Chris Herren
On Wednesday, February 15th, I had the tremendous honor of hearing former basketball star Chris Herren tell his story at North Middlesex High School in Townsend, MA. For those of you who are not familiar with Chris, he is considered one of the best basketball players to ever come out of Massachusetts, but his career was plagued and ended short by drugs and alcohol. ESPN has a documentary about him in their "30 for 30" series, which I absolutely love and this is my favorite one. The document on him is called "Unguarded." Here is a short excerpt from the documentary and a little explanation of his story:
I had scene the documentary before hearing Chris speak live, but it was remarkable to hear his story live and he included some info he didn't include in the documentary. He has created his own foundation called The Herron Project which I plan to raise money for during one of my upcoming Ironmans. Chris now travels all over the country telling his story. His story is very special to me because I was once headed down the wrong path and I have too many very good friends and loved ones that are/have battled serious drug and alcohol additions. His story and is very moving and is powerful enough to change peoples' lives. If you ever have the chance to watch Unguarded or see him speak, I would strongly recommend you do so. After he spoke, I had a chance to talk with him and it was really neat. Here is a picture of the two of us:
The First AnyOne's Tri
One Saturday, February 18th, I helped direct the first of hopefully many AnyOne's Tri Indoor Triathlons. This event was held at the Salem Workout Club and Wellness Center which is a beautiful facility. We did not have as many participants as we wanted, but it was still a great day and we a ton of great feedback. Here is some video from the day:
I would like to congratulate PTC athlete Michael Cunningham for officially becoming a triathlete! I've been working with Mike for a few months now and he has tremendously increased his fitness level since we got started. When I first met Mike, he was just learning to swim and could barely make it one length of the pool. On Saturday, he ended up doing 27 lengths of 25 yards in 15 minutes! Mike looked strong all day and all is hard work is really paying off. He paced himself well on the bike and did fantastic on his run. In general, he's always upbeat and a real joy to work with. I also managed to talk him into getting a Garmin Heart Rate/GPS watch and I've managed to turn him into a data junkie! I love it! :) Way to go Mike! I'm really excited to watch him continue to improve and achieve all his goals this season and beyond!
I also want to congratulate PTC athlete Nancy Epstein for finishing first in your age group and was the 2nd overall female for this race! Nancy is an incredible woman and is just a great person. I love seeing her succeed! Next up for Nancy, the Boston Marathon!
I'm excited to announce the 2nd race will be held at the Nashua YMCA on March 18th, 2012. This event will include a 15 minute pool swim and 30 minute bike like the Salem event, but the run will be a 5K run in Mine Falls. Registration and more details will be posted soon.
Half At The Hamptons Half Marathon
On February 19th, my fiance Kristen and I competed in the Half at the Hamptons half marathon. The weather was a bit cold to start and there was some wind throughout, but you really couldn't have asked for a better day in the middle of February to run. I am very proud to announce that Kristen finished the race, her first running race ever, in 2:30, which was about 30 minutes faster than projected! However, her speedy time was bitter sweet for me. Since Kristen crossed the line way before I was expecting her to, I wasn't there to see it happen! This did not make her too happy and I was pretty disappointed not to see her cross as well. Luckily she got over it pretty quickly. Way to go Kristen!
As for my race, it went pretty well. I am still in the base phase of my Ironman Training so I have not been doing as much speed work as I typically do. Nonetheless, I pushed it hard the whole way through and was able to out sprint a guy at the end. I finished in 1:24:34 which placed me 2nd in my age group and 22nd overall out of a little over 1300.
My Last 2 Weeks of Training
February 6 -12
Monday: 7:14hrs slept, ZS: 86
nap at lunch: 10 min
Yoga 1hr
Tuesday:
7:42 Hrs slept, ZS: 90
nap 10' at lunch
Bike Power Test: 45' total, but did a 20' TT. Avg Power was 313, which has raised my FTP to 294. I am happy with this considering I did not ride as much this winter as normal as I was really focused on my strength training.
Run: 10 miles in 1:19:46
Wednesday:
7:20 Hrs slept, ZS: 86
10' nap at lunch
Spin Class: 40 min
Swim: 3000 yards in 53:34
Thursday:
7:10 hrs slept, ZQ: 88
5' nap before dinner
Strength: 1:10 at DSC
Swim: 3800 yards in 1:10:18
Run: 7 miles in 53:48
Friday:
7:32 hrs slept, ZQ: 92
Spin class: 45'
Bike: 50 miles on IMSG in 2:31:58
Saturday:
7:10 hrs slept, ZS: 90
Strength: 1:10 at DSC- make up for missed workout on Tuesday due to bike test
Swim: 3600 in 1:05:38
Sunday:
7:17hrs slept, ZS: 91
nap after run + swim, 15'
Run: 17.20 miles in 2:16:07
Swim: 2525 yards in 40:25
Hockey: 1hr- Lawrence Academy Alumni Hockey game. Had a lot of fun, but did some damage to my ankle. No surprise there as this has been the reason I haven't been skating.
Week of Feb 13-19
Monday:
6:23 hrs slept, ZS: 81
nap at lunch 15'
Bike 26 miles of IMSG in 1:15:09
Tuesday:
8:03 hrs slept, ZS: 96
nap: 15' at lunch
Strength: 1:10 at DSC
Run: 10 miles in 1:16:46
Wednesday:
8:10 hrs slept, ZS: 102
Spin Class: 40 min
Swim: 3600 yards in 1:12:30
Thursday:
7:05 hrs slept, ZS: 85
Strength: 1:10 at DSC
Swim: 3800 yards in 1:08:40
Run: 4.02 miles in 30 min
Friday:
7:52 hrs slept, ZS: 94
Spin 45'
1hr massage
Saturday:
8:15 hrs slept, ZS: 105
Yoga: 40 min
Sunday:
7:54 hrs slept, ZS: 98
nap: 35 min after race
Half Marathon: 13.1 miles in 1:24:34