Week 2 Update and Great Lakes MultiSport Expo and InStep 5K oh my!!

90 Day review...

OK, so this past week was a lot harder then the first week. I think will power got me through the first week but it was difficult finding that same amount of will power in week two. The hunger urges got the best of me on a couple of occasions.

Workout summery:

Wednesday 1/27 - ALARC Core Class - 90 minutes
Sunday 1/30 - Instep 5K - 27:20
Monday 2/1 - Running - 30 Minutes; Weight Training - Legs

We traveled to Milwaukee last weekend for the Great Lakes Multisport Expo (review below) which defiantly put a dent in the workout scheduled and made the diet a challenge. I can tell that my stomach has shrunk and it takes less for me to feel full.

Current Weight - 184.0 lbs.
Weight lost this week - 1.5 lbs.
Total weight lost - 8.0 lbs.

The one plus this past week was the fact that Kris lost 4 pounds which I had been telling her for the past two weeks that she was doing good and that she was losing weight and would show in week two. And I was right!!!

Multisport Expo:

This past weekend Kris and I traveled to Milwaukee for the 2010 Great Lakes Multisport Expo presented by RACC. This was a great opportunity for us to talk to several race directors and running groups about ZapEvent and what we can do for them, we made several promising contact that I am currently sending follow up emails too.

From a multisport participant point of view, it was really fun to see everything the Expo had to offer but by far the coolest thing had to be the team and individual bike time trials.

This would have been so fun to do especially the team time trial but I don't think we would haul our bikes to Milwaukee in the middle of winter time unless we had an enclosed option, plus we are missing a team to be part of. The one oddity about the expo was the complete lack of anyone that we knew and absolutely NO Gear West red anywhere. Hopefully we can generate enough interest in the Twin Cities multisport community so that we can better represent next year. Hey Kevin O'Connor, Steve Gunther and Kris Swarthout are you listening????

InStep 5K:

As part of the Expo on Sunday morning they had the InStep Winter Series 5K Championship at the Expo. Since we were going to be at the Expo already we decided to add another race to our schedule. Did I mention that the Expo was at the Wisconsin State Fair grounds? The 5K race was through out the fairgrounds and did a lap around the Miriacle Mile race track. The course was mostly flat and we were able to finish with a decent time of 27:20 giving Kris a good benchmark for the beginning of the season.

After the race we had a nice breakfast at the hotel, took our time getting ready and then geocached in Milwaukee until about 3pm when we had to head back to the cities. Details about our geocaching part of this trip can be read about on our other blog, A Life More Complete.

This coming weekend we are signed up for the Yukon Days 1 mile and 3 mile snowshoe on Saturday morning and the Luminary Loppit on Saturday evening.

Race Review – Securian Frozen 5K

This past weekend was the Securian Frozen 5K & Half Marathon, one of my favorites and a race that holds personal signifigance for me as it was my first half marathon two years ago

I knew that based on the weather conditions leading up to the race and the forecast for race morning, we were going to add a new chapter to my history with this race.

Two years ago when I ran the race for the first time, the half marathon distance, the weather was generally very nice, mid 20’s and cloudy. Last year it boarded on the extreme edge of running conditions, -15 degrees with wind chills in the -20’s. I originally signed up for just the 5K distance as I was not in race shape for a half marathon but because of the cold the half was shortened to about a 10K, which I could manage.

This year as we drove to downtown St. Paul with the hint of sleet in the air, temps were in the upper twenties and it was generally wet with a cold breeze from the east. I think for the most part we were lucky as later in the day it was straight up raining, in the middle of January.

At the back of the start line.

If you’re not familiar with this race it starts in downtown St. Paul at the Secuian Plaza on Jackson street and heads down to the river, it is basically then just an out and back along Sheppard road, with the 5K turning at the high bridge and the half marathon turning at Cleveland Ave. The only tough part of the course is at about 4 blocks from the finish line when you have to climb up the hill on Jackson St. from the river to get back to the finish line.

Kris high-fiving the catapiller runners.

Since we are concentrating on shorter distances and speed in 2010, we decided to run just the 5K and use it as an early season starter, not supposed to be fast but I was encouraging a little faster pace. As the race started we crossed the line at 35 seconds. We were actually the very back of the starting group. The first mile by far was the slowest; specify because of race traffic and by the time we passed the first mile we were able to pick up the pace a little. Mile 1 to 2 was our fastest mile, based solely on feel as somewhere or another I managed to lose my watch; it feels a little weird running without it. I could tell that we were slowing down a little during the last mile and I was doing a little pulling to keep up the pace, especially up the final hill. We crossed the finish line at 29:52 for a race time of 29:17 and a pace of 9:27; which surprised Kris a bit as she didn’t think we were going that fast.

That says 29:52 on the clock behind Kris

This is one of those fun races that I suggest everyone try at least once. First off it is a great off season race even if you not a big cold weather runner. Second, the Securian gives out great swag, every finisher gets a nice ceramic coffee cup, this year it was a big hot chocolate style mug. The shirts for the race are always an additional cost but the designs/logos/slogans are always very cool, and being available as a technical or cotton long sleeve make the extra cost worth it. This year they even had a cool looking stocking cap. The third reason to do this race is that it is very well run and has a very festive feel to as, partially because it is part of the Winter Carnival.

We ran into Dave Ryan after the race getting some Caribou Coffee.

And of course we had to get a picture with the mascot.

Next up: Yukon Days Winter Run on Feb 6th

Busy Week….. I'm tired!

In the past 8 days I have ridden a century ride (my first), ran the Torchlight 5K and completed my first Half Ironman Triathlon.

CENTURY RIDE – Sunday July 19th, 2009

Two weekends age Kris and I signed up for a Minnesotab Tri Club’s Century Ride, a real bargain if you ask me for just $10 for non-club members. You ride with the group and get to take advantage of 2 aid stations along the route, approximately at miles 18 & 39 on the way out and miles 61 & 82 on the way back. Each aid station had energy bars, gels, water, Gatorade powder, fruit, pretzels, cookies, extra bike tubes, CO2 cartridges, sun block, bug spray, hand wipes and more. It was nice to be able to restock every 20 miles of so and not have to carry such a huge amount of food for the majority of the ride. The morning started out a bit cool and I was wearing my cold weather mock-turtleneck for the first 18 miles, but the first aid station I had warmed up enough and I was able to drop the extra layer and the pick it back up on the final 18 miles.

The route was their northern route and took us up Highway 47, 10 miles beyond Princeton/Highway 95, which was where aid station number 2 was located. By the time we got back to aid station number 2, which was then our third stop, we were getting into was new ground for me as 62 miles was my previous longest ride. At about 75 miles my left knee was beginning to hurt and lose a lot of strength on the uphills. I had experience this pain a little bit before on my 60 mile ride but this was the longest I had to keep going after the my knee started to hurt. I was able to finish the ride with no serious pain but it is defiantly something that I need to be aware of in the future.

By the last aid station, Kris and I were the last ones on the ride, except for the ride leader, but he had to stay at the aid stations until they were picked up by someone. So we basically finished alone but that was OK as we were both nursing sore knees and testing the waters at this distance. We finished the ride with 6:31:58 of saddle time, which was a 15.4 mph average, not bad considering this was a learning experience. Now you might think that after a 100 mile bike ride that would be plenty, but no not in the world of Ironman training. After we got off the bikes we went for a easy 50 minute run. Yes I know we are crazy. ;)


TORCHLIGHT 5K – Wednesday July 22nd, 2009

On this past Wednesday night was the Torchlight 5K, just a fun run with a few thousand of your good friends. I like running the Torchlight, it is another one of the Lifetime Fitness runs that I like to do every year; Turkey Day, Reindeer and Torchlight. Large races where you get to run down the streets of Minneapolis and have fun. This year’s race was unique in the fact that it was my friend Steve’s first 5K race, actually his first race period. He was very nervous about this being his first 5K and was concerned that he might not be able to finish the race without needing to walk it, he actually asked me if there would be any shame if he could not run the entire race. Steve shouldn’t have been so worried; he actually ran the entire race without any problems or even looking tired. I think a lot of that had to do with the race and the amount of people that were running. It is easy to get distracted by what is going on around you during a race and forgot that you’re actually running. Congrats Steve!! 31:12 for your first 5K is pretty good!

CHISAGO HALF IRONMAN TRIATHLON – Sunday July 26th, 2009

OK, so this was the big race of the first half of my year, no doubt about it. The really odd thing is that during the past couple of weeks leading up to the race I was not nervous, worried or even concerned about trying to complete a half ironman. I don’t want to imply that I was nonchalant about the race, but because of training and the experience that I gained at the 3 previous triathlons this year, I knew I was ready. And surprisingly, I was not even nervous about the swim, my worst skill. I just knew that I could swim 1.2 miles now. I guess that is one of the benefits of all the training, you just get to a comfort level and know what you are capable of.

The day started out really, really early as we have to make sure all the pets are feed and let out so we have to get up at 3am so that we could be in Chisago by 5:30am. One of the problems I have discovered with Triathlons is that you typically have to be there so early to get a good spot and setup transition that Caribou’s are not open. And Sunday was no different, so I had to settle for a cheap SA coffee, works in a pinch but defiantly not my first, second or even third choice. But on some level coffee is coffee.

So we got to Chisago and picked up our race packet, which was a little wired, no bike number and no swim cap, I was not even asked about a swim cap and Kris was told that you could grab one if you needed it. Of course I need a swim cap, especially if there are caps that say Chisago Lakes Triathlon, need to add it to the collection. So I got number 345, sort of a fun race number, Kris was number 69, for the second year in a row, how weird!! Anyway, Chisago in different in the fact that all of the transition spots a marks on the bike rack, you number tells you the exact spot you are going to be in. So as I was looking for my spot, somehow I transposed my number and Kris’s number and tried setting up in spot 369. That is until the real number 369 showed up and I realized my mistake, so then I went looking for spot 345, which once I found it I was very happy, end spot next to a tree, a lot of room to setup and for my gear bag. But then I discovered that I misplaced my race number, my day was not starting out very well. So I went back to the information tent and a new hand written number was created for me. So now I am walking back to my transition spot and I hear over the announcement, “Would a Mark Kuhn please report to the announcement area, we have your race number” Sigh…… OK, at least I got my real race number back. After that the transition setup well, and I was just about ready, just need to empty the tank, put on my wetsuit and head down to the beach. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea, and we waited in a long line at the johns, so long that Kris just made it down to the beach with 30 seconds before her wave started. I was in wave 7 so at least I had a little time, no warm-up but I was not cutting it as close.

Swim

My swim went very well, this was the longest continuous swim I have ever attempted and I was surprised on how smoothly it went. I did make a point not to rush, stayed to the outside and avoid as much traffic as I could which generally helps out my anxiety level and I was rewarded with a decent swim, 35:24 which is a 1:49 pace/100m average. I am going to go out on a limb and say with an average like that it was either a short 1.2 miles or the fact that there was a long run up to transition that helped keep the average down. First segment down and I was very happy.

T1

I will be the first to admit that I tend to lollygag in T1, bad habit or just my concern about clean and somewhat dry feet for the bike. I bike without socks so I am concerned about getting all sand off of my feed, don’t need and sand between the toes to rub and cause a problem later. But I will admit that 4:06 time in T1 was a bit long, leisurely even. The plan was that since Kris was 10 minutes ahead of me, Wave 2 vs. Wave 7, I would haul ass on the bike to catch up with her and when I did catch her we would be going at her pace I figured I had a little extra time in T1. Little did I know how fast the bike course would be and how long it would take me to catch her.

Bike

Off on the bike now and I loved every minute of it, very flat, very fast course. I had heard complaints about the previous course, rolling hills and rough roads, but not with this new course. The majority of the roads were either new or recently resurfaced and very smooth. My only complaint would be that for the first half of the course, a very long straight first half of the course, there was a slight head wind. After we made the turn to come back at about mile 29, I was able to add on even more speed. The course was marked every 5 miles and I was lap timing my 5 mile spit times, prior to the turn I was averaging about 18+, after the turn I was averaging 20+ with my final average as 19.5mph, 56 miles in 2:50:04.9. Even with my high average speed, it still took me about 55.75 miles to catch up with Kris. I was beginning to be sure that I would not catch her on the bike but within the last mile I spotted her up ahead, and by the time we were going through the tunnel back to the park, I was on her back wheel. At least we would get into T2 at the same time and would be able to run together.

T2

Much better, 1:57 but still nothing to write home about. Of course miss transition speed demon was out of T2 ahead of me and I had to play the catch up game again. At least this time she slowed a bit to let me get caught up, fixing her ponytail is the official story.















Run

If you were to ask me what my strongest skill was, I would tell you run, but not today. Either the fact that this was a Half Iron or the fact that I was really pushing to get caught up to Kris, I was totally burned out when I started the run. Wow the jump to Half Iron distance is significant and does require some conservation of energy, when I completed the LTF Tri two weeks ago, I was able to maintain and even higher bike average, 20.5mph and I was able to still run with a sub 8 minute miles but today was a different story. I just consider myself lucky that I was running, and I use that term loosely, with Kris as she was the one to carry me today. The run course has more then it’s share of hills and my legs were having nothing to do with it, walked most of those, in addition I think my stomach and digestive track had enough of hammer gels, and was not happy with me, requiring a pit stop at the half way point, very unusual for me. Kris was an angel to stick with me, she could have had such a better time if she ran her own race, probably get back the time difference that I made up during the bike and she would have finished in the low 5:50’s but she stuck with me. And I am glad she did, we finished together, in sync as it was pointed out to us in several pictures, hand in hand.


For the record, my run time was 2:20:37, which is a 10:44 average pace. :(

So now I am a 70.3 Half Ironman!! Total time 5:52:09.2, a sub 6 hour half ironman, but I would have been much happier to share that honor with Kris as she deserved it more than I did. Next 70.3 maybe??


It is the Wednesday after the race and my legs are still sore, part of the problem I think is that for the past two days I have been wearing and older pair of boots with poor support, ankle, knee and hip was causing me issues yesterday. Needless to say those boots are history. We got to Masters yesterday morning but I have yet to run, and I should, I really think it would help my legs at this point. The plan is for tomorrow morning.

This coming weekend, we will be headed to Madison to ride the Ironman bike route on Saturday and then on Sunday morning, we are running in the Chicago Rock & Roll Half Marathon. Hopefully I can redeem myself and who knows, we might even get Kris a new PR, do I hear a sub 2?? If anyone is interested you can track us at competitorwireless.com.