Service Announcement

I would like to take this oppurtunity to bring to your attention a hazardous occurence that plauges a vast number of male runners. It does not always happen on every run and the weather conditions have to meet certain minimum criteria but it is a problem that few men like to discuss but I think now it is my duty to shed some light on this phenemenon so others might be able to cope with this problem a little better.
    Nipple Chaffing.
Yes, running's dirty little secret. By the time you start to feel "the burn" it is too late. There is no turning back on your run. You just have to bear the burden and make it to the end. The weather can't be too hot or too cold. It has to be warm enough for sweat to start forming on your chest but cool enough so the breeze will umm...mmmhmmm...titillate your evolutionarily useless nipples. When that happens they extend outwards and try to start a fire with your shirt by using only the searing pain of friction. God help you if you are wearing a white shirt when that happens. They WILL bleed. Oh yes they will. Then the tiny droplets of blood will mingle with the sweat of your shirt like some sort of masochistic and shameful happy hour.
       Blood: "Hey there sweat, come here often?"
   Sweat: " Yeah I'm here almost every run starting at about mile one. I haven't seen you here in a while"
       Blood: "I know I know. Usually this guy is smart enough to wear band aids but not today"
    And blah blah blah.
Now blood and sweat have started to dance the run away down the front of your shirt and you know this because you can see it on the faces of the people running towards you. Yes I know it looks like my nipples are crying blood and no don't call the Vatican because this is not the stigmata.
   Can anybody guess what happened to me on my pre-race 4 mile run this afternoon?
Note to self: Wear your pasties under your shirt for tomorrows triathlon.
I just hope they stay on under water.

Packet pick up

I got my race packet from Jack and Adams today and I must admit that I am a little confused by all the numbers they gave me. I wear one, another goes on the bike but that leaves like another one. Maybe that goes on the bike rack.  I'm sure somebody out there knows this stuff better than me right?
 It was a nice funday at the dog park and a quick 40 minute ride on the trainer. All systems are a go for Sunday's race. I appreciate all the words of encourgement I have received from friends and family. That stuff really helps. A short run and a dip in Deep Eddy tomorrow and I will be ready to go.

Woo Hoo!!

Back is back

I went for a nice and easy slow run with Oskar. We went 4 miles around Lady Bird lake and all went well. The back gave me no problems. Although it is still a little "Wonky" it should be fine for Sunday's race. Oskar was good on trail after he calmed down half way through the run. We got home and didn't want to waste the afternoon inside so my buddy Jonathon and I took Oskar and the canoe out for a spin. We paddled out from Austin High to the free side of Barton Springs and put the canoe on some rocks to swim around. Oskar was fantastic with the other dogs and he was swimming like a maniac. I like watching him learn things. For instance he now dives his head under water for sunken toys and he learned to negotiate the current at the springs really well. He was making tons of new friends but he apparently distracted these two girls while somebody came by and stole their purse. Oskar's cuteness is a burden he is learning to control.
  Tomorrow easy bike ride and or swim after coffee with my coach/friend Amy. Hooray!!

Oskar day

   So waking up with my back still hurting I decided to make today an Oskar day and race prep day. Fist Oskar and I went to the Zilker soccer fields for some Frisbee. It's a great open area field that was empty. We had the whole park pretty much to ourselves. Oskar did great except for he apparently had a problem with the trash cans where I parked. He was going crazy barking at them. He was fine with the other trash cans in the park but the ones near the car were obviously evil doers. Go Figure.


   Next we went over to Jack and Adams for some pre-race shopping. I needed a triathlon shirt that I could swim, bike and run in. My main criteria was comfort. I am not referring to how comfortable the shirt is I mean how comfortable I am wearing the thing. My triathlon shorts are already skin tight and shorter than cycling shorts so the shirt can't weird me out or freak out the spectators. I grabbed two shirts off the rack and asked the sales girl her opinion. She said they both would work but the tighter one was preferable for performance. I tried them both on and despite her assurances that the more "revealing" one looked good I opted for the more modest choice.  Maybe I will go all out for my next race but not this time. I choose the Pearl Izumi sleeveless Triathlon jersey. It seemed an appropriate selection.

With that out of the way Oskar and I went to Auditorium shores for more dog park action where he can swim around. He did great minus a few notable exceptions. The worst was chasing the woman pushing the stroller with the crying baby for half a mile. Oskar was going nuts with that screaming kid. After that I tethered him to the bench I was sitting on while reading which was alright with him because he seemed very tired at this point.

Hopefully I will be able to do an easy run or swim tomorrow but I will be very cautious in my decision to workout before my race.  Thanks for reading.

Really?

  What a day so far. I went to bed last night with my lower back hurting a little. Today it hurts a lot more. I think I somehow managed to strain it and hopefully it goes away before my Sunday race. I think Oskar might have had something to do with it.
  Speaking of Oskar, we were at Red Bud again today playing and I decided to hike through some of the less traveled trails. I ended up banging my head on some low hanging branch and now I have a nice gash along my hairline. I think I will just stay inside until race day.
  So with these two injuries in mind I think I will take the day off until I get better.

Oh and Oskar didn't have anything to do with my back. I was just trying to distribute blame.

Race and Recover

  The Bun Run 5K went pretty well yesterday. I pr'd (personal record) by over 30 seconds. I finished with a time of 21:45. If I had warmed up I might have done better but I am happy with my time and effort level. My friend Escooby had a great time as well. I think he might be getting hooked into this whole running thing.

  This week is a recovery week leading up to my first race on Sunday. It will be my first ever Triathlon and I am very, very excited. So I will do just nice and easy workouts to keep loose and strong all week before my race. Today was an easy bike ride around town. It ended up being about 23 miles but it took me aobut 2 hours to finish. I was going real easy remember?

  I have an old friend from high school who will be running her first marathon with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. She is just a little over 50 percent of her goal and needs help fund raising. If you have the time check out her fund raising page here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/sj/rnr10/bcallahan and see if you can help her out. I remember all the hard work leading up to my first race but she has the added work of raising money for a great cause.

Look out Dog park victims Oskar is on his way!

End of the Week

  Awake early now for my 5K race this morning with my friend Escooby. It seems I have not slept more than 4 hours a night for the past two nights. I am very tired right now. I  forsee a very long post race nap in my future.

  Yesterdays run and swim was great. I ran 10 miles with Steve, Kelly, Nick and Spencer. All of those guys have very fast marathon times compared to mine but lucky for me I have been training for the past few months and was able to keep up. Training with faster people is probably a good way to get faster myself. Hmm, must look into that.

  After my run Oskar and I went to Shoal Creek to play and the first 5 people who came by asked me what kind of dog was he. One guy said he looked like one of those ancient Egyptian sculptures. He is getting pretty good at catching the frisbee. Every once in a while he will leap into the air and catch it mid jump. I am so proud.

  I left the dog park and went for my long swim at Big Stacey. I was able to get in a 1.5 mile swim but I had to finish the last few laps with a pull buoy because my left leg was cramping real bad. It started in the foot and as soon as I started messaging it the cramp moved to my calf and then onto my shin. It seems fine now. My three hard weeks are through and this week is an easy recovery week before my The Rookie on Sunday.

   A very special GOOD LUCK to all of my friends running the Eugene Marathon today. A special cheer for my friend Heather since this is her first marathon. Go TEAM ROGUE!!!!!!!