It was cloudy and humid when I pulled up to the race site at Furman University around 6AM on Saturday, July 20. Thankfully, the rain wasn't too bad and race conditions were suitable for a great day overall. I did a four-mile ride and two-mile run to warm-up for the race and then made my way to the pool to begin.
The 250-yard swim was fast and furious. With a swim that short it was full gas the entire way to get out of the water as quickly as possible and onto the bike. I managed to finish in 4:27. I was in and out of T1 in 54 seconds to start the 16.2 mile bike. The bike was a single loop course around the area with rolling hills. I finished the bike in 46:19 and then in and our of T2 in 37 seconds. The 5K run was mostly flat and I tried to leave it all out on the course. I finished the run in 19:19 to bring my final time to 1:11:35. Last year my time was 1:12:35 so I got faster by a minute which is very encouraging. I placed 1st out of nine in my age group and 13th out of 197 overall. My friend Ricky blazed through the course to win with a time of 59 minutes(!!!). And it was great to see my friend John Lehman do the race as well. Overall a great day at the Swamp Rabbit Triathlon and a huge thank you to the Set-Up Event Staff and all the volunteers.
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What a great day at the Richard B. Russell Intermediate Triathlon! This was my second time doing this race. Great atmosphere. Great course. Great people. Here's the overview:
Date - Saturday, July 13, 2024 Location - Richard B. Russell State Park, Georgia Distance - 1500 meter swim, 22 mile bike, 10 kilometer run l departed Greenville at 4AM to arrive at the race site at 5:30AM to register and get set-up. I like to get to races early to get a feel for the location and have plenty of time to warm-up. We gathered at the lake at 7AM for the national anthem and last-minute directions and had a staggered start for the 1500 meter lake swim. The swim was a two-loop course of 750 meters for each loop. I managed to finish the swim in 32:31 and get into the transition area. Transition 1 was 1:50 and then off on the 22 mile bike. It was an out-and-back course that including mostly rolling hills and just or two significant climbs. I stayed with a couple guys which was very helpful for pacing and managed to finish in 1:01:28. I was in and out of transition 2 in 0:45 which I was very happy with to begin the 10K run. The run was a two-loop course that started on a trail and transitioned to paved roads. Thankfully there was enough gas in the tank to keep the pace moving, so I finished the run in 43:27. My finishing time was 2:20:04 which placed me at 14th overall out of 93 and 2nd in my age group of of 9. I missed first in my age group by less than a minute but managed to be three minutes faster than my time last year, so overall I am thankful with the results. It was a fantastic (and hot) day on a beautiful course; and I look forward to being back next year Lord willing! Picture credit: nicole-eliason "How are you?" "You looked like you were in pain?" "That was amazing!" "Way to go!" "Are you ok?" These types of questions and comments were plentiful this morning around 8:20AM. I was feeling awful...and awesome!
I had the privilege of running with over 1,000 other runners in the Red, White, and Blue Shoes 5K on the campus of Furman University this morning - July 4, 2024. It was hot, humid, and humbling. My goal for the last several years has been to run a sub-19 5K. My 5k races over the last few years have included times of 20:00, 19:28, 20:30, 19:49, 20:40, 22:35, 19:28, 19:37, and (just three weeks ago) 19:08. So close. Yet so far away. I've been doing interval training with running buddies for several weeks to work on my speed at the 5K distance and felt pretty good for the race today, but not good enough to feel confident considering the course (some hills) and weather (hot and humid - this is July in South Carolina, after all). This morning I woke up at 3:19AM and couldn't go back to sleep, so I got up and read a while and then did a slow 16-mile bike ride to warm up my legs. I had experimented with this approach in training and had better results with speed running after a similar bike ride than just starting with running. After the ride I changed into running clothes and drove to Furman University. That's where the magic began. My friend and colleague Trenton ran cross-country in college for the BJU Bruins and offered to pace me to finish in under 19 minutes. I was very thankful for his offer. We walked most of the course before the race talking about the turns, elevation, and general strategy for the race. I had an GU energy gel 10 minutes before the race as some gatorade and then we took to the start line. The race began at 8AM. The first mile felt great and fast. We completed the first mile in 5:45. The second mile around the lake did not feel as great and was not as fast - but we kept the right pace. The lake was scenic and helpfully distracting from the pain, if only a little bit. The third mile was awful. I wanted to stop. I felt like I needed to throw-up. But Trenton kept me going through encouragement...and some helpful screaming to motivate me to keep pushing. I heard people screaming my name as I ran by (the same people that said after the race that I looked like I was in a lot of pain....because I was in a lot of pain). Trenton kept running and encouraging and pushing. "Just one minute left!" he said as we neared the finish line. As we ran into the stadium we could see the timing clock at the finish line. It was ticking ever closer to 19 minutes. Just a few seconds left. I dug deep, tried to keep up with Trenton, and we crossed the finish line at 18:54. After the race I basically fell down and poured water all over my head to try and cool off. It took me several minutes to get off the ground and start to smile. After a while several other friends finished and we took a group picture of us all smiling together. It felt awesome. I'm so thankful for all the encouragement and help, especially from Trenton. He's already offered to help pace me for my attempt at a sub-18 5K. I'm going to take him up on it. Now back to training! Here are my stated goals for July. Let's go!
Daily Goals for July
Monthly Goals for July:
Yearly 252 Goals: 1. Spiritual: Memorize the first two chapters of Philippians. 2. Physical: Complete a Half-Ironman in under 5 hours. 3. Relational: Eat a one on one meal with each of my sons and my wife at least once a month. 4. Intellectual: Write a reflection post here each week. It's hard to believe 2024 is half-way through. Six months down, six months to go. Here's quick recap on progress for goals from the month of June. Thankful for progress but still have so far to go.
Daily Goals for May
Monthly Goals for May:
Yearly 252 Goals: 1. Spiritual: Memorize the first two chapters of Philippians. 2. Physical: Complete a Half-Ironman in under 5 hours. 3. Relational: Eat a one on one meal with each of my sons and my wife at least once a month. 4. Intellectual: Write a reflection post here each week. The Lakeside Double Sprint Triathlon was last Saturday, June 15 at Lakeside Park in South Carolina. There were 115 participants at the event which made for an exciting evening. Most triathlons are in the morning, but since this is at a water-park (at least the swim portion), the race was scheduled for a Saturday evening at 6PM.
I arrived around 4:15PM to set-up and warm-up. It was pretty warm and humid evening, which is fairly typical for South Carolina this time of year. After warm-up (short bike ride and 1 mile run) I made my way to the pool. The double triathlon consisted a 250 yard swim, 8 mile bike, and 2.1 mile run, followed by a 250 yard swim, 8 mile bike, and 2.1 mile run. The swim was a wave start (each person starts every 5-10 seconds) so I finally got into the pool around 6:15PM. Here's how my times break down: Swim 1: 5:57 T1: 0:50 Bike 1: 23:05 T2: 0:40 Run 1: 14:00 T3: 0:32 Swim 2: 7:08 T40: 0:53 Bike 2: 23:56 T5: 0:32 Run 2: 13:55 TOTAL: 1:31 The swims were predicatly my slowest events, the bikes were great, and the runs were surprisingly fast. I felt very strong on the runs which was honestly a pleasant surprise. Two years ago at this race my time was 1:35; last year it was 1:33; and this year it was 1:31. I'm thankful for the trend in my time. I managed to place 2nd in my age group and 15th out of 115 overall. It was a great race with great friends. Looking forward to the next outing! There something special about being able to celebrate a holiday (for your dad) and being celebrated on a holiday (as a dad). I am so thankful for my dad and his impact on my life and on the lives of my sons. Here are a few of my favorites sayings that my dad has told us over the years:
“Hug your momma.” “Love them to Jesus.” “Love people and use things; don’t use people and love things.” “Leave a place better than you found it.” “Listen and hustle.” “I have something very important to tell you: I love you.” “I’m rich in all the right ways.” “We are looking at things that will one day be ashes through eyes that will one day be dust.” I am hopeful and prayerful that I can be a dad for my boys that speaks and shows the love of Jesus like my dad has done for his kids for so many years. Love you, Dad! Happy Father’s Day! The monthly goals for May look a lot like monthly goals from April with a few tweaks. It's been said that consistency is more important than intensity - and I tend to agree. Personal growth can appear boring at times in regards to a lack of variety, but that is ok for me. I don't mind boring.
Daily Goals for May
Monthly Goals for May:
Yearly 252 Goals: 1. Spiritual: Memorize the first two chapters of Philippians. 2. Physical: Complete a Half-Ironman in under 5 hours. 3. Relational: Eat a one on one meal with each of my sons and my wife at least once a month. 4. Intellectual: Write a reflection post here each week. Here's my recap of the month of May for accomplishing the stated goals:
Daily Goals for May
Monthly Goals for May:
Yearly 252 Goals: 1. Spiritual: Memorize the first two chapters of Philippians. 2. Physical: Complete a Half-Ironman in under 5 hours. 3. Relational: Eat a one on one meal with each of my sons and my wife at least once a month. 4. Intellectual: Write a reflection post here each week. The Mountains to Main 5k race on May 18 was a blast. The race started from the Swamp Rabbit Cafe at 7AM (the same time the 1/2 Marathon started in Traveler's Rest) and ended on the TD Bank outdoor stage in downtown Greenville.
My goal was to finish in under 19 minutes. The race started on time and immediately went uphill. We ran on a slight incline for the first half mile and then it flattened out. The uphill was fine though I did not stay on the needed pace. Part of it was the uphill which naturally slowed us down; and the other part was my desire not to go too fast too soon, so I held back. That may not have been the best decision. Around mile one there was a slight downhill to get us all onto the Swamp Rabbit Trail where it was flat for the rest of the race. I stayed on pace for the next mile and appreciated the flatness of the course. I checked my watch at mile marker two and realized it would be extremely difficult to increase the pace to finish under 19 minutes. I needed to run less than a 6-minute mile for the final mile of the race. I pushed but it was not hard enough. My finishing time was 19:37. While I missed my goal, I was thankful to finish 1st in my 35-39 Age Group out of 23 people and 12th overall out of 400 people which is the top 3% of the entire field. Overall, it was a good time. Now to keep pushing to hit my sub-19 goal! |