Big wheels keep on turning!

As I mentioned in my last post, I am adding some mountain and road cycling into my training plan. I have been doing some mountain biking on the weekends but just this last Monday I picked up the first road bike I've owned since I was 16. I went back to the same place where I purchased Kelly's road bike and our mountain bikes to get my road bike. But before we get to that lets take a step back to the weeks prior.

Shortly after I decided that alter my stance on being a "one event" kind of guy, Kelly had found that there would be the Fayetteville-Cumberland County Metric Century Ride to raise funds for the Special Olympics. Now the exciting part of this was that the ride was six days after returning from almost a month long trip. The ride would also have a 12 and 30 mile course for those that weren't ready to brave the 62 mile route. Of course part of me wanted to just go all out but we decided that we would do the 30 mile route instead. Now to start gathering all the things and maybe a little info I would need for this newly added sport in my life

Since I was going to be gone for a little over three  weeks I planned on using as much of that time as possible to prepare what I could. I needed to get a bike, clip-in peddles, shoes, helmet, and some appropriate clothing (lots of spandex). This might seem like a pretty simple task for most but when you're 6' 5" it becomes a bit of a scavenger hunt.

To get the first think on the list I called Hawley's Bike World in Fayetteville and ordered a Contend 3 by Giant. This is Giants entry level road bike and fit the budget I set aside for the bike. If I ever get to the point that I need more bike I will worry about it then. For now I'll worry more about the engine powering the bike. Since they had the size I needed in stock I purchased it over the phone so it would be ready for me upon my return. I was also informed that I would get a free fitting when I came in and picked up my bike.

To try and find biking shoes I went to every bicycle or sports store in all three of the cities that I was traveling to and no one had anything close to my size. I wasn't really surprised since even my running shoes have to be ordered online. You know what they say, big feet.... lots of frustration in finding shoes! Road bike shoes come in European sizes and I guess there aren't a lot of bikers with size 51 shoes. I was able to find a pair made by Shimano in my size. The other piece of gear that I was a little worried about finding was a jersey. These need to be longer in the torso than a normal shirt and since my torso is a little longer than the average males I was afraid I would be wearing what appeared to be a midriff on my rides. Luckily for me and anyone that might see me cycling, Kelly found a cycling outfitter that sold tall men's cycling apparel.

I flew back Morning and drove to Hawley's to pick up my bike and have it fitted. This whole process went a lot quicker than I thought it would go and I also got some riding tips from the gentlemen who did the fitting. I was also able to pick up the rest of the gear I needed while I was there. Now armed with all the equipment I would need I just need to get in a couple training rides before my debut into cycling fame 5 days later.

Kelly and I did two training rides to help me practice riding and helpful little tasks like clipping in and out of your peddles. The first ride was a little over 7 miles long and we tried to find different challenges I would find out on the road. Things like turns, intersections, railroad tracks, and cars all add to the experience of cycling. My second ride was out on the back roads of Fort Bragg where Kelly does some of her training rides. This is also the same area where we would do some of our longer runs. This time we rode five miles out and then back. This ride let me really open it up and also experience a little taste of a cyclists other joy... hills! With two training rides in I was ready for Saturday morning.

 Since this was my first cycling event I wasn't really sure what to expect. We had waited to do same day registration because of some weather we had here locally. This did cause them to have to do a last minute adjustment to the route but nothing that was going to stop the event. The Fayetteville-Cumberland County Parks and Recreation did a great job setting up this event with the help of one of the local bicycle shops. There was quite the mix of different types bikes and riders at this event. This was a fund raiser that was meant to be a fun ride in support of a good cause and was not a timed event. The 30 mile course had one rest stop at the halfway point where some volunteers had water, Gatorade, bagels and some bananas. With this only my third ride and my first ride with this many cyclist I had something new to get used to. I'm not really sure how much of a fan I am of riding in a group. It reminded me of those large formation runs in the Army where it seems no one knows how to set a pace and stick with it. The slinky effect was really bad in the group we had settle in with and I was happy when we parted ways.

We finished the ride in under two hours and I remember thinking that part of me wished we had chose the longer course to ride. I am sure I would have regretted that at some point prior to mile 62 so it was probably good we went with the 30 mile course. I really was glad we did the 30 mile course the next day when I did my long training run for the half marathon I signed up for. I didn't really feel that sore from the ride but I remember as I was gutting out the 7 mile run that my legs just felt really, really tired and heavy. I guess this will be something I will have to let me body get used to as I start to incorporate more riding into my training plan. But since it is all about the miles, this last week I was able to log over 70 miles including both my riding and running!

I'm back at it again!

I just realized that it has been over two years since I've logged on here and jotted down my thoughts. To be quite honest it is probably because I've been a bit (totally) embarrassed by what wasn't going on. I will give a quick recap for those of you that might not be following closely to my day to day life. Of course if you want the full story there are over forty posts on this blog that will inform, inspire, and satisfy all your curiosities. Not back to my recap... smoked for 20 years, quit, got fat, realized that I didn't like that, started running, fell in love, began training for a marathon, had wrist surgery, ran marathon, had hernia surgery, tried to get back into running... and that is where this blog dies off. 

Well before I begin to fill you in on the last two years that is missing from this blog I want to admit something. I let those two surgeries kick my mental butt. It isn't what happened and I'm sure I could muster some virtual group hugs and cyber sympathy but the truth of the matter is that I let life (those uncontrollable things) knock me down. So the last two years have been a roller coaster of ups and downs in both my running and my weight. Now that we have that out of the way lets move one to the the present day and where we are taking this thing.

This blog started off to document Kelly and I training for a marathon but I've realized that for me this is a little bit more. I want to document, maybe a little more for me but also to share with you, part of my journey of both my physical fitness training but maybe a little bit of life also. I recently turned 40 and I hope that what I'm doing now will help me continue on my journey for many years to come. Sometimes I joke about the aches and pains that come with spending my whole adult life as a Soldier and Paratrooper in the Army are not the contribution of the years but of the miles we've put on our bodies. So with that in mind I want this blog to be about the journey, both the things that knock us off our training goals and also the things that drive us to continue on despite those set backs.

I decided that I'm nowhere near ready to give up and that I need to get back at it. With that being said I've signed up for a half marathon which will be on November 19th and just started my third week of a 12 week training plan to prepare for it. I will also be adding some additional activities which may or may not be against my prior claim of being a "one event type of guy". I recently purchased a mountain bike and will be looking at purchasing a road bike also. Kelly and I have decided to begin training for a cross state bicycle ride next year that will last over 7 days. I invite you to subscribe to this blog and join me in my journey and I'd love to read your thoughts in the comments below. 

Where this thing going? Oh that way!!!

I know I haven't been on here much and that's partly because I haven't decided which direction I want to take with this blog. I started it to document Kelly and my first Marathon training plan. As we all know (or you can go back and read about it) we completed our first Marathon last November in OBX.

We are now training up for other events but this time separately. Kelly has transitioned to Triathlons this year and I am going to try my hand in the Ultra world. Kelly is currently training for the Beach to Battleship Half Ironman in October and I am training for the Old Glory Trail Trot 50K in November.

http://www.beach2battleship.com/

http://www.oldglorytrailtrot.com/

So as we move forward (can't go back at this point) I hope that I can continue to share my experiences and lessons learned either so you can get a good chuckle at some of my training mishaps or that it will help you in your training and reaching your goals. If there is something that you'd like to see or read about here feel free to shoot me a message. But for now I'm going to waddle around on some sore legs from yesterdays 14 mile run.

It's been awhile.. time to get back to training!!!

Some of  you might have wondered what happened to this blog and with my training... well don't worry so have I. But it's time to get back to training and this time I am going to train for a 50K. I realized that I had an empty spot on the back window of my truck that another sticker would fill.

I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of time to train up for the event. My running has really been hit or miss since healing up from my hernia surgery. The doctor has cleared me and I'm ready to go. The 50K I found was the Old Glory Trail Trot on November 15th, 2014. This is a local race here in NC that benefits the Old Glory Legacy Foundation. Here is their mission direct from their page at http://www.oglfoundation.org/

THE OLD GLORY LEGACY FOUNDATION BRINGS SOLDIERS AND THEIR FAMILIES TOGETHER TO BUILD STRONG FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS AND LASTING MEMORIES THROUGH OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES.

Now I haven't finalized my training plan but I know that's something I need to get cracking on. Of course now I have too because of this blog (its on the internet so I has to be true). Over the next week I'll be making up a training plan (or more accurately... modifying someone else's plan). So for now I'll pass the link so any of you that are in the area can sign up also and train with me. http://www.oldglorytrailtrot.com/

I feel just a little lost...

So its been 25 days since we ran the OBX Marathon. Our first of hopefully many more to come. Since then I've ran another half marathon and signed up for several 10ks and a 50k in the next few months. I really didn't take much of a break after the marathon. Well I actually took three days off if you call that a break. I did take a week off the Turkey Trot Half Marathon I ran on the 23rd of November. Now that I've been back to running this weekend I feel a little lost.

For the last four or five months it seemed that my plan guided me from one run to the next. Now that I don't have a plan in front of my I'm not really sure what to make of it. At first it was kind of nice to be able to just run what you wanted to run at whatever pace you wanted to run at. But now part of me misses that structure I had.

This year I've been kind of brutal with my body. Tearing a calf muscle, pulling a hamstring, a TFCC tear in my wrist, and all those many miles. 1020 so far this year... but who's counting? So now is the time that I should be figuring out a good rest cycle to help my body heal up a bit. But somehow I signed up for a 50k shortly after the new year.

A 50 kilometer run would equal roughly 31.0686 miles according to the google machine. That's about 5ish miles longer than that marathon I ran in November that I didn't come close to my time "goal" on. What would cause a human being to sign up for such a thing? A good deal! That's right the NC Fat Ass 50k held on the All American Trail on Fort Bragg, NC on the 25th of January is free! I fat ass event is a race that isn't sponsored, or timed, or even supported by anyone other than a few volunteers. Race times are recorded by the participants on the honor system.

I don't know about you, but that just seemed like the perfect opportunity to enter the Ultra Marathon World. Part of me hopes that by getting my old body accustomed to running longer than 26.2 miles it will make a marathon seem like cake. Well I've got 50 days to get by butt into shape. Time to get unlost and get a training plan on track.

Sixteen weeks and 26.2 miles

The day has finally come for the Outer Banks Marathon. An event that we have been training for what seems like an eternity. Its hard to believe that its over... well at least this one. There were friends of ours running several of the races this weekend. A few of them ran multiple races. But what's a 8K one day followed by a Half Marathon the next? My hats off to them! Fayetteville Running Club and the Fort Bragg Chapter of Team RWB were in full force. We did run into another Team RWB runner from the DC Chapter.

The morning air was a bit chilly but at only 48 degrees is seemed worse than it was. Maybe it was the cool breeze coming off the ocean. Either way the skies were clear and we were ready to run. The course started off in Kitty Hawk, NC heading south along the Inter-Coastal Waterway side of the Outer Banks. The locals were out in full force cheering us on as we ran through their neighborhoods. From there we ran down to Kill Devil Hills, NC and around the Wright Brothers Memorial. So after that the adventure began. We found ourselves running on a dirt trail through the woods for about the next 3 miles or so. It felt like an eternity. I'm not sure if it was the hills and dirt or that I just wasn't expecting it. Either way we made it and found ourselves back on pavement.

The rest of the course was a mix of residential and open road. Other than the miles and the wind the next challenge would be the "Bridge". To make matters worse the bridge is strategically located at mile 22 of the course.

If I hadn't been so tired from the previous miles it really wouldn't be that big of a deal. Between the hills several of the races in Fayetteville and the hills in our Wednesday night run I would like to think I don't do to bad on hills. I feel no shame is saying I walked a step or two on that bridge. Once the decent from the bridge was done it was only a few short miles to the finish. Kelly made it to the finish at a smoking 4:01:47!!!

I'm glad we had some friends there to capture forever the look on her face. I know I am proud of her. I came in about 21 minutes later at 4:22:10. My only small complaint is that according to Garmin the course was a quarter mile long. It's hard to believe that its actually over. We have spent the good part of the last four months training and preparing for this day. Our first Marathon is in the bag. Guess it's time to start planning the next adventure. Maybe a Ultra Marathon?!?! After all it's all about the miles!!!!!

We have arrived in OBX!

After a short four hour drive from Raeford to Kill Devil Hill, NC we are here and all checked in at the hotel. This is one day that being a Gold Hilton Honors member came in handy. They upgraded our room to one that faces the ocean.

We still have two days till the race so there is plenty of time to cause some trouble. Tomorrow we are supposed to run two miles. This will be our last training run before the big race. We drove part of the course today on the way to packet pick-up.

The Expo for the race was full of different vendors just waiting to share their goods with us for a slight fee. There was one running shoe store that had some killer prices. We picked up a pair of Merrell Running shoes for Kelly for over 50% off. Now starts the waiting game... I so ready to get this going!!!!