Ben Franklin Bridge 10k

_DSC1607
Originally uploaded by smehrlich1220

Yes, you can!

Dewey Beach Triathlon and Philly Distance Run

Chi Chi Bankok is going to have to stay in the closet for a little longer. I thought about racing in drag to distract the fact that my running time has been, ugh, dragging. My drag alter ego Chi Chi Bankok has been in the closet since Miss Patricia Bambridge's Beauty Ball. The Philadelphia Distance Run today was supposed to be Chi Chi Bankok's racing debut.

As I got up this morning, Miss Bankok said she wasn't ready for her close-up. I left her in the closet and off I went to the race. I put on my black racing shorts, my black and white racing tee, and my sunglasses. No money, no iPhone. I got into my assigned coral and stayed focus on the race.



My first two miles were slow as I held back. FRP's Joe S passed me. PFP's Tony F also passed me. I started to get comfortable once I got back to the Ben Franklin Parkway, seeing the last several corals barely got out of the starting line. I increased my pace a little bit once I set foot on to the familiar Martin Luther King Drive. I started to pass people. FRP's Marty. FRP's Tony. Drexel's Ross. Joe S. Bruce. I was thrilled that I passed Bruce that I may have pushed a little too much. I started to run out of steam around mile 12. What kept me going was the realization that I was on pace for a personal best, and a loud scream from my friend Kevin just before mile 13. "Anh, FINISH STRONG," he said. I knew he was watching so I pulled myself together and sprinted toward the finish line. The clock time was under 1:39.

Chip time 1:36:43
Clock time 1:38:47
5k split 23:58
10k split 47:25
10 mile split 1:14:24
Average pace 7:23

Male 35-39: 165th out of 949 male 35-39 finishers
Male: 976th out of 5853 male finishers
Overall: 1,180th out of 12,274 overall finishers

Once again, the Philadelphia Distance Run brought the best out of me. I had another personal best in a half-marathon road race, the day after I completed a sprint triathlon.



What can I say about the Dewey Beach Triathlon, other than an opportunity for me to parade around in public wearing nothing but a speedo?
The ocean waves were rough this year, so my swim time was 6 minutes (20 percent) slower. My bike and run times were slight better, but my overall time ended up being 5 minutes slower than my time last year. I liked this triathlon because it was not very competitive, and the bike course was easy. Having completed this race the past two years, I don't think I will come back again.

35

P-town
Originally uploaded by reflexblue

Turning 35 was not a big deal for me. I did look back, with wonders, at all the amazing things that were part of my life for the past five years.
I reinvented myself as a runner, running over 20 marathons and over a handful of trail races as well as all the big road races in Philadelphia. I started swimming with the Philadelphia Fins Aquatics Club in 2006. Soon enough, I became one of the regulars in the pool, and I have been the Fins president for the past two years. Making public appearances in my speedo has become a regular routine. I started doing triathlons as well as stand-alone open water swim races. I did the MS150 City to Shore Bike Tour. I ran an ultramarathon. I ran a one-mile leg of the Penn Relays. I became more involved with Philadelphia local politics. I started an annual trek to Provincetown. I surround myself with an amazing group of friends. I have a wonderful partner and a cute black lab. Life is good.

Second Wind

I am back on my feet, running 25 to 30 miles a week. I am training for a 50k trail race, as well as two marathons later this year. My motivation was primarily to prepare my body for Provincetown!
I only ran about 8 miles a week for the past year, so going back up to 25 miles was not easy. I had to slow down to make sure that I could reach my target miesl My body was still in shape, so the second week went by a lot smoother. The 15-mile training run on my birthday was a breeze.
I am hoping to keep running 25 to 30 miles a week for the next 3 months, so I can perhaps see another sub-4 hour marathon time!

Open Water Swims

I am enjoying the summer racing in open water swims.
First, I did the swimming portion of the Philadelphia Triathlon. We started from the St. Joe’s Boathouse on Kelly Drive and swam downstream, and made a right into the transition area. Yes, that was the Schuylkill River. My time was 26:44 minutes, and the swim time for my team was 38th out of 55 Olympics distance relay teams.

The Schulkill River was very clean. I could see the bottom of the river at some point. My second swim was the Maryland Swim for Life. The water at the Chester River was filthy. The day was sunny but when my face was in the river, it was pitch black. Participants in this S4L could pick between 1 and 5 miles to swim. I swam 2 miles in 1:16:33.3, and placed 16th of of 19 male under 45 years of age. This was the longest swim distance I completed.

Next up, a week later, was the Ocean City, NJ One-Mile Masters Ocean Race. The race started from 42nd Street beach and proceed north until the finish at 34th Street. The water was slightly cold, but the sea was calm. I finished at 29:52, 282nd out of 282nd out of 374 finishers. I was 6th out 7 people in my age group. Awards were given to the top 6, so I got my first ever ocean swim award!

Back On My Feet 20in24 Race (2009)

Back On My Feet 20in24 Race (2009)
Originally uploaded by reflexblue

I ran 50 miles last year, but only 8.5 miles this year as part of a relay team. The weather was not as hot this year. I looked at all the Lone Rangers and suddenly felt like doing another ultra. Next year!

Confessions of a Lane Five Swimmer

Fins @ Philly Gay Pride Parade 2009
Originally uploaded by reflexblue

I am still learning to pace myself out so I can keep my energy level up for the entire 90 minute workout. Typically, I start out fast during the warm-up set, then struggle to keep up for the main sets. My kick is getting good, but my pull still needs work. I like Lane 5's interval for freestyle and longer sets, but for sprint and stroke sets I can follow Lane 4's interval. I get in either Lane 4 or 5 these days, depending on who's at the pool.

Wissahickon Trail Classic 10k

Wow, I got a personal record at the Wissahickon Trail Classic 10k this weekend. This is the only trail race that I know of within the City of Philadelphia. I ran this race twice before, and it's a pleasant surprise to have a PR while I am not i a top running shape.
I walked a lot going uphill, but I made up during the flat and downhill portions. Threw up a little bit toward the end. Landed on the wrong part of my feet 3 times. Fell once (at the next to last turn going downhill before the finish).

Come Out and Swim 2009

200 SCY breaststroke 3:22.42
100 SCY breaststroke 1:35.55
100 SCY freestyle 1:22.12
50 SCY breastroke 43.08

I also swam 50 breaststroke leg of the 200 IM relay with Jeff Rice, Marc Forget, and Minh Truong.



This was the first meet that I swam freestyle, and that I swam a relay. It was also the first meet that I placed in my age group, for the 200 yard breaststroke.



I was one of the organizers of the meet, so this was 6 months in the making. I was involved with all aspects of the meet. My main task toward the end was to coordinate 40 volunteers to work for the meet event. Luckily, volunteers showed up on time. After giving a quick orientation, I transfer the supervisor duty to my friend Eric, so I could start warming up for my first event.

The 100 yard freestyle was the most difficult for me. Although I practiced this about 100 times, I was very nervous swimming freestyle for the first time in a meet. I did well, but I almost had no energy left for my last event, 50 yard breast, which was only about 5 minutes after my freestyle swim.

Delaware Marathon 2009

They listed me as female again, but my time was too slow to win a female age group award :)

It was a rainy and windy marathon. The course was changed so this year we ran 2 loops instead of 4. It was still a very small race, and since I was in the second half of the pack, people were friendly!

I started out doing 9 minute mile pace for the first 10 miles, and gradually started to slow down to 10 minute mile pace. Cramped up first at mile 19, then again at mile 23. I walked for a few minutes to give my muscles a rest, but got my second and third winds to finish the race at 4 hours and 27 minutes.

The time was slow for me, but crossing the finishing line was definitely another personal triumph!

Confessions of a Lane Five Swimmer

My 50 SCY freestyle is 38 seconds, and my 100 SCY is 1:26 seconds in a recent time trial during a Fins practice. I should still be in Lane 5, but since we have had more inexperience swimmers joining, I found myself mostly in Lane 4 the past month.

I am usually the slowest swimmer in Lane 4. The 100 yard interval for Lane 4 is usually 1:40. I really need 1:50. If we do 6 x 100, then I can do the first two 200, then sit out a 50 to catch a breath and re-align my lane positions.

I think my hand entry and recovery improve, but I my kick is still week, and I still can't breath well on the left side.

Broad Street Run 2009

The Broad Street Run is getting bigger every year, and I am starting to like it. The coral start is new this year, and it is great for me to stay ahead of 20,000 slower runners / walkers.

My time is two minutes slower this year, but I am thrilled to have gone under 80 minutes.

I am done with the M30-34 age group for this race, so here are my results from the past 5 years:

2009: 1:16:09; 371st out of 1943 men in my age group
2008: 1:14:13; 238th out of 1504 men in my age group
2007: 1:16:23; 277th out of 1329 men in my age group
2006: did not run
2005: 1:30:08; 708th out of 1108 men in my age group

Judge Anders & Friends At Clean Air 5k

I organized two team of runners and walkers, Judge Anders and Friends I & II, for the Clean Air 5k race this year. Team members were me & my parents, Dan and his parents, Fins swimmers, and many of my personal friends.
Dan ended up getting a cold for the day, so he was the photographer for Team Anders. Dan's parents won age-group prizes (70+ male and female). It was my parents' first race ever. They walked the course and finished together just under an hour.

My time was 21:22. That was 62 seconds slower than my time last year, but I was thrilled with that time. It was nice to be with friends and family. I also enjoyed seeing members of the Frontrunners Philadelphia (gay running team) and Falcons (gay soccer team), as well as many random people whom I never thought were runners. The weather was great, and the Clean Air Council put together another fantastic event.

Jury Duty with Philly Mayor Nutter

I was on jury duty today. I was selected for a criminal case (robbery and illegal posession of fire arms on North block of 29th St. in January 2008). I was juror number 28. Juror no 19 was Philly mayor Michael Nutter. The mayor got a lot of looks when he first came in to the wait room, but most people left him alone for the rest of the day. He said hello to a few people but mostly kept to himself.

After waiting around for 5 hours, I was excused because of a personal connection. Not sure if Nutter was selected or excused.
Trial hasn't even started yet!

Timeline
8:15 am check-in, fill out survey no. 1
8:45 am - briefed on logistics for the day
9:00 am - received video instructions on how to fill out survey no. 1
9:15 am - received instructions from a judge
10:00 am - selected for a criminal case along with 49 other people
10:15 am - moved to a court room
10:30 am - moved to another court room; filled out survey no. 2
11:15 am - sent to lunch
12:30 pm - reported back from lunch
1:00 pm - sent to jury room behind court room 807
1:10 pm - sent to court room. Judge asked me two questions and sent me out.
1:15 pm - received the $9.00 stipend and sent home