March 16, 2009 - First Race Under the Belt...

Well, got up on Sunday, March 16, 2009 at 6:00 a.m., took a quick shower and made myself a shake. I wanted to get in some swimming before our little race. I got to the pool around 8:00 a.m. and did about 10 laps. I was able to sneak in 3 50's this week. And the rest were 25's with about a 30 second rest between each leg. I got ready for the race at the gym and just shot home, ate some whole wheat toast with low-fat peanut butter and grabbed Monica to go. Another big point, I drank a ton of water before the race including some protein water... I think it really helped.

We got to the registration area and it was pretty organized and easy to navigate. We got our numbers and proceeded outside for some stretching and warming up. Everybody was very nice and the pack opened up and the gang took off. I came in at 30:58 Monica was about 4-5 minutes behind me if that much. Not bad for a couple of first timers I think. Thank's neighbor for telling us about it!!!

The course was flat and the day a bit cool at the start and gray, but my body heated up quick and I wound up having too many layers on. I learned a lot from yesterday and I will give those pointers in a second. First, I want to tell you about some pretty cool software I came accross for my Blackberry 8820.

Trimble Outdoors has this software they distribute and manage or something that is developed by a company called Handmark. The application works with the cellphone's GPS. At the start of the race you start the application, let it lock into a satellite and then hit the start button. It calculates the route, time, distance, calories and more. When you are done, you upload the whole trip with one button push back to the website and you get a report that looks like the pics below. It is great!



This information has taught me tons about my running already and at $39.99 for an annual subscription you can't go wrong (at least I don't think so)... It works for running, biking, trails and more - check them out at http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/TrimbleOutdoors.aspx. Look for the AllSport GPS Software.