Medved madness "15 mile" trail run race report

Would I lie to you? I told you I was going to try and write each week and it definitely makes it a TON easier to post when you have a race report to recap. This week is no different.

Sunday May 6th (el seis de mayo - if anyone was wondering....it's an old college joke, no worries) was the inaugrial Medved madness 15 mile trail run and relay at Mendon Ponds Park.

The trail run was put on by the guys at Medved Running and walking and was a great event, albeit a little hairy out on the course.

I was stoked about another trail run as I absolutely LOVE getting out on the trails and slopping thru the muck and the mire. I love it. This race was no exception as they had about a 15 yard dash THRU part of the lake. The only beef I had with the race was that the course was not really well marked in the middle leg.

The race was being marked by these little multicolored ribbons in trees and placed at strategic locations on the "trails". You may have noticed from the title of this race report that the distance of the event was in quotes. That is simply because everyone got lost SO much that we each ran a different distance of race. It was originally slated to be a 15 miler, but people with Garmins on had a rance from 13.3 miles all the way to over 17 miles, so it was a little hairy.

The first really bad section was where the first 10 guys were strung out about 200 yards between them all (I was in this section) and we lost the trail while going thru a field. Everyonne kind of stopped so there was 10 guys just standing around, then after a minute or two, there was 20, then 30...and we had been looking for the trail for about 3 minutes now. There were like 5 different ways it could have gone and no one wanted to go down a path because we were all worried that it might be the wrong one and everyone else would take off. Long story short, all the work we had put in in the previous 6 miles to gap the people behind us was gone and we were a pack of 30 now. We found the trail and I guess you could say the race started from there.

The course was brutishly hilly (as it was in Mendon) and the mud was ankle deep in some sections. It was a good muddy fun race to do and there was a BBQ afterwards before the awards so that was always fun. The finish was gnarly as my buddy Greg B. blew by me in the last 1/2 mile and I tried to chase him down at the finish and THIS was the result. I'm on the left gritting my teeth. We both finished same time, but he was like a FOOT in front of me for 6th place. Greg's got some good speed and it showed in the last 150 yards of this race. I was just happy to have a good race to the line.

All in all, it was a fun time and a little cold, but good racing conditions. I was stoked to have a lengthier distance of race to do rather than the 5k every weekend in town. I'm liking the whole "race for more time than you spend driving to and from the course" deal... my finish time was 1:42:10 and it was good for 7th overall and 2nd in the age group (Greg edged me out for #1 spot...) Results are here and I look forward to mashing the trails again. Cheers folks, I'll report during the rest week next week. Train hard.

A little catching up

Well everyone. As I described in the last post, things have been shaken up a bit in the land of Travis Earley. Like I said before, I got a new job and my official title is a "staffing consultant" and I work for a national recruiting company named Spherion:

And as we all know, a post without pictures is worth nothing at all (or at least is really boring to read) so I decided to spice this one up and include some candid shots.

Things work wise have been going really well. I still work in a cubicle, but it is no longer in a living hell. The last company that I worked for (whom I will not name at this time because of some grudges that still are held) was completely and utterly negative. I used to adjust automobile claims for an insurance company and constantly had to deliver bad news to people. (ie. we cannot pay for the damage to your car, you are at fault for this accident, you are getting sued by the other party you hit...etc).

But in contrast, this new job at Spherion has been incredibly positive! Every facet of this position is extremely positive. I interview people and screen out potential candidates for jobs and get to deliver news to people like, "XYZ corporation wants to hire you!" or "I found you a job!" and it has been so rewarding it is incredible. I love it. I've referred to this job as extremely anti-Safeco...(oops, I guess I did drop that company name) But to make a long story short (too late!) my new job is great and I'm loving it.

Training wise, even though there have been some set-backs this season (getting dropped by my main sponsor TS.com...) I was able to pick up a new sunglasses company to sponsor me and keep those UVA and UVB rays out of my precious eyes. Tifosi Optics is the new official sunglasses sponsor of Keep Moving Forward. They are a snazzy new affordable sunglasses company that has been keeping me happy to date and I can only hope to do the same for them in the near future. The sunglasses retail for around $60 and they sent me two promotional pairs (one being the ever good looking Q2 model) and here is a shot of the stuff I got from them in the mail a while ago:

The pair in the foreground are the Q2 and the model behind is known as the "slip" and they will be my racing glasses as they have three sets of interchangeable lenses for various light and racing conditions.

They are all REALLY comfortable and I've never had a real good pair of shades and you can REALLY tell the difference between good and not-so-great lenses. Tifosi's are excellent!!! (I know, I'm a little biased, but they are great!). So, yeah, it was nice to grab another sponsor in the mix after the loss of a major one. You may notice their logo in the sidebar.

I've changed around the 2007 race results section as well, since landing a new position and getting that steady paycheck again, I've had the opportunity to get out and register for several more races in the community, which is GREAT. I was going to do a post with a Spring Forward 15k road race report and title it, "Go out hard and die like a man" for that because that was my game plan for that race, but it turned out ok.

That race I hadn't run more than 5 miles under 7:00/mile pace for 2007 and I was worried as we hit the first mile marker in 5:50...I felt like I was going to explode as we passed by mile 7 but held on thru 9.3 to finish 7th overall and 3rd in my age group holding 6:12/mile pace thru the entire race. I thought I was going to blow up but was able to hold on strong and even edge a guy out at the line in a sprint finish. I guess good old base training pays off...

This Sunday, I'm signed up for a 15 mile trail race run thru Mendon Ponds Park in Mendon, NY. It's the Medved madness trail run and I'm stoked because I'm doing the solo division to get ready for IMLP (hoping I get a slot at Muskoka). They offer a relay for those people who like the shorter stuff, but I have been bitten by the endurance bug and I want to keep it that way.

I'll write up a report probably on Monday, so I'll get back to that once a week posting schedule again. I hope everyone is training hard and long. The season is upon us. I'll leave you with a quote I saw the other day that I am using as my new mantra, "Excellence is not easy, it is a decision you make every day". Train hard folks, Cheers.

Leave of absence

So folks,

It's been a really long time (I think a month plus) that I have written and for that I apologize. I tend to set some goals in my life that sometimes I cannot reach. I set a goal a long time ago that I would write at least once a week, and this month I have not.

Things have been really crazy here lately. I recently got a new job (after several months of "living the dream" and being on unemployment and just training as much as I could - it was nice, just like a pro triathlete I would imagine...) So it's been the new job, I'm looking for a new apartment (because the ceiling has been POURING water on me when it rains...) and admist all of that I have been ramping my training levels to unspeakable hour-age in preparation for Ironman Lake Placid and Muskoka LC tri in Candada.

I don't have long to write today, I'm on my way to go to the laundromat to wash the 1.5 weeks of dirty work/training/comfy clothes that are in my apartment right now. Afterwards, I'm heading on a 16 mile (2 hour - 7:30 pace) run, which should round out a nice 13 hour training week.

I'm out for now...I'm planning on coming to work earlier this week to write more, but today is jam packed. Take care for now and I will update better later on. Cheers. Train hard.

~Travis

He cut me!!!

So as of the last post, most of you all know that I recently got more ink on my left ankle. What I neglected to tell you all was probably the funniest part of the whole experience.

When you get a tattoo, they have to shave the area you are getting inked so that there is a clean and clear canvas for the tattoo artist to work with. This time for me it was the trickiest part of the leg to shave (and as a triathlete, I think I know a thing or two about shaving legs...) it was the ankle.

So I explain what I want and the artist looks at me and makes me roll up my pantleg and takes out the single bladed razor. It might as well have been a pink lady BIC razor. He shaves a small patch on my ankle and CUTS me!!!!! Seriously, let me repeat that, HE CUT ME WITH THE RAZOR AND SAID, "oops!"

Now a little background to the story is that I have taken pride in the fact that I haven't cut myself while shaving my legs in the last TWO triathlon seasons.... You may notice the little red mark under the inking in the pictures below. That actually hurt more than the whole tattoo and still is sore and red today (a week later) seriously the tattoo stopped bleeding before the cut did.

And the worst part is that he didn't even give me a discount on the price of it....after he cut me...

So anyway, it's healing. I did my first swim with it and the chlorine didn't affect it (you were right Erin...) and last week was a rest week and it's doing ok. Peeling a little, but overall I'm really happy with it. Anyway, that's all I have to say, just wanted to add that story. Take care all, cheers and I'll see you on the roads (now that the weather is better here in NY!) Cheers.

Sorry mom, it's permanent...

So everyone, I hope things are going well. Those of you that know me well enough, know that I have several permanent inkings on my body (I'm not going to disclose how many, because that would take the fun out of it! ) Yesterday, I added another. Yes, I caved in and now bear the mark of iron on my ankle.

I wanted to do this at a date closer to IMFL, but just didn't get around to it. Right now it is just a sole IM logo with a palm tree on the inside to represent my time in Florida, but I hope to add to it and eventually get a band around the ankle with subsequent IM finishes. Kind of like war medals around my ankle if you will. I figure each IM is significant and merit's some kind of "reward" and place in the history of one's life. So without further ado, here it is. It's still healing, so I apologize for the "glossiness" of the photo. (and for the "hair-pants"....it IS the "offseason" up here in NY and is STILL quite cold. I need all the warmth I can get!) The funny thing is that I haven't told anyone about it yet. I like to think that a tattoo is for you, if you get it just to tell other people about, then you're not getting it for the right reasons. As long as it means something special to you, it's ok in my book. I don't think any of my close friends or family actually read this blog, so that it why I am posting it here to begin with. I absolutely love it and can't wait to add another inking after the next IM finish. Take care all and I hope everyone trains hard. Cheers.

Ok sorry about that....

So the title of this post kinda tells it all. Sorry about that last post, that was a Mr. Negativity poking into Blogger and rearing it's ugly head. Since I got that out of my system, there have been a few "wins" in my world lately and I'd love to tell you about them.

First off, triathlon. Just saying the word makes me smile because I love it so much, and I love the training too. When you feel down, it's easy to let everything consume you and just wallow in your own misery for ever, but I think in triathlon's bigger meaning and purpose, it teaches you that you can do things that you thought impossible and you can get through those tough times. (sometimes it just takes a little mental fortitude...)

So in training this week (and I'm going to steal a bit from a blogland friend and fellow IMFL finisher, Bolder) we are going to start this post out with the numbers...last week was the first week of 2007 that I finally crested the 10 hour mark for training hours per week. Last year I think I was still cranking out nice 8-10 hour weeks at this time of the year and I bet it was slower than what I'm doing now (while keeping a moderate heart rate thru training of course.)
This graph above is how I kept track of my total training hours in preparation for IMFL. The first week of training was obviously January1st, 2006 and that is why there are 52 weeks listed on this graph. Week 44 was Ironman week and that is why is is GREATLY reduced afterwards.

The key was unfortunately cut off in this picture, but Blue is bike hours, red is running hours, and yellow is swimming hours. I came from a strong swimming and running background from high school and college sports and I decide the bike was my limiter and that is why there is a TON of bike hours put in to get me up to speed.

And all in all, I think it paid off. 2006 was my second competitive season of triathlon and I was able to do okay and finish an Iron distance race. I was pleased. Although in my narcissistic mind, I'm always thinking of ways to get faster and better and train more, so this year after a hard few weeks I had some "wins" in my training.

First off this week was a 90 minute bike session on the trainer indoors. Not an ideal ride, not my endurance ride, but just a nice spin, keeping it in HR zone 1 (the lowest recovery zone) I was spinning watching the Tour of Qatar on Versus and 60 minutes in I noticed I was holding in the middle of my HR zone (right on, yeah!) and averaging 23.2mph. Wow, I was kinda floored, but I could feel it in my legs. I have never averaged more than 22 on the trainer last year and I didn't mess with the resistance from year to year, so this is a HUGE win, because I was at the same heart rate, but going MUCH faster. Free speed eh? For those of you who wonder, I ended the 90 minutes averaging 23.4mph....not too shabby.

Second workout win for me was a pool workout. Before I had only done one session a week and I could get by on that. This year I'm trying for 2 sessions a week. I decided to do a short 2k workout with 2 x 1000's. no warm up, no cool down, just straight schwimmin. I hopped in and hit the wall in 13:47 after my first one. Not bad. The second I knew I would struggle to get under 14 minutes and decided to pick up the pace the last 200 yards and brought it to the wall in.....you guessed it 13:47. Pretty cool, it was nice to swim fast and not fade. I was again excited.

The last win for me was a hill workout that I have been doing at least twice a week for the whole year in the snow at a local park. Each week it is hard to run under 8minutes with all the slush and ice and crap around. This week, I made it back to my place in 44:47 (which translates to sub7:30 pace....)

So I guess the moral of the post is this, when life is getting you down, stick to what you know and love, it can only bring you joy. Keep at it, consistency is key and just know that your hard work will pay off soon enough. Take care and train hard everyone. Cheers.

A stroke of luck...

I don't know whether this stroke has been good or bad, but I feel like it has been luck nonetheless. Kind of like that amazing show LOST which is on ABC every Wednesday at 10pm EST...during that show, there has been an everlong battle between fate/destiny versus logic and reason. So I don't know if it has been luck, destiny, or fate, but things have been a little crazy lately. Call it strokes of luck or whatnot, but things have been interesting in the "Keep Moving Forward" world.

I haven't been online in a long time and haven't updated the blog in a long time for a variety of reasons. There has been a lot of things going on recently. First off, as many of you know, I have been looking for a job recently after my departure from my last place of employment (which was really Office Space, so maybe it was a blessing in disguise...) So since 2 weeks before IMFL I have been valiantly looking for a job and enjoying the increased free time to train more and get a lot done.

Secondly, I had a computer at my apartment and it has snowed a lot in Rochester, NY lately and I live in the middle of downtown so the roads and sidewalks have been all shitty and it's been very slippery and dangerous because of ice and bad road conditions. So it's been interesting to run the 30+ miles I've been logging weekly. But anyway, since there has been a little warm weather lately, the snow has been melting and my apartment is an old place and it has sprung a few leaks. Unfortuantely for me, my desktop PC was underneath said leak and now my monitor will not turn on. When I finally woke up and realized that I was getting dripped on, I found my computer was wet and my mouse was under a puddle. Not cool. So yeah, I still have a computer that is not working, hence how I haven't been online lately.

Also, another thorn in the side was this; I got a package from www.TriSports.com the other day. For those of you who don't know, last year I landed a sponsorship with them and they hooked me up with a sweet uniform and gave me uber discounts and all that thru the team. So, I was sitting at home and got a package from TriSports and i was all excited to get some good news and opened it up to find a FORM LETTER telling me that I wasn't chosen for the 2007 team despite a STELLAR season (in my mind). Also enclosed was a TriSports.com hat. I was a little miffed nonetheless. Unfortuantely I don't have any pics in this post as I am on a borrowed computer. So I'll apologize for that.

But anyway, I hope this fate/luck/destiny changes in a bit, things haven't been great lately. I don't know why I posted this, maybe it was just to vent. Here's to hoping 2007 gets better with age.