What I think about when I run

I need to get some more miles in. Maybe I'll just run later. Sleep. Ding Ding. Sleep. I should run. Morning. Not sure. Good idea. Eat first? Where area headphones? Shorts or tights? Sweatshirt or jacket? Garmin or Runkeeper? Ok going for a run, see you in a hour. Did I dress warm enough? iPod or Pandora radio? Go right or left? Why does my right shoe make a funny sound. I should start running. Wow I am tired. Love these shoes, is 500 miles to much for one pair? I'm cold. Does anyone watch my RK live? Wonder if it posted to FB? Wonder what smalls is doing? I am running slow. Wow it's windy by the lake. The waves are huge. That swim was crazy. Wonder if I'll do any triathlons next year? I'm cold. I should of worn gloves. Starbucks. How does mike run so fast in the middle of his long runs? Chickens. I hate when my feet get wet. Sure wish I was on trails right now. What song is this? "RK update 5 minutes" Can't wait until I get away from the lake. Morning. Cute dog. Finally good pace. I need new road shoes. I hate wearing my headlamp. Love running in the daylight. Lots of deer out here this morning. It's cool when run threw here at night any only seeing glowing eyes. Wonder if I'll hit the harbor before 15. Mine. These socks rock. Regis. Prayers. Wonder how far I'll run in the 24 hour. 8:51 first mile? Really? Speed work sucks. I think I'll just run home from my dads on Christmas. That's only 12 miles. Oh well I guess I'll just run what ever. Now run that 5 times. Br100. Tattoo. Morning. Lol scared the shit out of that person. Harbor. Lol I remember when it took me forever to get here. I am hot. I knew I dresses to warm. Thank god I didn't wear gloves. I hate this up hill. Wish I didn't work Saturdays. Bowling. Running alone sucks. Well not really then I would have to talk. This hill rocks! It's RK better on a 3gs or a 4s. 8:39 what the hell? I thought I was running slower. Left turn. Do these cars see me? Wonder if I got hit by a car people would know because of rklive? This hat is way too tight. Beards. Mine. Christmas ale. What's for breakfast? Hot. Where am I going to live? Wow that was a fast 5k race last year. Wonder they are doing at work. Who cares. Wonder if I could turn this into a ten miler. Nope no time. 8:54 that's better. Right calf is tight. Love that mailbox. I need to eat better. My first 5k was slow. My last 5k was fast. I wonder how fast I can run. 24hours should be fun. I wonder if people can run laps with you. So glad I am running. I want to go to pg in the morning. wonder what time we will close tomorrow. Tuff mudder cost to much. I could run 5 local trail races for that amount. I want to run more ultras. Wonder if I'll run Cleveland. I hate this part of the road. Makes my hip Hurt. 8:37? Really? Slow down dumb ass. Mine. I wonder if mike killed his chickens yet? Fat mans beard rocks. I am hungry. Has Jason ran lately? I could never get my 24/12 in this weekend. Good song! 6,5,4,6 only going to be at 21 for the week. Maybe two loops in the morning. I'm soaked. Wonder what they did with the horses. 8:32. What!? Has Kelly been running? Runners prayer. No matter what, to the end. #FF. Doug chews. I miss chewing. I want new Newtons. I think I'll take the long way home. How many other people are running right now. Damn totally over dressed. Gonna chill the last 1/2 mile. I wonder what I think about when I run. I should record my thoughts one time. Tomorrow I'll run 10 then Sunday maybe run home from dads. That would give me about 40 for the week. I hope that's enough. Mine. Breakfast please!

It's a blow out

It's been awhile since my post. Lots of stuff catch up on, race reports, training and for now my lost love.
I love the Saucony Peregrine trail shoes. The 4mm drop and super traction up and down hills, how could I not fall in love. After the first 150 miles in them I noticed that I blew out the outer sides of the shoes. I trip back to the best local running shop ever. They swapped out them for a fresh pair. Back on the trails I logged another 100 or so miles I noticed the night before Salt Fork 10 mile trail run that the right one started to blow out. It was way to late to change out shoes so I decided just to run with them. Durning the race my damn left shoe kept coming untied, after getting past by around ten people I started to get a little pissed. Then I lost my left shoe in some deep mud. More on that in my race report, for now I was mad as hell and done with those shoes.
So returning to the running store I told them what was going on and I wanted to trade. After deciding on a new pair I walked out of the store with some bad ass Merrell trail gloves! I had my eye on these shoes for a while and wanted to try them out. That night all shoe high I wore them around the house and soon found out that I hated them. They felt like crap. The high was replaced by a low. The next day with my head down I walked into the store handing them the Merrells and walking out with my money back. I was now lost. Two days later I went out on the search for new trail shoes. I ended up at a not so local running shop that carried a huge selection of trail shows. The best part of the store is the employees, they are all trail runners! Some even ultra runners. After explaining my story to them and my running plans for the year the nice lady brought out a huge stack of shoes. I think I tried on four pairs and nothing really felt right. Another guy came over and suggested that I try the New Balance MT101rx.

She grabbed my size and it was love. I took a small run down the street to make sure they were a match. I walked out of the store with new shoes and a new pair of socks ready to hit the trails.

Today I headed out on the trails sporting my new NBs.

What can I say, they felt really good! I would say even better then the Sauconys. The only down fall was that they don't have as much grip on the down hills. A bonus is they don't hold the mud! So after running threw tons of mud they don't weigh ten pounds.

So for now they are my new best friend.

New Shoes Please

Fall is back! and so is the trail running season for me. A few weeks ago training for the Run For Regis 50K started. I am going to try really hard to run all my weekend long runs on the trails this year. That being said I dug out of the closet my trail running shoes, a sweet pair of New Balance 875s.

I ran most of my trail running with these shoes. I even screwed in spikes for the Regis run last year. I have been running trails during the summer, but I have been sporting my Vibram TrekSports.

I love Vibram FiveFinger shoes so much! So much I own three pairs of them. The TrekSports, Bikila LS and the KomodoSports. Even tho the TrekSports are a great trail shoe, I ran a 10k trail race in them and towards the end I was loosing my form and started to slightly heal strike in them on the trails. My heals hurt for days, maybe even weeks. So when I got home I dug out my 875s for my next run. I was doing a short mid week run of 5 miles on the trails after work, so I grabbed my 875s and gear. Soon as I put them on it felt like I was wearing high heel shoes. They also felt so so so heavy. I didn't have any other running shoes with me so I just ran in them. I remember coming out of the woods still feeling like I had tanks on my feet. I knew I needed some new trail shoes with a very low heel to toe drop.

Very Clean

A trip to the local shoe store was in order. When I walked in I told them I wanted a trail shoe designed for a mid-fore foot strike. One that had a small heel to toe drop. I told them that I usually run in Newtons and Vibram FFs. He showed me two different shoes that would do the job. The Saucony Peregrine and some green shoe. The green ones had a lower drop but it still felt weird to wear. The Peregrine felt nice and very light, also it has a 4mm drop.  I was running a 8K run that night so I thought it would be the perfect way to break them in. 

The last time they will look new

It was late when I started my run and it was getting pretty dark in the trails. My headlamp is not that good, I think it was one I got on sale. It got me threw the trails, I think that will be my next purchase, a nice bright one. Anyways as 

soon as I started down the trail I felt at home again. No high heel shoes, They even have just a tad of cushion to them. The only complaint was they felt tight in the mid sole, I had them laced up maybe a little to tight tho. I found lots of mud to throw at them and even some nice stream crossing to soak them. The traction was insane! I felt very confident on the downhills. I bought them a 1/2 size larger then my normal size to prevent the my toes from jamming into the front of the shoe. The up climbs up out of a small valley were no problem. Even soaked and full of mud they never felt to heavy. The mud also seemed to clear out pretty quick from the bottom of the shoes after a few 100 feet.

Overall with only 5 miles on them I am really happy so far. I plan on doing almost all my trail runs in them. 

When I got home I just sprayed them off with the hose and threw them on my shoe drier. This morning they look like new again! Good Stuff!

I need some mud floor mats

Thats better

2011 Akron Half Marathon

I really can't remember the day the conversation started, I think it was back in July when I was training for the Rev3 Half in july. I think it went like this... Hey I am gonna run the Akron Half Marathon this year, you think you might want to run it with me? Did you know that there is a vegetarian restaurant in Akron? Hey If you run it with me I'll buy you lunch there. So you want to run Akron with me? Half Marathon?, lunch? you in? Little did Kirsten know she had me from, 'you want to run a half marathon with me?' I played if off for a little bit and told her I was in. Why wouldn't I want to run a half marathon and get free lunch from a really cool vegetarian restaurant. Duh, I am crazy but not stupid. As my Triathlon year went by I decided that the Rev3 just wasn't going to happen this year. I did decide to keep training for it, then pickup on Kirsten's schedule for the half. I think that most of my sunday long runs I ran with Kirsten, she's a great pacer and the conversation is killer. Two weeks before Akron I had a 10k trail race that I PRed and gave me a good feeling about a sub 2 hour half marathon. (that was our goal for Akron). The week before Akron we ran a 5 mile race and both PRed! You can read about it here. So I knew we both could run our first sub 2 hour half.

Nice face dude!

The day before we met up and headed to Akron for the race expo to grab our race bibs and hopefully some new gear. The expo was ahhh... so so. The thing I learned the most is when looking for gear/clothes bring a shopping girl! After ten minutes of searching threw a huge pile of last years gear for a medium jacket, someone pointed out the one on display! SCORE it was a medium. Thanks shopper girl! After the expo we got some quick pictures out side the expo and headed out for some food.

The next morning came really quick, like 3:45am quick. I was picking up Kirsten at 4:20am then we were driving to Kelly's house. Kelly offered to drive us and be the official photographer and cheer person. I think she just really want to hang out with two really cool people, or was it that we were going to a kick ass vegetarian restaurant? We got there about an hour before the 7:00 start so we had plenty of time to hang out and take some photos... Well they took photos, I am not a big photo person. Around 6:40 we started to line up in front of the 3:50 pace group. I figured we could hang out in front of them we would be sure to get that sub 2 hour half.
The first mile is always a crowded slow mile, we ran it in 9:08. Mile two and three it started to clear out a little bit and we feel into our running Mojo grove, 8:54 and 8:48. The thing I remember the most in the first three miles was a lady in a wheel chair, she was doing the first leg of the relay race! I think it was 3.5 miles! Its so crazy to see people like that, it makes you so proud of them. Just remember that when your doing a 3.5 miler and you feel like you can't finish. This strong lady did it in a wheelchair!

Miles 4,5 and 6 we ran 8:37, 8:44 and 8:37. I was wearing the Garmin and was giving Kirsten time updates. I think I lied about a 100 times, telling her that we were just doing ok but we were going to have to hit it hard in the last 3-4 miles. Miles 7 8:55 and 8 9:01were the tuff ones for two miles we ran up hill. It felt like it would never end. As soon as we hit the peek it would let up for a couple hundred yards then turn a corner and go right back up. I love my hills, but man it was killer
towards the end. I was once again amazed with
Kirsten that she was right beside me pushing it

Last Mile

Mile 9 was a great gift almost all down hill! We ran it in 8:36. Mile 10 was once more a short up hill battle! I think we were both done with these damn hills 8:47.

From 10 to about 11.25 it was a huge down hill! one of those were you want to go crazy fast down it. we ran it in 8:16. Then the last killer up hill it was so crazy hard to be strong and keep running, if i was alone I might of walked it some. 9:36. When we got to the top of the hill I looked a the Garmin and new we had it in the bag. The last mile we got back on pace and hit it hard one last time, running it in 8:47. Finishing in 1:56:00.
It has been a really big goal of mine for awhile to finish under 2 hours. I am just so happy I got to do it with my friend in need from the Cleveland Marathon.

The Best Part

Its Better In Mentor Race!

Today was a great day for running! When we stepped up to the starting line this morning, I had one thing on my mind. To help a friend realize her awesome potential. There is know way I could of wrote it better.

Days go by and I grow stronger.

Believe and Achieve 10k trail race report

This was my first 10k trail race this year. My real love of running comes from running trails. So I was really pumped up for this race. The day before my race Kirsten and I ran some of the course just to check it out and get in some Akron half marathon training milage. We ran a lot of the normal loop and some of the buckeye trail. Nothing to crazy but enough to get ya a little muddy.

The morning of the race it started to rain about 3:00 am, when I woke up I knew it was going to be a fun run. When I got to the race everyone was hanging out under the pavilion talking about the course and how the small water crossing were now small raging rivers. Even talk of a muddiest runner contest. Before the race started I decided to ditch the rain gear and just embrace the wet mud fest that was about to begin.

I am a mid pack runner, I know I will never run up front with the sicko crazy fast guys and gals. Today tho I lined up front, I think I was 5-6 in line. I wanted to see what it was like, even for the first .1 mile. When the horn went off two of the guys just laid down the hammer, I mean they were gone as gone could get. The start was on crushed gravel trails and was a slight down hill, so its was a easy fast start. Only a few runners passed me by. When we hit around .5 miles in we turned left and headed into the woods for some single person trails. This is my favorite part of trial running! Even thou the trails were a muddy slippery mess I was still holding good ground and even past some of the guys that took me in the start. When we cam up to the first water crossing some guys were a little hesitant about charging in, some were even standing in the water that was now over knee height. I was following a faster guy that manned up and jumped right into it and continued to run it hard. I could not just walk thou it after that so I hit it to, that was a great feeling to hammer threw that. I continued threw some really nice trails and climbed up a nice muddy rocky hill and headed back on the crushed rock trails. On the open paths you can tell who was the road runners, thats were they took off, but when we hit the hills they fell back. Half way was a killer up hill with a water stop at the top. Grabbed a quick drink and hit it again. The trail took us back the was we came from for a little then headed of to some nice single person trails again. The only complaint about the race was towards the end it wasn't marked out that well. I was running solo for a while and wasn't sure I was even going the right way. 400 yards from the finish I saw a runner walking back into the corse and I yelled out to him to make sure I was going the right direction. When I popped out to the woods I hit it hard again when I saw the timing lights. I am not sure on the official time yet, my Garmin was at 53:27. That would be a 9:14 pace. I am fine with that for a trail race!

Finally iOS app for blogger!

Yesterday was a strength/core workout in the morning and then in the evening my weekly tempo run.
I don't have any special program for my strength train, which as a runner drives me nuts! I need a plan to tell me what to do and for how long. Basically my current program is starting at the upper body row of machines and working down the line. There are about 12 different ones working just about every muscle I don't use. I do 3 sets of 13 on each. The weight varies depending on what I am working. Then I do some stretching and work a little with the ball. It feels weird that each exercise takes a short time. I am use to running, biking and swimming for hours on end. Almost like I am not doing enough, but I sure feel it the next day.
Tempo run was warmup 5 minute walk, 10 minute easy run. The main is 25 minutes at tempo. Cool down 5 easy then 5 walk. My pace times have been changing, not even sure my new paces are. Warmup is around 9:30. For tempo I try to hit 7:45. This week I hit a 8:06 avg pace for 25 minutes.

Been way to long

So much is going on lately, I feel that I never have time to blog. 

I am the first person in the first row.

First of all the MSbike point to point was so crazy awesome. My main goal of the ride was to have fun and ride my first century. Little did I know I had it in me to kill it! I finish day ones 100 mile ride in 4:51:00. That is a insane 20.89 pace. I would like to thank my group of riders that I road with, with out them I would of never made that kind of time. I learned a lot about riding in larger groups. Day two was a 80 mile ride home. I started out a little earlier than the 7:00am starting time because of the storms mother nature had planned for the day. When I headed out I was solo for the first 15 or so miles. I was still killin it time wise but was feeling the pain of riding solo. Then I was past by a group that was just hallin, two of the guys yelled out to me, they were in the group from yesterday. I didn't want to race it all the way home so I just waved. Two minutes later the racer in me put the hammer down again and caught up the the group and joined in mid-pack. The two guys looked over at me and said... ya thats what I thought, welcome back. When we hit mile 45 for the lunch stop it was only 9:00am so we decided to only take a 5 minute break and continue on. When we started back the rain finally caught up to us. I was a little worried at first riding this fast in the rain, the last time I road while it was raining I felt like i was going to eat pavement every 20 seconds. I finally felt at ease about 20 minutes into it. The only thing that bugged me was when your in a group, your front tire is about 4-6 inches away from the riders rear tire thats in front of you. When its raining there rear tire is shooting of a constant stream of water. so of course you got a stream of dirty road water in your face. I ended up finishing the second day 80 mile ride in 4:21:00 with a avg speed of 18.5. Our group was the second group to finish that day. I think they said in the top 25 riders. Not bad for rainy ride!

Greater Cleveland Triathlon Report!

This was my third triathlon of the season. This was also my first olympic distance triathlon. 1200 yard swim, 40k bike and 10k run.  I woke up around 5:00 and left for the race at 5:30am. The race was only 2.5 miles from my house so I was very comfortable with the course. I rode the long and short courses as part of my training for the last couple months. When I arrived it was still pretty dark, there was a nice glow of lights coming from the west side of the beach where transition was setup.  After parking and grabbing all my gear I headed to the numbers marking to get tagged. Everyone was super nice for being up at who's know what time they got there. "Thank you volunteers" I setup all my stuff in order t1 and t2. I really didn't know how the swim was going to go so I walked down to the beach to see if they had anything setup. 

When I got to the shore I was greeted by 3-5' waves and some heavy winds. Not what you want to see when you have to swim 1200 yards in a race. By then I got a text from my official photographer and cheer person Kirsten, she said it was way too early and she was on her way. When she got there we walked around some, stalking on a bigger gentleman carrying a cup of coffee from McDonalds. The first waves started at 7:30 and I was in the third wave at 7:36. As everyone started down to the beach I finally got a look where the starting line was and how far the swim was going to be. You started to see the fear in a lot of the people's eyes when they saw how ruff the water was. They said it was 3-5 foot waves, some said 5-6. Let me tell you, I have never in my life thought that I would ever go into that kind of water no less swim a race in it. When we got to what I thought was the start, a lot of people where still walking down the shore. That was just the sprint start. 700 yards down the beach was my start. The whole way down Kirsten and I were joking about how ruff the water was and how I needed to man up for this one. It felt like forever taking that walk to the start. 

Once there I threw on my swim cap and goggles to see how the water was. I guess all I could say was that at least the water was warm. Man was it ruff! In the final meeting for the triathlon the officials told us because of the conditions of the water all we had to do was swim out to the first yellow buoy then make the turn to head back up shore, if we wanted to we could swim as close to shore we wanted. We could even walk down the shore, as long as your ankles are in the water you were good. The only thing is when you got to the last yellow buoy you had to swim out and around it before you got out of the water. A lot of the guys got a smile on their faces... I sort of knew what they had planned. I don't know how a lot of other people feel but, I trained really hard and I wanted to try my hardest to complete the swim no matter how long it took. When I told Kirsten about how the swim was going to go down, I think the only thing she said was what the &$@!. You’re gonna swim it right? The first wave was the youngest, it was a beach start so everyone gathered in the coral, when the horn went off it was total madness. Either you ran into the water or waited to see how everyone else was doing. Less then 30 seconds into it you heard "help" a couple of people started to panic out in the ruff water.  I won't lie I as nervous, but I had to man up and get it done. I lined up towards the middle on the beach, I didn't want to be last in and also didn't want to the first. When the horn went off I hung back a few and hit then water. I knew it was going to be tuff within the first 15 seconds. I took in a lot of water the first few waves until I got out more in the water. I almost freaked out until I regrouped and told myself slow down and take it easy. After the turn I headed down the shore for the long swim. I noticed that there was a lot of orange caps still around me so I knew I was ok. I was trying to stay out into the water and not too close to the shore. What felt like an hour went by, fighting the waves and current I finally started to pass the sprint starting point. You can basically sum up the swim by two words, the f bomb and "help" the life guards were on over time today! Finally I saw the last yellow buoy in sight. When turning into shore I noticed that the number of swimmer doubled, different colored caps everywhere. When I could finally touch I tried so damn hard to run out of the water onto shore but my legs didn't have it to fight the current, so I just walk up to the beach. Once I hit the sand I started to pick up the pace and heard Rob from the bicycle hub yell out my name... It was a nice cheer that gave me an extra boost to T1.

When I ran into T1 I saw Kirsten, i was still a little dizzy from being in the water and I asked her how long I was out there. She said forever!!! She lost me and didn't  see me until I popped out of the water. I think she said like an hour... I felt a bit down on that time but I was so damn happy the swim was over. I took my time in T1 so I could catch my breath and get my bike on.

Heading out of the park I didn't get on it yet... They told us there was no racing until you hit the main road, so stay in order. I guess the guy that passed me missed that note. Once I hit the road I laid it down as hard as I could with out using up all legs for the run. The first part of the bike long course is a slight up hill for 4-5 miles. It's hard on the legs if you’re a grinder. I did pass a lot of bikes the first 6 miles, until the first downhill then the field leveled out and we all hung with each other until the big up hill climb. This climb hunts me in my sleep. The first time I ever tried it I ended up hoping off the bike and walking up. The second time I did it but I thought my heart popped out of my chest.  The more I did the course the easier it became. I just had thoughts of me in the middle of a pack of riders jumping off my bike to walk. Around a half mile before the the hill I notice a lot of people slowing down and getting ready. When I passed one guy I asked him if he was ready? He told me that last year he had to walkup the last part of the hill and he was hoping to make it this year. So when I got to the base I started spinning hard and gave it my all. Once I made it to the top, I thought to myself all that worrying over that? Ten seconds later I started hearing yelling of joy when a lady that I passed on the up hill made it to the top! Was a great feeling that I wasn't the only person that was celebrating the climb. There was only about 1.5 miles more of up hill and the rest was a fast paced down to the finish. I saw Kirsten one last time, she was taking pictures and smiling away.  I hung with the same people the last 5 miles of the bike. The last mile was a fast hard pace, i wanted so bad to pass one more rider before the cut off when  we reached the park. So once again i dug deep and sprinted on last rider, i think i was twenty feet from the park entrance. When I came into T2 I knew the run would be a death crawl.

 I tried so hard to run hard but I had nothing more  to give to the run gods. I thought as long as I could run 10 minute miles I would be happy. When I came up on mile three I notice one of the younger swimmers that had to be helped in the water and I started to talk to her, she really didn't want to talk about it. I told her it was really ruff and a lot of people were having a hard time. That's when I saw my photographer for the last time... She yelled out "you call that running!" I think I said that's all I got right now... I really didn't care on time anymore I just wanted to finish. The last three miles I felt like I might be able to push harder but the legs just won't go. Coming back into the park the only thing I could remember is my last training run. I knew I was so close to the finish, the strange thing was I didn't want it to be over yet. I am addicted to the feeling of almost passing out and pushing myself to new limits. I want to be in that moment forever. So I relished the feeling for a few more minutes and pushed on to the finish. I finished in 3:04:15 placing 10th in my age group. 

I have been bit hard by the triathlon bug this year, and I am so proud of myself for getting it done.

"My Goals" new and old

In two days I will be racing my third triathlon this year. This will be my first Olympic distance triathlon 1200 yard swim, 40k bike and 10k run. This race was going to be my "B" race for the tri year and my "A" race was going to be the Rev3 70.3 at Cedar Point. I have been training for the 70.3 for ever now, but It just wasn't in the cards for this year. So I decided to drop the 70.3 this year and make the Greater Cleveland Triathlon my "A" race.

Right now I am in the peak of the training for the 70.3 so there won't be much of a tapper...

Somebody asked me what was my time goals for this race. I was kind of clueless. I have done all the distances during my training, also I have done bricks with the same distances. I have never really thought of a time goal for this race. I think that I want to race this race as hard as I can as long as I cross the finish with a smile. I don't want to push myself to the point where I am not enjoying it anymore.

I am also doing the MS Bike Point to Point ride next weekend. Its a 175 mile two day bike tour. First day 100 miles and second 75 miles. I was also bribed with food to run the Akron Half Marathon in Sept. Tho I would of done it anyways. Plus I want to start base training with my run. I have a date with a 50k in January that I need to do. I didn't finish it last year and its been bugging me a lot. After the 50k I would like to start to add some good speed training in. I also have one more date with the Cleveland Marathon, I really would like to hit that 4:00ish mark. Continuing on I would really really really love to run the Burning River 100 in 2012. I think with the right planning and a good base(I have a year) I could do it. Even tho I might have to put my two other loves (bike and swim) on hold or a least just use them as cross training.

How running changed me.

I have never really been a social person. A lot of people that know me to be a quiet person, if I didn't talk to you I hope you didn't take it personal. Its just that I didn't have much to say. Nor did I want to.
When I started running, I ran to improve my health. When the runs started to get longer I enjoyed it even more because it was more alone time for me. I didn't have to talk to anyone or listen to someones else. The first time I ran with other people was my first 5k race. I didn't even say one word to anyone. It wasn't until a local 5k race I met a old friend from high school. We chatted before the race, catching up on lost time and how we got into running. During the race I think I even made some slight small talk to him, not the usual me. There was something about running that made me want to talk about running. My first marathon training started soon after that race, not having many running friends to talk about running with I decided to start a running blog. Even if nobody read it, it would keep my non running friends happier because I wasn't talking about running to them. Towards the end of my training I had a friend that had a friend that was a runner and she was looking for someone to run with. I reluctantly said yes to meeting up with her for a few training runs. It was crazy, I never talked to a total stranger for more then 2 seconds no-less for a ten mile run.  I don't think we stopped talking the whole run. It was many about how we got into running and running itself,, but the point was I was being social. Time passed and she lost interest in running and I was a solo runner again. I thought my only venting about running would be to my two readers on my blog.
Something changed in me the first year of running tho, I now would wave or give a good morning to fellow runners as they passed by when before I gave a shrug of the shoulder and was annoyed when people said hi. I even would start up a conversation at a race to a perfect stranger. Even at mile 11of a half marathon when I felt crappy and worn out I would look over at the runner next to me and ask them how there doing.
Last week I ran another local 5k race with some friends. During the start I saw a running friend in front of me (he's always been faster) I ran up to him and we started talking about what races we have been doing and what are plans for the year are. It was funny, here I was in the middle of running a race at a 7:30 pace and all I wanted to do was talk it up...

Running has changed me in so many ways physically, mentally and socially and I am grateful for every foot step.

CROSSFIT AKRON Triathlon @ Munroe Falls Metroparks

After work yesterday, I started to pack up my gear so I didn't feel rushed in the morning. I never thought that I would need to bring so much stuff to one small race. 

The swim, not that much need for that right? I decided to wear my speedo jammers that I normally wear swimming. I thought about getting tri shorts, but they cost more than the race did, so maybe I'll get some later. I also read that some people just use there bike shorts. I did a small test in the shower and that was a no go for me. It felt like, well it felt like I was wearing a wet diaper. So it a was a thumbs up on the normal swim wear. The only other thing I needed was my googles. The race provided a bright orange swim cap to show my age group and wave I was in.  Some towels and a mat to set up on the ground to keep everything dry. 

The bike, well I needed my bike, cycle shoes, socks ( if I decided to wear any), cycle jersey, helmet, glasses, gloves and my water bottles. Also my garmin 305, I can't wear it swimming and the mount for the bike doesn't use the wrist wrap so I don't use it for the run. I just wanted it for the bike to make sure my cadence is up. I grabbed some small tools just incase along with my floor bike pump.

The run, all I really needed was my running shoes and a hat. To save time I'm going to run in my cycle jersey and swim jammers. I didn't really want or need any nutrition for the run, they would have G2 on the course.

All packed up I finally hit the hay after checking I had everything about 100 times. I was so afraid that I would for get my helmet and not to be able to race. Yes some guy next to me today was asking around for a extra helmet because he for got his... He did find one.

Woke up around 4:30am and ate a bagel and apple and it the road at 5:10. The event packed pick up and transition area opened at 6:00 and it took around 1:15 to get there. When I got there there already was so many people there, the first parking lot was almost full. Not knowing what to do, I kind of followed the crowed and headed to packet pickup. There was several tables set up by male/female and age group. Grabbed my packet and headed into transition. The bike racks where set up by wave times, male 35-50 was my group. After setting up my bike and laying everything out, I there was about 1/2 hour before the first wave started. I walked around a bit to see how everyone else was set up and just to get a idea of how everything was going to go. You could tell there was a lot of first timers because they had the same look as I did. 

Ten minutes before the first wave started everyone headed down to the shore of the lake. The lake was about 500 yards long and 300 wide. Towards the center there was two lanes, first one was from the shore and 50 yards out, the second lane was only 15 feet wide if that, separated by what you would normally see in a pool. At each end there was a huge bright green ball that was the turn around and finish. We were to swim down the first lane, then turn at the end and return in the next. You forget how long 400 meters is when you only see it at 25 meters at a time in a pool. As the race instructions finished the first wave started to line up in the water. I was in the fourth wave and each wave started 6 minutes apart so I had some time to see how everything works. When my wave started to line up I stayed to the mid rear of the group to make sure I didn't get swam over or under. Oh ya this is the first time I swam with a swim cap on, crazy feeling! 

5-4-3-2-1 horn! Time to swim! Let me say this when 50 or more guys all start to swim at the same time and everyone's goal is to get to the finish line... It can get a little ruff. Not the ruff you think of, but you are gonna get hit, kicked, pushed and pulled in a fun way. For some crazy reason I was passing a lot of swimmers. The whole time I really never fell into a grove, I was sighting like crazy. I think it was the amount of people swimming with me. Half way threw it was time to turn around the buoy, heading back I notice a lot of people where standing up and kind of walking/swim. The lake was only 4-7 feet deep, I was kind of dumb founded that someone would be walking out there... Next thing you know I was at the exit point and headed up the beach and started to run to the transition area and crossed the first sets of timing mats. 

When I got to my bike I was a little dizzy from the swim, I started to dry myself of quickly and get my cycle shoes on. I decided on the fly to forgo the socks on the bike, trying to save some time. Then I started to TRY to put on my jersey for the bike. I was wet from head to toe and my jersey is on the tighter side to keep it from flapping in the wind. I was kind of funny I never thought of it but wet body+tight jersey = its not going on! I finally got it on then headed out of the T1 and got on the bike. The bike course is a lollypop course, you ride out to the loop and when down with two loops you come back in the way you started. The way out, once again I was passing bikes left and right. I didn't want to give it my all on the bike because this time out I had to run a 5k after my ride. The course was a lot more hilly then I thought and each time a climb came up I wanted to hammer it but the thought of the run slowed me down. On the second loop I was finally passed by two bikes, one was a sweet trek tri bike! the other just a fast ass rider. Towards the end I ended up passing the second guy that passed me, I got him on the last up hill, Ya me!!! 

When I got into T2 I was feeling pretty good about the ride. I mounted my bike on the rack and kicked off my bike shoes and threw on my socks and running shoes and headed out on the run. The 5k was a two lap course around the park/lake. As soon as I started to run I knew it wasn't going to be a record braking time on the run, so I just paced myself at a pace I knew I could finish strong. I wasn't passing many people or vise versa, I was mainly soaking in what I just did and how much fun it was so far. The last 1/4 mile was mainly down hilly so I picked it up a bit and ran strong to the finish.

My total time was 1:18:57.7 I placed 109 ,no 119, no 125 overall( not sure why it keeps changing?.  I am not sure the split times, I'll get those when there posted. I learned a lot today and I know next time out I'll do even better. The main thing is that I had tons of fun today and can't wait until the next on

Bike MS Point to Point

Dear Friends and Family, I am very excited and proud to say that I am participating in bike MS: Pedal to the Point Ride 2011! The Bike MS event will take place on August 13 - 14, 2011. I am asking you to join the movement by making a contribution to support my efforts. The National MS Society is committed to building a movement by and for people with MS that will move us closer to a world free of this disease. Donations collected for Bike MS continuously fund research for a cure, while also providing services and support for those currently living with MS. I am riding this year because I believe in the mission of the National MS Society. More than 400,000 Americans live with MS and every donation will help us find a cure. Please help by making a donation  or joining my team. Join me, and together we can create a world free of MS. I greatly appreciate your support and I will keep you posted on my progress. Sincerely, brianmorris Go to my personal page and make a secure, online donation.   MS doesn't wait. Neither should you! Bike to create a world free of MS.

Warrior Dash 2011

"Vegan Powers"

2011 Cleveland Marathon 

in the books!

Good times, bad times, wet times, cold times,

 overall a great experience .

The night before the race I did my normal pre-race meal of carbo loading pasta, laid out all my gear and hit the bed around 9:30. I had a pretty good night sleep and woke up on time at 4:00. I made my pre-race shake, frozen strawberries, one banana, chia seed gu, cup of almond milk and some protein powder. (Aka my rocket fuel) I took a quick shower and got ready. 5:00 came pretty quick and I kept on checking to make sure I had everything. My ride showed up right on time! My friend Mikes sister in law Kirsten from Days go by, also running the full marathon picked me up and we headed to Mikes to pick him up then head on down to the race. Mike was running the full and his wife Kelly was running the half. She was going to ride down with some friends. Mike and his wife scored some VIP parking passes that let us park within 500 feet from the start so we had to be down there before 6:00 to get in.

Quiznos subs are sure asty!

Here's a picture from our parking spot, right next to the stadium!

We met up with Jason and his wife from our Runkeeper street team and headed up to the start area. After a few potty breaks we headed down the hill to the start of the race to line up in our pace groups. I wanted to join the tail end of the 4:00 group an hoping to finish with the 4:15.

Kirsten lining up for her first marathon!

Here's Mike!

The weather was still not to bad, a little chilly but the rain was holding off. I was sure once we started I could shed of my thou away long sleeve shirt I had.

You can see the starting line way way way up there, I think that this is the best part of a marathon. So many runners all here to do the same thing... Run!

This year I planned on drinking water at every water stop and fueling with my chia fresca just like I used on my birthday 40 mile run. I also brought some power bar chews just in case my sugar started to feel low and I needed a boost.  As soon as the race started I took off my second layer and threw it to the side. The first mile was a little slow,  so many people trying to fall into there pace, very very crowded. First mile in 10:13. The next few miles didn't even feel like miles, when the first water station came up I was surprised. Grab a cup of water, walk a few steps and caught back up to Mike. His plan was to hit every other station, but I wasn't going to risk it. Next thing you know we were at mile 6! The first hour flew by, I was feeling really good.

The next 6 mile flew by also,I felt like that this was going to be the pr of the year if the rest of the race went this well.

mi Pace (min/mi)

1 10:13

2 9:21

3 9:10

4 9:46

5 9:16

6 9:38

7 9:34

8 9:45

9 9:45

10 9:28

11 10:14

12 9:56

13 9:21

Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon: brian morris - Half in 2:07:46. 
Pace: 9:45. Est: 4:15:38. Powered by Xact RealTime Race Alerts.              

Thanks Redhead Running for the great support!

This was the best Half Marathon time yet! Mike and I were rocking this race! The next three miles I could tell something was coming on but nothing bad I thought.

14 10:21

15 10:48

16 10:42

At mile 15 Mike looked at me and said "I think at mile 16 we should kick it up" I was all for it, but I started to have a small hip give out on the right side. Nothing ever happened like this before. It happened a few times over the next mile, I just pushed threw it and it seemed to go away. I also a couple of times a shooting pain in my right arm on the down stroke. Felt like someone hit me with a taser in the hand and it shot up my arm. I knew something was happening. I grabbed my chews and shoved some down my throat, hoping that's was it. When mile 16 hit Mike looked over at me and said you ready? I told him I couldn't and for him to give it hell. He looked confused, he didn't want to leave me behind but wanted to hit it. I told him to go! I had to do the same in other races and I know what it feels like to leave a runner behind but it's your own race and you got to run it. When mike took off, and I mean took off! I knew that I was holding him back a little on the last few miles. I continued to run and slowly started to feel the pain in my legs get stronger. My calves just locked up and the pain behind my knees brought me to a walk. I walked for a few hundred feet and started to walk again. I did this a few times and was noticed by one of the race support guys on the bikes that are on the look out of runner that need medical support. He came up on me and asked if I was alright. I gave him the guy look of ya I'll be ok, just need to walk it out. Although it was the worst pain I have ever felt. Even more than when I finished my first real long run, more than I felt after my first marathon. I was so pissed! It's only mile 16 damnit and I am walking. I wanted to get my mind out of the game so I grabbed my phone and checked out my Facebook for race times... I posted that I was at mile 16 and had to take a walk. I noticed that I got a text from my sister that they were there in spirit. Got pissed again  that I was walking. I decided just to walk this mile out and see how it goes.

17 16:56

Towards the end of mile 17 I ran/walked in to Beal from twitter, he was also blogging about his training and the Cleveland marathon. After chatting a few he went on his way pushing to the end. I decided I couldn't walk any more it was just to painful to walk and I might as well be running in pain then walking in it. Next to miles...

18 11:13

19 12:13

I started to loosin up a bit but I could not push it, trust me I tried!  The 20 mile marker was emotional I knew in was almost there but pissed that I was walking again.

20 17:18

Mile twenty was real tuff, the pain was crazy. The worst part is I didn't feel tired or out of breathe not even.... Just hurting in way that I couldn't think of. Pissed that the 4:15 group passed me by and I think the 4:30 group as well I started to try to run again.

21 11:32

22 12:16

The next miles brought on memories from last years marathon and I felt and this point. I just didn't want to have to walk across no damn finish line. I was broken. Plainly broken. Nothing left. Mad. Pissed. Confused. I just wanted it to be over.

23 15:10

24 16:06

I was walking to the side with my head down when I noticed and familiar runner pass me by. It was Mikes sister-in-law Kirsten. I jumped into a run and caught up with her giving her a tap on the shoulder. The look on her face was priceless. She was like what the hell are you doing here? I told her that I thought I would run it twice and I was on the second time around. The lady next to us gave me a shitty grin, priceless! I told her that I tanked around mile 16 and was just trying to push to the end. I didn't want to tell her how much pain I was in the last 7 miles, being her first marathon and so close to finishing it. She had that look, the same look that many runners have towards the end of  their longest run or the end of a race. The look of a broken person that is just pushing towards the end of a new goal. The look of overwhelming emotions. I know that look to well, I have been there a lot in the last few years, it's like a drug and your searching out your next fix.  I started to talk about McDonald s French fries I think, how bad I wanted them right now. I am every anti McDonald s or any fast food places and she reminded me of that.

25 11:27

As the next mile was in the books I was running again, I was glad that I met up with someone I knew. Someone that would give me the energy to push on, push on running. As the end grew closer I think we both were feeding each others positive energy to push harder to the end, to finish strong !

26 10:45

About a half mile from the end she told me that she wanted her own finishing picture so either back off or kick it... LMAO! So she adjusted herself and we both started to run a little faster. When the last turn came up it was all down hill! Damn she took off like a rocket, pure joy poured out! I remember her yelling out " Come on Brian!" but there was noway I was catching up to that... Must of been running a 6:30 pace.

After crossing the finish line and receiving my medal, I realized that I finished my second marathon. I have might have not broken any personal records, but I did finish strong. Thanks to a new friend.

Chip time 4:55:54

"Red shoes!"