OK chudville fans...not that there are many (or for that matter....any!) I have taken a long hiatus from the blog, and I do apologize! We have been very busy around here. Let's start with the 2010 Manitoba Marathon....
I ran a personal best time of 4:31:27. It was 30 minutes faster than my time from last year. The temperature was very nice this year (unlike last year, second hottest EVER!) I felt like I had a solid race but it could have been soooo much better. Here's why: My plan was to carry a good pace for as long as I could....and only when I absolutely 100% had to would I walk then most likely walk/run from that point. At the 1/2 way point of the marathon (that would be at the 1/2 marathon distance for those of you out there who are not marathon savy! hahaha) I was at 1:56....not a bad time at all. I was doing great....all system were firing fine. My heart rate was perfect, breathing was good, fluid intake was right on cue. I made the tactical error of deciding to take a walk break going through the Wolseley area (around 28km mark I think). That proved to be the first brick in my wall. No matter what I did after that point I was unable to regain the tempo I had built up before. I went from looking at a solid 4:15 finish to a finish of 4:31. Next year i will try to stick to my game plan of running for as far as I can and not stop until I hit the finish. I guess that I can't really complain with my performance but no matter how you finish you always feel like you could have done more...pushed harder. Plus this year I rode my bike to the race and had a nice easy recovery pedal home. That felt great!
Next up....the St. Malo triathlon!
I figured I'd just do the sprint distance (750 meter swim, 20km bike, 5km run) after all it was the week after the marathon! I felt great the morning of the event until I heard it would be a NON WET SUIT SWIM!!! I have never done an open water swim without a wet suit....AHHHH!!! I decided to just chill and roll with it. I can swim 1500 meters no problem in a pool....750 meter in a lake will be a piece of cake...a very wet and cold piece of cake! (FYI: wet suits will ever so slightly increase a swimmers buoyancy...for a weak swimmer this is more of a mental advantage than actual mechanical advantage.) So into the water we go....it was very cold. I decided to wear my tri top...big mistake, it got water logged and slowed me considerably. I finished the swim not dead or dead last, hurray! It was not my best time by far (27:50) very, very barge like! I was somewhat dizzy after the swim due to the waves...this is normal. Hit the bike and really took it easy. I didn't hammer it like in Theif River. I think I was still tired from the marathon. I finished the bike in 45:50...this is on the slow side for me for sure. I should have been about 10 minutes faster. Instead I just rode and enjoyed the scenery. I didn't go aero for much of the bike leg. Next came the run and by this point I knew I was just having a casual race so I didn't push my pace at all. I finished the 5k in 27:40....not a bad time but about 3 1/2 minutes slower than my normal 5k pace. Good race, some hero sprinted past me at the line...I think he may have pulled a muscle in doing so....hope it was really worth it to beat the chubby guy, rookie!! (for the weekend warrior the worst thing to do is sprint at the finish...you muscles are taxed to the max....you should slowly ramp up your speed to the finish but not sprint...we aren't trained for that type of effort at the end!)
School/Work ended for the year....it was a good year. It had it's challenges, some ups and downs nothing too extreme though. Looks like I will be back doing the same old same old next year....unless something falls my way over the break. I hate not knowing what I want to do! I would love to own my own business, that I do know. I think I'd be a great personal trainer...but there is no money in it and I don't want to burn out with the physical activity (like I did with golf!) Who knows!
Next up for the Chudley's was our trip to BC and the start of my ramp up to the Square Lake half Ironman in September....more on that next time.
