Taft did the honors of the start and away we went.  Andy took off like a Kenyan and it was no joke.  He wasn’t caught until the half mile.  He looked smooth and was flying.  Lawyer set the early pace to the mile and Bill and I followed suit.  The pace felt fast but not taxing.  It was finally starting to feel natural to run that fast.  We went through the mile in 5:29 and I was shocked!  It wasn’t much longer though, before the reality of the pace settled in.  The hill heading up to the pavilion really hurt the lungs and I could feel it start to hurt.  Bill pressed on up the hill and bridged up to Lawyer.  Those two ran together the rest of the way while I hung on about 10 seconds back.  I finished in 11:06.  I no sooner stopped and turned around and saw Billingsley powering home to an 11:50!  I overheard Erin say that she took two minutes off her time from the last one.  Awesome improvements for everyone.

Next week?  Octopus?

The swim area was crowded so I was happy to share the “medium” lane with a fellow swimmer.  After about 200 yards I hear “sir, sir’ sir”.  The lifeguard was actually demoting me to the slow lane.  What in the world?  I may be no Michael Phelps but come on, you’re actually making me get out of the pool, do the walk of shame, and get in the “slow” lane against the wall.  Eventually, I recovered my dignity and finished out 1000 yards.

On Wednesday, with my tail between my knees, I made it out to Eisenhower pool hoping the lifeguards would be more forgiving.  Luckily I had a whole lane to myself and was able to finish 1000 yards without losing my dignity.  I’m starting to feel more comfortable in the water now.

Next up?  A rainy two miler.

It will be a 2-mile run, 13-mile bike and finishing with a 2-mile run. Both run sections of the race will take place in and around Hopedale and is mostly flat. The entire run will take place on paved roads and or sidewalks. The 13-mile bike section consists of scenic country roads south of Hopedale. The bike course is mostly flat, fast and clearly marked. Course is open to traffic, but will be heavily monitored.

Fee is $48, $58 after May 1, and $62 on race day. All proceeds benefit the Hopedale youth summer ball leagues. Hopedale Lions Club sponsored race.

Register today at SignMeUp.com

2010 R-W flyer

When I arrived I was shocked at the amount of cars in the parking lot and had visions of me fighting for a lane.  Luckily it was just swim practice.  And they were supposed to be finished by 20:30.  I got in 1000 yards and felt remarkably well.  My stroke felt a little awkward but my endurance wasn’t that bad.  I felt better about myself getting in this inaugural swim.

 Thursday and Friday were spent resting.  I was congested and felt a little under the weather so I really didn’t feel like working out.  Figuring it was better to rest this early in the season than pressing my immune system to the limits I drank (water) and rested.

4 Stag tall boys on Friday night were not good prep for a 10K at race pace the next day.  Throw in some fine German wine (Jaegermeister) and I would be close to blowin’ chunks the entire run. 

I drove to Walgreens on Koke Mill then ran the 1 mile to the trail head at Parkway Pointe.  From the beginning I was hurting.  Luckily the weather was nice (shorts weather), the wind was calm, and the course was flat.  My 1 mile paces were as varied as my balance on Saturday morning.  The laps were 07:12, 06:54, 06:57, 07:23, 06:59, and 06:58.  I’m not sure what happened on mile 4.  I saw Jeff W. and Mark S. coming back into town after a ride.  Did they actually ride for 6 hours?

Sunday was casual.  It was sprinkling but I needed to get out.  I rode 32 miles into quite possibly a constant headwind.  It was tougher than I wanted but it felt good to get on the bike.  Not a great training weekend but I still got in some miles.

Let the fun begin

I am not sure where or how this adventure began or where the thought really came from.  The blame was partly put on Jeremy, but it is all a blur now.  I do believe the idea of doing the Goofy Race and a Half in Disney World in 2010 started with a simple conversation in late 2008 at the Memphis half marathon.  Just to be clear the Goofy Race and a Half consists of a half marathon on day 1 and a full marathon on day 2.  There were four of us: Amy Dolbeare, David Drennan, Nick Fogleman, and Jeremy “Many Names” Peck.  I remember talking about the race, but it was simply just talk. That changed, however, the day I received a text message from Jeremy “WTF” early in Jan of 09, and it read, “Goofy race is open and I am signed up.”  WTF!  Well we can’t let one friend go down in flames alone so I had to ask Amy and Nick “what are your thoughts on this, because it looks like mad man Jeremy already sign up.”  It wasn’t long after that all four of us were signed up for the race, which was going to take place Jan 9^th and 10^th of 2010.  We had a year to prepare, oh boy!  The year itself went on as normal with doing the local SRRC events and races.  It seemed that once Abe’s Amble and Shoreline were over, the reality of the event coming up started to sink in.  It was time to start focusing on the Goofy race and begin the training.  The first 3 or 4 weeks were put together with lower mile runs. Then, as we started increasing mileage, we put together a chart to keep us on track.  Looking back now, if I had to guess, I would say part of October and all of November and December we were never under 35-45 miles a week and 2 or 3 weeks with 50-60 miles a week.  For Amy and Nick, it was not only the Goofy Challenge, but also their first marathon.  The last few weeks before it was time to taper were the most important.  The first big weekend was the weekend of the Frostbite Festival. (I have to say a big thanks to Barry House and the Frost Toes or else there would have been some boring training days & non training days!!) The Saturday before was a 12-miler, then the day of the Frostbite we did a warm up of 10 miles, then the 10-mile race.  Everyone finished and faster than expected which was a good thing!  The next weekend had us down for a 14-mile run Saturday, and a 21-mile run Sunday.  Again everyone survived and felt pretty good.  After that, it was ice baths and lots of chocolate milk!!  We had hit our peak and now it was time to taper and rest up for FL.  The race was 3 weeks away and we all were confident we could at least finish.  Just to lead into the next section, I would like to mention that living in Springfield and training Sept-Jan, you deal with very different weather.  We ran in rain, snow, sleet, 70 degrees, 10 degrees and everything in between.  We experienced it all, but the majority was low 40s and 30s so we were a little concerned about what weather we will get in FL, will it be too HOT?! Hmmmm.

Race Time

During the week leading up to leaving, we had been checking the weather and it looked like highs of 40s! YES! We wouldn’t get overly hot in the FL heat.  The day before we left, a snow storm was scheduled to hit the Springfield/Bloomington area and our flight was out of Bloomington. Nick and Amanda left the day before so they were there safe; Amy, Megan and I decided to go to Bloomington the night before the flight so we weren’t driving the next morning in crappy weather.  Jeremy “Waffle Time” decided to be a mad man again and drive the morning of the flight.  Bloomington ended up with about 5-7 inches of snow, but there were no flight delays and we all made it to the airport in plenty of time.  However, I was in vacation mode and packed my shoes and opted for sandals because it was supposed to be warm in FL and also it would be faster at the airport security.  Well, thanks to the garbage bags I put on my feet, I managed to keep them dry until I got to the airport.  However, having a rear wheel drive car doesn’t help and I got stuck in the parking lot of the airport, “beached up” on some snow, as Jeremy called it.  I made it halfway in the spot and called it good. “I AM ON VACATION.”  The cold front that swept through the Midwest would also follow us down to FL.  The forecast had changed and now, on the day of the half marathon, it was expected to sleet and snow and the highs while we were in FL were in the upper 30s low 40s!  The expo was pretty nice and once again sucked me in to buying things I really didn’t need. What I was trying to find was a coat because I was freezing along with everyone else.  We are in FL and we wish we brought our winter coat, which is not a fun thought!  While picking up our packets at the Goofy check-in, we would hear a bell ring every once in a while; when we asked what that was, the lady said it was for someone who had run the Goofy all 5 years (which is how many years the race had been going).  Very impressive for those people and the list was longer than I expected. Some people must love torture.  Friday night before the half marathon, we decided to relax by experiencing Epcot at night during the magical hours! Probably not the best move since we had to be up at 3:30am to get on the bus to head to the race, but we were all nervous so I don’t think there was much sleeping anyway.  We made it up and got ready in our room only to step outside and feel the cold 30 degree FL weather!  Brrrrr!  Now off to the bus and race start. Once we checked our bags, we all headed to the Johnny on the Spot lines that took up an entire parking lot.  Even though our faces were numb, you could feel the sleet/snow mix hitting you.  Jeremy “Wild Man” found some trash bags we could wear to stay warm and dry until the race started at 5:40 am! They really didn’t help keep us warm, but mentally I think it did. Plus it had style!  While in the starting corral, we were picking up sweatshirts and blankets from people that were shedding them to stay warm until our wave went off.  Nick scored an amazing Bass Pro Shop sweatshirt!! Once we crossed the start line, it was game time. We started shedding our free clothes and trash bags and it was time to run! By mile 2 or 3, we started to warm up, but it was pitch black out.  The half marathon had about 17,000 people in it.  It was a mass of people most of the race and started getting light out about mile 9 or 10.  The half marathon was pretty boring, we were on highways up to magic kingdom, did a lap through there, and headed back to Epcot. The half went well for everyone, I pushed it a little too hard the last couple miles because the race mentality took over and I forgot we had a full marathon the next day. Whoops.  Finish times for the half were Amy Dolbeare –  2:13:58; Jeremy “Spice Rack” Peck – 2:14:02; Nick Fogelman – 2:14:01; David Drennan – 2:04:47.

We soon learned that surviving the race was only half the battle, now that we were wet and cold, we had to brave bag check (which was almost an all out brawl and we were FREEZING.)  After that, we had to wait in another line just to get on a bus to get back to the resort. Once we all made it back, showered, and ate, it was nap time.  Also time to put on the recovery socks, drink the Endurox, and prepare for the big day tomorrow.  Which again would be starting at 3:30am with a 5:40am race start time, booo!

Day Two, Marathon Day!

Again we are up and at’em but it was 30 out and felt like 0.  We headed to the bus and this time Nick’s wife Amanda came with us to take our bags so we could avoid bag check!  Thank God for her braving the cold so we could avoid the bag check. It made things a lot easier.  With about 30 minutes until race start, we are again in the massive sea of people waiting to use the bathroom.  Actually as I recall, Amy, Nick, and I were huddled up waiting for Jeremy “Morning Coffee” to use the bathroom!  We headed to the race start with sore legs, freezing, and new-found blankets on the side of the road.  All is fair in the starting corral or at least the guy peeing on the side made it seem so.  We slowly made our way up to the start line, ditched our homeless gear and started the marathon!!  It’s now 26.2 miles until the finish and the completion of the Goofy challenge which was the plan over a year ago, not to mention a first marathon for Amy and Nick!  The marathon course wraps around Epcot, heads up to Magic Kingdom, wraps back around down into Animal Kingdom, over to Hollywood Studios, across Boardwalk and back into Epcot. There were a lot more sites to see along this course, not to mention all the Disney characters that came out to cheer us on!  The marathon had about 16,000 people in it. A lot of people were getting off the course to wait in a line to have their pics taken with the characters, which is crazy, I would have cramped up!  This was not a race to PR; this was a race to have fun, and minus the weather and suffering, we did just that!  At mile three, we were headed out of Epcot. Then we headed into Magic Kingdom around the halfway point and it was nice to actually see things in the light! Once we made it down into Animal Kingdom, it was a relief knowing that we had only 9 miles left to go.  Nine miles seemed short compared to what we were doing in the overall picture, at least that is what I told myself.  The miles did not seem to fly by as fast as they did for the first half, but they were still moving.  It wasn’t until about mile 13 or 14 when we could actually get cups of water that weren’t frozen and most of the ice had melted. We all stayed together for the first half then Amy and I lost Nick and Jeremy about mile 14 at a water stop.

Amy had leg pains setting in so we took it slow for a few miles, took in some water, GU, and a banana to recover. Around mile 17, Amy and I got split apart so I went to find Jeremy “GU Master” and Nick.  I finally found them by mile 20 thanks to the neon yellow shirts Jeremy ordered for us!  I did a fly by move on Jeremy “Banana Thief” while he was looking to grab a banana. We were down to the last 10k so it was time to give it your all and make it to the finish.  Once you made it through Hollywood Studios, it was 3 miles to go and the emotions started kicking in.  The last 3 miles looped around Boardwalk and around the back part of Epcot!  There is nothing sweeter than looking over and seeing the finish line!! YES!  WE MADE IT!!  WE HAVE NOT ONLY COMPLETED A MARATHON, but COMPLETED THE GOOFY CHALLENGE!! (woot woot)!  Finishing times were Amy Dolbeare – 4:54:46; Nick Fogelman 4:47:31; Jeremy “Rock Star” 4:47:30; and David Drennan 4:38:45.  There has been nothing like it and once you have all three medals, it is bitter sweet. (Even if you can’t walk right for 3 days after!)  It was a tough battle for everyone, but we all survived and everyone had a negative split for the marathon!!  After we all met up and grabbed a little food, we headed to the bus and back to the resort!  It was still freezing out!  Hello shower, recovery socks, nap, and food!!  I do have to throw in here that I usually have a nice cold beer after a hard race (recovery purposes), but it really didn’t sound good until about 2 or 3 days after!

Relax and Head Home

We all survived the race and it was a short but eventful trip!  The race was a blast, but the weather was not so much fun! We all had a good time together, but I think we had a little too much time on Disney buses.  The way home from any big race and vacation is always a bummer, but we had lots of memories, pics, and hardware to bring with us. Not to mention that Chick-fil-a at the ATL airport coming home was amazing!  Now I just have to figure out how to un “beach” my stuck car from the snow at the airport in Bloomington.

- David

View a slideshow of photos | Results | More about the Event

I showed up to masters swim and started warming up. After a couple laps I stopped and took a breather. I was exhausted.

Tuesdays Lunch w/ Eric had taken its toll. We did 6 quarter mile hill intervals in Washington park. These were a long slow incline. Very deceiving. I had set my pace on the first interval staying just behind the elites. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep that pace up for the next 5.  But to my surprise I was able to keep up.

1:18, 1:20, 1:18, 1:19, 1:17, 1:18.  The last few I really try to stay on pace, trying to give the last 100 that little extra. But to my surprise the legs didn’t respond.  They were tapped out.

Now back to swimming on empty…  After a 300 warm up, we did a 500 at medium pace.  Then the main set of 3×500 was called.  I had my doubts, making it through 2 of the 3.  Using the pull buoy for half of that.

After 1800 yards, I looked at the clock and called it a lunch hour.  Skipping that last 500.

Needless to say I took Wednesday off.

I left the house around 17:30.  The first tempo run I posted 07:03 for the pace.  The second tempo run I posted 07:09.  The last tempo run was done with an average pace of 07:23.  Not exactly consistent but, man, I was exhausted by the last tempo run.  Got in 8 miles for the night and am sufficiently tired.  In fact, I can barely move.  My endurance has improved but not for intervals.

For today’s workout we are planning on starting at the boulevard at 12:05 (usual time and place).  The plan is 6 repeat quarters slightly uphill.  Right by the entrance of the park, the women’s distance course from the mile to the 5 quarter mark (just before MacArthur) is the quarter we are planning on running.  We’ve run this workout many times before (both uphill and downhill).  It’ll be a great workout.

Congratulations to all of our climbers! See the results below or broken down by categories on the Respiratory Health Association website.

We completed the course with a little extra I put a little heat on in the return loop in the park only to light matches I couldn’t put out.  (I will never learn!)  Jason, who must be doing so secret marathon training, dropped my ass on the final climb out of the park.  You can see my heart rate was out of control at 191bpm.  I did recover though and bridge back up for the finish.  Only to learn that Jason was going to run home another 4 miles.  Ouch!  I was spent, and was glad to get back in my Jeep.

Sunday, I went to master swim.  We had another busy session.  I placed myself in lane two with Peter Wise, Jim Cinotto, and Paul McDevitt.  We opted for Option 2.  The sets went pretty good.  Although I am not sure if we were meeting out times.  My take on these timed intervals is to swim hard and use the extra seconds for recovery.  Today I think we just swam easy with no recovery.  I am still new at this, so I wasn’t sure.

This was my 3rd masters swim of the week so those earlier sessions definitely helped with Sundays workout.

Later in the afternoon.  I met up with the IMWI Gang (+ Lawyer) to put in a few miles on the road bikes.  We headed northwest through Salisbury and Athens taking in a total of 35 miles. I was in full dress, but it was sunny and 40 degrees out.  It was a great wrap up to the weekend.

The next eventful day of training was on Saturday.  Dan picked me up and we headed to Lunch With Eric’s house.  The plan was to run the Lincoln Half course then if I felt like it I would run home.  I needed to get in 15 miles at 10% over marathon pace.  The pace during our Lincoln Half run was good enough to be less than 10% of race pace and I was feeling good enough so I ran home from Eric’s.  I totaled just short of 18 miles for the day.  The weather was beautiful and sunny.  Finishing our run with a tough half lap of Washington Park and seeing all the people was rather enjoyable.  By the time I got home I was pretty much exausted.  Church and dinner with the Danoh family followed.

D2, Lawyer, Lunch With Eric, and Danoh met me at my house just past 13:00 on Sunday for a bike ride.  We waited for the heat of the day which turned out to be a gorgeous 43 degrees.  A NW wind meant heading to Salisbury and Petersburg.  This was my first day on the bike in a long time so I was glad to have to turn around early at Gudgel Rd.  Sitting in on the way out and taking the tailwind home was just what I needed.  Getting in 27 miles made my body sufficiently tired.

The weekend was good for me.  My legs are starting to feel sore again.  What a great feeling!

Start your season out on April 18th in Petersburg Illinois. Join us at Abes Mini Triathlon and the Pioneer Sprint Triathlon. Register for Abes Mini Triathlon The Abe’s Mini Triathlon will be held April 18, 2009 at 12:00, noon. The race includes a 100 yard swim in the heated indoor PORTA pool, then a 5 mile bike ride down a flat rural road and finishes with a 1 mile run on a closed course. This event is tailored to the novice triathlete and will serve as a great introduction to triathlon for children and adults. More information…

Register for the Pioneer Sprint The Pioneer Sprint Triathlon will begin April 18, 2009 at 1:00 pm and offers a 300 yard swim in the heated indoor PORTA pool, a beautiful 13 mile bike ride on a rolling and flat prairie road and the chance to run 3.2 miles through picturesque Petersburg. The run will take you past century old architectural gems, past the Edgar Lee Master’s home, past the courthouse where young Abraham practiced law and up and down the streets of Petersburg. More information…

Only in women’s hockey…. Boozing Olympic Hockey Team in Hot Water – Cigars, champagne and joy after Canadian women’s hockey team delivers gold.

Watch the Spirit of the Marathon on HardyBreed. Spirit of the Marathon is the first film to capture the passion, drama and essence of the famed 26.2-mile Chicago Marathon.

This was not the way to start of the weekend.

Sunday I decided to give masters swim another shot.  I have been swimming 2-3 times a week for the past 6-7 weeks.  I don’t feel fast by any means, but I have got some endurance back.  Anyhow…. Masters swim was packed.  I don’t recall seeing this many people at the pool.  Each lane had 4-5 people in it.  I took this as an excuse to join in on lane 1.  The slow lane.

When I say the slow lane, I really mean, slow.  I mean more recovery.  I probably swam close to the same pace as if I was in a faster lane, but I got much more recovery between sets.

I wish I could remember the exact workout.  I think I ended up with somewhere around 25oo yards.  I felt pretty good about this swim.

Later Sunday afternoon, I broke out my netflix dvd, Vision Quest.  Tim Deboom talked about some inspirational movies in his latest article in Triathlete Magazine.  I had never seen this movie, which was from 1985.

The movie had a great soundtrack, including Madonna, and Journey, which was really motivating when riding the trainer.  I ended up with a puddle of sweat and 25 miles.

I also got to test out my new ISM Adamo saddle and my first impression was good.

We decided to run the secret “Vine and McArthur” loop.  Apparently it’s a tradition in Springfield that I have never heard of.  You can meet at 07:30 or 09:00 practically any Saturday on Vine and McArther and have running partners ready to go.  Who knew?

We ran to this location and began the 10 mile loop.  I felt pretty good at the start but by the time we hit the hills near Jefferson I was wanting Eric to slow down.  My plea fell on deaf ears as Eric crested the brutal turn-around climb and continued at the same pace.  Not hitting any stoplights or intersections wasn’t helping my cause either.  We never got a break.

Just like when my kids say “I have a great idea” you know it’s going to be the opposite.  Like running around the house with scissors.  Eric had a “great idea”.  Let’s run tempo for the last 2 miles.  Dan and I already thought we were running tempo but Eric wanted to go faster.  Dan and I reluctantly agreed.

Once cresting the hill in Washington Park we never saw Dan again.  Eric and I spoke with Mark S. (doing laps on his bike) on the boulevard and never really thought about Dan.  Talking with Mark S. did nothing but ruin my rhythm and send me anaerobic. The final 3/4 mile was brutal for me.

Eric and I finished together with him graciously waiting for me.  Then we waited, and waited, and waited, and waited.  Dan never showed.  Eric and I began to worry……sort of.  We jogged back and forth but no Danoh.  So we decided to head back home.  Our worry turned to resentment as we walked up to Dan warming up in his Jeep.  He was spent.

I stopped the watch with exactly 16.02 miles.  Just what I needed.  Today’s run was supposed to be a progressive run.  Even though it wasn’t graduated at the end it kicked my ass anyway.

Over 300 people took part in the “Fight for Air” Stairclimb on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at the Hilton in downtown Springfield. Congratulations to all the finishers!  A special shout out go to  HardyBreed Rabbits Terry & Susan Purcell for being the top male and female finishers!  You can find out what makes Terry tick in our video podcast “Climbing to the Top with Terry Purcell“

The Proceeds from the “Fight for Air” Stairclimb benefit the mission of the American Lung Association: to save lives, improve lung health and prevent lung disease. Funds raised will support lung health research, education and advocacy in Illinois.

Download the 2010 Fight for Air Climb Race Results

This week I still did what I could of p90x, yoga, upper body weights and abs.  I swam on Wednesday and again this morning.  I head to fitclub(of course its gorgeous out) and started by doing 15 min of pool running the therapy pool.  Then I started my swim set:

4×100 odd free even back

13x[100 @ 1:55, 2x25 @:35]

50 free

2x [4x75] pull/swim

The hardest part of the 13 100’s set was the 25’s.  I was trying to sprint the 100’s and coming in too soon.  When I slowed down the 100’s I then sprinted the 25’s.   I got the work out from the swim planner ap I downloaded on Steven’s iPhone.  You enter the distance you want your work out to be , and presto you’ve got a workout.  You can change the warm up if you don’t like it , or the main set. It’s a great ap.