Sunday, January 20, 2013

Jan. Update

The new year is in full swing now!  The training for the Little Rock half is going well.  I've been feeling great during my runs and have stayed injury free so far!  A couple of races are coming up the next couple of weeks that will allow me to see where my training is at.  The first one is Jan. 26th.  It is the Scout Trail Run out at Burns Park.  It is a 3.8 mile using the green trail.  While not a road race, I will be able to see how I feel after a long week of training.  The weekend after is the River Trail 15k.  This is one of my favorite races of the year. I will have a mini-taper to allow myself to hopefully have a great race.  The goal for the race will be to average 7:10-7:15 min/mile pace.  I will need to average this to reach my goal of 1:35 at the half.

There's the update so far.  Enjoy a little swim video to get your self ready for summer!


Saturday, January 5, 2013

Happy New Year 2013



Welcome to 2013!!! Of course, it started 5 days ago, but I hope everyone's new year has started out great!  We survived the Myans before we moved into 2013, so I guess it is a new beginning.  I know a lot of people have resolutions, but I think of my year/life as a small series of goals that I try to reach.  Some small goals lead to larger goals, but I feel if I can break things down then it is easier to reach my goal.  So for 2013, I have a few goals/things to do. 

Being that I like to call this blog Pinnacle Adventure Travel.  There are already a few adventures, challenges, and races planned for this year. Keep reading and find out more.

The first big race of the year for me will be the Little Rock Half Marathon.  My goal for this race is to run under 1:40.  The second goal is finish around 1:35.  My training has gone well so far.  I've felt good as I've increase my running distance.  At end of Jan/beginning of Feb, I will get to race a couple of events that will allow me to see where I'm at.  I have the One Hour Track run the 27th and the next weekend will be the River Trail 15k.  Also, during this time, I run a couple of trail races from DLT Events and start training for a couple of rides.

I have so far signed up for two big rides for 2013.  The first one is the Ouachita Challenge.  This a 60 mile mountain bike ride located in Southwest/central Arkansas on April 5th.  The race starts in Oden, Ar, and the coursese combines the Ouachita Trail and the Womble Trail for 60 miles of epic mountain bike riding.  Since, I'm somewhat new at mountain bike riding, I need to start mountain biking more which would be small goal to lead to the race.  Below is the elevation and course map of this ride. 




The second big ride for 2013 will be the Death Ride.  What is the Death Ride, well it is a 129 mile tour over 5 passes in an area called the California Alps located in Alpine County, CA.  The total elevation gain is 15,000ft! 

This ride will be a test of endurance.  I've looked at some Garmin/Strava files and most people are on the bike for 10hrs or more!  With the Ouachita Challenge in April and this in July.  I will have lots of riding to do!  

The great thing about this ride is that it will allow me to also vacation out in the area and visit Yosemite.  Which is one National Park I've always wanted to vist.



As far as other races for 2013, I would like to do a 70.3 at somepoint in the year.  This will depend on how my training is going and what event will work best.  I have thought about Kansas 70.3 and now with Branson returning as Rev 3 event.  I may put this one down.  I will again race triathlons throughout Arkansas (Hot Springs, Conway, Heber Springs, Arkadelphia) to name a few.  Memphis in May is also on the list.

Again, as usual, I'm always one to enjoy traveling and the major travel goal is to get my passport stamped this year.  My passport was disappointed that it received zero stamps in 2012, so for 2013, I will find somewhere to go!  It may be toward the end of the year, but I have that goal.

The first trip of the year will be back out to San Francisco in Feb.  I plan on visiting a friend out there and it looks like it could be a ski trip also.  That would be great because I haven't been skiing in years!  The trip will be a whirlwind for sure though.  I plan on leaving after work on Wednesday.  My flight leaves at 6:00pm and I get to San Francisco at 10:00pm.  This leaves me with full days on Thursday-Sunday.  However, I will get my first experience with a red-eye flight.  I leave San Francisco at 12:53 am on Monday and arrive back in Little Rock at 8:35 am on Monday for the longest commute of my life!  This should be adventure.

Well there is a short description of my first half of the year.  It should be a great one!  I haven't even though about the second part of the year yet!