I bought a pair of Diadora's a couple of weeks ago. Wonderful shoes! According to the gentleman who showed me the shoes, Runner's World rated them highly, but noted they are hard to find. I picked them primarily because they are last year's model and were on sale at half price. These are not motion control like my Nike's and they are not quite as well padded, but they are lighter and springier. Overall, great shoes! My Nike's are still in good shape, but they took a real beating in my Marathon in May. I want to wear them in October for the KC Marathon, but if I use them for training they will be worn out long before race day.
Anyway, I wore my new Diadora's for the first time while running. They felt fantasic and performed wonderfully! I'm not sure I would wear this pair on long runs unless I used an insert (I normally use arch supports). But, I sure do like them.
I ran my 5.5 mi hill route, but instead of running in mid-day, my schedule was so hectic that I started my run around 10:00 pm. I was tired, but still ran the route in 62:58. Not a great time, but not bad, either. I did a poor job of clock and stride management, as I was not tired when I finished. In retrospect, I could have picked up the pace a bit. Hit the weights heavily today, and did a 3.5 with David last night.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Wimpy Week!
A wimpy week or, if you prefer, a weak week.
I hit the trails 4 times, with a great (for me) 3.3 mile run time and a decent 8.5 time. But, did a 3 mile"fire fly walk" with David on Thursday instead of a 5.5, and scrubbed my scheduled 12 miler on Saturday morning for a 2 mile (or so) mid-afternoon cross country run with the Eliker sisters at our annual church fair. Overall, only 17 miles for the week. And, I lifted weights only once!
The cross country run was very different for me. I normally run on asphalt, cement trails, or crushed limestone trails. This was truely cross country because, for the most part, there was no trail at all, and the grass was shin high. We ran at Pioneer's park in a wilderness area; across a field, up a hill, up a bigger hill, down, around, through the trees, up and down some more, etc. And it was hot (90+) and humid.
The Eliker's attend our church, and we had Mark and Fae over to our house on Friday night for a game night and ice cream. Great fun! They have a number of children, and all are cross country and track types. I ran with three of their daughters (two are in college and one in high school). All currently compete, or have competed, in cross country and track. And they are fast. Fortunately for me, one of the girls (who runs cross country and the 400 meter in track) is recovering from a surgery, so they had to take it a bit slower. Otherwise, I would have been toast!
This week will have to be a bit more productive as far as the mileage goes, because next week we'll be on vacation (July 1-9). I have a hearing on the 9th, but that's the only work related thing I'm going to do that day. I'm not sure how much running I can get in, because we'll be visiting K2 at Ft Hood in Texas, but he has a stress fracture so he won't be able to run much. We shall see.....
I hit the trails 4 times, with a great (for me) 3.3 mile run time and a decent 8.5 time. But, did a 3 mile"fire fly walk" with David on Thursday instead of a 5.5, and scrubbed my scheduled 12 miler on Saturday morning for a 2 mile (or so) mid-afternoon cross country run with the Eliker sisters at our annual church fair. Overall, only 17 miles for the week. And, I lifted weights only once!
The cross country run was very different for me. I normally run on asphalt, cement trails, or crushed limestone trails. This was truely cross country because, for the most part, there was no trail at all, and the grass was shin high. We ran at Pioneer's park in a wilderness area; across a field, up a hill, up a bigger hill, down, around, through the trees, up and down some more, etc. And it was hot (90+) and humid.
The Eliker's attend our church, and we had Mark and Fae over to our house on Friday night for a game night and ice cream. Great fun! They have a number of children, and all are cross country and track types. I ran with three of their daughters (two are in college and one in high school). All currently compete, or have competed, in cross country and track. And they are fast. Fortunately for me, one of the girls (who runs cross country and the 400 meter in track) is recovering from a surgery, so they had to take it a bit slower. Otherwise, I would have been toast!
This week will have to be a bit more productive as far as the mileage goes, because next week we'll be on vacation (July 1-9). I have a hearing on the 9th, but that's the only work related thing I'm going to do that day. I'm not sure how much running I can get in, because we'll be visiting K2 at Ft Hood in Texas, but he has a stress fracture so he won't be able to run much. We shall see.....
Friday, June 22, 2007
Firefly walk
Planned a 5.5 mile hill route last night, but it didn't happen.
Instead, our 7 year old son David and I took a "firefly walk."
David is the boy in the pictures at the bottom of the blog, so he is a runner. Last night, however, we chased the setting sun out to Antelope Park, where we walked along the Rock Island Trail, enjoying the fireflies. Thousands of these mystic, marvelous creatures twinkled like flourescent green stars in the fading sunlight. It was a bit breezy and the parks people had mowed earlier in the day, so not quite so many came out last night as did the night before. Most sought protection in the tree line, the bushes, and the tops of the tall grass which lie in a small stream bed which runs below and adjacent to the trail. Still, thousands were out. One of nature's simple, yet most glorious, views.
We have a catch and release policy, so David caught a few and let them go. One, however, became his special friend for a few moments. The firefly explored David's hand, crawled up his arm, jumped onto his face, and then rested on his shoulder. The bug then became a bit too adventerous and crawled into his shirt! David was wearing a mesh running shirt, and you could see the bug glowing from inside David's clothes. David pulled his collar out a bit, and the little bug finally made its way out and into the night. It then rested in the tall grass as we walked away. We enjoyed gatorade and bubble gum along the way, and finally got home well after David's bed time. What a special night.
We went only 3 miles, which I think was just enough exercise for me to burn off the calories from our treats. Woo Hoo.
Instead, our 7 year old son David and I took a "firefly walk."
David is the boy in the pictures at the bottom of the blog, so he is a runner. Last night, however, we chased the setting sun out to Antelope Park, where we walked along the Rock Island Trail, enjoying the fireflies. Thousands of these mystic, marvelous creatures twinkled like flourescent green stars in the fading sunlight. It was a bit breezy and the parks people had mowed earlier in the day, so not quite so many came out last night as did the night before. Most sought protection in the tree line, the bushes, and the tops of the tall grass which lie in a small stream bed which runs below and adjacent to the trail. Still, thousands were out. One of nature's simple, yet most glorious, views.
We have a catch and release policy, so David caught a few and let them go. One, however, became his special friend for a few moments. The firefly explored David's hand, crawled up his arm, jumped onto his face, and then rested on his shoulder. The bug then became a bit too adventerous and crawled into his shirt! David was wearing a mesh running shirt, and you could see the bug glowing from inside David's clothes. David pulled his collar out a bit, and the little bug finally made its way out and into the night. It then rested in the tall grass as we walked away. We enjoyed gatorade and bubble gum along the way, and finally got home well after David's bed time. What a special night.
We went only 3 miles, which I think was just enough exercise for me to burn off the calories from our treats. Woo Hoo.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
I bought a new running shirt! (but I'm still slow...)
Jen and I went to the sporting goods store today (Wednesday) and bought a nifty new running shirt! It's made by Nike and is white, sleaveless (the first sleaveless shirt I've ever owned), made of the light weight wicking material, and has stylish reflecting strips on it. So far, all my running has been in plain old t-shirts. I keep soaking the t-shirts all the way through within the first few miles, so I figured it was time to buy a running shirt. I'll post a picture after I've lost 30 more pounds.
Ran a 3.3 on Tuesday and an 8.5 tonight. The 3.3 was my second fastest recorded time, and I felt great. My time was 31:52, which was 24 seconds slower than my fastest time but 26 seconds faster than my previous #2 time. I've set a goal to reduce the time to 26:30 by October 20 (the KC Marathon).
I didn't fare so well on the 8.5 tonite. I was scheduled to run a 5.5 tonight, but I was jazzed from yesterday's 3.3 time so I wanted to see how fast I could do the 8.5. I started out WAY too fast and crumped in the middle. I ran the route counter-clockwise, so the zoo is at the 3.5 mile point instead of the 5 mile point. I reached my first segment (1.5 miles) in 15:56, which was about 49 seconds too fast. I arrived at the zoo in 38:25 which, if I could have maintained that pace, would put me 28 seconds better than my best time. It was not to be. The next segment then took 31 minute and change, and the final segment 32 and change. Oh well.
That having been said, miles 2.5 - 6 were gorgeous. I ran late (left the house a few minutes before 10:00 pm (2200 hrs). Significant portions of the trail passes parks and open areas. Thousands of fireflies illuminated the night, and I thought of happy times with my children, and from my childhood, as I was mesmerized by their flickering glow. A few nights ago I was out watching David catch fireflies (we have a "catch and release" policy). David would catch one of these wonderful creatures, and it would crawl all over his hand, glowing, before flying away. What a happy time! I think I'll take David out for walk tomorrow night along the trail. He will be thrilled!
Anyway, the temp was a bit warm (83F), and I'm still getting used to the heat. The sky was beautiful, with a light breeze from the south. Overall, a lovely run.
Pounded the weights on Tuesday. Took today off (sore shoulder) and will be back in the gym early tomorrow morning (actually, its so late now that I'll be lifting this morning).
Ran a 3.3 on Tuesday and an 8.5 tonight. The 3.3 was my second fastest recorded time, and I felt great. My time was 31:52, which was 24 seconds slower than my fastest time but 26 seconds faster than my previous #2 time. I've set a goal to reduce the time to 26:30 by October 20 (the KC Marathon).
I didn't fare so well on the 8.5 tonite. I was scheduled to run a 5.5 tonight, but I was jazzed from yesterday's 3.3 time so I wanted to see how fast I could do the 8.5. I started out WAY too fast and crumped in the middle. I ran the route counter-clockwise, so the zoo is at the 3.5 mile point instead of the 5 mile point. I reached my first segment (1.5 miles) in 15:56, which was about 49 seconds too fast. I arrived at the zoo in 38:25 which, if I could have maintained that pace, would put me 28 seconds better than my best time. It was not to be. The next segment then took 31 minute and change, and the final segment 32 and change. Oh well.
That having been said, miles 2.5 - 6 were gorgeous. I ran late (left the house a few minutes before 10:00 pm (2200 hrs). Significant portions of the trail passes parks and open areas. Thousands of fireflies illuminated the night, and I thought of happy times with my children, and from my childhood, as I was mesmerized by their flickering glow. A few nights ago I was out watching David catch fireflies (we have a "catch and release" policy). David would catch one of these wonderful creatures, and it would crawl all over his hand, glowing, before flying away. What a happy time! I think I'll take David out for walk tomorrow night along the trail. He will be thrilled!
Anyway, the temp was a bit warm (83F), and I'm still getting used to the heat. The sky was beautiful, with a light breeze from the south. Overall, a lovely run.
Pounded the weights on Tuesday. Took today off (sore shoulder) and will be back in the gym early tomorrow morning (actually, its so late now that I'll be lifting this morning).
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Week in review
Busy week, so I'm going for the "block update."
Ran three days last week for 19.5 miles, and heavy lifted weights three days (one day I lifted in the morning, then came back in the afternoon with the boys and did other lifting, so technically I lifted four times).
Two of my runs were on my new "hill route." The first time, as noted below, was painful and slow. I ran the route again on Thursday, in the middle of the day, and reduced my time by 2 min 10 sec. (1:02:44).
After comparing my calculations to my Nike-Ipod results on the second run, it became apparent that I had miscalculated the 5.5 mile route. Part of the route is on the Billy Wolff trail, and the "official" publications report 2 different distances for that stretch of the route. Of course, I can't drive on the trail to measure it, and the shape of that segment is not conducive to measurement without surveying equipment. Fortunately, my math is pretty good, so I measured the streets north and south of the route, used a little trigonometry, and calculated the total distance at just over 5.5 miles. So, I'll go with 5.5 miles even and call it good. Recalculating my hill route to 5.5 made me feel better about my time on Tuesday. Thursday's run was hotter and muggier, but I had eaten properly so I improved upon my time. By the time the next marathon rolls around, I want to have reduced my time to 52 min.
Today's run was just plain hot. The temp was either 87F or 89F, depending on which sign you believe. David and I were on the Rock Island trail, and David rode his bike while I ran. He became sick to his stomach so we had to stop several times, one of which was about 15 minutes so he could sit in the shade. I stopped timing the run after the third stop. He was feeling better near the end so I hustled the last mile and sprinted the last .25 miles. It felt great!
The weightlifting went well. I did three days of "heavy" lifts for my chest, shoulders, arms, and abs. On the day I went to the gym twice, I did a light leg workout (I need leg work to get ready for the hills in Kansas City, MO.
The mileage picks up a bit next week, weights remain the same.
Ran three days last week for 19.5 miles, and heavy lifted weights three days (one day I lifted in the morning, then came back in the afternoon with the boys and did other lifting, so technically I lifted four times).
Two of my runs were on my new "hill route." The first time, as noted below, was painful and slow. I ran the route again on Thursday, in the middle of the day, and reduced my time by 2 min 10 sec. (1:02:44).
After comparing my calculations to my Nike-Ipod results on the second run, it became apparent that I had miscalculated the 5.5 mile route. Part of the route is on the Billy Wolff trail, and the "official" publications report 2 different distances for that stretch of the route. Of course, I can't drive on the trail to measure it, and the shape of that segment is not conducive to measurement without surveying equipment. Fortunately, my math is pretty good, so I measured the streets north and south of the route, used a little trigonometry, and calculated the total distance at just over 5.5 miles. So, I'll go with 5.5 miles even and call it good. Recalculating my hill route to 5.5 made me feel better about my time on Tuesday. Thursday's run was hotter and muggier, but I had eaten properly so I improved upon my time. By the time the next marathon rolls around, I want to have reduced my time to 52 min.
Today's run was just plain hot. The temp was either 87F or 89F, depending on which sign you believe. David and I were on the Rock Island trail, and David rode his bike while I ran. He became sick to his stomach so we had to stop several times, one of which was about 15 minutes so he could sit in the shade. I stopped timing the run after the third stop. He was feeling better near the end so I hustled the last mile and sprinted the last .25 miles. It felt great!
The weightlifting went well. I did three days of "heavy" lifts for my chest, shoulders, arms, and abs. On the day I went to the gym twice, I did a light leg workout (I need leg work to get ready for the hills in Kansas City, MO.
The mileage picks up a bit next week, weights remain the same.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Hot and humid, first "hill" route
Ran my first "hill training route" today, with a time 1:04:54. The total distance is about 5.5 miles (I can make it almost 6 by running around the block once). The route has one long uphill of about 1.2 miles, a shorter but steeper uphill a half of a mile later, and a less steep but .9 mile long uphill at the end. (this last segment does have about a .1 mile dip and a .1 mile straight, and concludes on a .15 uphill.)
I decided to make this run mid-day as I am trying to adjust to the heat. The temp was in the mid-high 80's with high humidity. I finished the first 1.5 miles in 15 minutes and change, which is an excellect time for me. The total distance from the house to the corner of pioneers via 48th, the BW parkway, and 56th is about 3 miles, and I finished it in 33:34. The last portion is about 2.5 mi, which I finished in 31:20.
At this point, the times are poor, but I'm not concerned because I'm adjusting to the heat and humidity. When I finished the run I was totally denched in sweat, which I don't get while running in colder temps. It'll take a few runs to get acclimated.
Later, I took David on a walk of just under 3 miles. We walked over to the store to get some Gatorade and a few other things.
Pounded the weights today (shoulders) and yesterday (arms).
Jen is a leader at our church's week long girls camp, so she not here to help. My mom is here, which is geat.
I decided to make this run mid-day as I am trying to adjust to the heat. The temp was in the mid-high 80's with high humidity. I finished the first 1.5 miles in 15 minutes and change, which is an excellect time for me. The total distance from the house to the corner of pioneers via 48th, the BW parkway, and 56th is about 3 miles, and I finished it in 33:34. The last portion is about 2.5 mi, which I finished in 31:20.
At this point, the times are poor, but I'm not concerned because I'm adjusting to the heat and humidity. When I finished the run I was totally denched in sweat, which I don't get while running in colder temps. It'll take a few runs to get acclimated.
Later, I took David on a walk of just under 3 miles. We walked over to the store to get some Gatorade and a few other things.
Pounded the weights today (shoulders) and yesterday (arms).
Jen is a leader at our church's week long girls camp, so she not here to help. My mom is here, which is geat.
Monday, June 11, 2007
More on the Havelock 10K
I forgot to mention in my previous entry that I spoke with several people who ran the full or half-marathon last month, and we all had the same thought - "this race seems so short compared to our race last month." That may be a BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious), but its true. The race was still 10k (6.21 mi), but in comparison to my last race (26.2 mi), it sure wenth quick. I was done before I knew it!
Jen is at girl's camp for our church this week, so I'll work mostly out of my home office and drag the boys down to the YMCA for bouts of brutal weight lifting! WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!
Jen is at girl's camp for our church this week, so I'll work mostly out of my home office and drag the boys down to the YMCA for bouts of brutal weight lifting! WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Havelock 10K (6.21 mi)
Ran the Havelock 10K this morning. Mixed results. I ran my fastest 10k since I was 28/29, but as you can see from the clock I didn't come close to the 1:05:00 I wanted. (Of course, I'm the man in the white T-shirt and ball cap).
Before I get into the details, I must make an admission. I'm a guy, and I'm vain. I didn't know that I was vain (I have always known that I'm a guy, of course). About a quarter mile from the finish line, my knees were throbbing and the gentleman in the picture passed me (orange tank top and yellow shorts) at a solid rate. As he passed, he looked at me and said "you're not going to let a 72 year old man beat you, are you." I responded "I'm not vain that way, so go right ahead."
I was mistaken.
I always sprint the last 40 yards or so anyway, but the vanity I didn't know I possessed reared its ugly head and kicked into high gear! He had pulled quite a distance ahead, but I began to accelerate approx 100 yards from the finish, then went into a dead sprint at around 50 yards and shot past him. And, I finished less than a foot behind the lady in the picture. HA! I showed that 72 year old gentleman just how tough I am! WOOF WOOF WOOF. Anyway, we talked after the race. Nice gentleman. He has run numerous marathons and the like, and he is in extraordinary shape for being 72. I hope my 72nd birthday finds me in as good as shape he is in at that age.
Back to the matters at hand.
I finished the race in 1:08:11 (gun time). This was a chip timed event, but the Lincoln Track Club seems to be having a computer problem, so they posted only our gun times. My chip time would be about 35 seconds or so faster than my gun time.
I started at the very end of the pack (as is my wont), but had to stop after 100 yards to fix a problem with my I-Pod. I wear my contacts when I run, which means that I see great at distances but can't read anything closer than 2 feet. I especially cannot read when I'm running, so I had to stop if I wanted to use my I-Pod. It took about 40 second or so to get the thing on the right setting (coordinated with the chip in my shoe), so when I started out again I was dead last and way behind the pack. I worked my way up at a methodical pace, and finally started passing people.
Even though this was my best 10k in 17 or 18 years, I was still disappointed with my time. I wanted to finish in 1:05:00 or less, but it became quite clear to me around mile 3 that I'm not fully healed from the Marathon. The route has a 1m+ uphill beginning around the 1.5 mile mark, and as I plugged up the hill my knees felt a bit unstable. They later started to ache, and I tried to run as carefully as I could. I've iced them and they are still a bit sore, but they will be ok.
My only other 10k time this year was 1:08:42 (gun time only) in the Novartis 10k, and I beat that time by 31 seconds. In the Lincoln Marathon I ran the first 10k in 1:08:39 (chip timed), but I was conserving energy. The State Farm 10 mi run did not provide a 10k time, so I have no idea what that time would be.
Here's the stats: I finished 598th out of 632 runners. I beat 8 guys this time, and 4 were actually younger than me! I finished the first mile in 10:26. I started my time at the sound of the gun (not when I crossed the starting line), and the time includes my 40 seconds or so to fix my I-Pod problem. Under the circumstances, I'm quite happy with that time. The second mile was also in 10:26. Mile 3 was a bit harder due to the hill, so I finished in 12:12. Mile 4 had a bit of a down hill, and I finished in 10:53, and I slowed a bit in mile 5, at 11:19. I didn't see the 6 mile sign, but I ran the final 1.21 mi in 12:53.
Now its time to brag about my youngest. David, age 7, ran the 3k and finished in 20:02. He finished 350th place out of 586 runners. The group was runners of all ages, and the vast majority were adults (more than 80%). Of the 349 people who finished before him, only eight were his age or younger (six were age 7, and two were age 6). Nice work!
I'll be doing shorter distances over the next couple of weeks to allow my knees to fully heal. I only have 1 race left before the marathon in KC, and that is the 5 k "Thunder Run" in August.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Rest and Weights
My first official week in prep for the Kansas City Marathon. Light running, but heavy lifting. I pounded the weights Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I took yesterday off (heavy workload and I gave a final exam to both my classes last night), and will heavy lift (shoulders and arms) tonight. I have a 10K tomorrow morning (the Havelock 10K), so I won't lift again until Monday.
I decided that I should probably work on my legs one day per week. On Wednesday I did squats, abductions and adductions, leg curls, and hamstrings. I wanted to do leg presses, but if I start doing that again my thighs will get huge again and slow down my running even more. I tell my son that the gym is no place to get goofy and competative, but every time I jump on the sled I start ramping up the weight and doing mega sets. A couple of years I ago, I did a set of "show off" reps at over 900 lbs to Jennifer, K2 and Heather. Fortunately I was not injured. I don't know why I get goofy near the sled, so for now I'll just avoid it and keep my knees intact.
I'm using lighter weights and more reps on the squats, and as I sit here I'm pretty sore!
I decided that I should probably work on my legs one day per week. On Wednesday I did squats, abductions and adductions, leg curls, and hamstrings. I wanted to do leg presses, but if I start doing that again my thighs will get huge again and slow down my running even more. I tell my son that the gym is no place to get goofy and competative, but every time I jump on the sled I start ramping up the weight and doing mega sets. A couple of years I ago, I did a set of "show off" reps at over 900 lbs to Jennifer, K2 and Heather. Fortunately I was not injured. I don't know why I get goofy near the sled, so for now I'll just avoid it and keep my knees intact.
I'm using lighter weights and more reps on the squats, and as I sit here I'm pretty sore!
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Milestone Day - June 5, 2007
I started working out again on June 5, 2006, following a 15 month layoff due to a serious injury. So, today is my 1 year anniversary, of sorts, of being back in the gym. Here's the stats:
Total miles: 716.38
Total runs: 135
Exercise Days: 176
Long Distances (10+ mi): 10
8.5 milers: 21
Races run: 5
Pounds lost: not enough (oh well)
Woo Hoo!
Total miles: 716.38
Total runs: 135
Exercise Days: 176
Long Distances (10+ mi): 10
8.5 milers: 21
Races run: 5
Pounds lost: not enough (oh well)
Woo Hoo!
Monday, June 4, 2007
Round 2 Starts Today!
I started prep for the Kansas City Marathon today. October 20, 2007.
I was scheduled to run a 5 miler. However, I started with a 3.5 mile walk with my wife Jennifer, and that went well (finished in about 60 minutes). I then dropped Jen at the house and ran an 8.5 miler.
My first run was somewhat of an inauspicous start to my training. I reached the zoo (just over 5.1 miles) at a moderate pace (57:17), but my knees became very sore around the 6 mile point so I throttled back substantially and decided to "slow and go" the rest of the way. Unfortunately, I ran out of steam around the 7 mile mark. At about the 8 mile mark, I figured out my problems. First, I forgot to eat breakfast or lunch before running, so I was running on a completely empty tank. Dumb. Second, this was my warmest running day (by far) this year. The temp was 80F when I ran past the various bank signs, but all of my other runs this year have been at 68F or less (with at least half being at 30F or less). Given the conditions and my body's need to adjust to warmer temps, I should have run the scheduled 5 miler. Lastly, I was wearing a polyester (cool weather) running shirt on a warm day. Double dumb.
Time was horrible, 1:48:07. But, the slow down was a good idea as I didn't want to suffer a stupid injury, especially on the first day.
I iced my knees, which felt good.
In the evening, I went to the Y with Cornell and Lindsey and pounded the weights and my abs. I have completely scrapped my "maintenance lifting" idea because it didn't work very well. I did maintain some of my benchmarks, most notably in my triceps and biceps, but I lost a lot of upper body strength in my presses and flys. Restoring it will take at least three months or more.
I jumped on the scale and almost cried! I lost a lot of weight prepping for the Lincoln Marathon, but I gained back 4.5 lbs in my recuperation month! I need to shed quite a few pounds to make my time goal in October. I thought of getting down to my heavy weightlifting weight (222 from 2003-2005) but, given my age (45), I should probably drop down to my old fighting/military weight (198) and call it good. Unfortunately, 198 is probably 9 months to a year away.
No run scheduled tomorrow. Court in the morning and afternoon, office visits in the middle of the day, and I'm handing out a takehome final to my rules of criminal procedure class tomorrow evening. So, I'll recuperate tomorrow and go again on Wednesday.
I was scheduled to run a 5 miler. However, I started with a 3.5 mile walk with my wife Jennifer, and that went well (finished in about 60 minutes). I then dropped Jen at the house and ran an 8.5 miler.
My first run was somewhat of an inauspicous start to my training. I reached the zoo (just over 5.1 miles) at a moderate pace (57:17), but my knees became very sore around the 6 mile point so I throttled back substantially and decided to "slow and go" the rest of the way. Unfortunately, I ran out of steam around the 7 mile mark. At about the 8 mile mark, I figured out my problems. First, I forgot to eat breakfast or lunch before running, so I was running on a completely empty tank. Dumb. Second, this was my warmest running day (by far) this year. The temp was 80F when I ran past the various bank signs, but all of my other runs this year have been at 68F or less (with at least half being at 30F or less). Given the conditions and my body's need to adjust to warmer temps, I should have run the scheduled 5 miler. Lastly, I was wearing a polyester (cool weather) running shirt on a warm day. Double dumb.
Time was horrible, 1:48:07. But, the slow down was a good idea as I didn't want to suffer a stupid injury, especially on the first day.
I iced my knees, which felt good.
In the evening, I went to the Y with Cornell and Lindsey and pounded the weights and my abs. I have completely scrapped my "maintenance lifting" idea because it didn't work very well. I did maintain some of my benchmarks, most notably in my triceps and biceps, but I lost a lot of upper body strength in my presses and flys. Restoring it will take at least three months or more.
I jumped on the scale and almost cried! I lost a lot of weight prepping for the Lincoln Marathon, but I gained back 4.5 lbs in my recuperation month! I need to shed quite a few pounds to make my time goal in October. I thought of getting down to my heavy weightlifting weight (222 from 2003-2005) but, given my age (45), I should probably drop down to my old fighting/military weight (198) and call it good. Unfortunately, 198 is probably 9 months to a year away.
No run scheduled tomorrow. Court in the morning and afternoon, office visits in the middle of the day, and I'm handing out a takehome final to my rules of criminal procedure class tomorrow evening. So, I'll recuperate tomorrow and go again on Wednesday.
Kansas City Marathon
The first marathon went well, so its time to do it again! I will be running in the Kansas City Marathon on Saturday October 20, 2007.
Here's the plan!
1. Goal Time: 5 hours or better.
2. General Plan. I download the course elevation chart, reviewed the video of the course, and compared all of this to my training stuff and my goal in finishing in 5 hours or less. The course is a bit hilly, with three major (to me, anyway) hills in the route. The key to finishing on time will be to focus on my endurance so I can reduce my walking splits in the last 11 miles from a 7:30 run/2:30 walk split to a 17:30 run/2:30 walk split. Also, the further I can run without walking, the better.
I will need to improve my first 15 mile time only marginally (about 21 minutes). I can achieve this kind of improvement because my previous times were so slow. Improving from a 7 minute mile to a 6 minute mile is unreasonable to expect in this short space of time. Improving from an 11:30 mile to a 10:30 mile is very reasonable.
3. Schedule. I created a 20 week plan, which includes the Marathon itself. I need to run about 500-550 miles to prepare, so I scheduled just over 660. After cancellations and the like, I should hit my actual goal just fine. I prepped for my last marathon by running over 680 miles. However, only around 360 of those miles were in the 16 weeks preceeding the marathon. Several runs were canceled due to weather, and I lost a few runs do to illness or injury. In retrospect, the limited mileage was probably a good thing, as I was so heavy that running any more than this could have caused a major injury. The rest of the running plan worked great, and I'll repeat most of it this time.
4. Planning for Hills. This Marathon has three major hills, so I created 2 "hill" routes. They are not quite as steep as the hills will be in Kansas City, but these are the biggest hills locally available. The first big hill comes around the 2 mile mark, so my new route hits the hill at about that same distance. I can run it as a 3+ miler, a 5 miler, or an 11+ miler. If I run it as a 5 miler, I will have a smaller hill at the end. If I run it as an 11 miler, I'll have the long uphill on 48th Street as the end.
The second route will be on 56th street. The distance from Van Dorn to Hwy2 is about 1.9 miles, with a big hill in the middle. So, I just back and forth on 56th street, up the hill and down the hill, until my legs fall off.
5. Weights. In retrospect, the "maintenance lifting" idea didn't work well at all. In February I was benching 245, but in May I was struggling at 205. I want to be back to 300 lbs before the marathon. I will pound my upper body, with only light lower body lifting.
6. Nutrition. I'm starting that piece much earlier (actually, it begins when I get out of bed this morning). I get 1 soda only on my cheat day (Friday). Sweets and similar crap are gone. Lots of complex carbs and protein.
7. Weight. I'm still too darn heavy. I want to lose an additional 30 lbs by race day. That's not quite 10 lbs a month, which should be do-able.
8. Sleep. I made major improvements in my sleep but, as you can tell from the time on this posting, my sleep is still imperfect. I will be working on that heavily over the next few weeks.
That is the gist of my plan. It starts when I awake in the morning!
Here's the plan!
1. Goal Time: 5 hours or better.
2. General Plan. I download the course elevation chart, reviewed the video of the course, and compared all of this to my training stuff and my goal in finishing in 5 hours or less. The course is a bit hilly, with three major (to me, anyway) hills in the route. The key to finishing on time will be to focus on my endurance so I can reduce my walking splits in the last 11 miles from a 7:30 run/2:30 walk split to a 17:30 run/2:30 walk split. Also, the further I can run without walking, the better.
I will need to improve my first 15 mile time only marginally (about 21 minutes). I can achieve this kind of improvement because my previous times were so slow. Improving from a 7 minute mile to a 6 minute mile is unreasonable to expect in this short space of time. Improving from an 11:30 mile to a 10:30 mile is very reasonable.
3. Schedule. I created a 20 week plan, which includes the Marathon itself. I need to run about 500-550 miles to prepare, so I scheduled just over 660. After cancellations and the like, I should hit my actual goal just fine. I prepped for my last marathon by running over 680 miles. However, only around 360 of those miles were in the 16 weeks preceeding the marathon. Several runs were canceled due to weather, and I lost a few runs do to illness or injury. In retrospect, the limited mileage was probably a good thing, as I was so heavy that running any more than this could have caused a major injury. The rest of the running plan worked great, and I'll repeat most of it this time.
4. Planning for Hills. This Marathon has three major hills, so I created 2 "hill" routes. They are not quite as steep as the hills will be in Kansas City, but these are the biggest hills locally available. The first big hill comes around the 2 mile mark, so my new route hits the hill at about that same distance. I can run it as a 3+ miler, a 5 miler, or an 11+ miler. If I run it as a 5 miler, I will have a smaller hill at the end. If I run it as an 11 miler, I'll have the long uphill on 48th Street as the end.
The second route will be on 56th street. The distance from Van Dorn to Hwy2 is about 1.9 miles, with a big hill in the middle. So, I just back and forth on 56th street, up the hill and down the hill, until my legs fall off.
5. Weights. In retrospect, the "maintenance lifting" idea didn't work well at all. In February I was benching 245, but in May I was struggling at 205. I want to be back to 300 lbs before the marathon. I will pound my upper body, with only light lower body lifting.
6. Nutrition. I'm starting that piece much earlier (actually, it begins when I get out of bed this morning). I get 1 soda only on my cheat day (Friday). Sweets and similar crap are gone. Lots of complex carbs and protein.
7. Weight. I'm still too darn heavy. I want to lose an additional 30 lbs by race day. That's not quite 10 lbs a month, which should be do-able.
8. Sleep. I made major improvements in my sleep but, as you can tell from the time on this posting, my sleep is still imperfect. I will be working on that heavily over the next few weeks.
That is the gist of my plan. It starts when I awake in the morning!
Update
I'm pretty well healed from the my first marathon. I tried to resume running a bit too early, and my shins and right knee let me know! I started running an 8.5 miler just over a couple of weeks after the marathon, and I started out at my fastest time ever for this route. I finished the first mile in just over 9 minutes, and hit the trail merge (about 5.1 miles or so) far faster than my best time. Just after the six mile mark, however, my shins and right knee began to ache, and I was forced into walking several portions of the last 2 miles. However, I was so far ahead of schedule that I still finished in my 3rd best time: 1:39:53. I then took more time off. I did a 5 mile jog walk on May 26 (2.5 miles with my three youngest, and then my 7 year old and I jog walked an additional 2.5), and then ran a 1.25 with David on the 2nd. We had to walk a bit, but we finished in just over 13 minutes, which was (in my mind) a great time for a 7 year old. I am most healed (I think) and beging training for the Kansas City Marathon in the morning. I'll discuss that in a separate entry.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Marathon: 6:00:02 Official Time, 6:07:37 Gun Time
After 10 months of training, 689.33 miles, and 3 pairs of running shoes, I finally accomplished one of my life's longest-held dreams: run a marathon. I don't remember how old I was when I first wanted to run a marathon, but this has been a goal for around 35 years. With the help of my family and the Good Lord, that dream finally came true. My "gun time" as reflected in the clock, was 6:07:37. However, this was a "chip timed" event, so my official time was 6:00:02. My official time started when the chip attached to my shoe crossed the starting line, and there were so many runners that it took 7:35 just to get to the start.
My family was wonderful. Every three miles or so, Jen, Heather, Cornell, and David were waiting along the side of the road with signs like "GO KING DAD GO," and they would cheer me on. They were so good that other runners were smiling and enjoying their cheers. After I passed, they quickly loaded up, jumped into the van, and headed off to the next spot. And, when my race plan became soaked and unreadable, Jennifer wrote timing notes to me, and our sons Cornell and David ran them out to me. All the pictures on the race were taken by Jen or Heather. K2 was not here (he's stationed at Ft Hood in Texas) and I wore an Army workout shirt in his honor. So, it was a real family affair. Here's the basic race info:
Gun time: 6:07:37
Chip time: 6:00:02
First 10 K: 1:08:39
Halfway (13.1 mi) 2:34:31
20 Mi: 4:22:37
Last 10K: 1:37:25
Total Runners: 5,265
Completed Marathon: 1075
Completed Half-Marathon: 3431
Race Analysis: I'm a lousy runner (see my "A Bit of History" at the bottom of the blog), so I simply could not just go out and run 26.2 miles. I felt that, to finish on time (or even finish at all), I needed to make a smart plan and stick to it like glue. The original plan was to finish in 6 hrs. To do this I would run the first 15 miles in 3 hours, then jog-walk the rest. All of my training over the past many months was designed to meet these objectives. I recorded stats on every run (all 129 of them, the marathon was 130), and after analyzing the stats I revised my overall plan to 6:05:30, and my 15 mile split to 3:10:30.
I started much stronger than I expected. I ran a sub 12 min mile for the first 8 miles, and at the 10 mile mark was 8:45 ahead of schedule. By the halfway point I was 8:31 ahead of schedule. Things got a bit tougher at around 13.5 miles, as the route turned into the wind. I slowed just bit, but I still made my 15 mile split in 3:03:43, which was 6:47 ahead of schedule.
I did well until just after the 18 mile mark, which is where the path starts uphill towards Holmes Lake. The wind was brutal, and I finished mile 19 in 17:03, my worst mile in the race. One of the gusts of wind almost knocked me down. I was in the wind for part of mile 20, but was still able to make up :23 seconds.
Miles 21 and 22 went poorly. My back was to the wind, but mile 21 was mostly uphill, and I had to make my first and only bathroom stop. Mile 22 was just hard, and betwen the two I lost a total of 1:52. Miles 23 and 24 were flat, so I made up some of the lost time (around 1:09), but I slowed considerably on mile 25 as the rain started to fall again and the course underwent a long, uphill slope. After mile 25, with the end in sight, I ran my fastest mile since mile 14 - 14:58. The last .2 went very quick, as I sprinted to the finish. Overall, I finished 5:28 under my revised schedule.
Weather conditions for my first marathon were a bit icky, but I'm not sure whether they were a curse or a blessing. We started in moderate rain with the temp in the low 60's. Constant rainfall for the first 14 or so miles, then the rain cleared quite nicely for awhile. The rain started falling again when I was about 2 or so miles out, and seemed to increase in intensity as I approached the finish line. The wind became brutal at times (gusts up to 40 mph) and, as I noted above, one gust near Holmes Lake almost knocked me down. The local newspaper referred to the weather as being "a blasting wind and steady rain," and the 2nd place finisher said that "the winds were the toughest he had faced."
All that having been said, the rain was warm so I had a comfortable body temperature the entire run. Further, I enjoy rain, and many of my practice runs were in the rain, so perhaps the rain was a mixed blessing. The wind was no blessing at all, but a couple of years ago the temp at race time was around 30F. So, it certainly could have been worse.
All that having been said, the rain was warm so I had a comfortable body temperature the entire run. Further, I enjoy rain, and many of my practice runs were in the rain, so perhaps the rain was a mixed blessing. The wind was no blessing at all, but a couple of years ago the temp at race time was around 30F. So, it certainly could have been worse.
Songs: About a week before the marathon I put out a call for songs. Not much response. What I did receive, coupled with "my kind" of music, made for an eclectic, yet fun, mix. The music ranged from the 80's (Phil Collins, Bonnie Tyler, Styx, Starship) through the 90's (Alanis Morissette, Tal Bachman), post grunge (All American Rejects), to stuff I'm not sure where or how to classify (Five For Fighting, Simple Plan). I had Avril, Kelly Clarkson, and K2's Happy Hardcore and Trance Stuff (Tiesto, Maxi-Jazz, etc). This was backed by some real, genuine classics (Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, the William Tell Overture, etc). I didn't schedule the songs in any particular order, but some came up at perfect times (Bolton's "I can go the distance" from Hercules, 1812 Overture, K2's electronic stuff, Kansas' The Point of No Return"). I had 80 songs in all, and got through almost all of them by the time I finished. My only musical faux pas was to leave out some of Jen's disco songs (including YMCA by the Village People). Oh well.
I now have a variety of pictures, and should have them posted by Wednesday.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Pasta Feed - Race Day Eve
Jennifer, David and I went to the marathon pasta feed. Lightning filled the skies and the rain fell quite intensely, so the throngs all stayed in doors, which made for somewhat crowded conditions. I wanted to go back for second on pasta, but the line was just too long.
We met some interesting people! We talked to an older gentleman (early 60's) who had run marathons in 36 states. He was with his girlfriend, and the two will be getting married in Paris this summer. Nice gal, about 25 years his junior. We also spoke with a couple and their daughter who live in Texas, not to far from Forth Hood and K2. He has run marathons in 32 states, if I remember correctly, and has over 30 marathons scheduled this year! He just ran back-to-back marathons, the first on a Saturday and the other on a Sunday, on the east coast. The second one was in New Jersey, but I don't recall where the first was. We also spoke at length with a young lady (late teens) and two of her friends from central Nebraska. This will be her second marathon.
Lots of skinny people at the pasta feed. They all look like runners!! Go figure.
Odds and ends:
- We picked up my race package earlier today. I will be number 544.
- Over 5200 people have registered to run.
- The weather forcast calls for thunderstorms with heavy rain and wind.
- This morning's Mayor's fun run was canceled because of lightning and heavy rains. I understand, but may be wrong, that it will not be rescheduled.
- I understand that, regardless of the weather, the marathon will not be canceled (but lightning could delay the start time).
Woo Hoo
We met some interesting people! We talked to an older gentleman (early 60's) who had run marathons in 36 states. He was with his girlfriend, and the two will be getting married in Paris this summer. Nice gal, about 25 years his junior. We also spoke with a couple and their daughter who live in Texas, not to far from Forth Hood and K2. He has run marathons in 32 states, if I remember correctly, and has over 30 marathons scheduled this year! He just ran back-to-back marathons, the first on a Saturday and the other on a Sunday, on the east coast. The second one was in New Jersey, but I don't recall where the first was. We also spoke at length with a young lady (late teens) and two of her friends from central Nebraska. This will be her second marathon.
Lots of skinny people at the pasta feed. They all look like runners!! Go figure.
Odds and ends:
- We picked up my race package earlier today. I will be number 544.
- Over 5200 people have registered to run.
- The weather forcast calls for thunderstorms with heavy rain and wind.
- This morning's Mayor's fun run was canceled because of lightning and heavy rains. I understand, but may be wrong, that it will not be rescheduled.
- I understand that, regardless of the weather, the marathon will not be canceled (but lightning could delay the start time).
Woo Hoo
Friday, May 4, 2007
Friday
Short entry. This has been a most curious week. The week before the marathon is the "taper" week, where I reduce my running and workouts dramatically, and don't run at all for about 3-4 days before race. The plan is to let the body heal as much as possible, but also build up glycogen stores in muscle.
I had planned to rest most of the week, but this turned into a weeks of "firsts". As you know, I run in my first marathon on Sunday. Thursday was also a first, as I made my first appearance before the Nebraska Supreme Court. Friday was also a first - the first time I had to contact the police and call one of the foster kids in on run. Leaving the house after being told "no" is not a good thing. I had planned on being in bed at 8:00 pm tonight so I could get up early tomorrow to complete my time schedule change, but instead its 10:36 pm and I'm up waiting for a kid on run to return home. What a week!
Anyway, I'm so used to running and working out that I feel weird right now. I mowed the lawn, but my body wants to go to the gym and pound the weights and take a lovely 5 mile run. But, I shouldn't. For the past few days I've been eating small meals, drinking lots of protein powder, and otherwise trying to get my body ready.
Tomorrow will be busy. Mayor's fun run with David, get my race packet and number, the pre-race pasta feed, get my music ready. I also need to change the battery in my stop watch. Should be a memorable day!
I had planned to rest most of the week, but this turned into a weeks of "firsts". As you know, I run in my first marathon on Sunday. Thursday was also a first, as I made my first appearance before the Nebraska Supreme Court. Friday was also a first - the first time I had to contact the police and call one of the foster kids in on run. Leaving the house after being told "no" is not a good thing. I had planned on being in bed at 8:00 pm tonight so I could get up early tomorrow to complete my time schedule change, but instead its 10:36 pm and I'm up waiting for a kid on run to return home. What a week!
Anyway, I'm so used to running and working out that I feel weird right now. I mowed the lawn, but my body wants to go to the gym and pound the weights and take a lovely 5 mile run. But, I shouldn't. For the past few days I've been eating small meals, drinking lots of protein powder, and otherwise trying to get my body ready.
Tomorrow will be busy. Mayor's fun run with David, get my race packet and number, the pre-race pasta feed, get my music ready. I also need to change the battery in my stop watch. Should be a memorable day!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
4 Days to Go
Pounded the weights yesterday and today. I feel somewhat "puffed up" right now, and my shoulders and abs are a bit sore. No lifting with my legs (they are plenty strong). I stretch daily, but I'm trying not to overstretch (tears muscle fibre, and I'll be doing enough tearing in a few days)
I'm also shifting my time schedule. I am a night person. However, the race starts at 0700 hrs on Sunday, and I need to be well rested before the run. So, on Monday I started adjusting my internal clock by getting out of bed early (0430 hrs every day), and getting to bed by 2100 hrs (although I didn't get into bed until 2230 hrs last night because I taught class).
I'm also eating several smaller meals each day, and am watching my intake very closely. For example, I was in an outside meeting this morning and my office provided donuts and the like, but I had only one bagel (not the healthiest, but better than a donut) and two glasses of high pulp orange juice. I could hear the donuts, with their tiny little voices, beckoning me to eat one, and then mocking me as I withstood their tempations. Oh, it was painful, but I persevered!
I'm also shifting my time schedule. I am a night person. However, the race starts at 0700 hrs on Sunday, and I need to be well rested before the run. So, on Monday I started adjusting my internal clock by getting out of bed early (0430 hrs every day), and getting to bed by 2100 hrs (although I didn't get into bed until 2230 hrs last night because I taught class).
I'm also eating several smaller meals each day, and am watching my intake very closely. For example, I was in an outside meeting this morning and my office provided donuts and the like, but I had only one bagel (not the healthiest, but better than a donut) and two glasses of high pulp orange juice. I could hear the donuts, with their tiny little voices, beckoning me to eat one, and then mocking me as I withstood their tempations. Oh, it was painful, but I persevered!
Monday, April 30, 2007
Day - 6: Worked on Transitions
Ran an 8.5 mi with Robert, our 17 year old foster kid. We ran the first 3 miles at an excellent pace, then for the next 5.5 worked on transitions into and out of a walking interval. In my previous long runs, I would clunkily start walking from a run, and would simply start running when the interval ended. I quickly learned that the "clunk" into the walking interval made my knees hurt, and my "just start running" at the end of the walking interval made my legs stiff and sore and took a lot of energy. And, the longer I walked, the harder it was to resume running. So, tonight I practiced transitioning from a run into a walk, and a slow and even acceleration from a walk into a run. I practiced numerous transitions, and a 15 second transition seems to be perfect.
My legs are more sore now than if I had just run the entire distance, which concerns me just a bit. This soreness is cause running in intervals, and has been a consistent problem since January. Back then, I quickly learned that once I passed the 6 mile point, resuming a run after a walking interval was difficult. And, the longer I walked, the more difficult it became. For example, in March's 24.5 miler, I decided to walk for a mile somewhere around the 17 mile point. When I resumed running, my legs began to ache and I was unable to establish a good stride or pace for the remainder of the distance. I had a similar problem for my 21.5 miler last month. I used intervals, without transitions, on all my big runs, and my legs ached for days after. Fortunately, I am in much better shape now, and I think the transitions will help greatly. I suspect that these transitions will play a significant role in keeping my legs in the game and keeping me on track to reach my time goal of 6 hrs. The bottom line is that I must not walk more than 3.5 minutes at a time (plus the 15 second slowdown transition and the 15 second speed up transition).
Tonight's focus was on transitioning into and out of a walking interval, and we practiced many such transitions. We did not focus on overall time, but rather creating a solid transition routine Regardless, I did have the stopwatch on, and the overall time was still only 1:46:28, which was a great time for what we were doing. Without the transitions, we would probably have beat my 1:35:00 goal. A 5 mile run on Wednesday, weights on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, with a couple of walks in between pretty much finishes our running schedule before the Marathon.
My legs are more sore now than if I had just run the entire distance, which concerns me just a bit. This soreness is cause running in intervals, and has been a consistent problem since January. Back then, I quickly learned that once I passed the 6 mile point, resuming a run after a walking interval was difficult. And, the longer I walked, the more difficult it became. For example, in March's 24.5 miler, I decided to walk for a mile somewhere around the 17 mile point. When I resumed running, my legs began to ache and I was unable to establish a good stride or pace for the remainder of the distance. I had a similar problem for my 21.5 miler last month. I used intervals, without transitions, on all my big runs, and my legs ached for days after. Fortunately, I am in much better shape now, and I think the transitions will help greatly. I suspect that these transitions will play a significant role in keeping my legs in the game and keeping me on track to reach my time goal of 6 hrs. The bottom line is that I must not walk more than 3.5 minutes at a time (plus the 15 second slowdown transition and the 15 second speed up transition).
Tonight's focus was on transitioning into and out of a walking interval, and we practiced many such transitions. We did not focus on overall time, but rather creating a solid transition routine Regardless, I did have the stopwatch on, and the overall time was still only 1:46:28, which was a great time for what we were doing. Without the transitions, we would probably have beat my 1:35:00 goal. A 5 mile run on Wednesday, weights on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, with a couple of walks in between pretty much finishes our running schedule before the Marathon.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Marathon Strategy Revised
I have finalized my race strategy, and will spend my last 4 running days working out any last minute details. My original strategy, which I made many moons ago, still seems like the best overall plan: complete the first 15 miles in 3 hours (5 mph pace), then jog-walk the remainder at around a 3.8 mph pace. I didn't really have any other details back then, but now have refined the strategy quite substantially. Here goes.
Congestion at the Starting Line and Chip Timing. The Lincoln Marathon will have a record 5000 runners, so the start and the first few miles will be quite congested. Because I'm slow, I'll start somewhere nearer to the back of the pack, and 2 minutes or more might elapse from the time the gun sounds before I actually cross the starting line. Last year's event had 4100 runners, and because of congestion on certain parts of the route the race folks narrowed the starting line to string people out a bit better. But, with the additional 900 entrants this year, the first part of the race might be packed worse than last year. Fortunately, this is a chip-timed event with a chip start, so my personal time starts and stops when the chip on my shoe crosses the timing mat at the start/finish line. Chips from the Novartis 10K are on our shoes in the adjacent picture. My first race this year, the State Farm 10 mi (the race where I was assigned the infamous "666" race number), was a chip start, which is good because I started way back in the pack and 30+ seconds had elapsed after the starting gun before I moved up enough to cross the starting line. Because this was a chip start, this 30+ seconds did not count against my time. The 10 K was a gun start, so the 30 seconds or so which elapsed before I crossed the starting line did count against my time.
Mile 1. The race starts on the campus of the University of Nebraska (Go Huskers), in front of the Coliseum (where the National Champion Women's Vollyball teams plays) and the football stadium. After the narrowed start, the route proceeds down a narrow road for about .3 mile, then makes a right hand turn onto another street. With 5000 people running, this part of the route will look line the LA freeway system at rush hour, so I won't be able to set my pace and my first mile time will be slow. Over the past month, I have consistently ran a 10 minute or better first mile on my 5+ mile runs. NOT going to happen this time. My best guess is 13 min.
Miles 2-5. My standard (now) 5 mile time is 54-55 minutes, but I doubt I'll run this well because of race congestion. Once I settle into my pace, the first hurdle comes at the 2 mile point, where we make a left hand turn though an intersection which is partially closed due to major construction. In other words, more congestion. The next hurdle comes at the 3 mile point when we go through our first aid station. Many people walk through the station so they can drink water or gatorade, so more congestion. Aside from the first mile at 13 min, my best guess is that I'll average 12 minute miles for the next four miles.
Miles 6-10. These miles will be like running with an old friend, because mile 5-8 follow a route I have run many, many times. We transition from the street to a bike path just after mile 6, which will pose a serious congestion issue. There is a bit of an uphill around the 8 mile mark, and we leave the bike path at around the 8.5 mile mark for what I think is the quirkiest part of the route. We run up hill on a narrow residential street, then cross through a park with a very narrow sidewalk. Hopefully, we will be spread out enough by that point that it won't be too much of a problem. Depending on congestion, I should be able to average just under a 12 min mile until the 8 mile mark, and am planning a 13 min mile for miles 9 and 10 because of the uphill, the narrow street, and going through the park.
Miles 10-13. These miles are relatively flat and the road is very wide with no turns. At about the 12 2/3 mile mark, the folks running the half marathon split off to the finish line, which should reduce the field by about 50%. Also, marathoners can exercise the "Marathoner's Option" and decide to run only the half marathon, so marathoners who become sore, injured, dehydrated, get nasty blisters, etc will be leaving. I'm figuring a 12:30 min mile for miles 11 and 12, with a 13:30 mile to mile 13.
Miles 13 -15. These miles go north of the University of Nebraska and then cut south through the campus. I hope to complete the first 15 miles in 3 hours. At this point, I'm planning for 3:10:30 because of early race congestion.
Miles 15-finish. Miles 15-25 will again be like running with an old friend. This is basically an "out and back" where we run from the University of Nebraska Campus to Holmes Lake and back, and I have run this portion numerous times. We start an uphill at around mile 19, and the steepest part of the route will occur from mile 19 to just after mile 21. The remaining 5.2 will be downhill and then a straight shot to the finish. I will begin my walking intervals at mile 15, where I slow to a 15 minute mile. I'll do an 8/2 interval (8 minutes jogging, 2 minutes walking) to mile 19, and regardless of the time will walk up the steepest part of that hill. The hill will taper and I will jog for approximately 8-10 minutes, when I will again walk up the steepest part of the hill at mile 21. I know both hills, so I should be able to jog much of the way. My best guess is that I will average a 16 minute mile from mile 17 to mile 21 (which is where I will be listening to music provided by my friends), then should average a 15 min mile the rest of the way in. I scheduled two 16 minute miles at 23 and 24, just in case. The remaining 2.2 are relatively flat, and shouldn't pose any problems.
According to my math, I should finish between 6:03:30 and 6:05:30. I'll definitely be one of the last finishers, but that's ok. My goal this time around is just to finish. According to the Marathon web site, some folks still received official times at around the 7 hour mark. However, police take down their traffic barriers at the 6 hour mark. If I go slower than expected, I'll be ok because the bike trail runs adjacent to the route all the way from mile 15 to mile 25. The last 1.2 would be a pain because I would have to run on sidewalks and would make poor time because of all of the traffic lights. An incentive to finish on time.
Anyway, thats what the race will look like. Jennifer and the kids will be meeting me at certain parts of the route, and Jennifer will have a copy of my plan just in case we need to re-compute a few things. In terms of pace, I won't be able to "speed up" after around mile 15, so my pace will be controlled through adjusting my intervals. If I'm feeling strong, I might do a 9/1. If I start to hurt, I can drop back to a 7/3. I learned on my long runs that I must not walk more than 4 minutes at any given time, or I have difficult running again. So, as a precaution, I will not walk more than 3:30 minutes at a time.
I am excited, and a bit anxious, that the last week is here. I have scheduled one last 8.5, but taper significantly after that. I have a couple of walks planned, and for one of these I'll walk the leg of the route through the University of Nebraska campus, and on the other will walk the quirky part of the route so I don't get lost. I'll also get a better feel for the uphill on that section once I walk it. Other than this, I'll spend the week working on the huge blister that formed in my right arch, the blister on my right -little toe, on icing my knees and lower back, and carefully watching my intake. I have asked my friends to each email me a song for my I-Pod, and hopefully each will send me one and I can spend an hour or two getting the music on the I-Pod just right!
I also have a few loose ends to tie up. My new contacts have arrived and I need to pick them up because I'll be running in contacts. I will get a new battery for my stop watch, need to get my "Army Dad" ball cap fixed, (the adjustable headband came off) and buy more energy gel things to carry when I run. Of course, I will have a hyper-busy week at work and I give my students a mid-term on Tuesday, but life does not slow down just because I want to run a marathon.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
A fine birthday run!
Today is my birthday! I am now 25, er, um, like 35 ish, or, like, perhaps somewhere closer, or possibly farther away than, like 35, plus some years. Ok, today is the 45th celebration of the day of my birth.
I had a very fine birthday run this morning, completing my 3.3 mi route in 31:28. This is my new personal best (since the early 90's), which shaved 2:03 off the personal best I set on April 19 (33:31). I ran as hard as I could but couldn't quite reach my goal of running this route in 30 minutes before the marathon. However, I was excited to shave over 2 minutes off my previous best time, and I'm sure that, once I'm a bit lighter, I'll reach that goal.
My original plan was for a nice 8.5 mile run to celebrate my birthday. Unfortunately, this has been a brutal week, with Friday being day 10 of a parental rights termination trial. I took a nap when I returned home after court, and that nap turned into a very long night's rest. I woke up quite late and quickly realized that I had no time for an 8.5 miler. So, even though a previous blog entry stated that my 3.3 mi runs were finished until after the marathon, I decided to do one more.
I thought of running a 5 miler tonight, as I am currently 15 miles behind my mileage goal for April and had been scheduled to run the 8.5 mi route. However, a group of guys are coming over to play "Diplomacy." It's a grand strategy game based on WWI, and the game can go for quite some time. So, I may or may not run tonight. Jennifer temporarily lifted my soda ban for my birthday ("Soda" on the coasts, "Pop" in the midwest), so we'll have pizza, root beer, and ice cream as we play. Woo hoo! In other words, no 5 miler tonight.
I had a very fine birthday run this morning, completing my 3.3 mi route in 31:28. This is my new personal best (since the early 90's), which shaved 2:03 off the personal best I set on April 19 (33:31). I ran as hard as I could but couldn't quite reach my goal of running this route in 30 minutes before the marathon. However, I was excited to shave over 2 minutes off my previous best time, and I'm sure that, once I'm a bit lighter, I'll reach that goal.
My original plan was for a nice 8.5 mile run to celebrate my birthday. Unfortunately, this has been a brutal week, with Friday being day 10 of a parental rights termination trial. I took a nap when I returned home after court, and that nap turned into a very long night's rest. I woke up quite late and quickly realized that I had no time for an 8.5 miler. So, even though a previous blog entry stated that my 3.3 mi runs were finished until after the marathon, I decided to do one more.
I thought of running a 5 miler tonight, as I am currently 15 miles behind my mileage goal for April and had been scheduled to run the 8.5 mi route. However, a group of guys are coming over to play "Diplomacy." It's a grand strategy game based on WWI, and the game can go for quite some time. So, I may or may not run tonight. Jennifer temporarily lifted my soda ban for my birthday ("Soda" on the coasts, "Pop" in the midwest), so we'll have pizza, root beer, and ice cream as we play. Woo hoo! In other words, no 5 miler tonight.
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