For some reason I looked up my old trusty marathon training plan and started calculating back from the Illinois Marathon. Next week would be the start of the training plan. I will say right now that I have not registered or committed myself. The first workout. 3x1.5 miles at tempo. I thought what a perfect night to start training. One week early, but nothing better to do. I hopped on the … [Read more...]

2009 was a learning experience. I completed a total of 9 races. 3 running, 1 biathlon, and 5 triathlons. Looking back, that doesn't seem like that many races. I think I put in a lot more training miles this year and focused much more on the bike. I was really big on group training also. I started going to masters swim quit regularly on Sundays. Didn't miss too many workouts at the track on … [Read more...]

It has probably been a couple years since I did this race.  And my no mean was I ever "racing" it.   In the last 5 years or so I haven't missed a local race.  But this year, the Frostbite was only my third running race.  (I did the the CU Half Marathon and the Scholastic Challenge 5k.) I was actually kind of excited about doing this race.   I showed up just in time to get my packed and … [Read more...]

I thought I would head to the track for "Lunch with Eric". There are still a few of us showing up every now and them. Today's focus... the Frostbite, which is this Sunday. Alex, Keith, David, Billy and I were set to tackle 4x1600 at a 6 minute pace. I would say that I was really not up for it. I would be lucky if I could manage one of those at that pace. That's what happened. I made through … [Read more...]

A wonderful week of miles.  The weather was somewhat mild.  I was able to get out several times on the bike and even a few runs.  Putting in over 150 miles on the bike this week was huge.  Do I have to remind you that it is November? My week started on Tuesday with a solo ride in the morning.  I did a decent size loop around Springfield only to ride the last 10 miles through town in the … [Read more...]

I sure as hell can't find it.  24 hours of rain and darkness has really been cramping my style.  So today around 2:00 the sun peaked through the clouds.  Just long enough to make it out for a run.  4.47 miles at a 8:04 pace, at least that is what my new garmin 310xt said.  You can check out my workout on Garmin Connect. Tonight after work, I headed to the Springfield Tri Club Social.  They … [Read more...]

The temperature was in the 70s today!  I had no choice but to get out and ride.  I did my usual stream of text msgs, tweets and emails, to round up the posse.  It is not easy getting people out to ride in November, so I put a little guilt on them.  Jason is still on the down and low.  I tried...  Clarence, well, I guess he had some wedding plans to take care of.  Eric, Neff, Lawyer and even … [Read more...]

To keep my motivation at a high level, I need to move on. Sure we had a decent relationship.  We also had our ups and downs  (mostly on hills)  Lola originally appeared in our Back in the Saddle episode.  But she can be found on ebay now.  Check her out, bid now! and often! http://www.flickr.com/photos/hardybreed/sets/72157622711332480/ … [Read more...]

Longhorn 70.3 in Austin Texas was an "A" race for the year.  Jason and I packed up and headed down in his truck, with our support crew of one, Lance Cull.  The race was on Sunday October 25, 2009.   We left at 5am Friday morning and arrived in Austin around 9:30pm.  It was a long drive! Saturday morning, we woke up and headed out to packet pick up at 11:30.  We then rushed back to our … [Read more...]

The week is upon us. One week left before the big race. I tried to take it easy this weekend, but if you ask Jason, I probably didn't. I think there are different styles of taper. My style... quality, less quantity. What do I mean by this? Keep my pace solid, using standard tempo, but reduce the quantity or mileage. I think I accomplished this this last week. This weekend I went out for … [Read more...]