My first marathon

Posted on 13 January 2009 by tomh

After much anticipation, I finally completed my first marathon!  It was the Walt Disney World Marathon.  This very cool course takes runners and walkers through all four Disney World theme parks.  First Epcot, then the Magic Kingdom, the Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and finally back through Epcot for the finish.  My finish time:  6 hours 45 minutes.  I had hoped to do much better, but at mile 9, my ankle was hurting, so I decided to walk some.  It didn’t take me long to realize that I wasn’t going to run on it any more.  So, for 17.2 miles, I walked.  Fast at first, then really really slowly.  My ankle is basically sprained now and I am hobbling around.

There are always a few funny stories from any event I have done.  This was no exception.  At mile two, I was passed by a guy on crutches.  I knew I was in trouble then.  When we entered the Animal Kingdom, they had some small animals there to greet us, including a tortise.  It was then that the guy next to me said, “That turtle is mocking me.”  I burst out laughing for the first and last time during that race.

In the end, I got a really cool Mickey Mouse medal, a sprained ankle, and thanks to my friends Chuck and Judy, a Wendy’s Hot and Juicy double cheeseburger with large fries.  Mmm!!

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Kurt Kinetic Trainer Review

Posted on 11 December 2008 by tomh

I wrote this article a while back.  Just an update – if you’re going to have an indoor trainer, be sure to put something under the back wheel if you decide to lube the chain and/or cassette.  Otherwise, you will end up with a nice design on your carpet.

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Posted in Reviews, Uncategorized

Cool running

Posted on 9 December 2008 by tomh

This past Sunday, 07 December, I completed the Marathon of the Palm Beaches Half marathon (http://www.marathonofthepalmbeaches.com).  It was a beautiful day, about 60 degrees F at 6:00 a.m. when the race started.  I managed to jog the first eight miles and then finished up with combinations of walking and running for a total of just under 3 hours.  It’s probably my worst time ever, but given the fact that I took six weeks off for bronchitis and it’s still hanging on, it could have been worse.

These guys and gals put on a great event!  Everything is very well coordinated and they have lots of water/gatorade stations along with lots of wacky people cheering us on.  I did this event last year and I will go back for sure.  The views along Flagler drive of the water and the beautiful homes is just awesome.  Another nice feature is that there aren’t too many competitors, so there’s plent of room to run and you won’t get run over if you’re walking.  Good job guys and thanks to Publix for the post-race food!

Posted in Uncategorized

Garmin Forerunner 405 Review

Posted on 9 December 2008 by tomh

I’ve been using a Garmin Forerunner 305 for a couple of years now and really like it.  Unfortunately, the battery is getting to the point where it can no longer hold a charge for my long triathlons.  I decided it was time to upgrade!  The Garmin Forerunner 405  is much smaller and looks like a regular watch (almost).  So far, there have been some things I liked and some things that I really dislike.

Pros:  Small, can be worn as a regular watch, wireless data transfer

Cons:  Only shows three data fields at once, cannot be turned off – it goes into power save mode, because it’s wireless data transfer I forget to hook it up to the charger, when running in the rain the water causes it to start freaking out as if it is being touched, data transfers sometimes have to be “forced” from within the Training Center software.

I am sure that I will get used to it eventually.  Overall I give it three stars.

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Posted in Reviews, Training

Back in the swing of things…

Posted on 3 September 2008 by tomh

I’m now training regularly.  Swimming three days a week, biking on the indoor trainer three days a week, and running when I can. 

Today I swam 1550 meters, which is about where I want to be.  I usually take about 15s break after each 50 meters, but today I just kept going for the last 500 meters or so.  It felt okay.

Biking on the indoor trainer is getting better, little by little.  I did increase the tension on the rock ‘n roll trainer, so I expect that I am going to be tired sooner.

Running is just a drag right now.  It’s so humid here (appox. 80%) in the a.m. that even with a low temp of 78 degrees F, it’s really really most.  Even wearing my Pearl Izumi triathlon shorts, I still manage to lose about one liter of sweat per hour.  Okay, I don’t really lose it, so much as have it soak into my singlet and shorts.

The afac triathlon is just over two weeks away.  Looking forward to getting ‘er done!

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Swimming is hard

Posted on 25 August 2008 by tomh

I went swimming today for the first time since the Boise Half Ironman in June.  It seems that my overall fitness level has dropped in the last few weeks.  I never imagined getting back into swimming would be so hard – aerobically speaking.  This time I tried out my new fistgloves (http://www.totalimmersion.net/fistgloves.html).  They are basically latex gloves with no fingers, therefore your hand is a fist inside of them.  The idea is that you have less of a paddle to swim with and it will improve your technique.  I also tried out my new electronic lap counter.  It normally fits around the index finger and is operated by cliking a button with the thumb.  Wearing fistgloves is not conducive to using lap counter that is supposed to go on a *finger*.

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Posted in Training

Back in the saddle again

Posted on 21 August 2008 by tomh

Well, after a week of vacation and one week not training, I am back in the saddle.  Needless to say, the backside has to get accustomed to it again.  My next tri (Atheletes for a Cure – www.afactri.com) is in just four weeks, so I hope to be ready by then.

I also need to get back into swimming and running.  The weather here in Florida has been a bit wet lately – not good for running.

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This is my first ever blog entry…

Posted on 2 August 2008 by tomh

I can’t believe it.  This is the first time that I have blogged.  It took several hours to get php, mysql, and wordpress installed and working.

Now I can start blogging about fitness!

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