I've realized that it has been a month sinced my last post! 2009 so far has been very good to me. Although it has been a harsh New England winter, I still continue to prevail. I am WAY ahead of where I was at this time last year. Not having a car has forced me to cycle outdoors and it has really helped me get fit. That on top of a lot of running (73 miles last week) helped shed all of that December weight. I am now back down at 8.5% body fat @ 157 lbs and feel a lot better. How did I get so fat in the first place? Anyway, it's gone and forgotten. I need to make sure I don't peak too early before Boston and I'm focusing as much on speed as distance. Swimming is going good. I am now in my 6th year of swimming. Every year I add proves me wrong about me becoming a decent swimmer.
I'm thinking of changing the name of this post, since this athletic stuff has become my lifestyle and I'm focused more on becoming a top master's athlete in both triathlon and running. Any suggestions??? I predict this will be a big year for me, as my level of experience training and racing is helping me reach new levels each year.
Here is the current race schedule for 2009:
DH Jones 10 Miler February 22nd Amherst, MA
New Bedford Half Marathon March 22nd New Bedford, MA
113th Boston Marathon April 20th
Sudbury Sprint Triathlon May 10th Sudbury, MA
FirmMan Mass Half-Iron June 7th Lancaster, MA
IronMan Lake Placid July 26th Lake Pacid, NY
Hopfully this schedule will include Kona, HI in October. That is and always will be the goal.
Rock On!
-Kyle
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Final Thoughts On 2008
For me, 2008 was an up and down year. Not many PRs, but a lot of great experiences and some pretty good performances. Certainly, the trip to Nice was an experience and a vacation I will never forget. I'll recap some of my best races and pieces here:
2008 Best Swim: Definitely in the shiny blue waters of the mediterranean. I finally broke the 65 minute mark in Nice. I had a great swim and I will be looking to break that PR this year at Ironman Lake Placid.
2008 Best Bike: I have two this year. The technical-suicide ride in the Alps is a feather in my cap. Who knows if I will ever have a chance to race in Europe again, so I will flash back every time I watch the tour - I totally did this year. And ... The Pat Bell Time Trial in Southborough. That was definitely a performance that proves 200-250 mile weeks can turn anyone into a good cyclist. That ride just felt good and 26+ mph average to boot.
2008 Best Run: No question about it. Manchester Marathon saved my year for running. I bought a pair of skate skis with the prize money.
Anyway, on to 2009; Boston Marathon, Lake Placid. I will post a race schedule in the next few weeks, as I register and work out the details. I hope folks have started their base training. Things have been going well and the running is coming along. The pounds are shedding as I write this!
-Kyle
2008 Best Swim: Definitely in the shiny blue waters of the mediterranean. I finally broke the 65 minute mark in Nice. I had a great swim and I will be looking to break that PR this year at Ironman Lake Placid.
2008 Best Bike: I have two this year. The technical-suicide ride in the Alps is a feather in my cap. Who knows if I will ever have a chance to race in Europe again, so I will flash back every time I watch the tour - I totally did this year. And ... The Pat Bell Time Trial in Southborough. That was definitely a performance that proves 200-250 mile weeks can turn anyone into a good cyclist. That ride just felt good and 26+ mph average to boot.
2008 Best Run: No question about it. Manchester Marathon saved my year for running. I bought a pair of skate skis with the prize money.
Anyway, on to 2009; Boston Marathon, Lake Placid. I will post a race schedule in the next few weeks, as I register and work out the details. I hope folks have started their base training. Things have been going well and the running is coming along. The pounds are shedding as I write this!
-Kyle
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Happy Holidays!
Well, I had an extended time off with the crazy NE weather and losing power for four days. The extra week won't hurt me and I'm back running again. It feels good to be back and I can now start building a base in prep for the new year. My BAA application is in and that's always a reminder that marathon training begins Jan 1st. I've managed to gain a decent amount of weight - it's hard to believe I'm actually 17 pounds (almost 8 kilos!) heavier than I was the day I left for France... and yes I was very thin then and not so thin now. I have been told by professional athletes that it is okay to gain the weight when in off-season, but I think it is time for the scale to go in the other direction.
Anyway, I'll post a recap of 2008 with some points on my best races, experiences, etc. I hope everyone has a great time-off and is or has gotten some time off and is looking toward events next year. I can't wait to start the real training again! Only a couple of weeks.
-Kyle
Anyway, I'll post a recap of 2008 with some points on my best races, experiences, etc. I hope everyone has a great time-off and is or has gotten some time off and is looking toward events next year. I can't wait to start the real training again! Only a couple of weeks.
-Kyle
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Off Season - The 2008 Wrap-up
I'm officially in off-season and have not really run the last 10 days. I have gained at least 2 kilos and will gain a lot more if not careful. Swimming is going well , but still not enough time in the pool. Now is a great time for me to take the time off! Plan is to ease back into running around mid-December. Hard core activity starts Jan 1 and this time off makes me want to train my head-off!
Hope everyone is looking at time off, which is inevitable around the holidays. Big races for me next year; definitely Boston in April and LP July!!!! 2009 is definitely my year and I'm ready take them all down!
I'll recap 2008 in a week or so. Rock on!
-Kyle
Hope everyone is looking at time off, which is inevitable around the holidays. Big races for me next year; definitely Boston in April and LP July!!!! 2009 is definitely my year and I'm ready take them all down!
I'll recap 2008 in a week or so. Rock on!
-Kyle
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Calling It A Year
Covered with mud, the Lowell Cyclocross was a blast. It was a challenge riding after all the rain, but I approached it with the right frame of mind - to have fun! That said, I'm calling it a year. I will run the Ayer 5K Thanksgiving race with my 8 year old daughter - her 1st 5K. Next week I'll ride the course and hang around and drink beer with the boys at the Sterling cyclocross. I will then take a three week respite from running and focus on other things; swimming? I have yet to swim more than two day a week. Need to figure out a room by the pool and get serious. Any way, the off-season approaches and it is always a time I struggle with, but I may push up the '09 start time to around the holidays and get back in gear early. I have big plans for the Boston marathon and Lake Placid 2009. I want to go to an entire new level and break all the barriers thought impossible! Hope everyone is concluding their season and is starting to think about taking a rest as the Pros are doing it and it is good for the body. It has been a long year - almost 11 months of training this year! and it is easy for me to call it a year and take a break! -KyleMonday, November 3, 2008
Manchester Marathon Race Report
5Th Overall
Official Chip Time: 2:56:59
28th Marathon (PR still Boston 2007 2:53:11)
This was big race for me, having never made podium at a marathon before and certainly not at a race this big. The whole race was broadcast live on Manchester TV Channel 7.
This course was HARD. I had been warned that it is a hilly and challenging course, and not to disturb the Boston Marathon gods, but this was the hardest marathon I have ever run. The weather was of course blustery and cold with a strong headwind at times, which didn't help the pace. I'll still take these conditions over warm day any day!
After the race I had come over to the officials to ask if they had a results listing for the marathon, when I heard Greg Meyer call out "Kyle Bowers from Boxborough, MA." I came out to the podium confused and actually had to ask the race director, who explained to me that they were doing the top five finishers male and female. We all posed for the media snapping pictures - wow! - what a rush. And then I found out that I had won a couple of hundred dollars in prize money! - another first. I also got to chat with Greg Meyer (last American to win the Boston Marathon 1983) for some time, which was really cool.
It has been an up and down season for me. 8 weeks ago I did my first 3 hour run, not knowing if my Achilles would start to bother me after the first hour. It didn't and I got some confidence that I could start endurance training again. I then trained as hard as possible for the next seven weeks and then stopped. Certainly, not a traditional training period for me, but my running came back. Okay, enough tooting my own horn, the race report:
Everyone (half and full) started at the same time, which means you don't know who you are running against until after the first half. Quite a few Kenyans present at the start and a big mob of fast runners. I had heard afterwards that several marathoners tried to stay with the half marathoners and later paid. This course leaves downtown and heads right for the hills. The hills in the first few miles weren't bad, but we had a constant headwind. After several miles I realized I wasn't anywhere near my pace. The race then does a section of rocky trail which zig-zags (bye, bye marathon pace) and then back onto the roads and more hills. I'm now looking at my watch ... I'm way off pace by minutes, thinking I will be lucky to break 3 hours! More hills, sharp turns and roller coaster descents. The last 1.5 miles finally we come down out of the hills, almost all gradual downhill or flat and I manage to make up a lot of time. I stay right (don't look at the 1/2 marathon finish) and pass the half in around 1:27. The spotter at the half yells out "tenth!" I have three guys in front of me and can see no other runners. I reel them in over the next 1 mile and we run the next four or five miles together. A couple of times someone drops off, but comes back. At one point I'm saying to myself "they're dropping me." We stayed together and the pace felt fast. Then the bad joke, we go from some modest hills and flat to a hill that goes up and keeps going. I am now swearing I am never come back to this GD race again, ever! We round the corner and OMG - there is still more hill - at least 1/3mile! Finally, finally we hit 19miles and are running downhill toward St Anselms college. At 20 miles I pass a Kenyan who is walking while I pass - everyone cheer!!! I then drop the guys I have been running with for over 5 miles. Then at 21miles another victim of the first half is having leg cramps. I can now see a young guy who is at least 200 meters away, but I am reeling. He doesn't look good and I catch him on a downhill right after 22 miles. I am now running alone with several guys behind me that I know are real good runners. A long stretch ahead and I can see no one. I am still running hard trying to put a surge on. I know they aren't far behind because I hear the clapping behind me. I am trying to push and want to stay out of their sight. I know if I can stay out of their sight that will reduce the likelihood of a late race challenge. I'm getting a zing though and it feels like I am leading the Boston Marathon. I actually had someone yell "fifth!" - but it didn't sink in. Running hard across the footbridge with less than two miles I continue to push. Finally downtown and 25 miles - up another sharp hill, what a surprise. At the top I take my first look over my shoulder. If there is anyone within 30 seconds of me I wanted to know right then. I would rather try to push the first half of the last mile and see what happens rather than them closing on me, but no one was there. I had a half mile of confusion, no marshal or cops - I was actually thinking I might be off course, but wasn't and then proceed to run in the median of a street loaded with traffic and then the end... watching the clock in the final ten seconds of 2:56 I pushed hard with my hamstring doing weird cramping things. It felt good. Maybe it wasn't such a bad race after all!!
Here is a link to the Union Leader article:
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Ndaya+wins+Manchester+City+Marathon&articleId=443be298-29d4-40f3-8c8a-ab92db5bfcf3
Cheers!
-Kyle
Official Chip Time: 2:56:59
28th Marathon (PR still Boston 2007 2:53:11)
This was big race for me, having never made podium at a marathon before and certainly not at a race this big. The whole race was broadcast live on Manchester TV Channel 7.
This course was HARD. I had been warned that it is a hilly and challenging course, and not to disturb the Boston Marathon gods, but this was the hardest marathon I have ever run. The weather was of course blustery and cold with a strong headwind at times, which didn't help the pace. I'll still take these conditions over warm day any day!
After the race I had come over to the officials to ask if they had a results listing for the marathon, when I heard Greg Meyer call out "Kyle Bowers from Boxborough, MA." I came out to the podium confused and actually had to ask the race director, who explained to me that they were doing the top five finishers male and female. We all posed for the media snapping pictures - wow! - what a rush. And then I found out that I had won a couple of hundred dollars in prize money! - another first. I also got to chat with Greg Meyer (last American to win the Boston Marathon 1983) for some time, which was really cool.
It has been an up and down season for me. 8 weeks ago I did my first 3 hour run, not knowing if my Achilles would start to bother me after the first hour. It didn't and I got some confidence that I could start endurance training again. I then trained as hard as possible for the next seven weeks and then stopped. Certainly, not a traditional training period for me, but my running came back. Okay, enough tooting my own horn, the race report:
Everyone (half and full) started at the same time, which means you don't know who you are running against until after the first half. Quite a few Kenyans present at the start and a big mob of fast runners. I had heard afterwards that several marathoners tried to stay with the half marathoners and later paid. This course leaves downtown and heads right for the hills. The hills in the first few miles weren't bad, but we had a constant headwind. After several miles I realized I wasn't anywhere near my pace. The race then does a section of rocky trail which zig-zags (bye, bye marathon pace) and then back onto the roads and more hills. I'm now looking at my watch ... I'm way off pace by minutes, thinking I will be lucky to break 3 hours! More hills, sharp turns and roller coaster descents. The last 1.5 miles finally we come down out of the hills, almost all gradual downhill or flat and I manage to make up a lot of time. I stay right (don't look at the 1/2 marathon finish) and pass the half in around 1:27. The spotter at the half yells out "tenth!" I have three guys in front of me and can see no other runners. I reel them in over the next 1 mile and we run the next four or five miles together. A couple of times someone drops off, but comes back. At one point I'm saying to myself "they're dropping me." We stayed together and the pace felt fast. Then the bad joke, we go from some modest hills and flat to a hill that goes up and keeps going. I am now swearing I am never come back to this GD race again, ever! We round the corner and OMG - there is still more hill - at least 1/3mile! Finally, finally we hit 19miles and are running downhill toward St Anselms college. At 20 miles I pass a Kenyan who is walking while I pass - everyone cheer!!! I then drop the guys I have been running with for over 5 miles. Then at 21miles another victim of the first half is having leg cramps. I can now see a young guy who is at least 200 meters away, but I am reeling. He doesn't look good and I catch him on a downhill right after 22 miles. I am now running alone with several guys behind me that I know are real good runners. A long stretch ahead and I can see no one. I am still running hard trying to put a surge on. I know they aren't far behind because I hear the clapping behind me. I am trying to push and want to stay out of their sight. I know if I can stay out of their sight that will reduce the likelihood of a late race challenge. I'm getting a zing though and it feels like I am leading the Boston Marathon. I actually had someone yell "fifth!" - but it didn't sink in. Running hard across the footbridge with less than two miles I continue to push. Finally downtown and 25 miles - up another sharp hill, what a surprise. At the top I take my first look over my shoulder. If there is anyone within 30 seconds of me I wanted to know right then. I would rather try to push the first half of the last mile and see what happens rather than them closing on me, but no one was there. I had a half mile of confusion, no marshal or cops - I was actually thinking I might be off course, but wasn't and then proceed to run in the median of a street loaded with traffic and then the end... watching the clock in the final ten seconds of 2:56 I pushed hard with my hamstring doing weird cramping things. It felt good. Maybe it wasn't such a bad race after all!!
Here is a link to the Union Leader article:
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Ndaya+wins+Manchester+City+Marathon&articleId=443be298-29d4-40f3-8c8a-ab92db5bfcf3
Cheers!
-Kyle
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Next Race Manchester Marathon
Yeah, yeah, I know - it's been a long time since my last post. I know there was a lot of negative sentiment in my last post. All that stuff about not endurance training, etcetera, etcetera. Well ... I've battled back and now my running has been revived. Losing at the West Acton Octoberfest 5K has also fueled my fire, as afterwards I began training as hard and intense as I could, almost to the level of torture. It has been good for me. I am running well and my speed has come back. It hasn't been a traditional marathon training period, but I think that's okay. I may be as fit as my training before Boston 2007, which yielded good results and a PR. Manchester was late enough in the season that I actually had several weeks of quality training - I could have never been ready for Baystate. Manchester, I know and have been warned, is a very challenging course, not for first time qualifiers. For me, I have nothing to lose and will be laying it all out on the course. There is also prize money for masters, which means I will face quality competition all the way around.
Still on the bike - every single day.
Cheers!
-Kyle
Still on the bike - every single day.
Cheers!
-Kyle
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