Feeling good, feeling fast

Yes, it's the time of year where cookies, candy and anything made with butter tastes better than a grilled chicken breast and veggies. I have not been immune to the subversive beckoning of these evil goodies over the holiday season but I have managed to keep a fairly good running schedule as I prepare for the PF Chang Rock n Roll Marathon on January 16th.

I also feel very fortunate to be in good health still. Many of you I follow have been plagued with post-IMAZ injuries. I wish I could help each and every one of you get past your hurdles...I hope you take the time to recovery instead of trying to push past it.

Anyway, on to the blog.

Running is going well. I just hope there is enough time left to meet my goal at the PF Chang's marathon. I have been focused on increasing my distance while keeping a target pace (8:00 minutes/mile) in order to achieve a 3:30 marathon time.

My long run last Friday was actually a PR - I'm not jumping up and down (yet). Just trying to keep it in perspective. There is a long way to go after 13.1 to try and keep that pace. I hope I can build up to maintain that pace for the entire 26.2...

Today's run was pretty aggressive. In part, I was running away from the sugary snacks and prime rib left in the fridge but at the same time, really trying to see how far I can push myself. In all, it felt great and I continue to show impressive times (compared to last year).

2011 Plans

A quick update since closing down the Ironman journey. First and most important, I got inked. I knew I would after Ironman Arizona, I just didn't know what it would look like. I wanted something that symbolized the journey, the venue and of course, the universal symbol of an Ironman. I landed on a somewhat simplistic design of the Arizona flag centered in the trademark M-dot. I personal dig it.

The remainder of the days have been spent continuing my run training as I ramp back up the mileage for the PF Chang's Rock and Roll Marathon on January 16th. Aside from the Ironman Arizona marathon, my only other full 26.2 was in Portland (1997).  I've always wanted to revisit that pure distance and try to improve on my time (4:39). There were 'issues' during that race that aren't appropriate to discuss at the dinner table so I'll just say that they were preventable and I intend to bust that time wide open in Tempe on January 16th.

Finally, I've been spending time trying to figure out what events I want to participate in this coming year. After a year of training in solitude, I fell like I've lost some of the meaning and reasons I love to run or cycle (and swim now too). I went looking for events that would still challenge me mentally and physically but would get me back to the root of why I love doing this stuff - for fun. Simple as that. If you can't have fun, then don't bother, right?

So after coming up with a pretty stout list of events , I got contacted by a friend of a friend's friend (did you follow that?) to join a Ragnar Relay team (12-person relay team running 200+ miles in 24-hours). Now that sounds like FUN. I'm stoked. Aside from that, here are few more things I'll be doing in 2011:

1. PF Chang's Rock and Roll Marathon (Jan)
2. San Tan Scramble (50K) Ultra-marathon (Feb)
3. Ragnar Relay: Del Sol (Feb)
4. Tour de Cure charity ride (March)
5. Bike MS Arizona charity ride (March)
6. Pat's run (April)
7. Lake Steven's 70.3 Ironman (Aug)

As we get closer to some of these, I plan to blog a bit more on my progress and share the specifics of the goal and how well I think I'll be able to do against it.

I'm back - just on a different journey for 2011. I hope you stick around.

Humorous: I'm Training for An Ironman

Though my training for Ironman Arizona has come to a close, a friend of mine posted this as a subtle (yet humorous) reminder of how 'normal' people perceive/react to those of us who have/are training for an Ironman.

This is slightly NSFW (not suitable for work) so at least use head phones.

I can assure you that your spouse and/or friends will get a laugh from it just like mine did. Enjoy!