Ugh! My 10 Mi Time Pathetic, but David Get's a PB!

There is no way else to say this. My time sucked. Horrible. Icky. Pathetic.

The weather was a bit cold and breezy, with the starting temp at 37F and winds out of the southeast gusting up to 15 or so miles an hour. Not ideal conditions, but the weather really was not a significant factor. I just ran slow.

Here's the official stats. My time was 2:07:59, which was 9:05 slower than last year. There were 692 runners in the 10 mile race, and I finished in ...... 681st place! Woo hoo for me! And, I finished ahead of 4 other men! Last year, I was the last male finisher. So, I met one goal (not be the last male finisher) but I missed the other goal quite badly (finish in under 2 hrs).

To make my two hour goal, I had to keep each mile under 12 minutes and then have a little kick at the end. I started well, completing the first mile in 10:31. I then slowed considerably but settled into a good rhythm, and reached mile 2 at 11:55, mile 3 at 12:09, and mile 4 at 12:01. Three straight miles paced in a 14 second window is about as goos as I've done, so I was pretty happy. And, at this point I was still 1:24 ahead.

Things fell apart from there. I reached mile 5 at 12:54, 6 at 14:12, 7 at 12:51, 8 at 13:25, 9 at 14:28, and mile 10 at 13:29. I did sprint splits in miles 7 and 8,with a sprint to the finish at mile 10. Hence, each of these miles was under 13:30. Still way over, but not nearly as bad as miles 6 and 9. I did not do sprints in either of those miles, so my times there are horrible.

The track club kept some weird statistics this time. They officially recorded our first 3.45 mile time, the second 3.55 mile time, and the last three miles. I have no idea why they did this. Anyway, I completed the first segment in 39:48 (avg 11:32 per mile), the second segment in 46:47 (avg 13:11 per mile) and the final 3 mile segment in 41:25 (avg 13:39 per mile)

In other words, I stunk up the course.

Now, the kiddies.

David ran brilliantly. He finished his mile in 9:08, which is a new personal best (previous best was 9:14). Not bad for an 8 year old. He finished 86th out of 229 runners. I counted only 8 runners his age or younger who finished before him. Setting a personal best by 6 seconds on the first race of the season is an excellent accomplishment.

Our foster boy, age 12, ran a good race as well. He finished in 10:31, and placed 152 out of 229. This was only his second race, so we were proud of his performance.

Jasmine, age 14, became a little lost on the course and did not finish. This was her first race, and hopefully she will have better luck on the next race in three weeks.

Anyway, we have a bunch of work to do to get me ready for the marathon, because if today is any indication, it'll take me a week to finish!

State Farm 10 Mi Tomorrow!

Last run before the big 10 miler. Wanted to work on speed this week so I did a 3.3 earlier in the week, and a 5.5 mi today. My overall time today was 67:40, so I cut 9:42 off my time in only 24 days. My 5.5 mi time is still slower than any 5.5 I ran last year, so the long lay off hurt me a bit. While I don't think I can reach a 5.5 mi record time before this upcoming marathon (I would have to trim another 6:18 from my time but the Lincoln Marathon is only 37 days away), I can reduce it substantially. Besides, my training focus for the Kansas City Marathon was the 5.5 hill route, and I didn't properly focus on the longer distances. I have returned my focus to 8.5's for this upcoming marathon, with the 3.3's and the 5.5's being primarily for speed training.

RACE PLAN FOR TOMORROW

As noted previously, I tempered my expectations for this 10 miler because of early, unavoidable hits to the running schedule. At the start of the season I wanted to cut several minutes off last year's time. That has been scaled back and simplified:

- Finish in under 2 hours (last year I ran a 1:58:54 in the State Farm, and 1:54:11 in the Lincoln Marathon).
- Not be the last man to finish (I finished dead last among men last year in this race, albeit I did beat 17 women!).

Last year was cool and rainy, which I liked. The trail was a muddy, but I did just fine. This year, the forcast is cold (in the 30's) with heavy winds. I hate the wind as it slows me down considerably. However, we take the weather as it comes.

David, Jasmine, and our foster boy KH will be running in the one miler, so that should be really fun. They have practiced a few times, so we'll see how it goes.

Woo Hoo!

General Update

Not quite the running week I had hoped for, but that's ok.

I woke up Sunday with a fairly large blister on the side of my heel from my Saturday run. Unusual location, and I think it was caused by my removal of my arch supports. So I took Sunday off (as usual), but I also took Monday off because of the blister and because the "rubbed raw" spot on my thigh had gotten a bit worse. Ran Tuesday with the kids, and that included a big "sprint to the finish" up the little hill to our house. I was pretty tired and was resting, and didn't quite make it out for my 5 miler.

Ran my 3.3 mi "speed circuit" yesterday. Time was not great, but I finished faster than expected and finished quicker than I did last year at this same time. While the 8.5's are key to my endurance, I run hard on the 3.3's so they help with endurance and also help me develop speed.

Tonite, I'm going to run with the kiddies, take a break, then do my 5.5 mi circuit. Won't set any records, but I will try to cut at least a full minute off my previous time.

Concerning the arch supports. In my prep this time last year, I kept getting lower back pain and sore shins on my longer runs. My back really hurt after the State Farm 10 miler last year, so I bought an expensive shoe insert that has a solid platform that extended from my heel to my midfoot and a solid arch, all covered with foam. My back pain went away immediately. Shortly thereafter, my shoes started to fall apart, so I bought my first pair of Nike +'s. They were wonderful but wore out quickly, so I bought another pair and more inserts. I was recently analyzing my shoe wear and started to wonder if the inserts were causing my feet to roll out too far. Further, I realized that I had never worn either pair of Nike's a single time without the inserts. So, a couple of weeks ago I took out the inserts and put the original lining back in, and my running seemed to go just fine! I'll see how my feet and back feel after the 10 miler on Saturday. If all goes well, I'll just skip the inserts. Anyway, the inserts were pretty large and my shoes have a different feel with the original inserts, which I think is the cause of the blister. We shall see.

14 Mile Jog on the MOPAC Trail

Needed to start running longer distances, so I went 14 miles on the MOPAC trail. I had not runned a long route since the last Marathon (October) so, with a 10 miler coming up next Saturday and the next marathon only 43 days away, this was a bit overdue but I have been unable to fit it into my schedule.

The MOPAC Trail is ideal for this purpose. The trail is crushed limestone and is in good condition. The surface makes it a slower run, but one that is softer on the knees and joints.

My object was not to worry about speed, but rather just get the miles in. I wanted to run the first five, do splits on the rest, and finish without injury. I met that that objective, but with a few modifications. Most notably, I wanted to run longer, but the weather did not fully cooperate. The temp ranged between 37 - 40, but the wind was nasty in spots. The terrain flattens into lightly rolling hills, and by the 5 mile mark a person is pretty much in the open without protection from the wind. I was wearing my new thermal underarmor stuff, but the wind went right through in spots which made the run very difficult.

Also, I ran "heavy." Namely, I planned for a longer distance, so I wore my CamelBak which weighed just over 20 lbs. Hydration was not an issue, but the extra weight slowed me even further.

Anyway, I ran the first five, then went into a mile walk, mile run interval scheme. The first 5 miles were slow: at 12:33, 12:43, 14:10 (bathroom break), 13:23, and 14:43 (had to make brief stop). Not nearly the time I get on cement, but considering the weather and the 20 lbs of crap on my back, I was pleased.

I then went into an alternating 1 mile jog, 1 mile walk interval. But I made several stops which skewed the numbers (take pictures, remove rock from my shoe, use the bathroom again, etc).

Overall, it was slow, but was a good long run. No injuries!

Times slowly improving

Ran my 5.5 hill route Wednesday nite. Overall time was 70:43. Icky when compared to last year, but slowly improving. This is the third time I've run this route this month. The first time was 77:22, and the second was 72:58. If I can drop another 8-9 minutes off my overall time before the next marathon, I'll be a happy man.

We're very on track this March in comparison to our goals and in comparison to our effort in March 2007. My times, especially in the 8.5's, are behind what they were last March, but I suspect that I'll catch up within the next 30 days.

50 days till my next Marathon!

My next marathon is only 50 days away! To celebrate, I was going to treat myself to a lovely 12 mi on the MOPAC trail on Saturday morning, but I had to cancel the run to recover from a minor injury. My compression shorts are a year old, and the inseam separated in one spot for a couple of inches. I hadn't worn them in a while, and during my 8.5 mi run on Thursday the separated inseam rubbed a nasty raw spot on the inside of my thigh. I treated it Friday morning, but as I was stretching on Saturday morning it started to hurt. I checked it out, and it was a bit wider than I thought - about 2-3 inches. It was also a bit nastier, and is in a bad spot. So, I scrubbed my scheduled 12 miler to let my leg heal.

Running has been a very low budget affair so far. I have good shoes and a decent watch, but my running clothes are mostly t-shirts, sweats, and an extra layer of stuff on cold days. Garmin's and heart monitors are on the wish list, but with the current budget they'll stay on the wish list for some time to come. BUT, I was able to treat myself to a new pairor compression shorts, and this time I got the thermal, full length kind. Expensive at $45.00, but I needed them.

I am way behind schedule when compared to last year, but for reasons I've already explained. Regardless, in Jan and Feb of 2007, I ran a combined 137 miles. This year in that same period, a whopping 10.5 mi. Obviously, if I try to "catch up" I'll just injure myself, but I'm still trying to push just a bit. I ran just over 105 miles in March 07, and by the 15th I had completed 29.5 miles. By March 15th this year, I have already completed 43.25.

The next 35 days will be big running days, and will include 1 very long run (20+mi). I did 2 last year during the same time (24.5 and 21.5), but under the circumstances I'll take additional runs with less total miles over an additional very long run (with its accompanying 2-3 extra recover days). We shall see. I will make another comparison in a few weeks to see where I stand.

Stretching and running going well, with no significant injuries so far. Both shins and my left arch are a little sore and my back has been a bit iffy, but overall no major issues. Still hacking a bit from last month's bronchitis, but I'm getting my wind back and have resumed sprint splits.

I've been wanting to work on my 3.3's because that's where I work on my speed, but my coughing has pretty much precluded running any faster than a jog pace. Hopefully, I'll be healed enough to run at least one 3.3 by the end of the week.

At least it started well....

Ran my 8.5 mi circuit tonite. A few days ago I ran it in 1:58:00, and today I shaved only 10 seconds off that time. I'm not displeased, though. I incorporated 8 sprint splits and was running ahead of schedule for the first 5+miles. The sprints, however, made me quite tired and I croaked on the hill leading up to my house. Also, I was running late at night after a long day, and I did not eat dinner.

I was really happy with my start. I reached the first landmark at 10:58, which was 12 seconds faster than my last time. I then reached my first leg (2.6 miles) at 33:14, which was 46 seconds faster. By the time I reached the Zoo merge (5.1 miles) I was 2:26 ahead. But after the sprint splits I was quite worn and began to slow. I lost 42 seconds on the 3rd leg of the route, and I lost 1:35 on the run up the hill.

Most importantly, I did become winded, but my lungs didn't hurt so bad and the coughing was manageable. Improvement!

Cornell's and David's seasons underway

Well, its track season in the Leffler household. Quite frankly, nothing I ever expected would happen in our family.

It is true that K2 and Heather both ran track for one year in Jr. High School. They both played football that same year, too. That was, however, a long time ago; K2 is now married and in the Army and Heather is married, pregnant, and graduates from the University of Nebraska in August. I never ran track in High School, and neither did Jennifer. Regardless, here we are.

Cornell is a Junior and ran varsity last year. He even qualified for state! He should be even faster this year, and is a joy to watch. He has fine track coaches, so I'm not involved in his training, other than to make sure he is well fed and has good clothes. I have not yet seen Cornell's track schedule, but I look forward to watching him run.

While Cornell runs High School, David runs in the local 1M "Grand Prix" fun runs. Though he is only 8 years old, he is a seasoned runner, and this is his 3rd year running races. Jasmine, age 14, has no track experience, but she asked to run in the races too. Should be good for her, and we'll give her our best support!

The Lincoln Track club sponsors several races through the year. Most are 1 milers for the kids, followed by longer races for the older folks (1 Marathon, one 10 mi, two 10K's, and several 5k's). One of the kids races is a 2 miler. David achieved "Grand Prix" status last year, and his name will be on this year's T-shirt.

The first race for David, Jasmine and I will be on March 29. State Farm Insurance is hosting a 1M/5K/10M, and both kids will be running the 1M. David started preparing yesterday, as he and I did a quick .65 mi jog walk. Nothing major, just getting him used to moving again. Jasmine started today, as she, David, and our foster boy KH did a 1.5 mi jog/walk. Jasmine had a very hard time keeping up, but if she keeps at it she will improve. I'll have her jog/walk four days a week for the next couple of weeks before moving her up to jogging the entire distance. David will be ready to run the whole way by the end of the week. He is already an experienced runner, and is getting ready for a great season. I'll try to go with both of them as my schedule permits, spending more time with David because he is only 8. David runs vastly faster than Jasmine, so he won't really be able to run with her because she cannot possibly keep up. At least not this year. But, she's trying, which is a wonderful thing!

Should be an interesting track season!

Musings of a Running Fat Man

I was reviewing my running logs (again) and comparing this March (so far) to March 2007.

Anyway, today is March 10, and so far this month I have gone 33.2 miles. Last year, I ran only 29.5 miles in the first 18 days of the month! And, by this same date in Mar 2007, I had run only 24.9 miles.

I started the night with a .6 jog walk with David. This was his first run getting ready for his running season. He has 7 or 8 races, with one being a two miler and the rest being one milers. So, we started with a nice jog/walk, and he'll pick up the pace over the next few days.

I then ran an 8.5 mi . Pretty slow, 1:58:00 (118 min), and because it was midnight I walked the .3 miles in front of the zoo because of the well chronicled problems with the path. Otherwise, I jogged the rest of the way. No sprint splits (my lungs wouldn't take it right now), but a solid effort.

General Stuff

Played basketball saturday morning. Played long and hard, so I didn't run Sat afternoon. This week will be a bit more ambitious, but not much. I'll throw in a few sprint splits and the like, but overall want to avoid the heavy stress for another week and give my lungs more time to heal. I'm planning for around 24 miles, but we shall see.

First Week Goes Well

I concluded my first week back on the running paths by running a 5.5 mi hill route on Thursday, and a quick 2.2 mi on a treadmill on Friday.

I've been off (from running, that is) for quite some time for reasons I have discussed previously. The plan for the week was to go a slow and steady pace, complete the runs, focus on form, and not cough up a lung. No sprint splits or fast runs.

Thursday's run was excellent. The weather was a clear and sunny 36F at the time I started, with almost no wind. I ran the hill route in reverse, and my only goal was to finish faster that I did on Tuesday (77:22). I finished in 72:58, which is by no means a fast time but is still 4:24 faster that Tuesday's run. Further, the 77:22 run was made late at night and I didn't have to stop for lights. I lost at least 1:30, perhaps more, on this run from three traffic lights and the need to cross 56th to get around construction. I focused tightly on my form and did a "mini sprint" to the finish. Considering how my January and February have gone, I was pleased with my results.

I was planning to run a 3.3 Friday morning, but the weather did not cooperate. In a stunning embarassment to our weather people, we had a lovely snow storm late Thursday nite. Not only did the weather report miss it completely, weather web sites were still reporting decent weather even as the snow started to fall. By morning one weather forcast was predicting a low of 14. I drove the kids to school, and the weather was -2F, with a wind chill of -18F! So, the best I could do was get to the YMCA shortly before it closed, and I went 2.2 miles. Better than nothing!

In the first 7 days of the month, I went 21.95 miles. Not a lot of miles, but considering the circumstances I am pleased.

General Crap

Met with Jen (the better half) this afternoon to discuss the entire pre-race program and review my logs from my first two marathons last year.

During my 8.5 mi last Saturday, which was my first jog in weeks, my gastroc's hurt in the same way as they did in the Kansas City Marathon. After reviewing the stats, one fact became very clear. I ran two long runs (24.5 and 21.5) and several semi longs runs within 6 weeks of my first Marathon last May. My longest run in the entire two months before Kansas City in October was, however, only 12 miles. While it is true that my running for KC was a bit harder because of the number of hill routes I ran, the fact remains that I had only 1 long run before KC, as opposed to numerous long ones before Lincoln. We think the long runs stressed and prepared my body in ways that the shorter but hillier runs did not. We are going to do several longs runs (10+) over the next seven weeks, and do only 8.5's or less in the remaining 1 1/2 weeks.

The next issue is that I pounded the weights after Lincoln, and I went into the KC Marathon a lot stronger - and a lot heavier. A lot was muscle, but a lot was flab (as was painfully evident in the race pictures). Over the next seven weeks, we are going to strip off as much weight as safely possible. I'll stop the weight loss a week and a half before Lincoln in May.

We are integrating (to a limited extent) the diet piece with the running schedule. I'll do a mini pasta feed before each long run.

I really want to do the five mile 2-a -days, but I'm worried about getting shin splints or stress fractures. I'm a bit heavy right now and we're getting a late start do to unavoidable issues, and the extra stress on my legs could cause problems. If I can do an occasional 2-a-day, it won't be two 5 milers, but rather a 3 and a 5, two 3's, etc.

State Farm 10 miler at the end of the month. Woo Hoo! I finished last year in 118 minutes and change, and I'll try to pare that a bit this year.

Gentle Run

Lightly jogged my 5.5 route tonite. Started late Tuesday (around 23:40), and the nite was beautiful; a gentle 31F with a very light breeze from the south.

Going slow this week because I'm not fully recovered from my 3 week battle with bronchitis, so the goal was to merely to complete the run and set an even pace. Finished in a hyper slow 77:22, but I jogged the entire way (which was better than I expected) and I set a pace that felt very comfortable and relaxed. I did attempt to pick up the pace a couple of times, but my lungs immediately began to hurt and I started to cough, so I slowed back down. Did a "hustle" at the end, as opposed to a sprint, to finish my run.

Completed the night with a lovely protein shake. Yum!

Woo Hoo

I did an 8.5 mi on Saturday. It ended up being an 8.75 because I had to take a couple of detours. I planned a slow, methodical mid-distance jog/walk because my lungs were still hurting and I had a bit of a cough. I walked about 60% and jogged 40%, and finished in 134 minutes. A bit sore afterward, but it went well. The temp was much warmer than I had expected, almost 70F, so I became a bit dehydrated and had to detour off the route to a gas station and buy a gatorade. I detoured through the park, only to find that the drink machines had been removed. The overall detail time was lengthy, so my next effort will show a dramatic time increase, which is a bit deceiving. Temps have all been in the low 30's for a week, and in the low 20's and teens in the preceeding weeks, so today's temp was a shocker. Welcome, but a shocker.

Slow and easy jogging this week because of my lungs. I won't post an official schedule for this week, and will play things by ear.