Richard Huff's Seattle Social Blog - Fitness

Super Jock n Jill Half Marathon.

nospam@example.com (Richard D. Huff) — Tue, 2 Sep 2008 18:44:52 -0700

Boot camp had to do without me on Monday morning (Labor Day). Instead, I headed out to Woodinville for the Super Jock n Jill half marathon. It was the first time I ran this particular race. It was also the first time I ran a half marathon since last years' Seattle half (November 25th). So,...expectations were low. The important thing was that I was out with running shoes on at the start of a race. The weather was perfect. The course wasn't bad. My time (2:34:42) wasn't even horrible, considering how little training there was under my belt when the gun fired.

There now just over a month before the next half marathon: the Royal Victorian.

Boot Camp, Week 2.

nospam@example.com (Richard D. Huff) — Tue, 2 Sep 2008 18:30:43 -0700

The second week of boot camp finished last Friday with a big sigh of relief. I felt much more capable than I did during the first week, but it's definitely not an activity where you should expect to plateau. I'm still near the tail of the pack, struggling. There's quite a bit of head room for me to improve. We met at Discovery Park on Wednesday and ran the 2.8 mile loop trail. Halfway through -- near the sand bluff -- we stopped and did an exercise circuit. Walking lunges in sand. Push-ups that involve pivoting to one arm at the top of the push. Side steps when your ankles are rubber-banded together. Bench dips. We did a little bit of everything before completing the loop trail.

Two weeks down. Two weeks to go! (At least for the first camp.)

Boot Camp, Week 1.

nospam@example.com (Richard D. Huff) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:46:18 -0700

Taking the 2007 - 2008 winter off from training -- following a very active summer and fall -- was, in hindsight, a very bad idea. Thanksgiving and Christmas took their toll, and the short days of January and February kept me mostly indoors. But the upcoming races (Super Jock n Jill, Royal Victorian, and the Goofy Challenge) were not getting any shorter as time passed. So I joined a fitness boot camp, hoping that it would kick my training into high gear. Now that the first week is under my belt, I can tell you that it is some of the best money I've ever spent on fitness. You cannot fail to dramatically improve your fitness in this sort of program (as long as you don't drop out). Some of the highlights I've identified are:

Participants meet five, three, or two days per week. (I'm in the five day program.)
Sessions are a full 60 minutes long (i.e., the sessions start and end on time).
Cross-training, as opposed to just strength or just endurance.
Motivation through group interdependence.
Substantially less expensive than one-on-one training.

It wouldn't be fair if I didn't mention that you will be sore from the boot camp activities. You'll just have to deal with that.

Garmin Forerunner 405 [Update].

nospam@example.com (Richard D. Huff) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:14:05 -0700

As mentioned in my previous Garmin Forerunner 405 post, I was skeptical of the "upgrade" a Forerunner 405 represented when compared to a Forerunner 305. As I suspected, the 405 should not be considered much of an evolution in the product line. Most of the enhancements are superficial, and fail to make the product more functional. Unlike the giant leap between the 205 and 305, the 405 is simply a disappointment. Melissa has had one since its release, and posts her Garmin Forerunner 405 review on her blog. Needless to say, I'm sticking with my tried and true 305.

Garmin Forerunner 405.

nospam@example.com (Richard D. Huff) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 08:57:38 -0700

After almost two years since the release of the Forerunner 305, Garmin has finally announced the release of an upgrade in their line of personal fitness computers. A comparison of the two models makes me think that the main difference between the 305 and new 405 is the form factor. The 405 does sport a new, wireless sync capability (using an included USB ANT™ stick), but I never felt that the older USB cradle represented an inconvenience. In fact, the combination of sync and charge in the older USB cradle was really great for traveling. The 405 will require carrying the "stick" and a separate charger. Is that an upgrade?

In all honesty, it is unfair to make an assessment by comparing manufacturer specs -- especially if the products are from the same manufacturer. For whatever reason most manufacturers have an uncanny inability to convey their products' key value propositions. Take, for example, almost any PC laptop maker (e.g., Dell, HP, and Sony). Can you tell the difference between a Dell Vostro™, Latitude™ or Precision™? It's like a exercise in graph theory every time you want to make a purchasing decision. But I digress.

The Garmin Forerunner 405 could be a quantum leap in the Forerunner evolution, as the 305 was to the 205. I won't know until I actually own one and can make a "real world" judgement. The catch is that I'm not compelled to upgrade, yet. Somebody else needs to be the first penguin in the water this time. Unless, that is, Garmin wants to send me an evaluation unit.

2007 Capital City Half Marathon.

nospam@example.com (Richard D. Huff) — Wed, 23 May 2007 16:17:57 -0700

Both times I've run the Capital City Half Marathon (2005, 2007) it has rained. The nice thing about the rain (in both cases) was that it only rained hard enough to provide a bit of cooling.

Melissa kicked me out of bed at 5:00 AM, and we drove from Seattle to Olympia. Parking and getting to the start was no problem. I'm also happy to report that this year's shirt was gray, long-sleeve, technical, and printed with an appealing logo design. Very nice! Worth keeping. I can toss another cotton race shirt.

There was only a moment to stay warm inside a Starbucks before our group was called to the start line. A cannon -- not a pistol or air horn -- signaled that the race was on. The quintessential Western Washington scenery of Puget Sound vistas and Douglas Fir trees lined the race course. The dome of the State Capital Building would appear and disappear in the trees as we made our way around the city. Melissa pulled ahead, and finished a full 15 minutes before me. She was grinning ear-to-ear when I saw her near the finish (where Chuck took the above photo of me) because she knew that they were handing out finisher metals -- something they didn't do in 2005, and something I'm still sore about.

We rewarded ourselves with a breakfast at McMenamin's Spar Cafe.

2007 Skagit Spring Classic.

nospam@example.com (Richard D. Huff) — Wed, 23 May 2007 07:35:46 -0700

With the 2007 Seattle to Portland Classic (STP) just around the corner (July 14th and 15th), we're taking every chance we can get to "be in the saddle". Being back from a business trip earlier than expected allowed me to join Melissa and a couple other friends for the 2007 Skagit Spring Classic on May 12th. The Skagit Classic is in its 17th year, and offers four different routes: 25 mile, 45 mile, 62 mile, and 100 mile. Most of us rode the 62-mile route (a "metric century"), which included a picturesque climb up Chuckanut Drive. My fears of excessive automobile traffic competing for the extremely narrow roadway were somewhat unfounded.

The ride started out pretty rough. Although the terrain was flat for the first several miles, we had to battle head-on, gale force winds, heavy dust and poor quality pavement. The relative protection of the trees and elevation once we reached Chuckanut Drive gave us a much needed reprieve. Most of the route (until we dropped back into the Skagit Valley flatlands, near the end) was good. Volunteers with the sponsor (Skagit Bicycle Club) staffed rest stops along the route, and handed out homemade cookies and other snack foods.

My only regret is that I didn't take my camera.

Wenatchee Valley Duathlon

nospam@example.com (Richard D. Huff) — Sun, 1 Apr 2007 16:55:38 -0700

Who would have guessed that my blog would become so heavily skewed towards physical activities? It's not like I spend an inordinate amount of my time running or cycling. In fact, I should be spending more time in those activities, considering that I have at least one half-marathon (Capital City), a full-marathon (Royal Victorian), a dual century ride (STP), and a 150-mile ride (Waves to Wine) already on the schedule for this year. The goal in all this is to get back to the shape I was in when I ran the 2002 Disney World Marathon.

This past Saturday (March 31, 2007) was spent in Wenatchee with a group of friends (Rachele, Heidi, Lily and Bill) for the seventh annual Wenatchee Valley Duathlon. I drove over to Wenatchee Friday night and stayed in a motel. The rest of the group got up at some ungodly hour to drive over Saturday morning.

The duathlon consisted of a 3-mile run, 17-mile bike, and 3-mile run combination. Each leg of the race started and finished at the Wenatchee Confluence State Park. (I'd reference a URL for the event if I could actually find one.) The group met at the park and got the gear set out in the transition area with plenty of time to spare. Heidi was riding Melissa's road bike since she only has a mountain bike and Melissa is trekking around in South America right now. The spare time gave Heidi a chance to get some practice at the clip-in shoes on Melissa's bike. We took a group photo, and planned our "attack".

This is where I should admit to never having participated in a duathlon before. All of us in the group, however, are avid runners and cyclists. The unknown quantity was combining running and cycling into a single event, especially one that splits the running into two legs. Knowing that the cycling leg would be the longest, I erred on the side of wearing cycling shorts for the duration of the event. That turned out to be a wise decision. It's easy to run in cycling shorts, but not as pleasant to ride in running shorts.

The race started promptly at 10:00 AM with the out-and-back 3-mile run leg. The weather was perfect, if windy. I've learned that it takes me between four and six miles to hit a good stride, so I was a bit worried about only running three miles before having to transition to a different activity (cycling). I'm convinced that there's some science behind this "warm-up" period. Arteries and veins must need to expand so that blood can pass through the body at the accelerated rate necessary for an elevated activity level. Working up to that point definitely isn't the fun part of an event. We all put in a pretty good showing during the first leg nonetheless. Heidi got into the transition area right in front of me and made an incredibly fast transition into her cycling gear. She was off like a bolt of lightening.

In my attempt to catch up with Heidi at the beginning of the cycling leg, I thought I saw her make a wrong turn. The route signage indicated a right-hand turn immediately following an intersection in a neighborhood. Rather than turn at the intersection -- believing that a sign should be posted prior to the intersection if they intended a turn -- I continued straight. Within a hundred feet, around a corner, a pair of event staff directed participants to make a right-hand turn. Inquiring as to whether they had just seen someone pass on a red bike, they responded in the affirmative. I was never able to catch up to Heidi, and never saw anyone from our group on the rest of the cycling leg.

The cycling leg took an hour and sixteen minutes to complete. I looked around for bikes from our group, and wasn't able to identify any. At a minimum, I knew that Heidi and Rachele hadn't made it back yet. Bill and Lily's bikes were too unfamiliar for me to pick them out of a lineup. My Garmin Forerunner 305 recorded the length of the cycling leg at only 16 miles -- not the expected 17 miles. Since the Forerunner is typically hyper-accurate, I began to wonder if I'd missed part of the route. What if Heidi hadn't made a wrong turn, and I had? What if I missed another part of the route? It's not like the route was well marked. The doubt really sucked. I threw on my running shoes and headed out for the final 3-mile run. I passed Lilly on her return at about three quarters of a mile into my run, and felt better about the chances that I hadn't missed part of the cycling leg. My thoughts were now able to focus on finishing the race.

At exactly 22 miles (3 + 16 + 3) I crossed the finish line. My overall time was 2:16:06. Lily beat me by more than 15 minutes, and the rest of the group were behind me by ~10 minutes. We all agreed that we needed to train more, but still had a good time. Another duathlon is definitely in our future.