Chili Cook Off!

With an 8.5 mi yesterday and a 12 mi coming up tomorrow, I took today off and made chili for our church's chili cookoff!

AND I WON!!! WOO HOO!

There were only 24 or so entries, but the different batches of chili were actually very good! I think all the contestants had kids and were used to making good tasting food. And, because of the kiddies, all the entries were mild and flavorful. I tried them all! Of course, with a big run tomorrow, gorging myself on chili tonight may have been a bad idea. We shall see.

Before I get into my chili, I need to thank my wife, Jennifer. This week was ugly, and Jennifer kept me on schedule for making my chili. I am very grateful.

The foundation for my chili was the cubed pork and beef brisket we had left over from Heather's wedding reception. The meat had already been cubed and well marinated two days before the reception, but when we finished assembling the kabobs we had meat left over so we froze it. It was outstanding! I included some beans, three different types of peppers, some red onion, soy sauce, broth, and one of my favorite ingredients: Napolitos (cactus). Add some spices, and we have chili. Of course, as we were getting things into and out of the fridge, I noticed that we had a fairly good quantity of Pastrami left. So, as we were putting things away and getting ready to head out the door, I grabbed the Pastrami, pulled some of it apart, and tossed it into the chili! Why? dunno. But, it tasted good, and there were only a few scrapings of the chili left to take home.

Many of the entries were noteworthy. Two entered vegetarian chili, with one containing garbonzo beans and the other having a wonderful assortment of chopped vegetables. One chili was chicken based using a green sauce. It was mostly gone before I was able to starting eating, and I think I had about a tablespoon or less. When everyone eats the chili, you know its good. The second place entry was made with a batch of home made salsa. Very nice. Another one tasted like a chili version of a tortilla soup, and was quite good. A couple of folks went for the basic and simple approach and kept the ingredients limited, but they blended the right ingredients in the right quantities, and it sure tasted good. If I had the time, I could make good comments on every entry. Anyway, a wonderful event.

Chili was not the only competition, as "cinnamon rolls" were also on the menu. While a lot of folks made entries, by the time I arrived ALL of the rolls had been eaten, and I did not get a single one! Not even real piece! I missed out!

Well, back to the grind tomorrow, as the next marathon will be only three weeks away!

Cool run!

A cool 8.5 mi run today! In fact, it was a bit too cool. The temp was a bit cooler than I expected, but I didn't realize the problem until I was well out the door without a sweater. I eventually became quite uncomfortable and very tight.

I had planned to start around 5:30. I got out of bed in time (4:50), but had a case of the slows. I was very tired and had a horrible time getting moving. I didn't actually get out the door until just after 6:00 am. Bad, bad, bad, because that meant that I would have to cross traffic lights on Normal Blvd in heavy traffic, which takes time.

My 8.5 mile time was solid: 1:39:27 (99:27 min). My 26th run on this route. My 3rd best time, and only the 4th run where I've broken 1:40:00 (100 min). My best time came a few days before the Lincoln Marathon, when I ran a 1:33:58 (93:58 min). During the Lincoln Marathon, I ran the first 8.5 mi in approx 1:35:49 (95:49 min). I'll be running this distance several times in the next three weeks, and expect my time to improve to close to the 1:30:00 mark. We shall see.

I started very tight, completing the first leg in 9:41. I am now usually under 9 min. I reached the Hwy 2 Trail - Rock Island Trail merge (about the 2.6 mile mark) in 28:39, which is 47 seconds slower than my 2nd best time. I am shooting for under 27 min. I ran the Rock Island Trail segment in 28:33 (again, I'm shooting for under 27 min), and reached the Zoo merge at 57:12. My goal is to reach the merge in under 54:00 min. I hit one light which took about 20 seconds or so, and by the time I got back up to speed it cost me around 30 seconds. Bummer.

The next segment went slow, but for a different reason - traffic. I hit both traffic lights, and arrived at the longest light just as it turned red. I also got stuck for a few seconds at a busy, uncontrolled intersection. I tightened up a bit and had to get restarted three times, which is a pain. My time from the Zoo to 48th Street, which is about 1.75 miles (or so), was an ugly 23:53. Still, I arrived at 48th street at 1:21:06 (81:06). Because I'm training for hills, I saved the big hill for last. I completed the final segment, around 1.5 miles, in 18:20. Normally, when running this segment as a down hill, I almost always finish in 15:45 ish. Since I'm taking it as an uphill, I would give myself an extra minute or so and finish in 17:00 or less. Didn't get that today. On the bright side, not a bad overall time and, considering where I'm at in the trainings schedule, I'll take it!

As noted in my previous entry, I now walk 1 mile (for time) after each run, regardless of how far I go. I was pretty tight when I finished, and my walk time was horrible! 17:14. I'll need to do better than that if I want to improve my walking splits to the point that I can shave significant time off my last marathon finish time.

I won't get to the weights today, as Cornell had a football game. I thought about going before the game, but I forgot about the SCC adjunct faculty dinner! Oh well.

Good run, new walking plan

Ran my 3.3 mi route in 33:44, immediately followed by a 1 mile walking split (14:58). The run time was solid, but the walk time was not so hot.

This is the 32nd time I ran the 3.3 mi route, but it's the first time I ran the route in reverse. I have always run the route clockwise because of the terrain. The first .4 mi is flat or downhill, followed by a steep but short uphill. At about the .8 mark, the route takes an approx 1 mile rolling hill stretch which is mostly down hill, and has a couple of spots which are steep downhills (steep by Nebraska standards, of course, not by San Francisco or Omaha or KCMO standards), followed by a .6 mile flat stretch. The final stretch has a gradual uphill for just under half a mile, followed by a pretty flat half mile home. I like this route because it breaks up the uphills nicely. I have a steep uphill near the front, and a gradual uphill near the end.

By reversing my route, the approx 1 mile down hill stretch becomes a nice uphill stretch. And, those two aforementioned steep downhills become two steep uphills, with the steepest part being around the 2.5 mile mark.

In some ways, its like living half way up a hill. If you leave the house and start uphill, you face only half the hill to start, then get a nice long down hill to recoup before facing the other half of the uphill. If, however, you start down hill, when you get to the bottom you have to run up the entire hill all at once. The distance is the same, but the workout is very different. Since I'm prepping for hills, taking the hill at once is the better training option.

The walk time was pathetic, and as noted in my last entry I'm going walk one mile immediately upon finishing every run, regardless of how far I run. The walk will be timed, and I want to complete it in 13 minutes without jogging or running at all. This will help me in the later stages of the next race, when I will have to rely on well timed walking splits to help me finish the race on schedule.

Of note, not much lifting in September, by design. My weight lifting will taper off this month, with only a few lifts in October before the race. I have lifted a lot in preparation for this next race (44 times), with most of these being lengthy, very heavy sessions (lat pressdowns at over 200 lbs, pec flies at over 300 lbs, etc, 5 to 10 sets on many exercises). My strength has increased dramatically, and is almost to where it was three years ago. But my shoulders starting getting sore and I don't wish to risk an injury before the race, so it was time to throttle back.

Of note, this was my 5th fastest time on this route, and I was only 2:16 off my fastest time. In comparison to other runs, I ran the 5K (3.1) mile Thunder Run in 32:19. I was 1:25 slower today, but I ran .2 mi longer on a route that has a long and steep uphill. The Thunder run is absolutely flat - it's run on an active aircraft runway which is about the flatest running surface you'll find anywhere. Also, I was well rested when I ran my best 3.3 mi time, and was having a great day (it was my birthday). In comparison, I went 12.2 mi yesterday, and I was still sore from that run. Overall, I'm pleased with the results.

Tactical decision: I'm NOT going to run any route over 16 miles until after the Marathon. I have gone over 20 miles three times this year already, including one marathon, and each time it took me many days to recover. I know I can finish 26.2 miles. So, I need to run just far enough to make sure my body efficiently burns glycogen stores and is otherwise ready for the race. I think I can do that with a couple of 16 milers (one next week and one the week after) with most 8.5's, 5.5 two a days, with a few 3.3's thrown in.

Experimental 12 miler

Ran a 12.2 miler today. This was an experimental run, as I tested several different things in preparation for the upcoming KC Marathon. The most important thing I learned was that I should only test one thing at time, because too much variation leads to muscle cramps!

Anyway, I was going over the numbers from the Lincoln Marathon and some preliminary projections for the KC Marathon. As I've stated before, I'm not an uber-runner, so I can't just go out and run a marathon. I have to make a very careful plan and stick to it like glue, while maintaining enough flexibility to change when necessary.

My general plan in the Lincoln Marathon was to run the first 15 miles in 3:10:30, and then jog-walk the remaining 11.2 miles to finish between 6:03:30 and 6:05:30 (I actually finished in 6:00:02). I finished ahead of schedule, so by definition things went well, but as I looked at my times certain facts stood out.

The biggie: I finished miles 15 through 25 in 15+ minutes each, and mile 26 in 14:58. And I was jog- walking at that. By this point I have learned to ignore most magazines, but the fact remains that just about everything I read says that a person in reasonably good health should be able to WALK a mile in 12 minutes. I jog-walked mile 19 in 17:03, and that was mostly jogging! One could easily deduce that I was actually jogging slower than I could walk. If, in the next marathon, I were to finish the first 15 miles in the same time as the last, but reduced my jog-walk time to 14 minutes a mile for the last 11.6, I could reduce my overall time by over 20 minutes. Even walking each mile in 15 minutes would reduce my overall time by approx 10 minutes.

Armed with this information, I started my basic 11.4 mile route (with a few extra's at the end) around lunch. I initially got off to a rough start. I was wearing my camel back, was very tight, and I was stopped at every single intersection that was controlled by a traffic light in the first 5 miles (and by 9 out of the 10 lights on the route). I ran the first 4 miles, and during this time did two long, hard sprint splits. The first split went just under two minutes, followed by a couple of minutes of walking and another long hard sprint split. I ended the sprint split at the mile marker, and walked to the next marker. The time for the walking mile was a HORRIBLE 16:05. I did get a business call that I had to take, but that probably cost me just a few seconds at most. I didn't actually record my time at the Zoo merge, so I'm unsure of how long it took.

I started jogging again at the Zoo merge and ran the next approx two miles, took a short walking split, then jogged up the hill on 56th street. This was an important uphill run, as the KC marathon is a bit hilly. This segment went quite well.

I then jog walked on the rolling hills and, as I dug into my pack, I came to an stark realization: I left one of my bottles of gatorade in the fridge. I didn't have my water bladder in the camelback, and I was out of all fluid at around the 9 or so mile mark. Furtunately, a fast food place is located on the corner, so I jumped in and bought two bottles of water, and drank one as I headed out the door.

I then began my second walking mile at the corner of 56th and the HWY 2 trail. The mile took almost EXACTLY the same amount of time as the first mile (about 16:03). That is a problem.

At the conclusion of that mile, I wanted to run the last 1.2 miles or so. It was not to be. Both legs began cramping fairly significantly as I ran, so I walked the rest of the way.

The two sprint splits were designed to tax me, and they did. I also pushed myself up the hill, which went well. The walk splits did not go well. I have had a problem, over the past 600 miles or so, whenever I have a walking split over about 3 or so minutes in a run. After about 4 or 5 minutes or walking, I have had significant difficulty getting back into a good running rhythm. I was able to restart after the first mile split, but not after the second.

I will rely heavily on my walking intervals in the last half of the marathon. So, from now until the marathon, I will do a timed mile immediately after every run. Hopefully, this will help me remedy this problem under realistic circumstances.

Otherwise, I may have to buy new shoes because these shoes have quite a bit of miles on them. We shall see.

New PB on the 5.5 mi hill route!

Ran my 5.5 mil hill route at lunch and finished in 61:22 - a personal best by over a minute!

I started out well, but felt tight the entire run. Finished the first leg in 15:42, which is consistent within a few seconds of other times on that first leg. I reached the corner of 56th and Pioneers, the approximate top of the hill, at 34:14. I slowed a bit on the down hill portion, mostly because I lost focus and my brain was wandering around. Again, no IPod in tng because they are verboten in the next Marathon.

I didn't really do any sprint splits, but I did three "waddle a little faster" splits. I will incorporate more in a more organized fashion in an effort to get my time below 60 min.

Light lift at night, nothing special.

NEXT MARATHON ONLY 30 DAYS AWAY!

My 25th 8.5 Mile Circuit!

Started the week with the 8.5 mi circuit in the morning, and the weightroom in the evening. I ran in 104:26. Not my best time by any means but, considering the circumstances, I'm not displeased.

The bottom line is that this is the 25th time I have run that circuit, and I recorded my 6th fastest time. While I was way off my fastest time (10:28), I have only completed the run in under 100 minutes 3 times, and my time today was close to my 4th and 5th place efforts. I haven't run that circuit in a couple of months, and I expect my time to improve as I get closer to the next marathon.

I started my run about an hour late (about 7:15). There was a heavy wind coming out of the south, so I ran the 8.5 mile circuit clockwise, meaning that the last 3.5 miles was into the wind with the hill being last. While some magazines suggest that we adjust our routes to take the wind first, I am preparing for the KC Marathon's hills, and I needed to get my money's worth today. I did.

One problem of starting late is that I was innundated with phone calls. I had three calls that I had to take. The first came just as I was launching, and got me off track. The next came around the 1/2 mile mark, and I tried to run and talk at the same time, which didn't work out well at all. The third came just after the 1 mile mark and I had to walk, which cost me at least a couple of minutes. I didn't answer the phone after that.

Another problem of starting late is traffic. I got stuck at several lights, which cost me at least a minute. I also did two planned walking splits, but they were only 1.5 minutes each and did not significantly increase my time.

I started well and finished the first mile in 9:35. I finished the first major split in 29:52, but given the phone calls I'm not overly dissappointed in that time. The next split, 29:15, was a minute or so slow, and I arrived at the Zoo merge (5 mile point) at 59:07, which is over 4 minutes slower than my preferred time (I want to reach that point at 55 min or less). I slowed considerably from there, arriving at the trail / 48th street merge at 1:24:35, and taking 19:51 to make the last leg to my home. In contrast, I ran that same distance on my 5.5 mi route in 15:45 or so (albeit I was running mostly down hill that time and up hill this time). Regardless, I like to run it in no more than 17:30 when running up hill.

I also took a 1 mile untimed walk during lunch today with one of the other attorneys in the office.

Good lift tonight, as I worked on my biceps, triceps, shoulders, and abs.

My son Cornell also played a good football game tonite. No TD's, but two very tough catches. He made a third tough catch, but the ref missed the call and called the pass incomplete (the inexperienced ref was looking up and did not see that Cornell had his foot down in bounds). Cornell also showed me something I have never seen in him before. On a punt return he creamed a lineman, knocking him on his can. It was a tough, very hard hit. Cornell is speedy, so his job is to catch the guy with the ball, not ear hole some lineman. After the game, Cornell explained to me that the guy had grabbed his face mask on a previous play when Cornell was making a tackle and jammed Cornell's head into the ground. The ref's, being inexperienced, missed that one, too. So, on the punt a few plays later, Cornell sought out the guy and planted him. Tough sport!

Back to the hill route!

Entry for Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Ran the hill route today (5.5 mi). Time was 63:22, which was good considering the lateness of the hour, the long lay off, and the horrendous amount of food I've chomped down in the past few weeks. Started strong with a 15:45 first split, and hit the top of the "big hill" at 34:33 (about 3 miles or so). I wallowed a bit in places without the IPod (see yesterday's posting for that story), and would have had a better time had I kept better track of my pace. Pacing without the IPod will be a continuing theme as I prepare for my next Marathon. My wallowing was particularly grievous for about a quarter of a mile or so up the hill, and again in the "rolling hill" portion at about the 3.5 or so mile mark. I ran the last mile and a half in under 15 minutes, which was excellent for me.

The weather was wonderful, 57F when I left the house (around 23:20). Got a very late start again, this time because my wife Jen is sick an I had to look after her before hitting the road. However, a gorgeous, star-lit night, and a lovely night for a run.

Very good lift this morning. I did 5 sets on the bench, including a solid set at 225 lbs. I started on the bench as usual, but with a long day ahead didn't want to push the bench too much. Monster sets on the biceps, triceps, pec flies (one set of 8 reps at over 300 lbs) and reverse flies. Finished with abs and a good stretch.

Closing thought. I worked out of my home this afternoon because Jen was sick and asked me to come home. I jogged over to the elementary school to pick up David (about 1 mile round trip), and David was excited to be able to walk home. As I met him at the school, he sported a huge grin, started running, and then yelled back "race you to the corner." He had a big start, and was very happy when he reached the corner before I did. He then took my hand and we walked together, but after we crossed the last intersection he took off running again, looking back with that same joyful grin. He ran all the way to the front door. I was tickled to see my 7 year old so happy! Of course, the mood changed when he walked in the front door, as he asked to watch TV and mom said "homework and chores!" Regardless, I will always remember him turning around with that great big smile and happily, innocently running. What a day!

40 Days until the KC Marathon

Entry for Monday, September 10, 2007

Ran my 3.3 mi route tonight. Went to Cornell's football game before the run so I got a late start (around 23:30). Overall, it was a cool and cloudy day. The high temp was 60F, and it was a bit humid. The clouds at sunset were blue and grey with twinges of a beautiful red. The temp was about 50F when I ran, so I ran in a sweater.

Before I yak further about my running, I need to boast about our son Cornell. He plays wide receiver on the Southeast High School Varsity football team, but after 3 games has caught only 1 pass because the QB can't seem to throw the football. The QB has only thrown him 4 other passes, and all 4 have either been grossly over-thrown or way under-thrown. The team has scored only three TD's in three games - all losses.

Anyway, the coach asked Cornell if he wanted to play one game with the JV. The coach played the JV QB in the last Varsity game, and it looks as though the JV QB might take over the Varsity starting role before the end of the season. So, I think the coach wanted the JV QB and Cornell to work together for a game.

The results were fantastic. In the 1st half alone, Cornell caught two TD passes, and for his second TD he sprinted about 40 yards after the catch to outran the safety for the score (Cornell also runs track, and qualified for the state meet as a sophomore in the 4 x 400 relay). He also played defense and picked a pass and ran it about 20 yards or so before being run out of bounds. In the second half, he ran a reverse for 11 yards and a 1st down, recovered a turnover when the other team muffed the kickoff, and recoved the ball when his QB fumbled. He also had several big tackles on defense. Two TD passes for 96 yds, and 108 all purpose yds on only three plays, plus the rest. Not a bad day.

I especially enjoy seeing my kids having a great time while doing well, and being good sports about it. Today was a wonderful and memorable day for Cornell. And I love writing about my children.

Now my running.

Interesting run tonight. First, I started very late (which is not that unusual). However, with 40 days to go, the IPod is now officially on the shelf. Why? According to the KC Marathon rules, IPods and the like are prohibited for "safety" reasons. I have run with the IPod for several months and have used the music beat for pacing. I now have to transition to no music. Boo Hoo.

Running with and without music has had a curious effect. I started using the IPod months ago because I had pacing problems. I would speed up, slow down, speed up again, slow down again, all the way through the run. So, I started using the IPod, and loaded it with music with a steady beat. Initially, I ran slower with the IPod, but eventually my tempo improved and I reduced my times substantially.

Monday night, no IPod. I started with an even tempo and picked up the pace. I was a bit tired and, with all the recent wedding stuff and my gross over-eating for the past two weeks, I didn't want to push myself. This was more of a "get it done" run than a "woo hoo" run. With this in mind, I didn't do a sprint split per se, but ran two "faster paced" splits and, quite frankly, overall felt like I was running very fast. It felt great, and I was actually surprised at how fast I ran! Until I checked my stop watch. My time was actually slow: 35:15. A second slower than my Aug 7 pace, and 3:36 slower than my best time. I was a bit off my 5 K pace in the last two races, but I expected that because in the races I am competing (and that get's me quite excited) and I do a big sprint to the finish. No big sprint this time, which would have shaved 10 or 15 second off my time.

The bottom line is that, with music banging loudly in my ears, I have a different perspective than when I'm running without music. Regardless, no IPod for KC, so I'll just have to get used to it.