Seaside Half Marathon 2020

Perhaps one of the more interesting changes in my training routine since Fall of 2019 has been the willful addition of a strange practice apparently known as the “rest day”. And, with a Monday of training rest and 3/4 kids tucked quietly in bed and 1/4 inconsolably refusing to allow the rest of us to sleep, I turn again to the keyboard to recount a race. “How,” you ask, “could you possibly write (again) about a race in which you run in a straight line one direction, then turn around and run straight back?” Read on and find out!

Race Report: Ironman Texas

Following the chaos of last fall and an unexpected deferral from Ironman Florida to Ironman Texas, I found myself once again eating extra bananas at 3:30 AM in a hotel bathroom… It was truly a race morning.  After sixteen long weeks of building up fitness I was excited and so happy to be in Houston uninjured, uninhibited by weather, and unconcerned about what the remainder of the day would bring. This was it, everything the training was meant for!

Race Report: SSHM 2019

For the third consecutive year, I was blessed to lace up for the Seaside School Half Marathon. I’ve related before why I love this particular race but if you didn’t read last year’s Race Report, I’ll happily repeat myself! This has to be one of the most beautiful areas to run and I’m fortunate to be able to train in this area often.

Race Report: Beach Blast Oly

Well the long Florida summer is nearly over and race season has kicked back in!  While I’m still in the middle of my training build to Ironman FL, I took an opportunity to race the Beach Blast Triathlon in Mexico Beach again this year.  While I have previously raced the sprint distance at this event, I jumped back into the olympic distance field this round figuring I would log it as a solid training day.  I went in to the event assuming that I wouldn’t have my max power on the bike or best run form since I have let speed work fall to the way-side in favor of aerobic work lately.

Race Report: Let Freedom Spring!

As a kickoff to Ironman training, and an excuse to break out my racing gear, I signed myself up for a quick sprint triathlon about an hour away from Panama City.  Set for the early morning of July 7, I was happy to know that this sprint should be well over and done before the heat of the day.  With minimal preparation, I was definitely ready to go 🙂

The Sickness!

Week two of the build to Ironman Florida has come and gone.  The presence of a work holiday on Wednesday for Independence Day left an interesting choice… Should I take off the two days before or the two days after?  I chose the latter and, armed with a suuuuuuper long weekend, crammed in family fun, training, a sprint tri, and a slew of sickness that ran through the whole family one at a time.  I may choose to write up a separate race report for the Freedom Springs Triathlon but will throw around a short summary here as well 🙂

Ironman 70.3 Gulf Coast – All the heat…

Transition 2.  Lying on my back, eyes closed, arms above my head, both thighs firmly locked in cramps.  Nearby, two small boys and their parents who had volunteered as a family in transition stood by.  I heard one of the boys ask, “Dad, is that man ok?”  “I’m not sure, son.  Sir, are you alright?”, I heard.  “Not yet, I’m not.” I replied, “But I’ll get there.”  As I lay there unable to move, shift, or reach my feet to put on running shoes I reflected on how I got to this point…

Ironman 70.3 Florida – All the hills in Florida

Sunday, April 8, 2018, 4:15 AM, the hotel restroom: In as much silence as possible, I brewed hotel bathroom coffee and ate two bananas not realizing how weird this would probably seem to the outside world.  But it was race day and my Lyft ride would be arriving soon.  With less than three hours to the start of Ironman 70.3 Florida in Haines City, it didn’t even occur to me what odd behavior this was.  “Eat another banana,” I thought, “you’ll need it.”

Race Report – Seaside School Half Marathon

Welcome to my Race Report for the Seaside School Half Marathon, 2018 Edition!  It’s no secret that I love me some South Walton County, 30A events.  As a family, we love spending weekends in the picturesque areas that surround some of the most beautiful land to be found.  Having raced the event last year, I was excited to enjoy racing along one of my favorite stretches of road while getting a great opportunity to compare my fitness to last year at this time.  Couple that with the build schedule for the spring half-ironman racing and it was impossible to say no.  Plus, as a transportation engineer, this is a stretch of road that I have actually done quite a bit of work on!

Race Report – Atlanta Spartan Super

Get ready people, cause here it comes—a much too long race report!  Printed, I have a feeling that this post may rival the actual course length.  It may actually take less time to do the race than to read this…  It certainly took less time than to write it!  But enough of these cheesy jokes.  Onwards!