Patience My Friend...

Sorry that I haven't written in a while. Between training, racing and traveling, time to write has been limited.

This last weekend CJ(Justin) and I raced the Gate River 15 k in Jacksonville. I have come off of 3 weeks pretty hard training and racing every weekend, so needless to say, I didn't have the legs that I wanted. I did manage to run 53:22 and considering everything, I have to be happy.

CJ had a great race and came in under the time goal that he had set for himself. Even more impressive was the fact that he set his time goal based on a "flat course." The race would have been flat, except for the 2 bridges that we crossed. Now most people might say that a bridge is not a big deal to run over. Well, those people should run the bridge that came at mile 7 and I would bet that their opinion might change a little. The climb was almost a mile long and was fairly steep for the last 800m.

Other highlights of the weekend included watching the elite runners participate in the equalizer competition. The elite women got a 5min headstart on the 9.3 mile run, then the men had to try to run them down. There was prize money for both genders and the first athlete to cross the line got a nice bonus. It was really close, the first male caught the first female with about .2 miles to the line. All I can say is that both the top men and women can really run!! For those of you that are wondering, there is a HUGE difference in open running speed between elite runners and elite triathletes....Triathletes are SLOW!!! That is why we like the swim and the bike before the run, it gives us an excuse :) The results can be found at: www.gate-riverrun.com

After the race, CJ's cousin's (whom we stayed with), treated us to lunch at a sportsbar on the beach!! It has been a while since I have been to the ocean...still as awesome as i remember!

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On Friday night, I got a chance to catch dinner with a good high school friend, Anne Claridge, who I had seen 1x in the past 5 years. It was really good to catch up, while also grabbing a bite to eat on the waterfront. It is funny how sometimes we think that when a friend or significant other moves away, we will never see them again. Time passes and the next thing you know, you getting together to hang out again....Small world!

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On the training front, things have been going great, besides being tired about 23 hours out of the day, the first hour in the morning is usually ok ;-). I am starting to finish up my base training(higher volume), before I move into my build to Age Group Nationals in July.

Mark and Justin have helped me "raise my game" in the pool and I feel like I am starting to swim a little better. I have gotten into a few track workouts and will follow Daniel's 10k running speed plan through my build (a little modified(a.k.a - cut down) of course).

The riding is going well and i was actually suprised to find that my AeT is higher than I once thought, I think just over 245 watts. CJ is teaching me patience and how to hold back, which will be important in Ironman racing. It has been tested a few times in group riding situations and so far, so good.

I will try to race well this spring at Powerman Alabama (April 9),
St. Anthony's (April 30) and Memphis In May (May 23ish). Otherwise I will just keep up the consistency and work hard in the water!

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I hope everyone back in America's Dairyland is doing well, not too much longer and the warm weather will make it up to you!

BTW - I saw my first alligator on Sunday morning...now there is zero chance of me swimming in the lake accross the street!

Until next time....

BB

Comments

Anonymous said…
It was just a little itty bitty gata.

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