SWim bIKe rUN

Well she beat me again.  I had the goal of 2 hours and I finished in 2:00:21. 

This year the race sold out in 13 minutes.  Getting through registration can be a little rough, however, not as rough as beating Robie.

Robie Creek is a 2100 foot climb over 8.5 miles and then a 4.6 mile drop down through Rocky Canyon in Boise, Idaho and over Alape Summit to Robie Creek.  The temperature was about 75 degrees and the canyon is warmer.  This isn’t too warm unless you take into account we have been training in 30 and 40 degree weather.

Patrick McCurry took first place overall with a time of 1:21:26.  At this time I was “almost” to the summit.  That would be mile 8.5.  Our first lady finished in 1:31:40.  Kelsey Jones from Denver Colorado.

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The race starts with a loop around Forte Boise park and turns East up Shaw Mountain Road.  This is a paved road that, starting at mile 1 climbs 274 feet to mile two.  You get about a quarter mile break, after that your next break is at mile 8.5.

Around mile 3 you hit the dirt road.  The rest of the race continues on the dirt road until the finish line at Robie Creek.  Around mile 8.4 you hit Temptation Point.  Here you have some uniquely dressed individuals passing out cigars, vodka and other alcoholic favorites.  Trying to beat the goal of 2 hours, I skipped this “aid” station.

The last 4.6 miles is a decline of around 1700 feet.  Close to 4 miles is very steep and then you hit a break and it mellows out for your last mile to the finish. 

This race has great support.  I didn’t see any gels or Gatorade but about every mile uphill had an aid station with fruit and water and about every other mile on the downhill.  Plenty of volunteers did an excellent job of making sure that anyone that needed or wanted water had it.

At the finish line there is plenty of food, PowerAde, Muscle Milk and water for all of the runners and spectators alike.  To be a spectator at the end of the race you must have a ticket for the buses that will take you to the finish line.

It was an excellent day for a race and a great time, as usual for The Race to Robie Creek.  I still have a date with her next year to try and beat the 2 hour mark. 

Next race, the Ogden Half Marathon.

Here is a photo of my favorite team uniforms at this years race.

It’s been really rough for me to get into the pool.  I love being outdoors this time of the year the weather is perfect for training.  Not too hot, not too cold and other than the rain showers and the windy days the temp is just right for me.

Tonight I caved in and hit the pool again.  First time in about two and a half weeks.  It wasn’t an easy decision.  I walked outside right before I left for the gym and there wasn’t even a sign of a breeze.  It was about 57 degrees out and it took all I could muster not to go lace up and go for a run instead.

I hit the pool and noticed a bunch of teenagers in the hot tub.  Another lady joined me in swimming laps and it wasn’t long after that the kids started cannon balling into the pool.  At first I was really annoyed and then I just started to laugh.  If I can’t handle this there is no way I should be doing triathlons.  So you got a little bashing from a wave every now and then.  It’s nothing compared to the start of the swim in a triathlon.

So the nice lady next to me and I both just chuckled and she commented, “just kids”.  So this was a good reminder for me that if someone  is in the pool and really annoying me with their frolicking and splashing around just consider it a great training opportunity.  Today I fought vigorous waves.

There is still no excuse for the 30+ year old couple making out in the pool at the gym.  I still haven’t figured that one out and I’ve seen it about 4 or 5 times now.  Just not tonight.  Tonight was cannon balling teenagers.

This weekend I decided to take it a little easy since we have The Race to Robie Creek next weekend.

Tuesday we did an 11 mile mountain bike ride.  It’s been a long time since we’ve been on the single track and it felt really good.  It was a really windy day so we did the climb through Rocky Canyon so that we could have a wind shield.  This worked well until we got to the top.  Now we were riding at about a 65 degree angle leaning into the wind just trying not to get blown over.  Shane, Dan, Brent and I had a great ride despite the 40 mph breeze.

All last week I’d been craving a hill run.  Not sure how you can crave a hill run but I just had this itch to get into the foothills.  Tuesday we did the ride.  Wednesday the weather was awesome.  However, my day to pick up the kids since my wife had to work late.  Thursday was raining.  Ah, Friday.  Perfect weather.  Even though we do our long runs on Saturdays I decided to hit the foothills for an easy hill run.  It was a great run and a really nice way to start the weekend.

Saturday morning we decided to limit our run to 8 miles so we turned around a little early.  We did the Bardenay Route starting in Eagle an running the Green Belt.  I love this run it is mostly dirt trail and runs through a lot of wooded area along the river. 

Sunday I limited my ride to 40 miles and again the weather was perfect.  A lot of hills on the Cartwright Loop running through Hidden Springs.  There was very little traffic and almost no breeze.  Perfect for riding.

This is by far my favorite pair of shoes that I have worn in a long time. If you like a  cushioned running shoe try this one out. I’ve recommended it to 3 different people that I work with and all three of them fell in love with this shoe. We also gave a pair to my dad for Christmas and he really likes them.

I have flat feet which you lead you to believe that I would have a problem with over pronating. However, I’m so bow legged that it basically equals things out. At least that’s what my shoe tells me when I look at the tread wear.

This is by far the most cushioned shoe that I’ve worn since Nike Jordan basketball shoes in the 80s when they had the reflective tongue and mesh sides.

I’m still wearing the Nike Zoom Vomero +3s. The 4s have been out for awhile and 5s are now out. You can pick the 3s and some colors of the 4s out for around 89.99 right now. My favorite color is orange so I’m going to be picking these up.

As always, make sure it is the right shoe for you before you get a pair. If you like a cushioned shoe check this one out.  I’m looking to try out the Newton Sir Isaac shoe next, if I can part with $150.

Right now in my opinion the Garmin Forerunner 305 is the best bang for the buck.  It has everything that I would want in a training watch.  I also bought the adapter  for the bike that comes with the velcro wristband that you can use to quickly transition from bike to run. 

I like the use of the buttons on the 305 more than the bezel on the 405.  For me it is easier to look up different views and navigate the 305 during a run or bike ride.  The bezel is a little harder to control when you are on the move.  Not sure why I think it is necessary to mess with my watch while in motion but that’s how I roll.

I did, however, buy the 405 for my wife.  She has smaller wrists and the 305 was just to clunky for her arm.  The 405 you could also get away with as an 80s style wrist watch.  The black digital watch that those of you from my generation all had.  Some of you may have even had the one with the game that you could drive a tank and shoot stuff.  This was out about the same time as the calculator watches were all the rage.

I’m still really curious about the 310 XT.  If any of you have had experience with this new beaut, I’d love to see your review about it.