I don’t know about you but I am sure happy that Spring is back. After work rides on the road bike, runs along the river walk, weekends spent outdoors doing who knows what other than enjoying the warmth in the air and the fresh blooming flowers. This spring I intend to do bike camping, long hikes or trail runs and up the ante on my bicycle training to include some mountain climbs.
I get busy at work and I don’t even realize but I am neglecting to post anything here for weeks at a time. I hope everybody had a great Christmas and New Year holiday season and that you were able to survive the onslaught of your families with no permanent damage. Our holiday was very busy since both if us only got off the days of Christmas and New Years day. Next year we are taking more time and want to take us a bit of vacation then which will ensure we are family free (always a bonus).
Now that the new new year is here and the holidays are over it is time to start training for the next big event. I think that event for me is going to be another 1/2 marathon in March and then the 3 State 3 Mountain Challenge (100 miles) in Early May. I may opt out of the 100 miles and do the 65 miles that only requires a ride over 1 mountain but we shall see.
In addition to these 2 events I will be running 3-4 times a week until the 1/2 marathon in March. This should be plenty of time to train for this. Wish me luck.
I was doing so well for a few weeks training very hard to get back up to a 10K distance and then my job duties were changed to make me more of a manager/supervisor and I have lost all motivation after work to come home and run. In fact I have been more likely to be found running down a beer at JJs Bohemia than running off come calories. I really need to change this behavior and get back in the swing of things both within this blog and out of the streets. I guess this sort of stuff happens during the holidays. I will let you know how it goes.
The weather has also been shocking the past few days reaching up into the 70’s. This is typical of Chattanooga winter where it gets warm for a week and the trees and flowers get confused and start to bloom then we have a bitter freeze to kill them or weaken them opening them up to infection and eventually killing them. We are killing ourselves through global warming we are just to stupid to see it. Well some of us are.
Well it is over and I shaved 7 minutes and 33 seconds off my dismal time of last year. My swim and run times were a slight bit better than my times of last year but my bike time and transition time in the first transition were much better. I am not sure how much better in each because they did not give splits for those two sections but my overall time last year for both was about 6 minutes more than this years time.
I also purchased another bike to go with my steel frame Bianchi Volpe and this one is a true race machine. Carbon fiber frame, mid range Shimano components and an overall long distance champion, the Bianchi 928 with Shimano 105 components. It should be here tomorrow or Friday and I can’t wait to get this baby out on the road for a long ride. This should make my training and performance in the Sequatie Valley Century much more pleasing.
My training for the upcoming Sports Barn Sprint Triathlon is coming along well. I am swimming the distance pretty effortlessly (unless the water is very choppy) and the running is going to be OK. I am again this weekend doing the trial run on the entire event which we did 2 weekends ago. I expect I will be doing a much better time this year than last year. I hope to take my time last year down from 1:12:05 to below 1:00:00. I will know for sure if this ig going to be possible on Saturday’s trial run. Wish me luck and come out and see me finish.
Nik and I started training for the upcoming Sports Bar sprint triathlon with some running and swimming at the Chickamauga reservior recreational area. The event consists of a 1/4 mile swim, a 9 mile bike ride and a 2.5 mile run. Last years event was the spark the ignited the fire for me to compete in these types of events that led up to a 10K run on my last birthday and a 1.2 marathon in April. This event is going to be the springboard to the Sequatie Valley Century, a 100 mile bike ride this fall that I plan on completing.
Last year I finished the event but this year I want to really go for it. In the 1/4 swim I did mostly breaststroke and this year I would like to be able to swim the entire length freestyle. In the running section I had to walk a little bit and this time I plan on running the entire distance. Wish me luck.
Summer is finally here and the temperatures are here to match it. I have not been running much as of late due to the heat but I did get out for 3 miles this Saturday before it got to hot. I picked up a great accessory for running and hydrating. I plan on focusing more on long distance riding this summer but keeping myself able to run a 10K so that this fall I can be ready for a 15K or a 10 mile of race.
As I mentioned a few posts back I was going on a vacation to Indianapolis to witness the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix. I promised some pictures and those will be posted at a later date. The race itself was excellent with Mercedes Mclaren taking Pole position and finishing the race 1 and 2 followed by Ferrari 3 and 4. The Mclaren team is dominating this years Constructors Championship as well as the Drivers Championship. At the moment a your rookie driver from the UK, Lewis Hamilton, is leading the Drivers Championship over 2 time defending champion Fernando Alonso.
Today I am planning a training ride at Moccasin Bend with a few people. I should be riding about 25 miles total.
Went for a 3 mile run and I did not get wet. Hooray!
Went for a run Friday evening and it poured buckets. Got in 3 miles through puddles, water drainage and heavy rain. My running shoes felt like sand bags but I kept up my pace of 10 minutes per mile (that is fast for me) even with the extra water weight.
Tonight I went for a bike ride at Moccasin Bend and as soon as we got to the top of Stringers Ridge we were hit by yet another downpour. This time I was stuck in the back of the getting hit by the rooster tail of the 2 riders ahead of me. I was in the back due to me riding with cyclocross tires which kick off an even larger rooster tail than the road tires of my riding partners.
So it seems if I exercise now it is going to rain. I plan on running tomorrow after work so if it rains then it will be official.
After 3 weeks off from running I picked it up again today with a short 2.5 mile run over the bridges. I am primarily wanting to focus my training on cycling over the next few months while working on my running pace (I hope to get my miles per minute time down to below 10 minute miles) and keeping my distance in the 10k range.
I have decided I will ride my first linear century this year as my next big goal by entering the Sequatchie Valley Century sponsored by the Chattanooga Bike Club. After work tomorrow I plan on joining the bike club for the Tuesday ride through Red Bank if I can get there in time and if my friend Bill does not want to ride some other route.
There are some other things I need as well. First is a good tree removal company to drop a big dead oak in my backyard as well as some other trees that I want gone. Another skilled laborer I am looking for is a mason who can build me a nice wall in front of my house and give me some ideas for a wall behind my house. If anybody knows any of the above laborers please have them contact me.
It is also getting close to the time when I will have my house paid off. I expect in a few months I should be sending in my final payment and I will be free and clear of any debt other than local taxes. I expect that I will be putting in a new bathroom and kitchen very soon with the money I am saving with no house payment so if you know any reliable and skilled general contractors that are looking for some work please have them contact me as I am in the market for some quotes.