Sunscreen, Sunscreen, Sunscreen Part 2

I am an idiot.

0 to 1600 m

I ran 1 mile in... drum roll... 5:11:46!

I was on a 1/4 mile track and tried to gauge my splits. My laps were something like: 1:13, 2:33, 3:48, 5:11:46. It was painful to be going as fast as it felt I could while not picking up speed. There was a little bit of wind out and the air was really dry. After the run, as I was sucking in a lot of air, my throat felt like I had swallowed sawdust. It would be fun to train like crazy for speed and hit the track again.

Congratulations to Darren for his 5:15 guess. Your prize is in the mail. I better not find that on eBay anytime soon.

WARNING!!! In an attempt to be fast, I tried to look fast. I am wearing running shorts in the photos below. Shield your eyes.

3 brothers

A story about 2 brothers, with 1 mission, who also have another brother.

ENJOY!

Memory Reminder

As a build up to tonight's single mile running event, JBear, a jock from high school, helped clear up my misremembering.

In high school the basketball team had to run a single mile in under 6 minutes. The guy I remember, Fabian, was the fastest. He ran his in 4:40 or 4:45. That is lightning. Nobody was close to his time.

What I Do Best

Tonight I did again what I do best, I signed up for another race. You can train all you want, but experience is essential. June 14, Ironman 70.3 Kansas. Dorothy, here I come.

If you know her last name, without looking it up, you are a real Oz fan.

The Expensive Knee

One thing about being in good shape is that you are more aware of your body's tuning. This is both a good and bad thing. While it doesn't hurt or cause any discomfort, there is a weird thing happening with my expensive knee (the one that had surgery).

The odd happening is on the outside and feels like a popping inside on the outside of the knee. It isn't an audible pop, it just feels like something flexing out of place. For now, it is just something that is different than what is happening on my right knee.

I'm just hoping I won't have to use duct tape to be upright in July.

26.2 to 1

It has come up more than once. How fast can I run a single mile? I know I have done it before, though I can't remember a single time. I only remember that in high school it was crazy fast to break 6 minutes, or was that 5 minutes? I think only one guy could do it, probably 5 minutes.

I am a trained machine. Only, I'm a machine with 1, maybe 2 gears. I'm just fuel efficient - think Prius, not Scaglietti.

Post a comment with how fast you think I can run this famed single mile. The winner will be the person with the closest time and will receive an autographed old shoe lace of mine. In one week, I'll hit the track for 4 loops. I am not going to speed train for do anything outside of my normal workouts.

The whole 'how fast can you run a single mile' just makes me very aware of what my limits are. Leroy Hoard, former Minnesota Vikings running back, said it best:

"If you need one yard, I'll get you three. If you need five yards, I'll get you three."

The Swim Back

I have thought a lot about David Goggins recently. Thus, taking time away from day dreaming of toughness that revolves primarily around Rocky Balboa, Ivan Drago and Mike Tyson.

Goggins website has in large print, "I am nobody special." But, let's be clear, the man is a trained killer, literally. He also does endurance events. That part we have in common. I wonder what about me is different from him. I see runners all the time jogging around and they are training, everyone has their own reasons to run.

I think my favorite thing to think about with all this in mind is from the movie Gattaca. The whole movie is about genes and being born superior, with more coded gifts or potential than others. These two brothers, Vincent and Anton, (Anton with the superior set of genes) have a regular competition by seeing who can swim out into the ocean farthest. Basically, Anton always beats Vincent as Vincent tires and heads back to the shore. The toughest part is when Vincent knows he can win.

Anton Freeman: Vincent! How are you doing this Vincent? How have you done any of this? We have to go back.
Vincent: It's too late for that. We're closer to the other side.
Anton Freeman: What other side? You wanna drown us both?
Vincent: You wanna know how I did it? This is how I did it Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back.

Renewed Vigor

In what has felt like dominos falling in place, I have a charity for the Janus Charity Challenge... Samaritan's Purse.

One of my favorite quotes about fundraising is from David Goggins in this article.

“People respond to pain,” he told The Union-Tribune. “If I go out and wash cars for $10, who gives a (darn). People want to see you throw up, cry and go through tremendous suffering."

Goggins runs for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. I love running for a cause, I think it helps keep the pain in check. And, there is something about people giving money as a response to your efforts in a race that makes you think, wait a minute, not only am I really about to do this, I have to finish this.

If you would like to donate or know of anyone who would help email out a link: http://januscharitychallenge.kintera.org/LP09/PFILES

Sock It To Me

I am fully aware that it looks like I raided Captain America's sock drawer. But, NEVER underestimate the power of great socks.

2/3

It amazes me every time I look at my blog. Thinking back to when it started with me signing up for a sold out race a year in advance. 2/3 of the wait is over.

There aren't too many things you look forward to knowing when it comes it will probably be the most painful day of your life.

Weather Or Not, Here I Come

You know when you hear 10% chance of rain, and you think I don't need an umbrella, and it rains. Before I tell you about today, here is my location's forecast.

You were probably thinking rain. But you see that it was sunny. So far so good, but you are missing the fine print. The real report out there was more like raging 30 mph winds with a chance of none 17 mph winds. If you have been to Lubbock, that will give you some idea of the landscape around the highways of the ride. 80 miles later, it was probably the most brutal event I have participated in.

The 79.2 mile ride took me about 6 hours and 15 minutes to complete. I can show you the ride map, but the summary is: you ride 40 miles Southeast from the start and then ride 40 miles back. Did you see what direction the wind was blowing? Did you look at the ride map? Basically, the last half of the race was like riding on a runway with a jet taking off in front of you.

Temptation is at the rest stop at mile 46. With a SAG vehicle (Support And Gear) asking if everyone is OK and if anyone needs a ride. There were two more rest stops after that one, and I would be lying if I wasn't thinking about yelling SHOTGUN.

After I finished, I had a 5 minute transition, packed my bike up and ran for 15 minutes. It felt good. Probably, because I was off and running in the opposite direction of where my bike was.

9 More

Tomorrow I am going to bike 9 more miles than I have ever biked before, 79 miles.

I think I will go for a bit of a run afterwards, just not a marathon.

Blueprints

You know what hasn't helped me? Attempting to read "Going Long..." The book I'm sure is good, when read before signing up for a race. I skipped around after struggling through the first couple chapters and ended at page 70, as it was due back at the library after its third renewal. Probably, not the best read with less than 125 days to go.

I do like advice from those who have done this before, like the tips below from Keith Davids, Commanding Officer SEAL Team ONE. And my friend J-Bear said I should read "Becoming an Ironman..." Which I also picked up at my library, still currently on its first checkout, and have yet to open.

Here are 11 Tips for Triathlon Success from a Navy SEAL:

1. Eliminate self-limiting thoughts. More often than not, people have preconceived notions about what is possible for them to achieve. They sell themselves short. Abolish thoughts that hold you back from achieving your true potential.

2. Optimize your skills. Everyone begins at a different place and each of us are dealt a different set of genetic cards. Use that to your advantage and optimize your assets.

3. Be willing to spend the effort and energy to be successful. Anyone can succeed if they are willing to work at it. Too many people want to reap rewards without the sacrifice that is necessary to achieve any goal.

4. Enjoy the journey. If you can enjoy the pursuit of excellence, you've got it made. Aiming to enjoy only the end result makes it impossible to endure the necessary sacrifices to achieve any goal really worth having.

5. Be a student. The more you understand about what it is you're trying to do and how to do it, the easier it is to be successful. Be a student of your passion.

6. Persevere. There are many things that can get in the way of successfully achieving any goal. You have to be willing to figure out how to get over, under, around or through those obstacles. Keep trying.

7. Develop mental toughness. It is not the physical challenges that keep men from successfully surviving the SEAL training, it is mentally giving up. You need to start believing that you can do it, you can be successful. Others have been successful before you, you can do it too.

8. Be prepared to suffer. When you are training for an event as large as a 140.6-mile triathlon, it is a long haul. There is going to be bad weather, aching body parts and times when you are just plain tired. Know that some stress, followed by rest, will make you stronger physically and mentally.

9. Take strength from others. This tip is particularly valuable for race day. Right when you are thinking things are really bad for you, look around. You'll see that others are suffering too. Knowing you're not the only one and that other people will suffer generates energy, if you're willing to accept it.

10. You must want success. Doing something that is difficult requires that you want to be successful with every fiber of your core. The intense desire to succeed helps you overcome obstacles that crush other people.

11. Avoid over-training. It is easy for highly motivated people to over-train. Achievers are often rewarded for doing more and working harder. While you must work hard and do the prescribed work, you must also rest in order to reap the benefits.

Clarification

Just so we all know, tennis elbow hurts on the outside of your elbow. Golf elbow hurts on the inside of your elbow. Whatever hurt, it was on the outside. I am just glad to have normal elbow again.