2016 Hot Diggity Dog 5k

Place: 58/375; Net Time: 24:46.5; Avg. pace 8:05 per mile

Thanksgiving morning was cool and wet this year. Emily, Ashley, and I gathered at St. Albans high school to run the Hot Diggity Dog 5k for the second year in a row. The race started in a bunch and it was difficult to set a steady pace in the sea of almost 400 runners and walkers. I accelerated to find a path through the traffic and as a result ran my fastest split in the first mile (7:38). After the first mile, I realized I was far away from peak running shape and slowed down. The rain picked up slightly in the second mile, and I sucked serious wind. I still managed an eight-minute-mile in the second split. Then, the course ran up the only hill of the race, slowing me and the other runners down considerably. The hill was about a 20 foot incline that only lasted for one-tenth of a mile - short and steep. It was hard to return to my previous pace, even after coming back down the same hill. Hence, the third mile was my slowest split time. The rain abated in the last part of the race leaving the streets wet and difficult to grip cleanly. But no excuses. I was pleased with the net time, given my lack of run training this fall. I finished next to two other guys, one of whom had the energy for a sprint and took off past me 20 meters from the finish line. I had no such burst and jogged across the finish. I caught my breath and watched Ashley then Emily finish. The consensus? It was a good run for all, but far from our best. And the course is nothing special to look at. Still, it is a good motivator to get out and run on Thanksgiving morning. I imagine we will be back for the 2017 edition.

Shoe Review - Saucony Guide 10s

Trial Run
2.0 mi; 16'16"; 8'05" avg. pace

I paid a visit to Robert's Running in Charleston last weekend to buy some new running kicks. As is my custom, I went in expecting to buy one brand of shoe and ended up getting something different. Although to be fair to myself, I have alternated between buying Saucony and Brooks for the last four years. I retired the Brooks Adrenaline 14 and tried on the Brooks Adrenaline 17 first. The were comfortable and I thought about buying them and walking out of the store. But I thought I should try on the comparable Saucony model. I bought the Saucony Guide 6s back in early 2013. By comparison the Guide 10s had a softer, more flexible upper mesh and a new cushioning system. It simply was less noticeable on my foot than the Adrenaline 17s. Hence, I walked out of the store with them.

 

Today I took these shoes on a first run. It was a short 2 miler around the block. The heal-toe-offset of 8 mm was noticeable, as the cushioning on my old shoes was completely worn out. It felt like the shoes were encouraging me to keep a quick pace as I sprung forward. And the impact with the ground was much easier given new cushioning. I had a good average pace despite not having run in over a month. The strong heel gives good support when striking the ground. Overall, I am happy with the purchase, although it is too early to teel how long the shoes will last and how they age with the miles. Still, it is another strong showing by Saucony. 8/10.

Fall Cycling

The Stats - October
11 rides; 148 miles; 13.4 miles per ride; 8,188 feet elevation gain

I hardly did any running in October. Instead I tried to see how many feet I could climb on the bike. I got to over 8,000 feet, as you can see. That is over a mile and a half of elevation gain for the month. My pace has noticeably improved as a result. The fall weather has helped as well, but I continue to set PRs on hill segments and flat segments due to an emphasize on hill training.
Strava has monthly challenges for cycling and running. Their climbing challenge was to ride 9,000 meters in October, which is something crazy like 29,000 feet. I am not sure I can ever get there, but it is interesting to see what other amateurs are doing.
The coming months will likely bring a lot of indoor cycling on Zwift. They have a fun sweepstakes going in November where you can win a trip to their headquarters and some swag if you ride 100 km on a virtual kid's tricycle. I may try that out one night; it would take me a little over three hours.
In running news, the PTR crew is set to run The Hot Diggity Dog 5k in St. Albans for Thanksgiving again this year. I need to purchase some new shoes from Roberts before that takes place. My two-year-old Brooks are still wearable, but the tread is nearly gone and I can convert them to casual shoes. Brooks have won me over and I will probably buy another pair. The Adrenaline GTS 17 shoes look like winners. I will recap the Thanksgiving 5k near the end of the month. Until then, happy running!

CCC 2016 Review

The Stats: 48th place; 2:39:17; 25.4 mi; 6'16" per mile; 9.57 mph (all activities)
Run - 4.14 mi; 0:34:05; 8'14" avg. pace; 7.3 mph
Row - 4.14 mi; 1:06:29: 16'04" per mile; 3.7 mph (includes transitions)
Ride - 17.1 mi; 0:58:43; 3'26" per mile; 17.5 mph

Another Capital City Challenge has come and gone. I count this one a success on two accounts: 1) I completed the race without injury and with minimal soreness 2) I considerably improved my bike time. I was a full ten minutes faster on the cycling portion. The kayak continues to disappoint and is merely an equipment issue. If I ever decide I am sick of people leaving me in the dust (er, water) I might shell out the cash for a better kayak. I feel like it might be a waste to get a nicer kayak because I can't currently transport it with my sedan style car and I would not be able to use it consistently.
The key to feeling better this year was training. I cycled early and often during the summer, cycling indoors when the weather was too hot or rainy. Running activity could have started earlier, but ultimately it only takes a few weeks of running to get back into decent shape. I did not have my best running split time, however it was still respectable.
The race gave me a reason to get back into shape and now I hope to continue logging miles throughout the fall. Cycling and running posts to follow.

CCC Training - Part 5

The Stats
Running
9/09: 4.41 mi; 41'51"; 9'29" avg. pace
Cycling
9/06: 11.5 mi; 0:46:55; 14.8 mi/hr
9/08: 12.3 mi; 0:53:24; 13.9 mi/hr

This was the last week of full training before the week of the Challenge. I managed a two-a-day on Sept. 6th with a ride around Kanawha City with Mike in the afternoon. That was followed up with another bike ride on Thursday morning. I decided to ride Lower Donally, which is a soft incline (3%) in a neighborhood in KC. Everything was going well on the climb, then came the descent. A yellow flash sprang out of one homeowner's yard and moved after my back wheel. I heard the owner yell after his dog to come back and started to pedal hard. Unfortunately, I was in a high gear and my pedaling did not outpace the dog at first. A couple construction workers whistled at the dog to try to distract it to no effect. I got into a lower gear and shot down the hill to the bottom. Once I stopped shaking and regained composure, I decided to try to climb Quarry Creek Road and then end the ride. I paced myself very slowly on Quarry Creek. The possibility of reaching the top was tempting, but I started to breathe very heavily and decided it was not worth the effort/soreness. I pulled into a driveway on the right, about a tenth of a mile from the top.
Training could have hit a speed bump as Ashley and I hopped on a plane to Atlanta. But that Friday morning we took the opportunity to visit Stone Mountain and run the five mile route around it. A half mile walk warmed up our legs. We kept the same pace for the first three miles on the rolling course. Then, Ashley walked a little and I went ahead to finish the fourth mile. This was the first time in months I had run at least four miles and I did not do it at the desired 8 minute per mile pace. But, I have hopes that can be accomplished in the race this Saturday.
This week will largely be a "rest" or "prep" week. I plan to run some light miles and get the bike a tune-up. Fresh legs are more important than training hard the week of an event.

CCC Training - Part 4

The Stats
Running
8/30: 3.14 mi; 25'03"; 7'58" avg. pace
9/06: 3.16 mi; 25'16"; 7'59" avg. pace
Cycling
8/31: 18.6 mi; 1:03:56; 17.5 mi/hr; 190 Avg. Watts (T)
                      9/01: 16.7 mi; 1:23:54; 12.0 mi/hr

Last week featured a steady stream of running and cycling Tuesday through Thursday before heading into a long rest break over Labor Day weekend. Tuesday I got out of bed and shook off the cobwebs for a solid 5k distance run. I got caught up in a group run of UC athletes. They finished near the gym construction and the leaders ran a time of about 12 minutes (as I heard their coach tell them), so they couldn't have done much more than two miles. Hence, I didn't feel bad about them passing me at my three mile pace. Plus, ya know, they are athletes on scholarship. I repeated the morning run routine today. It felt considerably less humid this morning - a good sign for the approaching race. I need at least one four-mile run before the Challenge to feel confident in that 8-minute per mile pace.
The persistent 90-degree Fahrenheit heat drove me indoors last Wednesday to cycle on the trainer. I did two loops of the Zwift London Loop course at a good pace. It is hard for me to ride at 200 Watts on the trainer consistently, so getting 190 average Watts for the whole ride was encouraging. Then, Thursday presented much cooler weather for an outdoor ride. I decided to hit the hills hard and did both Job Corps Hill and Mount Alpha to Whispering Woods in the same ride. The Job Corps climb was difficult, so I made sure to stay in a high gear and pace myself until getting near the top. I dropped down four gears and stood up on the pedals once close to the summit. It turned out to be my third best time (11:28) overall on that hill. I dropped down the hill at my quickest pace ever (3:47) and crossed the 35th Street Bridge back to Kanawha City. Mount Alpha was the next stop and I managed to finish the segment to Whispering Woods in my second best time. My descending skills continued to show improvement as I had a PR on the Alpha Descent (2:46). I am a cautious descender to say the least; falling off a mountain is not on my to-do list.
Training will hit another speed bump this weekend as I vacation to Atlanta. The running shoes are coming with me; I am determined to be in good shape come race day. Now if I can just carve out an hour to get in that darn kayak...

CCC Training - Part 3

The Stats
Running
8/23: 3.11 mi; 25'24"; 8'09" avg. pace
8/25: 2.13 mi; 18'57"; 8'51" avg. pace
Cycling
8/22: 13.4 mi; 0:53:07; 15.2 mi/hr
                     8/28: 13.0 mi; 0:46:20; 16.9 mi/hr

Four out of seven days is not bad for training. The running stamina is going from poor to decent. I ran with a good pace on Tuesday of this week, but it left me quite sore. That soreness held through to Thursday morning when I managed to plod around the block for two slower miles. Getting out of bed and out the door was the real victory for that day. I am hoping the eight-minute per mile pace sticks and I can replicate that over 4.2 miles in the race. The joints need to hold up in training to prevent any setbacks, fingers crossed.
I cycled twice along the flat Kanawha City bike course, making two laps of the Kanawha Ave. section in both those rides. I need to do three full, flat laps to get a good indication of what pace I can maintain over 16.8 miles on the race. The second ride of last week was right on target at 16.9 mph. If I can do that during the Challenge, the bike split will be right at one hour. More flat training and some light hills will help in the coming weeks.
Combining my goal pace for the run and the bike leaves me with 33:36 for the run and 1:00:00 for the bike, hence 1:33:36 between the two events. The kayak section in between those two is the real unknown. It generally takes at least an hour. With little to no upper body exercise, I do not expect an improvement this year.

CCC Training - Part 2

The Stats
Running
8/16: 2.00 mi; 16'01"; 7'59" avg. pace
Cycling
8/15: 16.1 mi; 0:51:46; 18.7 mi/hr; 190 Avg. Watts (Trainer)
8/17: 19.0 mi; 0:59:57; 19.1 mi/hr; 214 Avg. Watts (Trainer)
                     8/19: 16.5 mi; 1:06:02; 15.0 mi/hr (Alpha to Whispering Woods PR)

I had a good week of training. The Challenge is less than a month away and I realized the need to start incorporating some running with the cycling focused workouts. I got up early Tuesday morning and jogged two miles around the neighborhood at a decent, 8 minute per mile pace. That is the pace I hope to run at the Challenge, so I need to extend the distance over the next few weeks to build up the running muscle endurance. It will also be cool in the morning as August, and the extra hot portion of summer, nears its end.
Cycling remained my most solid activity last week. Rain and heat forced me inside, but the trainer was there to allow me to sweat out a few pounds. I tried to do a group ride on Zwift on 8/17, but the lead group picked the pace up and left me in the dust. Zwift riders seem to use Watts per kilogram to measure pace (the force you put on the pedals divided by your weight). I can get to 2.5 W/kg and hold it reasonably well, but that lead group rode well above 3 W/kg for most of the ride.
The highlight of training this week was a personal record on the Strava certified category 3 climb of Mount Alpha to Whispering Woods on Friday. I went out in the morning and did a lap of Kanawha City before heading to the hills. The trainer has noticeably helped me develop the leg muscles, which helped me stand up on the pedals and push harder for a good section of the climb. It still was not my best time on the shorter portion of the climb, the base of Mount Alpha to Beta Lane. But my effort from the start of Chappell Road to Whispering Woods was consistent enough to garner a PR.
Next week needs to feature more runs and longer ones at that. A good five mile run with 8 minute per mile pacing would set my mind at ease. The cycling needs to keep going as planned. The rowing...well, I just need to paddle around at all.

CCC Training - Part 1

The Stats
Cycling
8/02: 25.4 mi; 1:47:16; 14.3 mi/hr
8/05: 19.7 mi; 1:00:44; 19.7 mi/hr; 187 Avg. Watts (Trainer Ride)
8/09: 14.1 mi; 1:05:32; 12.9 mi/hr
8/12: 16.9 mi; 1:10:35; 14.4 mi/hr
                      8/14: 12.1 mi; 1:01:24; 11.8 mi/hr; 182 Avg. Watts (Trainer)

It is a month until the 2016 Capital City Challenge. This will be my first race/event this year. I have continued jumping on the bike to build on the training completed in July. The indoor trainer has come in handy on days when the heat index is near or over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. I am hoping that some hill trainer will build muscle to help maintain a quicker pace on the flat course on the boulevard. August 9th was a Job Corps effort that I could not quite finish due to the oppressive heat. However, I came back to Mount Alpha on August 12th and managed to finish the climb all the way to Whispering Woods Drive.
This cycling has been all well and good, but run training has been ignored. There are only so many training hours in the day, and cycling takes over twice the amount of time as running per workout. Still, I will manage to lace up the Brooks running sneakers if/when the temperatures decline. This may even call for some early morning runs.
As for the third event in the mini-triathlon, it will be difficult to train seriously for the rowing segment. Weather permitting, I could lug the kayak into the Kanawha River a few times over the next three weekends.

Stamping on the Pedals - July

The Stats
7/02: 13.8 mi; 1:11:42; 11.6 mi/hr
7/06:   9.0 mi; 0:40:53; 13.2 mi/hr
7/09: 16.0 mi; 1:11:08; 13.5 mi/hr (Alpha Descent PR)
7/16: 13.6 mi; 1:02:59; 13.0 mi/hr (Job Corps Descent PR; 2nd fastest Job Corps Climb)
7/22: 11.5 mi; 0:40:05; 17.3 mi/hr
                     7/31: 19.2 mi; 1:14:55; 15.4 mi/hr (2nd fastest Lower Donnally Climb)
                     Trainer Rides: 5 rides; 69.8 virtual miles; 176 Watts avg. power; 2,706 kJ total work

Tour de France month brought out the cycling itch once again. I only managed one run for three miles in all of July; the rest of my efforts were on the saddle. I mixed in a fair bit of climbing on Job Corps Hill and Mount Alpha along with the flat bike course in Kanawha City. I also discovered a software program called Zwift that allows people to connect their indoor bike trainers to the computer, then ride and race in real time with others on a virtual course. They have three virtual courses right now: Watopia (a fictional island), Richmond World's Course, and London (which was recently at the end of July). I discovered how sweaty and tough indoor spinning can be, especially when you are trying to keep up on a group ride with people intent on outpacing you.
August should feature a more balanced running and cycling program. There are about 40 days left until this year's Capital City Challenge, so I need to prepare for that. I might even need to row some before the race. I have not done a 10k or any athletic event all summer. It is time to get serious and log those miles. Perhaps some new running shoes are needed as well. Hmmmm...

Summer Runnin'

The Stats
6/08: 2.37 mi; 18'40"; 7'52" avg. pace
6/13: 2.94 mi; 23'38"; 8'01" avg. pace

Spring was a light running season for yours truly. While Mike, Emily, and Mary did a Maryland 10k, I was sitting out with pre-wedding jitters. Then, honeymoon recovery took its toll. But I have been trying to get back in shape. This month I started a 2016 Capital City Challenge training program that includes cycling and kayaking. Mike and I got in quite a bit of kayaking on the Elk River last week; I hope to continue that in smaller distances during the rest of the summer. There are no currently scheduled 10k races, but the odd spur of the moment race could occur. Until then, I will be updating my training progress and trying to beat the summer running heat.

Springing Back

The Stats
4/18: 3.1 mi; 26'07"; 8'23" avg. pace
4/21: 3.1 mi; 26'11"; 8'24" avg. pace
4/25: 3.1 mi; 26'22"; 8'26" avg. pace

The snows have finally gone away for the season and cleared a path to running. In my "sweating for the wedding" mindset, I have been able to shake the dust off of my Brooks running shoes and log a few miles. It should be evident from my times that I am not in the shape I was in my mid-20s. Ideally I'll be running sub-seven minute miles in the near future. But for now, it feels good to be back on the pavement and getting into shape. The wedding and honeymoon will be a break from training. Still, Ashley and I might get an itch to run a few miles in Florence or Paris. If we do I will post on our exploits.

Winter 2016

There is no running to be had.