Jim Kelley's (Birkierunner) General and Long Course Group (Open) (Page 3)

No Racing this weekend but got in a good 1:15 run on Friday, 3hr bike and 1.5mile brick run on Saturday and a short run this morning. I am doing my long run this Tuesday because its the National Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics that I always participate in at work. 18 mile route fully supported so I am thinking about doing the whole thing with my run/walk method and seeing how I feel.

i took last week off as a recovery week................ boy not working out sucks, doesnt it?
jumped right back into it this morning with a 20 mile on the bike before the sun came out. feels good to be back on it.

14 miles on the treadmill???

i just took a week off training. sometimes i feel i push a little too hard, and taking a week off feels soooo good and so bad at the same time. remember, i also teach a jiujitsu class and there is alot of sparring.

I will be on vacation starting tonight for around 20 days. It will be an active vacation so I expect to continue with my training ( well about 80% of it). Did this same vacation last year and it worked out great. I will try to stay active on this site as much as possible.

Training for HIM Racine is going well no serious problems except fatigue from all the training and life.

Hope everyone is doing well.

hey all - ran 10 today, and it sucked. the thermometer at my house said it was 97ish in the sun, and low 80s in the shade. I really really dislike summer temps. I was hoping to do 12-13 miles this am, but it just wasn't to be. oh well.

Fingers crossed for temps in the low 60s and overcast for race day!!!

Last week was a recovery week int he training plan so I had a nice 35mile ride on Saturday and then a 9mi run and 1400m swim on Sunday. Had an early Softball game on Sunday so had to do my run/swim after 2 hours of softball and 2 hours of good-bye partying for one of my teammates. I've decided I need to implement a beer only after the workout policy....running up a hill after beer and bbq is just unpleasant! I'm waiting to pick up my bike with some newly installed handlebars today -- it should help my back out on the longer rides so I'm excited.

Nice work to everyone - I love seeing all those miles add up! Good luck to anyone who is heading out for a race this weekend!

hi all! finally updated my training log for last week. still tracking well above what my plan says for run and bike, so i decided after 3 weeks in a row of >10 hours to back off a little today and do the planned 45 min bike instead of the 2 hr bike i would normally do on tues (plus stormy weather meant trainer anyway…). i've got a hilly ride planned for tomorrow, though, and then run and swim thurs. doing another local sprint june 21!

I ran my longest run to date yesterday at the Maryland Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics. I ran the whole thing-19 miles!!! Here are a few notes I took away from the day I think will help me with my IM Run.

1.) Hot Temps suck- I always knew this but yesterday was brutal. I managed but had to take in a lot of water and re-apply some body glide 2x.

2.) I got in some good mental training- This event was on a rolling stretch of highway, no shade and all in the sun. I did not listen to music and I talked to some people and other times I was completely alone. I was able to keep positive thoughts, listen to music in my head, look at landmarks to keep me going, etc. I think this was a great mental and physical training day for IMMT.

3.) I pushed the pace and it hurt but not that bad. My original plan was to run/walk 4:1 like I do in training but I was unable to do that due to the gap it would put between me and the other runners and the guys shutting the roads down for traffic control so I decided to try and keep up with the joneses. I was able to run a steady pace the entire 19 miles (we did break every 3 miles for water/food/bathrooms for a few minutes). I felt good until mile 14 but those last 5 miles were killer. I do feel that if I did my intervals, I would have finished feeling better but from a mental standpoint, it was amazing to know I could "Run" 19 miles. I still cannot imagine doing 7 more miles but I know I will be able to make it. Since it took over 3 hours, I think this will be the longest I run during training, both distance and time wise.

4.) Recovery was not bad- I had a tiny little blister on my foot and a slight pain at my inner thight but that was it. I wore compression socks afterwards until bed time and I woke up this morning fine and in no pain. I am really happy about this and can't believe it.

Feeling pretty good about my run training and where I am. Looks like this training is paying off!!

Been meaning to post for a couple weeks but always busy with family, work, training etc. I was part of the winter group although in SoCal it's never really winter. Want to continue on with this group. Below is my background.

I do want to get the group's thoughts on something...I was doing most of my training with the focus on my "A" race on Oct 4 (Silverman 70.3) and then had a second 70.3 in Dec (HITS Palm Springs). I just learned that there will be a brand new 70.3 on Oahu on 8/16 right in the middle of the 2 weeks our family spends on the North Shore. The bike course goes right past our rental house and the run course is just a 10 min drive. So it's a perfect opportunity for family to enjoy race from a comfortable place, which is a rarity in this sport. So this race will be 7 weeks before my "A" race. It's a warm water, non wetsuit swim, flat bike course with tailwind most of the way home, flat run course. Only real hard factor is the heat and humidity. My plan will have me doing long runs of 1:30 at that point and 2:30 bike, but I will definitely have many >50 rides under my belt...just did 110 century this wknd. Do you guys think this will hurt my training? It took several days after my last 70.3 to get back into running but I was not anywhere close to current fitness level and fighting injury. Is it possible to go a bit easy on race day? I am competitive and if I am having a good day I am sure I will push it. I am probably leaning towards doing it but open to being talking into it or out of it. Thoughts??


Name: Steve 45 years old

Story: I have been a gym rat since high school, so in pretty good shape. But was never a big runner or swimmer, mostly weights, plyometrics, circuit training, etc. Started mountain biking about 4 years ago but didn't get a road bike until 2013. Did a couple sprint tris on my MTB. Then last year started getting more serious. Work at Disney and we have a pretty good tri team. Started working out with them and got pretty decent SBR shape. Completed my first 70.3 in Dec, the HITS Palm Springs. Was very happy with my results 5:48, since I think I under trained a bit and fought off knee issue (the dreaded IT band) and conditions were pretty rough. Goal for this year is to go <5:20 in both my 70.3 races and stay healthy and happy.

Family Status: Married 11 years with a 9 year old girl, a 7 year old boy, two labs and one cat.

Current Training: this winter I have really concentrated on slowly building my running mileage to avoid injury when I get into race specific training. 3-4 times per week right now about 15-20 mpw, with the goal of getting to about 35 mpw. Have also been doing one long bike ride 50-75 mile and two shorty, 25 or so. Swim has been 2x time per week and just joined a master program with the idea of going 3x per week in July/Aug. S

2014 Races: Set PR in 10k in Feb, 45:33, did Century ride this past wknd, My A race is the Silverman 70.3 in Oct. Also have couple sprint tris and 5ks, MB Pier to Pier swim and finish with HITS 70.3 in Dec again.

Weight Loss: Not really an issue

Good job Matt!

Awesome, way to go! Reading your post reminded me to go put my compression tights on.

Thanks Jim. That's what I was thinking. I'll be on vacation so recovery should be pretty easy.

duathlon tomorrow morning...should be a fun one... #pain

good luck at Liberty tomorrow!

Thanks! It is the Lake Crystal Duathlon. Small race just outside of Makato...wanted to get 1 more Du in before Nationals, and the timing for this fit well...hopefully the rain holds off for all of us racing tomorrow!