perfect for an autumn evening.

Rainy days and Monday... at the Track

Day 43

Boston Qualifying Training. The start of week six. It is raining as I go to bed last night and I think about the fact that Jay and I will likely be running in the rain. I wake several times in the night, the last time, 1 minute before the alarm goes off. I get up and head to LTF. I see two runners heading down Academy as I make my way to the gym, I flash my lights as I suspect it is Ann Marie getting in her tempo run. Go AM.

Hooking up with Jay we head to the track. The weather is cold and wet. Dedication comes to mind as Jay and I hit the track. It is cold, dark and the rain and wind has picked up. We have 6 x 800 at a 3:12 pace today. We decide to take turns, it is our goal to get as close as possible to the 3:12 number. I start us off, we are right on for the first lap, though the second lap is fast and we end at 3:06, too fast.

As we take the 1:30 RI, Jay comments on the weather and that the pay-off will be worth it. We are clearly earning it today. Jay take the next 800… he takes off on the first lap like he was being chased by a pack of dogs. I look behind me just to make sure. The second lap is equally fast… 3:04. Too fast again. The next two go by easy, but we can not seem to hit anything but 3:06. My last lap, I am determined to run 3:10. We take off and it seems we are going slow, we are barely breathing and the laps seem almost effortless. The time 3:10. Nice. Jay is equally consistent on his lap and we turn a 3:09, good.

Back at LTF we Stretch and work core, the Planks are getting easier. It feels good. However schools buses are waiting and I head back to home to see the boys off. This morning I go to Birmingham. I hope to be home to watch the game tonight with Jack and Wil. Busy week, tomorrow is Miami, Wednesday, Tampa, Thursday & Friday Chicago.

Weight… 181 Grrrr.

Sunday Fun Day

Day 42

Boston Qualifying Training. I barely remember going to bed last night and I sleep in until 7:00 AM. The family wakes and we head to Mel’s for our weekly Sunday breakfast. We are fully clad in our Giants gear and “picks” sheet in hand. A great breakfast and some bold picks we head home as the calls roll in asking about the previous days games. We share the highlights of the game with family members and the plays get better each time we tell the story.

Back at home we all get ready for a game of football with the neighbors. It was a blast last week and it is equally fun this week. I hit 5 touchdown passes. I was on fire! Once again the adults beat up on the freshman football team. At some point the worm will turn and we will be unable to beat the boys, but for now, we’ll take the bragging rights. Looking forward to Jeff and Morgan joining us next week.

Home, we have work to be done. Hitting the attic, we pull down the Halloween decorations and get busy. Later Jack, Wil and a friend of theirs, Jared play a good game of football in the back yard. Soon it is dinner and I am grilling out for the family and making a great dish of mac and cheese. Everything is good as Sunday comes to an end. I sit on the couch doing emails as the boys are at the table getting a head start on projects for school. Bed early as it is the start of week six tomorrow.

Saturday on the Grid Iron

Day 41

Boston Qualifying Training. As much as I expected to sleep in after the 20 miles yesterday, I found myself wide awake before the clock hit 5:00 AM. It was not the fact that I have been getting up early, rather I had two big games this today. First Wil was playing at 11:00 and later Jack would be playing at 8:00 PM under the lights.

To put things in perspective, I know this is recreational football and even more so with Wil’s league, but as I tell the boys, I want to first teach them how to play the game, second to have fun, but I also want to teach them how to win.

I head down stairs and I review the plays for Wil’s game at 11:00. It is actually pretty amazing, for a 7/8 year old league, they already have 24 plays memorized. Not just easy stuff, but plays like, “Shift Right, Left hand off Right, Reverse, Block Right, Right Guard Pull on Two, QB Lead”. Though it seems like a lot it breaks down to the basics, each phrase means one thing to a particular player. I make my list and that game is set. I look at Jacks paly call sheet and decide It would be better to wait until after Wil’s game. I hit the couch and catch a few Z’s before the family wakes up.

We all hang out and have a good breakfast before Wil’s game. Jack and I warm up Wil and review the plays. Heading to the field the boys are all there early and the game starts on time. The weather is perfect, completely opposite last weeks game. We win the toss and take the ball on kick off. The first play dialed up is a good one, but it never gets off. The ball is mis-snapped, dead ball. This happens 2 more times and we are on our 7 yard line. I am not a fan of punting, and it happens again. The ball is on our 2 yard line.

I keep looking at my hand. Early in the day I took a marker and wrote down, “Coach Up!” I keep my composure and we bring out the defense. The boys stay strong and keep them out of the end zone.

I tell the boys, This is just like a "do over". I dial up our original first play of the game. The running back take the ball the distance for a touchdown. This is repeated 4 more times and we hold the opposition to a zero. The game is highlighted by Wil’s first touchdown completion, a great play that rolls out to the left and hits the tight end. As good as that was, one of the smallest kids on the team, ran for a touchdown on a 35 yard scramble. My biggest goal every year is not the wins, but rather to get every kid in the end zone, so they can have their moment. Victory Fries at Five Guys

After mowing the grass and multiple chores around the house, Jack and I sit down to put together the game plan. It looks good and I feel good we can dial up a good game. I get so busy I forget the Oktoberfest party at a neighbors house. A good time, we get there early as we have to leave early for Jack game. No beer before the game, coach can not go to the game smelling like beer. I see Melissa there, Calvin was there, I would have loved to stayed, but off we go. The game for Jack is under the lights it is cool to play like that, the boys love it and so do I.

The game plan is going great, we are up 12 – 0 at half. The second half the boys drive down the field and are looking good, Jack has a great run on 4th and 12, taking the ball all the way to the 2 yard line. The next four plays we are thrown for a loss. The game goes back and forth and the other team puts up 6 on the board.

There is 4 minutes left and I am running the ball, eating time off the clock. It looks good. We stall mid field with a 4th and 10. I call in a sweep to the weak side. It works we pick up 12 yards, on a great run and several good blocks, but the ball is fumbled and the other team gains control. With a 1:32 left there is plenty of time on the clock. The defense holds and the Eagles win!

The boys played hard and Jack looked great. Jack and I head back home stopping by the party that we had left hours earlier. The crowd has died down, though there is a warm brat for me and a cold beer standing ready. As much as I appreciate the wins, I am more impressed with the ways the boys played. Good Stuff. I sleep easy.

Finally Friday

Day 40

Boston Qualifying Training. Nothing better than free baseball tickets, sure the wind had been taken out of the sails earlier in the day when Colorado beat the Brewers to eliminate any chance the Braves had at a post season run, but who cares, it was a great night, the weather was cool and I was going to get to squeeze in some father son time. Like everything these days it was going to be tight, especially when I had a 20 miler the next morning and I was already tired from the morning swim.

I finished up work making 2-3 calls, Wil practiced being a teenager listening to his iPod, as he and I road to football practice. The boys practiced great and were still carrying the swagger from the weekend victory. Finishing up practice I rounded up the gear and Wil and I were off. Back home, I managed to swap boys, and stuff a bowl of spaghetti in my belly all in less than 10 minutes. Healthy way to eat, not really, but I knew I would need the carbs for the 20 mile run.

Jack was in the car, we picked up a few of his buddies and off we went, down to Turner Field. The friends are good kids from school and both have played on my football teams.

The game is a decent game, and there are some good plays but really it is more the event, the boys out having fun on a school night, eating peanuts, drinking coke, and goofing off… we should all do that a little more. We hang out until the 8th inning and decide the game is a wash, Braves are packing it in for the season and we decide to head back to Alpharetta. Besides, I have a 20 mile run. The balancing act.

Quick shower and getting everything set for the morning run, it is 11:07 when I hit the bed, not good. 5 hours of sleep, in addition to the fact I had very little sleep the night before, not the best recipe for success, but no whining. "The sheets are cool" the last thought I have in my head as I drift off… I woke up once at 3:40, the next thing I know it is 4:07. I slip out the door and make the all important bottle drops.

Jay and I meet at LTF, good spirits though we are both a little anxious about this run. Target today in 8:45, a slow pace, but is the idea of 20 miles that makes you stop and think, hmm.

Jay meditating before the run

The run is good, we start off a little sluggish, on pace, but more effort than expected. Heading out we see two big deer in the first mile, I wonder if it is possible to ride the deer for the next 19 miles. The image of Jay and I riding the deer through Alpharetta makes me laugh to myself.

After 4-5 miles, things start feeling better. Jay is impressive on the run, considering a PR on a half ironman five days earlier. Me, I feel great, I think about the fact that my left leg is not providing any issues and my stride is balancing out, that is a good thing. There is a lot left in the tank and I consider how much easier it would be to step on the gas and knock this out. But that is not the goal and I stay on pace. As we cruise past the 10 miles mark, which happens to be a Waffle House, I consider the fact that I feel a heck of a lot better than I did 2 weeks ago on the first 20 miler. My nutrition seems better too and I feel as if I am running more efficiently. The bottle drops seem to be at the absolute right spot as well.

Mile 10 also marks the beginning of a 2.5 mile climb, you know you are building strength and endurance. It also feels good when you crest the final hill. For the last 6-7 miles, I am running easy, sure the legs are feeling it a little, but I am energized. Far better than 2 weeks ago when I was pushing it at mile 17.


Finishing the run, Jay and I see the Ann Marie, Corey, Susan and others at LTF. Ann Marie who we had passed nearly 2 ½ hours early had finished her 20 mile run as well and looked to have enough energy to go run 20 more.

Jay and I do a quick stretch and hit Cracker Barrel for breakfast. The last 20 miler we were both famished and weak desperately needing food. Today, we both felt good, though we knew it was time to re-stock and give our body food necessary to recover.

It is necessary to use a high speed camera when photographing Jay eating

Several meetings and deadlines pressing this morning both personal and work, mostly I look forward to my weekly date with Kim at Pure for lunch. The boys have Fall Festival tonight and football practice for Jack. Tomorrow we have games all day, Wil’s at lunch and Jacks under the lights at 8:00 PM, cool!

This marks the end of week 6 in the training program, my wieght 179. 10 weeks to go... !

Double Stuff Love

Okay, this is hard to put in a training log though it certainly deserves to be mentioned. As I work toward my goal of Qualifying for The Boston Marathon, a large part of that is attaining a goal weight of 175 ish or better for the race.

I have been pretty good about minimizing the wrong food and maximizing the right food. Dried Apricot's, nuts, things like that to go along with a Cliff Bar, rather than bad snacking. However, the other day I was craving junk, not just any junk, but cookies and not just cookies, but Double Stuff Oreo's. Now, here's the deal, I do not really even like Oreo's that much, they are good sure, but I'd rather have one of Kim's homemade chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, they are great and no one makes better cookies than Kim. But that day, I was jonesing on Double Stuff Oreo's. Take two of them apart and slap it together for a quadruple stuff Oreo. I shared this thought with Kim and we laughed.

Yesterday I came home from working out yesterday and opened the pantry for my snack of nuts and a cliff bar... and there they were, all wrapped up in their familiar blue package... Double Stuff Oreos. No question... true love. Now I have a Double Stuff conundrum.

Thrilling Thursday

Day 39

Boston Qualifying Training. Clearly I went to bed too late last night. It was tough to get up this morning, and though I had parked the Mustang outside last night, it was too cold to drive this morning. The temperature was 50 degrees as I drove to LTF. I was thinking about tomorrows run as I drove, the cooler weather will feel good. I have a little anxiety about the run tomorrow, though I do not know why, I’ve done several 20 miles runs and I know how it all breaks down. The good part is Jay and I will be running together, so unlike last week, I’ll have good company and I will have an idea of pace. Last week I went faster than prescribed. I did the math and I was faster than I was supposed to be, at least it was the final 3 miles where I had picked up the speed.

The pool today was cool and it took a full 150 meter for me to warm up. I was swimming in lane one with Ann Marie. The pace today was tough, we were doing sets of 100’s in descending time. The last 3 sets seemed as if we had no time at the wall. I felt strong at first, and ripped off a few 1:40’s and 1:44 plus. AM suggested I should be swimming in the next lane, however, I knew the effort it was taking to hold pace. I just do not have the swimming endurance yet, getting there though.

The second and third sets were good, but not the same quality as the main set. I did not get to finish the entire workout, skipping the social kick and cool down, I needed to get home and put Wil on the bus. He and I managed to not miss the bus today. That is good, the bad part, he and I will likely never know what happened the Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat.

I have several meeting this morning, and a few tasks that must be accomplished today. With all that swimming, it will be tough to be alert. I fully expect I will have a coke before 10:00 AM.

Lunch will be at LTF hitting the weights, core will be an emphasis. Weight today, 179, not bad.

Tomorrow night I will be starting a new Painting. It has been a few months since I painted and I am excited to paint, I miss it. The painting will be 6’ x 3’ it is for a charity function. It will be the highlight of the auction. Should be cool.

The Original Wet Wille...

Supplemental.

A few photos from Wil's game. Just how wet was it Saturday morning, take a look. The boys loved it, the field got muddy and it played well for throwing in a number of reverse plays. Get them moving to the left and send it back to the right.

The photo below is just that our first reverse, Quarterback 18, 39 reverse... TD. The play prior, I had Wil go to the right on an 18 sweep. So you can see that there are boys thinking he has the ball on this play. In the very background you can see the leg of the kid with the ball running up field with the other team chasing.

To quote Wil when asked about scoring the game winning points, "Good times, good times".

Three for Track

Day 38

Boston Qualifying Training. I woke up at least 4 times before the alarm went off in anticipation of today’s track workout. My love for track workouts is well chronicled. I have my times written on my arm, though with no moon, and the fact I am wearing long sleeves, (yeah long sleeves, welcome to fall, it is 50 degrees this morning) it is more for memorization than being able to see at the track.

Arriving at LTF, I pull next to Jeff’s truck, I grab my gear and see Jeff as I am walking in. Jay is doubtful for the morning. Still recovering from his weekend race (he had a great race) and returning from a business trip, he is not likely to make the track.

Jeff and I hang out in the lobby area, I grab a chair and Jeff looks at the couch, but there is somebody already sitting there. Obviously this stranger has no idea he is in our spot. Jeff and I are likely thinking the same thing… dude, that’s our spot, move. This interesting train of though is broken as Corey pulls up. We all know Jay is a no show and we head out the door.

The chill of fall feels good and I am very comfortable with the long sleeves. There is no moon and the light pollution is very low, all the stars are out and Venus is hanging low in the sky.

The track workout today is pretty straight forward, 2 x 1200 @ 4:40 followed by 4 x 800 @ 3:05. The pace reasonable. Work will be done, but the first couple of laps will feel easy.

Typically by the end of the jog to the track and a quick lap around, my legs are ready to go. Today my legs are feeling tired, though the beauty of track, it is fast and done, no time to consider any aches or fatigue. It’s nice to have Jeff and Corey along for the run, thinking back I’ve been running, biking, swimming with these guys for the past 7 years.

I hit my watch for the first 1200, first 200, right on, 400, on, I stay on track but do not look at my watch until I hit the 1200 mark… too fast on the last lap, I am fast by 11-10 seconds. I have a two minute RI between sets, amazing how two minutes goes by so fast during an RI, but when I'm doing a “Plank” the damn clock will not move.

I start the second 1200, this one I will be right on, first lap, EZ, second, lap, feeling it, last lap, harder, but I hit the time only fast by 1 second. I’ll call it perfect. Done with the 1200’s the 800 are a piece of cake. I cruise through the 800’s though I am “efforting” on the second lap with the last two in the set. I am fast on each one, but only by a few seconds, the last on, right on the money with a negative split.

I am extremely happy with the fact that I was so close to the prescribed times, right up until Corey sent me an email saying the times should have been 4:53 for the 1,200 and 3:12 for the 800’s. I went too fast. Perhaps if I delete the email I will feel better.

Realistically I know I can go even faster, but that is not the goal. The goal stays set for December 12th, at the end of 26.2 miles. This will be my 11th marathon, I’m no rookie at this but my approach will be different from the other races my goal is to go into this healthy with no breaks in training.

Stretching at lunch and core, football later tonight. Weight 180… Kim made cookies and saved some for me.

Day 37

Boston Qualifying Training. I am glad I went to bed when I did last night. Had I stayed up to watch all the Monday Night Football game I’d have been exhausted. My workout had to be short this morning, I had to be home so Kim could be at the school by 7 AM.

At the pool, there is a very small crowd, most of the racers from Augusta are getting to sleep in, it is well deserved. The temperature outside is 50 degrees, so today we swim inside, likely that will be the case from here forward.

I share with Mike, the swim coach I need to leave early and I jump right in and get started. With warm ups over, we have 5 x 300, with the first 50 all out. My lungs are burning with the first 50, this will be a good main set.

During the last set, I see Mike walking along as I swim, I think to myself, "Wow I am really doing better", I feel sleek and slim in the water, a real streamlined positioned. The guy swimming in the lane next to me is right along side me. My competitive nature kicks in, I decide I want to keep pace or better with his pace. I know he is faster, but do not care, it is the last of the set. I dig in thinking form, power… the first 100 we are on pace together. I can see that he has picked it up too. The next 100 I take a lead by a body length, it feels good, but I was doing some serious work to make that happen.

Finishing, I look at the time and I need to leave. Hopping out of the water, Mike stops me, he had video taped my swimming. I think yeah, he is going to tell me how much better I have gotten, how streamlined my body has become in the water, after all, I was really feeling it.

Wrong. I look at the tape, my legs which I thought were tight together were never any closer than 8 inches apart, my right leg looked as if it was moving independently from my body in a completely different rhythm, my toes were not pointed so I looked as if I were wearing boots, my shoulders seemed to just bulldoze the water in front like a steam shovel. It was really surprising, as that was my "good form". Clearly more work to do there.

Kim is off to the school... I am in charge. Wil and I miss his bus because we are watching Curious George. I have to drive Wil to school. I'll never hear the end of this from Kim. At least George got the man with the Yellow Hat his bowling ball back, not knowing would have killed me.

Weight 178.