Ian's 2010 Sporting Goals - Running

Well I never write this stuff down. I always sort of dream stuff up in my head that morphs and changes as the year goes on. But everything I read says, "start with goals," write them down and achieve them. So what the heck, I think I will write these things down and see what I can do to achieve them as the year goes on.

Rather than one really large and annoying to read super post, e I will make this into a multiple posts over the next little while and will start with my running goals for the coming year.

Last year was the first year I actually did any serious running. And I will be the first to admit that my motivation for training in running is rather low as I would so much rather jump on the bike and ride, or even sleep on the sofa. But with little training and a cheap pair of running shoes I managed some (to me) impressive results last year, starting with the Bluenose Marathon's 10K race. I had planned to run that beast in 50 minutes last year and managed 48 minutes having never run 10K in training (I know, I know). This year I have some training under my belt, an 11K training route and a much nicer pair of shoes. Not to mention I have already started training months ahead of last year. So I expect bigger and better things from me. So here we go.

Bluenose 10K. I need a top 100 finish (last year 165th) and a minimum finishing time of 45 minutes (last year 48:43). The ideal result will be a PB, which for me in the 10K is 43:40 (set in Beford on a cold, rainy autumn day). I have already signed up for this event.

I also look to better my 5K PB. I only ran one 5K race last year in Bedford on Bedford Days. I look to do this race again this year and beat my time of 19:30 (ish) and better my 5th place finish.

I want to run in at least 3 stand alone running events this year, more if my time allows. With the sporting season seeming so far away, I will plan on doing The Credit Union Atlantic Lung Run 5K in April. This moves the season up and gets me training and thinking about the season much earlier. And to keep my training and motivation in the world of running at a high, I will look to find events that are in summer and autumn.

Next post: Cycling

Swimming Update

Well now I think I have been taking swimming lessons for 6 weeks now. the thing I have really learned is that swimming right isn't easy, especially when you are trying to make up for 30 some odd years of poor swimming. But I have been persevering and I think I am finally seeing all my hard work come out. My breast stroke and whip kick are dynamite, and my back crawl isn't too bad. But of course it is truly the front crawl that I am most interested in.

This stroke has been my nemesis. Mostly due to my avoidance of breathing while putting my face in and out of the water. But slowly and surely I have made progress. I can now do 2 lengths without stopping (so 50 meters) and I am sucking less pool water up my nose now, so that is great as well. I fully see myself actually being able to compete in a full triathlon this summer. My first goal being a Super Sprint distance, due to the swim portion being relatively short at 300-400 meters.

My next goal in triathlon / event training, is to make a list of this years goals. And actual list, written down somewhere, and not the ever changing version I usually do in my head. In fact I may even post it on the blog for all the none of you to read (ha ha).

Swimming

So I have signed up for adult swim lessons. This was week 2. Now it isn’t that I can’t swim, but judging from how much I have learned in two 1/2 hour sessions, I must say that I surely didn’t know how to swim well.

My plan, this year, is to see if I can do a triathlon. I have run races, I have cycled races and I have done duathlons, but now a new challenge is upon me.

Hopefully my stroke and breathing (oh man the breathing) will improve enough that I will attempt a sprint triathlon. But that is a 750m swim and so far I haven’t come close to that distance. But at least there is a try a tri I can look at. A 400m swim might be just the kick I need to see where I am at. The 10K bike ride and 5K  run certainly won’t pose a problem for me. We’ll see.

For those of you that can’t swim or swim poorly though, I highly suggest some lessons. Fairly cheap, and a great thing to do over a winter.

Last week front stroke. This week continued that and added back stroke. Neither stroke worthy yet, but soon, oh soon.

Found a Great New (to me) Band

Okay so casually browsing through Youtube can sometimes turn up real gems. By accident I found a video for a band called Friendly Fires. The video in question is called Skeleton Boy and is truly a great and unique piece. Plus the song ain't too bad either. Great for a workout (I will be adding it to my running mix I think). Check these guys out.

Welcome to a New Year

So 2010 has arrived and it may be the start of a new decade for some and the end for others (depends on whether year zero is counts I guess). Anyway, here in Nova Scotia we started out with a bang. That is snow, crazy temps and add in some rain as well. But now that it has that out of its system we have been fairly blessed with mild (near freezing) daily temps and little new snow. Good.

Of course all this new snow and wet roads mean that I still can't properly take out my new bike which I purchased from the good folks at Sport Wheels. It is just far too pretty to get dirty this early in its life. Instead I still ride my good trusty old commuter mountain bike. It rarely lets me down and generally when it does it is actually my fault.

The new year also brings about new changes at my work. While I was working solely on the conservation and restoration of Archaeological finds these past 10 years, I am now moving into the Parks Canada Furniture and Wooden Objects conservation and restoration lab. New and exciting things ahead for me.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season as well. I did in Colorado with my extended family. We even flew our little dog Newt down with us for vacation. And while she doesn't care much for cold and snow, she had a blast getting all sorts of attention from all sorts of new people.

Here's looking forward to more exciting things in 2010. I include in that the possibility of me doing a Triathlon this year. Swimming lessons are now paid for and start in a few days. More on that in the future.

Take care.

My Childhood Memories of Great TV

Okay so I just got through watching the re-release of V - Visitors this past week. I remember that mini series well from the 80's. And as I watched the new version I hoped for one of those great things to happen, the new outshining the original. Or at least the new one being good enough to keep watching. But alas this is no remake of Battlestar Galactica. This seemed to be a much lower production value. And the choice of completely wooden actors didn't help. The only thing I can hope for is a return of Robert Englund as the "slow" V with a heart of gold. One can hope.

So far as I watch remakes of many shows and characters that I loved as a child I have been sadly depressed. I wish they would just come up with some new ideas, or at least hire a script writer that can mold that original concept into something better than it was (ala Battlestar).

I mean really, Transformers? That was a sad attempt to make things blow up. GI Joe? Why did I bother. And Astro Boy? Well I haven't seen it yet, but judging from how much I loved that cartoon as a kid I will probably avoid seeing this new version.

Perhaps I just watch too much TV. Perhaps my judgement was clouded as a kid. Regardless, at least when doing these remakes, please take a little time to create something fun and worth my time.

Riverport Duathlon a Success

Well the Riverport Duathlon is done now. My racing is over for the year (I think). The result was pretty darn good.

The Day began all cold and dreary with a forecast of rain. Luckily the rain held off until the start of the race, which meant I didn't have to stand around getting cold before heading out. And the real bad weather held off until the bike portion of the race was started. I don't mind biking in the rain, I hate running in the rain.

Anyway, the race started well for me. I was next to my friend Mike. But I really wanted to get to the front early on and started to work my way past many of the other runners. My philosophy on racing is to go out really fast and hope that momentum carries you over the finish line.

Well I finished the first run strong and entered Transition 1 with a time of 16:58 for 4 KMs (a 4:14 kph avg pace). I quickly got into my bike shoes, helmet and grabbed my bike. As it was wet, running to the bike start line was tricky and of course as always I fumbled clipping into my peddals (I should work on that). Then off I went.

I was happy with my bike ride. I passed a few riders as well as a couple of cars. The rain started to really come down and my feet were soaked. My new aero setup was really comfortable and allowed me to stay in a tuck position for almost the whole 28KM lap. I entered tranisition zone 2 with a time of 48:21 (34.7 KPH). And as I had purchased a quick clip shoe system I was into my running shoes in record time. Off I went for the run.

And just like last year my legs immediately gave up. All that training went out the window and the cramps set in. I did my best and kept my pace as high as I could manage. It took me close to 3 of the 4 KMs to get the legs working again. By that time of course I had lost many spots to other runners, and my goal of a top 20 finish was dashed. But my other goal of a decent improvement over last years total time was still there. So I picked up the pace as best I could, I turned the bend for the last 100 meters or so and sprinted my butt off and managed to stop the clock at 1:27:50 to beat last years total time (on a sunny day at that) of 1:35 and change. My final run was 22:32 for 4 KM. Although that seems slow it is still so much faster than last years sub 26 minute run.

I know have something to strive for again in next years events. I have a years worth of data on my successes and failures for Duathlons and Running races. And next year I also hope to add in a triathlon or 2 as well, assuming I can learn to swim well enough.