A couple more days

As nerdy as I am, I calculated two possible time/pace scenarios for the Rock n Roll this coming Sunday based on course elevation, my corral assignment (Corral 8), weather(forecast for sunny skies in 70s), current knee injury prognosis (won't know until I see my chiropractor Friday) and the number of people who will be in my way the first five miles (thousands of them).

Scenario 1:
Alternate every two miles from 9min/m to 8:30min/m pace
Goal: 3:50
Mile 1 - 09:00
Mile 6 - :53:00
Mile 12 - 1:45
Mile 13.1 - 1:55
Mile 18 - 2:38
Mile 20 - 2:55
Mile 24 - 3:30
Finish - 3:50

Scenario 2:
Alternate every two miles from 9:30min/m to 9min/m pace
Goal: sub 4:00
Mile 1 - :09:30
Mile 6 - :56:00
Mile 12 - 1:52
Mile 13.1 - 2:02
Mile 18 - 2:48
Mile 20 - 3:06
Mile 24 - 3:42
Finish - 4:00
In this case, I have to hit a negative split in the second half otherwise I would go over 4:00 by a couple minutes.

There's the option of using a pace group and trying to hang with them or the usual route I take which is run too fast in the first five miles and then fall into a moderate pace before peetering out the last six miles and walking while cursing under my breath.

Hmmm. Decisions, decisions.

Races, races, and more races

From experience, if I shell out the money and register for races, I'll have to train for them. There's no going back especially when large chunks of money are involved. Haha! So, I registered for the sprint tri in August and due to the possible Chicago Marathon sell-out, I registered for that one as well.

I ended up switching teams for the Reno-Tahoe relay. I dropped the Reno team in favor of the Pamakids team. I just have to join their running club in exchange for my reg. fees. It's a better deal in the long run, they are bay area locals and I was planning to join their club this summer anyway.

Am I crazy? Maybe a little obsessive about running, but not crazy. I'm on track to do 12 races this year; one 4M, three relays, four halfs, three fulls and one sprint tri. That's DOUBLE the number of races I did last year. How motivated am I? Very...

good news and bad news

I awoke this morning with worse pain in my knee compared to yesterday. I probably shouldn't have run hill intervals but I needed to release negative energy and running usually does the trick. This time around, my patella, which hasn't been tracking as well as it should, side-lined me today and I've been limping around since. And it's dodgeball night! Lateral movements and quick knee jerks won't help me recoup but I'm going to play dodgeball anyway. I just might be moving a little slow on the court.

The good news is that I got a call from a team in Reno to run the Reno-Tahoe relay on June 7-8. Woohoo! How exciting is that? There's a possibility that this team will have a sponsor which means cheaper costs all around. I would have liked to have gathered up my own team but with too many indecisive friends, I decided to chuck my plan. The only drawback is that I won't be able to do the sprint tri on June 8th in Rancho Seco Park. I'll have to shoot for the Aug 5th one after all. No worries, though.

Last long training run

Saturday was the team's last long run before our SD Rock n Roll marathon on June 4th. We ran 20 miles through Marin county in gorgeous, California summer weather. Absolutely beautiful.

I did a better job pacing myself with the much needed help from my running buddy from the East Bay team. Every time I wanted to shoot on ahead, he would yell at me to slow down and remind me that it's not a race.

The first ten miles, we took it slow, around a 9:30 pace, and the second ten we picked it up to about an 8:40 pace with a finish time of around 3:07. That estimate would put us on track for a sub-four hour marathon time. My goal for the Rock n Roll is 3:55. Yes, sounds crazy but I'm trying to shave off at least 15 minutes from my marathon PR. It can be done!

I felt pretty good despite the slight pain in my right knee at mile 14 while coasting downhill but I ran through it and adjusted my form slightly due to the terrain imbalance. Eventually, the pain went away.

I still had tons of energy after the run (maybe I was happy it was over!) and I ended up walking a couple miles up and down the city hills to watch the Kaboom fireworks with a friend that night.

Next two weeks: Tapering while looking for a place to take swim lessons.
I need to start my tri training soon...

How to buy time to train

I'm a little short on time here. I could only find a four month (16-week) triathlon training schedule that suits my current athletic abilities. The sprint triathlon that I am shooting to do is on Aug. 6th. According to this schedule, I'm behind by five weeks.


I have several options to choose from depending on what part of training I should emphasize. I'm sure it's doable and I'm not exactly looking to win the race. Maybe I should look into another triathlon later in the year. Something for me to ponder..

I am not photogenic

But I am fully aware of it. Even in my attempt to avoid the photographers along the Avenue of the Giants course, I'm still caught on film.

I look awful and what's worse, I'm not even running. I'm walking with my hands at my waist as though I'm about to keel over.


That's what I get for drinking too much water and not pacing myself during the race.

Should I tri?

Doesn't this look like fun? Why, yes! Yes, it does!

I know several people who actively do triathlon races and hearing about what great fun they have on the course, I'm getting excited just thinking about trying to do a tri.

So, I decided to train for a sprint triathlon this summer with a couple friends. The swim is my weakness and the run is my strongest. As for the bike portion of the race, I have a mountain bike but I may need to splurge on a road bike if I choose to continue doing tri's. But I'm getting ahead of myself, here. Should I tri? Why not?