Triathlon Pics

There are 12 pictures of me from the Triathlon. Looking at them, I noticed that I make a lot of weird faces...mostly looking very much in pain. I should probably work on that huh? If I want to get the digitals, it would cost me $336. Can you believe that? Jeez. It might have been less insulting if they just spit on me during the race as I ran past.

For all your ridiculously over-priced photography needs, visit fotojack.com. Yay for them. I emailed them to see if they'd give me a better offer, we shall see what they said. As you can tell from the pictures, it was raining during the race, so those poor photographers did have to stand out in the rain all day.

Back on the Saddle Again...

I haven't been running much lately (ok, more than just lately...like for the last 6-8 months really), but I have been busy keeping in shape other ways. Most notably probably is Ultimate Frisbee which is a really good aerobic workout. Anyway...today the volleyball games that I had planned fell apart due to weather, so instead I went for a run. Probably the last 3 or 4 runs I been on were in the 2 mile range. But this time I set an intimidating goal of 8 miles, and I met the challenge. It was a great feeling of accomplishment when I crossed that last mile marker. Yay!

Ow, my back! Ow, my legs! Ow, my back and my legs!

This past weekend I did something that no overweight, out of shape, ageing 30 year old (or older) should attempt.

I woke up early Saturday morning and ran the Race For the Cure (5k). Hmph, no big deal, thats not so tough!

But then I left the race and headed straight to an all day doubles volleyball tournament. From about 9:30 until 6:30 I was there. Did I mention it was outdoor? In the Sun. Yes, the heat. Uh huh, mid 90's.

During the very first doubles game both my calf muscles cramped as I jumped to spike the ball. I guess I let them get to cold after the run. I took a shot of pickle juice, ate a banana, and rubbed on some Aspercreme and went on about my games with no further trouble. I even played pretty well (6 points behind 2nd place on my net). I did pay the price the next day, when it took me a couple tries to get out of bed.

So as I drove on to my tennis league match on Sunday, I wasn't exactly sure how well I was going to play. My tennis doubles partner probably wasn't happy with my game, and we got clobbered. :) My legs have recovered but back is still (even 3 days later) a little sore.

A real marathon

Ho

ly

cow

North Pole Marathon.

Sahara Marathon.

Come race for the cure with me

Race for the cure info.
Email me if you will be there.

Weebles Wobble But They Don't Fall Down

Remember the Weebles? I had some when I was a kid.

I feel a bit like a Weeble right now, in that my legs are feeling awfully wobbly. I played in a King/Queen doubles volleyball tournament thsi past Saturday. It was a blast but I could feel the resulting jello-ish-ness in my legs all the way through Sunday and Monday. Tuesday I couldn't take it anymore and I just decided I just had to go running before I throw away all the good progress I've made recently. I wasn't sure how far I'd be able to go on my tired legs, but I made it for a slow 4 miles. Now my legs are weebly wobbly again. :(

Speaking of old toys, I want to buy a Rubik's cube again, after seeing these people solve the cube in only seconds (I saw videos of it on the special features of the "Pursuit of Happyness" [sic] dvd.

The inter-trestle run

I have now officially visited every mile of the American Tobacco Trail. Tuesday after work I went for a 5.5 mile ATT loop between Panther Creek and Northeast Creek trestles. This part of the trail is very peaceful. I think I did see one person during the hour or so that I was there.

My next run will be my first attempt at 8 miles starting at the White Oak Creek trailhead.

Mission Accomplished: 7 miles

Tuesday after my 50 minute run I decided the next things I wanted to do were to finish the whole southern Durham portion of the ATT, and complete my first 7 mile run. After that run I felt so energized, I told one of my friends that I felt like I could run five more. Well, now I know I was wrong, I could not have run five more. How do I know?

Today I can proudly say: mission accomplished! I ran the trail from its start at Massey Rd down to its interruption at the Northeast Creek trestle (This picture from Wikipedia shows it. Much like me, its old, rotten, and weak, but still beautiful), and back. 6 miles. Then I did a little loop just to make it 7. I could not have made it 8, I don't think. My back hurts (maybe I need to correct my running posture!), and I can definitely feel it in my legs!

Running the American Tobacco Trail in South Durham County

Yesterday during lunch I took a 50 minute run down a part of the American Tobacco Trail that I hadn't been to yet: the 3 mile southern Durham stretch which goes from Massey Rd (just south of I-40) down past Scott King Rd (the picture below, from Wikipedia, is about halfway through this stretch). I remember that little fence because it struck me as odd to have this fence out in the middle of this "natural" part of the trail. Overall there is a lot of great scenery in this area, and it made for quite a relaxing run.

This part of the trail itself is great, in fact parts of it are amoung my favorite parts of the trail (that I have seen so far). One complaint is that several parts of this stretch of trail have large (ie, bigger than golf ball sized) gravel. That seems potentially dangerous to me as a runner, should I land on one the wrong way. I understand this part of the trail is under a re-construction plan right now so hopefully they will be using a fine gravel next time like they have in the Wake County parts of the trail. Surely they will also add mile markers.

There is a parking area close to Fayetteville Rd, but it is roped off right now for some reason. I found plenty of roadside parking on both Massey Rd and Scott King Rd.

My next short term running goals for this spring:

1. Run this southern Durham part of trail down to Chatham County line (I didn't realize how close I was yesterday time when I turned around after 25 min).

2. Run 7 miles for the first time. I will probably combine these goals into one: 3 miles down, 3 miles back, and then a little half mile up and back loop. Since there are no mile markers here I will have to do the last mile by time.

A longer term goal for the year 2007: A 12 mile run (half-marathon).

Running in November

Wow, what weather. I don't know if more perfect weather exists than what we had today. Today in the 75+ degree temp I went for a run. I set a new personal distance record of 6 (slow) miles, and it felt great!

My goal was 4 miles. At 3.5 I decided to make it 5. At 4 I decided to go for 6! When I hit 5 miles, which I've only done a few times before, I wasn't sure if I could make it another mile, but I was determined.

Now I just have to be able to run 4 times as far as I did today and I'll be blogging about my first marathon!

Reindeer Romp 5k in Charlotte

This Dec 9th I'll be running in the Reindeer Romp 5k in downtown Charlotte. This is the same day as the The Thunder Road Marathon, but I haven't quite made it up to the 26 mile level yet, although that is my long term goal. The Reindeer Romp benefits the American Lung Association, and I'll be running it with my 9 year old neice (her first race)! Her mom doesn't think she can run the whole 5k without some walk-time, so I might not be setting any PRs but it will be fun!

If you want to run but you don't want to travel to Charlotte, here are some upcoming local races, including one in Apex:

November 5 (Sunday) Raleigh
1st Annual George Williams Nike 5K - 2:00 p.m. - 5,000m

November 12 (Sunday) Raleigh
Old Reliable Run - 10,000 meters, 5,000 meters

November 18 (Saturday) Apex
Turkey Trot 5K – 5,000 Meters – 10:00 a.m.