Gold!

Finished up the Slowtwitch 100/100 challenge on Tuesday with my 90th run, putting me at the gold level for the contest. I was originally shooting for 70 runs, and then 80, but I was able to reel in some runs at the end to climb up to the gold level, which is cool. The last two runs were hard, though, and my legs and back were tired on Wednesday. So, to follow the concept of periodization, I am taking a week off from running and then starting up again this week. Swam again on Friday, an easy 1000, and I went for a nice ride at the end of last week. So, now it is time to being to ramp up and even things out. I have lots of time before my first race in July, so that is good.

We start our lacrosse season, and that is going to be a challenge on two levels. From a training standpoint, I will have much less time in the afternoons and on weekends, which will require some creative training choices. On the other level, I have a pretty big squad, 26 kids, and a divergent talent level, so I will have to coach at a high level for the kids to have a good season. Lots of behind the scenes juggling of new players and experienced ones, all of whom want playing time. More to follow- but we did lose our first game 11-4, which isn't terrible given we have a goalie and two defenders who have never played before, but the other team only had 9 players and played man down the whole game without subs- but, then again, they were all very strong, and I was playing everyone equally, including kids with no experience. So, all things being equal, it was a good day!

Wheeltags Secret Agent

So, I just found out that I was selected as a secret agent for Wheeltags, a decal company that makes cool stickers for bike wheels. They come in many sized, ranging from a traditional bike wheel to the deeper rim race wheels, and even disk wheels. My role will be as a rep for the company, and I will be able to offer anyone interested a 50% off code on any of their products. Since I can't post the code, you will have to contact me for the information. The link is http://www.wheeltags.com/

Getting closer...

I have not updated the blog in awhile, partly because work and life have been really busy, and partly because of the self-indulgence that has been noted on some of the forums lately regarding triathletes who blog about their workouts. I guess it can be pretty dull to read how far, fast, sweaty, etc someone is, or what new gear they just got, or what race they are peaking for, or tapering for, or just got back from, etc. So, I had lost interest there for abit. But, now it is final exam time, and I am trying to find some convenient excuse to not grade the pile of papers sitting in front of me, and this looked like the best option with the least guilt.
The running has been going very well lately. There was a stretch after the last post where I started to get some associated shin pain, and I thought for sure I was headed towards shin splints. But, ironically, I stopped wearing those Asics Cumulus shoes, put the cardboard Gel-Kayanos back in the rotation, and miraculously my shin pain went away. Hmmm. In my never ending quest for better running shoes, I picked up a pair of Saucony Grid Sinisters on ebay for a song, and I have run in them once for a short tempo run and they felt good, but I am not holding my breath that they will continue to feel good after proclaiming the Cumulus as the next coming of the sneaker jesus.
Oh, and as for the Slowtwitch 100/100, I am chugging along and am currently at 71/79 with 3 weeks left (from today!). Legs are tired, but not dead. I have done a few tempo runs lately, but I plan on building the speedwork after the final day of the 100. I don't have any races on the horizon until June or July, unless CB talks me into Devilman in May (Brrrrrrr). I have not been swimming lately, just focuing on the running. Once this period is over, that will pick up as well. But honestly, I get more time off the run than off the swim- I am already pretty decent in the swim by comparison, but my running is woeful. Thats it for now- maybe I'll post more after exams and comments are done and in- before we head up to Maine for a short vaca...