Quick Note on Cayman Islands Half Marathon

Did the Cayman Islands Half Marathon this morning, looking at is as a hard effort supported training run.

Came in at 2:00:53 (per results at allsportcentral.com). Had a long break somewhere after mile 12.

I came up on a fellow who'd dropped to a walk, and he was weaving some. I dropped to a walk with him and eventually decided to sit him down rather than accept the injury risk if his leg buckled (though we were close to the finish he was weaving more and showing little peripheral awareness). One runner pledged to send someone back for us, and soon Coach Jerry Harper showed up on his scooter. Coach went off to get us more support. A volunteer equipped with a radio arrived and called in. Next to arrive was a police car, and the officer was set to get the fellow to the nearby hospital (although not all that much further back of his car I did see an ambulance coming our way). With the fellow in good hands I went off to finish my run. I was hanging around after the finish when the police officer stopped by to report to the event organizers, so I was able to get the assurance that the fellow was on an IV drip at the hospital with no known serious complications.

A good run (average heart rate 175) with the local peeps, great support from the volunteers, and I even got to help with keeping it a safe and friendly event (yea me). My thanks to the organizers, sponsors, and volunteers!

Luggage Retrieved, Registration Completed

Yesterday I retrieved my wayward checked baggage from the airport and completed my registration for the Cayman Islands Half Marathon to be held Sunday December 6th.

When I was at the airport I saw Coach Jerry Harper waiting to greet one of the arriving marathoners. I am amused that this could be a tradition: last year my checked baggage also went astray when I returned from U.S. Thanksgiving travels, and Coach was there when I went to retrieve them that time.

I had hoped that returning on Monday instead of Sunday would have had my checked baggage making it onto the same airplane as me. Fail. I suppose avoiding Miami on my return leg is a better plan.

Links from the Local Big Show

The local big show is the Cayman Islands Triathlon, sponsored by Scott's Equipment.

Congratulations to the participants, and thanks to the volunteers and sponsors!

Here is a write-up
Here are some slideshows (bottom of the page)
Here are some more pix

Hat tip to my sister Wendy for the article link, which was waiting for me in my e-mail inbox. (I'm back in the office after my travels, and am hopeful that my checked baggage will soon join me!)

Uninjured, but took the DNF

Just a quick note while still traveling.

At the half-way point of the marathon on Saturday I was two minutes behind goal pace and was only going to get slower. I decided to DNF and avoid the recovery costs of completing. A nice day out there, though!

I expect that I'll do a half-marathon on Cayman next weekend, and then be able to start back into training with emphasis on the aerobic system and strength (perhaps with Tabata sprints on the spin bike thrown in).

The Week That Was

Tuesday: treadmill one mile intervals (work time:recovery time = 2:1, completed 2 with HR max somewhere around 182)
Wednesday: 0.85hr. run (zone 3/zone 4, max. 180)
Sunday: 1.0Hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

Some soft tissues in my right ankle officially hate intervals.

Also, I think that intervals during the week plus any sort of stress during the week can leave me unrecovered for a long run attempt. Apparently my taper began last week after the 18 miler. Not ideal, but what training cycle ever is?

The Week That Was

Wednesday: 0.85hr. run (zone 3/zone 4)
Saturday: 2.5hr. treadmill run (zone 2), 18 miles

Sunday I volunteered at the second of our build-up races for the end-of-November triathlon. Over 70 participants again!

The prior week that was:
Wednesday: 0.85hr. run (zone 3/zone 4)
Sunday: 2.0hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
I think there was another run, but not sure....

On that Saturday I volunteered at the CUC 800m Sea Swim. I was put out there in a kayak (it has been a *long* time since I've been in one), which made for some fun (along with the seriousness about safety). The last finisher was a very little girl with her mother accompanying; they were a few seconds over 45 minutes.

The Week That Was

Tuesday: treadmill one mile intervals (work time:recovery time = 2:1, completed 2.5 with HR max 182)
Wednesday: 0.85hr. run (zone 3/zone 4, max. 178)
Friday: 1.5hr. treadmill run (lower half zone 2)
Saturday: 0.5hr. treadmill run (zone 2)
Sunday: 0.67Hr. treadmill run (zone 2)

I cut the one mile repeats short. Need some desensitization at that effort, and would rather be conservative than court injury. 15 minutes of total work time is a start.

Volunteered Sunday morning at the first of our build-up events for our November triathlon. Holy cow, we had over 70 participants!

Sunday afternoon I had a long treadmill run scheduled. It clearly wasn't going well, so I bailed. On the plus side, I did enough of an equipment test to confirm that I won't use gel flasks for my upcoming marathon.

I'll emphasize recovery through Friday this week and then try to run long on the weekend.