Some Time to Reflect

Since I was a little under the weather this Saturday both literally (it was raining) and figuratively (I was dealing with a nasty cold), it seem like the perfect time reflect on the year of the Cyclo-Runner.  With the first quarter of 2016 “done and dusted” as the British might say, I can say it’s been an interesting three months.  And by interesting, I mean it’s been a blast.

A good day for reflection.

What are the numbers?  Well, how about 301 miles of running and 653 miles on the bike.  While the running miles are great, the cycling miles are a little below what I was hoping for at this point in the year.  To be honest, it’s the weather that’s been the issue and not the additional time spent running.  We’ve had a very wet winter and that always means fewer miles on the bike.

While 653 miles of cycling is not child’s play, it’s not enough to meet my goal of 4,000 miles (I adjusted this down from the original goal of 4,500) this year. In doing the math you could see that I’m on pace to reach just 2,612 miles.  Knowing I'm behind is where my goals have been mentally tough.  I know I’m behind my goal in cycling miles because every time I go into my Strava account it tells me so and it makes want to hit the road.  In fact, thanks to Strava, I know that I am 371 miles behind my goal, which is a little concerning at times.

However, I knew that there would more running and less riding for the first three months.  I knew in advance I would be behind my goal in cycling.  That was the plan.  And, while I would prefer to have a few more cycling miles on the books, I also know that there will be many, many miles of cycling to come now that the days are longer and warmer.  What I need to do now is to not panic and stick with the plan.

The other half of the Cyclo-Runner equation is doing just fine.  At 301 miles I am 46 miles ahead of my goals and on track for 1,204 miles for the year.  I’m pretty sure that won’t happen.  Once again, the plan was to run long in the first part of the year, cycle more through the summer, and finish the year running strong in autumn. 

My growing collection from runs.

In theory that’s how it was going to work.  The reality is I’m enjoying my runs so much that I’m not sure I want to back off any time soon.  I’ve gone for long solo runs on the trails of our local state parks.  I’ve run with friends both old and new.  I set a personal record with my first sub 2-hour half marathon.  My last run was a 10.2-mile race in Sacramento where I turned in a time of 1:26:22 with an average of 8:28 minute miles, which was my fastest long distance run by far.

Another reason the running may stay higher is that I’ve signed up for my first marathon, the California International Marathon on December 4th.  In an effort to stick to my plan, I purposely select one later in the year.  This means I can keep up the cycling miles all summer and still have plenty of time to train.  

There you have it.  As expected, I am ahead of my running goals but behind on cycling.  Still, it’s been a great start to the year and I can’t wait to see what adventures the next three months will bring.  If it’s anything like the first three months this is going to be a great year.

Ciao!

The Marin Ultra Challenge 25k

Last Saturday was the finale of yet another adventure created by the Ragnar Relay last October.   Basically, in training for Ragnar I was doing more running than cycling and some friends took advantage of this to call me out to join them in the Marin Ultra Challenge.  This is a tough trail race with 25k (15.5 miles), 50k, and 50 mile distances.

It started when Pat decided to run the 50k.  Jennifer, who also ran Ragnar, decided to run the 25k.  She’s the one who called me out, on Facebook no less, so the next thing I know I’m registered for the 25k.  Lastly, my brother-in-law Mike decided to join Pat in the 50k run.

Race profile!!!

This was definitely going to be a challenge.  Not only had I never tried a 25k before but this race also included 3,000 feet of climbing over three monster hills.  Fortunately, I like running hills so this wasn’t as intimidating for me as others but I would still need to train if I was going to have a good day.  And by good day, I mean simply finishing.

A week before the race Mother Nature provided a surprise.  After a beautiful February, March started with the formation of an atmospheric river.  Put simply, an atmospheric river means lots and lots of rain.  We received 6.5 inches of rain in the seven days leading up to the race and the weather for race day called for strong winds and heavy rain.

We started at the beach below.

On race day, Mike, Jennifer, and I got to the start around 7:30 a.m.  Mike wasn’t feeling it that week so he decided to “only” run the 25k.  Pat was already on the course since he started at 6:00.  At 8:00 it began to rain and the wind increased.  As we all donned rain gear I was thinking this was going to be interesting.

Then something strange happened.  Just before we started running, the rain stopped.  One mile into the run I was starting to get too hot so I took off the rain jacket and tied it around my waist.  That’s where it stayed until the end since it didn’t rain on us once the whole race.  The wind however was fierce averaging 20 mph with gust over 30 mph while we were on the course.

Ran up these steps, twice!!!

I had decided to stay with Jennifer so we settled in and continued the first climb.  While it started out gently enough it finished with some very steep sections including two sections of stairs.  Then, it was down the back side, over some rollers, and then a long descent back to the start.  We then got to go up the same hill again although we approached the bottom half from a different direction.

After getting over the hill for the second time we are both feeling ok as we make our way to the second aid station, which was at the 10 mile point.  As we were coming in, Pat was heading out so we stayed with him as we made our way up the third, and hardest climb of the day.  Once over the top, where the wind was at its worse, Pat took off while Jennifer and I continued our steady pace to the end.

Finishing with "wind" hair :)

We crossed the finish line at 3:11.  Although I was tired, I felt pretty good overall.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t the climbs that got to me as much as the descents, which were just as steep.  Mike finished 1-hour ahead of us and was third in his age group, which was very cool.  After a bit of hanging around, Mike and I headed home with a stop for lunch at a brew pub along the way.  

Overall, it was a great event made even better by great friends.  And that’s not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning.

Ciao!!!

My Half Marathon PR Training Run

As promised, here’s the story about my recent half marathon.  To be honest, I was having trouble coming up with the angle for this story.  I wanted it to be more than just I felt good at mile 2, felt like shit at mile 11, and barely survived to the end.  Fortunately, as is usually the case, the answer came to me on this morning’s run.

Before the start.

This post is a continuation of Yes Will (& Lee) Can.  Will is on an around the world running adventure and I was joining him on the San Francisco leg of his journey.  We had the pleasure of hosting Will in our home the night before the run and we spent the evening eating, drinking wine (just a little), chatting, and relaxing as we learned more about Will’s adventures.  

At 5:30 the next morning, we were off to The City.  We had reservations at the Beach Chalet, which was near the finish, for a post-run brunch so that’s where we parked.  It was very cool getting ready with sound of Pacific Ocean waves crashing in the background.  After a quick pre-run selfie, Will and I ran over to catch our school bus to the start.

As the official start time approached I was getting a little anxious since I had set a goal of finishing within 2-hours, which would be my fastest time ever (a personal record or PR).  Will is a faster runner than me so my plan was to hang with him for a few fast miles then settle into a rhythm that would carry me to the end within my 2-hour goal.

Around mile 10.

Right at 8:00 we are off.  Will and started to weave our way though the people and within the first mile we are running our pace.  It felt fast but not deadly.  Then, I look at my watch and see that we are running an 8:16 mile pace.  This is much faster than my normal 9:20 and I begin to wonder how much longer I can hold on.

We continued the pace through miles 2 and 3.  Just as we approached mile 4 I looked again and now we were running a 7:47 pace.  At that point it was time to let Will go.  I immediately told myself to slow down however at mile 7 I was still pushing a sub 9:00 pace.

I turned out of Golden Gate Park and onto the Great Highway along the Pacific Ocean.  This is where I started to struggle.  It felt like I was never going to reach the turnaround to start heading back.  Once I reached the turning point I was hoping the motivation of heading home would kick in but it did not.  Miles 10 - 12 were a real struggle as I fought to hold on.

At the finish!!!

The good news was I was still on track.  As I ran, I was constantly doing math in my head to ensure I met my goal.  At 12 miles, the motivation did kick in and I was able to lift the pace to the  end.  And this included dealing with a small climb to the finish and the fact my watch said it was 13.35 and not 13.1 miles.  My time - 1:55:49.

While I met my goal I could hardly walk.  Monday was even worse as my legs were very fatigued.  My solution?  Go on a 40-mile recovery bike ride.  That’s because of the “training” part of the title of this post.  While many people were taking time off after finishing the half marathon, I needed to keep training since that was not the goal.

My running goal is a 25k (15.5 miles) run with over 3,000 feet of climbing on March 12th.  I wonder how the legs will feel after that run?

Ciao!

The First Real Test of 2016

This weekend was the first really big test of the Cyclo-Runner-Husband Challenge.  What was going to make this weekend different?  In a word - hills!!!  This weekend I was adding hills to both the ride and the run.  When you add that this was just one week after my PR-setting half marathon, which I promise to write about next, you have all the necessary ingredients for a big test.

Plus, it wasn’t like I had been sitting around all week.  After Sunday’s half marathon, I did a 42 mile recovery ride on Monday.  That was followed by two days of rest. Then, on Thursday I was back at it with a 3.5 mile run followed by another 5.0 miles on Friday.

When Saturday arrived I was excited to ride.  While I have been riding, I have not spent much time on hills yet this year.  That’s primarily because I spent most of my Saturday rides trying to save my legs for my Sunday run.  However, I have an event in late April that includes big climbs so I couldn’t hesitate any more.  It was time to start some serious climbing, which I actually enjoy.

However, at this point I don’t need one big monster climb. What I really need is a ride that goes up and over multiple climbs.  Fortunately, I have several routes that corse through the west county hills.  The goal is to complete hill intervals while enjoying the beautiful day.  As you can see from the profile, the plan called for a lot of up and down.

All-in-all the ride was fun but uneventful.  I approached each hill with simple mindset of making it to the top without over doing it.  Then, I would cruise down the descent as I got ready for the next climb.  It was the perfect route on a beautiful day and in the end I felt great.  But, how would I feel on the run the next day.

Sunday was even more gorgeous and I was really looking forward to the run for two reasons.  To begin wth, I was running the trails of Annadel.  Plus, my new Let’s Run Paris shirt had arrived and it was my first chance to wear it.  Still, even though I have run some hills this year, this was a big run with two big climbs, so I was a little nervous.

To spare you from all the details, let’s just say the run went fine overall but it had its moments when I was wondering what the hell was I doing.  I made a last minute decision to tackle the steeper climb versus the longest climb first.  Half way up it seemed like the wrong decision but I finally settled into a good pace.  The fact that it was truly a beautiful, spring-like day really helped. 

Once again, the profile shows that I did some really good climbing.  Of course, this is nothing compared to the over 3,000 feet of climbing in my next running event which is on March 12th.  It is a trail run in Marin County and I am relying on the fact that I also love running on hills to get me through it.  I’ll also have a running partner with me that day and that will be a big help.

While I must admit I am feeling the efforts today, I’d say the Cyclo-Runner-Husband Challenge is off to a great start.  I managed to climb and run hills in the same weekend without feeling completely wiped out.  I even had the energy left over to perform a few chores around the house, which made Sherry quite happy.

I wonder how I’ll do on next weekend’s test?

Ciao!

Yes Will (& Lee) Can

Last Sunday was the pinnacle of the one of my coolest running adventures ever.  You might say this adventure started last summer with my Ragnar Relay training.  However, this adventure really begin on the Place de la Bastille in Paris on the morning of Christmas Eve.  You see, that’s when I met Will.

As I’ve mentioned, I joined the Let’s Run Paris running group on our recent vacation.  In addition to regular runs, group members will also post other runs to join.  In this case, Noelle invited people to join her on her 6:00 am run.  I really love running early in the morning so this was the perfect time for me.  Will was one of the brave souls that showed up and at the appointed time we were off. 

Will and I post run.

As we are running along one of my fellow runners asked me where I was from.  Although Sherry and I actually live in Santa Rosa we have discovered that’s easier to say we live in San Francisco since most Europeans are familiar with it.  What happened next was the perfect example of the chaos theory in physics (small changes lead to big consequences).  

Someone mentioned that Will was running a half marathon in SF in February.  So, Will and I started running together and chatting.  During this chat I discovered that Will wasn’t just running a half marathon in San Francisco.  No, Will was on a much larger adventure.  He was running 52 half marathons (one each week of the year) in 52 cities on 5 different continents.

Yes Will Can!!!

The more he talked about his adventure the more I knew I had to be part of it in some way.  So, I immediately tell him that I will join him.  After the run we became Facebook “friends” and later he sent me the link to the Kaiser Permanente half marathon on Valentine’s Day in San Francisco.  After a few simple clicks I was registered for my first official half marathon since May of 2011.

As Will and I continued to stay in contact, I learned more about his adventure, which he named Yes Will Can 2016 (hence the title of this post).  In addition to exploring the world, Will is working to raise funds and awareness for respiratory disease and he is working with Foundation du Souffle.  I think this is truly amazing and I needed to support it in any I could.

Will arrived in San Francisco from Los Cabos, Mexico.  After a few quick exchanges, it was decided that he would be our guest Saturday night.  At 5:30 am on Valentine’s Day, we all headed to The City for our run, which went very well (it will be a separate post).  Afterwards, we had a great breakfast on the Beach Chalet before dropping Will off at his hotel.  He was planning to spend a few more days in The City before heading off to Kingston, Havana, and then Australia.  You can bet Sherry and I will follow his adventures every step of the way.  You can also follow along on his Facebook page.

Showing off our medals.

I want to say a little more about Will’s cause.  Chances are if you follow my blog you are active and know the importance of breathing.  So, I would like to make a call to action to everyone reading.  Unfortunately, Will’s fund raising site it close but you can still make a donation directly to the Foundation du Souffle.  Or, if you are in the U. S. and would like tax credit for you contribution you can give to the American Lung Association.  If you decide to donate, add a comment either here or on the FB page so I can thank you.

Hopefully, through the adventures of people like Will and donations from generous folks like you, people around the world with respiratory problems will get the help they need to go on adventures of their own.

Ciao.