Finding Inspiration

It was a very low key weekend for me, no races, no trips, no friends visiting, just me at home. It's not like I didn't do anything. Saturday morning Colin, John, Brad and I did a nice 36 mile ride and then a 4 mile run. Colin and John can really push it and it was one of the hardest rides I've ever done. Saturday night I went to City Stages, not really to see any bands but to watch people and drink some beer, maybe too much beer. The excesses on Saturday night made the Sunday workout a little tougher. Still I managed a good swim and a pretty crappy run. Sunday afternoon I followed the progress of my friend and professional triathlete Jessica Jacobs. She was competing in the Ironman Coeur d'Alene. In the last year she has really turned up her focus and training and it has paid dividends and inspired me. While she didn't win, she did put in a great effort and set a course record in the run. Why can't I achieve that sort of thing? Oh wait I can. Here is to a great week of training because I know I can and I will!
www.justfinish.com

Buster Britton

My first ever triathlon is in the books and it was awesome. The race was not only great for me but for the whole crew from the JCC. The morning began early for me, I got to Oak Mtn a little before 6am. I quickly set up my transition area and got my body marked. I ended up having plenty of time to relax, which was good since I always have a fear of being late for races. There were a few problems with the swim, first lightning delayed us about 20 minutes, and second; one of the bouyies kept drifting so the swim was shortened by about 100 yards. Once I got in the water I felt pretty good, and surprisingly I was passing people. It was midway through the swim that the bottom dropped out and the rain came. When I got out of the water I felt good, I ran up the beach to the transition area to get my bike. I tried an advanced trick where you rubber band you shoes on the the bike, it is supposed to make your transition quicker. I should have practiced because as soon as I jumped on the bike I crashed. The good news is my recovery was fast and my second attempt went very smooth. The bike course was pretty hilly but I was feeling good. My number was 296, pretty high, so I found myself passing a lot of people. That is a huge confidence builder. Only one guy passed me on the bike and he was a guy who I passed in the first two miles, he ended up finishing about 15 seconds ahead of me. I got a little lost when I got back to the transition area and I ended up going to the wrong rack. Once I got squared away it was out to run 3 miles. My legs were really feeling it at this point, and to make it worse the run started uphill. This was the part of the race where I started getting passed. I was in a bad place, I was happy with things so far and I knew I was well under my target time so I probably didn't push as hard as I should have. The rain and no socks were starting to take a toll on my feet, had the run been longer I would have been in trouble. Once I hit the turn around I turned it up a bit. Something about seeing a 12 year old in front of you makes you push hard. I caught the kid and as sad as that was it made me feel good. I finished strong with a 1:10:45 good enough for 7th out of 46 in my age group. As I mentioned it was a great showing for all my friends from the JCC. Colin Soniat took first in his age group, John Gregg finished second in his age group, William Belser took third in his age, Neily Krebs finished third in her age in only her first ever triathlon. Also running her first triathlon Ruth Douglas stormed in just under 1:20:00, and Casey Coleman finished 7th in her age. And I cannot forget the Power Spouses Relay Team, Katie Gregg, Betsy Belser, and Julie Elmer dominated the field to take the relay title. A great race by all and a lot of fun. Next for me Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon in July, I'm excited!

Another First

As many of you know I've sort of become a bit of an endurance athlete. "Sort of" is the key, but I have done two marathons this year so I think I fit in the lower tier of endurance athlete. That being said I'm on the eve of my first triathlon. As far as triathlons go the Buster Britton Triathlon is pretty short and easy. Finishing the race should not be a challenge, at least I hope not, but finishing in a time that makes me happy will be tough. The race consists of a 400 meter swim, 13 mile bike, then a 5k run. I must admit I'm very anxious. I've got quite a few friends who are veterans of such races, I know I cannot hang with most of them but I'm hopeful that I will be at least respectable. If all goes well tomorrow then I should have several more of these triathlons on the race schedule including a possible half Ironman in September. I'll be sure to post a full report after the race.

Cahaba River Ramble

I've recently discovered trail running. It is much different than you normal road race and a lot of fun, at least so far. Saturday I did the Cahaba River Ramble 10 mile run with my friend John, Ed(a guy I work with), and Ed's son. The Cahaba Wildlife Refuge is in Bibb County near the town of West Blocton, kind of out in the boonies. There was a small crowd but a lot of people that I knew from other races. The 5k and 10 mile started at the same time, Ed did the 5k, his son was supposed to do the 5k but ended up going 10 miles, and John and I did the 10 mile.

The run started on a gravel road along the river, very pretty. At one point I saw a hover craft, I thought that was odd, it might be the first actually hover craft I've seen. We crossed the river at the 5k turnaround, I'd say it was bout 2-3 feet deep but very refreshing. From here the trail got more challenging and more hilly than I expected. This was also the last time I saw any other runners till I got to the end. Running in the woods by yourself is peaceful but also challenging. There is nothing to keep you going but yourself and there were some times I didn't want to keep going. I only walked twice... once on a pretty tough hill around the 3 mile mark and then on "The Equalizer" at the end. This is a ridiculous hill that you hit sometime after mile 8. Miserable on the way up, but going down the other side was fun and a good way to end the run. My goal was under 1:25:00 and I finished just over 1:23:00 in 6th place overall so I was happy. No more trail runs on the schedule anytime soon, next weekend I do my first triathlon. We'll see how that goes.

The New Blog

So I've been super busy with stuff lately so I decided this might be a good way to keep everyone in the loop of all my comings and goings. I'll try to update this at least weekly. Its been an exciting year so far. I bought a house, got a dog, ran 2 marathons. I got a lot more to come!