December 30, 2013

2013 Recap + 2014 Goals

2014 is just around the corner.  Someone can walk on a wire across the Grand Canyon, but we're still waiting on flying cars!?  I'll assume that someone else is making that their resolution, but I'm focusing on other things this year.

1/1/13 - I posted on New Year's Day my recap of 2012 with no mention of a resolution, but I was already in week 3 of marathon training for the Carmel Marathon, so I suppose I was already focused.

1/1/12 - I did post a resolution for 2012.  It was simple from the standpoint of training over 2012 miles, and I crushed that by going almost 2800 miles.  However, part 2 of the goal was to race Muncie 70.3 at 200 pounds and I missed that goal by 3 pounds!  (Spoiler Alert Hint)

1/1/11-  I truly made specific resolutions and was perhaps my most focused resolution, and I crushed every one of those!

So, what should I do this year?  How should I spend my time and what will I focus on?  I mean, once you've completed an Ironman, you kinda have that "I've done it all" attitude and ultimately the drive can easily disappear; especially when dealing with injuries like I have the past year.  Despite, that pain, it was an awfully good year.  Here is a recap of the recaps...

March 23 - Sam Costa Half Marathon - 2:05:46
April 6 - Henry County Half Marathon - 2:04:09
April 13 - First Choice for Women 5k - 25:25
April 20 - Carmel Marathon -5:02:20 (PR)
April 27 -Nashville Rock n Roll Country Music Half Marathon- 2:21:59
May 11 - Muncie Olympic Triathlon - 3:10:46
June 8 - Muncie Olympic Triathlon - 2:56:50 (PR)
July 4 - Chesterfield 5k - 26:17
July 13 - Ironman 70.3 Muncie - 6:16:10 (PR)
August 25 - Ironman Louisville - 15:15:23 (PR)
September 28 - Chase Charlie 5k - 37:07 (paced my daughter Morgan to her new PR)
October 27 - St Louis Rock n Roll Half Marathon - 2:17:12
November 16 - Full Beaver Moon 5k - 26:08
November 28 - Drumstick Dash - 39:29 (PR)

For the data geeks (like myself) - here are the totals for the year!
Run - 819.25 miles
Bike - 1557.4 miles
Swim - 46.46 miles
TOTAL - 2424.74 miles
267 hours, 39 min, 12 seconds
over 217,000 calories burned!

And every one of those totals is LOWER than 2012!   Now, this may sound strange to many of you, but the first goal for 2014, is to continue that pattern.  I want to run, bike, swim, and in general workout LESS!  But at the same time, I want to lose weight!  Specifically, I want to weigh less than 200 pounds before Ironman Muncie 70.3!

I only have two races that I want to FOCUS and TRAIN for this year.  And the focus is on two very specific goals.  The first goal is to PR my 70.3 time over last year's Muncie 70.3.  I will do this by spending the first two months of the year focusing on weight loss, coupled with  increased strength and flexibility.  I will spend some time on the trainer, and in the pool as well as on the treadmill and lifting weights.  This will all be complimentary to my real focus of losing weight.  My mistake last year was gaining too much weight in the off season, and I can sense that pattern beginning already as I am a good 15 pounds heavier now than I was when I finished Ironman Louisville at the end of August.  The training plan for me officially begins Feb 24 based largely around the 20 week plan found here.  Spring break will be a challenging week at the end of March, but once we return, there should be very little to stop me.

The second race I will be focusing on is the Indianapolis Marathon, October 18.  The goal is simple...under 5 hours!  I missed this goal by less than 3 minutes in 2013, and firmly believe it was a lack of consistent long runs.  I believe I can commit the time to this in the months of August and September and be well positioned to PR this race.  I chose this race by total accident when I stumbled into a great pricing deal for it.  Only one thing can change this goal...THE NEW YORK CITY MARATHON?!?  The bucket list race that for the third year in a row I have entered the lottery.  If I'm fortunate enough to get into this race, I will simply offset the training plan two weeks later and make it work.  I am intrigued by Hal Higdon's 30 week Personal Best training plan.  And while 30 weeks would have me starting on the return from my Spring Break week; those first 12 weeks are primarily increased speed and base building weeks.  The plan does not cross the half marathon distance until after Muncie 70.3, so I can use this as a cross reference on run days as I build my run miles to 13+ for the Half Ironman and then continue with long runs which includes two 20 milers in September.

Any other racing that I do will be purely for fun or as part of the training plan.  In particular if I'm lucky enough to grab a couple free sponsor entries in the RnR series thanks to my continuation on Team Refuel as an Ambassador for the Got Chocolate Milk campaign!  And so, I've marked those races as *applied for.  If things play out the way I hope, I should pick up 5 RnR races and grab Rock Star status with several "heavy medals"!  The schedule will be adjusted depending on if I'm picked for NYC or not.

$=confirmed
*=applied for
 * Rock n Roll Nashville April 26 (I enjoyed this very much last year and want to return)
Indy Mini May 3 (Undecided, but if I do this it will be both the 5k and the mini back to back)
Hoosier Park 8k - May 24 (this is just for fun, but fits well with both plans)
Muncie June Olympic Triathlon June 7 (need this one to set me up for 70.3)
$ Ironman Muncie 70.3 July 12 (This is my "A" tri race for the year)
* Rock n Roll Chicago July 20 (Training plan calls for a 12 miler, perfect fit)
* Rock n Roll Virginia Beach Aug 31 (doesn't fit plan, but could be a fun family Labor Day weekend)
* Rock n Roll Philadelphia Sept 21 (I will do this if I don't get NYC it would hit between the 20s)
* Rock n Roll Cleveland Oct 11 (I will do this only if I'm in for NYC it would hit between the 20s)
$ Indianapolis Marathon Oct 18 (This is my "A" run race for the year)
* New York City Marathon Nov 2 (I'm in the lottery, drawing is in mid spring)
* Rock n Roll Las Vegas Nov 16 (This could be a great way to celebrate a great year)

So that's it.  That's the plan!  I'm confident I can stick to it...IF...I can stay healthy!

What about you?!?  What are your goals for 2014?  Set a goal, write it down, share it with a friend, and then make it happen!!  Let me know if I can help in any way!  Make it a great year friends!

December 23, 2013

365 "Days" of 2013

2013 was an unforgettable year for our family.  I threw this together this weekend playing with the iMovie app on my phone!  What a fun way to reflect on the ups and downs of a year filled with so many memories!  Admittedly, it's most meaningful to me and my family, but I share it with you because so many of you were there, sharing these moments with us!  They weren't all "Beautiful Day"s, but from vacations to surgeries, through victories and defeat, with weddings and funerals, tears of joy and pain, we "Carry On", blessed to have each other, and share this life with you!  Enjoy!


 
P.S.  Full screen distorts the picture (sorry)
If the video does not appear, follow the link HERE 
May not be available on mobile devices

December 1, 2013

Drum Stick Dash Race Report

I'm a couple days late with this report, but I had to do a recap.

If you're new to following my blog, or have not heard about our experience at last year's Drumstick Dash race, you'll want to read last year's race report first.

So with 5 VIP entries, I signed up Morgan, Molly and myself to compete and treated Chuck Alfrey and Jess Smith to the other two.  Jess because she and her family hung out with us after the race last year to see us off okay including taking my kids to lunch while we waited on the police and loaning us $20 so we could get enough gas in the car to get home (remember we had no cash or credit cards, as EVERYTHING was stolen).  And Chuck, because for Christmas last year, he gave the kids his old iPad to replace the one that got stolen, and he was such an inspiration to me this year during Ironman training.  It's not nearly thanks enough, but it was a simple gesture that they both appreciated.



With VIP parking, we cruised right into the parking pass only lot at Broad Ripple Park, and walked less than one block to the HEATED VIP tent!  22 degrees this morning, and the heated tent was perfect for Molly, Emma and Carter to hang out in while we ran.  VIP food included Einstein Bagels and breakfast sandwiches, fruit, granola bars, OJ, coffee and water.  The mayor of Indianapolis and local media were the only recognizable faces, but many public safety officials (mostly firefighters) were heavily present.  Quick stop to our own private port-a-pots and Chuck and I take our position with the "fast turkeys".  Molly opted to sit out and gave her bib to Emma Tillman, who was an old friend from our days staffing with the Winchester band 16 years ago.  Emma had come with Jess who walked the 2.5 mile with Morgan.

I was feeling good and ready to give it a go for a PR but with my loss of speed this year in trying to go farther in 2013 I wasn't overly confident that I could get it done.  The good news is I had my secret weapon at my side in Chuck, and he was willing to stick with me and pull me along.  Last year I was 39:53 with nearly perfect 8:30 pacing.  I knew if we could hold it under 8:30 mile by mile we'd be in good shape.  I'll spare you the details of the mile by mile because honestly all I did was keep my head up and focused on one mile at a time.  Here is the mile by mile comparison over the 4.65 mile course from last year to this year...

2012        2013

8:30 8:15
8:24 8:16
8:30 8:19
8:38 8:31
5:51 6:09
39:53 39:30

A 23 second PR is a perfect way for me to wrap up the year! 


We made our way back to the VIP tent (only thing missing was chocolate milk) and found the family enjoying themselves.  Took some pics and shared some war stories.  Morgan was able to finish her race with a 12:20 pace and now it was Emma and Carter's turn.

The Lil' Gobblers run, is literally a 20 yard dash for kids 10 and under.  Every kid gets a medal and a small bag of candy.  This is the highlight of the event for these kids, and the best part...it's COMPLETELY FREE! 

I love this race, and I love this distance.  It's just short enough that I can go FAST, but just long enough that you must use disciplined pacing to meet your goal.  And with over 17,000 participants it is now the 3rd largest race in Indiana (Indy Mini, Race for the Cure), and 6th largest Thanksgiving day race in the country!  The Wheeler Mission is a wonderful organization, and the race director went above and beyond to make sure we came back and had a great day!

So that wraps up racing for 2013, unless I opt in to something else last minute.  I'll put together my2014 race plan soon while my waist line fights through the difficult "eating season" (Thanksgiving - New Years)!  Stay healthy friends!