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My kids martial arts instructor kept bugging me to join the class.
My kids have been participating for almost a year. My son is always wanting to try different sports and had asked about martial arts lesson several years ago. We finally gave in after both kids trying soccer, basketball, football and some other sports.
Anyway the instructor corners me in September. He ask when my season ends. I tell him I was running the marathon and maybe I would give his class a chance in November.

I sign up for November and yesterday I was on the fence about moving up to the next belt.
I will be starting some training for Cary half mary and will be dropping out at the end of February.
Last week I failed the forms and practice all week with my kids to memorize them this week. Yesterday I passed but have not decide if I want to pay and then drop out.

I may come back in November but I do not like bruising my shins on purpose or any other body parts. I always pick the 60year old black belt to spare with so I can run away. I tell them right off the bat that I am not wanting to get tossed around like a rag doll. To old for that and don't want to create any injuries. I am pretty sure they think I am a wimp and sometimes I get teased. I challenge any of the macho guys to a quick 5K race but I get no offers.
My kids have also spared with higher belts and did not do well. I told the instructor that my kids did not want to spare anymore. He told me he would not force them to fight if they did not want to but he wanted to challenge them since they were beating up all the yellow belts.

I know not all martial arts classes are taught like this one but my kids insist on attending.
They also passed there next level and will be receiving there belt as soon as I pay.

Off Season

Well I joined the community Martial Arts class along with my kids. They are yellow belts so I have to get directions from my kids. Also I join the church choir. Dang singing church music is hard. I also had some time to post a couple of video's on you tube. One is music and the other is my kids 2nd Triathlon. Enjoy

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zFuJWKm4zik


http://youtube.com/watch?v=jbsCoZn82W8

IM at a distant

Well after a long hard look back at the Tri season I have decided not to compete in an Ironman next year(2008). I would like to work on my nutrition first. I think I am close and would like to compete without any cramps in a long distant race. I competed in a couple of sprints and no problem. My first race of the season(Terre Haute) I noticed I cramped slightly on the bike and then the cramps stop me from moving completely on the run portion. This is frustrating since I enjoy running the most. I believe I should hydrate right after the swim and continue through out the race. This is a challenge since I cannot hammer on the bike if I am fueling all the time.
I get caught up on the bike that I do not hydrate as much as I should. Discipline is part of the key but also hydrating with the right fuel. I will compete in the same HIM that I competed in 2007 and hope not to cramp out next year(2008). Some of the training I will do different is more outdoor swimming and a centurion. Of course hydrate more often in my training. I have experimented with electrolyte pills and some calcium supplements but they do not appear to be effective. I would also like to get to a point were I am not drained from swimming. This season was my first time swimming over 3K meters and it was not easy. The workouts took me over an hour and some close to 2 hours. I will take some more swim lessons from my coach and hope to get my stroke efficient. So many time i hear others say they found a grove in the swim and swam on. I can get a grove on the bike and in the run but the swim is always a battle. Marathon training had gone great and even at the race at mile 19 I felt great. Mile 20 I hit the wall and all my hopes of finishing strong went out the window. Next year I will start my training right after my last HIM and stay on track. My 20 mile practice went well and I even recorded great time but the Sun gods were not cooperating with me the day of the marathon.
I enjoy everything about the triathlons and marathons and hope to get better by practice and training.
Some day all the training will pay off but for now I will continue to pay my dues.

Chicago Marathon 2007 / Death March

Last year at the marathon I cramped out at the end of mile 18. I cramped out in many Triathlons this year. Fine tunning my nutrition I thought I may have figured it out. Then the weather reports hot and humid for the race. Last year it was in the 30's, this year in the high 80's.

My brother decided to run the first couple of miles with me and then drop out and meet me at mile 23. After my 6 min. warm up I stretched, next thing I know I can't line up in the 9 min pace. Dang, that gonna be a problem. So finally after 25 min. I started my race.

My first clicked at 9:30's which was my plan and then my brother at the end of mile 2 told me he was running out of breath. I decided to give him a break and walked for 30 sec. We started again and he could not keep up so he dropped out. The next couple of mile were around 10 min pace. One of the early stations did not have enough volunteers or cups or both. Luckily I had my fuel belt with heed in one bottle. I am not sure but at point the tables were not setup and no fluid was available. I got lucky one time and stopped at an empty table were people were giving away empty water bottles. I asked the girl if she had anything to put in the bottle. She then pulled out some cold gator aide and poured the free bottle full. I also had pedialite which I drank from time to time. After my heed ran out I refilled the bottle with water and had a little baggy of sustain energy. Something was making my stomach sour so I carried my fuel belt, the pressure on my stomach was painful. I also was slowing down in pace and was walking more frequently. At mile 13 Eileen jumped in with her happy face and immediatley I ask her to carry my fuel belt. Eileen is so helpful and encouraging telling me I was looking good and doing fine.
I reminded her that at the end of mile 18 last year I cramped up and told her I was feeling good.
Mile 19 my family and friends were waiting for me. I stopped and chatted with my wife, kids and friends (Brett, Chris). I had to remind Eileen that we were in a race and we had to get going. Between mile 20 and 21 the Chicago Police were telling people to stop running and walk. The fire hydrant was turned on so I figured the ground was wet and the police were warning us not to fall and walk. Then somewhere around mile 22 rumour were floating that the race was cancelled. I told Eileen that my brother was jumping in at mile 23 and I would the balance with him. She said that was fine and had her friend Joe meet her at mile 23. She jumped out and he jumped in. Rafa motivated me to run and had planty of energy. I would run 3-4 min and walk 1 min. Then mile 24 the police informed us that the clocks were turned off and to stop running.
I told my brother I wanted to run but at this point my pace was shit. Then mile 25 I had nothing left the heat had finally gotten to me. My head was pounding and my legs were aching.
My brother tried to motivated me but I was not having it. I took some motrin but it was to late.
Again the police ask us to stop running and walk. All clocks are off no times are being recorded.
With this news I decided to sit down and try to recover. 5 min. later I started to walk real slow, my brother said I did not look good and maybe he should get some help. I told him we had a half mile to go and then i would seek medical attention. We saw the finish line and caught to my friend Derrick. He did not look good either, he barely spoke and was sun burned. I told my brother it was time to sprint and we started to run but all I could do was a slow jog. As i got my medal and exited out my brother reminded me I would seek help. I told him i was fine but would like to sit for a couple of min. We finally got back to the car and turned on the air and made it home. On a good note I did not cramp but felt completely drained. Like the Cubs, there is always next year.

Chicago half Marathon

It was my brothers first half mary. He was nervous and did not have confidence in himself so I ran with him. We have been training for about 6 weeks but he could have used more training. I had been busy with triahtlon training and could not help him out. When my season was over we met on the weekends for the long runs. I gave him some training plans from Hal Higdon and Jeff Galloway. Told him to try to follow something close to those plans but make it fit his level. We had a couple of long runs and he was having a hard time with the legs giving out on him, but I kept pushing him and figured his body would get use to the long runs. I think he was skipping to many runs during the week because of work or family. Anyway I trained him the best that I could and told him to go online for more info since I am not a coach but play one on TV.

Sunday morning around 4am, i cannot sleep. I do not know why it is not me that is racing but I am excited for my brother. I call him at 5am and tell him we can leave at 5:30am to find good parking. I tell him to call my cell so not to wake my family but he calls my home number anyway. I scold him and he tells me he is nervous and apologizes. I ask him if he wants me to drive and he says yes. He is on empty so we stop for gas but still make good time and arrive around 6:30 am. I find parking on the streets but my brother argues with me that we should park at the free big parking lot. I tell him its a nightmare and we will have a hard time getting out. He finally agrees with me and we park about 4 blocks from the race start. We walk around and he is getting excited by the minute. There are over 12,000 runnners and it is crowded. We see the police wrestle a young drunk, they have there foot in his face but he is still mouthing off to them. Around 7:00am I tell my brother we should warm up, so we run for 10 minutes. Then we stretch for about 15 minutes and we walk towards the 12 minute pace area. I tell him its just another long weekend run and to put positive thoughts in his head and imagine himself finishing strong. We run for about 10 minutes then we break for 1 minute, we do this for about 10 miles. Run, walk just like we trained. Then somehow after mile 10 at a water break we separate. I am getting water into my water bottles from my fuel belt so I can give to my brother when he is thirsty. I can't find him anywhere, I sprint ahead to the 2:30 pace runner and he is not with the group. I then heard an ambulance and ran back but it was someone else. Then I ran ahead again but did not find him. finally at mile 12 I caught up to him and he is asking me to give him the shot blocks that I am carrying on my fuel belt along with water.
He tells me his legs fell like cement. I tell him to rest 30 seconds but we need to finish strong. We can see the finish line about 200 meters and I tell him if he has anything left to sprint in. He sprints in and he is happy with his finish time. We are only 8 minutes off from our goal but we are both happy with the outcome. We don't stick around for the post party and head home. I am straving so my brother treats me to breakfast at a restuarant close to our home. I tell him we need to figure out when to start training for the full marathon next year. He tells me he does not think he can complete a marathon. I ask him if he thought he could do a half marathon a year ago. I tell him with the proper training you can do it.

Accenture 2007

I almost did not compete this year due to power outtage for several days amongst other issues. I wanted my kids to compete in the Mcdonalds kids triathlon but because we had no power and flooding we put everything on hold. Power finally came on Saturday morning around 2AM. I could hear the sump pump going for hours. Then after we get a clean up cure in to clean my wife lays a bomb on me. She had gone to the doctor Friday and needs to go to the hospital. I tell her we should have gone Friday but she did not want to leave the family with all the issues going on. Finally I take her to the hospital and it is around 7pm. My wife tells me I should go and compete at the Accenture Tri Sunday. I tell her I should stick around for the kids. She tells me they will be fine if they need to they can go to my brohters home. He lives a couple of blocks away. I decide around 9pm to do the race. I get my gear, put air in the tires and off to bed.

I can't l;eep so I get out of bed around 3am, I eat get ready and leave my home around 3:30. I arrive downtown around 3:55 am and find a parking lot. I did not realize that you can park for free on Sundays. I grew up in the city and worked downtown for a while I should know this stuff. Anyway I paid $14 to park and find another Triathlete from Oak Park. She is early to, she did not know where transition is and wanted to make sure she had plenty of time. I walk with her to the transition since I know where to go and then we spilt up. I had to go to the trouble tent. Last night I noticed I my packet number was different than my number on my bag. I ask the staff there and they want to give me a new number and timming chip. I tell them no, since there is no way of testing the chipp. They say i should be fine.

I see Jim Q at transition, he is wave one and I am in wave five so we are close. I walk over to the swim area and I spot a SCTC jersey. Its Christina and her friend, she is excited and we start to chatt. I ask what time it is and she tells me its 6am. Yikes my wave starts at 6:15M. I run into the wave line up and we are next. I put on my cap amd goggles, we jump in and the water is freezing. I was not prepared for the cold and I start to freak out. next thing I know I hear the horn, but I need to start my watch. I think I hit my watch but later find out I did not. 50 meters in I can't see a darn thing. I sprayed my goggles with the anit fog spray. I have used it before but it does not work this time. I think because of the cold and my warm body. Of cours my form goes all out but I think I catch up to some of wave 4 then later I see some of wave 3. Then I remember this is the race of the newbies and the people that can't swim.
I had put my slippers on the end of the swim so I put them on and off I go. Get my bike and don't put on socks for a first in this season. I had my bike in a low gear and I put my feet on top of my shoes after I get past the little hill I put my feet in my shoes. I feel good and pedal as hard as I can I was only passed by 4 guys this race. Usuallt its about 10 guys and some ladies. I catch up to alot of people and feel good. Off the bike and T2, I put on the socks since I do not want blisters. I run but I am out of breath I need to slow down. I wore my HRM but have not looked at it since my timer was never on. I get tot he first water station and I stop and drink and off I go. I finally get in a groove, but I start chatting a young lady around mile 1. We are both about the same pace and we talk a little. Then mile 2 marker and I have to shift inot a higher gear. I start to redline but I keep going and then i sprint in. I go find my time at the tent and find out I was 2 minutes slower than last year. I guess all the HIM training has made me slower. On one good note my bike was faster by 2 minutes. Must be the new tri bike(tina). Started at 6:15 and ended at 7:41. I called my kids and they put their order in for McDonalds breakfast and I was home by 9am.
Time for marathon training, I better not get injured like last year. I will take it easy with the speed workouts, that what got me into trouble last year along with to many miles to quick.

Tri Masters

Well last year my kids competed in their first triathlon. It was the McDonalds kids triathlon at foster beach. I was not impressed with the race. First the adults get to race first, so the kids have to wait till all the adults are off the course. This could take all day with some of the slow pokes we seen. Anyway around 10 am they finally started, it was about time since we were there around 7am. This year we decided to try the Tri- Masters triathlon for kids on 63rd and LSD. The start was delayed for about 30 min. but then they began with the adult race. Then the kids. So the kids finally started around 8:35am. This was better than last year I guess.

I forgot to warn my kids last year about all the kicking and slapping in the swim leg. So this year I told them to get in the back like I do. We convinced our 12 year old nephew to compete and he was about the 10th kid out of the water. He is taller and more aggressive than my kids so he did not have a problem pushing the small kids out of his way. My kids caught up to him in the transition area and my son that was almost last out of the water was pretty quick out of T1. They took about 17 min. on the 4.5 mile bike course with their mountain bikes. Then off to the run, my son Teo was still ahead of my nephew and my other son by about 1 min. On the run my son Teo kicked it up a notch and ended up 14th and my other son was 16th. My nephew ran out of steam on the run and had to walk most of the run leg. I tried to get my kids to train but they do not like any type of structured training. They say its to much like school. Overall they had fun and now they would like to enroll in the Mcdonalds kids Tri at the end of the month.

Racine

Finally have time to write in the blog. I did however create a race report on BT. One of my tri-mate had a cancellation for her hotel so she offered a room. At first I said naw I will catch a ride with my other nutty buddy (Big D). Then my wife said I would be better rested if I had spent the night. I told her okay you talked me into it. I had to drop of the bike the day before anyway. I though she would have a problem with me staying in the same room with a young lady. She was cool with it. All I had to do was wear my flannel PJ's. Thats not fair since I like to sleep in the nude. Anyways back to the race, we woke up about 4am, but i did not get much sleep. i think I slept 2-3 hours tops, I would have been better off at home. At home I can relax in my own bad and my wife can read me a bedtime story so I can fall asleep. I take a nasty dump then Kelly takes a nasty dump. We fuel up with bananas and bagels, Kelly eats her cereal with soy milk. Then we get to the transition before 5am. We walk around chatting about the race and how much fun it will be. Finally it opens and we get marked and we put our stuff by our bikes. We get into the chipp line but no one is moving. I go and ask the guy at the table if they will open up on time. He tells me to get back in line and they will open when they are ready. Other words Fuck-off. So I get back in line and they finally start passing the chipps out. I find my nutty buddy Big D. We take a pix with the SCTC. Big D and I go for a small warm up run and then we go for a little warm up swim. Then the race begins, wave after wave until its my turn. I stick in the back so I don't get hit but have waited to long to draft anyone dang. I am playing catch up and do so but the main pack is gone. I finish my swim around 44min but by the time my chip hits the mat its about 46. T1= 1:35 Thats okay I was saving energy for the bike. My shoes are on the bike and I jump on. I ride a little before I slip into the shoes. I start to hammer away and it feels good with the new bike fit. I am passing people but I am also being passed. I catch up to Kelly and then Linda. I was only averaging 18:5mph. Oh well ,work to be done for next year. My neck started to hurt around 2 hours from the aggressive bike fit. My coach warned about that. I kept my heart rate at a decent place around zone 3 sometimes 4, but for most I was at a good place and felt strong. Drank alot of fluids and took a lot of endurolytes along with tumms. I did not however eat any gels which may have been my downfall for nutrition. My coach recommended a liquid nutrition for me but that may not have been good enough. Bike 3:02 T2 / 2:01
On the run I started nice and easy and keeping my HR low zone 3. I felt ok until there was a hill to climb which I did not want to take any chances and decided to walk. Not far from there I felt a cramp creeping up and I took another endurolyte along with a gel. The run was better than Rockman but still cramping during the run. I know I can do better on the run so I really need to fine tune the nutrition part of my HIM races. Run 2:23