Catch A Leprachaun 15K Running Race - March 6, 2011 (4th place overall, 1st place AG)

My fastest pace (6:42/mi) for a 15K yet - despite HORRIBLE conditions - 1" of ice on much of the racecourse, strong winds, cold - miserable! Plus I didn't feel well - hardly slept the night before and had a really upset stomach - nearly puked during my warm-up 5k before the race.

Pulled myself together, ran the paces I planned in the first 5 miles with someone right on my shoulder the whole time. Kept surging and couldn't drop him. I found a stretch that would have the full headwind and two sharp turns. Since the footing was bad, I figured I could make a move in the turns, and then hammer into the wind to break him. It took nearly 1/2 mile - but I shook him.

Then it came down to a 3 way sprint for 2,3,4 place - me and two guys in the 25-28 age group. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite match them in the last 400m - but we finished within 10 seconds of each other.

Overall, I was pleased to still PR on a really shitty day. Hated to lose out on the 3-way sprint - that's not like me... but this was a B- race, and I am keeping my eye on the Boston Marathon next month.

"Beautiful Lie" - Last Spinning class of the year for me to lead

My last session of the "indoor season" was another challenging one! It was filled with full-sprint effort intervals, power grinds and thresold intervals. (Workout and playlist at the end of this)

The group was full of energy and excitement - which helped me. I've been on the verge of overtraining lately, and had a crummy day at work... so when I showed up to the studio to lead the class, I wasn't really myself. But after the first couple of sprints and the intensity everyone was bringing - I rebounded.

As the night went on, the intensity built up, and so did the enjoyment! While the group was holding Anaerobic Threshold pace, I started attacking with unplanned 10-20 second sprints. Group seemed to get into the music and the intensity... and then we went into the last 8 full-out sprints. It was carnage! I turned myself inside-out, and based on the grunts, groans and breathing of the rest of the group - I know they did too!!

I told the class that it was over... then the song "Beautiful Lie" started to play... and I informed the group we were doing one more minute of full out effort. The group responded well and sufered through the last hard minute!

After the class, we had a great time at Harry Buffalo!! Fun group!

As an aside - this was likely my last session of the season. I'm heading off to China and Japan for the next two weeks. I have truly enjoyed the classes - both as a participant and as a leader. Great way to stay insprired and focused during the "indoor season"!



THE WORKOUT AND PLAYLIST:


Warm-up:
"Trip like I do" - The Crystal Method
8 minutes easy, with two 30 second spin-ups (low tension)


First Sprint Intervals:
"Tonight - I'm F***-ing you" - Enrique Iglesias (maybe the theme for the class?)
30 second all-out sprints with 30-45 seconds rest between

"Break" - Three Days Grace
45 second all-out sprints with 45 seconds rest between

"Re-education through Labor" - Rise Against
45 second all-out sprints with 45 seconds rest between


Threshold Work:
Total of 26 minutes at or above Threshold effort with varying tension.
"In Da Club" - 50 Cent
High tension, low cadence - hold HR at AT
"Vertigo" - U2
Lower tension, High cadence - still holding HR at AT
"Only" - Nine Inch Nails
High tension, low cadence - hold HR at AT
"Paint it Black" - Rolling Stones
Lower tension, High cadence - still holding HR at AT - numerous 10-20 second sprints.
"Knights of Cydonia" - Muse
High tension, low cadence - hold HR at AT - numerous 10-20 second attacks
"Breathe" - Prodigy


Recovery:
"New Divide" - Linkin Park
Believe it or not... I put in 4.5 minutes of rest and recovery - but we worked for 26 minutes straight at or above threshold effort. We needed it! Plus - wanted to have everyone ready for the final assault!


Final Sprints:
"Got the Life" - Korn
30-45 second all-out sprints
"Ignorance" - Paramore
45 second all-out sprints
"Pain" - Jimmy Eat World
45 second all-out sprints

Recovery:
"Beautiful Lie" - 30 Seconds to Mars

--> My beautiful lie, was that the class was over! I cranked up the group for one last all out 60 second effort!

6 wonderful days in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Six days in perfect Florida weather was just enough! Amy, Andy, Tommy and I had a wonderful vacation in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with my brother Paul and his girlfriend Rachel.

We hit the weather lottery! Sunny, breezy and 80-84 each day - could not have been nicer! Beaches, the pool and lots to see every day around Miami and the Keys.

The boys and I were in the pool every morning at least once, and on the beaches most days too!

I was able to experience some world class reef diving - just a few hundred yards off the beach by Paul's house. Normally, you have to pay to charter a boat out to the reefs! Instead, we just went to the beach, and swam out through the breakers, over the sandy ocean floor, until BOOM - the reef!

This was my first ocean snorkeling experience. Paul said the conditions could not have been more perfect! He was right! Bright sun, super-clear, warm water (at the surface). We saw everything! Dozens of kinds of tropical fish, stingrays and I swam a while with a couple of sea turtles!



The reef was only in about 15 feet of water, so even with a snorkel, I could get right down with the creatures! (Ears might have popped just a little, since I'm not used to that). It was such a different world!

At first, it was a little freaky being around so much fish life, in the "wide open ocean"... But I relaxed right away knowing there were no sharks or other creatures that would cause problems there.

Paul was a great companion and teacher for me. We also brought in Amy who was ready to tackle the reef! She swam all the way out, but unfortunately, got a bit seasick in the swells, once she "locked onto" looking at things on the bottom. So she saw some old cannons and the edge of the reef, then had to turn back. Poor girl did all the hard work, and missed out on the payoff! :( Next time, babe!



It was so "perfect", it almost seemed fake! Like swimming in a zoo aquarium or something! Swimming and diving down into the cold waters around the reef was so cool! The schools of brightly colored fish, darting among the swaying plants, coral and other features was so cool! And seeing the little day-to-day struggle of the food chain was so neat to see first-hand!

We went to "Monkey Jungle"... Where the humans are caged and the monkeys run free. WOW! That was so fun! We spent the day feeding all of these monkeys by hand! It was so AWESOME! Their little hands reaching out for snacks! We could touch them, and they were so cute and so SMART!

They also had a big gorilla (KING), and an orangutan (MAY) on display. They were both rescued from crappy situations, and were beautiful to see up close.

Oh, on the way home from Monkey Jungle, we decided to take a detour through the EVERGLADES! We went onto route 41, which pretty much is "Alligator Alley!". As soon as we turned onto 41, we started seeing gators! Drove back into the park a bit... Pulled off in a couple different places to walk around and see stuff.

In one spot, we noticed a gator out in the canal and decided to pull over and check it out. After watching him float around for a while (which we thought was cool), a HUGH gator came out of no where, and chased this one off. Then he noticed us... And became VERY interested!

This big gator came right up to us, did a couple of slow passes just a few feet from shore where we were (at the time too caught up in the "cool factor" to realize we were in a pretty risky situation - especially with the smaller kids (5 & 9)). Suddenly, it stopped in front of the bank, and just hung there, motionless... I realized it was now laying in wait to ambush whichever got too close or careless. It was time to send the kids to the car! We shot some more photos and video of this "dinosaur", soaked in the experience, then headed off. Afterwards, we realized we probably weren't too far from being someone featured on "When Vacations Attack!". Just the right balance of adventure, risk and safety! :)

We really enjoyed the time with Paul and Rachel. They are such a great couple! So happy together! They dated in high school, went their separate way for like 15 years, the found each other again on Facebook! Paul was living in Traverse City, Michigan and Rachel was in southern Florida. They reunited and fell back in love together! This summer, Paul transferred to U of Miami to finish his studies. They found a great waterfront condo! Their two dogs (Morgan and Sophie) get along very well too! I am soooooo happy to see them happy together! :)

Friday, we took a trip down to the Keys while Paul had school nd Rachel was working. What a fun day that was! Gorgeous, easy drive down... Lunch at the Key Largo Conch House... And the afternoon at the John Pennekamp State Park. There were mangrove swamp and tropical hammock (forrest) trails to hike, and 3 different beaches to explore. There were things to see in the water (cannons from a 1715 shipwreck, sea life, etc) and this "abyss" nearby that plunged straight down to a black depth... Freaked me out a little! Amy and the kids found hermit crabs and all kinds of fish right by shore, too!



We also went to "Flamingo Gardens" to see a beautiful botanical and wildlife park. Funny little highlight was feeding I his and Flamingos right from my MOUTH! It was a lot of fun! Acres of beautiful grounds, groves, swamps and other stuff to see.

I'm told I went there as a child one of the times we went to visit my Grandparents when they lived in Ft. Lauderdale. I'm not sure if I remember that or not, but it was cool for my boys to go! We have about 10,000 photos, so I don't think they will be able to forget it! :)

This trip had a lot of great food experiences as well! From kick-butt Cuban food, to Pompano Pizza to Key Lime Pie on the Florida Keys! Plus some unique / fun places to enjoy that food! It was great!!

This trip was the very first time flying for my boys. They did GREAT! I flew with Tommy on all flights, and Amy had Andy. The boys loved flying! The whole "process" from checking luggage to security, to watching take-off and landings to the flight itself. They were perfect little men during the flights! Didn't care about turbulence or anything!


Plus, andy and Tommy got along SO well! They slept in bed together, rode in the back seat together, kept each other company in restaurants while the grown-ups ate and talked! Couldn't ask for better behavior! Thanks boys!!

We were able to do the flights for our family of 4 with miles from my work travels, with plenty left over for Amy and I to fly to Boston in April for the marathon. Thanks Fosbel!

It was another wonderful and memorable family trip for us!