LA Marathon Training and Recap of Jay's DIY Turkey Tri

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving Holiday. Mine was great, with a terrific FIVE blessed days off with my family. But, the running suffered some..

I just started training for the 2011 LA Marathon, and I feel behind already!
It's been a frustrating few weeks with some pretty mediocre runs. My wife and I have been struggling with colds, and I have not had a decent long run since 16 days ago (8 miles).

Training this past Week:
Week     Day       Planned          Actual
 2            Tue        45-55min        Zero
               Thu        45-55min        1hr 45mins Total, 42min Run, 3.1mi
                                                    (10.4mi Turkey Tri recap below)
               Fri          Rest                45min, 3.1mi
               Sat         1:40                1:12, 5.1mi

Skipping runs and babying this cold did not seem to help me much after 2 weeks, so I decided to go ahead and jump back into training. I had considered doing the San Dimas Turkey Triathlon this past weekend, but I was pretty certain I would not be up for a half-mile swim in the freezing cold. My co-worker told me about the Naples Island Canal Swim area. Enclosed ocean canal, buoyed marked swim area, calm water, .. perfect! I mapped out a little swim, and then decided to tack on a short bike and a short run.

 Voila! Jay's Inaugural Do-It-Yourself Turkey Triathlon 

Early on Thanksgiving morning, I drove to Long Beach. Parking the "Transition-Zone Minivan" in Naples, the temp read 44-degrees at 6:10AM. I decided to wait inside the heated van a bit for the sun, and to see if things would warm up. Nope.. when I jumped in the water around 6:50AM, it was a cozy 42-degrees and looked like this:

Running on the sand to the point where I would enter the water, the bottoms of my feet were aching on painful pins-n-needles from the wet ice-cold sand! Diving into the frigid water itself was not bad at all, until water creeped down the back of my wetsuit and settled in the small of my back, like a very cold squirmy fish. My face really did not like being in that icy cold water either.. so, more doggy-paddling. 467 meters, about a quarter-mile swim.

After a 6-minute Minivan T1, onto the bike course! Turns out, this was also the morning of the Long Beach Turkey Trot 5K/10K. That was interesting.. kind of like bowling for turkeys. Had to slam the brakes several times. Since I was clipped into my bike pedals, I almost tipped over twice. Catching yourself on a tipping bike while clipped in really burns those quads!! Finally, I had to get off the crowded beach path, and circled back along Ocean Blvd. Total ride: 11K

The run was along the same Belmont beach course. A short, slow, and easy 5K out-and-back run.

Best part of this Triathlon? I finished 1st Overall, and 1st in my Age Group!

Finally, can't have a Thanksgiving post without a picture of food!

My Big Training Hurdle Ahead... Trying to stay On-Track!
Here's my tweaked line-up for this upcoming week:

   Mon:    Rest
   Tue:     55min Run
   Wed:    Spin 60, possibly bike to work
   Thu:     2:00 Long Run
   Fri:       Spin 30, Row 30

December is travel month. This week, we go up to Sacramento, and then 3 days in Tahoe! Never been to Tahoe, but I hear that it's beautiful and plenty of snow. Looking forward to sledding with the wife and kids! I need to find some chains for the "Transition-Zone Minivan" tires. Oh yeah, right before Tahoe, my wife is going to go for a quick jog around Sacramento in a little race called the California International Marathon. With all the activities, driving, altitude, etc.. a successful 2-hour long run up in Tahoe seems unlikely. I need to squeeze it in before we leave.

Later in December, the bigger challenge will be keeping up with my training while in the freezing-cold of Chicago for about 9 days over Christmas. My training calls for a 2:40 long run around Christmas. Too many deterrents (snow, cold), distractions (kids, wife, food), and holiday cheer all add up to a big monkey wrench in my training plan. To take control and force myself to stay on track, I signed up to represent Illinois in Sam Felsenfeld's Operation Jack Satellite Marathon. So, while Sam is running his marathon near my home in sunny, warm, So Cal, I am going to be running in the freezing snow of Chicago? Supposed to be 6.1 miles, but we'll see if I can stretch it out to something close to a 2:40 run in the snow. I'm sketching out a Dec 24 run that finishes the last quarter mile on my high school track. That seems like it'd be a nostalgic and cool finish. I'll have to see how arctic conditions are on the ground, as the 12/24/2010 date approaches. Anyone care to join me? (..silence....)

Here's my tweaked Los Angeles Marathon training schedule. I'm trying to stick with Chi Running and the time-based Sole Runners program for this first marathon. My goals for my first marathon are to start the marathon with my awesome wife, enjoy the sights of LA, finish strong, and feel good about my run. Not too much to hope for, right?

Training Plan for the 2011 Los Angeles Marathon

 

What, if any, adjustments are you making in your training to handle travel, business, and the upcoming holidays?

Happy Holidays!