Back to my other hobby

 A couple of years ago I started another blog to track the construction of a model railroad layout I was beginning to build. But then I got busy doing other stuff again and when my son moved back from Florida it got very crowded in my little abode so nothing was done for about two years. Well lately I"ve had a bit more free time on my hands and I've started back working on it. Hopefully progress will continue to be made although it may be slow. Trainng for an Ironman takes a big chunk of time out of a week but this hobby is very relaxing and a good way to spend my resting time in the evenings. The link is in the margins of this blog for your future reference but here it is now for you convenience if you care to check it out.

 Smoky Mountain & Southern RR

snow day Jan. 20th 2009

A rare and beautiful sight here at home. The roads were much too slick to make it into work so I went for a walk in the snow this morning to take some pictures. The snow was still coming down so it's very gray and overcast.

Here is the link to the pictures.

Finally a little hope.

 So how have things been going the past couple of weeks in this new year you may ask?

 Well, I am happy to say that my legs have felt better this week than they have in over a year. Since that test run on New Years Day with Laura, I have been out running 5 more times and it just keeps getting better. I was amazed at how much better I felt a week after that first run compared to how I was huffing and puffing at 10 mp. After just a few 4 mile runs I was running as fast as I usually do if not faster for those short runs. Last Saturday I met Karla for a 10 miler and that went very well and was pain-free. However the next day I was in pain behind my left knee !! What's that all about !?! I was limping around at work Sunday and Monday. By Tuesday it was better and I had a massage that afternoon that helped a lot. We think it was just muscular, no joint problem caused by the weakness in the hamstring from the injury. I rested it until Thursday and then went for a 4 mile run at Lake Johnson. I was almost afraid to run but after a few steps I felt no pain and it ended up being a great run with no problems afterwards.

  I've also gotten on the bike trainer 3 times the past week.  I started with 20 minutes and then 30 minutes the next two times. That went well also. This summer it didn't hurt the hamstrings to pedal the bike but they would be stiff and painful when I got off so I hadn't ridden since mid autumn. There was no pain and tightness afterwards which is a very good thing because I have many hours to put in the saddle over the next 6 months to get ready for the 112 miles I'll have to ride at Ironman Cour D' Alene .

  The swimming is also continueing to go well. I'm still in the pool about 3 times a week and usually swimming at least 2,00yds, or about 1.2 miles each workout. Somedays I do a long continuous swim. On other days I may do a pyramid workout and somedays I do just 100 and 200 yd intervals. Last week I lowered my mile pr once  again to 34:47 and yesterday I did a 100yd time trial in 1:36 which is about 6 seconds faster than ever. Not bad for an old runner.

Looking ahead to 2009

2009 promises to be an interesting one and a lot different than the past several years have been. The biggest difference is that I don't plan on running any ultras this year with the exception of Derby next November, if I feel I'm in PR shape for it. I will probably get in at least one "non-official" ultra in April when I pace the Trail Princess for 37.5miles at Umstead for the 4th time.

There are three reasons why I'm not planning on the ultra's. Number one is that I had DNF's in my last three 100/24 hour attempts and I feel my body as well as my mind need a break from the long ones. Number two, is the injury issue I've been dealing with all year. And number 3 is because this is the year of the Ironman. This will probably be my only attempt at doing one so I have devoted the first 6 months of the year to training for June 21st. After that I will focus on getting some leg speed back and try to qualify for Boston again in the Fall. I promise if I am physically able, I will be back strong into the Ultra's in 2010.

So here are the plans I'm sure of:

Feb. 14th- run the Myrtle Beach Marathon with the Marathon Princess

Mar. 14th- Azalea Festival Sprint Triathlon

Apr 4th- Pace and volunteer at Umstead 100

April 25th- Riverwood Sprint Tri

May 2nd- White Lake Half-Ironman

May 30th- Over the Mountain Olymoic Distance Tri

June 21st Ironman Cour D' Alene

July 11th Grandfather Mountain Marathon

Aug 8th Bandit's Challenge Olympic Distance Tri

Aug. 22nd- Sportsplex Sprint tri

Sept 12th- Patriots Half- Ironman

Nov. 8th OBX Marathon ( Boston Qualifier attempt hopefully)

Nov. 28th - Derby 50K

Happy New Year 2009

Greetings friends and readers. I hope everyone has a great year ahead of them. Mine got off to a pretty good start this morning. I was up much earlier than I needed to be on a Holiday, but so far I haven't missed one of the NCRC Resolution Run 5k's. I've only ran the race one time but have volunteered every other year which is what I was planning this morning.

I arrived around 8 am and spent the chilly hour waiting for the race greeting many friends from the club. I was a course monitor as usual and took my position along with Alan Hughes and Laura The Trail Angel. After everyone had gone past the last time, we ran back up the hill and I went to shed some layers of clothing and go out for my test run. The run went very well and was especially nice since Laura chose to slow down and run it with me. We ran a little over the 5k distance due to missing a turn while we were busy chatting about music and other such things we discuss, and averaged about 10mp for the run. I could sure feel the effort going up the hills but otherwise felt good. And I ran pain-free. I'm still not sure if it's over yet. There is still a little tightness this evening but so much better than before.

Thanks for running with me Laura!