Speed Chute

Muscledriverusa.com is an online fitness store with their warehouse located in Fort Mill, South Carolina. It is only about 10 minutes from where I work in Charlotte, NC. They are currently having a blowout sale. They have some pretty cool stuff on sale but I was intrigued by their Speed Chutes. Online these usual go for $50 or more so when I saw that they offered three sizes for around $20 I was willing to pay them a visit on my lunch hour and pick one up. I bought the large one which is 56 inches in diameter for only $23.99. It comes in a little carry bag that fit easily in any gym bag. Can't wait to try it out.

Charlotte Running Company Trail Run - White Water Center 1/23/2010

Holy Cow! I won the Overall Male Master in the 3.8 mile race! Check out the results here!

The Recap - From My Perspective

It was an overcast chilly morning in the low to mid 40s and the trails were damp and muddy from rain we had over the past couple of days. There were three distance races: a 13 miler, 8.2 miler and a 3.8 miler. I opted for the 3.8. The 13 and 8.2 mile racers began ten minutes ahead of the 3.8 mile race.

Rather than stand around and be cold before the start. I did some quick sprints forward and backwards through the parking lot. That got me really warmed up. When the bullhorn sounded I was ready to go. I shot off the line down the parking lot and down the paths leading to the single-track when I realized that there were only a few people in front of me. I kept waiting for a few people to breeze by me before entering the single-track but it never happened. Once I got into the single-track, I only saw one runner visibly in front of me. He later vanished ahead of me within the next few minutes.

I sloshed my way through the trails and settled into my usual pace when I noticed that someone was pacing right behind me but not asking to pass. This made me pick up my pace - especially on the hills. Just after the first mile we started encountering the slower runners from the 8.2 and 13 mile races. One female runner had ear buds on and could not hear even when I shouted "PASSING LEFT!" a couple of times. The person pacing behind me turned out to be Amy Fach. She told me to tap on the woman's shoulder so we could pass. I felt like I was about to awaken a sleepwalker. I tapped her shoulder and she politely moved aside.

I ran a bit further with Amy still pacing me and we came to the toughest uphill on the trail. I shifted my legs into overdrive and started blasting up the steep hill. I widened my lead slightly over Amy but once I got to the top and still had a long slow ascent, I slowed up and Amy zoomed by me as I tried getting some wind back and overcome my burning quads. Within a minute she was out of eye shot.

I paced myself from there and relaxed a little more and enjoyed the run. There did not seem to be any pending threats on the horizon. Going forward the biggest challenges were the mud and passing people without stumbling. As the race progressed there were more and more racers from the 8.2 and 13 milers hogging the trails. At one point there was a line of what seemed like 20 people. Passing all them just about finished me off when I got to the fork in the trail where the 3.8 mile race separates from the longer races. That was a relief but no sooner did I breathe a sigh of relief, another runner came up behind me and passed me. There was probably a bit more than a half-mile left in the race. The runner turned out being Lex Irwin. A minute later a young guy, Dan Morgan, passed us both but Lex and I kept pace. For a minute or so it Dan, Lex, and I running in a pack with me in the back and Dan slightly in front of Lex. Dan started to take the lead as we headed for the final hill that led to the parking lot to the finish line. On the hill I made a move to retake my lead over Lex and was successful. Dan was still a few paces in front of me and I knew I would need to turn on the afterburners to catch him. Before I could shift into high gear Dan opened it up sprinting to the finish and I followed with Lex close behind me.

Dan's final sprint bested me by 8 seconds to finish 6th overall and first in the 25-29 male division at 31:19. I took 7th and won the overall male master division (all men 40 and over) at 31:27 while Lex finished just 3 seconds behind me in 8th at 31:30 and took first in the men's 35-39 division. Amy who passed me earlier in the race kept her momentum going and finished 4th overall and took 1st place for the women finishing at 29:51.

The overall winner was 46 year old Derek Kaat who finished in 26:41. The last time I had him in my sight was just before he entered the single-track at the beginning of the race. After that he was gone! He opened a nice lead from the start and never looked back. Second place winner, 14 year old Caleb Breeden was a full 2 minutes and 35 seconds behind him at the finish at 29:16.

Overall it was a fun and well-organized race. The trails were well marked and I have to give kudos to the Charlotte Running Company for putting on the event. Finally, to all the runners who came out on this chilly winter's day - GREAT JOB!

Portable Pull-ups

With the popularity of P90X and Crossfit people everywhere are looking for quality pull-up bar stations these days and it looks like companies are offering more new products and options for the pull-up hungry consumer. I am very happy with my Stud Bar ceiling mounted pullup bar. I had it installed in my garage back in September and it is still rock solid.

A couple years ago I was doing a program where I had to do pull-ups every day. That was easy when I was at home but on the road I would have to find a gym or a playground. Depending on what I was doing that day it was quite often a hassle and had to skip a few days. Many people swear by the door frame mounted pull-up bars for travel purposes which for me is better than nothing but I prefer something taller. There are a few really good pull-up stands on the market that are very solid but they are also very pricey. This one by TrapezeRigging.com caught my attention for price - as low as $200 - and for portability. You can put it in a carry bag and throw it over your shoulder! The max height is 84 inches - or 7 feet! It is made of aluminum and I wonder how stable it is but if you are under 200 pounds it sounds like it can be perfect. They also offer free shipping in the US - except for Hawaii and Alaska.

Nice Run In The Mud At Renaissance Park

Temperatures got into the 50s today and it was time for a lunchtime trail run at Renaissance Park. With the upside of beautiful weather in the dead of winter comes the downside - melting ice turning into mud. The trails were generally okay but there were very slippery spots. Last week amid the cold spell, some mud tracks from mountain bikes froze and made it easy to get good footing. Today it was all turning to mush. All in all it made it challenging and I felt good. No unexpected falls just a few little slips that I recovered from and kept pushing forward.

I just got a pair of Inov-8 X-Talon 212s and decided not to wear them today because I wanted to run with my ten pound hypervest. I stuck with my trusty old Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultras. I did not want to run in brand new unfamiliar shoes with additional weight on me. I wore a Brooks loose long sleeve running shirt under the vest and then wore a tee-shirt over the vest. The plan was to keep the vest clean just in case of a spill. The extra weight added momentum to my downhills and I attacked the uphills the way I usually do turning in a time of 23:18:04 for the trail that is just shy of 3 miles. It was actually better than my time from last week without the vest. Now that I am back to being more familiar with the trail I hesitated much less in different areas which accounted for my improved time over last week. I am especially happy that I improved my time even with the added weight and with the muddy trail. My personal best is 22:19 from back in early November of last year on a 65 degree day and I know I can beat that the way I am feeling now.

I think tomorrow I will go back and do it again as the temperatures are expected to hit the 60s. I've got to enjoy it while I have it. My X-Talons look so nice and new, I almost hate to get them dirty but it has to happen sooner than later.

Ice Cold Morning Workout - The Triad of Death!

With temperatures in low 20s this morning, my garage gym thermometer was at 44 degrees when I brought in the heater. By the end of my workout it was only 47.6 degrees in the garage. Despite the cold, which I have grown to like, I had a great workout. I have found that doing these cold workouts help me to avoid that cold burning feeling in my chest when I run in the cold. As of now my breathing has adapted.

The first piece of good news this morning was my weight which is near where I want it to be at 169.8. I want to be at around 166-167 by my January 23rd trail race at the Whitewater Center. I don't see that being a problem. Tomorrow I will hit Renaissance Park with my work buddies. Temps are supposed to hit the mid-50s tomorrow at lunch so the nice weather will be a welcomed break from the constant cold as of late.

The other piece of good news today was that I did 13 pull-ups in my warm up this morning - a new personal record. My ultimate goal is 20 but I am not setting a date for it. Losing weight certainly makes doing pull-ups easier.

Today's workout I have dubbed "The Triad of Death" or "TOD" for short. I needed a quick workout so I can be in and out of my garage quickly before getting hypothermia but still kick my butt. The TOD is a tabata (20 seconds full guns interval followed by 10 seconds of rest) with three exercises - thus the TRIAD. The three exercises can be done in any order but I prefer...

1) Jump Rope - I shoot for 50 revolutions per 20 second segment. I usually get to about 47 or 48 but anything over 42-44 is good.
2) Thrusters with two 16kg (35lb) kettlebells. This is basically a kettlebell squat while you press and lower the kettlebell to coincide with your movement. Try for 7 reps minimum.
3) 2 Handed Kettlebell Swing with the 24kg (53lb) kettlebell. Try for 10-12 swings or more.

The first time I did this I lasted only 10 intervals so today my goal was at least twelve or more. I ended up with thirteen before throwing in the towel and dying on on my gym floor. I did this workout with bare feet and after the workout my feet needed to thaw a bit. The floor heater only helps so much over the space of my garage. The handle of my 53lb kettlebell was also ice cold as well. Other than that I love working out in the cold. When you can break a sweat within the 6 minute duration of my workout with the room temperature in the mid-40s (which I did) I know I worked hard.

The TOD is a great test of endurance and will. The thrusters were what really wore me out the most. I did accomplish my goal for the workout so I was quite pleased. This is way tougher than my typical trail run so I figure if I can last a long time doing this workout, my runs should get a heck of lot easier too. Next time we go for 15 or more intervals!

Iskiate - Chia Fresca

I have been eating chia seeds in my morning concoction for almost a couple of years now. Chia seed is extremely good for you - it contains a bunch of nutrients and is a complete protein and contains omega-3 fatty acids. On a calorie for calorie basis it is hard to find a food as potent as chia seed. Just recently while reading Born To Run by Chris McDougall, he mentions iskiate (also called Chia Fresca) which consists of chia seeds, water, sugar/honey and lime juice. I filled up a 16oz jar about half way with filtered water and then added a few squirts of lime juice and about the equivalent of maybe 2 teaspoons or so of organic brown sugar and kept adding chia and waited until there was enough in there to form a gel. Chia gels up if you let it sit in water - it takes about 10 minutes or so to get a real good gel. It looks like slime with seeds it in once it sits for awhile. Chia has no taste so it will taste like anything you soak it in.

Throughout the day yesterday and today instead of getting my usual lunch I took regular doses of my iskiate gel. I took it once before my lunchtime run and 2-3 times in the afternoon. My usual serving size is about 5-8 tablespoons of the gel. The jar I make lasts about 2 days. I have not been hungry during the day and have lots of energy. I have to add that I felt really good on my run today. I may just keep this up!

Here is a good article all about Chia

Here is another blog post about iskiate - in the post the author uses a measured recipe while I just add the ingredients until I get a good tasting gel. By my estimation, the recipe in the article would leave you with mostly water and some gooey gel. Mine is like a consistent gooey limeade as I add enough chia seeds to get that consistency.

Lows in Teens - Highs in the 40s - Snow forecasted for tonight - time for a trail run!

I did my first trail run of the New Year with two of my buddies from work over at Renaissance Park today. We did the usual short loop just shy of 3 miles. It was chilly out in the low to mid-40s but it felt great. I do not run often in the cold weather but I have to say I find it quite exhilarating. Two miles into the run I felt very warm and I was not cold at all. I recorded a time of 23:34 which is not my slowest time but way off my best of 22:19. I thought I was running at a good clip but I was extra cautious on the downhills and big dips. It was very difficult decipher between soft mud and frozen mud and between water and ice. One spot early on in the run was a huge muddy icy puddle that we had to walk around as running through it looked way too treacherous. So the bottom line, I got through without incident and felt like I could have gone much further but had to get back to work.

2009 - Looking Back and Looking Ahead

Happy New Year!

As far as physical accomplishments, 2009 has probably been the most active year of my life. From beginning to end I have kept things interesting and have entered events that have challenged me mentally and physically.

When the year began I was working out at Crossfit Charlotte. I was going there to train for my first half-marathon down down in Miami on January 26th. I did not do any running to train for this half-marathon. I did lots of rowing on the Concept2 and pumping away on the Airdyne bike to get my cardio during Crossfit workouts but that was it. I just was not up for running in the cold and last December and January had some really cold mornings. I also cannot stand running on a treadmill.

The ING Half-Marathon was a great half-marathon experience. It started and ended in downtown Miami and took us along Miami Beach. The course was mostly flat except for the bridges which had a decent but minor incline. I remember waking up that morning and walking to the start in total darkness. It was odd seeing such a huge crowd of people at 5am on a Sunday morning. It was challenging and I ached towards the end of the race but finished at 1:54:43 which is around an 8:45 minute mile average. I was quite happy with that considering I had logged 0 miles ahead of the race. After the race I walked like an old man for the rest of the day. Even stepping off a small curb was a major effort. It took about 3 days to completely recover. I don't think I will do a long race again without including running as part of regimen.

I did a few Marine Challenges and 5Ks throughout the year but most memorable was the Rock2Rock Trail Run back in late May at the Mountain Sports Festival in Asheville, NC. This time I trained by running trails at Renaissance Park but was in no way prepared for the steep climbs of the race. I finished in 1:17 and hope to try it again this year and improve my time. Mountain running is something I definitely want to do more of this year.

I ended my year by reading Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. Even if you are remotely interested in running you need to read this book. Anyone who runs or had been a runner and got injured should pick it up. I am not an avid reader but read this one cover to cover in only a few days.

I am thinking of doing the Charlotte Running Company's Inaugural Trail Race at the US National Whitewater Center in Charlotte. They have 3.8 Miles, 8.2 Miles, 13 Miles distances. It has been cold here - in the teens this morning. I would like to step up my lunchtime running when the mercury visits above freezing and then it will be possible. If I can find a running partner here at work I will start tomorrow. If not I will stay focused on the Charlotte Grand Prix Series.

I hope everyone has a healthy and happy New Year!