Under the weather (2/26/07 - 3/4/07)

I started feeling sick yesterday and thought about passing on swimming this morning and calling in sick to work. But instead I swam and here I am now at work. If I am not feeling any better tomorrow, I may call in sick.

MONDAY - SCM

16 X 25s warm up = 400 meters
7 X 150s (3 on 2:20, 2 on 2:15 and 2 on 2:10) = 1050 meters

50 sculling
50 exaggerated kick
50 breast (no more than 6 strokes per 25)
50 breast hard
Do 4 times = 800 meters

5 X 100s pull on 1:30

The workout was a little light in meters, but since I am not 100%, I took breaks when needed. The 150s were decent as I only applied 80%. I went 2:00 on all of them, which is averaging about 1:11s/100 in yards. The sculling and breast were drills and I tried to maintain good strokes. The 100s pull I started going better. I went 1:16s on the first two, but then got into my typical pulling grove and did 1:12s for the last 3 (1:04 yards).

WEDNESDAY - SCM

I'm feeling better, so I thought I would give swimming this morning a try.

6X75s (50 swim / 25 kick)

2 rounds of 5 X 50s ( I went 50 fly / 50 free / 50 back / 50 free / 50 breast) on :60

3 X 3 X 100s (Rounds 1 and 3 I did IM, Round 2 I did free) on 1:40

50 float

3 X 50s breast drill

8 X 50s kick on 1:05

200 cool down
Total - 2,650 meters

The workout was good, but I was off. Nothing spectactular, but since I am still a little sick, I was ok with everything. The 50s of stroke felt good. I went :34s on my fly, :39s on my back, :42s on my breast. They weren't all out, so being SCM, I was pleased. My 100 IMs were 1:20s - 1:22s, which is about 1:11s - 1:13s in yards. My 100 frees were 1:11s - 1:13s, which is about 1:03 - 1:05 yards. The kick set I didn't really start off well on the first two, then I felt I needed to make the intervals and proceeded to do so.

I'm still a little sick today and drained. I think I will work a 1/2 day and then go home and rest. Probably for the best.

THURSDAY - LCM

The water tonight was HOT HOT HOT. A scorching 86 degrees. This made it very difficult to work hard. Here was the workout:

500 w/u
500 pull
5 X 200s on 3:15
50 easy
10 X 50s kick on 1:15
5 X 100s hypoxic (breath 8 for entire 100)
200 cool down
Total - 3,250 meters

As I began the 200 pull, I felt I was going strong but after seeing my splits at the 100 and 200 realized that wasn't the case. I was going slow! So I picked it up and got down to my normal pacing of under 1:20s (normally I am 1:15s). It wasn't anything impressive but with the warm water, it was the best I was going to do. There was only Ken and myself in the pain lane tonight, so we worked off each other on the 5 X 200s swim. The first one we came in around 2:48 and I was burning up. I figured that would be the best we would do. One #2 I stayed with Ken as well, but he decided he wanted to work the last 50 and took off from me. He went around 2:45, and me 2:47. So he wants to play, huh? After talking, he told me he doesn't know how to pace himself and that is why he goes faster when I am next to him. So I figured if he was going to use me to pace, I would play his game of going stronger throughout the 200s. So on #3 we both went 2:44, then 2:41 then 2:37. Surprisingly, none of them felt anymore difficult than the previous and really not that difficult at all. The only difficulty was the warm water. The 2:37 wasn't too fast, but it converts to a decent 2:15 in yards. The kick set was more recovery and to get some fresh air. Then final set of 100s breathing were a good challenge. I did what Ken did and decided to breath every 8th stroke which was just enough.

Oh I forgot to mention that this Sunday I am doing the Cal Tech Pentathlon. It should be fun. Its a 50 of each stroke and a 100 IM. Of course for me, I'd rather do 100 of each stroke and the 200 IM, but this will be fun anyway.

FRIDAY - LCM

Yea the water was a little cooler. It was probably around 82 or 83, which is still warm, but not as bad ad Thursday. Here was the workout:

500 w/u
4 X 800s (400 , rest 15, 400 again on 12:30) - negative split
1 and 3 were pull
300 cool down
Total - 4,000 meters

It was a good set for the warm water. I need to get used to doing longer sets like that since those will be my events in Paris. On both pulls I went out in around 5:35 and came back on 5:20s for 400 pace. The last 800 swim surprisingly felt good. I started off breathing every third (which I never do) for the first 200. I tried to keep it as easy as I can with still more effort than all the previous ones. The third and fourth 100 I switched over to breathing every stroke. I came in at 5:37 which I felt was good (1:24s/100 which in yards is 1:12s high). Then on the 2nd half of the 800 I made sure I was going faster than the first. I started off breathing every stroke and then tried to go back to every other third. I came in going 5:30 which also felt strong (1:22s/100 which in yards is 1:11s low). So when I convert to yards, its not too impressive. Oh well it was a good time.

SATURDAY - SCY

500 w/u
6 X 50s - drill down / build back

Then it turned into a 50, 150 and 250 X 5. But it was way overcrowded so we only got through 2 of them, one free, one back. Then we did some 50s sprint and 100s sprint. My 50 free sprint was 27 mid, 50 fly sprint was 29.1, and my 50 back sprint was 29.1. My 100 IM was 1:04 and my 100 fly was 1:05 or 1:06. That's all I really remember.

SUNDAY - CAL TECH PENTATHLON

The meet went over pretty well. The results still aren't posted (slackers) but since its now 3/14, I will have to go off memory:

50 fly - Goal was faster than Vegas (26.67) and to be as close to 26.0 as I can. I went right around 26.3 or 26.2, so I was pleased. Its always difficult to sprint fly (or any stroke)

50 back - Goal was be as close to my best (28.23). I went faster (28.07) so I was pleased. I was especially pleased because 5 minutes earlier I had already done the 50 back but they screwed up the start and I chose to do it over.

50 breast - Goal was under 32. I went 31.6. I should really be closer to 30.9, but I will have to work on that.

50 free - Low 24s. Bad start, missed my turn. Nothing. Horrible. I went 25.0. Oh well.

100 IM - Since I went 1:00.8 a few weeks earlier, I figured I'd aim for that. Since there were so many events back to back, if I was close, then it was a good sign. I went 1:01.1, so I was pleased. I should really be under 1:00, so maybe I will swim it at the Mission Viejo meet or the Santa Clarita meet.

Just Keep Swimmin (2/19/07 - 2/25/07)

MONDAY - SCM - 60 mins

Morning workout again. 5:30 am. I debated about swimming since I have the day off but chose to get it out of the way. Here was the workout:

w/u - 7 X 50s - 350 meters

Main Set:
11 lengths - breath every 5
10 - breath 4
9 - breath 5
8 - (200 IM - 2:50 - 2:32 yards)
7 - breath 5
6 - breath 4
5 - breath 5
4 - (100 IM - 1:19 - 1:10 yards)
3 - breath 5
2 - breath 4
1 - breath 5 - total - 1,650 meters)

Pull Set:
4 X 75s on 1:15
4 X 75s on 1:10
4 X 75s on 1:05
4 X 75s on 1:00 - total 1,200 meters

200 cool down
Total - 3,400 meters

I was tight this morning. I think its the effects of the meet and not really warming down afterwards. The IMs were more done just to keep me going on all the strokes. The pool was extra warm (85 degrees) so it was difficult to really work as hard as I wanted to. The pull set got better as I went on. Round 1 and 2 I was goin around :58s, which for 100s in yards is about 1:08s. Round 3 I dropped down to :53s which for 100s in yards is about 1:02s. The final set I picked it up and went :50s and :51s, which put me right around :59s high. So as the workout went on I got better, but now I am pooped and am going to go watch the movie, The Departed and take a nap. After that, I think I will do something productive around the house. Not sure what yet.

TUESDAY - NO SWIM / NO WORKOUT

After seeing some pictures from me at the swim meet, I realized I am a fat cow! Ugh. I need to watch my diet better, so today I am back on weight watchers. It will be hard, but the key is for me write down everything I am eating or else I will not be on top of it as I can be. I am currently 190, so I have a goal of being 182 one month from today, March 20th. Then by April 20th, I want to be 178 and then by May 20th (when I leave for Europe, I want to be 175 or better).

I saw my splits from the meet. My 100 free where I died, I went out in 25.97, back in 28.75. I should have been out int 25.9 and back in 27 at the slowest, but my first 25 was too fast. My 100 IM which immediately followed the 100 free was better. I was out in 28.15, back in 32.60 for a 1:00.79. When I went 59.54, I was actually out right about the same speed, but came home faster. I think the 100 free might have taken out a little of my coming home. My 100 fly I was also out in 28.19 and back in 31.40. I think I should have been back in the 30s and need to figure out what happened.

Wedneday - SCM morning workout

The coach showed up late so we got in a little late. I wasn't feeling too great this morning as my back and shins were hurting. I could tell he wasn't really prepared for workout and new we wouldn't get more than 2000 meters in. Oh well, swimming is swimming.

8 X 50s w/u
4 X 50s kick

Set # 1
200 IM - 2:43 (about a 2:26 yards)
2 X 100 IMs - 1:25s (1:16s)
75 (50 fly / 25 back) - 1:00
75 (50 back / 25 breast) - 1:00
75 (50 breast / 25 free) - 1:00

50 EZ

Then something here I can't remember

4 X 75s fly drills/kicks

Set #2
4 X 50s - 25 easy free, 25 sprint IM order (no free, repeat fly)

200 cool down
Total - just over 2000 meters

The pool was hot and wavy and I was tired and in pain. The 200 IM was ok but it took some out of me for the 100 IMs. Everything else was a mess and I just sort of was just there. I did my best to stay motivated.

THURSDAY -

Boo its raining. So hard to motivate one's self when you know one of the heaters is broken at the pool AND that its pooring rain. So instead of swimming, I decided to hit the gym and spin for an hour. The workout was great, especially at the end where I really started to pick it up. Nothing really to report aside from I sweat a lot and hopefully shed some lbs!!

FRIDAY - LCM

Since I missed swimming last night, I made certain that tonight I would go swim. As always, the biggest issue was getting in the water. The temperature of the pool has been increasing, but it still wasn't that warm. Also, with the winds really going crazy, I screamed like a little girl as I was entering the water!! As I swam the first 100, my body was warm in the water and cold on top of the water. That wasn't a good sign. My rotator cuff was sore and so was my back. I think the majority of it was just the cold. Here was the workout:

200 swim / 200 kick / 200 pull / 400 build to 80% = 1000 meters

2 X 400s (100 kick/100 drill / 100 pull / 100 swim = 800 meters

Main Set - Pull 4 X 800s on 11:00 (went 10:30s, which is about 11:36s 1000s, or averaging 1:09s or 1:10s yards).

100 cool down

Total: 5,100 meters

After the 1800 initial warm-up, the next sent was a lot of IM. It was a 1600 IM however you want. Straight through, 16 X 100 IMs, 8 X 200 IMs. I felt really burned out on IM, so I decided tonight I would just do some long, mindless freestyle pulling and get some meters in. I wanted to crack the 4000 meter mark tonight. Originally, my pull set was going to be 800, 600, 400, 200, 100. After the first 800, I decided to switch it to 3 X 800s. It was fun to do long distance again and I had a blast. As I was approaching the end of my third 800, I realized that it put me at 4200, and that if I did one more I could crack the 5000 meter mark and not run over in time in the pool. I started the 800s at 7:44, so it was easy to know when to leave. 7:55, 8:06, 8:17 and then finish around 8:28.

This workout is dedicated to my buddy Marc, who stated that he has one up on me since since he trains a lot further in distance. You like that Marc? It converts to about 5600 yards!! Booo YA!!

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SATURDAY - 25 YARDS

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After a great workout last night, I wanted to follow it up with a good morning workout. Since I chose not to do any stroke on Friday, I was more open for it today. Here was the workout:

Standard 500 w/u - 500 yards

Extened w/u - 10 X 25s (odd drill, evens build) - 250 yards

Main Set:

5 X 100s free on 1:20 descend

5 X 50s stroke on :50 descend

3 X 50s kick easy

5 X 200s (#4 and #5 pull) on 2:30- hold same pace

3 X 50s kick easy

5 X 50s stroke on :50 - hold same pace

5 X 100s free on 1:20 - hold same pace

= total for main set - 2800 yards

2nd Set:

10 X 25s sprint on 1:30 (did all fly)

200 cool down

Total : 4,000 yards

Good workout. Drew stepped it up today which made me work harder. Tha Main Set was great since the coach provided intervals that didn't have much rest. The first 5 X 100s were descend. I went 1:10, 1:08. 1:06, 1:04, 1:02 high. Nice job. The 50s were all back and solid. When the 200s came around, my primary goal was to be under 2:20s. Since we were only able to pull two of them, I saved those for the last 2. #1 I went 2:18. #2 I went 2:14. #3 I went 2:12. I was really happy with those since I wasn't pulling. The last two that I pulled were 2:13s. The final 5X100s, I ended up going 1:07s for the first three and 1:06s for the final two. Nice main set. The 2nd set I just went all out 25s fly. Each one ranged between a :12 or a :13. Its hard for me to sprint a 25 but I did my best.

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SUNDAY - SCY

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500 W/U

8 X 50s under/overs

Set #1:

20 X 50s - 4 on :50, 4 on :45, 4 on :40, 4 on :45 and 4 on :50

Set #2:

8 X 75s kick on 1:30

Set #3:

6 X 150s pull on 2:00

Set #4:

400 fly (do 3 to 4 strokes off each wall fly and then easy free per 25), but do a 400 nonstop that way.

Set #5:

16 X 25s sprint on 1:30

200 cool down

Total - 4,400 yards

Good workout again. The 50s on the intervals were strong and more my warm up. I went around :33s to begin with and once round 3 began, I was going anywhere from :30s to :32s. The kick set I barely made, but that is typical. The 6 X 150s pull I stepped up. #1 and #2 I went 1:38s. Then I put it in another gear and did the last 4 ranging from 1:35 to 1:32. The 400 fly was harder than the last one we did two weeks ago. I think the reason for that was that I just did a hard pull set and my arms and shoulders were tired. The 25s sprint at the end were fun and I did IM work with most being fly. BGS (Steve Segreto) came up for San Diego for social (bowling later on in the day) so he swam with us too. That made swimming more fun as him and I always laugh at each other's jokes throughout most the workout. Kurt was funny this morning too. Ah good times in the pool. Makes swimming more enjoyable without the nagging of an old cranky Danish coach screaming down at you.

My puppies!

OK so I had to post this picture of my dog Max as a puppy (well 3 or 4 months old).

Isn't he so cute! Then to the far right is Max and Josie laughing at one of my best jokes. They are the best audience!!

Running Machine!

OK so is that my belt or did my belly get larger in that picture?

Morning Workouts Begin - 2/12/07 - 2/18/07

Monday Morning - SCM

Weekday morning workouts have arrived. We are offering workouts Monday and Wednesday mornings from 5:30am to 6:30am. The great thing is that the pool is literally less than a 5 minute drive from my house. So so nice. I figured this will be good for two reasons. 1) - I coach on Mondays, so instead of rushing to the pool after work and before I coach in the afternoon, I can now instead swim in the mornings and go home and relax after work. And 2) - I can now skip Tuesday night workouts and swim Wednesday morning workouts, which in return will give me another night off to relax after work and not feel like my day is so crammed. If all works out, my workouts would be Mon morning, Wed morning, Thurs night, Fri night, Sat morning and Sunday morning. That's 6 days a week, which I think is good.

Workout - Its only about 55 minutes, so I think anything over 3000 meters is a success.
W/U - 400 swim / 200 kick / 400 pull
3 X 300s on 4:30 - go 3:55
4 X 150s descend on 2:30
6 X 75s - work only on turns and breathing
200 cool down
Total - 3,150 meters

Having another back to back early morning workout will eventually be good once I get my body used to it. It was fun as we had 11 swimmers show up. A few even came out of "retirement" since we now offer mornings.

The 300s were ok. I was only holding about 1:18s (about 1:09/1:10 yards) for the entire 300s. I wasn't too impressed with that, but oh well. The 150s descend were better. 2:06, 2:02, 1:55, 1:49. Yards that is averaging 1:15, 1:12, 1:09, 1:05 per 100s. So that's better. It just shows the more I warm up, the better I am. The 75s were a good exercise for me to work my turns. I emphasized good streamline, not breathing right off the turns and kicking hard.

Tuesday - Taking off

Wednesday - SCM pool 5:30am

Another morning workout. I just realized that since I have to go to El Paso on Thursday and Friday, I will be missing two workouts. Ugh. And I can't go in early enough on Thursday to get a workout and I get home too late for a Friday. Crap!!!! This sucks. My flight lands at 730 on Friday, but if for some reason it lands earlier.. oh who am I kidding, there is no way I can get to the pool by 8pm for 30 mins of swimming. UGH!!!

OK back to today's workout. So with Coach Erik coaching, it looks like this may become a sprint workout, which is fine. We only did 2600 meters in the 1 hour, but it was quality swimming.

6 X 75s IM (no free) warm up - 10 secs rest
50 easy

3 X 100s IM on 2:00 go 1:22s (1:13 yards)
3 X 100s free on 2:00 go 1:12s (1:04 / 1:05 yards)
3 X 100s IM on 2:00 go 1:19s / 1:20s (1:11 yards)
50 easy

10 X 50s kick (5 on 1:10, 3 on 1:05, 2 on 1:00)
50 easy

4 X 50s (25 easy on 1:00 / 25 sprint on :30) total 1:30
Did one of each stroke

300 pull
100 cool down
Total - 2500 meters

I took the 75s easy as a warm up. The 100 IMs were actually pretty solid and consistent without pushing them too hard. I backed off on the free ones but still went decent times. The last IMs I pushed a little bit more as the times show. The kick set kicked my ass. I have never been a kicker, but by the end of the set my legs were dead. The intervals were hard enough for me that I had to try which normally I don't do in kicking. The 25s sprint were fun. I went in reverse IM order. Free was a :14 high, Breast was a :17 or :18, Back was :15 or :16 and Fly was :14 high. This was SCM so I am not sure how they are really at, but the back and fly felt fantastic.

SATURDAY - SCY

500 w/u
4 X 50s work on turns

Set #1:
100 (25 easy 50 hard 25 easy)
200 (75 hard 75 easy 50 hard)
300 (100 easy 100 hard 100 easy)
250 (100 hard 100 easy 50 hard)
125 (50 easy 50 hard 25 easy)
25 (25 hard)

Set #2:
10 X 50s (odds free, evens IM order)

10 X 25s kick
300 pull
10 X 25s IM order
200 cool down
Total 3200 yards

The only thing I didn't like about this workout was that we only swam 3,200 yards. It was a more catered sprint workout, but I made the best of it and was happy with my results. On Set #1, with the distances and speeds alternating, its hard to really know what I was going. But on the 250 (100 hard / 100 easy / 50 yard), I flipped at 1:04 or 1:03 and then went a 100 easy, but still finished at 2:49. That is averaging 1:08 even with the slow 100 where I probably went 1:15 or something. The entire set felt strong. The 10 X 50s were great. My fly is on right now. Both 50 flys were either :27 or :28 and with not being an all out sprint was a shocker. YA MARC, I SAID :27 FROM A PUSH NOT ALL OUT. Backs were :30 and :31. Breast was :34. The rest of the workout was solid as well. Swim meet is tomorrow. Entered the 100 free, 100 IM and 100 fly in that order. I wish the events were the other way around as I am eager to see how I can do in the 100 fly. Sub 1:00 is the goal, but being at the end of the day I am not sure. As for the 100 IM, a sub 1:00 would be great, but anything at 1:01.19 or faster is the goal. As for the 100 free, my time should hopefully be under :54.

SUNDAY - SWIM MEET 25 YARDS

Today myself and the rest of the Long Beach Grunions (well some of them) headed out to East Lake in Yorba Linda for a swim meet. I entered the 100 free, 100 IM and 100 fly. I was most excited to see how I would do in the 100 fly, but the real test was to see my 100 IM time. I did about a 1000 warm up and then waited for the 100 free to begin. I have no idea where my head was, but when I dove in, I took off as if I was swimming a 25 or a 50. When I flipped at the 25, I realized what had happened but it was too late. All that I could do now was hold on and not use all my energy for the remaining two events. My final time was something like a :54.5. Oh well, its good to mess up from time to time to help you remember how to swim a race.

The next event was the 100 IM. Unfortunately, only a few heats of 50 back were in between my 100 free and my 100 IM so I did my best to cool down in between and just stay in the water. My pulse was still going strong when I got up to the blocks, but I was pumped up to erase the disappointment of the 100 free. The fly and back were strong and the breast felt good, but a little off and then I just did whatever on the free. 1:00.79 I think I did. Not too bad. I said I mainly wanted under 1:01, so I can't really be disappointed with that. It was the fastest I have swum in 3 years so yea! I think if the 100 free hadn't been so close I might have had a better shot at breaking 1:00.

Recently my butterfly has been feeling good, so I was excited about this event. I really haven't had a good 100 fly in yards lately, so I thought a good goal was breaking a minute. In warm-up earlier, my fly hadn't felt on, so I was curious to see if racing would make the adjustment. I took the first 50 out solid and still had a lot left which was good. Turning at the 75 I figured I would turn in on which meant increasing my stroke which would then suffer in form. I am not sure which is better. Either way, I think the wall at :59.49. Yea. I am beginning to like fly again. My crazy brain is now wanting to do the 200 fly, so I think that will be on the agenda for the Santa Clarita meet at the end of April. I am thinking with more fly training, by then I want my 100 fly down to anywhere in the :57s.

Recovery - HELP!! Week of 2/5 - 2/11

OK so I don't feel like logging my workouts from this week. Monday I didn't swim since I could barely walk from the 1/2 marathon. Tuesday I only lasted about 2000 meters. I was very fatigued and my legs, back and neck really hurt. Wed I took off as always. Thursday I tried it again, and did about 2500 to 3000 meters. I was feeling better bodywise, but still really fatigued. In a set of 5 X 200s pull, I normally go 2:35 at the slowest. #1 was 2:35 but the rest were 2:40s all over the map. I knew it wasn't going to be a good workout. Friday I swam again. After warm up I did a 400 IM and 600 free. I did the 400 IM pretty smooth but only came in around 6:09. That's about a 5:19 yards 400 IM. But surprisingly, it took a lot out of me and my shoulders were hurting. So after the 600 free, we altered my workout and some breathing exercises (under overs) which are good and this allowed me to stay in the water. Saturday and Sunday workouts were abnormally at 5:30am, so we chose to only do 1 of them. Sunday won the challenge. Workout was better than the rest of the week. One of the main sets was 4 rounds of 4 X 75s. R1 on 1:10, R2 on 1:05, R3 on 1:00 and R4 on :55. After an easy R1, I held the rest no slower than :50. R4 I went around :48s, but I was still tired. The rest of the workout we did fly drills.

Sunday February 4th - HALF MARATHON

I finished! What a journey. If anyone has been reading my blogs, you are aware that I have basically done ZERO training for this 1/2 marathon. I averaged probably 4 miles / week, and that was once a week. So with that, my only real goal was to finish and have a good time. Drew pulled out of the race about a week ago, which was a bummer. He had been running faster than me lately, so I doubt we would have run together anyway.

5:45 am. Doonise and Kevin arive at our house. The four of us took off for the HB all excited for the run. Doonise was doing the 5K, and its great to see her getting more and more into exercising. Right now she speed walks, and from what she says, she can beat some runners doing it. Her goal is to do a 1/2 marathon soon, possibly LB in the fall. We couldn't find Kurt and Steve, so it ended up being just Kevin and I taking off from the start. This year, they decided to have everyone move off in waves every few minutes. We corallled into the 10 min mile area and ended up taking off 10 minutes after the gun. That worked out good with timing purposes, but I also was running with Drew's Garmin Forerunner 201.

We took off at a good pace and I noticed at mile 1 we were 9:40. Knowing that the first quarter of that mile had to be slow, I was worried we were taking off too fast. The next few miles my watch said we ranged from 8:50 to 9:30, which started worrying me. This isn't my pace! I'm a 10 min miler. I tried to back off, but backing off only got me to 9:20s. Then I made the decision. What the hell, let's keep this pace. Sure it will hurt at mile 9 or 10, but hey, what if it doesn't? Last year I negative split my 1/2 marathon, averaging 10:30 for the first and 9:30 on the back. So let's do something different.

Miles 5 and 6 we were still going strong. Good music on the ipod was keeping me going. I was feeling great having a blast. There is something nice about running along Pacific Coast Highway and having the Pacific Ocean to your left and right. At the halfway point, I figured I was right about 1:01 or 1:02. I'm not 100% sure. I was like WOW. Then of course my brain starting thinking, "Maybe you can break 2 hours!!". Of course I had forgotten that I had taken it out harder than in the past and most likely wasn't going to have the strong finish like last year. Looking at the results right now, at 5.2 mile marker I was 48:59, averaging 9:26 miles. Nice job Brian!! So anyway, around mile 7 or 8 the hills begin. This is when I felt like my pace was going to fall off. Up up we go. But I was still feeling good. Around mile 8 Kevin told me to go. This was the third time he stopped. The first time I waited for him. The second time he told me to go and then caught up. The third time he was too sore I guess. Mile 9 I felt like I was coming down in energy. I was drinking more and more. The blistering pace (in Brian's world), was taking its toll on me. Per the website, my 9.4 mile pace had gone down form 9:26 to 9:22. I was stilll going strong!! Then problems occured.

Around mile 10 I wanted to back up my songs to the beginning so that for the final 3.1 miles I could have songs I know would be good. But somehow I messed up the ipod and it paused. To top it off, its in a Nike Ipod Plus arm band so I had to take it out to fix it. But before I did that, I spent over a minute futzing with it and going crazy. By the time I pulled it out, fixed it and put it back in, 2 minutes were spent and I looked up. My mojo was gone. I was delerious. I was hot. I was tired. My rhythmn was gone. I was bummed. In an attempt to keep my motivation from going, I instead eliminated more than I had wanted to. I began to fall apart. "Keep it going Brian", I would say. But it was so hard. My goal to break 2 hours had turned to 2:05 and then to just go what I did last year (2:11) to just finish. I wanted to stop and walk. I dreamt of the finish line. 28 minutes to go. Too many songs. 2.1 miles to go. 20 minutes. 6 X 3:00min songs. That's too many songs. I can't do it. My pace fell apart. I started averaging 10:30, 11:20, 9:50, 10:40. I was all over the map. People were passing me. The sun was beating down on me. Boy it was hot. Finally with 1 mile to go, I put my body back together and got back into the race. Back down to 9:40 running I was ok. It won't be too bad. 3 more songs. No make it two. Sporty Spice (Melanie B or C or whomever) came on the ipod... "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII TURN TO YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU, like a flower leaning towards the sun". I was going good now. Let's pick up. GO GO GO. I saw the clock. 2:04 it read. WOW. I can get under 2:06 if I keep this up. My body was feeling better. I was back in the groove. I was going to do it. I was going to go about 9:30 miles. Closer. Closer. There it is. Wait, I got to pee. No the finish. Go!! I stopped the clock 2:05.23 I was stoked. Overall pace was 9:34 (damn mile 11 and 12!!) 6 minutes faster than last year with no training!!!

http://runraceresults.com/Event.asp?ID=RCHA2007

I am bib 4660.

I love this race. Not too long. Not too short. I'll be back next year. And hey, I went from 10 min miles to 9:30 miles. Let's aim for 9 min miles next year!!