Ironman Lake Placid 2011

Good morning, Rogue Racers!  I tried my best to keep everyone updated on the race progress yesterday; unfortunately cell service was very limited and the athlete tracking system crashed.  But, Mark and George both did amazing!

George came out of the swim earlier than expected, after following the ladies on the line, and managed to elude both Kelly and I who were waiting at the chute to take photos.  Meanwhile, Mark ran by us and we were able to capture some pics.  After waiting for over half an hour, we finally realized that we had missed George.  Kelly shed tears of relief that she didn't have to tell anyone he was dead.  

The rest of the race went pretty smoothly.  George smiled every time he passed us on the bike.  And Mark seemed to be smiling, although sometimes it is hard to tell with him.  I went down to volunteer in the medical tent around 4pm, but Kelly reported that George felt great on the first loop of the run.  On the second loop of the run, his fellow competitors heard him silently chanting, "Tri... endure... succeed!" His mantra seemed to work as he finished in 12:08:04!  Kelly saw Mark at the halfway point of the run, and he stopped for a while to stretch and give Kelly a sweaty hug.  Despite pretty bad cramps that started at mile 30 of the bike, he still managed to finish in 14:33:39.  It must have had something to do with Kelly's famous cheering!

Since I was down at the medical tent gawking at the pros, I got to see both Mark and George cross the finish line.  It was incredible.  I've included a link to some photos below.

http://gallery.me.com/holly.jahshan#100203&bgcolor=black&view=grid

Have a great week, 

Holly

Week of 7/18/11 - 7/24/11

In honor of George and Mark, who are both competing in the Ironman Lake Placid triathlon on July 24th, I have included one of my favorite videos below...

For those of you interested in following the triathlon, you can find race information on the Ironman Lake Placid website and tracking information on the IronmanLIVE website.  Tomorrow (Sunday, July 17th) we will be meeting at Whole Foods in Fair Lakes at 10am for a "good luck at Lake Placid" coffee/breakfast celebration.  There is plenty of seating in the restaurant area, so the more the merrier!

Group workouts for this week (click here to view the summer 2011 pace chart):

• Monday 7/18/11 - 6:30pm track workout at Fairfax HS (Chantilly HS track closed)
• 10-20 minute warmup
• 3 x 1600 (1 minute rest interval)
• 10 minute cooldown
• Long jump (Peter will explain)
• Wednesday 7/20/11 - 6:30pm tempo run at Fairfax Corner
• 6 mile run: 2 miles easy, 3 miles @ short tempo pace, 1 mile easy
• Thursday 7/21/11 - 8:30pm track workout at Fairfax HS
• Check with Peter and/or Keith for more info
• Saturday 7/23/11 - 7am long run at W&OD Vienna
• 15 miles @ marathon pace + 45 seconds/mile
• Sunday 7/24/11 - 8am recovery bike ride at W&OD Vienna
• Check with Bob for more info

Make sure to let with Bob know (via the blog) if you are coming out on Saturday or Sunday to the W&OD trail.  As of right now I'm not sure if anyone else is meeting up at the trail, so just make sure to give him a heads up if you are coming out to run and/or bike. 

Happy training, 

Holly

Who Deserves More Respect?

As many of you know, I work for a triathlon series called Rev3 (amazing organization BTW).  This past weekend, we had a race in Portland, OR.  My duties include providing ART as well as recruiting other ART providers to come out to the triathlons and supervise them.  During the weekend, I had a conversation with some of the ART providers about the pro triathletes and all the other athletes.  There was a general sentiment that most triathletes and spectators drool and cheer for the pro triathletes however, there are some triathletes who probably deserve more accolades.  During this Portland race there was an older gentleman (>70 y.o.) who was out alone - last on the course, working harder than pretty much any other triathlete.  Keep in mind he had to swim, bike and run 70.3 miles.  Long after the vendors, ART providers, spectators and other athletes had left, "Robert" was still out on the course, struggling. With 2 miles left he wanted to quit.  Our Rev3 staff told him that as long as he was willing to finish, we would keep the finish line open for him and the music playing (well past the cutoff time). He looked up and said "let's go!" and started down the road again.  So, as the Rev3 crew was taking down the tents, we all left the finish line, finish shoot, music and announcing up for Robert to show him our support.  I took a video with my iPhone (see below - you can watch it in HD).  It was pretty awesome!  So what's my point, and why am I telling you about this?  I guess because I was inspired by a guy who toughed it out maybe more than anyone else on the day, but you'll never read about his effort.  The point here is: it's not always about the fastest, leanest person out there.  Sometimes toughness is not measured by your finishing time.  Congrats to Robert, and also to J.D. who stayed with Robert through every swim stroke, pedal turn and run stride of the race.

Article contributed by Dr. Kevin Maggs.  Dr. Maggs is a provider and owner of Active Spine and Sport.  He attended the University of Waterloo in Canada for Kinesiology and then went on to the National College of Chiropractic in Chicago where he graduated in 1995 and has been in practice for 14 years in Virginia.  As an Active Release Techniques provider, he has reached the highest level of certification possible and has been practicing ART for many years.

Week of 7/10/11 - 7/17/11

Make sure to check out the Washington Running Report website as soon as possible.  Keith, Adam, Jeff and part of Peter's face are featured in a photo of the start of the Let Freedom Run 5K.  Also, if you haven't had the chance to see Peter's video of the race, please check out the Videos page on our website.  The video has been gaining popularity over the past week on WRR's website as well as Facebook.  Unfortunately, it seems as if most people think that the race coordinators shot the video.  Either way, thanks for the video Peter!

I have posted the adjusted 13-week marathon training plan on our website for anyone running the Steamtown Marathon this fall.  I have also posted the pace chart, which anyone can use, to determine paces for the track workouts, tempo runs and long runs.  Training will start this Monday.  Tom, this now means that there will be several of us to share in your pain!

Group workouts for this week:

• Saturday 7/9/11 - PVTC track meet (meet around 8am at Falls Church HS)
• Sunday 7/10/11 - 8am long bike ride at W&OD trail
• Monday 7/11/11 - 6:30pm track workout at Chantilly HS
• Wednesday 7/13/11 - 6:30pm tempo run at Fairfax Corner
• Saturday 7/16/11 - 7:00am long run at W&OD trail
• Sunday 7/17/11 - 8:00am group "recovery" bike ride at W&OD trail

Happy training, 

Holly

ROGUE RACERS WIN 3RD PLACE IN LET FREEDOM RUN 5K TEAM COMPETITION

This morning our team placed 3rd in the Let Freedom Run 5K Co-ed Team Competition right behind the TRS Racing Team and Capital Area Runners.  Thanks to Jeff, Keith, Adam and Hannah we averaged a time of 19:03.  Not bad for our first team competition.

Race results are posted on our site.  Congratulations to everyone!

Week of 7/3/11 - 7/9/11

This past week the Washington Running Report released their spring runner rankings.  Keith and Peter both qualified as top regional runners in their respective age groups.  Keith was ranked 14th out of 15 runners and Peter was ranked 13th out of 50 runners.  Congratulations!

For anyone who didn't see the videos that Peter shot of the PVTC track meet last week, please check out the new "Videos" page that I added to our website.  Mandy has offered to help Peter shoot the finish of the July 4th race, so we should have some nice new footage to add on Monday.  

Packet pick-up for the Let Freedom Run 5K is being held today, tomorrow, and race morning at Fairfax Corner.  I'm going with Kelly today around 11am to pick-up packets.  I've already spoken with several people about picking up their packets.  If you need me to grab your race "stuff" just shoot me a text message sometime this morning letting me know.  I will bring all the packets to the short run in Vienna tomorrow and then to the race on Monday.

Schedule for this week:

• Sunday 7/3/11 - 9am "short" 2-3 mile run at W&OD Trail in Vienna
• Monday 7/4/11 - 8am Let Freedom Run 5K (meet around 7:15am in normal Fx. Corner parking location - behind AAA building at intersection of Monument Drive and Government Center Parkway)
• Wednesday 7/6/11 - 6:30pm run (location TBD)
• Saturday 7/7/11 - 8:30am PVTC Track Meet in Falls Church (meet around 8am)

I just want to wish everyone good luck in the race on Monday.  I hope that we see TONS of Rogue Racers PR's!  Most importantly though, I hope that everyone has fun and races hard.  It is time to show everyone that good friends, hard training, and a sportsman-like attitude (at all times) make our team what it is... GREAT! :-)

As Kelly Paul would say, "Tri... Endure... Succeed..."

Happy training, 

Holly