Got a new team!

This is so. freaking. cool!  H2O-Audio has rebranded as X-1, and they are putting together a team of outdoor athletes.  They actually accepted me as a member!  I'm now a Team X-1 Rider and proud.

X-1 makes waterproof, weatherproof, and sweatproof gear.  I just ordered a bunch of it.  I sweat so much that it pools up in my ears and I've been known to sweat through headphones really quickly.  I'm hoping these waterproof/sweatproof heaphones will hold up.

The rest of the product line looks great too.  Most of it is based around underwater protection.  iPod Shuffle cases that attach to the swim goggles all the way up to iPhone waterproof cases with arm or waist straps. 

But I can't lie, my favorite part is that I now get something called a "pro discount".  I love that.

My products are on order, get some for yourself!  Pics to come.

the scary hills

After going through the race list in the Grand Prix series, well I had decided not to do the series but then realized that I was already registered for 5 of the races, so to finish it out I had two choices.  The Free to Breathe 5k or the Run in the New Year which started on New Years eve at midnight.  I went with the Free to Breathe even though it meant signing up for the race on Thursday night and running it on Saturday morning.  Nothing like a last minute race huh?

Well I am also a huge supporter of lung cancer research after losing my Grandfather to lung cancer 14 years ago this month.  The Free to Breathe was in a tough part of town to run in, the North Hills area.  It's called North Hills because it's on the north side of Raleigh, and there are a crap ton of hills.  This race lived up to its expectations.

There were a bunch of lung cancer survivors there, and I really got very emotional talking to some of them.  Most of the survivors walked the one mile race.  One of them wanted his grandson to pace off of me, but the kid was like 9 years old and couldn't hang.  Actually I thought I recognized the kid from the magnificent mile where he made me look slow and I did encourage him to keep my pace this time, but whatevs.

We got into the starting corral and took off with a downhill followed by a steep uphill.  The uphills were shortish but really steep.  Then it would level off typically, then a longer downhill section.  I cruised through the first mile like this.  The whole thing was residential streets so it was pretty cool. 

At the halfway point the garmin said 1.55 miles and I'd been running for exactly 10:39, so I felt like I could actually beat my 21:58 PR if I didn't completely fall out on the last half of the course.  The second half ended up being more of the same, short steep uphills followed by long not steep downhills.  Seems like a perfect-ish storm. 

Unfortunately, I did blow up a bit in the second half.  Not real bad, but I got a nice side stitch and eventually those short steep uphills just wore me down.  The last uphill was brutal, I turned the corner and could see the finish line.  A quck glance at the garmin showed I was at exactly 3.0 miles at 21:58 so I knew the PR was blown but with the finish line in sight?  that's pretty close.

Finish 22:33, a 7:17 pace
42/376 overall
5/18 age group

Sunday held a nice church service and a 20 mile run.  Came in at around a 7:58 pace too.  boo ya.  ultra training is good.

That Notre Dame game was outstanding.  The Alabama game was better.  it was a good weekend in flynntown.

Rolling Costumes

Last weekend I got out there Saturday morning for a great 18 mile run.  I went from the NC State Arboretum into Umstead state park and back, which left the route mostly on greenway and trail.  I felt pretty good the whole time, saw some friends out there on mountain bikes, and took a couple of gels and plenty of water.  After I got home I knew recovery was going to be key, so I made a green smoothie with lots of ginger ale & some franks red hot.  Capsaisin and ginger are key components in recovery.  A few hours later I was feeling fresh.  With the 5k race the next day I didn't want to be too fatigued to put up a solid race.

New Ink
Saturday afternoon I made my way back to the tattoo parlor for some fresh ink in the legs. Like they hadn't been beaten up enough by the 18'er.  I was absolutely craving some new ink and had a few ideas to explore.  After everything came together, I got out there and got this done:

Koi fish on the back of my right calf

Tribal Dragon on my left quad

The legend has it that if a koi fish can swim upstream it will display the strength and courage necessary to be transformed into a dragon.  So koi fish represent beauty and perseverance, and dragons represent strength and transformation.  I really like this, since I know a few things about strength and transformation.  Specifically black koi are reserved for men who have overcome a major obstacle in life.  Even with the placement of the tattoos, the koi fish on the back side of my lower right leg gets transformed into the dragon on my upper left leg.  It all fits.

I really love these tats.  They came out very clean, and provide an image and story that I can get behind.  Great conversation starters.  I think I'm going to name the dragon Eddie, that just seems like a good name for a tribal dragon.  You can't see him in most of my street clothes, even shorts.  But some running shorts leave a little tail showing.  Good stuff.

The artist warned me I would be a bit sore for the race the next day.

Monster Dash 5k
Sunday was the Monster Dash 5k 2012 and it was a blast.  I finished in 22:25, and I expected the course to be a bit faster than that.  It was still a fun race.  You may remember back in 2010 we all four did the 1 mile race in costume and had a blast.  This year the kids did the 1 mile race in costume, Kelley and I did the 5k, and everyone had a good time.

The kids race was first, and they went out with a bang.  They just had to run half a mile out on the 5k course, then turnaround and come back.  I think the winners were around 6:38.  Our kids took off at a pretty good pace, then got out of sight.  I moved up to a spot where I could see the clock and finish line to cheer them in.  The winners came in, then huge groups of people, then more kids, then other kids.  10 minutes on the clock, then 12, then here comes little babies with the stumble walk going along side their moms.  Finally around 15:37, here come my kids back into view walking and laughing at each other.  They weren't last!  I was glad for that.  Still as a parent, watching your kids leave with a large group of people and then not seeing them come back was starting to freak me out.

The 5k course was a straight out and back with one turn around Cameron Village (this is within walking distance of Kelley's dad's house).  It started out going up this really steep hill that felt longer than it looked, then turned right onto Oberlin.  Oberlin is one of the few very flat roads in Raleigh, so this worked out well. 

The line for the port-a-pots cleared out right before the start, and I had to make a last minute stop in there anyway, so I took advantage.  When I got out I heard the announcer say there was only 3 minutes until the start, so I cut it a bit close and got stuck at the back of the pack.  I tried to get in front of the people pushing baby strollers, but it's not my normal third or fourth row of people starting position.  Still, they started the race and we got out there.

I didn't try to crush the hill, just took what the hill gave me.  I had a lot of people to pass.  After the turn I just tried to hold a steady pace on Oberlin.  Again I passed everyone that I could.  It was kind of flat, but generally had a slight uphill grade so I tried to keep my pace around 7:10 per mile.  After the turnaround, that same grade was slightly downhill, so I tried to keep the pace around 6:50.  That didn't work so well.  I took some water at the turnaround and choked it down a little too fast, so I ended up stumbling and coughing pretty good on the side of the road for a while.  ooops.  Eventually I did regain my composure eventually to get my speed back up.

The giant uphill at the start became a crushing downhill at the finish.  When I get a really steep downhill, I like to really lean forward and kick my heels up really high.  It increases the float time between foot landings which translates to more time falling down on a steep grade like that.  My goal for this race was to get a PR, it was supposed to be one of the flattest courses in town and should have been very fast.  It was pretty fast, but when I saw the finish line at 22:25 I was really just glad to be done.  Between getting bogged down at the start and choking at the halfway point it just wasn't my day to PR. But I know it's out there.

22:25, 7:13 pace
70/591 overall
9/38 M 35-39

Kelley ran a good hard race coming in at 30:53.  The funniest things happened after I crossed the finish line.  The kids were there cheering me in, waiting with Kelley's dad.  The first thing they ask me is "Did you have fun Daddy?" and I told them yes, I did.  Before the timing chip could come off of my shoe Bigun tells me she's never doing another race again because she hates it all so much.  So apparently she didn't have as much fun as the constant laughter and playing would suggest.  After I collected myself a bit we got back to the other side of the finish line to cheer in the incoming runners.  When it started getting closer to 30 minutes on the clock you start to see the people who are really excited either just to finish or to break 30.  One woman hit the line with both arms in the air and screamed "I F*#^$(NG DID IT!!" very loud, then grabbed another woman on the sideline and started kissing her.  Mickey gave me that "did she just say that?" look and I had to concur.  That was hilarious, and I'm happy for her but it's a family event in the deep south people.  Come on.

Three Things Thursday (late edition)

1.  October is Oct-over

and what an October it was! The Giants won the world series in total control the whole time.  It feels like fall here now, the heat is gone for a few months.  And I did this:

Swim: zero
Bike: 38 miles, 3 rides
Run: 128.8, 16 runs, 1 race
Strength: 3 workouts
Yoga: 25 sessions

Ah, the triathlon offseason.  Ultra training.  A tiny bit of cross training maybe once a week and lots and lots of running.  I think 128 miles may be my biggest month ever.  I know it's the first time I've gone over 100 since Ironman training last year.  I've been doing 5 milers tuesday and thursdays before work.  Today's 5'er only took 37:29, which is the fastest one so far.  The weekends have been back to back long runs, 10 miles on saturday and longer on sunday.  One of these upcoming weeks I'm going to get my 10 mid-week and then get the weekend done with 10 on saturday and 20 on sunday, making a 40 mile week.  Epic!

I better get that done this month, as Dec 2nd is the ultra.

2. Registration is open!

The Beach 2 Battleship registration opened up today.  The 2013 race is on October 26th.  I know I'm going to do it as my second ironman.  The spreadsheet is already loaded up with a start to my training plan.  I haven't registered yet, but tomorrow is another day.

26 people have already registered, including two people from Raleigh, and one Flynn woman from Florida.  It's going to be a huge and very competitive field out there.  I'm very excited already.

3. Dreaming of Florida

This time last year we were down in PCB already.  IMFL is this weekend.  I know lots of people running it this year.  Good luck if you're running it saturday, and good luck if you're trying to sign up on sunday!

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I've got two new tattoos to show off, ran a 5k last saturday that needs a race report, and just signed up for another 5k this saturday.  crazy stuff all up in here!

All Growd Up

Bigun did something disturbing the other day.  At least, I find it disturbing as a parent and it's kind of freaking me out a little bit.

When we got into my car she sat down and said "You know the doctor said after I turn 8 I don't have to use these silly booster seats anymore".

Excuse me?

What happened to the tiny little kid?  When did conversation go from "Daddy, did you know the sky is blue and blue is my favorite color?" to that?  Now her conversations contain actual medical advice from a doctor that she remembered and said at a pertinent and appropriate time?  And it was topical?  There's no way this is normal behavior. 

But then, well, it might be.  Tonight she dropped another bomb.  "The only way to know the future is to wait until it becomes the past".  That's pretty deep.  we were just trying to make her do her homework.

Of course, this is the same kid who, when I walked into the choir loft with the rest of the choir in church last sunday, screams out "Daddy show them your new tattoo" in front of the whole congregation.  at least she's still cute.

The kids with our baby cousin that we got to meet for the first time at the wedding weekend.

Pretty girls at a Wedding

October 20th was a Hallmark day.  Beach 2 Battleship, the Great Floridian, the Tuna Run relay team, a kids birthday party, it was a huge weekend all around.  We were back in Greenville SC watching my cousin get married!  It was a great ceremony and a really fun weekend.

There was tons of construction going on I-85 so it took us about 6 hours to get down there instead of the usual 4.  Saturday morning I still had to get in my long run, so I figured I would get out to Furman for a few miles.  I didn't realize it was their homecoming weekend until I got onto campus.  The giant "Welcome Home" banner over the front gates was my first clue.  Then the campus was packed with people in purple, and floats out on the big grass mall.  I was still able to get a parking space and put about 14 miles on some gnarly single track trail around the lake.  I even saw an old friend while I was out there, it was quite a homecoming indeed!

Funny thing, after I was done running I still had to get back off campus.  I had some pretty bad nipple chafing, so the shirt had to go as soon as I got done.  Then I was driving out of there through the homecoming parade again, all covered in sweat, snot, tattoos and bloody nipples.  And here were all the fancy Furman folks in suits and cute purple dresses, and you know I got some of the strangest looks when I drove out of there.  I guess they weren't expecting to see me that day any more than I was expecting to see them.

The wedding was a blast.  The story is best told in pictures.

The first dance

Evil Genius was tearing up the dance floor!  She loved it.

Dancing with my mom

The dress swirls out

EG dancing with her daddy

Bigun dancing with Unc

Unc has moves.  he gets low.

And apparently Unc's girlfriend had no idea he could move like that! (love her!)

Me and Kelley getting our dance on

The happy couple on their way out! 

Me with Uncle Palmer.  I hadn't gotten to see him in years!

Sunday we made it back to Raleigh in pretty good time.  Bigun and I had an Indian Princess fall outing to get to way up in North Raleigh that afternoon.  So after driving up here we were all completely exhausted.  Bigun had a huge headache and laid down for a few, but didn't want to postpone the outing.  So we ended up going and made it into the camp at North Raleigh around 5 pm.

We got to eat dinner with the tribe and go through the evening ceremonies (that did involve toilet paper, kerosene and fire) and we ended up having a blast.  We missed the fun camp-y stuff but still had a blast.

Camping with Princesses

Saturday morning Kelley had a great 5k race while I stayed home with the kids. She turned in a sub-31 minute time and racked up some great Grand Prix series points. 

When she got home I took off for my first long run to the capital building and back.  The State Fair is going on this week, so it created a lot more traffic.  I caught a lot more red lights than I was expecting, and still managed to pull a 1:18:56 for the 10 miles.  I love pulling a sub-8 pace going down Hillsborough street in Raleigh.  This time I lost a few good minutes to stop lights and still went sub 8 (10 miles at an 8 minute pace is 80 minutes, or 1:20) and that's even more cool.

After the run I got to watch about 10 minutes of Kona coverage and football before starting the prep work for the camping trip.  It was insane.  Find all the gear, get the food ready, get everything pulled together to get out there by 4ish.  We still ended up here:

Check out all those veggies on the campfire grill!

We had a ball.  For a while.  The air mattress we brought in the tent wouldn't hold air for very long.  So what started out as a nice comfortable sleep quickly turned into no sleep at all.  It got not cool.  and left me very uncomfortable for most of sunday.

Somebody all snuggled up in the sleeping bag.

Sunday morning I was pretty sore, tired, and cranky.  We had a good breakfast at the campsite, did some prep work for this sunday's Indian Princess outing, and headed home.

I did get out for a decent run.  I went 16.2 miles, giving me a total of 26.2 miles for the weekend.  Since my legs felt like they had some kind of poisoning it wasn't exactly a comfortable run.  But it's in the books.

This weekend is a new opportunity for some fun.  We're heading out of town for a wedding and I'm still going to get some long runs in.  Good luck if you're doing Beach 2 Battleship or any other race this weekend!