Ultramarathon training starts this week!

I have given it some serious thought, and I think my next challenge should be the ultramarathon. An ultramarathon is any race longer than 26.2 miles. I have my sights set on the Chicago Lakefront 50K which takes places along the lakeshore path on 3/26/11. Stay tuned for more updates on my training progress!

Three days, and not much longer

The waiting is almost over! The Chicago Marathon is this Sunday and I am so excited to be competing. I trained differently than last year, increased my mileage over last year, and learned quite a bit from last year's race. I really feel a 4:00 marathon is within my reach. Only one problem....

It is supposed to be mid-30's at the start of the race!! That is cold!!! I am struggling with how to dress warm enough for such a long race without overheating. Probably going to wear a light sweatshirt over my WorldVision jersey and ditch it after mile 5, but we will have to play it by ear. Did I also mention it is supposed to rain too??

On a lighter note, I have my wife, my sister-in-law, and her husband all coming up to support me. I will be wearing bib 6585. Wish me luck!

2009 Chicago Triathlon Experience

Well I did it! I finished the 2009 Chicago Sprint Triathlon in 1:49:56, which is pretty much where I expected to be (somewhere under 2 hours). Woke up at 2:15AM and couldn't go back to sleep (alarm was set for 3:15AM). Arrived at Millenium Park garage at 4:30am so I had plenty of time to setup the transition area. Made my way to the swim start and noticed 95%+ of the people are wearing wetsuits. Not worried though, as the lake temperature was at 62.4 degrees and ambient was like 55 degrees, so the water didn't feel that cold (you probably won't believe me, but it wasn't that bad). Swim start for me was 6:16am, and the sun was just starting to rise. Wish I could have taken a picture of that. Anyways...

I trained for this event with the Sidestroke. Not the most efficient approach, but it helped me to conserve energy. When I saw quite a few people using the Doggie-Paddle, I felt much better. Survived the swim and then began the jog to the transition area to get my bike. If you have never swam any type of distance before, when you get out of the water you are way disoriented! So imagine jogging AND trying to keep your balance! Very tricky. Anyway, got my bike and proceeded to ride up and down Lake Shore Drive. I actually didn't go overboard on the biking portion. Just kinda kept a safe pace.

Finished the bike and was into the final (and my favorite) part of the event, the run. Surprisingly, I had a lot of energy left, so I really gave the run my all. I passed a lot of people, which felt pretty good I must say. Especially when I was passing people who started before I did. Anyhow, I sprinted the last 100m and finished the run at 22:20, which is better that most of my 5K race times!! My run time was 124th fastest out of 2304. I'll take it!!

Afterwards, I had plenty of bananas and Gatorade, watched some of the Olympic distance triathletes finish, then headed back. I was exhausted the rest of the day!! Ate several chilidogs at Melissa's parents place, then headed home for an early night.

Thanks to all who supported me in my race efforts thus far. If you have not yet done so, please consider contributing to my efforts by clicking on the FirstGiving box on the right. All donations are tax deductible and are going to a very worthy cause.

The training continues!! I will be running 20 miles this Saturday to continue training for the Chicago Marathon on 10/11/09. I will keep you posted on my progress.

What a week!

Where do I begin? Well, Tuesday I went swimming in Lake Michigan so I could get a feel for open water swimming. Surprisingly, the water was not that cold. It was 80 degrees outside though. The swim on Sunday is at 6AM, so it will definitely feel cold. Anyway, I swam the full half mile and did fine. Only a few people clobbered me in the head. My plan of attack is to start in a slower group and stay to the side.

Then I went for a long ride on the racing bike on Friday. The course on Sunday only has one turnaround, so it should be a fast ride. I am getting the bike tuned up on Wednesday to make sure it is ready for the triathlon.

Then for running, I did my long run on Saturday (18 miles). I felt fine, and could have ran more, but my concern here is my speed. I need to get more speed workouts in, as my target race pace is 9 minutes / mile. Overall, legs felt fine.

Then on Sunday I saw Pearl Jam play at the United Center. Excellent show! They played several songs I had never heard live, and some I had never heard before. Traffic going there was horrendous. It took 2.5 hours to get there!!

If you haven't yet donated to support my race, I ask for your support to help those who are less fortunate. With your help we can make a difference.

Long, hilly run

Well, I knew I had 17 miles to do, so I figured I would change up the course. Yesterday I took a jog to Lake Hills to do my long run. That place has some hills! I mean Kenyan hills can't be that steep!! Anyway, I got to see that subdivision and all the new houses, again, and again, because I couldn't find my way out of there! That was rough! Eventually I managed to find the road I came in on, and headed back home. Was hoping to run 17, but Alex had a soccer game that morning, so I only managed 16 miles. Could have ran more, but I was happy with that. Even though Chicago is a flat course, I think a hill workout here and there will come in handy.

Next up, an open water swim on Tuesday and hopefully a long bike ride later in the week.

Karaba John Strikes Back!

Been awhile since I have posted anything, so let me bring you up to speed. I finished last year's Chicago Marathon and swore I would never do anything like that again....Then a month later I was running again and looking forward to more races. I decided to do three events this year in my effort to raise money for Africa: Chicago Rock and Roll Half Marathon (8/2/09), Chicago Triathlon (8/30/09), and Chicago Marathon (10/11/09).

The Half Marathon was this past Sunday and I am happy to say I finished it safe and injury-free. I had been battling plantar fasciatis (sp), sore quad muscles, and a knee injury. But I was able to finish the race without any of those affecting my run. Granted, I had to take some time off training for these things, hence my time suffered slightly. I finished at 1:50:55, which I was OK with. Really wanted to have finished faster, but oh well.

My next challenge is trying to train for the Triathlon and the Marathon at the same time. I will keep you posted on my progress.

New Video!!!

Wanted to write a bit about my training lately. Ran 13 miles last weekend and ran 8 this morning. I am ready for this thing. I am probably going to sign up for the 3:45 pace team, which will be a challenge, but I think I can pull it off.

Here is the latest training video. I think you will enjoy it.