OKC Marathon: 5×26.2

As I do with all my races, I like to recap each one going into detail about what I was thinking at c

Marathon Eve

On the eve of the 13th Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, I have quite a bit going through my mind. Ho

 

OKC Marathon: 5×26.2

May 13, 2013 in CrossFit Endurance, Race Recap

As I do with all my races, I like to recap each one going into detail about what I was thinking at certain points during the day. Here is the 2013 version of the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. Here is the 2010 version if you want the first go-’round.

April 28th, 2013 marked the 5th time I would take on the 26.2 mile distance. I took a different approach to training for this marathon, a minimalist one. I only trained with CrossFit the majority of the time and threw in some CrossFit Endurance workouts in occasionally. I found that it was difficult to coach a CFE class and do the workout (alone, mind you) in the same day so most of the time, I only coached. I felt I was in shape enough to go out and finish the distance and mentally, I knew what was ahead of me throughout the run so I was good in that arena as well. Time was the only thing I was unsure of going into this marathon. I kind of set a goal to be sub 3:30 but time wasn’t the most important part of this race. This race, I wanted to enjoy the entire thing and not black out anywhere along the route like I have in several of my marathons.

The morning of, I opened Koda at 5:00am to give people the opportunity to walk through a warm up and prepare for what was to take place soon. I thought we’d have maybe 5 people, 10 at most, show up. Nearly 30 people were in the gym warming up. I led a little group mobility and warm up and gave a few tips and pointers and answered a few questions from those that were just a little nervous before their first half/full marathon. At 5:35, we all made our way downtown to get in line for the start. And so it began.

Start – 168 seconds of silence. The first time I ran it, I was so rushed and nervous to get to the start that I was running late and had to jump the fence even after the gun went off so I didn’t get a chance to be a part of this. It was very powerful especially with the events that took place in Boston just two weeks prior.

Mile 1 – In 2010, the Devon Tower wasn’t there. We were heading right for it and running right below it this time around. It was very cool to be running under tall buildings.

Mile 2 – I got rid of one of my fat long sleeve t-shirts. I knew I hung on to those for some reason and this was a perfect occasion for me to throw it away.

Mile 2.2 – Bathroom break. What the hell, Ryan!?

Mile 2-5 – I ran into so many people that I knew from the gym, from school and from different running events. It was fun talking to everyone as we ran by the capital and headed back west approaching Gorilla Hill.

Mile 6 – QUADS. Just 20 more miles. Shit.

Mile 7 – Running through Edgemere Park and Gorilla Hill was very fun this time around. Saw some more friends and took in all the parties going on with the music blaring. We approached the split where the half marathon split off and the full marathon kept going. Things got less crowded and less exciting but we still had a ways to go. Can’t get bored now.

Mile 8 – 10 – Did not remember this part of the race last time at all. Found out that I didn’t remember alot of the race the first time around. There are so many parks in this part of the city. So many places to play offense/defense. Kind of cool.

Mile 10 or 11 – This is where the 3rd relay exchange was. I saw a buddy from the gym and he cheered me on. I was still at a good pace right now and was ahead of schedule. It was either going to be a great, great day or one that I’d end up regretting with the current pace I was holding.

Mile 12-16 – I ran with two guys this stretch of the race, west on Britton and around the lake to Stars and Stripes park. I let one guy be in the lead the entire time and completely drafted off of him. Kind of a douche move on my part having never been first to take on the wind but that’s ok. I wasn’t planning on having a beer with this guy afterwards. At this point in the race, I was starving. I was so hungry. I took my gels but those don’t fill you up. I needed food so I began grabbing bananas and oranges at each stop they offered them. Pretzels don’t do it for me and I knew that going in so I never reached for those.

Mile 16-20 – These miles were really close to my house. I saw my roommate, Cole and Chloe (aka Tick Face). He handed me a water bottle with a much needed Nuun. These miles were the ones that Koda Endurance did all winter long. We ran Grand Blvd. every Sunday for 5 months nearly. They were primarily downhill but I began to unravel at this point in the race. My feet were beginning to hurt and my miles were slowing.

Mile 20 – I had one 10k left. It was going to take forever. I saw a few Koda folks right at 63rd and Grand and got a quick boost. That lasted all of 150m. My hamstring cramped as I went up the hill right before Classen Curve. I was in trouble. I stopped. Bent over and stretched out my right hamstring. I was nervous to get going but this has happened in several of my other marathons as well. That first step is questionable but afterwards, things get back to normal. I was thankful that it was the case this time around.

Mile 20-23 – This stretch of the race is kind of boring. This is where I almost broke down completely the first time I ran OKC. I was on the verge of tears having to walk every quarter of a mile or so. Having to walk by all the spectators cheering for you was miserable. I wasn’t walking this time, but I was slowing. I saw a few more people from Koda that lifted my spirits a bit. Taylor, a guy in my Endurance class, ran with me for a little bit. I was glad to have someone to talk to. I was 2 hours and 45 minutes into the day. I was ready for it to be over. At mile 23, a little girl was handing out candy. I had candy during my marathon for my Ironman and it helped a ton. I grabbed what I thought was going to be Skittles but instead it was two Starbursts. I’m not turning around for Skittles. I opened up the candy (which took what seemed like half a mile because the wrappers on wrappers on wrappers) and as always… a yellow and an orange. Never had I enjoyed a lemon Starburst more. For the next 3 miles of the race, that’s all I wanted. I needed that yellow Starburst.

Mile 24 – 5k LEFT!

Mile 25 – I ran up one last gigantic hill that was the last struggle before the homestretch. Right as I turned towards the finish line, there was a large Koda group cheering/drinking. It was exactly what I needed. They said I looked good at the turn for it being 25 miles into a marathon but I felt like garbage. Only 1 mile left.

Mile 26 – Running down Broadway is the best. I was pushing 3:30 but was needing to sprint in order to make it. I was content with not making 3:30. I kept running. Smiling the entire way down Broadway and to the finish line. I didn’t hear my name but was very excited to cross the finish line, get my medal and grab as much food as possible… except the Carl’s Jr. burgers. I knew what those would do to me.

I had to walk back to my car from the finish line… about another half mile. It took me longer to walk that than I imagined it would have when I parked there. I didn’t necessarily train for a marathon but wanted to prove to myself that I could get up and run one if I wanted to and that’s exactly what I did.

I remembered more from this race than any of my other races. It was a different experience and one that I’d welcome any day of the week when it came down to running marathons. Running to run is fun sometimes, but running to remember was way more exciting. We had over 40 people run some part of the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon and seeing all those people finish their legs of the relay, finish their half marathons and finish their full marathons made me so proud to have been some part of their journey.

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Marathon Eve

April 28, 2013 in CrossFit Endurance, Running, Training

On the eve of the 13th Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, I have quite a bit going through my mind. However this time around, none of it is about me.

Typically, I am thinking about my race, my plan, my goal. This is new to me. For the first time in my endurance life, I am so excited for others. For the past 5 months, I have been coaching and training an incredible group of people from Koda CrossFit. We have over 40 people running some part of the race tomorrow. 5Ks, 10Ks, 12Ks, Half Marathons and the Full Marathon. We even have two people in California right now running the Big Sur Marathon (jealous!). For those that don’t know, I had always wanted to pay it forward in the endurance community. I did most all of my training for my marathons by myself and even my Ironman. For that one, I did have a coach from afar. I wanted to be that person for others. I wanted to share my knowledge, my pointers, my failures so other people could learn from me and I’d be able to be a part of their journey. I finally got the chance to do that this year.

I am running the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon for the 2nd time and this will be my fifth marathon overall. I have enjoyed it more this time around I can honestly say. The first time I ran it, it was my first marathon. I was overweight, new to the running scene and was clueless as to what would come next. I focused on the running aspect. This time around, I focused more on the why aspect of this marathon. Today, my roommate Cole and I went downtown and walked around the Oklahoma City National Memorial. We saw the chairs, saw the Survivor Tree, saw the notes and letters and stuffed animals on the fence outside the Memorial. It was very overwhelming to see everything on the eve before the race that was put in place to remember the victims and the coming together of a city.

I want people to remember this race as a huge accomplishment in their life but also to take everything in. I want them to listen to people. I want them to listen to the cheers. I want them to talk to people. I want them to read the signs. Read the bibs and see who people are running for. I want everyone to feel the 168 seconds of silence. These are things that I missed my first time around and things that I will not miss tomorrow.

Seeing the Memorial today and having a flood of emotions run through me as I remembered where I was and what I was doing when the bomb went off on April 19th, 1995 was incredible. It made me proud to be a part of this city and to be a part of a city that built itself up from that horrific day. It also made me proud that I was able to share my running experience with others and will be able to see them cross that finish line tomorrow and receive their Finisher’s Medal.

My first OKC Memorial Marathon, I didn’t think of it as a Run to Remember but more as a run for me. This time around, it will be for others.

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Race Week

April 21, 2013 in CrossFit Endurance, Running

You’re trained. You’re ready. Don’t mess this up.

There are alot of questions going through your mind right now as race day is quickly approaching. If it’s your first race, there are even more. First thing you have to do is know that you’re ready. The work has been put in. If you happened to go at it with a little more lax attitude and you’re a little more worried this week, be happy with the work you did put in and don’t overdue it this week. That goes for you all that were able to stick to your training plans and are fully prepared for race day come Sunday. Don’t go nuts this week.

Be sure to stick to your normal schedule through Wednesday. Work out normal. Eat normal. Drink normal. Don’t repeat Open Workout 13.3. Everything you have done since December in preparation for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, keep doing it. Thursday, if you’ve worked out pretty hard through Wednesday, think about taking a rest day from everything. Come in for some mobility. It will be a light day at the gym for this reason. Friday go out for a run… 2-3 (slow) miles. Saturday – keep it easy: mobility, maybe a short run. After Thursday for sure, I would take a break from everything legs at the gym. Substitute if you have to during workouts. No heavy cleans or 4×7 back squats. Take Saturday to get your things in order and get your mind right. Know your race plan and how you’re going to tackle your 13.1 miles or 26.2. Go to bed early on Saturday night.

Race Day: Try your best to have a good night of sleep. Let your mind be at ease and take Saturday to make that happen. Wake up early, early. This won’t be hard if it is your first race. Eat your (good) breakfast. If you’ve practiced your breakfast on any of your training runs, stick with that. Don’t change it up. If you’re regular, that’s going to be good on race day. You don’t want to have any surprises while running…. we’re talking BMs here. Get down to the race area with plenty of time. Be prepared to do some walking beforehand because parking is limited. Have a plan on where you’re going to meet your group afterwards too because you aren’t going to want to walk too far after you cross that finish line. If it is cold in the morning, bring/wear clothes that you don’t mind throwing away. They’ll be picked up afterwards and donated. It is crowded at the start. Don’t be scared to spread out a bit and get your (dynamic) stretches in.

Once the gun goes off, you’ll want to take off fast. DON’T. It’s very, very hard to slow yourself down that first mile or two. Know that it is tough and do everything you can to stick with your plan. Everything is there for the same reason. People are excited. The atmosphere is incredible. Going out fast once you’re able to is easy to do. Try to not let that happen. It usually is jammed up at the beginning. You’re going to feel like you’re going really slow if you’re in the middle or towards the end of the start. Don’t panic. You’ll have plenty of time to make up that time if you got caught up in the crowd. You don’t have to pick up your pace at the first because of that. Have small goals throughout the race. If you have friends and family coming out to cheer you on, have them plan where they are going to be to let you know. Seeing people you know is so huge during a race of this duration.

Wear your name on your shirt. Take your nutrition. Drink your water. Rock out to your tunes. Enjoy the race. Remember why you are there running. Take in the experience. I ran the Chicago Marathon and I don’t remember any of it except for maybe 3 parts of the race. It lasted 3 hour and 30 minutes and I remember 10 minutes of it… maybe. Take in everything you can while running. Think back on your training and how much you worked for this moment. Remember the people cheering for you as you run by. Read the signs people make. Remember Gorilla Hill. Look at the houses when running through Nichols Hills. See parts of OKC that you may have never seen. Thank the volunteers handing you water and bananas. Smile as you run down Broadway towards the finish line. Wear your medal ALL day.

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Fittest In Oklahoma

January 28, 2013 in Cross Fit

I’m writing this post still riding the emotional high from the Fittest In OK CrossFit Competition so forgive me if I begin rambling in the post writing run-on sentence after run-on sentence going into great detail about one of my greatest athletic moments and how I surprised myself at my first competition and how our gym, Koda CrossFit, is the greatest gym in OKC greater metropolitan area and so-on and so-on….

The WODs (Workouts of the Day) were released just days before the competition began. In CrossFit, you have to be prepared for everything when it comes to competition. I was nervous before seeing the workouts… I was even more nervous after the WODs were posted. My goal going into the weekend was to do well enough to make it to Sunday. The top 30 competitors out of 60 after the first 3 WODs would move on to Sunday. I was worried/nervous/anxious/excited/ready for Saturday to roll around and finally it was here.

WOD #1: Overhead Squat Ladder – SC men: 75#-95#-125#
AMRAP 7 min OHS ladder (1,2,3,4,5,…)
The athlete will have three 2-minute rounds at 3 ascending weights.

I actually did this workout in the days leading up to the event and I did it poorly. This is the WOD that had me concerned. I was able to watch the first couple of heats and I had a game plan going into it. Knock out as many as I could the first round with 75 lbs. on the bar without stopping. Try to do the same with 95 lbs. and then just struggle and hopefully get a few with 125 lbs. I surprised myself on this one. I completed 8 or 9 total rounds with 75 pounds, 1 or 2 with 95 on the bar, and then I was only able to get 4 or 5 reps with 125# which was 4 or 5 more than I was able to do in “practice.” I finished 11 total rounds for a total rep count of 66 which was good enough for 21st out of 58 competitors. I was in the middle of the pack going into WOD #2. Jared Muse, owner of Koda, completely demolished this workout with a total of 84 reps, which put him in 2nd place after this one. He held on the entire weekend doing solid in each event for an impressive 4th overall finish.

WOD 2: Tabata Mix up (:20 on, :10 rest for 4:00)
Tabata row (for calories)
Tabata jump rope (single unders)
Tabata thrusters (45#)
Athlete will complete 8 rounds of each movement, and the lowest score recorded is your score for that event.

I felt comfortable in this event. I didn’t know how well I’d do because there were plenty of strong athletes at the Fittest In OK. I started off quickly on the row busting out 10 calories each time for the first 2 times. I didn’t know if I’d be able to hold that pace every time and sure enough I wasn’t able to. I dropped down to 9 calories for the next 4 rounds. That 3rd minute killed me. I got to 8 calories the next time and barely made it to 8 on the final row for a final score of 8. We had a minute transition to get to the jump rope mat and get ready. I went with a different approach to this one. I decided that I’d “run” my jump ropes rather than both feet at a time. This proved to be beneficial for me. My lowest total was 43 and I stuck with it. Next were thrusters. Thrusters are a movement where you go into the squat position and “thrust” a barbell overhead when coming up. The first round, I did 13 total reps. The judge said, “that’s a quick pace.” I agreed. Next 20 seconds, I did 11 with 3 seconds to spare. The catch on this event was that we couldn’t put the bar down. We had to rest it somewhere that was not the ground. I decided that on my back would be a good spot. So with 3 seconds left in each round, I would have just completed my 11th rep and I’d throw the bar on my back. I kept that same process the entire round of 4 minutes and finished with a score of 11 thrusters for that section. I finished 3rd overall in that event which moved my position up to 7th after 2 WODs.

WOD 3: Death by KBS
9-12-15-18-21-24-27-30-Max Effort
Each minute athlete must complete reps for that round.

I had no idea how I’d do in this event. I can do kettle bell swings, but I knew that this was a lot of them.

This was the one negative I encountered throughout the course of the weekend. The heat before me, someone ripped and there was blood all over the kettle bell. The judge told me not to touch the kettle bell. I was OK with that. One of the guys that was putting on the event came over with some napkins and a bottle of water and proceeded to wipe down the bell. He said it was good to go. Apparently, they didn’t have any cleaning agents in the building and thought water was good. If I’m going to contract something, I want to do it in a fun way and not at a CrossFit event from an unknown guy through a kettle bell. Some other competitor said he would use it and I switched spots with him. Away we went.

Our nutrition guru and coach at Koda, Chad Hamilton teaches a breathing pattern when doing KBS… breath in on the way up when your chest is open and exhale as the bell is coming down. I focused on this pattern the entire time as well as on a small circle on the mat ahead of me. I got through 21 just fine and 24, it began to get a little heavy. I made it to 27 with some time to spare and next up was 30. I did each round unbroken with legit reps really thrusting the KB up over my head. I was completely zoned in by this point. I kept the same pace through the 30 and made it all the way with a few seconds left on the clock. THIS is when things got awesome. I was the only one to make it through 30 in my heat and one of 3 total to do so in the scaled division. I walked over to the chalk bucket, chalked up and made my way to my kettle bell. Everyone was focused on me. I was focused on the kettle bell. I made it through 15 reps unbroken and set the bell down. A Koda teammate, Jarred, was next to me and counted me down to pick up the bell, “3, 2, 1, go!” I picked the bell up again and began to swing. My grip was done by this point but I knew I had only seconds left and kept going. The crowd was going nuts cheering for me. Most everyone in the building was watching me and yelling for me. The guy in front of me came back to cheer for me and count down the seconds. He himself made me do an extra 7 swings because I wanted to be done but I couldn’t be done until time was up. I did 26 swings in the max effort extra minute. When I was done, I dropped the bell and walked 20 feet straight forward trying to catch my breath. People were still cheering and I heard Emery yell, “Take your shirt off.” How that was the only thing I heard, I have no idea. It was incredible. At that moment, I felt on top of the world and in all honesty, it may have been a better feeling than my Ironman finish. Afterwards, people were coming over to congratulate me on my effort. I won that event and that moved me up to second after Day 1. I made the cut and moved on to day number two.

I had two dinners that night and was in bed by 10. I could have and probably should have been asleep by 8, but 10 it was. I woke up and prepared myself for the day. I knew this next WOD would be a tough one for me. I have my endurance pretty well in check but my strength needs improvement.

WOD #4: Triplet
15-12-9 of
Hang Power Clean
Ring dips (all other divisions are push ups)
Sandbag + Farmer carry shuttle run (30’)

Being in 2nd place has its advantages. I was in the final heat along with 3 other Koda-ites, Jared Muse, Brice Collier and Matt Chandler. Jared and I were in the scaled division and Matt and Brice were Rx. I needed to post a decent time in order to make it to the next WOD. After WOD #4, the field was cut from 30 to 6. My goal was to do each round unbroken and keep a decent pace. I completed that goal but I did get No Repped a time or two on both my hang power cleans and my push ups. I ended up finishing the event in 3:41 seconds… putting me in 7th(!!!!!!) place after that event. I didn’t make the cut.

This was my first CrossFit competition ever. I had no idea what to expect or how I’d handle everything. I came out of it knowing what I need to work out. How to approach events, mentally and physically, and how I can surprise myself still. I’m not the biggest guy out there but to know that I can hold my own (in the scaled division) with really great athletes all around me is an awesome thing.

#TeamKoda was amazing all weekend long. A ton of members came out to cheer both days and show their support for our athletes. Koda had two Top 10 finishes in both the scaled individual and Rx individual. We had a team, the Sexy Exes, win the Scaled Team division and our Rx team finished 5th overall. Koda is incredible and I am so glad to be part of this amazing gym.

I may not be the “Fittest in OK” this time, but I am probably top 3 “Sorest in OK.”

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Weekend Update

January 14, 2013 in Uncategorized

We’re two weeks into January and things have picked up quite a bit. Koda Endurance has expanded to 4 classes a week (5:45am and 5pm on Tuesdays and Thursday) up from its original two classes a week in December. We’ve seen some awesome improvements in form and in time from all of the athletes. Koda now has a Koda Crossfit Endurance Facebook page so go on over there and check out what we’ve been up to.

With another calendar year upon us, so are health/fitness challenges. This year is no exception. I’m currently in a 6 week paleo challenge. I’ve been going strong for 14 days and yesterday, I had a moment of weakness… I blame birthday parties and carrot cake cupcakes. Since the beginning of the challenge, I’ve seen dramatic changes in the way my clothes fit and the way I look in the mirror. My energy level has increased as well. Last weekend, I did a 10k run and I nearly died. Energy wasn’t there at all and I struggled from the word “go.” This past weekend, I ran another 10k and I felt incredible the entire race. I have been eating really well. Avoiding legumes, dairy, bad carbs, eating only meats and vegetables. I have yet to have a coke in the new year which for me is impressive. One more month of the challenge and once complete, I’ll post before and after pictures. I hope there is a big change.

This past Saturday, a group of us ran the first race in the Frozen Nose Series, the Elvis 5k & 10k run. I ran the 10k and I was a little nervous. I have a reputation to keep, you know, and I have never ever raced a 10k. I’ve done one 5k race and that was in November of 2010. The only other races that I have competed in have been marathons and an Ironman. The race lived up to its name as it got really cold overnight and we had a heck of a north wind for probably 4 miles out of the 6.2. I ended up going out fast like I typically do because I can’t go slow out of the blocks (has gotten me in trouble in the past). I held on for a 41:28 finish with a 6:42 pace. I was 1st in my age group and 4th overall out of 90 or so. We had 13 all together from Koda come out and race. 4 of us received medals and all 13 finished! It was great race, apart from the cold, and I am kind of looking forward to running in another one of these races.

Sunday, I had my first crossfit “competition” in the OKC Metro Competitor’s League. The workout was a 400m run, 50 box jumps, 50 toes to bars, 400m and once that was complete, a deadlift ladder. I was in heat 7 and had some sort of game plan going into it. I was able to watch everyone before my heat and learned a few things from them. I was the first in the door on the 400m run. I knocked out 50 box jumps pretty easily and was the first off the box jumps. Once I hit the toes to bars, I planned on doing sets of 5 and hoping to get to 50 with a relatively quick pace. That went out the window after the first set of 5. Those toes to bars killed me and by the end of it, I was doing sets of 1. SETS OF ONE! It was humbling and pretty demoralizing. I completed the workout in 10:36 and was onto the deadlift ladder. I only made it to two stations completing the 315 DL but failing the 365 DL. I am really glad that I participated because it kind of gave me a taste of what to expect at the Fittest in OK Crossfit Competition that I have at the end of January. I have some work to do.

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2012: Year In Review

December 31, 2012 in Uncategorized

2012: The Year of the ?uestion Mark.

In a nutshell, I:

  • road tripped the California coast following the Thunder on a West Coast swing.
  • sold the first house I owned.
  • moved in with my sister and niece.
  • drank coffee on the beach daily.
  • swam with seals and dolphins in La Jolla.
  • held Kinsey for an entire night when she was sick.
  • commuted in LA.
  • found my way to Austin.
  • watched friends get married.
  • worked 3 days a week.
  • trained 7.
  • hitchhiked.
  • became a psuedo-hipster.
  • had an awful awesome mustache.
  • fell in love… with food trucks.
  • discovered how a city “runs.”
  • finished 140.6 miles in under 12 hours.
  • recorded the fastest time ever to sell everything in a room and move cities: just shy of 32 hours.
  • grew my hair out.
  • drove across the United States… CA-OK, OK-SC.
  • spent, regrettably, too little time on my Halloween costume.
  • watched Blake Bell ruin Oklahoma State in person.
  • had a total of 6 roommates, 5 of them being women.
  • celebrated my 28th birthday with pumpkin pie.
  • met new friends.
  • became a Crossfit Endurance coach.
  • determined karma may be a real thing.

The only thing that was for certain in 2012 was uncertainty. Looking back, I had an incredible year of adventures, journeys and enough time road tripping for hours and hours of self-reflection. Thank you to everyone who made 2012 quite an amazing year. See you around the bend, 2013.

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Day 1: Koda CFE

December 5, 2012 in CrossFit Endurance

Yesterday was the very first class of my CrossFit Endurance coaching career*. After going down to San Antonio for the CrossFit Endurance Seminar, I was really excited to get back to Oklahoma City and get going with the class. Folks at the gym were getting really excited about it as well with the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon in the not so distant future (pending the end of the world).

I started off the day by going to Oklahoma Christian University and hitting the track with one of the owners of Koda, Jared Muse, and another guy from the gym, Matt. They’re competing in the All Cities Open in Dallas this weekend and they were wanting to do one of their workouts for this weekend: 400m Run, 50m Hurdles+Front Rolls, Stadium Stairs (we substituted 30 weighted front squats) 50m Hurdles+Front Rolls, 400m Run. It was a quick workout, but it was tough. Once we knocked that workout out, we went into the gym and got in a little more cardio with a few games of 21. My shot was off…. I need to get back into playing. I’m blaming the shoes.

Next up, the 5:00pm Endurance Class. I was pretty anxious to get it going. 19 people showed up…19!!! Most everyone there had been actively CrossFitting for sometime but we did have a few new people so it was fun to introduce them into the CF World. I was admittedly a little nervous as the class began but slowly found my groove* as we got going. I’m sure I’ll get better as time goes by. We had quite a few experienced runners in the group which is exciting and I explained my experience with CFE which to me is a big plus. As was my case, I knew of someone that used the CFE methodology and it took until I finished a marathon (my fastest one at that) using CFE to completely buy in. It’s a learning process and there is a learning curve indeed to transition between LSD training and CFE training. Progression is key!

No one died so that was good. Next up, Day 2! This same picture will be taken at the end of the OKC Marathon in April. Great job, everyone! Keep it up.

* Denotes terms thrown around all willy-nilly like.

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KODA Endurance

November 28, 2012 in CrossFit Endurance

Next week, I begin something that I’ve been wanting to do for sometime now. I thought about it after completing my Ironman but had zero clue on how to go about it. I’ve wanted to begin helping people accomplish their endurance goals by coaching them. I’ve trained by myself for more than 90% of the time and it is tough to hold yourself accountable. It’s tough to wake up for those runs at 7 in the morning when it’s 26 degrees outside. It’s tough to get out on the track to run intervals by yourself. I know how beneficial it can be to have a group to call friends and training partners. Next week begins something special for me and it’s all thanks to the people at KODA CrossFit.

Next Tuesday at 5:00pm, I begin coaching a CrossFit Endurance class at KODA CrossFit. The classes are going to be held, initially, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5pm with our “long” workouts on Sunday at a time that works for everyone. We’ll be following the CrossFit Endurance website and will be preparing for our “A” race come April, the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon. This first week is going to be a week to feel everyone out and recruit a group of people willing to stick it out until April. We’ll be figuring out everyones goals for CrossFit Endurance and the race in April, whether it’s the 5K, Half or Full Marathon. I’m very excited to get things going!

Now for a little background: After running the Chicago Marathon (October 2011, 3:27), I had two months until the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon in December. I wasn’t necessarily done with running but I needed a change of pace after 18 weeks of juuuuuust running. I wanted to try out CrossFit because I wanted to push myself to a new level. I began CrossFit during that two month span and even tried out a few CrossFit Endurance workouts. I was still in the mindset of needing to get in my miles but even with that mindset, I didn’t get in those miles. The longest I ran was 11 miles and that was a month before the LV Marathon.

When I got to Las Vegas, I ran the entire length of the marathon without ever hitting the proverbial wall. I PR’d my marathon time by 8 minutes breaking the 3:20 barrier finishing at 3:19. It was incredible and incredibly surprising. After that, I was sold on the CFE methodology. I trained for my Ironman pulling many workouts from the CFE program over the 9 months of training and finished my first Ironman in under 12 hours without ever having a “rough patch” (used loosely) the entire day.

I can’t wait for next week to get here. If you’re interested in trying out CrossFit and find a new way to train for those marathons without spending hours and hours on the road beating yourself up, come get strong with us at Koda CrossFit and try out one of my classes.

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I Am An Ironman – Ironman Louisville Recap

August 29, 2012 in Ironman, Race Recap, Triathlon

11 hours, 55 minutes and 58 seconds after jumping into the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky, I became an Ironman. It has been a weirdly incredible journey over the past 9 months.

 

Between December of 2011 and August 26th, 2012, ish got real. I lost my job. I sold my house. I sold nearly all of my possessions. I moved 1,361 miles away. I was a bum. I swam in the Pacific. I cycled in the mountains. I ran on the beach. I got a job. I moved 1,329 miles back the other direction. I rode on Route 66. The job changed a great deal. I discovered Austin…. and at the end of it all, I swam 2.4 miles in the Ohio River. I cycled 112 miles through Kentucky’s rolling hills. I ran a marathon in 93 degree heat. I crossed the finish line with a smile on my face. I became an Ironman.

Race Week: With any endurance event training, there is a taper. It’s the worst part of training season. You’ve spent so much time training and putting in the time and effort for race day that you can’t sit still. You have to unfortunately. With the unknown looming, it has been worse. My previous 3 marathons, I knew what to expect. I knew my training was on point. I knew what it took to make it 26.2 miles. This race, I had no clue as to what was coming on Sunday, August 26th. That’s what made race week nearly unbearable.

My roommates and coworkers threw me a little “Good Luck and Don’t Die” party on Wednesday. It was awesome and I they even made me a motivation book. Thursday morning, I took off to Louisville. I got settled in my place and went to get checked in. There, we were given our countless items we needed for the event. The best item we received was no doubt the awesome backpack. Thursday night, I explored the part of Louisville that I was staying in and found it to be a really fun city. I just couldn’t take part.

Friday, I met a group from the IAMTRI Group (a great resource for Ironman Louisville if you can tolerate sifting through a few 100 pointless email notices). We went on a 20 mile bike ride of the course and followed that up with driving the course. It helped big time to have some sort of knowledge of the course before actually racing it, being an out-of-towner. I met two guys that I hung out with the rest of the day at the IAMTRI Fundraiser event and then at the Athlete Welcome Banquet that night. The food wasn’t terrible and the event was all about getting you pumped up for the race that was to take place on Sunday morning.

That night, I slept awful. I just couldn’t get much sleep. I woke up early and rode my bike down to the practice swim session in the Ohio river. Jumped in and had a nice, leisurely 18 minute swim. Afterwards, I went back to where I was staying and packed all my transition bags. Double and triple checking everything I needed was included. I then went and checked my bike and bags at transition. Let me tell you, I thought I spent plenty of money doing this triathlon thing… sheesh! People have dropped some coin on bikes and gear. It’s incredible the amount of cool stuff one can have on a bike. Once that was done. It was time to hydrate, fuel up and relax. My parents, sister and niece all came into town that night and we went to eat at this Italian cafe. Spaghetti was the meal of choice, naturally. Once I had my fill, my family dropped me off and I was in bed right around 9:45. Perfect.

Race Day: 3:40am – Alarm goes off and I jump right out of bed. I slept amazingly well. I got up about three times to go to the bathroom which was a great sign as inconvenient it may be. I immediately went to the kitchen and made my two sweet potatoes, 2 bananas and 2 bags on instant oatmeal. It was slightly tough getting all that down for breakfast at such an early time but I knew I needed it. This is where all the mental games began. My dad picked me up at 4:30 and I made my way into transition, getting my tires aired up, nutrition on the bike and my Garmin in my run gear back and began making my way to the swim start.

For Ironman Louisville, the swim begins about 3/4s of a mile away from the transition so athletes must walk to the start to get marked and grab their spot in line. I got my spot towards the front, but there were still several hundreds of people in front of me. No sweat. I sit down and cool out just trying to think of the day ahead. The time was 5:40 by this point. It was going to be a long day.

Time absolutely flew by and 6:35 was here. I took my gel that I brought with me and the line was slowly creeping up as people were beginning to stand in line bunching up towards the front. At 6:45 or so, the announcer came on the speaker system and we could hear the National Anthem and at 6:50, the pros were off. It was very cool to see what fast swimmers look like in the pro field. Then it was the age grouper’s turn. I never had nerves as those are usually accompanied by cause for concern and never once did I have that. Excitement is what I would describe the feeling I had as the gun went off and the line began moving. HERE WE GO!


SWIM – 1:13:35

I’m smiling all the way to the start. I get to the end of the dock and jump in feet first. Swimming all those times in La Jolla and here in Barton Springs prepared me for this moment. Open water swimming is a different animal and you HAVE to practice in order to survive it. I immediately got in my rhythm and headed up Tow Head Island. It was .8 miles up the channel before turning around and heading down the river for another 1.6 miles to the transition. My breathing was better during this swim than in any other practice swim. It was weird but I was thankful for it. Every third stroke, I’d take a breath. Sighting was incredibly simple with bridges to target with every look. Also the line of swimmers helped too. My right ankle began to ache a bit so I had to quit kicking with my right foot for a while and it bothered me for the rest of the swim. It seemed to take forever to get to the first bridge but once there, the second bridge came right after and we were nearly done. In the past, I’ve exited the water and been dizzy but this time around, I was perfect. The pain in my ankle simply just went away also. I never thought about it again. I was excited and all smiles again. I heard my sister screaming for me and saw them and waved.


BIKE – 6:18:32

Transition was great. The volunteers were awesome and one guy helped me the entire time I was in T1. I got my nutrition in me, water in me, my chamois cream smothered where it needed to be and my shoes on. Ran out of there, got sunscreen on and grabbed my bike… all in under 5 minutes. On my way out, I saw my family again. Waved adios to them and told them I’d see them in about 6.5 hours.

The bike section is pretty simple in terms of direction. You stay on a road for a long time, make a right, turnaround, make a right, stay on a road for a long time, couple of turns, do it again, stay straight and you’re finished. Things you have to take into account, hills. Lots of them.

Looking back on my training, the hill workouts paid off big time. Throughout the entirety of the 112, not once did I feel like my legs were in a tremendous amount of pain. I didn’t have any cramps. The biggest battle while on the bike for me is the mental aspect of it. 6+ hours is a long time to stay on a bike. I had a plan and I stuck to it, luckily. I took a gel/stinger waffle/bloks every 20 minutes, knocked out 2 bottles of water and/or Ironman Perform (similar to Gatorade) in between aid stations in hopes to have to stop at them to go to the bathroom. I went to the bathroom 5 times during the 112 miles, stopping every time to do so. It was just what I was hoping for honestly. It meant I was staying hydrated but also gave me a chance to jump off my bike and stretch my legs a bit.

There were a few lengthy hills that made you work and you had to keep that in mind coming around on the first loop knowing you had to do it again. I kept a reasonably consistent pace considering that I stopped and took bathroom breaks, stopped to get my special needs bag, stopped to refill my aero bottle. My legs never felt too worn out but by mile 90, I was ready to be off the bike for sure. The good thing about mile 90 is that you are heading down the home stretch. The last few miles seemed to stretch out forever and I was extremely happy to see transition off in the distance. I made a few final turns, got out of my shoes and saw my family.

 


RUN – 4:11:18
Coming off the bike, my legs felt surprisingly great. I gave my bike to one of the volunteers and ran down to grab my run bag. I made it to the tent, put on my compression sleeves, socks, shoes and gold bond medicated powder (clutch). I spoke with a few volunteers in there and had some water. With that, I was off again and this time in under 8 minutes.

My legs felt amazing, considering. I took off and I knew I was going out fast but I couldn’t help it. I feel the most comfortable running because that’s the thing I have focused on for over 2 years now. My first 2 miles were an out and back on a bridge over the Ohio River (where we swam earlier) and almost to Indiana. After that, the course cut through downtown and on one road all the way down making a 6.5 mile out and back. We did that part of the course twice totaling the full 26.2 miles.

I ran without walking through the first 8 miles. My plan going into it was run as long as I could and then walk the aid stations from there. This started at mile 8. Also starting at mile 8, a sharp pain that came from a left calf cramp. This only happened twice and it only happened for a split second. At mile 10, this happened again but in my right calf. After mile 10, I had zero cramps the rest of the run. From mile 10 to 15 were consistent miles but my time was slipping slowly. I had it mapped out in my head at mile 13 where I could be when I cross the finish line. My goal of a 4 hour marathon was going to be close and had to keep consistent 9:30 miles from then on out. That was going to be tough. But after doing some math, I would still be able to hit my overall goal of a sub-12 hour race. I was shooting for it.

At mile 15, a lady ran next to me. We were doing the exact same pace with the same plan of walking the aid stations. We didn’t speak for the near hour and a half that we ran together but we knew what we were doing. We would push each other to start running after the aid stations (the hardest part) and we would stick together running the mile until the next aid station. In retrospect, this was huge for me. I don’t know if I could have kept that pace without her. Mile 20 is when things started to unravel. I had taken Ironman Perform, water, cola, chicken broth and oranges and bananas at the aid stations when I needed it. After mile 20, nothing was going down without a horrible feeling afterwards for the next half mile. I stuck strictly to water after that. At mile 22, I hit the wall. This was unlike any other wall I had hit before though. Nothing was cramping or anything but my feet were hurting big time. I had the chills but I was still sweating. I made a plan to walk the aid stations (1 mile apart) and then I would walk for 1 minute at the mile marker (roughly .3 or .4 miles from the aid station) and then I’d run to the next aid station. This continued until just after mile 24.

After mile 24, I knew it was right around the corner. I found a guy that was keeping a steady pace. I stuck with him. We talked a bit and both passed the final 2 aid stations and right at mile 25, I picked it up. I had a sudden boost of energy and my feet quit hurting. A smile returned to my face and the crowd began to appear in the distance. I ran through downtown Louisville, made a few turns and there it was. The finish line. I entered the finisher’s shoot and heard the crowd. Then it went silent. I didn’t hear anything. I ran to the finish line, stopped, took a bow and crossed. I never heard my name called and I never heard the words, “You are an Ironman,” but they were said. I saw my family as soon as I crossed and I was filled with an unbelievable feeling. The volunteer asked how I was feeling and I said great. She asked if I needed medical and told her no I didn’t. I got my medal, my t-shirt, hat, water and Perform and then I kind of blacked out. I remember bits and pieces from the next 5-10 minutes. I struggled to catch my breath and was a little light headed but my legs felt relatively good. I was able to walk and get my gear, including my bike and then it was time to rest and recover. I earned it. I WAS AN IRONMAN.

This has been a long, long, long journey to get here. Zip codes changed, people were met, stories were told, tips were given, training got longer, all for one goal. Though I trained solo for the majority of the 9 months, I definitely could not have done this with out the support of my friends, family and another Ironman Finisher and coach. Thank you to my friends who tuned me out and let me go on and on about training sessions, long runs, longer rides and all the laps in the pool. Here is a prime example to the right: In all seriousness, all of my Twitter followers and Facebook friends motivated me as well. Knowing that I had so many people tracking me pushed me to the finish line. I’d also like to thank my coach-from-afar, Stacy. She was always there to answer any question I had and sent me some incredible motivational messages to prepare me for my day. I Shawshank’d it, no doubt. Thank you to my family who always asked how things were going during training and who always wanted to hear my story. My mom, dad, sister and niece who were my support crew throughout the race day. Every time I saw them, I needed them. The boost that you get from seeing people that care for you so much is amazing during any event like this.

Looking back at the day 48 hours later, there were very few things that I could have done to improve this first time around. I was right mentally the entire day. Never did I think I wouldn’t finish. I was happy. I took things as they came and actually enjoyed them. Triathletes take themselves too seriously, all the time it seems, and I made it a point to not. Laughing, smiling and enjoying the misery can make an Ironman journey incredible and it certainly did mine.

Now I need to go shave my legs. They’re all stubbly.

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Tri For Old Glory

July 2, 2012 in Race Recap, Triathlon

It’s been some time since I last updated this bad boy. It’s been a weird few months.

I’ve only completed one triathlon, a Sprint Triathlon previous to this past weekend. Sunday, July 1st, I completed my first Olympic Triathlon in San Marcos, TX that consisted of a 1500m open-water swim, 23 mile bike ride and finishing up with a 10k run. As many know, I’m training for an Ironman that will be taking place on August 26th in Louisville, KY and I wanted to get in a race before that event. I signed up to complete a half-Ironman in San Jose, CA but since then, I moved halfway across the country again. I wasn’t about to fly my bike and all out to CA once again just to kill myself in a race. With that said, this Olympic distance is the next longest event that I could do to try to get some semblance of a race feeling in before August.

I took it extremely easy this past weekend trying to get into how I’d prepare for the Ironman race weekend. I had everything packed the night before so when I woke up Sunday morning at 4am, all that I needed to do was shower and load my bike on the rack(city). I don’t know why, but I have to shower before I go workout. I’ve been doing that for I don’t know how long and it’s weird and pointless but it’s part of my routine. I got everything loaded and made my way to San Marcos, TX, about 40 miles south of Austin. I arrive at the location, unload my bike, pump up my tires, and make the trek into transition. I was one of the earlier ones as I got body marked, got a good spot and transition and made it to the nonexistent bathroom line with quite a bit of time to spare.

One thing was confirmed well before the start of the race and that is that the majority of triathletes are snobs. I don’t really look the part of a triathlete or a runner for that matter because I don’t own all the “good” equipment and I really don’t have the body of an endurance athlete. Athletes notice these things for some reason and usually make a point to ignore those around. None are friendly and most have the elitist mentality. My Nike Dunks and basketball shorts that I wore over my swimsuit didn’t help my cause. For that reason, I try to talk with new people and less experienced runners/triathletes any chance I get. Sidenote: the running community is way friendlier and more willing to help out and talk with those around.

Now for the race. It started with a 1500m swim, a touch under one mile, in a “ski lake” with a time-trial start. That means that people go one at a time and not a mass start. That’s how the swim will start and Louisville so that is awesome that I get to practice that. The water temperature was extremely comfortable and was calm as anything. I really enjoyed the swim. My breathing was amazing and I didn’t feel weak at any point. Steady comes to mind when describing this leg of the race.

The bike was a 23 mile (that I thought was 22 miles the entire time) loop that went through a few small towns and country roads east of San Marcos. I hammered it the entire time because I just figured that 22 miles, I can knock out. I averaged right at 20mph through this leg finishing in 1:10:26. There are some very fast cyclists out there but I held my own considerably well and man, what an improvement over that last triathlon that I did.

To finish up the race, a 10k (6.2 mile) run needed to be completed before crossing that finish line. Running is my thing and it showed again during this triathlon. I felt strong the majority of the way and only found myself slowing down through the middle miles a touch. It takes a while for me to get in a rhythm I’ve discovered but once I do, I usually stick with it. I go out fast for the most part and I breathe heavy from the beginning until I find my zone but I can only imagine what it sounds like when I come up on someone… like I’m about to die for sure. I don’t think that the run was exactly 6.2 miles because I finished it in 39 minutes and 7 seconds. That would definitely be an all time record for me, but I don’t know if I ran it thaaaat fast. Either way, everyone had to run the same distance and I finished 8th overall in the run leg of the race.

I learned a tremendous amount from this short, considering what’s to come, olympic distance triathlon. I know kind of what I need to when it comes to the bike portion of the race which is still what I need to learn the most on. It was an all out sprint for all of the bike portion this time around but I know that I can’t do that in my Ironman and still expect to have the legs to finish the run. I’ll have to pace myself and I imagine I will knowing that the ending is 11 hours down the road compared to just over an hour away. Next up… this race times 4 and a half!!

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