End of a season.

Well, it sure feels like the end of the 2010 racing season. There is nothing left on my calendar for the year. The weather has turned colder, tomorrow we're expecting highs in the mid 40s with a stiff north wind (of course we are, we have an outdoor school field trip, and both kids have been sick). The last "official run" for me was Oct 30th, in the Milwaukee Discovery 5k. This is more of a fun run, no race pace or PR day, just tooling along with friends. We even dressed in our costumes this year-I was Phantom of the Opera-let me tell you, its not easy running with a plastic mask on half your face. This is a fun run, heck, they even serve tap beer at the last aid station. I stopped and waited for my friends, and had two beers. Oh, and for pics with the cute M&M and Incredibles girls who had also stopped for a brew!

Then, it was off to the finish line and the Milwaukee Ale House for post run celebrations. They had about 6 kegs of FREE beer on tap for the runners, and the place was jam packed. This was about 10am:

Milwaukee Ale House, good micro brew beer. We stayed until about 1:30pm.

A brief recap of the other stuff I haven't got around to posting. I finished the 30th running of the Milwaukee Marathon on Oct 3rd, my second mary. Long runs were lacking a bit, and I felt it around mile #20. I changed my race strategy on race day, knowing full well it would probably not work. I started off with the 4 hour pace group, but early on, I felt like I was running too slow, like I was shuffling my feet too much. So, I took off and went ahead of the pacers. Yep, I was right-it didn't work. I ran the 13.1 faster than last year, by about 2min 40sec. But, by mile #20, my legs felt like they were going to fall off. I saw the 4 hour pacers coming up, running with me, passing me, yep, bye bye they went. I simply could not speed up.

I wasn't alone that day with issues. I was running that last stretch with  3:30 pacer, who looked to be in wicked good shape. He was running a bit, then he'd walk and I would pass him. Then, I would walk for a few hundred yards, and he would slowly amble on by me. Repeat this, and see how ridiculous it can get. There was a remote, outside shot that I could make the 4 hour time, and I'd know by the final 5k if I had the shot. Well, I hit that last 5k and I knew I was not making it in 4 hours. SO, I figured, what the hell, why kill myself. I ran a pace I could sustain the last 3 miles, and finished upright.

Not great, but I finished. The racer shirts and medals were killers this year, a really nice design. The artwork looked nice, subtle colors, just pleasing to the eye. Here is the logo:

Right after the run, I put on the free foil wrapper-it was cold out there!

The kids and I, bundled up post race..lying in the grass to rest the legs:

And, I still have not completed a Tri. The Lake Geneva tri was a non-start for me. I woke up that morning after not sleeping all night, and found myself not feeling good at all. I was still going to give it a shot, and we even went down to the race that AM. Yeah, Wisconsin weather reared her ugly head. It was in the low 50s, a stiff wind was blowing right off the lake, and it was POURING out. I mean, it was raining sideways. So I stood around shivering for awhile, feeling miserable, cold, soaked to the skin and a bit feverish. So I packed it in and said forget it-and I'm glad I did. The race reviews from everyone I've heard from were terrible, a poorly marked course, few volunteers, dangerous roads with a bunch of nasty crashes on the bike leg and poor food afterwards. The race sweatshirts were ass ugly and dark brown, to boot. Needless to say, I won't be racing this one in the future, even if the weather is better.

Lets see, we road our little group "Tour de Java" ride a few weeks back. We had a nice Saturday and went out for about 20 miles or so, taking it easy for most of the ride. Most, I say, because my buddy brought a co worker with who is an absolute monster on the bike. We hammered one stretch at about 26-27 miles an hour, while trying to hold a conversation. We stopped for a hot cup of coffee at the coffee house just down the block from me. I haven't been on my bike since. Our race group will get together before the end of the year, over coffee somewhere. We sit and talk about this year's events, what we want for next year, look at pics from races, just have some fun with it.

I swam the other day, after 2 months out of the pool. I was pleasantly surprised at how good I felt swimming (or not swimming, I guess?), and even managed to do 1,500 yards, not super fast but I finished and felt good. I mean, I was tired and took some breaks, but hey, it was a positive swim. I will take that. I know I can swim 2,100 yards again after a few times out-this is a good thing!

So, I slid into the off season, kind of "demotivated" about things, and the fact that fall/winter is here. I ran 4 miles today, still able to hold a 8:40 split. But, its hard to be motivated to go out at all right now. Wait till the snow flies and it hits 10 degrees. Then, it will be trainer time and pool sessions, running when the weather will allow. I'm starting on the weights and core strength stuff too.

And I started looking a bit closer at the 2011 race calendar. I found a few interesting races I might try, including the Chicago Triathlon in late August, this looks like a fun race. But, nothing is set in stone at this point, and I have not committed to anything yet. I've got a few ideas in mind, including possibly riding out east next year again, after missing it in 2010. Much will depend on what happens with a special entry application I submitted back in October to one of the biggest races in Wisconsin-if I'm selected to race this, then my entire season would be built around training for this one event. 

More on this thing later, when I hear back and know if I was selected...or not.