Rhett

Did a short brick this morning.

10 bike

3 run...avg HR 139

19 minute lake swim...the water got cold, fast!  Last Tuesday I swam without a wetsuit and it was nice.  Today I had the wetsuit on and I was still cold for the first few minutes.

Then a 2 mile easy run along the channel and under the London Bridge.  Avg HR 139

Another short brick:

6 mile bike

3 mile trail run...Avg HR 137
 

The water was really cold this morning. 

I swam for 21 minutes and then ran 2 easy miles. It took almost the whole run before I regained feeling in my feet. 

I did a really, really short brick workout this morning to keep the legs fresh for tomorrow's race.

4 mile bike

2 mile easy run
 

I awoke a few minutes before my alarm went off at 5 am, and got up feeling rested after a decent nights sleep considering it was the night before a big race.  It is nice to have a race right here in Lake Havasu City where I can sleep in my own bed and stay in my normal routine.  

I swung by and picked up Blake on the way down to the lake.  We set up our bikes and gear in the transation area, put on our wetsuits, and headed down to the starting area as the sun was just starting to light the morning ski.  It was 50 degrees with a mild breeze.  After some instruction the race started promptly at 7 am.  

The water was not as cold as Thursday morning but a wetsuite was definitely needed.  It was one of the rougher swims I have done.  I kept getting sandwiched between other swimmers, but did avoid any headshots.  Blake was not as fortunate and finished the swim with a fat lip.  I finished the 1.2 mile swim in 39:27 and quickly transitioned to the bike.

The bike course was a two lap out and back course.  The wind was starting to pick up and was coming out of the north which gave us a head wind on the way out.  It was stiff but managable on the first lap, but the second time heading out it was really strong and not fun at all.  The wind made everyone's bike times significantly slower than last year.  I was 10 minutes slower than last year, finishing the 56 mile bike leg in 3:00:31. 

I gladly got off the bike and changed to my running gear, but as I started running my quads screamed at my with each step.  I was worried that I had pushed too hard on the bike and would not be able to complete the run.  I just took it nice and easy to start, running the first mile around 8:30.  Near the end of the first mile a rock had logged itself between 2 of my toes and was hurting pretty good, so after failing to get it out by wiggling my toes, I stopped, took of my shoe and my sock and got it out.  It took about a minute but was well worth it.  I continued on and my quads started loosening up and I seemed to be getting stronger running the middle miles in the low 8 minute range.  With a few miles to go I was feeling my best and was hitting the final few miles in the upper 7 minute range.  I finally finished the 13.1 mile run in 1:41:11.

My finish time for the entire race was 5:25:13 which was good enough for 9th place overall (8th beat me by 3 seconds and 7th by 7 seconds), but only good enough for 5th in the 40-44 year old age group.  I can't believe how competitive that age group is!  Next year I move up the the next AG though. If I would have been either in the AG above or below mine, I would have gotten 1st.  I'm very happy with the top 10 finish though.  It was a fun race.

Blake finished 26th overall in 5:56:?? and got 3rd in his AG!!!! 

7 very easy miles

Avg HR 129

Very slight quad sorness from the tri Saturday, otherwise felt great.

7 more easy to make sure I'm recovered from the tri.

Avg HR 130

No seminary this morning because of Veterans Day.

Slept in a bit, then ran 10 trail miles.

Avg HR 132

11 easy miles. First 7 on the roads, last 4 on the trails.

Avg HR 133

21 Easy miles- First 7 roads, Middle 11 trails, Last 3 roads.

Avg HR 135

I got lost out on the trails for a bit this moring and ended up running a bit farther than I had planned, but it was a lot of fun.  When I'm trail running, I feel like I could just keep doing it all day...I am a lot slower on the trails. Maybe that is why.

5 easy trail miles in the dark before heading to work.

Running the trails in the dark adds a whole new level of adventure to trail running.  I have knuckle lights which work pretty well, but it is still a weird feeling.  It was fun though.

Avg HR131

12 easy miles with a stop at the gym for MAF Test on the TM in the middle

1-  7:10

2- 7:21

3- 7:27

Almost identical to my last MAF test. Hopefully I go back to improving on my next one.

Avg HR- 136

7 easy mile on a cold windy morning.

Avg HR 137

12 easy miles-- 8 on the roads/ 4 on the trails

Avg HR 137
 

Same route as yesterday, but a bit slower and easier.

12 miles

Avg HR 131

7 easy trail miles on a beautiful Havasu morning...50 degrees, no wind, and sunny.

Avg HR 133

I have a 5K Turkey Trot tomorrow. Hopefully the 50 miles I've run over the last 5 days don't slow me down too much. 

I woke up this morning to the whistling of wind.  Today was the annual Turkey Trot.  The course is pretty flat, so it is a PR course when the wind isn't blowing hard like it was today.  My 5k PR is actually this race, last year of 18:23.  

After a warm up run of a little under 2 miles which I finished with a few strides to wake my legs up, we lined up for the race and I realized that the normal fast guys who run 16 minute 5ks weren't there.  It appeared that my only competition was going to be a 24 year old who beat me last year by about 10 seconds.  The gun went off and off we went.  The 24 y.o. went out fast into the wind.  I thought about staying with him so I could draft off him, but I didn't want to exert that kind of energy early in the race.  The first half mile was into the wind, then we turned and had the wind at our backs for about a mile and a half.  Right off the bat the 24 y.o. was about 70 yards ahead of me. After making the turn and getting the wind at our backs I started slowly reeling him in.  At the mile mark he was about 50 yards ahead of me.  By the 2 mile mark he was only about 20 yards ahead of me.  At this point we turned back into the strong wind.  I quickly made the decision to expend some energy and pick up my pace so I could get behind him.  It only took 30 seconds or so to close the 20 yard gap, then I settled in behind him and let him break the wind for me. It took a bit for me to get my  breathing back under control, but then I was able to sit on his shoulder and let him do all the work.  I felt like I was coasting and thought about passing him, but then thought better of it.  I just stayed there and enjoyed the easy pace until we hit the finale little hill, a little before the 3 mile marker.  As soon as the hill started I kicked as hard as I could go and flew by him.  He didn't even try to go with me and I cruised to about a 10 second victory.

Yesterday I promised Burt I would yell "Winner, winner, turkey dinner" as I crossed the finish line if I won.  I was pretty sure I would not win when I made that promise, but I stayed true to my word and yelled it, which elicited some laughs from the crowd at the finish line.  I ended up finishing in 18:30 only 7 seconds off my PR and on a crazy windy day.  Over the last 5 months I've done 99% of my training at a low HR, running pretty slow, I guess if you do enough slow running you can actually race fast.  

I won a $25 gift card to Safeway for a Turkey Dinner.  Doone and Cade ran the race as well and each won their age group!  After claiming my award, I changed to my trail running shoes and ran 11 miles home on some crazy, hilly trails with an average heart rate of 141 for a total of 16 miles run today.  Now I need to focus solely on my upcoming 50 miler in January.  

12 easy. 8 road/4 trail

Avg HR 131

Same as yesterday. 

10 miles on the trails on the mountain above my sisters house in Lindon. 

10 miles around the field where my boys were playing football with my sister's ward. I then played in our family football game and escaped without injury. 

It was 18 degrees outside when I left my sister's house in Lindon at 10 to 7. I ran north on the MCT up past Lehi...home of the amazing Smooth. I turned around at 12.5 miles and ran back for a total of 25 easy miles...avg HR 135. 

I woke up to go run the trails this morning and when I opened the door I realized it was snowing and had been snowing all night.  I changed my plan and ran on the MCT like yesterday but went south this time and up Provo Canyon. It was pretty running along Provo River with all the fresh snow. A few time the little snow pellets hurt my face but for the most part, it was rather pleasant. 

12 miles...avg HR 134

That put me at 81 miles for the week. I think that is the farthest I have ever gone in one week. 

12 miles- 8 road/ 4 trail

Avg HR 137