Running while out-of-town

It is often hard to make time or find a good place to run when you are out-of-town in an unfamiliar area. You can always get on the treadmill at your hotel, but I prefer to venture out on the road. I usually consult my blackberry for a local map or better yet, ask the concierge at the hotel what they would recommend. Today I had the opportunity to run while I was in Manhattan Beach, CA. I asked one of the valets, Kirk, what the safest way to run down to the beach was and he gave me some very easy directions and even made some suggestions to make the run more interesting. After thanking, Kirk, I set off on my adventure. Ten miles later, I had enjoyed a run that will go on my top 5 favorite list!!! I ran from the hotel down a straight shot of road a little under 2 miles to the Pacific Ocean and the Strand of Manhattan Beach. I ran down the Strand and then back up the Strand to the Manhattan Beach pier. I videotaped a portion of this run and I have added it to my Facebook page. I will admit that I slowed down and even stopped at times to take in the sights, but when it was all said and done, I had a fantastic 10 mile run at about 7:50 per mile pace and I took in some great scenery along the way. The only disappointing part of the run was when I ran down to Sand Dune Park (where the pro beach volley ball players run up a huge sand dune hill- picture attached) to find that the park was closed and the dune hill was fenced off. That would have been one heck of a hill repeat! So, my advice to others is to never be afraid to run outside when you are out-of-town. You just might come across one of your top 5 favorite runs!!!

Race Recap - Frostbite 15k - 1/24/2010

In my second race of 2010, I had a very simple goal which was to run negative 5k splits over the course of the 15k race. This would mean going out at a slower pace than I normally would. Fortunately I had a friend and fellow Endorphin Fitness teammate to run with me. So, to keep the pace honest, I had my teammate Eric and my Garmin Forerunner 310xt. We kept the pace very close to 7 min/mile for the first 5k (7:01, 6:56, 6:55) which was our goal. Our goal for the second 5k was to drop off by about 10 seconds per mile and the results were as follows: 6:47, 6:50, 6:39. At mile 5, I picked up the pace and separated from Eric. At that point, I focused on each person in front of me and started passing them one by one. The last 5k had some challenging rolling hills, but I managed to run 6:43, 6:41, 6:40. So, I achieved my goals of negative splits. Based on the chip timing, my 5k splits were as follows: 21:51.26, 21:04.80, and 20:37.01. My overall time was 1:03:33.07 which was good enough for 41st overall and 5th in the 35-39 age group. My teammate Eric finished close behind in 1:04:42.20 and was 7th in the 40-44 age group (46th overall). It was a good day for both of us and a solid day for team EF!!!


I must give some props to Kale Running for the timing results. They do a nice job posting the results quickly and sending a personal email to each participant with their individual splits and results. Check out their results page at http://www.kalerunning.com/results.php. Also, I love my Garmin Forerunner 310xt and the Garmin Training Center. I can track all of my training and racing and display graphs with a variety of metrics like pace, speed, heart rate, elevation, etc.. across a distance or a period of time. You can also view similar results and play back your race at Garmin Connect (http://connect.garmin.com/dashboard). Here is an example from both the Training Center and Garmin Connect from my race today:

Eating Right

Until this year, I did not pay much attention to my regular diet. Sure, I use pre and post race Powerbar products to ensure I have enough energy and can recover properly from training and racing, but I never really gave my regular diet much thought. I figured, I could just eat whatever I wanted and as much as I wanted as long as I continue to train and race hard. After researching this properly, I have decided to make 2010 a year that I focus not only on proper training but also on proper nutrition throughout the day! I am now tracking my calories using a great program from LIVESTRONG called The Daily Plate. You can find it at http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/. You can also use the LIVESTRONG.COM Calorie Tracker as a great companion app on your Blackberry (http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/blackberry-calorie-tracker/) or on you iPhone (http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/iphone-calorie-tracker/). The on line tool and the apps allow you to enter what you eat and your fitness activities each day and allow you to set up a profile with your calorie goals to help keep you on track. Just by tracking what I eat, I know I will improve my nutrition in 2010. My goal is to lose 10 pounds in 8 weeks to be in prime condition for my racing season. Let's see how I do!

Indoor Training

I LOVE INDOOR TRAINING! This may sound foreign to many triathletes, cyclists, or runners, but there are some inherent benefits to training inside. The first benefit is that it gets you out of bad weather. More importantly, indoor training allows you to control your intensity precisely, which is not always possible outdoors. On mornings like this morning when I woke to the sound of pouring rain, I actually got excited about logging 14 miles on the treadmill in our neighborhood workout center. One nice side effect, was that I was able to watch CNN for close to 2 hours and catch up on world events. The other effect was that I was able to set my pace on the treadmill and adjust it accordingly as the miles went by. While, I normally look to average between 7:30 and 8 minute pace for my long runs, you can set a treadmill to almost any pace you want and then you can get in a rhythm and get used to what that pace feels like. It is a great way to train your legs on how a certain pace feels so you can recreate it on the road. I suggest interval workouts on the treadmill as well for the same reason. I also relish every opportunity I have to hop on my bike on my Kinetic trainer and hammer out sprints, intervals, TT sessions, or just long aerobic rides. Once again, you can control your effort so precisely that I find myself benefiting from these indoor workouts when I do get back on the road in the early spring. The key to indoor workouts is focus. You have to pick something to focus on and maintain that focus so your mind and intensity does not wander. There are some great indoor programs out there. My favorites are the Downward Spiral and Fight Club from thesufferfest.com and any Spinerval workout from Coach Troy Jacobson. The bottom line is that indoor training is a great way to improve your fitness level and can also be fun at the same time!!!

This is my first adventure into blogging and I hope you will enjoy the read and possibly benefit from what I have to share. I will be recording my journey in triathlon throughout 2010 including my training schedule, racing schedule, results, and what I learn from my coaches. I will also be adding my own thoughts on how to have fun, race hard, and beat my goals in the pool, on the bike, and on the road this year. Stay tuned for more details.