eat, drink, and be turkey...

turkey for you. turkey for me. i would eat turkey out of big brown shoe.

just don't eat too much. i mean, unless you know the person who owns the shoe.

i got clearance from the tower to bring cycling paraphernalia to the In-Laws since projected temps down there are nearing 50 for our stay.

i have no cycling fitness, but will surely ride myself into the ground. good times.

i only had to be told once.

later.

Weekend Prep

Coffee....Check

Holiday Creamer....Check

Wine In A Box....................Check.

Later.

sent from my iPhone.

ready set go

Can you say 2009 RTR?

back to back to back....?

nope. no 10k this weekend. i did run today and i learned a valuable lesson;

cold + wind + hangover = horrible effort.

at least i know now.

ate a huge lunch at the Cheesecake Factory today. it was yummy.

if you want to be fooled into thinking the state of the economy is good head over to your local Apple store.

TGIS.

later.

TGIF

that is all.

later.

back to back

rumbled through another 10K race this morning. in the six days since my last 10K effort i got faster, maybe. maybe not, but here is the recap.

i woke up. the weather was complete crap. it was cold, windy, drizzle'ie, and cold. i was set to run this one solo as my two running buddies were still in recovery mode from last weekends 10k. of course, there would about 500 other folks there for me to chit chat with.

going in i had no expectations. i was bummed not to get a sub 50 minute effort last weekend. that course was fast,the weather was perfect, and my legs were solid. i just never got on pace or found my groove. i think i actually went out to slow last weekend as i overcompensated for the fast course and my concern for going to fast. figures.

so, no expectations and around mile 1 i was good with this. i didn't feel like running at all. then, about mile 1.5 i found my pacer. a little rabbit to follow. she (of course, what fun is it having a male rabbit) seemed to be running well at 7:40 mile pace. i really got into a nice rhythm running next to her.

this course is an out an back. at the turn around point (3.1 miles) we were running well and on a solid pace. i was putting forth an effort, but felt like running, so it was good. then bam, the wind smacked us in the face. it was like hitting a wall. at that point, i did what i normally do when the going gets tough, took the lead.

she tucked nicely behind me, in fact closer then Psimet even tucks in, and i powered us through the wind. miles 4 and 5 were slower, but not by much. i could here another runner latch on and say to her, "Hey, you got the right idea." i couldn't responds as i could barely breath. around mile 5 she came out just a bit to say thank you then quickly tucked back in.

as we approached the finish the shoe sucker was encouraging me to finish fast and not let him pass me since i did all the work. i did, but man was i gassed. so much so i forgot to stop Mr. Garmin until several minutes after my actual finish. we chatted afterwards and they both thanked me again, which was a bit odd for me. i made sure to inform my lady rabbit that she helped me the first half by getting me on a fast pace.

unofficially it was 48:47. i got my sub 50 10k. not to shabby for a roadie.

HR 173 avg / 180 max

Splits
1=7:40
2=7:38
3=7:46
4=7:51
5=8:07
6=7:49

Later.

edit: official time 48:50. 64th out of 246. 10th out of 26 in mens 35 to 39 age group.

Tis The Season?

seems a bit early, but i do love the red cup rollout. later.

sent from my iPhone.

iRun

note to self; self DO NOT purchase two iPhones at 9pm the night before a 10k running race. i was up pretty late playing with my new toys.

the Canal Connection in lovely Utica, IL really was a great race. it is pretty much all downhill along the Illinois River. i ran this with two buddies who i have been best friends with for 25 years.

i smoked them in case you were wondering.

i didn't have enough miles and/or fitness to run sub 5o minutes like i wanted to. being sick and tired might have contributed to that too. around the half way point i was at least 40 seconds off sub 50 pace. at mile 4.5 i just decided to go go and finished with some sub 8 minute miles.

in the end it was 10k in 50:19 for an 8 min 06 second pace. that put me 175 out of 533 and 15 out of 31 in the men 35 to 39 age group.

the legs felt really good, but i just didn't have enough miles in me to run at a faster pace. however, i am good with this effort.

now, back to my iPhone playing. later.

iCoffee......

i went out for coffee and came back with these. hers and his, of course. later.

10k prep ?

so, today in preparation for running a 10k race tomorrow i rode my bike for the first time in two weeks. yeah i know, WTF?

i got notice yesterday from the Psi that he and a couple other Bicycle Heaven Riders were planning a ride for this morning. plus, the Lazy Goat was coming out of hiding and it was rumored to be decent weather wise. how could i not show.

it was good to be back on the bike and riding with a group. just four of us, but it's November and this time of the year 4 riders equal a group. despite my rapidly declining fitness the effort was decent and just what i needed. next season, i think Bicycle Heaven would be a great place for some Saturday group rides.

tomorrow is 10k race day. i am running with two friends. the same two who talked me into the 07 Chicago Marathon then dropped out (maybe i should let that go? :) ) and the same two who ran the Soldier Field 10 mile race with me back in May. i think we are all battling with some issues from under training (not me), injury (not me), sickness (not me) and all the above (me me me). however, the run is in Utica so at least i get to see some Fall foliage.

speaking of running. i know these two dudes who dabble a bit. they bad mouth running somewhat, but i think they see its benefits. they could and should run some type of race with me this Fall. for a measly $18 bucks they could run the Oswego Gobble Hobbler 10k next weekend. it is flat and fast. if you preregister you get a lovely commemorative long sleeve shirt. maybe they are scared of all you runners? i don't know??

later.