Year in Review

I started 2009 with many goals and high expectations. I knew I wanted to do at least one Olympic distance Triathlon, a few sprints, a couple 5ks, a 10k and a half marathon. I had all my training laid out for each month and I was fully committed to making 2009 the best year ever! In January I was training for my first 10k, the Hyannis 10K. On Superbowl Sunday I ran the Super 5k in Narragansett. I was going for a PR, but I went out to fast and was totally dead by the 3rd mile. On February 22, Mark, Drew, Justin and I met up with Mark's sister Laura in Hyannis for the 10k, Half marathon, marathon race. It was my first 10k and I was ready to kill it. The race was great! My Garmin time for the 10k was 59mins 50 sec! Under an hour. Official time was 1:01:20 which was good enought to place 2nd in my Clydesdale group! That race was a great stepping off point for the beginning of my tri training. I was so ready to get into the pool and on the bike.

March I was in the pool, I was on the bike trainer and I was doing some speed work for running. Things were running smoothly. My next race was the Cox 5k on May 3rd. I wanted to PR so bad for that race. I was hitting the hill, I was on the track, tempo runs, you name it I was doing it. On Easter I ran the longest I have ever gone, 10 miles! I did it to see if I could and possibly sign up for the Cox Half Marathon instead of the 5k. Well those thoughts were short lived. I developed some sort of Shin Splints and was sidelined from running for 2 weeks. I only got 3 runs in before the Cox 5k.

The Cox Road Races 5k was held with a half marathon and a marathon. Justin and Mark completed their first marathon with Mark going under 4 hours!!! Congrats guys! Drew and Laura did the Half marathon. This was Drew's first and Laura's...I don't know...100th or something. It was pretty cool. I drove out to the course and ran with them for a bit. Then back to Providence for my race. The 5k was awesome! I just felt so good during the whole run. My Previous 5K PR was 27:35. I killed that with a 5k time of 26:47!! I was so happy with my time. It just goes to show you, if you put the effort into something, all the hard work will pay off.

May was starting off on a good note and end on a bad. During my last brick workout before the Mystic Sprint Tri in June, I hurt something in my left knee. I have no idea how, but it was alittle sore. I went to the Doctor after waiting a few days to see if the pain would go away. He told me I had an ACL strain and I should take a break for a week or so.

I was a little worried about completing the Mystic Sprint Tri. This was only my 2nd Sprint Tri and longest swim, .50 miles. My knee was sore but I wanted to do the best I could. The swim took forever and the bike was slow at first, but was much faster towards the end. I did help this one girl out during the bike portion. The run was ok at best. I did not run for 2 weeks before and my run time showed it. I completed the race in 1 hour 50 mins. I would say about 10 mins of the race was helping that lady on the bike. Still it was awesome and I couldn't wait for my knee to heal and jump back into the next one.

I had an MRI scheduled for the day after the Mystic Tri. I had to wait a week for the results. I didn't do much of anything those 2 weeks. Then I met with the doctor who told me the worst news I could possibly hear. I had Articular Cartilage Injury involving the Medial Femoral Condyle in my left knee. To simply put it, The cartilage in my left knee had been worn away to the bone. He told me I should not run anymore. I just could not believe it. This was suppose to be my best year racing ever! Now this? Really? The drive home from the doctors was just bad. I was in shock. I really didn't know what to do. It took all I had just to keep it together. I got home, told Kim and broke down. I couldn't hold it in. Till this day, if I think back to that day I get a little choked up. It was really a hard pill to swallow. What was I going to do now? I had so many things, races, goals laid out before me. Half marathons, marathons, Half and full Ironmans, all gone. Well I had one more race scheduled in July, the First Crabman Sprint Tri. I was going to complete that one at what ever cost.The Crabman Sprint Tri was great. The race was held only 15 minutes away from my house. My swim time was a little slow, but my bike was awesome! The run, well run/walk took forever. I walked until no one in my family could see me, then I started to run. I ran the first mile and mostly walked the rest. The worst thing was everyone telling me to "keep going"..."don't stop running you can do it"...I just wanted to yell..." I can't!!!! I have a busted knee". Anyways I finished the race in 1hour 33 mins. From that race on, I told myself I would never walk a tri again.

I tried to keep up with my training program with the swimming and the biking. The Doctor said I could do anything except run. In August I decided to do the Wild Dog Sprint Tri as a relay with Drew doing the run leg. That was great. I was all out on the swim and bike, posted PRs for those to events and Drew did awesome for the run leg. Our time was 1 hours 7 mins 34 secs, which was good enough for 3rd place in the all male relay event!!! I was super excited to recieve a medal and prize. I was thinking this was my last race of the season.

But in September the company I work for was paying for anyone who wanted to run the CVS 5k in Providence. I thought I could just run alittle, but mostly walk the race. Race day came and I was lined up with my sister in law Beth and I just couldn't help myself. I ran most of the race. I hadn't run in months and I was just cruising along at a 9:30 pace. It just felt so good being out there with all the runners. I soaked in every second I was on the course. I did walk a little, probably 3 mins worth. My total time was 32:03. I didn't care about time. I just enjoyed the race itself.

Then in November I decided to walk/run the Mews 5k. I told myself this was going to be my last 5K ever. Alot of people from work were running the race so I wanted to join in the fun. It was a tough one. My time was 34 mins. I walked most of the race and ran when I could. My knee bothered me a little, but nothing to bad.

Now it is December 31, 2009 and I am still trying to come up with some sort of plan for 2010. There are a few races I want to do as a relay and some other side events I would like to complete. I will definately do the Crabman as a relay and the Wild Dog as a relay. I plan on doing the Save the Bay Swim and probably walk the Blessing of the Fleet. I really need to work on my bike and swim speed. I will sort these things out in the next few weeks.

As for 2009, I had some great moments that I will never forget. I need to think about what was good about 2009 and i hope it will motivate me for 2010. I know my knee will never heal, but there are plenty of other races and activities I can do that do not involve running. Don't get me wrong I will miss running. I would do anything to get the chance to do it again, but I need to think about the future.

Thanks to all those who read this blog (which isn't many). Thanks for the encouragement and thoughts throughout the year.

I wish everyone a Healthy and Happy New Year

Shawn

What is Next

The past few weeks I have been trying to figure out what is next for me. I know that weight loss is and should be my #1 priority right now. So far I have lost 14lbs and have a ways to go. I am losing weight to relieve pressure off of my knees. I figure it would only help if I was 30lbs lighter. My knee is not healing so the thought of running again is gone. So that leads me to my current situation. I have been tossing around a few ideas for next season. The race I really want to do is the Firmman Aquabike in September and do a relay for the Crabman Sprint Tri in July. I also want to do the Save the Bay Swim, but that remains up in the air. So I have a few things to figure out before I start really training for these races.

Take care and its almost Christmas!!!!!

Mews 5K

I will be running/walking the mews 5k today. It should be a lot of fun. I will run as much as I can and if I feel anything in my knee I will stop. Plus I haven't really trained at all for this so I predicted my finish time to be around 37mins. We'll see.
Not bad for a run/walk. My left knee is a little sore, but should be fine.

SHAWN MURDOCK
35 M
34:55.55 11:32....Not yet!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Its been a while

Sorry I haven't updated my blog lately. Busy with life. I plan on jumping back into blogging shortly. Tomorrow I am going for a 2nd opinion on my left knee. I just really want to know if I can run again or not without surgery. I want to keep surgery as a last resort. I have run a 5k and walked tons of miles with no ill effects with my left knee. No extra swelling or pain. I do still have swelling in the knee, but the doctor said that its not doing anything for it and I should drain it or take a cortisone shot to get rid of the swelling. So we'll see about that.

Chat with everyone later!

CVS 5K

Since The place I work at was paying for anyone who wanted to run the CVS 5K I decided to do it. Since I signed up I told myself I would run just in the beginning and the end and walk the rest. Well that was a good idea, but didn't happen. CVS 5K time - 32:03. Yeah I ran most of the race. It just felt so good running. I felt strong actually for the last 2 miles. My left knee was a little tight but was fine for the whole race. I am happy with my time and just was really awesome to be out there and running with the crowd! Congrats to all the rest of those who finished:

Jessica Sweeney - 45:26

Justin Finch - 24:36

Tim Coffey - 23:14

Carson Heinemann - 33:24

Congrats

Congrats to Brandon....He is an IRONMAN!!!!!

Good Luck

Good luck to all those racing this weekend! Joe doing the Cranberry International Tri in Mass and Erin going for her first Ironman at Ironman Canada! Have fun out there and can't wait to hear about the race!

Switching Gears

Well I have given it a lot of thought lately and decided to end my Tri season for the year and concentrate on something else. After doing the Wild Dog Tri and Crabman, it really got to me that I could not run anymore. So for the past few weeks I have been thinking about what I could do to get back into running. When I last saw my Doctor I asked him if losing weight would help with the recovery of my knee. He said that losing even 10lbs would drastically help. So after that office visit I told myself I would lose 40lbs. I am not giving any time frames. I just want to lose 40lbs. I believe in my heart that losing 40lbs will allow me to at least run an average 3 miles. Thats all I am asking. I never again want to walk during a triathlon. Step one, I joined Weight Watchers. I know myself and the extra motivation I get from going to the meetings will help me. I am currently in week 5 and have lost 11.6lbs already. Step two, start a workout program. I picked P90X as my workout program. I tried starting it a couple of months ago, but found it very difficult to balance family life, triathlon training and the P90X program. Since I have basically ended my Tri season, I can focus on P90X. Tonight I completed the day 1 video, Chest and Back, and it killed me. You have to start somewhere!

I plan on creating a P90X blog to track my progress. Feel free to drop by.

My Time to Brint It

Until next time.......

Bike Ride and Race Weekend

Went for an awesome bike ride today. I ventured down to the beach and back. It was so hot out, but it was a great ride. This Sunday Drew and I will be doing the Wild Dog Sprint Tri at Colt State Park in Bristol. The site of my first ever Triathlon. We will be doing the relay. I will swim and bike and Drew will do the run. Should be alot of fun and I am hoping for a top 3 finish in our category.
Good luck to Mark and his sister Laura and their team. They will be doing the 100 on 100 relay in Vermont. I know they will kick some butt!

Crabman Sprint Triathlon Race Report

It was the inaugural Crabman Sprint Triathlon. I was really excited about this one. Finally a Sprint tri only 15 minutes away from my house! After my 10k race at the end of February, my focus switched from run training to Triathlon training. I really wanted to kill this race since it was in my home town. But as we all know, my left knee had other plans.

After Friday's MRI of my left knee I knew I was going to walk the run portion of the race, which I was fine with me (until the run). The morning started off early. I woke up at 4:00 and was at the race by 5:00. I told the race director that I would help out if she needed me until the volunteers showed up. So I helped out with body marking for a bit and then handed out timing chips. After that I set up transition, chatted with a few of my rack mates. With about 30 minutes to go before the race, the rain started. It poured for a good 10 minutes and then settled in as a sprinkle. I really didn’t expect rain that morning. I used my shirt and an extra towel to cover my running shoes to keep them dry. Joe and one of our rack buddies decided to put our wetsuits on for a quick warm-up in the ocean.

The ocean was a little choppy but not to bad. After doing a few open water swims and the race clinic earlier that week, I was not worried about this ocean swim. After our warm-up we had about 10 minutes before the start of the race. At 6:50 all the athletes gathered for a few announcements. The race director, Kathy, was going over a few rules and mentioned helmets. As soon as she said that, the lady in front of me gasped and said , “oh my god! I forgot my helmet!!!” Really, how does someone forget their helmet? I saw her call someone so I hope she got her helmet by the time she was done with the swim. After announcements we were off.

There were 5 waves and I was in the 4^th wave. The swim was a little crowded. I spent a lot of time swimming around the slower swimmers from the previous wave. I had to stop once and get some water out of my goggles. I didn’t see any fish or sharks out there. So my final swim time was a minute slower then I expected.

T1 was a little slow. I had no trouble taking off my wetsuit. But it was a chore to put on my socks since my feet were still wet. I got the socks on, sneakers on, grabbed my race belt, put on my helmet and I was out. It was a good ¼ mile to the bike start.

It was a 2 loop bike course that was flat and fast. It felt good to pass people on the bike even though most of them were on mountain bikes!!! There were a lot of newbies at this race which is really awesome! I am not very fast on the bike and to average around 18mph felt really good. The roads were wet but not slick. I felt very comfortable out there. Upon starting my second loop I did see a few riders going the other way. Apparently they didn’t know where to enter after the 2^nd loop. All I have to say is…”Know the Route!”

Felt really good coming into T2. IT was a quick transition since I already had my sneakers on. Helmet off, grabbed my Crabman hat and I was out in a flash to start my Run/walk. I felt so good and I wanted to run so bad.

I walked out of transition, around the corner. I found my mother and sister and waved hi. I told myself I would start running after I get passed the race photographer. Once passed him I started to run. It felt so good to run. I looked at my Garmin and it said I was doing a 9:30min mile. Nice! Around the mile 1 marker the back of my left knee started to tighten up. So I stopped and walked for a bit. I tried a few more times to run, but I just couldn’t. I wanted to so badly. Spectators were cheering “you can do it” , “Come on and run your almost there!” I just wanted to yell back, “I can’t! I have a busted knee!!!!” Even the other triathletes were encouraging me. I know they were just trying to motivate me and push me along, but it just frustrated me even more. I swore to myself I would never walk during a run again. (That’s if I could ever run again) There was one time I looked at my watch and it showed the time I would have been finishing the race if I ran the whole thing. I could here the announcer saying people’s names as there were coming into the finish. I was getting close to the finish. I saw my step father and then my mother and sister. After I saw them, I said started to run. How can you not run to the finish? I sprinted as fast as I could and crossed the finish line in 1 hour 33 minutes.

I was happy that I completed my 3^rd Triathlon. I took a moment after finishing to think about how this was probably my last one I would do myself. All other races will either be relays or Aqua bikes. I chatted with a few people I knew. Grabbed a bagel and some water. There were ice cold towels for us, but the rain had kept me cool for most of the run/walk so I didn’t need it. I packed up my transition, said thank you to the race director, and rode my bike back to the car. In all it was a great race! Congrats to Kathy and the rest of her crew for putting on a great race. I will be there next year as part of a relay!

Crabman Sprint Tri

Crabman Sprint Triathlon

Shawn Murdock  

Total: 1:33:28   AG 31/32   .25 mile swim:  10:15 T1:  4:13  12.5 mile bike:  36:22  T2:  1:27   3.2 mile run: 41:11

Great race!  Even with the rain!  Congrats to Kathy and her crew for putting on a great race!

Busy Weekend

Good luck to all of those people running the Blessing of the Fleet 10 miler in Narragansett, RI tonight. Also, Good luck to all of those AWESOME Triathletes who will be doing Ironman Lake Placid on Sunday.

The Crabman Sprint Triathlon, Sunday July 26th, Matunuck, Rhode Island at the South Kingstown town Beach. I am really excited to be apart of this inagural event. Good luck to all of those participating and wish the best for Kathy and her crew who will be going over the top to hold a great event.

Its kinda hard to post my goals for this race. Since last year I was really looking forward to killing this race. But as we all know my knee had other plans. Today's MRI indicated that my knee is healing slowly so I have decided to just walk the run portion of the race. So here are my goals for the race:

Swim: 7mins 30 secs

T1: 4 mins (transition is pretty far from the beach)

Bike: 45 mins

T2: 1 min 30 secs

Run (Walk) 50 mins

I will post results on Sunday!

Later!

OWS at Narragansett Beach

7:00 OWS at Narragansett beach was awesome! A bunch of us who will be doing the Crabman Sprint Triathlon next Sunday was there. When I arrived at the beach I was surprised to see Kathy who had my race packet for me! Thanks Kathy!!!!! I am wearing my hat right now! It was a little foggy so we kept the swim short. What a difference swimming with the waves and current. I had to sight every 5 or 6th stroke! Up next is the last Crabman clinic on Tuesday. We will be able to swim the course and get some transition tips from the coach. I plan on taking my bike with me so hopefully there will be time to get a quick bike ride around the course.
Enjoy the Weekend!

Great Bike Ride Today

2 weeks to go before my final full triathlon. Recently I haven't really been motivated to train or pretty much do anything since I found out I couldn't run anymore. That really brought me down. It effected me more then I thought it did. Think about it, you train all winter and Spring, get really excited about the upcoming season and then your told you can't run anymore. It just sucks.

So for the past month or so I probably did 2 bike rides and maybe 2 swims. I have actually gained 12 pounds since I have stopped running which is not good. This past weekend my family and I took a mini vacation to my wife's uncle's Lake house in New Jersey. On the way home while everyone was sleeping I had a lot of time to think about the past few months and how everything seemed to just go down hill. I thought about how I would never be able to complete another 5k or my dream in becoming an IRONMAN. Then it was like a ton of bricks hit me. I thought to myself...STOP!!! Stop complaining and whining about what I can't do anymore and focus on what I can do, which is Swim, Bike and compete in Relay events! I am not totally out of the game. I can still enjoy the atmosphere or the race, crossing the finish line of an aquabike event! So today I went for a 13.79 mile bike ride today and to control my weight I joined Weight Watchers. I think it was my weight that was the cause of my left knee injury, so my goal to lose 40lbs has started. I feel that I need to lose the weight so my injury can heal.

Wish me luck everyone!!!

Crabman OWS Clinic!

Went down to Burlingame state park last night and did the Crabman OWS clinic. There were about 25 of us. Kieth started with swim safety and basic swimming techniques and then we put our wetsuits on and jumped in. We did 2 mock starts and just swam around for awhile. I would say total meters equaled around 500. It was a great event! Thanks to Coach Kieth and Kathy for the clinic.

Crabman Bike Clinic...Just What I Needed

For the past few days I have had no energy or the drive to do anything. Not being able to run has really brought me down over the past few weeks. I was so looking forward to a great Tri season this year and to not be able to go all out and race, just kills me. So last nights Clinic for the Crabman was exactly what I needed to jump start myself.

I meet Kathy Robbins from TRIMOM Productions who is the race organizer. There was about 12 people there with different experiences. The range went from first timers to IRONMAN finishers. Kieth Ballard started the night off with some USAT rules on Triathlon, then went on to talk about nutrition and basic bike safety. Then we jumped on the bike and headed out for a loop around the bike course. Kieth went around and chatted with everyone, checking bike form and giving words of advice. I was up front and chatted with him briefly then he said I could go at my own pace. So 3 of us took off and stopped at the first turn. From then on we just cruised until mile 3 when Kieth just told us to go at our own pace and head back to the beach. At this point I hammered it. I wanted to feel the burn. I needed to feel the burn and once I got back to the beach I was smiling. That was awesome! Next week is the swim clinic. Can't wait for that one!

Crabman Training Clinic #3

Tonight I will be heading to the Crabman Training Bike Clinic. I am really looking forward to it. I post more about the clinic later.

OWS

Since I still need to train for at least 2 events in the Triathlon I hit the open water for a short swim with my buddy Joe. We did a quarter mile swim followed by a 300 meter swim. The water was wicked nice! We plan on going ever Sunday morning.

My knee is better. I can walk normally now. I plan on jumping on the bike this week. Can't wait to see how the knee will hold up.

Something I Don’t Want to do

I am dreading writing this post. I never thought I would have to write this. I got the results back from my MRI that was done last Friday and it was not what I was expecting. Going into today’s visit I was thinking that I had a torn Meniscus. Well, now I wish that was the case, but its not. I have an Articular Cartilage Injury involving the Medial Femoral Condyle. Basically, the cartilage that surrounds the medial femor in the knee has worn away, thus exposing bone. Here is what I have found on the web about it:

What is articular cartilage?

Articular or hyaline cartilage is an extremely smooth, hard material, made up of the protein collagen, which lies on a bone's articulating surfaces (those surfaces that come into contact with other bones). Its function is to allow for the smooth interaction between two bones in a joint. Thus, if injured it can lead to impairment in the fluidity of joint movement. In addition articular cartilage is extravascular, meaning that it has no direct blood supply. This means that once injured it is extremely slow to heal.

Damage is graded from I-IV and can vary from obvious defects in the bone (grade IV) to very minor microscopic damage (grade I) which will appear normal when looked at with an arthroscopy (visualization of the inside to the knee joint). Injury to the articular cartilage will lead to inflammation and pain in the knee joint and in the long term it is known to accelerate the onset of osteoarthritis.

My condition is graded IV, figures. So the Dr. gave me a few options. The first being rest for the next 6 weeks and then have another MRI done to see if it is healing on its own, which is the option we went for. Second and beyond would be a number of different surgeries that would promote healing or cap the area with other cartilage from a donor area. Either way it spells doom for my running.

The Doc didn’t tell me I couldn’t run, but did tell me what would happen if I did. It was not a pretty picture considering I am only 34 years old and would have the possibility of having osteoarthritis by the time I was 40.

So I have decided not to run anymore, ever. At this point I just want my knee to heal so I can go run around with my kids. Yes it would heal and I could go back to running, but I am sure that the injury would occur again. I don’t want that to happen. I am sure that I will have some sort of arthritis in my knee anyways. I just don’t want to tell my kids no I can’t chase after you because my knee hurts or I can’t play baseball because I am a fool who decided to keep running after my knee healed and now I have a bigger problem. So no more running. I have at least another 50 years to go on my knees!

I haven’t decided if I want to continue swimming or biking. The doctor said I can do all activities that doesn’t involve running. I do have a sprint triathlon coming up in July that I still plan on swimming and biking, I will just walk the run. This really sucks. I trained my ass off all winter and spring and was so looking forward to this tri season. I really wanted to complete the Mayflower International Triathlon at Plymouth Rock in September and run my first half marathon in Hartford in October.

I am really going to miss running. I enjoyed every track workout, tempo run and hill repeats I have ever done. I will remember crossing the finish line of my first 5K and 10K with a huge smile on my face and thinking…I did it!

Running could have and probably is the direct cause of this injury, but I put the blame fully on my weight. For the past 10 or more years I have been battling weight issues. I went all the way up to 267 pounds and have managed to drop that down to 228 a few times, but have never keep the weight off. As of right now I am hovering around 236 – 237. I have gained a few pounds that I have lost in a recent challenge we had a work. It just doesn’t want to stay off. And the past few weeks with this injury hasn’t help any. So in the next 6 weeks my focus is on weight loss. If I want to help the healing process, I need to lose weight, and keep it off!

I give myself just today to sulk and be sad about not running anymore. But tomorrow, the sunrise brings a new day. An end of one thing brings a beginning of another. What that is, I don’t know. I still have 2 parts of a triathlon to train for.

Mystic River Sprint Tri Race Report

Finally the day has come for my first Triathlon of the year. I have been waiting for this since the Wild Dog Tri last year!

Woke up at 4:30, took a shower and went downstairs and ate some toast and peanut butter. I packed the car with everything and went over the checklist one more time. When I was ready to go I woke up my Brady, put him in the car and we were off to my sister’s house. She was going to watch him while I was at the race. After dropping him off I drove down to the race site in Mystic which was only 20 minutes away. It was shaping up to be a wonderful day for my first Tri of the year. I was there by 6:20, so I had plenty of time before the start of the race to stretch, set up transition and check out the water.

For a warm-up I went into the YMCA and found a nice quiet room to stretch, focusing on my left knee. For the past 2 weeks I have been dealing with an ACL strain which turned into something else. For the past week my left knee has been swollen. I went to the Doc for my follow-up and he said it was ok to run the 3 miles on it. Just ice it and take ibuprofen right after. So after the stretch I headed out, put the wetsuit on and down to the swim start.

THE SWIM

The swim was a wave start. All pre-registered males went in the first wave. I would say around 125 men or more went out. I seeded myself toward the right middle of the pack. Yeah, not fun. From the shore until the first turn I was battling with other swimmers, getting kicked, hit and just could not get into any rhythm. After I made it past the first buoy, I swam out a little and found some open water to swim in. But that didn't last long. I guess a few others decided to do the same and I was still avoiding people's feet. The last buoy seemed to take forever to get to. Then it was a short swim to shore after the turn. It was kinda of funny. I found myself swimming next to this one guy and we were both taking breaths at the same time...lol. So every time I took a breath, he was doing the same. It was funny. I got to where I could stand and I went to pull the leash on my wetsuit, but this guy came up and said "Hey let me help you out" so he grabbed my leash and pulled it down. I said thanks and started to try and pull the wetsuit off. Well I couldn't. The zipper got caught in some of the wetsuit so I couldn't pull it down the rest of the way. So I struggled with that all the way to my bike. Swim time was 18:45. My goal was 15mins, but my zig zagging and avoiding other swimmers and I think the swim course was a bit long was factors for the extended time.

T1

I struggled for a bit with my suit while at the bike. When I finally got it off I tried to get the little pebbles and sand off of my feet so I can put my socks on. Then shoes, helmet, race belt, sunglasses and I was off

BIKE

Right off the bat I forgot to tuck my right shoe lace into my shoe, so of course it got stuck in the chain. I stopped, tucked it in and was off. For the first mile or two I wanted to test my knee to see how it will hold up for the ride. After mile 2 everything felt ok so I just kept going at a nice pace. The hills killed my speed. I didn't want to put to much pressure on my left leg, so on the hills my right leg did most of the work. It was a very nice course. There were a few cows I said hi to. At the turn off of a main road at the point where we started to head back to the Y a lady had a flat and was asking for a pump. So I stopped and lent her my pump. Got her tire pumped up and I stayed with her to make sure everything was good. I figured I would help her out since I wasn't really racing for time. After a mile her tire was flat again, so we stopped and pumped it up again. This would happen one more time. Then when we spotted some race officials I handed her the pump and said those guys might be able to help you out. She thanked me and I took off. I felt bad for her, but at the same time, if you’re in a race, you should at least carry a pump and/or a spare tire, no matter what the distance. Going back to the Y was great. The course seemed really fast and I was back to transition in no time. As I was coming into transition I saw my sister with my son and her husband! They cheered for me and I gave a little wave. That was cool!

T2

Since I don't have bike shoes, this transition was fast, racked bike, grabbed my hat, took helmet off and I was gone.

RUN

This was the part I really thought my knee would act up. So the whole time I was running I was feeling my knee out, listening to it almost. Making sure it wasn't hurting. I told myself if I felt even the slightest pain I would walk. Turns out, it felt ok. Just a little tight, but no pain. At this point of the say it started to really warm up. I grabbed some water out of transition and once in the middle of the run. I was running slower then normal but I was ok with that. The run course was a flat out and back. Coming up the hill at the Y I saw Brady again. I gave him a little high five as I ran by. I wanted to sprint to the finish so bad, but I knew I shouldn't.

After I finished I stretched my legs out and saw the lady who I helped during the bike finish. She said thanks and gave my pump back to me. Then I went to my bike and grabbed my recovery drink, Gatorade and Hornet Juice and headed over to the food area. I relaxed for a bit, chit chatted with my sister and Tim, then went and cleaned up the transition area.

In all it was a great race. There were a few times on the bike I said to myself that I was very lucky to be able to do a race like this. Now I need to get my knee taken care of. As of today I have 47 days before the Crabman Tri. I really want to race that one.

Until the next race……

Race Complete!!

Official Results:
Total 1:50:57
Swim 18:45
T1 4:22
Bike 57:57
T2 :58
Run 28:55

What a day for a race! It was so beautiful out. I felt good through the entire race. My knee didn't really bother me to much, but I still held back on the bike and run. I believe my total time was 1hr 50mins. I am waiting for the official results to come out. I'll write a full race report sometime this week and I will post the official results as soon as they are available!

Race tomorrow!!!!

First Tri of the year is tomorrow. I kinda wish it was next weekend. My knee still is not 100%. So going into the race I have no specific time goals in mind. Well, I want to finish the .50 mile swim in under 15 mins, but the rest, I just want to go out and enjoy the race. My doctor said on Friday it was ok to run 3 miles, but I have it in my mind to walk most of the 3. We'll see how the knee is holding up. So the July Tri, The Crabman, will be an all out effort!!!
If I had to guess on my times for tomorrow it would be:

Swim - 14:49mins
T1 - 4mins (taking my time in Transitions)
Bike - 1 hr 5mins
T2 - 1min (not bike shoes to take off)
Run - 40mins (ouch, but probably correct)
total: 2hrs 4mins

Those times are ok with me. I am just glad to be out there.

Until tomorrow!!

Going ok

Tested the knee out yesterday. I went for a slow 7 mile bike ride and the knee felt fine. I am thinking that on friday I might try to run about .25 miles just to see how the knee will react.

Open Water Swim

Tried out the new wetsuit today. I did around a.25 mile swim in Pettaquamscutt Lakes. The water was probably around 65 degrees or so. But with the full wetsuit on it really didn't matter to much. The swim was good. Kinda weird not being able to see the bottom. I am just so used to seeing the bottom of the pool!
We took the boat to the lakes. The kids love driving the boat.

And the Doctor Says

No more monkeys jumping on the bed!!!! Ok actually the Doc said that I have a ACL strain in my left knee. he gives me 7 days to recover from it. I'll take it! I am just glad its not a tear. So my Tri is still on for the 7th. I just won't go as hard as I wanted to...except for the swim...I will be all out for that one!

Brick Friday

Oh man...my Brick Workout on Friday was great! 13.8 mile bike, 3 mile run - time: 1:20:54. The bike ride was the full bike path - time: 52:14. The run was a easy 3 miles out and back from work - time: 28:30. The last mile of the run I was hurting, but pushed through and finished my workout. I am ready for Mystic! Bring it!!!!

On other note, my left knee has been bothering me lately. It hurt a little during the run, but not enough for me to stop. Then I went bowling that night and must have did something to make it worse. Stupid!!@##!@$@. So I am going to take the next few days off from running or biking and just swim. Hopefully the pain will go away.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Less Then 3 Weeks

Less then 3 weeks to go before the Mystic Valley Sprint Triathlon. I know I am ready for the race. It is all I am thinking about. I really want to use this race as a gauge to see where I need to improve before the Crabman tri in July. I really want to put it all out there for the Crabman. I just really need to get out there and get some mile in on my road bike. So far I have done just 5 miles on the road bike. That is not alot. I have 2 good training weeks to go, so I should be able to get some miles on it. I did a 4 mile run today at lunch time in 36 mins 52 secs. Not bad. Felt great the whole run. I was trying to hang around the 9:20's for the first 3 miles and then pick it up for the last 1 mile. Last mile came in at 8:56. My running has definately come around these past few months. I am really excited about that. Now I need to work on the bike.

Happy Monday everyone!

First Brick Workout!

Wow...today I did my first brick workout of the season and it was great! The weather was perfect! I did a 10 mile bike and a 2 mile run. Everything felt great and I can't wait to do another one! It's Reese's birthday tomorrow. She will be turning 3. She is so excited about her Princess birthday!

Have a great weekend!

Cox Providence Road Races 2009

EDIT:
I CRUSHED MY PR!!!!!!!
The race timing company email me my results:

Gun Time: 26:47.90
Net Time: 26:31.43
Place: 183
Place in Division: 90
Total finishers in your division: 190
Place in your gender: 125
Total finishers in your division: 302

26:31!!!! Thats a full minute and 3secs faster then my old PR!!!!! AWESOME!

Today was the day of the Cox Providence Road Races 2009. There was a Marathon, Half Marathon and a 5k. I really wanted to do the Half today but my injury a few weeks ago put a quick stop to that. So when the company I worked for said they would pay for anyone who wants to run the 5K, I said sure! Can't say no to a free race! Mark and Justin already signed up for the Marathon and Drew signed up for the Half.
I got there early so I could watch the guys start their run.That was at 8:00 and my 5K was at 11:00AM, so I had some time to kill. I jumped in the car and made my way down to around the mile 5 marker of the marathon and Half route. I figured I would go and cheer them on. I saw Michelle out there running. She was going for a PR in the Half and she did! Good Job Michelle! Anyways...I first saw Drew so I jumped in and started running with him. Just as I jumped in, Mark joined us. I was a little surprised to see Mark due to the fact that he was running the marathon and drew was running the half. So I stayed with them for about a half a mile, wished them luck and peeled off.
Next was Justin. He was looking strong after 5 miles. I jumped in and ran with him for a little also.

Then I saw Mark's sister Laura. She was running her 20th Half marathon!!! So I ran with her for a bit as well. I figured all these were good warm up runs.
After that I jumped back in the car and got back to the finish line to wait for Drew to finish. He finished strong! Good Job Drew!Alright, my 5k. Since I have only ran 3 times in the past 3 weeks, I was going to take this run nice and easy. BUT, the thing was...I have been preparing to PR my company's 5k race, but that got canceled. So at the starting line I said what the hell, I am going for it. My PR was 27:34. Gun sounded and I was off. I settled into a great pace, Mile 1 - 8:36. There were a few long not so steep hills in the first 2 miles of the course, Mile 2 - 8:43. Last 1.1 miles...mostly flat, lets go! I am on pace to break the PR...lets keep it moving! Mile 3 - 8:26! The last .1 miles was probably the toughest. I really had nothing left and I tried to give it one last kick, mile .1 - 1:06 for a PERSONAL BEST - 26:47!!!!!!!! I destroyed my PR!!!! I was so excited! All the training, tempo runs, track work, hill repeats and cross training paid off!!!!
So after my run I found drew and we waited for Mark and Justin to finish their Marathon. First we saw Mark. He finished strong and came in under 4 hours!!!! Great job Mark. Then Justin came in with a time of 4:19. Great job Man! Both of them just ran 26.2 miles....thats just incredible.

Here are the results:

5K
Shawn - 26:47 PR
Steve - 28:06

Half
Michelle - 1:50:09
Drew - 1:52:46
Laura - 2:14:10

Marathon
Mark - 3:59:29
Justin - 4:19:07

Great job to everyone!!!! What an awesome day and it was a great event! NEXT YEAR I WILL BE RUNNING THE HALF!!!!

Yesterday's Run

Went out with Mark, Justin and Drew for a short 3 mile run yesterday on the bike path. Those 3 are tapering for their respective races coming up this weekend so I knew they would be running kinda slow. I was thinking of only going 2 miles, but I told myself if my right shin feels good I will do 3.

Total: 3.1 miles
28:44 min

The whole run felt great! And as of this morning it still feels great!

I signed up for the Cox Road Races 5K in Providence this weekend. I plan on just going out there and having fun and not going for a PR. The company I work for is paying for anyone who wants to run it...Which is awesome!

Bike ride today!

LAter!

Its Official

I finally signed up for one of the Triathlons I will be doing this year.... The Crabman Sprint Tri. I am really excited for this one. I am still up in the air about signing up for the Mystic Sprint Tri. It depends how fast I can recover from this right shin injury and get myself back to normal running by mid May. I did a 2 mile run yesterday with no pain...but I also only ran around a 10 min mile pace. I really wanted to go faster and longer! But I knew I needed to keep it slow and steady. I might go for another 2 mile run tomorrow. Also last night I did the Monday Spin and Swim! That spin class really kicks my butt and to jump in the pool and swim 1300 meters just makes for a good training session. Wish me luck on my run tomorrow!

Mile Run

I went for a run at lunch time yesterday to test out my right shin. I felt a little tightness but no pain. I will have to say I didn't expect to feel pain since it never hurt that bad to begin with. It always just felt like a bruise or something. Anyways, I did a mile and was pretty happy on how it felt. I actually did the mile in 9:34, a little faster then I wanted to, but I didn't once look at my Garmin to check out my pace. I am going for another short run on Saturday.

Friday I hope to get a nice bike ride in. The weather is going to be beautiful!!!

Update and Stuff

Well hopefully I will get a chance to test out my shin and do a short run at lunch time. It doesn't hurt at all while I am walking, only if I touch it and that isn't to bad either. So wish me luck!

On the brighter side, my swimming and biking is coming along great. This extra time I have had to focus on those 2 sports has really made a difference. I just can't wait to get some open water swims in soon. Laps in the pool is getting old. I have been riding my mountain bike for the past few weeks so beginning next week I will start using my road bike. I am waiting on a few things from the bike shop to come in.

Anyways....Happy Wednesday!

HORNET JUICE GIVEAWAY by THETRIRUNNER

Hornet Juice: "A powdered sports drink containing 17 amino acids that you mix with water or your favorite electrolyte drink, which you take before, during and after exercise, to give you increased energy, endurance and improved recovery time."

I have tried this stuff and man it ROCKS!

thetrirunner is holding a giveaway for the Juice! Check it out!

Hornet Juice

Bike Path Ride

Went for a nice ride on the bike path today. There were tons of people running, walking and riding! I took my camera along and snapped some pics:Saw some turtles enjoying the nice warm sun!



I also ran into Mark and Drew:


13.5 miles total for me. I really need to improve my the bike! This time off from running will give me a chance to get my butt in gear and jump on the bike some more! No word from the Doctor yet.

Good News or Bad News

I am waiting for the Doctor to give me a call. Either he will tell me I have a stress fracture in my right Tibia or don't. I can actually say thinking about this injury for the past few days is keeping me up at night. I will be extremely upset with myself if it is a stress fracture. It would be totally my fault. I strayed away from my training plan and increased my running distance to fast (or at least I think I did). Reading online about other who have had a stress fracture talk about intense pain....well I don't have intense pain. I am just really hoping it is not a fracture. I can deal with shin splints or just anything but a fracture!!!!!
So I guess we will wait until tomorrow to find out. Actually, I hope they can see something because I have been reading that the initial xray normally does not show a fracture....ahhhhhh this is driving me crazy!!!!!

On a brighter note, I did 1500 meters in the pool tonight and I am looking forward to tomorrow's bike ride at lunch!

Later!

Easter Long Run and Monday Swim

AFter Easter dinner I went for my weekend long run. First 10 miler ever!

1 hr 39min

M1 - 9:47
M2 - 10:00
M3 - 9:35
M4 - 9:53
M5 - 10:01
M6 - 9:53
M7 - 10:08
M8 - 10:14
M9 - 9:46
M10 - 9:37

I felt fine the whole run. I had to keep slowing myself down. After the run I thought to myself I could have gone another 5K but would probably walk run the rest of the way. I guess that would be fine with me. Just to finish a half marathon is a great accomplishment! I am still deciding if I want to do the Half or not.

Oh and last night I did 1300 meters in the pool.

Thursday = Track Day and Other Stuff

The guys ran to the URI track today (except for Justin..pffft). It was my first time doing 800s. Here is the break down:

3 x 800 goal pace was @ 4:05 with a 400 recovery
800 - 4:02
400 - 2:26
800 - 4:07
400 - 2:28
800 - 4:05
400 - 2:28

After I was done with my 800s I had some time to kill waiting for the others to finish up so I added another mile to my mileage on the track. Then the run back to work was great. I felt really good.

Totals
7 miles
1 hr 5 mins 50 secs

Recently I have been really happy with my running. All my run training is really paying off. I am a little concerned that I might be extending my runs a little longer then they need to be since I am not really training for distance at the moment. Weekend long runs of 7 and 9 miles seems a bit much. But after last weekend's 9 miler, I feel I could train and get myself ready to at least finish a half marathon. The thought has crossed my mind a lot this week. The only thing I am concerned with is injuring myself going to far to fast. I am going to give it another week and also see how Saturday's 9 mile run goes. If I decide to run the half marathon in May, my goal will be to finish, nothing more. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Today's Bike Ride

Ride on the Bike Path

12 miles

50:49

Average - 14.2 (slow!)

Some of the slower times are due to the strong winds...but I still need a lot of work on the bike!

M1 - 4:38

M2 - 3:57

M3 - 4:01

M4 - 4:05

M5 - 3:37

M6 - 5:40

M7 - 4:43

M8 - 3:47

M9 - 3:43

M10 - 3:50

M11 - 4:27

M12 - 4:11

Sunday Long run

Finally went and did my run to the beach! using Mapmyrun it was 8.55 miles, but I found that to be a little off.

9.38 miles
1hr 31min 51sec
9:47 pace

M1 - 9:28
M2 - 9:48
M3 - 9:32
M4 - 9:41
M5 - 9:57
M6 - 9:31
M7 - 10:02 (started to feel the burn!)
M8 - 10:06
M9 - 10:07
M.38 - 3:36

I would be lying if I told you it didn't hurt after mile 7. My legs are a little sore today.
I will not do spin class tonight, probably just swim.

Happy Opening Day!
GO REDSOX!

Article: Triathlons can pose deadly heart risks

Article found on Yahoo today:

Triathlons can pose deadly heart risks

Last week

Last week was a little rough for some reason. I only got 1 run, 2 swims, 1 spin class and a slow bike ride on the bike path. I am sure for some that would be enough for the week, but not for me. I felt a little burnt out by Wednesday and just needed some time to recover. This week I will jump back into my normal schedule.

Over the weekend I took my son to Battleship Cove in Fall River Massachusetts. We had a great time! It brings back memories of when I was in the Navy.

Tempo Tuesdays and Other Stuff

Went out for my tempo run today. After last weeks Tempo run I decided to step it up a little and make it at 3 mile tempo run with a mile warm up and a mile cool down for a total of 5 miles. Here is the break down:

M1 warmup - 10:01
M2 tempo - 9:10
M3 tempo - 8:58
M4 tempo - 8:54
M5 cooldown- 9:48

5 miles - 46:53
Average pace - 9:22

Great run! Felt really good throughout the tempo. I Will keep the 5 miles for a while and then push up to 6 miles.

Today I plan on jumping on the bike during lunch time and hit the pool tonight.

Oh I did a long run on Saturday - 7 miles - 67mins, average pace - 9:37. That was a great run and as always my last mile was the fastest at 9:17.

Monday I did a spin class with Joe...and it kicked my butt!!!! 19miles in 45 mins then at the end she had us do situps and pushups with the ball...crazy workout but it was great! I might have to take that class every week!! Thanks Joe!

Thursday = Track Day

Went to the URI Track today with Justin, Mark, Drew and Anthony. Planned to do another 4 x 400. Here is the break down:

4 x 400 with 400 recovery pace

Mile 1 warmup - 9:35
1st - 1:58.59
recover - 2:17
2nd - 1:59.85
recover - 2:24
3rd - 1:57.96
recover - 2:21
4th - 1:50.81
recover - 2:37
Last mile - 9:04

The last mile was my cool down, but there was no cool down today...it started pouring I think during the 1st recovery run. Still stuck it out and got it done!

Depending on the weather I will either go to the Y and swim or jump on the bike during lunch!

Tempo Tuesdays

Went out for a Tempo run on Tuesday. Still trying to get a steady pace down. I know when I am running a 10min mile pace...but anything below that is guess work as you will see.

4 mile tempo run:

Mile 1, Warmup - 9:56
Mile 2, Tempo - 9:26
Mile 3, Tempo - 9:13
Mile 4, Cool Down - 9:37

Total 4 miles - 38:14

A little fast for my cool down, but it was a comfortable pace. I think my tempo runs should be alittle faster, probably around 9:10 to 9:00. But McMillan Running has my tempo between 9:40 and 9:20.

Today I will be hitting the bike path again...but not running, on my bike! Tonight I will be at the Y for my swim workout.

Sunday Long run

Went out for a 7 mile run today! The weather was great and the run was even better! Great way to start off the upcoming week!

Wakefield 7 miler:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/ri/wakefield/640123716235727296

Thursday = Track Day

Hit the URI track today with Mark, Drew, Justin and Anthony. Here is the break down:

Track Work
4X400 @ 2:00min per 400

1.25 mile warmup - 10:03mins

Lap1 - 2:02.96min
recovery - 2:34min

Lap2 - 2:02min
recovery - 2:48min

Lap3 - 2:00.10min
recovery - 2:38min

Lap4 - 2:00.04min

1 mile cool down - 9:52mins

Great workout!

Tonight's Swim

Went to the Y for my swim with Joe and it was great! I hit an unofficial best with a 46sec 50m swim! My previous best was 55secs for 50m. I also did 100m in 1min 50 secs, another best! Tonight's swim definitely has given me confidence for a great swim training season and adds another brick to what could be a great triathlon season.

Tuesday - Tempo run

Week 2

Alright week 2 of training begins! This whole changing hour thing really stinks...but I'll get use to it. This week I have 3 runs, 2 swims and 3 bike rides (probably on the trainer). Last week was great...except for being sick on Monday and Tuesday, but it felt really good getting back in the pool!

Happy Monday!

Now Starts the real Training

So this week starts my Tri training for the 09 season. Jumped on the bike the other night and got in 30 mins while watching the Biggest Loser (very good show to watch while on the trainer!) 850 meters in the pool last night and a 4.5 mile run yesterday afternoon! I had a swim and run scheduled for Monday but the snow and sickness kept me from completing that days activities. Today I am heading over to the hill for some repeats. Its 1.87 miles to the hill, 4 repeats on the hill, and then 1.87 miles back. makes for a nice training run.
I am going to try and post more often since I am in full training mode now. My entries will be short and sweet.

100 Acre Pond Hill Repeats

Happy Thursday!

Hyannis 10K

Had an awesome time at the race.

10K
Mile 1 - 10:00
Mile 2 - 9:38
Mile 3 - 9:42
Mile 4 - 9:38
Mile 5 - 9:25
Mile 6 - 9:27
Mile .2 - 1:57

6.2 miles = 59mins 50 sec!!!!!

Official race results have me at 1:01:20, but the garmin says 6.39 miles at 1:01.57. go figure.
Oh yeah...they had a Clydesdale division and I came in 2nd!!!! I hope I didn't miss out in getting an award!!!!
WEll I didn't miss out!!!! They sent me an email and told me they will mail me the award!! I am wicked excited!!
Probably the only running award I will ever get!

Race report will be up shortly!!!!!!
Congrats to Mark for a Half marathon PR, Drew for a well run 10K, Justin for his first Half Marathon and Laura for a great run (and thanks for letting us use your Hotel room!)!!!!

Forecast for tomorrow's race

Hyannis Forecast: A few showers in the morning becoming steady in the afternoon. High 44F. Winds SE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

Should be alot of fun!!!!!!!

Friday!

I will be going for a slow 4 mile run today to stay loose. The weather keeps changing for Sunday, but either way it will be good time. I am just really excited to run a race that is over 5k distance. I feel that running a 10k puts me in a different group of runners. I know that 10k doesn't seem that far to most runners, but for me this is a milestone.


Happy Friday!

Oh Man!

(Edit Post)
Ok now the Forecast calls for cloudy skies...no rain and 40 degrees!!!! New England weather...figures.


Forecast for this Sunday...snow in the morning! Good thing I am only doing the 10k!!!!

Last long run

Went for a 6.5 mile run through Wakefield yesterday. It was my last long run before Hyannis 10K this weekend. I felt really good. my only concern was my left calf muscle felt tight and I felt a little pain. But I didn't feel it all the time and when I got home I iced it for 30 mins and then again at night. So I have 2 shorter runs scheduled for this week.
Stay tuned...I have an announcement about a give-a-way!!!!!!

Run around Wakefield

Went out yesterday for a 60 min run. The temp was around 45! This was going to be my first run of 60 mins ever! I felt great the whole run. I went kinda slow, 10:30 average pace. When I hit the 60 min mark, I had only gone 5.65 miles...I really wanted to go 6 miles. So I extended the run and ended up doing 6.2 miles in 65 mins. Great run! I am pleased with the time and how I felt. During the run I was thinking about a banana that I had saved for the end of my run. When I got home, I went straight for the banana, but it wasn't there!!!!!! I asked "who ate my banana?" Brady laughs and says me. Oh man......I was bummed!
Anyways I have another long week of training for the Hyanis 10K.

Super 5K

First race of the year didn't end up the way I wanted it too. I decided last night that I was going to run the Super 5K today. Its a flat course and I was certain I could set a PR. But that didn't happen. First of all I went out way to fast...then at mile marker 2 I has some serious pain under my right rib cage which slowed me down. I was pissed. So i limped into the finish line at 28:59. I really thought I could have finished it with a PR today, but it just wasn't my day. The weather was awesome and really enjoyed the run (until mile 2). Oh well, there will be more races! Back to training for the 10k.
This weeks runs:

Monday - 45 mins
Tuesday - 48 mins
Wednesday - Rest/swim
Thursday - 50 mins
Friday - Rest/swim
Saturday - 50 mins

Have a great Monday!!!!

New Wetsuit

My new Wetsuit came in the mail while I was away in Florida. I picked up the Quintana Roo Ultrafull Triathlon Wetsuit from Trisports.com. I went with the full wetsuit instead of the jon style. Just figured it wouldn't hurt to have it up here in the Northeast. I can't wait to try it out.

Training for the Hyannis 10k is going slow but steady. After a week in Florida I jumped back into training and ran 35 mins today, which reminds me, I need to pack my Garmin for tomorrow's run. Tomorrow I have a 45 min run scheduled.

I want to give a shout out to Mark who survived the 14th ANNUAL BOSTON PREP 16 MILER in NH yesterday. Good job Mark!

Warmer weather

The family and I will be heading to Florida soon. I can't wait for the warmer weather!!! I hope to get at least 2 runs in while there, but you know how it is with 3 kids!!!
Have a good week!