Marine Corps Historic Half

The race was awesome and so was my relay partner/wife Marion. The day started at 4:00 AM with the alarm going off so that I could get the coffee brewing and our oatmeal ready to eat. Nothing better than steel cut oatmeal with homemade apple butter syrup to get the day started. We took our vitamins and started to get our fluids built up as we got ready to run. We were checking out of the hotel and on our way by 5:30 AM to the park and ride to catch the shuttle to the starting line. Marion went on to the starting line and made a last minute stop at the porta potty and then got lined up in the section for a 2:30 finish time, I went to catch my shuttle to the transition point. The race instructions said that our time in transition didn't count against us and yet the person monitoring the area told us that it did count against us. With no way to let Marion know this I took the video of her finishing gave her the camera and took off running.

The course was fun and since I knew that I would be doing some hills I was prepared as you can be. The local residents were out cheering everyone on and there were bands playing along the way. As I was approaching the 10 mile mark I knew that hospital hill was next. Since I was wearing my Team In Training shirt one of the coaches from the National Chapter hooked up with me and helped keep me focused on making it up the hill. To my surprise when we got to the top he wished me luck and peeled off to help someone else. This is why training with TNT is valuable not just for the athlete but for the cancer patients we raise funds to help.

As I approached the finish line it was getting crazy and the runners that already completed their run and the volunteers were going all out to give you that extra push to cross the line. We placed 81 out of 116 finishers here are our timings.

81. 2:31:01 AFD Relay Team                          (1:15:31)
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  1  1:13:29    B60 Brian Lewis                
  2  1:17:32    A60 Marion Lewis               

There were 300 teams registered so I think we did really great finishing and Marion ran great. Look at her time and this was the longest run that she has completed to date. Next year we will do the whole thing together and maybe beat our time from this year.

Finish Line photo at the Team In Training tent

4 weeks 1 day 10 hours - left

The Eagleman Half Ironman is due to start and my training is in the finial phase. The training is at its peak and since the first of May you can see that I have logged over 200 miles between the swim, bike, and run.

This weekend Marion and I are going to Fredericksburg, VA to run the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon. This will be so much fun and since I am running the second half I will get both medals and then I get to give Marion her first running medal. The 6.55 distance that Marion will run is her longest run yet but I know she is well trained and ready. Back to my training the more I swim, bike and run the more comfortable I am getting but there is no way I am getting cocky.. Over the years I learned that anything is possible on race day.

The April update I spoke about my weight as this is something that I continue to fight as I never want to become that obese person I was just a few years ago. Since then I have lost another 3 pounds and 2.5 of those pounds were fat. This tells me that I will at least a lean, mean fighting machine come race day..

Eagleman Bike course & Practice Tri

Eagleman Bike course

Well yesterday I went to Cambridge, MD and introduced myself to the bike course. With a slow start and learning the road markings eventually I got going pretty well. My predicted time for the race is 3.5 hours and I finished yesterday in 8 minutes over my predicted time. My thoughts are that come race day I will be able to make my time and maybe even better. There is a lot of training left to do and I am thinking that some hill training will help me on that flat course.

Practice Tri

Saturday May 7, 2011 - went to Pasadena, MD and met with Gary from the ATC and 5 others to get our first open water swim. What a reminder that the pool is nothing like the open water. Where did the line go? Siting is so important so that you don't get to far off course. The water was cold but the wetsuit worked as much as a sleeveless wetsuit is suppose to work. Tried a little something different and rode my bike with bare feet in the bike shoes, then used socks in my running shoes and things went well. There will be some more practice this month and I'll get this figured out by race day. Between the bike and run I used a G1 hydration and some Cytomax from the water bottle and didn't get the fatigue that I have in the past. The transition from bike to run went better than I expected. So some more work on my swim and I look forward to some good things on June 12, 2011.

Hills of Annapolis MD

Tonight I went for a ride with some of the members from Annapolis Triathlon Club (ATC) on the hills west of Annapolis MD. With 90% of my training being on the flat roads of the Eastern Shore the hills were a challenge. While riding tonight one of the coaches pulled aside me and told me to keep my right leg more towards the bike and I would get more power. During the ride I tried it and sure enough there was more power, Thanks Ashley. So with a tweak on my bike to work on this month i am really looking forward to picking up some speed. Tomorrow I have a 2000 yard swim and 6 mile run to do, so it is time to get some sleep.

May 2011

May Day has come and gone and the training for the Eagleman Half Ironman event is entering the finial phase. The training plan has over 30 hours of training on it with many of the days training either 2 or all 3 of the parts of the events. There will be some open water swims with the first practice triathlon on Saturday in  Pasadena, MD at the Yacht Club. This will be a chance to get the wetsuit on and get my feet wet. unfortunately for me my wetsuits are sleeveless. This months training is very important as it will tell me if I am truely ready to take that first step to becoming an Ironman.

May is very important for my cause to raise over $2,600.00 and I need to raise another $800.00 to meet my goal by May 27, 2011l. What I need everyone to do is to visit my Fund Raising site and donate whatever they can to help us fight this enemy of everyone.

The swim this morning was a good one and the run this afternoon was a hot one. This will surely get me ready as it has known to be very hot on course during the run.

Please leave any words of encouragement or tips for success here and I will be sure to reply to them.