Bob the runner

Have you ever been to the Kentucky Derby?  It is probably the most famous of all the horse races and if you haven't been I'm sure you've heard of it. They call it the fastest two minutes in sports.  Each year it kicks off the journey to the elusive triple crown and is an event people all over America schedule to watch.  They dress up, wear fancy hats, place bets and gather to watch horses make history.  When I heard there was a Kentucky Derby half marathon where you get to run on the infield of Churchill Downs, it was an easy choice for my Kentucky race. I don't know if my eyes will ever grace the track during the actual Derby so I thought this would come a close second.  We arrived in Kentucky on Thursday and drove to our condo that was booked through Homeaway. The condo was in downtown Louisville and a short walk to where the race would start. We have learned that we enjoy staying at a condo or house instead of hotels and the price is usually cheaper o

It feels sooooooo very good to be back running half marathons!   That's me in the Bronco Orange shoes!     The HHI (Hilton Head Island) trip was an interesting one. The race was held on the 13th of February, South Carolina was my 13th state running a half or full marathon in, and I was running 13.1 miles.  Definitely a 13 themed race but luckily not of the bad luck kind. I was thrilled with my finish time and we had a blast.  We flew into Savannah Georgia on Thursday and drove roughly an hour to Hilton Head Island. We rented a condo through Homeaway and everything went smoothly picking up the keys and getting into the condo. The condo was in Seaside villas near Coligny circle and had a great beach view from the balcony. The condo was not fancy but was great for Julie and me. We cooked most of our meals there and were able to relax and unwind from our busy lives for a few days. Also being able to walk down the stairs and pretty much right onto the beach was a wonderfu

2015 was a mostly good year for this runner.  I started the year off well with the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon in Jackson Mississippi.  I ran a second Half Marathon in March in Mercer Island Washington.  Then things went bad.  My second metatarsal in my left foot broke during the race and I ended up shutting down running for about 3 months.  Six of the weeks were in a boot.  That's the bad news.  The good news is the bone has healed and going into 2016 I'm feeling good about my running. With the two half marathons in 2015 I have now completed a half marathon (or full) in 12 different states. Last year I also completed 2 sprints Triathlons; TriBoulder and My Way or the Tri Way.  At My Way or The Tri Way, I won my age group for the first time. I didn't feel it was my best performance but finishing first place out eleven 55-59 year old dudes in my age group was pretty cool. I received a decorative bowl for my efforts. It sits amongst all the finisher medals I have earned.

First in my Age Group! A few weeks ago, I completed my second Sprint Triathlon of the year.  This Triathlon permitted participants to do swim bike run in any order.   There was also an option to only do two disciplines in any order.   I chose the traditional swim-bike-run but was competing against others doing all 3 disciplines in their chosen order. I'm not sure how the race directors keep everything organized but Racing Underground did a great job. Registration, packet pickup, and every aspect of the event went great for me.   The Triathlon was held at Aurora Reservoir in Aurora Colorado. I really enjoy swimming in the reservoir but knew the course would be tough. The bike ride and run are especially tough with plenty of rolling hills. I arrived at the reservoir around 610am. Parking was easy with a short walk to transition. There were lots of people already set up in transition so I was pleased to find an available spot close to the bike exit. It was also close to a

  Just like last year, I really enjoyed TriBoulder.  The event is really well organized and Boulder Reservior is a fun place to hang out and do a Triathlon.  There were 3 other people from the Arvada Tri Club there as well as my friend Jeff Nielsen.  My finish time (1:47:24) wasn't fast but overall I am satisfied since I really didn't have much time to train for the event due to the broken foot. My friend Jeff and I arrived at Boulder Reservior around 615am, 1 hour and 30 minutes before my wave started.  That gave us plenty of time to relax and do everything we needed before the race.  As I  walked towards transition they stopped me for body marking.   The wonders of someone writing numbers on you with magic marker.  Is it just me or does that stuff take a day to two to wear off?  Anyway once the marking was complete, I found my transition spot.  It actually wasn't too bad. Fairly close to the bike start/stop but not to the swim/run start/stop.  We were grouped togeth

Ready or not, my first 2015 Triathlon is coming on fast.  I'm excited for the event but nervous too.  I don't expect to win anything but want to do well.  I've been training hard so just need to focus this week on getting ready.  Here's a recap of my training for the week: Running:  Completed 4 runs total.  Three of the runs were 5K in distance the other was 1 mile and part of a brick.  My pace has improved and all but one of my runs were about 9:45 pace.  My lower back felt better and I was able to push a little harder.  The foot is still doing OK.  The breathing is still not easy and hopefully will improve as I push harder.  This week I plan to run 5K on Monday with the Arvada Tri Club at Roadrunner Sports.  On Wednesday I plan to do a speed 5K run and see if I can get below 9:30 pace.  I may do a 2 mile easy run on Friday but not sure since I also need to taper for the triathlon on Sunday. Biking:  2 rides completed.  16 mile training ride went well.  Averaged 57

I'm such a sucker.  One of my friends is doing the TriBoulder Sprint Triathlon on 26 July at the Boulder Reservoir.  He asked me to join him and I said "yes".  Uh oh, now I only have 2 weeks to get into some sort of triathlon shape.  What was I thinking?  We are talking 750M swim, 17.3 mile bike and 5K Run.  Sounds easy and I have no doubt about finishing but I also don't really want to embarrass myself by being last.  This will really change my goals over the next two weeks but I'm signed up so better get ready! I guess the first thing to do now is set my expectations.  My mind says I am ready to do my best Triathlon ever.  My current level of physical fitness is laughing and says "You better rethink that"!  I need to use this race as a training race for "My Way or the Tri Way".  This will be my first race of 2015 and will be a good gauge of where I am and what is possible for my Tri next month. This past week I was actually impressed with