Monday, November 14, 2016

2016 SEASON COMES TO AN END

Motivation for your next Race!

This was the first time I took 12 weeks out of the year to train for just a run race since college (6 years ago). Normally, its for Triathlons. However, with the handsome little baby boy coming into this world on 7/30 I knew having a balanced life would become that more important. So, I wanted to see if training for one sport was possible. It very much so was possible :)

Lets get right into it.

6 weeks from the Half marathon that I was training for, I did a 10k prep race with my training partner Brian. I had a very bad race and avg. 6.20 per mile. I wanted 6.15 per mile in 6 weeks and double the distance. Safe to say, I lost some confidence. However, I had a training plan and I had God on my side, so I prayed and trusted the plan.

2 weeks out I got a tooth ache and found out my wisdom tooth was infected which I had removed. After 3 days off that week, I decided to run a 5k to hopefully boost my confidence again. It did. I avg. 5.51 which is not fast by no means but it helped me gain momentum for the end goal - Half Marathon - 6.15 pace.

Well, the Race just happened this past weekend. My time is below. The back half is very tough and it was surprisingly windy due to a cold front coming in. To averaged 6.18 per mile made me on top of the world. I just ran faster for the half marathon than i did for the 10k 6 weeks ago. On top of that, my wife brought  the  3 amigos to greet me at the finish line with 40 degree temps and 5000 runners out there. Pretty sure my morning was easier than hers ;)

What I take from this is the following:
1) With a balanced life you can achieve goals. Balanced is key. That word includes Wife, children, work, duties around the house.
2) Do NOT get discouraged during your training plan. Trust the process. Bad days happen. Toe that line with confidence, dont make excuses, and race your heart out!
3) I can definitely become a faster runner if I ran like this year round, but it is not me. I love to swim, bike, and run. I love that challenge.
4) Having a family that supports your early morning training runs or lunch runs or 9pm bed times is very helpful :) In between though, I know I have my part as a Father and husband to be the best I can be
5) Nutrition is key. I ate 2 bonk breaker bars a day. One before and after each run. I ate fruit and veggies daily, and consumed water/OJ/Milk daily. One beer or coke on a Sunday if the Miami Dolphins win :)))
6) Training partners are crucial. I am blessed to have great training friends. Brian,Glenn,Billy,Chris, and Dan make it that much more fun.

70.3 Half Ironman training begins in December. Throwing this out there, I think I can average 6.30 per mile in a Half Ironman race next year. I say this to hold me accountable.



Charlotte Half Marathon 

My training partner for 12 weeks. He was 8th, me 12th 

Love this city!

Blessed to train on terrain like this daily

"Im handsome"

Well deserved smores after our races. 

My Wife can do everything she does with the help of these wraps. She is a pro!

I love Bonk Breaker bars!!!!

Best there is!




3 Amigos (one not so happy about the selfie) and My amazing Wife!

#DadLife #MarriedLife #BuddyLife #ChristianLife #BESTLIFE





Bonk Breaker
http://bonkbreaker.com/type/energy-bar/


Sunday, May 8, 2016

4 MULIT-SPORT RACES DONE

Hi again,

Since my last post which was just 8 weekends ago I have raced 3 more times including 3 out of the last 4 weekends. A Sprint Triathlon, an Olympic distance Triathlon, and a Duathlon.  I came in 4th, 7th, and 5th in those 3 events overall. I am consistently average. I am not "fit" right now to Win races BUT that is coming. 

In the 2 Triathlons I had a 2nd fastest swim and 1st fastest swim and 4th fastest run in both. Now if my bike was top 5, I would be winning these races. However, my bike legs are failing me (temporarily). Then, in the Duathlon, I had the 2nd fastest 5k, horrible bike, and 4th fastest 3k after. So I am close. Very close. 

Now, I start a new job tomorrow that I am so very happy about, and thankful. I cant wait to start this new journey. My training will change only in the fact that I will be more structured. My other job created a little too much stress as well so that will be nice to not have to bring that home with me to my ever-so supporting wife who just is amazing. She goes to every race. She listens to me when I need to vent. She tells me to get my butt out the door to get a work out in. She does all this while working many hours as a realtor and taking care of our 2 children and the 3rd is 9 weeks away! Pretty impressive.

Anywho, I am ready. I am pumped. I am blessed. We all are blessed. This new chapter awaits. I have 3 more races on tap before Gabriel is born. Hopefully I can get on the podium for a couple of them. In the mean time, keep grinding.

Thank you Bonk Breaker and Skechers. Seriously can not train and recovery with out my bonk breaker nutrition and Skechers shoes. 



My Buddy and I rocking the new Skechers kit in a duathlon. 4th for him, 5th for me.

My wife and I enjoying an amazing sunset

Why of course we will relax there, thanks for asking.

Pregnant and all, She is superwoman

First time having the fastest swim split in an Olympic distance triathlon (1500m swim)

Monday, March 14, 2016

2016 - First Race!

Hello friends and welcome to my Race update blog. For 2016, I am representing Filters Fast, Skechers and Bonk Breaker. All three are very important to help me get not only through races ,but also to compete at a high level.

Also, before I get into race 1, since my last blog, I now am married and have a 7 and 9 year old added as my family. Jen and I have another one on the way in August (going to be a hot summer for my wife :(  ). Tha being said I am determined to show people out there with the right balance in life, you can accomplish anything. 5 Years ago I was single and training 18 hrs a week. For this race I trained 5-7 hrs a week. For my next race I will train 6-8 hrs a week. The best part, I felt great in this race and had a PR on the bike! Its all about having the right training plan to get you ready. 

For this race which was small in distance but very competitive, I felt like I was toeing the line to compete with the best. 

Race:
Swim 300yds: 12th Fastest (4.11min including getting out of the pool and running past the pad)

I took some time away from my swim training to focus on my bike/run in the winter. It showed since this was the first race in a while I was not top 10 in the swim. I still was happy with it since I new not alot of time could be gained here but if I used too much energy I sure can lose time later on. 

Bike 9miles : 15th Fastest (23.3mph)

This one excites me. Training did pay off and I probably did 3-5 hrs less training then my competitors on the bike but I believe I did it right. Last year, I never had a top 15 bike split. This time, a friend of mine caught me around mile 3 on the bike. I then was able to stay 3 bike lengths behind him for the rest of the race. He ended up having the 4th fastest bike split. That tells me that for 6 miles I was one of the best cyclist out there. 

Run 5k : 7th Fastest1(18.48 (6.03 per mile pace)

Mixed Feelings. Right when I got off the bike, my lefft calf cramped. I have had this happen before and if it continued I would be walking because it is a nasty cramp. However, it did not. I was able to pick it up and the back part of the out and back felt good. I ran down 2 guys on the run but other than that, pretty flat and quiet run.

This race was a staggered start. That means everyone did not start at the same time. You started roughly 15-25secs apart. This hurt because 4th place was 34secs ahead of me. However, with how we started I could see no one ahead of me. While that is a bummer, its a lesson that I am racing against the clock not others. 

After that, my amazing wife and kids were there to hug me and ready to have fun in Wilmington. USS Battleship and the beach were on tap. Thankful for their cheers for sure and so blessed to have them in my life.

As for this post, I am sitting on the front porch swing with coffee, hearing the birds sing in the early morning and watching Tucker chase squirrels and cats. Life is soo Good, and God is sooo Good!

20 weeks until Gabriel is born :)


The Garage of our pad. Pops always taught me to have a clean garage

I believe our neighbor told us this is a Saucer Magnolia tree. Jen and I love seeing from our kitchen window

Who would have thought on 3/12/16 the kids would be playing in the ocean on a hot day.

Glad we wont see this for another year!

Told you I was writing this from the front porch swing! Cheers.






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