Week 1 - Boston Qual Training

In the first week of training, I veered off my training plan slightly in the name of easing into running again.  I've spent the past three months doing minimal running while focusing on weights.  The idea being that since I knew I was going to be waist deep in some aggressive Boston training, I wanted to have time off from running to focus on weights and rest my legs.

We're in Gulf Breeze this weekend so I was able to knock out my long run along the beach.  Everything felt strong, looking forward to next week's distance and pace.

Week 1:
- Goal Pace: 8:00
- Long Run: 8 miles
- Music (audiobook): Bridge of Spies - Matt Charman

Destination Run: San Diego - 18 April

I love exploring new cities or areas by taking off on a run with my phone and GPS.  That being said, I knew a run along the coast in San Diego was going to be my route.  The weather was, as predictable, beautiful and sunny.  In the afternoons it would peak around 75 and then in the evenings it would drop around 50-60, zero humidity.  The city is very chic and hipster-ish, but everyone was nice and we had no issues what-so-ever.  Would like to go back and spend some time outside of the downtown area to see how the common-folk live.

Crescent City Classic 10k - 4 April 2015

Overall Time: About an hour
Pace: Unknown
Age Group: Unknown
Overall: Unknown

Again, a sweet wife coaxed me into this race.  We didn't register like we did last year...too much of a
hassle for such a large crowd and such a mediocre after party.  We handed Samuel off to Grandma who walked the race, then we took off at a leisurely date-run pace.  I've learned that is the best way to do this race.  There are so many sights and beer-tasting opportunities while running through New Orleans that this one is best taken in stride...no pun intended.

The weather was tough.  Rainy and windy most of the race, very cold.  Fortunately, the baby was bundled and we were fine once we started moving.

Fat Boy 5k - 28 March 2015

Overall Time: 17:59
Pace: 5:49
Age Group: 1/58
Overall: 3/824

I was admittedly coaxed into running this race by my beautiful wife.  I had just returned from spending three weeks in Midland, TX for work and was not prepared for this race.  My every intent was to use my GPS to maintain a 7min pace.

After the first mile, I realized I was clearly moving faster than this 7min pace, but felt great.  I paced with the third place runner until 1.5 miles and decided to make a move.  This could've easily blown up in my face since I hadn't been training to run as fast as I was.

I ended up crossing the finish line in third place with a final time of 17:59.  Overall, not too bad.

Destination Run: Paris

One of my favorite ways to quickly take in the sites of a new place and figure out the lay of the land is to take off for 7-10 miles and just see what I can see.  The plus side to this is that the miles breeze by and I rarely realize how far I’ve actually gone until post-run.

Day 1:  Notre Dame, Louvre, Jardin des Tuileries

I took off headed East along the Seine following the path that Crystal and I had walked the evening prior.  I made a big loop around Notre Dame, switched to the other side of the river, wrapped around the Louvre, cut through the Jardin des Tuileries, and finished up back at the hotel.  Total distance of 7.6 miles, pace didn’t matter.

Day 2:  Jardins des Luxembourg

Crystal joined me as we headed south towards the Luxembourg Gardens.  Although not far from the hotel, we were able to get about 3.5 miles by doing loops within the actual gardens.  Beautiful morning and the trees and plants were marvelous.

Day 3:  Eiffel Tower, Arch de Triump, Lost

This was my big run to catch the Eiffel Tower and the Arch de Triumph.  I got a little lost when I missed the turn for the Arch, but was able to back track and saw everything I wanted.  Total distance of about 9.5 miles.

I was really impressed by the running culture that seemed pervasive throughout the city.  Not only were there running paths everywhere, but there were people running all the time throughout the day.  Crystal and I are already talking about planning another trip around the Paris Marathon.

Crescent City Classic

Distance:  10k

Overall Time:  40:16
Pace:  6:30
Age Group:  28/1305
Overall:  182/18,592

Pre Race Dinner:  Shrimp and Grits at Pat-O's in NOLA
Pre-Race Music:  George Thorogood - One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer

Controlled chaos is the best way to describe this event.  Race results show that about 18,500 registered runners crossed the finish line, but estimates were that there was at least another 12,000 unregistered runners were on the course.  So even being near the front of the pack at the outset didn't prevent me from having to "bob and weave" for position for nearly two miles.

The course itself is beautiful and flat, conducive to very fast times.  I was disappointed that I didn't break 40 mins, but I was pleased to be under my half-marathon pace of 7:00/mile...having a newborn living with you hurts training.  I've done this race a few times before, but this was the first time I actually registered.  After fighting the crowds this year, though, doubtful I will waste money registering again.

The sea of humanity aside, Crescent City Classic is a good, fun event for the family (Samuel's first 10k) and the course is beautiful.

Louisiana Marathon: The Half

Distance:        13.1 miles
Overall time:  1:30:05
Pace:               6:53
Age Group:     10th
Overall:           40th

Pre-race Food:  Pizza
Pre-race Music:  Cypress Hill - I Ain't Going Out
                                                  Like That

Again, hats off to the race staff...exceptionally well organized race.

Controlling that urge early in a race to sprint off is something I really struggle with, so maintaining that self-discipline this morning and purposefully forcing myself to stay between 6:30 and 7/mile pace makes me extremely happy.

Training has been lame as of lately.  I've been fighting a persistent cold and my work schedule has been brutal...but these are poor excuses that I would not have tolerated in the past.  I'm going to lay out a more detailed training and race calendar for this year.  I miss being fast like I was in my early-twenties (sheesh, am I getting old?).