Continue reading »]]> 300 Miles

January was a huge month for me.  For the first time, I hit 300 running miles in a single month.  Woohoo! Technically, Monday was supposed to be an off day, but after looking at my totals on Sunday, I found that I only needed 19 miles to hit 300.  So, I moved my rest day to Wednesday and did 15 miles and 9 miles on Monday and Tuesday respectively to put me over the threshold.  Even at 305 total miles, this rock star, still beat me out by 2 miles. However, I think I should get an automatic bonus 2 miles for mainly doing my mileage outside and not on the treadmill .

Barry-Roubaix

(photo courtesy of http://www.barry-roubaix.com)

Last night, I stepped out of my comfort zone and signed up for Barry-Roubaix on March 24th. Barry-Roubaix is billed as “The Killer Gravel Road Race.”  With three race options (23 mile, 25 mile, and 65 mile), I went with the middle ground and chose the 35 mile race. I spent some time last night tuning up my commuter turned mountain bike making sure that it would be up to the task.  Thankfully, with a new chain and cassette, I’ll be ready to rock.  I’m excited to try something new.  Here’s to hoping I don’t die.  Have you ever done a gravel/dirt bike race?

Spring?

So who is loving the weather we are having right now.  Here, in the Midwest where we would normally be freezing our nuts off, we are seeing temps in the 40’s and even low 50’s! Both of my runs this week were in shorts; one even in short sleeves as well.  It is looking like today, with a high of 44*, will be another shorts day.  Do you think spring could really be here already? Or is Mother Nature playing a cruel, cruel joke on use and going to stick us with snow in April or something crazy like that?  I guess it depends on whether or not you believe this guy.

Continue reading »]]> Around 4:00 this afternoon, I was wrapping up work and getting ready for my run.  I had a lactate threshold run on the docket – 12 miles with 7 miles @ half marathon pace (roughly 6:40 pace).  All week I had been planning on doing the speedwork on the treadmill.  Why? Well, quite frankly speedwork on the treadmill is easier.  It was a cop out.  There are no hills or wind to deal with on the treadmill and you just have to set your pace and run.  However, as 4:00 rolled around the temperature hit its high point of the day; 40* with sunny blue skies.  It was going to be hard to pace up running in such great weather (well, great weather for January in Michigan).

I headed to The Twitter for some advice:

And the advice quickly rolled in…

So, my decision was made… (Note: some the tweets came in after I left on my run)

And the verdict?

Epic Amazing run! I did a 3 mile warm up and then managed to pretty much hit the pace I needed to on each of the 7 miles at pace.  A nice 2 mile cool down wrapped up the run.

Split 1: 6:40 (Started off way to fast at a 6:20 pace and had to reign myself in)
Split 2: 7:00 (Had to walk over a bridge completely covered in ice – safety first)
Split 3: 6:44 (Started to dry heave about half way through but managed to keep it down)
Split 4: 6:37 (Finally managed to get in a zone)
Split 5: 6:40 (Still in the zone, this isn’t hard at all)
Split 6: 6:42 (Falling out of the zone)
Split 7: 6:42 (Oh dear Lord. Just hold on! Embrace the hurt!)

It turned out to be a huge confidence boast and I couldn’t have done it without the encouragement of my tweeps (or is it twits?).  Thanks everyone!

Continue reading »]]> #1

I’m already getting a great start on knocking off the items on my Seven Things I Will Do in 2012. Two down and it isn’t even February yet.  First, I obtained a piano and have started to refresh my skillz.

I am surprised at what knowledge I have semi-retained.  There are some songs that I can still play pretty well from start to finish (Jurassic Park Theme song anyone??).  My biggest struggle at this point, I think, is going to retrain myself to play with both hands at the same time.  I can nail the right hand and left hand separately, but it is having the coordination to both at once that trips me up.  Before you know it, I am going to be rocking to all the hits from the 90’s.

Yes, I really have this book and yes, I really need a newer version

#2

The second of my goals that I can cross off is a long treadmill run.  The goal was at least 10 miles on the treadmill. I did 18.  Call me crazy, but I sort of enjoyed it.  My scheduled run was 18 miles with 12 at marathon pace.  I knew that with the amount of snow/ice on the ground, that there was no way I could hit marathon pace outdoors, so I opted for the treadmill.

I rigged up a holder for my iPad so that I could watch a movie (Return of the King) while I ran. The iPad holder also doubled as way to block the treadmill display so I wasn’t constantly checked the time/distance.  This, however, did cause a problem when I accidentally bumped the emergency off button when I did have to check the time/distance. 

The run went better than expected and I even pushed the pace for for the final 3 miles of the 12 miles at marathon pace speeding up with each of the miles.  I ended up finishing the entire 18 miles with a 7:15 min/mile pace.  The Plan is working.

#3

Finally, I ended up joining the Striders Tri Club.  This is the group that I have been doing spin class with.  I joined them on Sunday for their weekly long spin and spent 3 hours in the saddle of the Black Rock doing an aerobic workout including 30 minutes of 1 leg drills.  It sucked, but at the same time it was fun.  Joining the club is a huge benefit – it was basically fiscally irresponsible NOT to join.  For $49 you get a tech shirt, a K-Swiss tri top, discounts at the store and on races, and the spin classes are only $2 instead of $6.  So as long as I do 12 spin classes I will basically break even and get some free shirts. Win.  It seems like a great group of people of all different skill levels and ages.  I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of events they have once the weather warms up and we can ride outside.

Continue reading »]]> Thanks to Ellen for the blog title. I hope she doesn’t mind that I am borrowing it.  I better watch my grammar and spelling now or risk ending up as a “blah” on her site.

Awe: LED Light Vest

Homepage: http://ledlightvest.com/
Rating: 8 out of 10
Cost: $59.95 for human vest, $39.95 – $44.95 for dog vest

Back in October, during the Grand Rapids Marathon, I saw a guy running with a dog.  The dog was wearing this really cool reflective vest with lights on each side.  After the race, I began looking for the vest online to no avail.  Then, back in December, Jennie and I were at a fun run for the opening of a new running store where I saw a dog with the same vest.  I asked the owner where she found it and she told me that I needed to find Gary because he makes them.  After the run, I found Gary with his dog (wearing the vest of course) to get some details.  He gave me his business card and told me to email him if I wanted to buy one.  He also showed me the led vest he was wearing himself.

I checked out the his website and found this video.

At the time, Gary hadn’t turned on the ability to order the vests online (it is available now though), so I shot him an email and arranged a time to buy them.  He lives nearby so I drove over to pick them up.  I ended up spending a good 30 minutes talking to Gary about running and the vests.  His passion for creating a great product was very evident in our conversation.  He has worked in the lighting industry (think car headlights and brake lights) for years and has spent countless hours making sure that he is using only the best quality electronics.

Technical Details

Human Vest
Usage: 4+ hours on single charge
LEDs: 12 front white Super Bright LEDs output 60,000 mcds (a butt load of mcds).  The 12 back red Super Bright LEDs have the same output as automotive tail lights.
Sizing: One size.  The vest itself is the Runner’s World reflective vest

Dog Vest
Usage: 2+ hours on single charge
LEDs: 6 red Super Bright LEDs on each side, 12 total
Sizing: 3 sizes available (Bailey is a medium)

Both vests come with a rechargeable Nimh battery which means that you can recharge them whenever you want without having to worry about affecting the longterm life of the battery.  The charger is the same for both vests so even though we have two chargers, only one is necessary.  Also, the battery pack is completely removable in each vest allowing you wash them. 

Updated 1/25/2012 10:17AM

MattyO asked about charging the vests and whether or not both vests could be charged at the same time.  The answer is yes.  In fact, you don’t even need to remove the batteries to charge them.  Each vest has a charging port (in between the toggle switches above) so you essentially plug in the entire vest to charge it.  As long as you have as many outlets available as vests you can charge them all at once.

The human vest has a zipper storage pouch that stores the battery pack but still has room for keys, Gu, etc.  The human vest also has two toggle switches, one for the front lights and one for the back.  That way, if you are running in a group you can turn off the back lights to avoid blinding those behind you.

My Thoughts

Overall, I am super happy with both the human vest and the dog vest.  I can only assume that Bailey approves of the dog vest because he knows that when we get it out that it is time for a run. 

See…

This is Bailey’s pathetic, “hurry up, I’m ready to go” whine.

I have used the vest for both running and biking multiple times and it works great for both activities and I have never felt safer.  Not only does the vest emit an intensely bright light to make yourself visible, but it is also bright enough to light your path.  The front LEDs have “caps” on them that help to direct the light forward and down so that they don’t affect your vision.

The vests are both head turners.  So far, Bailey and I have been called “Tron and his dog” and likened to to 1970’s era aliens.  I have also noticed cars slow down and stare as they drive by trying to figure out what is so bright and even had people yell, “Love the vest” from their car as they drove by.

While slightly bulky feeling at first, I quickly became used to the feeling and it doesn’t bother me at all now.  The bulkiness is a bit more evident when running versus biking because you are bouncing around more. I think some of this bulkiness could be lessened with a better fitting vest.  The Runner’s World reflective vest is a little bulky on me to begin with and only comes in one size.  I may eventually try to modify the vest a bit to tighten it up around my torso.

As bright as the human vest is, it doesn’t entirely eliminate the need for a headlamp.  If you are running on familiar streets/sidewalks then you are probably good running without a headlamp.  However, if you are on unfamiliar trails, you may still want a headlamp so that you can look around.  The vest is super bright, but if you want to look left or right, you need to turn your entire torso rather than just your head.  I did a couple runs on a some dark trails and wished I had my headlamp so that I could determine whether the rustling I heard to the side of the trail was a cougar or a squirrel.  I really hope it was just a squirrel.

If you are an early morning or late evening runner, I can not recommend these vests enough.  Like, I said, I’ve never felt safer and you can’t put a price on safety. Especially when it comes to our 4-legged friends.

Blah: GearAndTraining.Com

Edit: So, I typed this whole “Blah” up only discover the following when I went to the gearandtraining.com web page. 

I guess I wasn’t alone.  Any ways, feel free to read on if you are bored, but now you don’t have to worry about getting screwed over.

I mentioned back in November the problems I was having while buying a new trainer.  Well, over 2 months later, I am happy to announce that everything is finally worked out.  It started on October 31st when I ordered a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine trainer from GearAndTraining.Com. The product was listed as “In Stock” on their site and they had the best price.  After ordering the product, my credit card was charged the next day.  Ten days later, I still not received any shipment or tracking number for that matter. I called customer support and was told that they were awaiting a shipment from their supplier.  So, apparently “in stock” doesn’t really mean in stock. I decided to cancel my order and order from another supplier (Tree Fort Bikes) who actually had the trainer in stock.  Problem solved, story over, right? Wrong.

(This trainer deserves a review of its own. It rocks!)

When the credit card bill came, I noticed I was never refunded the money for the original trainer purchase from GearAndTraining.Com. (Note to online stores: don’t charge me before you have the product ready to ship).  I contacted GearAndTraining.Com and was told that they would correct the problem immediately.  So, I waited another week and still no credit was applied.  Subsequent phone calls went straight to voicemail stating that it was a busy time of year (Christmas) and to leave a message and they would call back.  Did that. Multiple times actually and received no reply.  I eventually had to officially dispute the charges with our bank.  While that process went surprisingly well (Yay PNC!) it was something that I should have never had to do in the first place.

Continue reading »]]> Yesterday, I did my first spin class at the new Striders store.  What a great training ride.  Because it is hosted at the store, you have to bring your own bike and trainer which is a bit of a hassle, but I would rather ride my own bike than a spin bike at a gym.  The class was led by a local pro triathlete and she did a great job. Structure-wise, it isn’t much different than a Spinervals DVD, but it is much more fun and motivational to do the workout with 10 other people.

I also found out that the new store has a tri training group.  They are hosting a kickoff party in the next couple of weeks, so I’ll probably go to that and check things out.

The Pfitz Plan is still keeping me plenty busy on the running front.  This week will be my first 70 mile week so hopefully I am still alive at the end.  Today’s workout is 6x1200m intervals with warmup/cooldown to total 11 miles.

Winter has finally arrived (sort of).  We got our first big snow of the season – a whooping 3”.  And of course everyone panicked like it was the end of the world.  Seriously? We go through this every year. 

The first few days of snow were absolutely gorgeous.  Fresh, clean white snow draped the landscape and it was an absolute pleasure to run in.  On my long run last weekend, I had the roads nearly to myself.  Everyone else seems to have begun their hibernation period or migrated indoors to the dreadmills.  15 miles in to the run, I paused and realized that it was completely silent.  I stood there taking it all in and watching watching the snow fall for a minute before continuing on; the squeak of my shoes in the snow the only sound.  Now, the snow is a dirty, slushy mess.  Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

I started on a project last weekend and hope to have it finished up this weekend.  Basically, I started to finish off one of the last areas of our basement.  Once I wrap it up, I’ll post some pictures.

I absolutely love my Kindle and I’ve been continuing to read whenever I have time.  I just finished up Long Distance. It is about a writer who decides to take a year and train full time as a Nordic skier. It is a great book for any endurance athlete.  A couple of my favorite quotes from the book:

“At every endurance event, there comes a time when you’ll say, ‘What the fuck am I doing here?’ And you’ll say, ‘This is what I do.’”

“‘If you’re going to expand your comfort zone, you’re going to fall on your keister pretty often,’ said Lamb. ‘And if you just keep it in that safe zone, you’re going to go through life living in suburbia, and you’ll never know what’s in your heart and soul.’”

Now, it is back to getting my zombie fix in with Zone One (which follows up my reading of World War Z).  I may have a problem, but not nearly as much of a problem as some other people… (you know who you are).

Finally, if you are a local reader, the Y is putting on some free triathlon clinics starting this weekend.  Saturday will be a Tri 101 clinic and Swim – Technique & Training clinic.  Both are classroom style so no need to wear your swim suit (unless you want to of course).  For more info, and to sign up, head here.

Continue reading »]]> Well, it is official.  Bailey has now been a member of our family for a whole year.  That means that our one year time period to return him has expired. Ok, there really wasn’t a return period, but I had a tendency to tell him that we would return him if he wasn’t behaving.  He would just look at me with his cocked head trying to figure out what I was telling him.

Here is what he (and we) were up to during his first year.

Such a cuddle bug!

His first bath – when he was still small enough to fit in the sink.

Doing what he does best – napping.

Bailey’s first public outing at the Reeds Lake Kite Festival.

Playing the snow with his big Aunt Bagel.

Waiting for Jennie to come home from work.

Learning out how to climb the stairs.

Taking an ice bath after a hot summer run.

Being forced to celebrate his 6 month birthday. Unhappily.

Spectating his first triathlon a very windy day.

So many toys, so little time to play with them all.

Helping with the yard work by chewing up any stick he can find.

Again, not happy to be wearing a hat. This time for his 1 year birthday.

Bailey’s first 5k!

Celebrating Halloween!

Helping pick out a Christmas tree.

Happy New Year!

Still a lap dog. Either the dog got bigger or the lap got smaller.

You’re the best Bailey (aka. Bailey Bug, Bug-a-Boo, Bug, Bugsy).  We wouldn’t return you even if we could.

Continue reading »]]>

It is official, I am now registered for the 2012 Woodlands Marathon on March 3rd! While I had previously hinted at a spring marathon, I finally registered for one.

I actually began training for this race back in November.  I had revisited my goals for 2011 and realized I needed to ramp up my running if I wanted to hit my goal of 1500 miles for the year.  As I ramped up my mileage to 40-45 miles a week, Jeff recommended Pete Pfitzinger’s book Advanced Marathoning. It was just what I needed.  While I still recommend Hal Higdon’s Marathon book for the newbie marathoner, Pfitz’s Advanced Marathoning is geared toward taking your training and racing to the next level.  I realized, that with some hard work and serious focus placed on running, I could make a run at a BQ marathon this spring.

I looked at some races in the Midwest (Glass City, Martian, Lansing, etc.) but all fell in April which would be a few months into IMMT training.  So, I took Jeff up on his offer to race the Woodlands Marathon with him in March, just before IMMT training will start up.  However, by the time I made that decision (early December), I was already a bit behind schedule.  Advanced Marathoning offers 4 levels of training plans each in a 12-week and 18-week format.  Ideally I would have like to have done the 18/70 format (18 weeks, maxing at 70 miles per week), but I only had 15 weeks until race day.  So, with a bit of tweaking, I “warmed up” with some modified weeks from the 18/70 program before beginning the 12/70 program (12 weeks, maxing at 70 miles per week).  If you are curious as to what the training program looks like, you can check it out here.

I now have 4 weeks of solid training under my belt and I can feel it working. At least I hope that feeling is “working” and not my legs ready to cry “Mercy!”  It is the hardest (and most) I have ever run in my 14 years as a runner.  Before reading Advanced Marathoning and starting this plan, I’d have thought it would be impossible to log 50, 60, or even 70 miles a week.  However, the body somehow adapts to it. I’m not going to say it is easy or pain free by any means, but I don’t feel like I am training any harder than I have for previous marathons when I logged 30-40 miles per week.

The goal for Woodlands is to BQ which means sub-3:05 (yikes).  However, I am shooting for a 3:02-3:03 in order to give myself a buffer to both BQ and not get locked out a the new registration process.  That comes out to about a 7:00 mile which should be doable.  Over the past month or so, I have gone back and forth in my head on whether or not this is a realistic goal.  My fastest marathon was at Grand Rapids this past October in 3:20.  Other than coming off Ironman training in September, I was horribly undertrained for it.  My current training times point to the fact that I am right on track with my training, but mentally I still struggle with it.  So I have decided it is time to nut up or shut up ignore the brain and trust in the legs (and the plan).

That’s the plan.  Woodlands Marathon in 8 weeks. I’ve got this.

(via: http://www.wordboner.com/)

Continue reading »]]> Totally stealing this idea from Katie (without the gratuitous ass shots of course).

January

Started off the year with the cold, cold, cold Portland Winter Run.

Immediately after the Portland Winter Run, we headed off to adopt this little furry bundle of joy.  He has grown a bit since then, but will still sit any lap available whether he fits or not.

Ended January with an awesome blogger meetup at the Frostbite Marathon relay.

February

My Christmas present of a new bike finally arrived at the bike shop! Bike porn galore!

Broke my toe. Tripped over the dog and went foot first into a heat register. (Despite getting shit about posting the foot picture back in February, I decided to repost it. Deal with it.)

I was too stubborn to miss a month of racing despite the broken toe so I hobbled through the Heart and Sole 5k to keep the streak alive.

March

With the toe finally back to normal, I busted out a near PR 5k at the Irish Jig.

April

Had an awesome blogger meetup at the Glass City (half) Marathon with Tom, Colleen, MattyO, Heather, and BDD.  We had a great time and I even managed an awesome half marathon PR.

We had a spring thunderstorm where we learned that the end of the rainbow was actually in our front yard.  Time to start digging for a pot of gold? Gotta pay for this sport somehow.

May

Ran the Calvin Spring Classic 5k for the first time and ran with Rob and Sheri as well.

Ran the Tulip Time 10k and 5k respectively.  I would have had a 10k PR except a volunteer routed us the wrong way and we accidentally cut off about .5 miles. 

Rode 155 miles around the entire county hitting all four corners.  The 145 mile course wasn’t enough so we *purposefully* got lost and added 10 miles onto the course.

Rode 23 laps around Reeds Lake as my 100 Miles of Nowhere.  Crazy but fun.

June

Knocked the Grand Rapids Triathlon Half Ironman out of the park with my first sub-5 hour 70.3.

Celebrated 5 years of home ownership!

Did my 2nd ever Olympic distance triathlon and despite a suckfest on the run still managed a nice PR.  Too bad it was the last year for the race because it was an awesome event.

Signed up for my 2nd Ironman race before even finishing the first one.

July

Celebrated 6 years of wedded bliss!

August

Actually took a vacation! Of course there was plenty of running, biking, and swimming on said vacation.

Shocked myself with my first sub-19 minute 5k at the Siren Chase 5k.  I ended up placing 7th overall and 1st in my age group.

Despite a cancelled swim, I had a great race at Ironman Steelhead 70.3.  Bailey made his spectating debut as well and was a trooper the entire day.

September

I became an Ironman! Swim Report. Bike Report. Run Report. When is the next one?

Recovered from aforementioned Ironman with a beer and football recovery program at the Holy Land Notre Dame.

October

Did the bike leg of the Run, Ride, Row triathlon down in Berrien Springs.  Had a great time racing and hanging out with the Wood’s and Smith’s afterwards.

Took some time to go on a nice fall color tour on the bike.

Rocked another Grand Rapids Marathon and scored a PR at the same time. I also signed up as a lifetime entrant so I better keep up this whole running thing.

Celebrated Bailey’s first birthday. Even if he didn’t want to.

Bailey ran his first 5k at the appropriately named Bailey’s Doggie Dash.

Continued to embarrass Bailey by dressing him up for Halloween.
I had absolutely nothing to do with this.

November

Jennie and I successfully cooked our own Thanksgiving dinner for the first time.  No one got sick and it was delicious!

Before Thanksgiving Dinner, Jennie, her brother Brad, and I ran the Anti-Turkey Trot.  I won the 10k race! Woohoo! Brad took 4th overall in the 5k and Jennie rocked her first ever 10k!

December

We made and decorated some kick ass gingerbread houses with Matt and Jenn Smith.

Bailey helped pick out the perfect Christmas tree.

I celebrated Christmas with my favorite girl and the best puppy ever.

Continue reading »]]> Well, 2011 is in the books, so I guess that means it is time for the annual goals wrap up post.

First things first.  Jennie and I wrapped up 2011 in a pretty casual manor.  We did the annual Resolution Run and then laid low for the rest of the day relaxing and sharing a bottle of bubbly as the ball fell. 

We both had great races and scored PRs to wrap up the season (read Jennie’s race report here).  My methodology for running a 4 mile race is to go out at 5k pace and then just hang on for dear life.  I ended up with a 24:47 (6:12 pace) which is over a minute faster than last year.  It earned me 38th overall and 4th in my age group.  The weather was absolutely perfect (40*F) and I ran in shorts in a short sleeve shirt.  On New Years Eve. In Michigan. Ridiculous.  I completely cooked my legs and it sort of ruined my long run on Sunday, but on a positive note, a 24:47 4 mile race calculates to a 3:04:43 marathon.  That puts me right were I need to be to BQ!

The first and only time Bailey has been allowed on the couch. 
He seemed worried that he was going to get yelled at.

Goals Revisited

Alright, onto the goals review. I originally posted my goals back in January. 

Finish Ironman Wisconsin – A  This was more of a pass/fail goal more than anything.  A season of training culminated in one of my most memorable races ever.  The entire weekend was a blast and I am proud to call myself an Ironman (and wear my finishers jacket at any chance I get)

PR Half Ironman Distance – A Not only did I PR, but I managed to go sub-5 hours at the Grand Rapids Triathlon.

One Race Every Month – B+ And not for lack of trying.  For some reason July was a really difficult month for us to find a race.  The one race we had in mind was on July 30th and ended up being cancelled.  I did do a bike tour in July though.  Does that count?

Complete All Swim Workouts for Triathletes workouts – C I ended up doing most of the workouts.  Ok, I did 50/66 (75% of them).  The ones I didn’t do were mainly because I didn’t feel like doing them.  They usually involved lots of 75 yd intervals (my least favorite interval distance).  I’m happy with the C as the main reason for this goal was to add some variety to my workouts rather than falling into a rut.

Keep Up My Strength Training – C  I sort of have good and bad weeks with this.  I was on a pushup/crunch/pullup kick for a week but feel off the bandwagon after 4 solid weeks.  I did some P90X workouts here and there but nothing consistent.  I honestly don’t know what it will take to keep up the strength work at this point.

Run a sub-19 5k – A I sort of can’t believe this one happened.  I didn’t think it would happen, but I managed to pull it out in my last 5k of the season back in August with an 18:56.

Under 2 Hours at the River Bank Run – A- I managed to keep it under 2 hours, but I bonked hard at the end and didn’t manage a PR.

Bike over 6,000 miles, Run over 1,500 miles, and Swim over 200 miles – B+ I managed to meet 2 of the 3 goals with 1,570 miles running (249 runs) and 235 miles swimming (164 swims).  However, I fell short on the biking with only 5,243 miles (165 bike rides) which is still 1,400 miles more than 2010 so I’ll take it.  I am most happy with meeting my goal of the running mileage.  After my broken toe setback in February, it was looking like I would fall short of 1500 miles in early November.  I amped it up though and logged 40+ miles 8 out of the last 9 weeks of the year with 3, 50 miles weeks.

Hit 1:20 for 100 yds – B I realized halfway through the year that this was a somewhat unrealistic goal.  While I did hit 1:20 for quite a few 100 yard intervals during the season (and even clocked a 1:18 once), I need to focus more on bringing down my /100 yd speed over the long course rather than simply swimming faster intervals.  Sure, I suppose they are linked to some degree, but worrying about my 100yd interval speed shouldn’t be the focus.

Overall, I am happy with my accomplishments in 2011 and am looking forward to 2012.

How did your 2011 wrap up??

And just for a teaser, stay tuned for a review of the new LED running vests that both Bailey and I got.