A New Chapter in My Life

I'm assuming by know, most people know this but.....I have taken a new job with the City of Kaukauna Police Department.  It's difficult for me to explain why this is rather hard for not only me, but my family as well.  6 or more years ago, I've never dreamed I would be where I am today.  Never did I imagine being a cop.  But, here I am, 31, 3 beautiful girls, gorgeous wife of nearly 8 years, and a successful career with the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office.  Over the past 4 and a half years, I have developed some very close relationships and have learned a lot about the job and lifestyle of being a cop.  Friendships that are completely different from other friendships I have developed over the years.  There's a kind of trust you build in this profession.  The kind of trust that doesn't come from just a few days of working together, but a trust that takes years to build.  The kind of trust where you just know that person will do the right thing when you are unable to.  Now, obviously, I will eventually make new friends, new relationships, but nothing will replace the friends I have made over the years at Winnebago.  A lot of the guys I have developed friendships with have been there for me since I started.  They taught me how to be a cop.  How to succeed in the line of work; not only on the job, but in my personal life.  To me, something you just can't forget.

Me leaving Winnebago has nothing to do with anything at the department, which makes this transition difficult.  It has everything to do with my personal life and family life.  I am giving up a lot by leaving Winnebago County.  But, like I said I want to work for my hometown and have always wanted to.  To me, there is a large sense of pride in this line of work.  The way I see it, my job is to protect, help, and simply be there for the community I serve.  I know that sounds extremely cliche, but its true.  I now get to work for the city I live in, the same city my kids live in.  I get to make a difference in my community, I get to make my city a better place to live.  I get to serve my hometown.

I can't tell you how many times I have asked myself (and Sarah), if I made the right decision.  Truth is, life doesn't hand you an answer book.  So, you just need to keep your priorities in mind and always remember what's important to you when making huge decisions.  Life is ever changing.  Who knows what life will throw my way this year, 10 years from now, 50 years from now.  You need to take life as it comes.  I am confident I made the right decision by changing departments.  My family is the most important thing to me in my life and I would do anything for them.  So I know this is the right move, no matter how difficult it may be.  Sure, I can tell you right now, I am making a lot of sacrifices by leaving Winnebago County.  I am giving up being a member of one of the best SWAT Teams in the state (IMO), a lot of opportunity for advancement, training opportunities, and probably working day shift anytime soon.  But, I am gaining a lot for my family.  I will be working a more family friendly schedule and now everything will be closer to home cutting down on time away from home.  Even though I may not be awarded as many opportunities with the City of Kaukauna, I know that eventually I will be given opportunities to advance my career.  But, instead of relying on my years of service with Winnebago, I will just be starting from the bottom again - and that will be tough.

It's going to be a challenge, not only for me, but for my family.  The uncertainty of my schedule, the inability to take days off, and going through another training process (even though I am responsible for training many of the new hires at Winnebago County).  I'll easily get over the differences between departments, because in the end the job is the same.  The most difficult challenge will be losing many of the friendships I have built over the years.  I love many of these guys like brothers and consider.  But, those friendships were built on more than just working together and I don't intend on losing them.

So, to the few guys who have been there for me over the years and helped make me the officer I have become, thank you, sincerely, thank you.  I'll miss working and training with you guys.  Stay safe brothers!

Jailbreak 5k - Race Report

This race has become a staple in my race schedule, regardless of my work schedule.  For one, this race is actually very well run and offers some very nice perks.  Second, it supports a great cause, the Waushara County Crime Stoppers.  And lastly, they offer a separate award class just for law enforcement officers, called the Bloodhound Challenge.  I have been fortunate enough to win the award the past 3 years.  I have been debating the idea of letting someone else win the award, but I guess I'm just not willing to give the award to someone else.  I want them to win the award away from me.  I think the only way I would forfeit the award to someone else, would be for extenuating circumstances were to prevent me from being at the race, such as a family obligation, or if my work schedule simply would not allow it.  This year, I was able to take Friday night off of work and get a good night sleep the night before and I was excited for the opportunity to claim the Bloodhound Challenge for a 4th year in a row.

Training for This Race

Much like my race report for the Oshkosh 5k, I had no real specific training plan for the months leading up to the race.  With only 6 days between races, I really focused on recovery and staying fresh to maximize my odds of having a strong race.  On Monday I hit up the pool for an easy swim.  Tuesday was a hellish day, work-wise.  I ended up running all over the valley for various appointments and obligations, all on no sleep from working the night before.  I made Tuesday an off day and then an easy 4 and 3 mile run on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.  On Friday, I was back in the pool for another easy swim.

Prerace

I got to bed pretty early, around 9:30am and had my alarm set for 6:00am with plans of getting on the road around 6:30-6:45am.  Friday night, I did something I usually don't do on a night before a race...I had a beer....but only one!  Saturday morning came and I was up and out the door by 6:45.  I got to the race site at 7:50, which left me plenty of time to register and warm up before the 9:00am race start time.  At 8:00am, I ate a Chocolate Chip Hammer Bar along with 2 capsules of Hammer Anti-Fatigue Caps.  After allowing some time to pass, I started my warm up.  It was my usual warm up, consisting of a 5 minute jog to loosen up, followed by some twisting lunges, high leg kicks, followed by some more walking lunges.  I finished with another 5+ minute jog with some strides worked in.  I quickly switching into my race shoes, and made my way to the start line.

Nutrition Plan

My nutrition plan was simple, take in the Hammer Bar with the Anti-Fatigue Caps about an hour before the start of the race.  During the race, I bypassed all water stations, but started out with sucking on a Hammer Energy Surge when the race started.  I took in a second Energy Surge at the 2 mile mark to help give me the extra kick I needed during the final 400m.  

Gear/Equipment

Nike Zoom Streak LT2

Hammer Swiftwick Socks

Hammer Running Singlet

Hammer Arm Warmers

Garmin 910xt

Miles 0-3.1

 When the race started, I had very simply, yet specific goals.  One, to win the race and two, set a PR.  So when the race started I wanted to be in the lead, which I was.  The weather was similar to last weekend's race, with temperatures around 40* and 12mph winds out of the East (last week was 48* with winds 14mph out of Southeast).  After the first 400m, I heard a couple sets of footsteps close behind me.  At the 800m mark, a kid pulled along side me, it was the same kid that beat me last year with one hell of a final kick.  I immediately was determined to beat him this year.  I felt as though my fitness was were it needed to be to beat him.  Between miles 1 and 2 we were literally neck and neck.  At times we were running side by side.  At the turn around point (2.15 miles) it was on.  I feel as though we both knew one of us had to make a move to claim the lead.  Unfortunately, once again, it wasn't me that had any gas left in the tank to make the move.  At around 2.65 miles, he was in front and I knew that if I tried to stick with him, I'd surely crash and burn.  At this point, I just tried to do as much damage control and minimize his lead.  He beat me again, but I guess I had a small (very small) victory that day: this year I was only beat by 3 seconds, while last year he beat me by 4 seconds.  I placed 2nd overall, 1st in my age group (30-39), and once again was the 1st law enforcement officer to finish, reclaiming my title as the Bloodhound Challenge Champion!

Post Race

After the race, I was once again, left to sit by myself.  Sarah stayed back home with the kids as Maya had a flag football game, which I felt incredibly guilty for missing, especially after hearing that she scored her first ever touchdown!!!  I chatted with a few other 5k finishers to pass the time until the awards ceremony.  The Jailbreak Marathon, once again, held a great race, with one of my favorite post race atmospheres.  They are extremely supportive of the participants and the race organizers are truly there for the right reason - to raise money for a cause they believe in AND the participants!  On top of an extremely well run event, they offer a full post race buffet style meal (pulled pork and turkey, potato salad, and corn), along with really nice awards for both overall finishers and age group winners.  I realize that this race is run in the back woods of Wisconsin, but it really is worth the trip!

What's on Tap

As of now, I have yet another race next weekend.  This will be the first time I have run 3 races on back-to-back-to-back weekends.  So, once again, it's back to the game plan of maximizing recovery, while staying fresh and fast.  Next weekend I will be running the Neenah Duathlon (formally known as the Paper Discovery Duathlon).  This is one of my favorite multisport races as it is close to home, well run, and an enjoyable course.  The only hitch in my plan of maximizing recovery is a preplanned outing with some of my good friends from work on Friday night.  Normally, I avoid excessive alcohol for 1-2 weeks prior to any race and 4-6 weeks before any high priority race.  This will be my first time breaking this rule.  I will most likely keep myself in check, as I need to coach Maya's flag football team Saturday morning, but I'm sure I won't be 100% that morning.

As always, thank you for reading!

Cheers!

Oshkosh Marathon 5k - Race Report

I opted to add the Oshkosh Marathon 5k to my race schedule on whim.  I worked the weekend of the race and the start line is just down the street from my work, so it seemed like an easy add to my schedule.  I figured, I had nothing to lose and worst case scenario is I just run nice and easy, opposed to running hard and get an easy workout in.  Plus, the event is put on by Du Tri Run, who offer a race series style competition called the 5 Star Series.  I ran the Oshkosh Half Marathon last year so, I do have some experience with this event.  This year, the race organizers added a full marathon option which brought out even more people and media coverage from area news outlets.  There definitely was a new buzz around this race when comparing to last year's race.

Training for This Race

As I mentioned, this race was added a couple weeks ago, so obviously I was specifically following a training plan with this race in mind.   I had been sticking to my previous mentioned "Run Less, Run Faster," training plan.  My training has been going very well and I have been hitting all my marks in my training and have been staying healthy, which is by far most important.  Since my last race, I have been taking rest days as needed and have also been very flexible with my schedule as my family and/or work obligations dictate.  I have been much more flexible with my training and skipping workouts when I have to much more readily when compared to previous years.  I must admit that I have been stressing a lot less when it comes to my training than previous years and I think it has had a profound effect on my family life, as well as my personal stress levels.

Prerace

I worked Saturday night into Sunday.  Lately, my sleep has been absolute crap and that remained true for both Friday and Saturday.  I was a little nervous of where my energy levels were going to be come race time on Sunday morning.  I ended up getting out of work a half hour early to get to the race site early enough to get my race packet and have enough time to get a proper warm up in before the race.  After getting my race packet, I started my usual warm up routine of a short and easy run, followed with some walking lunges with a twist, some leg swings, and then some skips.  I finish it all up with another shorter run, where I now work in some short strides to just work on some quicker leg turnover.  After a good warm up, I made my way to the start line.  The weather was OK, not great, but definitely not terrible.  The temperatures were in the mid 40's with overcast skies, and a strong wind out of the west.  It was definitely the wind that concerned me with its impact on the race itself - but hey, everyone is going to have to deal with it.

Nutrition Plan

I packed a normal lunch while at work before, but I pushed everything ahead an hour or so from when I normally try to eat.  I then ate a Cranberry Hammer Bar at 5:50am (about an 1:10 before the race).  I also took a couple Hammer Anti-Fatigue Caps at this time.  Around mile 2, I took a single serving of Hammer Energy Surge to help the my final kick.  That was the extent of my "nutrition plan," as I took in no water or calories during the 5k itself.

Gear/Equipment

Nike Zoom Streak LT2
Hammer Swiftwick Socks
Hammer Short Sleeve Running Shirt
Garmin 910xt

Miles 0-3.1

All 3 events (5k, half marathon, marathon) started together at 7am.  So, knowing that there was going to be guys running all 3 events starting near me and starting out at various paces based on their personal race goals.  Keeping this in mind I really wanted to come out at a strong pace and try to stay near the lead, all while running my own race.  After the gun went off, I started at a strong pace, just as I wanted.  I was probably in the top 5 after the first 50 meters or so.  At about this time, a gentleman from behind me, came flying by at a much faster pace.  After the first 400m or so, I was in the top 4 of all runners including this younger guy (I'd guess in the 20-25 range) who was running significantly faster than any other runner.  I tried to ignore it, thinking to myself, there is NO WAY this guy can maintain that pace for the entire race and that I'm sure he'll fade after the first mile and I'll end up passing him soon.  If you're unfamiliar with races, its not uncommon by any means for someone who has no realistic chance of winning the race to come out of the start at a very unrealistic pace, just due to the excitement of the start of a race.  All 3 events ran on the same course for the first 0.75 miles and after the 5k turned off from the other two events, the guy in first place was about 200m in front of me and I was starting to debate whether or not he would slow down.  The way I figured, was if I were to try and catch him, I would, without a doubt, bonk and be unable to sustain that effort for the remaining 2+ miles.  I just told myself, have faith in my fitness and stick to my gut with the thought that he would eventually cave and fade back.  By mile 2, I had significantly closed the gap and was only about 25-50m behind him and the gap was closing at a significant rate.  I pushed a little harder at this point, not only because it was the final mile of the race, but because I knew I was going to pass the leader and put myself in first place.  Shortly after the 2 mile mark, I made my move and was officially leading the race.  Now, my goal shifted from catching the leader, to putting some time between the two of us and expanding the gap now into my favor.  The final 1200m of the race was by far the most difficult, as it was directly into the strong winds that I had mentioned.  But, by far, the most difficult section of the race was the final 400m.  The last quarter mile of the race was run directly into the wind along the banks of the Fox River.  I felt as though you were running in a wind tunnel.  The fact that it was the final few hundred meters of the race and you are running on empty giving it everything you've got surely did not help.  I was able to hold off the guy I passed and actually put some time between the two of us and won the 5k by about 30 seconds with a final time of 18:07.

Post Race

After the race, I simply just stuck around and hung out by myself and waited for the awards ceremony.  To kill some time, I cheered on the remaining 5k finishers as well as watched the top of the half marathon field come through the finish line.  The award for winning the 5k was nothing more than what the top 3 age group winners receive - a cheep stereotypical trophy.  If there is any complaint I have of events put on by Du Tri Run, it would be their less than stellar awards.  I often see my fellow endurance friends from across the country post pictures of some pretty unique trophies and awards, from bottles of wine, to unique hand crafted articles. 

What's on Tap

After returning home I took a look at my Garmin data from the race and saw that, according to my GPS data, the course was a little longer than 3.1 miles or 5,000m.  My watch had a total distance of 3.22 miles.  While hanging around after the race I talked to a few other runners and almost everyone had a distance over 3.1 miles.  Another guy said he had a distance of 3.19 miles.  Now, I totally expect a variance in the total distance and do not expect the distance to be 3.1 miles, but 3.22 miles is a little long by my book.  When I had finished I truly expected a better time, honestly even a PR (current PR of 17:49).  After seeing my time and that the course was a little long, I did a little math and came up with a potential 5k time of 17:33.  The whole reason I bring any of this up, is because it brings me to the reasons for my next scheduled race, the Jailbreak 5k.  This race is only a few days away, Saturday April 25th.  I was debating whether or not to run this event all together, but after putting up a strong race with a poorly represented time, I wanted to try it again at another 5k, one that I have had a lot of success at before.  In fact, this is the event where I set my current PR for the 5k.  So, that is what is on tap for me, another 5k, 6 days after the Oshkosh Marathon 5k.  Now, I just need to focus on recovering physically from this race, to allow myself to enter the Jailbreak 5k as fresh as possible.

Thanks for reading! 
Cheers!