Junior year: 2010-2011
The last thing I wanted for my transition from a non-runner to collegiate cross country runner was to be behind more than I already was. Sometimes you just get dealt the wrong hand. Due to my stress fracture, I missed out completely on pre-season training as well as the first few weeks of the actual season. So here I am falling further behind my already intimidating team mates.
I didn't know what I was getting into so I kept my goals simple. I had only two.
1: Finish all of my races (with the exception of injury)
2: NEVER take last place in a meet.
Pretty simple. And the fear of making a fool of myself drove me into training. I really didn't want to be the last guy across the finish line. Sure all of these other runners have been doing this for as many years as I had months, but they don't know that, and my male instinct is to not look weak in front of others. That being said, I had totally defied that instinct by trying this sport.
After healing up, I spent about three weeks getting fit before my first race. These workouts were kicking my butt but I was determined. After spending many years as a swimmer I was mentally tough enough to take on the practices. But physically my runner muscles were not prepared for the collegiate load. More than anything fear of looking weak drove me on in the first couple months.
Then my first race. I was not in the best physical shape yet but I needed to get racing. And if anyone has ever been "baptized in the fire" it was me. My first running race was one of the largest collegiate races in the country. Roy Griak Invite in Minneapolis. Hilly, slow, and competitive with a tight funnel start for over 300 guys. Races all day going all the way from DI to NAIA to high school. When it became time for our division's race I headed to the start with my two goals in mind. Our event was an 8K, 5 miles
Never having run a cross race before and hearing the horror stories about things getting physical at the start with athletes getting pushed around and spiked my start plan was to hang back and let the guys out front duke it out. I figured I'd save those physical starts for the many swim portions of triathlons to come.
After that I had no plan. I didn't know race strategy yet and I wasn't there to compete, I was just there for me. The only thoughts I had were go out strong, don't settle in the middle, and start that kick with about 2 minutes to go. Oh yeah, and don't finish last! After about a mile the pack began to thin out and I began to drift back but looking behind me a still had a fair few guys slower than me. As the race went on, however, I kept getting passed. The hills were killer! Miles 4 and 5 were slow and painful, but finally I finished in just under 37 minutes. As for my goals, they remained intact.
328 finishers. My place: 327
It wasn't the prettiest display, but it would do. I would go on to race the 8K four more times that season with the Griak meet being my worst time and worst finish at 2nd to last. I dropped time to get my PR in every race to follow, finally finishing the season with a 33:30 as my best. It was a tough road, but I was becoming a runner.
I would go on to compete in track, where I knew, in my 5K races of about 15 guys, last place was almost a sure thing for me, but I was okay with that. I was getting better every week and felt prepared to have some decent tri's in the summer of 2011. My track season best in the 5K was an 18:48. Things were falling into place.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
I Think I'm Cursed
I was sore from my first race so the first few weeks of my new program included stretching and weight training. My heart and head were finally in it! It was go time!
I would like to say training was easy and it came natural to me, but it wasn't. Try as I might, I'm just not the most talented athlete out there. Mentally I was there, but physically I just didn't have it. After months of training I just wasn't getting better at the run and bike disciplines, and that is frustrating. I'm built like a runner, what the heck?!
I needed coaching, but I'm a broke college student. Enter: Triathlete's Training Bible. Joe Friel's book on the self coached athlete has given me some valuable insight into the sport which, as passionate as I am, I know little about.
I also talked to the college track coach in the spring and started training with the team. Intimidating! I was completely horrible and these guys were studs! But I learned a lot and started to increase miles. New shoes and everything, I was becoming more of an athlete every day. I even decided to go out for the cross country season the following fall.
The summer came around and I was fit and registered for the 2010 Timberman Sprint Triathlon. I couldn't believe it, I was weeks from becoming a triathlete! I wasn't going to be a superstar, probably not even top 3 in my AG of about 10, but I knew I would finish with a decent time!
Then disaster hit. Pain in my ankle starting one week from the event, two days later it got worse. I went to the doctor got the X-Ray and the bad news. Stress fracture. I was out of the race 5 days before the event. Once again I was thwarted on this race. I was close to doing the run on crutches but decided the chaffing wasn't worth it, I even considered gritting through the pain. But with my first collegiate season approaching I opted for the better safe than sorry plan.
360 days straight... Still not a triathlete... I was not a happy camper.
I would like to say training was easy and it came natural to me, but it wasn't. Try as I might, I'm just not the most talented athlete out there. Mentally I was there, but physically I just didn't have it. After months of training I just wasn't getting better at the run and bike disciplines, and that is frustrating. I'm built like a runner, what the heck?!
I needed coaching, but I'm a broke college student. Enter: Triathlete's Training Bible. Joe Friel's book on the self coached athlete has given me some valuable insight into the sport which, as passionate as I am, I know little about.
I also talked to the college track coach in the spring and started training with the team. Intimidating! I was completely horrible and these guys were studs! But I learned a lot and started to increase miles. New shoes and everything, I was becoming more of an athlete every day. I even decided to go out for the cross country season the following fall.
The summer came around and I was fit and registered for the 2010 Timberman Sprint Triathlon. I couldn't believe it, I was weeks from becoming a triathlete! I wasn't going to be a superstar, probably not even top 3 in my AG of about 10, but I knew I would finish with a decent time!
Then disaster hit. Pain in my ankle starting one week from the event, two days later it got worse. I went to the doctor got the X-Ray and the bad news. Stress fracture. I was out of the race 5 days before the event. Once again I was thwarted on this race. I was close to doing the run on crutches but decided the chaffing wasn't worth it, I even considered gritting through the pain. But with my first collegiate season approaching I opted for the better safe than sorry plan.
360 days straight... Still not a triathlete... I was not a happy camper.
Woes of Commitment
It's mid June 2009 and I have about 30 days to kick things into high gear. I have a six mile race to run and I'm starting to freak out. Pathetic I know. But hey, the longest I've ever run straight is 1.5 miles, in 7th grade...
I was encountering an issue, I would plan a 25 minute jog and by the time I was at 8 minutes, I was completely dogged. once I hit 11-12 minutes I was done. After a few days of this I just decided to drop the pace a bit, turns out I'd being going about 8 minute miles, which at this point was pretty max for me. SO I headed out for a run with just under 4 weeks to go and slowed the pace. I went for a whole 45 minute super easy jog, and didn't quite hit 5 miles. But I was stoked!!! New lesson learned: Don't skimp out on the "easy" part of easy runs, just relax and enjoy the run.
After that training was pretty consistent for a few weeks, but once again, I got overconfident and lazy. I knew I could do the distance so for the last 10 days leading up to the race I only ran 3 times. Mistake # 1.
Mistake # 2: Applebees Quesidilla burger. Midnight of race day.
Mistake # 3: Out with friends until 3 AM race day.
Mistake # 4: I still hadn't invested in running shoes, and the shoes I was wearing race day, were literally falling apart. (I mean literally, I used duct tape race day...)
So yeah. Heart still not in it.
Race day: I don't mean to say I was being a total pile. I showed up as enthusiastic as ever stoked and ready to do my leg. I had a blast but my time was nothing to brag about. Easy, flat, out and back 6 miler. When I said I was enthusiastic I meant it! I hit the first 3 miles hard turning around at about 22 minutes. Then I died... finishing in 47:00. A 7:50 pace.
What happened after the race is the important part, the spark was lit. I felt like a little bit of a let down, both to my team and to myself. So that day I vowed to do the Sprint Course next year. I told myself "I'm not taking a single day off until this race. I will do one thing every day to prepare, on my off days, I'll stretch or practice transitions, anything, as long as I do something."
Triathlons, here I come!
I was encountering an issue, I would plan a 25 minute jog and by the time I was at 8 minutes, I was completely dogged. once I hit 11-12 minutes I was done. After a few days of this I just decided to drop the pace a bit, turns out I'd being going about 8 minute miles, which at this point was pretty max for me. SO I headed out for a run with just under 4 weeks to go and slowed the pace. I went for a whole 45 minute super easy jog, and didn't quite hit 5 miles. But I was stoked!!! New lesson learned: Don't skimp out on the "easy" part of easy runs, just relax and enjoy the run.
After that training was pretty consistent for a few weeks, but once again, I got overconfident and lazy. I knew I could do the distance so for the last 10 days leading up to the race I only ran 3 times. Mistake # 1.
Mistake # 2: Applebees Quesidilla burger. Midnight of race day.
Mistake # 3: Out with friends until 3 AM race day.
Mistake # 4: I still hadn't invested in running shoes, and the shoes I was wearing race day, were literally falling apart. (I mean literally, I used duct tape race day...)
So yeah. Heart still not in it.
Race day: I don't mean to say I was being a total pile. I showed up as enthusiastic as ever stoked and ready to do my leg. I had a blast but my time was nothing to brag about. Easy, flat, out and back 6 miler. When I said I was enthusiastic I meant it! I hit the first 3 miles hard turning around at about 22 minutes. Then I died... finishing in 47:00. A 7:50 pace.
What happened after the race is the important part, the spark was lit. I felt like a little bit of a let down, both to my team and to myself. So that day I vowed to do the Sprint Course next year. I told myself "I'm not taking a single day off until this race. I will do one thing every day to prepare, on my off days, I'll stretch or practice transitions, anything, as long as I do something."
Triathlons, here I come!
How It All Began
My submersion into the world of triathlon was a long and slow road, it was always something I wanted to do but committing to training was tough for me. Simply put my heart wasn't in it yet. And I honestly had bad luck getting signed up for a race.
As I said in the previous post, I discovered the Timberman Triathlon in '07 but was unable to compete due to the fact that I wouldn't be around for the event. With this in mind, I saw no point to training.
The next year, 2008, I thought about it a little more and decided to sign up for the race. I learned my first lesson of triathlon: heed registration deadlines! The race after opening registration was full within two weeks. I wouldn't be able to run it this year, once again I was uninspired to train.
The fall of '08 and the spring of '09 made up my freshman year of college. During this time I received my first boost of inspiration. My high school girlfriend ended our relationship, and I honestly just needed to look forward to something. So I said to myself, "someday, I'm going to be an Ironman!" As silly as it seems, I must be honest and that is how I really first kicked things into gear. When it came time for registration to Timberman a friend asked me to be part of a relay, the running leg. So the swimmer tried to turn himself into a runner.
I learned a little bit about myself at this point. Mainly: I'm a crappy runner. I headed to my college track in late March for a little time trial. 1 mile. All out. My time: 7:47. Realizing I have a little over 3 months to run 6 miles and considering my time, I was severely discouraged. So I did the exact opposite of what I should have done, I didn't train.
The fear of making a fool of myself eventually got me going with about 4 weeks to go before the race. And eventually I was on my way to taking part in my first triathlon.
As I said in the previous post, I discovered the Timberman Triathlon in '07 but was unable to compete due to the fact that I wouldn't be around for the event. With this in mind, I saw no point to training.
The next year, 2008, I thought about it a little more and decided to sign up for the race. I learned my first lesson of triathlon: heed registration deadlines! The race after opening registration was full within two weeks. I wouldn't be able to run it this year, once again I was uninspired to train.
The fall of '08 and the spring of '09 made up my freshman year of college. During this time I received my first boost of inspiration. My high school girlfriend ended our relationship, and I honestly just needed to look forward to something. So I said to myself, "someday, I'm going to be an Ironman!" As silly as it seems, I must be honest and that is how I really first kicked things into gear. When it came time for registration to Timberman a friend asked me to be part of a relay, the running leg. So the swimmer tried to turn himself into a runner.
I learned a little bit about myself at this point. Mainly: I'm a crappy runner. I headed to my college track in late March for a little time trial. 1 mile. All out. My time: 7:47. Realizing I have a little over 3 months to run 6 miles and considering my time, I was severely discouraged. So I did the exact opposite of what I should have done, I didn't train.
The fear of making a fool of myself eventually got me going with about 4 weeks to go before the race. And eventually I was on my way to taking part in my first triathlon.
Becoming a Triathlete
Singer, guitar player, songwriter, tuba player, actor... triathlete???
Standing at 6 foot even weighing about 145 pounds, the last thing you expect when you see a guy like me is that mix of macho/crazy stereotype that comes with the world of triathletes. SO to be fair, it's not who I am at all. I'm just an everyday tri guy, your simple weekend warrior that does it for fun. And it is fun! Let's be serious, I do it for the food. If you've done a triathlon you know exactly what I'm talking about :)
The whole thing started with overcoming my fear of being in the water. When it came to sink or swim, I tended to lean towards the sink. So in 7th grade I joined the swim team because my older sister, a 12th grade varsity swimmer, encouraged me to do so.
I showed up to my first day of practice and demonstrated the finer points of being a rock in the water.
To make a long story short I've come a long way since then and finished out a strong high school career as a backstroker. Somewhere along those lines I learned how to ride bike, and yes, do the math, I didn't learn how to ride a bike until I was 13 years old. But better late then never!
My junior year of high school, 2007, I took notice of a local event called the Timberman Triathlon in my hometown (Grand Rapids, MN). I though "what the heck, I know how to swim, let's give this a try!" Unfortunately my family planned to be on vacation for the race so I pushed it to the back of my mind. But I knew that one day, I would do this race, and call myself a triathlete.
Standing at 6 foot even weighing about 145 pounds, the last thing you expect when you see a guy like me is that mix of macho/crazy stereotype that comes with the world of triathletes. SO to be fair, it's not who I am at all. I'm just an everyday tri guy, your simple weekend warrior that does it for fun. And it is fun! Let's be serious, I do it for the food. If you've done a triathlon you know exactly what I'm talking about :)
The whole thing started with overcoming my fear of being in the water. When it came to sink or swim, I tended to lean towards the sink. So in 7th grade I joined the swim team because my older sister, a 12th grade varsity swimmer, encouraged me to do so.
I showed up to my first day of practice and demonstrated the finer points of being a rock in the water.
To make a long story short I've come a long way since then and finished out a strong high school career as a backstroker. Somewhere along those lines I learned how to ride bike, and yes, do the math, I didn't learn how to ride a bike until I was 13 years old. But better late then never!
My junior year of high school, 2007, I took notice of a local event called the Timberman Triathlon in my hometown (Grand Rapids, MN). I though "what the heck, I know how to swim, let's give this a try!" Unfortunately my family planned to be on vacation for the race so I pushed it to the back of my mind. But I knew that one day, I would do this race, and call myself a triathlete.
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