No GPS, No Computer, Still Running Though

I just realized that it's been 6 weeks since I updated my blog. Shortly after my last entry, my GPS Watch (the GARMIN 205) which I've had since October 2009 pooped out on me. It wasn't a real big deal as I have several running paths and their distances memorized. It does however, limit my running to the paths I know (if I want to accurately track my distance). I recently ordered a new GPS (the GARMIN 405CX) which I should have shortly. It's several models "old" (the newest Garmin GPS running watch is the "610"), but the price was right, and I liked its features. Shortly after my GPS watch stopped working, my computer crashed. Again not a big deal except for the fact that my running log was tracked on my computer. No, of course I didn't save it anywhere else, so everything from January 1, 2011 to July 3, 2011 was lost. I did remember that as of July 3 (the end of Week 26) I had run a total of 748.3 miles. This was a bit shy of the 750 miles I had hoped to get, but overall pretty good for the first half of the year. In the following 4 weeks I've added an additional 104.9 miles.

That makes my new total 853.2 miles.

As for the past 4 weeks:

Total Miles: 104.9

Total Runs Logged: 23

Total Time Spent Running: 14 hours, 4 minutes, 53 seconds

Average Pace: 8:03 (min/mile)

Before my computer/GPS "meltdown" I had an ongoing running average of around 7:44-7:48 minutes/mile. In the past 4 weeks, my run time has slowed down by nearly 20 seconds. I think there are two main reasons for my slower pace. First, is that I'm probably underestimating my mileage by a little because I want to be sure that I'm getting all my miles. The other reason is that I don't have a GPS watch which can give me my pace at any moment which tells me when I need to run faster. Without the GPS telling me how fast I'm running, I run how I feel, and apparently I've been feeling slow. It will be interesting to see what happens to my pace once I start running with a GPS again. I PROMISE to blog about it!

My 2nd Olympic Triathlon

Today (19 June) I completed my third Olympic-distance Triathlon. Now, as I don't think there were any pictures taken of me during this triathlon, I will not be blogging about it in detail. Exactly one week ago; however, I completed my second Olympic Tri, and there were plenty of pictures taken during that event, so I will be blogging about it.
First off, what an incredible site! While sleeping ranks high on things I'd like to be doing at 5:30 on a Sunday, if I hadn't been up, I would have missed this.

At 6:30 about 40 racers got into the water for the first leg of the triathlon. 30 of them were doing the Sprint Distance, and 10 of us were doing the Olympic.
I'll admit that while I'm decent at swimming, it is definitely my weak area in the triathlon. This is probably due to the fact that the only time I swim is when I'm doing triathlon races. 1,500 meters is not extremely difficult, but in the open water you not only have to deal with the tide (which isn't too bad where we swim), but you also have to try to swim in a straight line (something I suck at). As such, even though I only get credit for swimming 1,500M, it probably ended up being more than that.

After 4 laps and approximately 32 minutes, I was out of the water, and onto the 6-lap, 40K Bike portion of the race.

As I said, I'm not really fast on the swim, so the bike is where I start to make up my time. For several triathlons now I've been duct taping a Gatorade-filled water bottle in between my aero bars. It's definitely not classy, but it gets the job done, and keeps me hydrated. I've also learned my lesson and make sure I have a lid on my bottle so my straw doesn't bounce out of the bottle the first time I hit a pothole.

The hardest thing about the bike portion of the race for me, is keeping track of the laps. Six laps on the same flat course can get to be a little monotonous so I try to focus on the road ahead of me and pedal as fast as I can. With only 10 people doing the same distance, it is hard to keep track if you are not close to someone who you are racing. Luckily, Stephanie was there to not only take pictures, but tell me when I could transition to the run.

After an approximately 71 minute bike ride, I was on my feet for the last 10K. As with every triathlon, by the time I get to the run my legs feel like a combination of cement and Jell-O. I'd say the run is my strong point too, and is where I tend to pass the most people. I think it comes down to sucking it up, and gutting it out. It's hot, you're tired, but you have to finish.

47 minutes after finishing the bike, I was crossing the finish line. Total time was 2 hours, 29 minutes, and 47 seconds. Although it was only my second Olympic-distance Triathlon, it was my new personal best. I was rather surprised to find out that I came in first of the 10 people doing that distance. I still say it's all about finishing, not when you finish (after all there are no trophies or medals), but it is pretty cool to win.

I'll talk more about my third Olympic Tri later, but I know I've been bad about updating the blog and posting pictures, so I thought I would go ahead and post this one.

2011 MAN HIKE II (Merizo, 21 May)

There was was too much time between my last two blog entries, and my last blog entry was way too wordy, so let me do the complete opposite. I'll keep the words short and let the pictures speak for themselves. I never pass up the chance for a MAN HIKE: no real plan, men only, bare essentials (water and camera), and beer at the end. Last month the men of the Guam Crew decided to do a final Man Hike before Chris departed for his new assignment in Turkey.

Here are the men of the Guam Crew about to embark on our manliest MAN HIKE to date. (Left to Right we are: Chris, Shea ("Jasmine"), Jesse, Jed, Me, and James).

Like with all of our other man hikes we looked to a point in the distance and said we should go there. In this case it was the tallest mountain in sight.
The key to a good MAN HIKE is to get off the beaten trail and blaze you own path. For us that usually means barrelling through Sword Grass. It's very cumbersome, slow, and you are guaranteed to get cut up, but it is very MANLY.

We're not posing here; we have to get low in order to get through the grass. This was early on so we are still in good spirits and fairly clean.

Finally breaking through the sword grass is always a great feeling, and it gives you a renewed since of energy, even if you are facing a steep, uphill climb...BRING IT ON!

The view from the top is really what makes it worth it. You truly feel on top of the world. Of course once you get to the top, you eventually have to come back down. We opted to take a different route from which we came, and see just how far we could go.

Sword grass continued to be a problem, but we also dealt with the thick roots, a complete lack of trails, and less than 100% certainty about which way we needed to go. Despite what Jed might have told his wife, at no time were we ever lost, we merely opted for the longer route. Eventually we made it to the river bed and decided to follow the river out of the jungle. A couple of times we tried to get back up the hill, but the impossibly thick sword grass turned us back every time. The water was VERY refreshing, plus the trees provided some relief from the sun.
Of course, we weren't done once we hit the paved road. Because we had decided to go down a different way, we were no where near the car. Still, walking on paved road is much easier than through sword grass. Chris and I were the only ones that actually walked all the way back; these lazy bums waited outside a convenience store until we came and picked them up. We actually did, (aren't we nice?) No Man Hike is complete without the cold beer at the end. All in all our hike lasted about 5 hours. By the time we were done, we had almost no water, we were exhausted, and everyone had cuts on their legs and arms. Now that's what I call a Man Hike!

Lots of Running (Lots of Catching Up...Weeks 20-23)

Quite a bit has happened since my last blog entry. For starters, I added 19 runs and 106 miles to my log. In addition to that I went on another crazy MAN HIKE, took a 4-day trip to Palau, and competed in my second Olympic Triathlon (which I won first place in). I have a blog entry coming for the Man Hike and the Olympic Tri. As for Palau, I don't know if a blog entry can do that trip justice. In the mean time, though, let me recap my running adventures.

Week 20 (16-22 May) included a Wing Run Day. I've mentioned the Wing Runs previously, but I'll say again, that I typically enjoy Wing Runs. It's only a 1.5 mile run, and the pace is REALLY slow, but for me it's less about the exercise and more about the camaraderie. Additionally, it gives me an excuse to show up to work late, and I get to add a few extra miles to my weekly totals. I make it a point, to run as much the day of the Wing Run before the run actually starts. As such, I always arrive to the formation dripping with sweat. Without fail I always hear comments from people asking if I got caught in a rain storm or if I jumped in a pool. My usual response is "This is what 'Excellence' looks like." Really, I figure if I'm in PT gear and running shoes I might as well get a workout. Aside from the Wing Run, I had an amazing MAN HIKE on Saturday, but that is for another blog entry.

So for Week 20, my totals were:
Total Runs Logged: 6
Total Miles: 27.2
Total Time Spent Running: 3 hours, 27 minutes, 33 seconds
Average Pace: 7:38 (min/mile)

Week 21 (23-29 May) was short not just in miles, but also in days. This was due to the fact that it was Memorial Day Weekend, and Stephanie and I took the opportunity to Scuba Dive in Palau. As far as diving goes, they say it's the best in the world; "they" being anyone and everyone that has ever dived and made it to Palau. I had hoped to do a run while I was there, but we spent all of our time on the water, so it just didn't happen. Even though my trip cut into my running plans, it was TOTALLY worth it. If you Scuba Dive, Palau is a must-take trip.

Week 21's totals were:
Total Runs Logged: 4
Total Miles:19.5
Total Time Spent Running: 2 hours, 28 minutes, 54 seconds
Average Pace: 7:38 (min/mile)

With regards to my weekend travelling and my running plans, the disadvantage of travelling is that it typically not only messes with my running on the week I take the trip, but also the following week as well. With Palau, we got back around 5:30AM on Tuesday, so I was really not in the mood to run that day. Still, during Week 22 (31 May-5 June) I was determined to get my 25 miles. With less days available in the week that meant I needed some longer runs to meet my goal. Mainly it involved one 11.6 mile run on Sunday. Of course I chose to do it during the late morning when the sun was up and it was HOT. It was not a fun run, but I made it, and met my goal.

Back on track with my running, my Week 22 totals were:
Total Runs Logged: 3
Total Miles: 25
Total Time Spent Running: 3 hours, 15 minutes, 18 seconds
Average Pace: 7:49 (min/mile)

There was excitement on several days of Week 23 (6-12 June). Wednesday morning the Drongo birds were so unbearable I ran 8.4 miles on one street to avoid them. Wednesday night my car wouldn't start which screwed up my Thursday morning running plans (but I still managed to do some running). Turns out I needed a new battery, and not a new Starter so I was happy about that. Friday we had a Wing Run which helped me get my mileage up. We also ran it more than 2.5 minutes faster than normal, which I enjoyed (though a lot of people couldn't handle it). Sunday was my 2nd Olympic Triathlon. I will blog all about it later, but I will say I had a great time, FINISHED, and added 6.2 miles to my weekly total.

Week 23's Totals were:
Total Runs Logged: 6
Total Miles: 34.3
Total Time Spent Running: 4 hours, 20 minutes, 37 seconds
Average Pace: 7:35 (min/mile)

PHEW!! That was quite a busy 4 weeks for me. Looking at previous 4-week spans the total mileage wasn't that great, but it still puts me ahead of my goal.

My new "as of" totals:
Total Runs Logged: 120
Total Miles: 659.8
Total Time Spent Running: 85 hours, 7 minutes, 3 seconds
Average Pace: 7:44 (min/mile)

REFLECTION TIME: I need to blog more often, write less, and put more pictures up. I got it! Man Hike and Olympic Triathlon entries are coming quickly. Additionally, with 3 weeks left before I hit the halfway point, I have a short term goal. I am a mere 90.2 miles away from hitting 750 miles by the 6 month mark. That means I need to hit 30 miles a week for the next three weeks. It's very doable, and should give me the motivation to get up and run! I'll keep you updated; I promise.

Week 18 & 19 (2-15 May)

As far as running goes, the past two weeks have been fairly uneventful. The one exciting running event of Week 18 was Cinco De Mayo 5K that I ran in on base. It was free, and worked well with my PT schedule so I figured I would go ahead and do it. I decided that I should probably do more than just a 5K for PT though, so I ran about 3.5 miles before the race. My intention was not to win, I just figured it would be a good opportunity for PT. I also joked with the people setting up the race that because it is a Cinco De Mayo race, there should be Margaritas instead of Gatorade at the finish line, or maybe chips and salsa. In addition to there not being any of that, there also weren't a lot of people who showed up. As such my 20:41 time (far from a personal best) was good enough for first place and a little trophy. It's kind of silly, but kind of fun, and so I added it to my growing shelf of running metals and trophies.

My totals for Week 18 were:
Total Runs Logged: 5
Total Miles: 25
Total Time Spent Running: 3 hours, 8 minutes, 9 seconds
Average Pace: 7:32 (min/mile)

As for Week 19 it was not a great week for running, and it very well could have been. By Thursday, I had already passed 21 miles for the week, and just needed an easy 4 to make 25. It never happened, though. I had every intention of running on Friday, but that was before this little guy decided to make his home in my bedroom:This vermin kept me up most of Thursday night/Friday morning with both his elusiveness and incessant scratching at the door/chewing on the carpet. It took me about two hours Friday morning (after I gave up trying to sleep) to catch him, and "dispose" of him (relax, I released him outside, far from our house). For most of the story (my wife's version of it anyway) you can check out here. That being said, after that adventure, I was not in the running mood. As for the weekend, I managed to stay busy, and find things to do that didn't involve running.

My totals for Week 19 were:
Total Runs Logged: 4
Total Miles: 21.1
Total Time Spent Running: 2 hours, 40 minutes, 43 seconds
Average Pace: 7:37 (min/mile)

Despite the less than stellar week of running, I'm still doing good overall.
My new "as of" totals are:
Total Runs Logged: 101
Total Miles: 553.8
Total Time Spent Running: 71 hours, 34 minutes, 41 seconds
Average Pace: 7:45 (min/mile)

REFLECTION TIME: Two weeks of okay running, and very little excitement, makes it hard to stay motivated. What does motivate me is that I'm nearing my half way point, and it's still May. Also, I know that in running towards a distant goal, most weeks won't be that exciting. It comes down to putting your head down, focusing, and above all else, keep running. When the opportunities come to "spice things up", you take them, but on weeks when not much is happening, you just run. This Saturday my second MAN HIKE is planned. It should be a lot of fun, and I hopefully will have some great pictures to add to the blog. Get excited, I sure am!

Man Hike #1 (Anoa Trail)

As a man I think it's important that every once and awhile guys get and be a little adventurous. That means going outdoors with your buddies, getting dirty, sweaty, maybe a little cut, bruised, or bloody, and in general toying with that line between safe and perhaps I shouldn't be doing this. That's why I am a big proponent for "Man Hikes." The concept is pretty simple, grab your friends, get water, and "blaze a trail" to somewhere (it is okay to follow a previously defined path, but the rougher it is, the more manly the hike becomes, and all the better for everyone on it). Beer at the end is optional, though highly encouraged. Also, no girls allowed! A couple of Saturday's ago, a few guys from The Guam Crew and I decided to take our first Man Hike of 2011 through the Anoa Conservation Area, to the Pacific Ocean side of Guam. It was definitely manly, and a whole lot of fun. Although we were following a trail of sorts, it added to the excitement (and manliness) that the trail started at the "No Trespassing" sign My fellow Man Hike participants: Jesse, Chris, and James
The first part of our hike was mostly a steep downhill,
and required some agility with a little bit of climbing, and some areas that required us to get low.

About half way down the cliff's path we reached a clearing that gave us a glimpse of our destination.As you can see, it was pretty incredible, but nothing compared to when we finally reached the bottom:Unlike the Philippine Sea side of Guam which is fairly calm, the Pacific Ocean side is very rough, and where we were, completely non-swimmable, but what a view!Here's our group pic on the bottom. After a short break, we hiked along the coast to see what else we could find...It didn't take us too long.
We called this the blow hole because although water wasn't shooting out of the top of it, the waves did find a way into this pit

This is in the same area. the spot of light under the rock and above the water was the area I just climbed out of.

After spending an hour or so walking along the coast we decided it was time to head back, which was the least fun part of the trip, not so much because the Man Hike was over, but rather because we had to go uphill...and it was steep! It's hard to get a good idea based on that picture, but we essentially had to go back to the top of that hill where. The green in the picture isn't grass or bushes, it's full grown trees!
In all actuality the hike up wasn't too bad since we knew where we were going. All in all it was a great Man Hike, and everyone had a good time. It's the first one of 2011, and the first one we've done in a while, but I guarantee there will be more this year. Expect more adventure, more excitement, and a lot more manliness.

Week 17 (Four Months Down)

Let me try a little harder to update this blog with a little more frequency. I know I say that every couple of weeks, but this time I really mean it :) Like I said in my last post, coming into this week, I had just over 20 miles to run before I hit the big 500. With my goal of doing 100 miles a month, I was already way ahead, but my goal this week was to make sure I made that 500 mark before the week's end. It did not prove to be difficult, but I'm still glad the goal was there as it made me get up and run at least once during the week, when I really didn't feel like it. In the end I was glad I did it, and even happier that I broke the 500 mile point. Though far from a big mileage week, it was still a good week for running.

My Week 17 totals were:
Total Runs Logged: 7
Total Miles: 28.2
Total Time Spent Running: 3 hours, 37 minutes, 9 seconds
Average Pace: 7:42 (min/mile)

In addition, to breaking 500 miles, I was also able to get another "great run" in using the same Fartlek method that I had talked about in my last post. Once again, it was good to go out and run fast when I felt like it, and slow down when I felt like it. In addition the the 28 miles, I also squeezed in a "Man Hike" with the guys on Saturday. I'll blog about it later, but here's a picture to pique your interest, and show yet another reason why Guam is so awesome.



With April 2011 a part of history, my new "as of" totals are:
Total Runs Logged: 92
Total Miles:507.7
Total Time Spent Running: 65 hours, 45 minutes, 49 seconds
Average Pace: 7:46 (min/mile)

REFLECTION TIME: Given that I ran 500 miles in the first 4 months of 2011, I could say that my new goal should be to run 1500 miles, not 1200. Still, I'm not ready to make that big of a jump. I had a few REALLY great weeks of running, but I'm trying to do more than just run. I think I will have no trouble getting to 1200 (assuming I keep at it), and I can probably get 1300 to 1400 miles by the time the year is up. Still, for the time being, I'll keep the 1200 as the goal on my "ticker" (and in the blog address), but my "secret" goal will be to see how many miles over 1200 I can get before it's 2012. I'm looking forward to the next 8 months.