Running Nowhere Fast

Marine Corps Marathon, 25 Oct 2009

2009-10-27T18:28:00.002-05:00

Well...I ran my first marathon since breaking my leg over a year ago and I was thrilled with being able to do it.

To catch you up since my last post...many months ago...I have been running an occasional race during my training build up. After running my first half marathon in February I was a little disappointed in my fitness and endurance level as well as the discomfort to my leg during and after the races so I thought it would be good to back off a bit and slow down my rehab and training. My next race was the Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon in April and finished with a time of 1:48:31...a three minute improvement from the Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half but 21 minutes slower than last year...but it was an improvement. The next race was another half...the Marine Corps Historic Half...in the rain...with a finish time of 1:42:48...almost a six minute improvement. I felt really good during and after this race and everything seemed to be coming together so I decided to do the Elizabeth River Run 10K a couple of weeks later with a disappointing time of 50:16...about four minutes slower than my 10K split during the MCHH. I just ran out of gas about three miles in...no idea why. Also my good leg calf started hurting after the 10K so I again backed off my training even though my long runs had progressed to 16 miles. I stopped running for 10 days until the pain went away and then restarted my training plan slowly again. My next race was the ASYMCA 8K Mud Run...yes the very race where I broke my leg last year. I just had to do it. I didn't expect to go fast but I expected to finish running across the finish line this time. I joined a team for this one to ensure that I would take it easy since we all had to finish together...we made it all together in 1:24:20...Oh...Our team name??? Someone thought it would be fitting to be called the "Help! I've Fallen & Can't Get Up!"...but we all had a great time! I caught a bad cold or flu a few days after the race and again didn't run for over a week and then again, slowly started up my training. Next up was the Virginia Beach Rock n Roll Half where again I found my energy and endurance lacking and finished in 1:49:21...seven minutes slower than the MCHH...it was very disappointing to be going backwards and I was seriously considering deferring the Marine Corps Marathon. The latest I could defer was 27 Sept...my longest run had been around 16 miles back in May and there was no way I could get in shape to do a full marathon when just the half was kicking my ass. I was wishing the deferment date would have been after the Army 10 Miler on the 4th of October, which I was a member of my company's team, so I could better asses my training and fitness. As I went to the website on the last day to defer, there was this message that said the deferment date had been move to the 7th of October! It was like they heard me! I ran the ATM in 1:11:02 which I was very happy with because all through the 10 miles I felt strong. The time was about six minutes slower than my fastest 10 mile time but I knew considering everything that I had gone through, it was a great time for me. Even though I only had three weeks to get ready for the MCM and with only the half and 10 miler as my long runs for the last four weeks, I decided to step up the training so that I would build up to the marathon. The week after the ATM, I ran an 18 mile long run...I had only planned on 16.5 but I met up with my lady gym friends and ran the extra with them. The week after and only a week before the MCM, I wanted to run at least a 20 miler and ended up doing 22 in under 3 hrs. Everything felt good, endurance was coming back and I was beginning to think that not only finishing but finishing with a decent time in the MCM was very possible. I got ambitious and started dreaming of a BQ finish. Foolish Me! I tapered the rest of the week doing two easy five milers in the six days left and then it was marathon time!

Drove the three and a half hours to DC on Saturday, went to the Expo and was surprised to see Paul manning his booth for "Hope for the Warriors". It was great to visit with him for awhile. Then I checked into the motel and finally enjoyed a great dinner with a bunch of MCM forum members. Went back to the motel to get everything ready and laid down to a sleepless night. I can never get a good nights sleep the day before a marathon for some reason. I got up at 5:00, ate breakfast as I looked at the weather forecast...49-61F, sunny with a bit of wind...almost perfect weather! Took my shower and put on my race stuff along with a hoodie and drove to the Pentagon City mall, parked and took the Metro to the Pentagon. We walked the mile or so to the staging area and waiting in one of the tents to keep out of the cold wind. At 7:15 I checked my hoodie and extra stuff and started the walk to the starting line. Staged myself near the 3:30 flags and tried to get into the middle of the crowd of runners to keep warm and keep the wind off. But a few minutes before start time I had to make a nature call and went down the hill to the trees where everyone else was doing it too. Got back in the corral and the starting gun fired and we were off.

As I got in the corral, I noticed the 3:30 pace group balloons about 50 feet in front whom I wanted to run with to ensure I didn't start off too fast. I couldn't get any closer to them because of so many runners all around but around the first mile, I finally caught up with them and the first mile was in 7:52. I kept just in back of the pace group for the first four miles but had to make another urgent pit stop. Off to the side of the road to water the bushes and back on course and I see the balloons are about a minute up the road. We go across the bridge to Georgetown and I'm only about 30 minutes back. We start the final climb in Georgetown and I catch up to the pace group and stay with them as they maintain a steady 8 min/mile pace. The 10K mat comes in at 48:53. It feels easy and I think I can go all day at this pace. On the downhill I leave the pace group and slowly pull ahead. We go into Hains Point and the 20K mat reads 1:36:24 and I'm still on pace and still feeling good and the half comes in at 1:42:04...faster than my MCHH time! My stomach starts rumbling the last couple of miles and now I feel something knock at the back door...wanting out. As we get to the far end of Hains Pt I see a wonder sight of half a dozen port-a-lets...but when I stop they are all full! I wait a few seconds...which seems like an eternity and finally one becomes available. I go in and do my business and a minute or so later I'm back out running. I was about three minutes ahead of the pace group and by the time I get back on the course they are only about a minute back...no worries...still on pace. We finish Hains Pt and do the Capital loop and cross the 30K mat in 2:28:46...still on pace and feeling good. Then comes the 14th Street Bridge! That thing seemed to go on for miles and my energy starts to wane. The 3:30 pace group passes me and I try to hang on to the group but they slowly get further ahead...no worries...I can still finish between 3:30 and 3:36 and still BQ. We finally go down into Crystal City and cross the 35K mat in 2:55:08...and it's less than 10K to go! The crowds are cheering and clapping and should be giving me energy but I start to feel some twinges in my calves and hams. Oh No...my dreaded muscle cramps...Please stay away for a few more miles! I try to vary my stride. We make the turn at the end of the Crystal City loop and head back towards the Pentagon and the finish line. I see the 23 mile marker a few yards ahead and the first big leg cramp hits and brings me to a walk as I try to stretch and massage the cramp out. I start running again and about a minute later both legs are cramping bringing me to a stop. I try to stretch and massage and walk some and then start running again. I cross the 40K mat in 3:30:30...the time I was suppose to cross the finish line in...how disappointing it was. I kept walking and running trying to massage out the cramps when they occurred. There's the final turn going up the small hill to the finish line and I am determined to run up the hill and cross the finish line in 3:49:09. Not the time I was hoping for but I was still happy considering that this was the first marathon in almost one and a half years. Besides the cramps the rest of the body was feeling good except for one blister on my right foot, which I felt forming around mile 11. I got my wonderful MCM medal, got my picture took, got my goodie bag and went to retrieve my hoodie and phone from the UPS trucks that seemed to be a mile away...but the walking help calm my leg cramps down. I went back to the finish area to wait the others to finish. I cheer and yell as I see Paul rounding the final turn and into the finish and a few minutes later my two gym ladies triumphantly make the turn and finish...one the lady's first marathon.

I met up with my ladies near the UPS trucks and we make our way to the Rosslyn Metro. When we get there, we see a line of people two blocks long waiting for the Metro. We see the buses even further down the road but there is also a long line of people waiting. We decide to take a cab to the next nearest Metro and there's a long line for that! I ask a sheriff directing traffic where the next nearest Metro is and he says it's about six blocks up the hill. After what seemed like about a mile and a half up the hill we finally find the Metro and make our way back to our cars and motel. I think all the walking did us good because we all felt pretty good. So...I got home and signed up for the Richmond marathon which is on 14 Nov.

Race Results:
There were 1064 finishers in the Male 50-54 age group and 21176 total finishers
Overall finish place was 3131 of 21176
Age group finish place was 141 of 1064
Time: 3:49:09 for an overall pace of 8:45 per mile

Happy Racing You All!

Second Race in Second Week

2009-02-23T08:27:00.003-05:00

Well, I ran another one. I had a choice of running Saturday in the 20K/30K of the Strider's Distance Series...the last in the three race series, or run in Sunday's Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon…a half that I ran last year and remembered having fun doing it, even if it doesn’t hand out Bling. But why race two weeks in a row when I’m suppose to be recuperating? My plan for this week called for a 10 mile long run and I figured running 20K or 13.1 miles would fit kind-a-sorta. What’s three more miles? I decided on the Half.

I should have picked the 20K because Saturday was absolutely gorgeous…sunny skies and cool temps, where as Sunday turned out to be a dismal cold drizzly day. But, I drove up there…got lost a few times…registered and waited around for the 1:00 pm start. I was surprised to see Steve there ready to run…he had just ran the 30K yesterday and was here today to do the half! He is an amazing runner! The start line is about half a mile from the finish, so I ran my warm up jog to the start line and waited around under the overhang of some large trees to keep out of the drizzling rain.

Finally the race starts and we are off on the rolling hills course…rolling hills that I didn’t notice very much last year but this year was very apparent. I noticed that going uphill was okay but going downhill put a lot of stress on my recovering leg. My goal for the race was to treat it as a training run for the upcoming Shamrock Marathon in mid-March. I wanted to see if I could maintain a 7:30 pace which would bring me in around 1:40. The first three miles wasn’t bad and I was almost spot on with a 22:09…the first mile was faster than I wanted, but then the wheels starting falling off with the downhills really taking a toll on my leg and was affecting my stride. So I decided to pull it back a bit especially on the downhills. By the turnaround at mile 6 I had slowed quite a bit and it wasn’t fun anymore. I was just counting down the miles…I would be slow but I was determined to run the whole way…no stopping or walking even the downhills. We finally arrive at the front of Kaplan Hall…the finish is around the back, up a ramp and inside…and I kick it in a bit around the turns, up the ramp and across the finish in 1:51:37. Not the time I envisioned but it was done and I had run all of it. But it did give me a realization that I still had a long way to go before I was even ready for a marathon, so I deferred my Shamrock marathon registration to next year. No marathons this spring but by the fall I expect to be ready. In the mean time I will work on my long runs, endurance and speed with a few races sprinkled here and there to check my progress.

Race Results:
There were 62 finishers in the Male 50-54 age group and 735 total finishers
Overall finish place was 318 of 735
Age group finish place was 30 of 62
Time: 1:51:37 for an overall pace of 8:29 per mile

Happy running every one!

Valentine's Day Running!

2009-02-20T06:44:00.004-05:00

Well, I did it...the first race since a little over six months ago! I ran the Virginia is for Lovers 14K, which was run on Valentine's Day. I had been trying to find a first race to run in since the beginning of the year, but each race up to this point was either too soon or too long. In January, I was still building up my running minutes, progressing from my walk/run program to finally being able to run at least 30 minutes continuously by mid month and to finally being able to run a whole hour by the end of the month. So 14K on the 14th sounded very doable. This was an inaugural 14K and there was Bling…a shirt and a medal! So yes…I did this one for the Bling! I kept reminding myself that if I was to do this, I couldn’t go out there expecting to run it the fastest that I can but to try to start off slowly and then get to and maintain a nice easy pace. So, the goals was a nice, slow 9-10 minute first mile, gradually build up to 8 minute miles and maintain till the end…hopefully finishing around 1:10.

The race is run in Virginia Beach around and about the Virginia Beach Amphitheater and Sportsplex, a flat looping course with.

The morning was cold but hardly any wind and after picking up my bib and timing chip I met up with a couple of my gym ladies and we waited in the warm tent until they called the runners to the start line. We mingled into the middle of the runners and waited for the starting gun. The race was delayed about 15 minutes because of traffic and runners arriving late but finally we were off. We had to walk towards the starting line which took us about a full minute before everyone started jogging as they crossed the start line. It was really crowded the first mile with hardly any room to get a good tempo going because of being jostled and all the stop and goes as well as trying to weave around groups of slower runners. The first mile was around the amphitheater and when I looked at my watch realized it hadn’t started when I pushed the button at the start so no splits. By this time I lost contact with my gym ladies and was still weaving around slower groups of runners. At the beginnings of a different loop in the course I was happy to see fellow blogger Steve heading back from the loop…he’s an amazing runner who has always been fast but has been getting faster and has been regularly finishing up in the top three of the Open class…and he looked strong with smooth strides. After this loop we hit a gravel parking area loop which I was leery of because of the loose surface and I for sure didn’t want to misstep and twist something so I tried to be careful where I stepped. We came to the first of two water stops…mile 3…and I took a cup just because although I really didn’t need it. We finally got back on hardtop and I concentrated on a nice easy pace again hoping it was around the 8 minutes miles that I had planned but I seemed to miss most of the mile markers so couldn’t really gage what my pace was. We looped around one of the main roads towards a mid point of the race named Cupid’s Corner, which was where those that were running the two person relay changed runners. Half way point and everything felt good…it felt sooo good to be out there running a race. I picked it up a little bit and started concentrating on picking off runners and in no time we were at the six mile water stop in front of the Sportsplex. One final loop around Damneck Rd and we’re headed for the finish. Around the eight mile mark there was a group of high-schoolers lined up, cheering us on. I high fived every one of them and about a minute later made the final turn to the finish. With visions of what happened in my last race in August there was no sprint to the finish…just a nice pace to enjoy the cheering of all the people near the finish line. And the clock read 1:09:55, chiptime: 1:08:50. Got my Bling and a banana and went back out to find and run with my gym ladies.

Race Results:
There were 46 finishers in the Male 50-54 age group and 1308 total finishers
Overall finish place was 268 of 1308
Age group finish place was 12 of 46
Time: 1:08:50 for an overall pace of 7:56 per mile

It felt good...Really Good!

Happy running you all!

T'was the Day After Christmas and...

2008-12-26T21:09:00.003-05:00

I'm finally updating my blog. Haven't been too inspired or motivated to add anything here so it's been quite a while...almost three months. But...now...I'm motivated again so a short note!

I went to see the ortho doctor this last Monday and after a thorough examination and more x-rays, he told me I could start running again. Oh Yeah! At my last physical therapy evaluation, a week earlier, they had given me a training plan to slowly incorporate running into my regular PT sessions...but...I was to wait until the official OK from my doctor...and now I have it. An early Christmas present!

I was still a little apprehensive about starting running since I hadn't expected to get the clearance to run until the end of January. I was still getting some uncomfortable sensations in my lower leg during some of my PT sessions and although I could walk up the stairs, It was still difficult going down the stairs. But, according to the doctor, everything was healed up and I could start right away, with the realization that I needed to take it really easy.

Now I didn't rush home, change into my workout gear and go for a run. I had worked out quite hard on the elliptical, stationary bike and leg weight workout the day before and decided to be sensible and give my body a rest day first. But Tuesday, I was at the gym ready to try this running thing. My training plan called for a 10 minute walking warm up, then alternating one minute runs with one minute walks for 10 cycles and finishing with a 10 minute cool down walk. I deviated from the plan by warming up 12 minutes on the elliptical and then five minutes walking on the treadmill at 4 mph. Then it was time for the first run...Any sign of pain or discomfort I was going to stop. I set the treadmill for 6 mph and started running...I almost anticipated some type of discomfort during the run, but...no pain...a little tightness but no discomfort either. One minute was up in no time and I started my walk at 4 mph and continued my walk/run for 5 cycles when my leg did start feeling funny...no real pain but it was aching, so I decided to stop and did my 5 minutes of walking cool down. Then to the stationary bike for another 12 minutes and everything started feeling fine.

I planned to run Christmas day but too many things were going on so that didn't happen. So, after two days of rest I went back today and did the whole 10 cycles of walk/run with no problems what so ever. Also got in 22 minutes on the elliptical, 3 miles on the stationary bike and my PT prescribed leg workouts. Everything felt fine afterwards...a little tight in places...but fine!

So, the goal right now is to follow the PT training plan, which will take about a month to get to the point where I will be running for 30 straight minutes.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!
Now have a great New Year!
Charlie

On the Road Back...Slowly This Time!

2008-10-09T09:09:00.005-05:00

Well, I've started my rehab. I was given clearance from my orthopedic doctors to start riding the stationary bike and elliptical as tolerated, starting with no resistance and no elevation. Was also given a consult to start Physical Therapy to help get my knee and ankle more mobile and to strengthen my quads and calves...and freedom from my crutches and leg splint.

A week ago Wed was my first trip to the gym in eight long weeks of little to no activity. My first challenge was actually trying to get to the gym. Since my right leg was the one that was fractured and healing...my gas and brake pedal foot...I had been practicing for a couple of days putting weight on my right foot and moving it back and forth...like pushing on the gas and brake pedal. A couple of ladies from the gym had already offered to take me to the gym when they went if I couldn't drive so that option was always there. I wanted to go in the morning when there wouldn't be too many people at the gym and my gym mates of course worked during the day so hence my practicing. So with all the practicing completed I hobbled out to the truck and drove to the gym and it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. I was extra careful to allow plenty of time to brake and keeping my distance from other vehicles. It was great to know that I was freed from the bonds of immobility now.

The drive to the gym was no problem and I pulled into the nearest handicapped space by the front doors...I was able to get a temporary handicap sticker...so that was very helpful. I hobbled through the doors and was greeted by the staff and a couple of folks that I hadn't seen for what seemed ages. After about 15-20 minutes of greetings and talking about my incident, I climbed onto the stationary bike and started my first ride in a long time. I started off slow with no resistance and no elevation but just the rotational movement and flexion on my right knee and ankle was stiff and uncomfortable. Even pedaling mostly with my good left foot and leg and letting the right foot and leg just cycle through the motion was uncomfortable but bearable. After about five minutes I was able to use both legs with equal effort, still with tightness but more bearable. I completed seven miles in 31 minutes on the bike and moved on to the elliptical thinking that since I'm all warmed up, I could put in at least 5-10 minutes. But the movement and pressure from the elliptical was to great on my ankle and shin and I got off after just one minute. But, not bad for the first time in almost two months of nothing.

I got home, showered and notice my ankle and lower leg was painfully swollen but with some ice and elevation while I worked out my rehab training plan, the swelling went down. My plan is to build on the first day with only working out every other day for the first few weeks increasing the time/distance in small increments. So this was last weeks rehab/workout:

Wed: 31 min cycle at 0 level, 0 elevation; 1 min elliptical at 0 level, 0 elevation
Thu: Rest
Fri: 32 min cycle at 0-2 level, 0 elevation; 5 min elliptical at 0 level, 0 elevation
Sat: Rest
Sun: Rest...actually I hobbled around the pool scrubbing the sides and bottom...it needed it and it was a good work out.
Mon: 31 min cycle at 0-3 level, 0 elevation; 12 min elliptical at 0 level, 0 elevation
Tue: Rest
Wed: 36 min cycle at 0-5 level, 0 elevation; 12 min elliptical at 0 level, 0 elevation

Not a bad weeks worth of workouts, considering. My discomfort levels are more bearable each time out and my hobbling is slowly becoming more like normal walking. Got to remind myself to take it slow and easy, those old bones aren't mended yet.

Yesterday, Wed morning was my first PT appointment where they took baseline measurements on flexion, extension and strength and explained what type of exercises I was to do there and on my own and how to do them. I also saw my ortho doctor and they fitted me with a pair of support socks...looks like knee high stockings but they help my ankle and lower leg swelling...and I got clearance to go back to work starting Monday...well actually Tuesday since Monday is a holiday! Life is looking good again!

Happy training!
Charlie

Another Month Gone

2008-09-30T18:08:00.002-05:00

Here it is the end of September and fall has arrived. I should be in my final weeks of training for the fall marathons but here I still sit, still broken. Here is a quick update since my last race and post.

Since breaking my right leg on 09 August at the Mud Run, I was in a long cast for a little over 3 weeks trying to see/decide if the cast alone would be enough to keep the break aligned or if surgery would be needed. At the three week doctor's visit the x-rays did not look good and it appeared the fracture site was shifting and it was decided that a rod would be placed in the tibia to keep the fracture site aligned and help it heal faster.

Surgery was performed the next day with a titanium "nail" being place the length of the tibia with six screws to hold everything in place. An incision was made just above the knee for access to the top of the tibia and another incision at the fracture site to help align the two jagged bones. Each of the screws also got their own incisions. I remember being in extreme pain five hours later in the recover room but with drugs and time things calmed down a bit and I was released the next day minus the long cast but in a plastic foam lined boot. I could finally bend my knee but it was sore from the surgery as well as being stiff from being immobilized for three weeks in the cast. I was able to shower for the first time since this happened and what a joy that was...I had been giving myself a wash cloth bath for four weeks...so this was like being in heaven.

Went back for a check up last week...three weeks post-op...for suture removal and x-ray. X-rays showed everything in it's place and all the incisions healing well. Was sent home with instructions to full weight bearing and walking as tolerated with encouragement to use the stationary bike and elliptical with no resistance in a week. Also got a consult to go to physical therapy to help my knee and ankle stiffness from the long time in the cast and splint, but no running or anything that puts undue stress on the leg for another 8-12 weeks.

I am now hobbling around sometimes with one crutch, sometimes with none, but the stiffness in the knee and ankle keeps me from walking normal. Also my ankle and lower leg swells up quite a bit after trying to walk around but goes down some when I sit down and elevate my leg. Hopefully with the start of mild exercise and the PT, I'll be walking normal before too long.

I plan on going to the gym tomorrow for my first cycle/elliptical session...we'll see how that goes.

Everyone have a great week.

ASYMCA 8K Mud Run, 09 Aug 08

2008-08-11T18:48:00.005-05:00

The ASYMCA Mud Run is an 8K that combines lots of sand, water obstacles and running. A fun event that I had run last year and already had registered for quite a while ago. I had some reservations of running it because I had just come off rehabbing a stubborn right shin problem for the last three months. After running the Memorial 5K about 10 days earlier, my shin was still tender and after a couple more training runs they didn't seem to be getting any better. I gave them three days of rest from running and on the morning of the race decided to go ahead and run it but to take it easy and run it for fun. Besides I had convinced other people to run it and a few of my gym mates were running it too.

The race is held on and near the beach of Little Creek Amphibious base in Norfolk and in run in waves starting with the young up to the age of 40 and ending with various two people and five people teams. I got to the event in plenty of time and got my chip and hung out a while waiting for my gym ladies but couldn't find them in the 2000+ runners and non-runners. It was a beautiful sunny morning with the temps in the low 70's and a nice little breeze. I did my mile warm up running the last half mile from the finish on the mostly sand covered hardtop road. My shin was still tender but usually after a couple of miles of racing it loosens up a bit. I again looked for the gym ladies and and had a chance to talk with fellow blogger Steve and Ally before the second wave was called to the starting line...my group...and I also found one of the gym ladies and was able to greet her before heading to the line.

The horn sounds and we are off running in the loose sand headed to the packed sand on the ocean beach. We race down the beach dodging waves and tree roots for the first mile or so. We head back across the loose sand and some solid ground before fording a small stream that comes up about mid thigh high...it felt cool and refreshing. We weave through a wooded area dodging overhanging branches, tree roots and small stumps. I'm feeling pretty good and start passing the slower people in front as the opportunity presents itself on the narrow trail. We run through some more loose sand and areas where dunes have been piled up for us to go up and over. After a little over a mile we finally reach the parking lot of the start finish area and I think for a moment that I should stop because my shin is still painful but continue on thinking that the next mile is the easiest part because it's mostly on blacktop roads and I'm already almost half way done anyway. We come off the solid ground back into the sand and climb over a wall chest high wall. I'm careful jumping down the other side and we are then going through the first mud pit...but actually just dirty, sandy water. We come to an area with rope stretched low over the course causing us to low crawl out the other side. Back to running in the loose sand and now the unsure footing in the sand is making my shin hurt even more so I slow it down and make sure that I step solidly on the sand. We go up and down some more dunes on the winding hilly trail and finally get to the blacktopped road that leads to the finish. I think we are home free and step up the pace for a good finishing kick but soon are directed off the road to another mud pit with some rope to ensure the runners get down and muddy going through the obstacle. We go up and down a final dune and back onto the blacktopped road to the finish. I speed up again and the finish line with crowds of people on both sides is in sight. I pick up my pace some more and hear a big thud and pain in my right leg. I'm thinking that someone that I am passing has kicked me and I ran another step and another big thud and I fall to the ground with my right foot in a weird angle. As I look at my foot, I realize that I have broken my leg. The people are trying to encourage me to get up and run to the finish which is so very near but I can't and the pain starts.

There are some guys from a rescue/ambulance unit near the finish and they rush over to me and I tell them that my leg is fractured. One goes off to get a splint and stretcher while another cuts the laces on my shoe to get it off. They also notice the chip on my leg and give it to someone and tell them to run it in for me...what a nice gesture! They get the splint on my leg and get me into the stretcher and as I'm wheeled to the ambulance I get to see the concerned but familiar face of Steve as he offers his help. They get me in the ambulance and as they are getting all the vital information from me, they try to clean up the mud, sand and sweat so they can start an IV but have trouble getting a vein. After four tries in my left arm one of them finally get the line started in my right arm. They give me my first shot of morphine for the pain but it doesn't seem to help and tell me they will give me more every five minutes. My first ambulance ride takes me from the race site slowly weaving through the crowds and off the base to the hospital. I'm still in pain and they give me the second shot of morphine but it still doesn't seem to have any effect on the pain and I joke with them that it's probably a bad batch. During the ride to the hospital we keep it light and lively and they keep injecting me every five minutes with the morphine until my max dose of 10 mg is reached but by then I am being wheeled into the emergency room.

I am seen by various nurses and doctors and each one asks what happened and I tell my story over and over again. They seem skeptical that my fracture is that severe and I'm also beginning to feel that maybe I didn't break anything. They order some X-rays and the technician seems to have no idea how to handle a suspected fracture trying to move my leg into various positions. I keep telling him to be careful and the need to support the area that he is moving around. At one point he lets go of my heel while still holding my calf and my foot flops sideways cause a wave of pain and a very surprised look on the tech's face. I tell him to get some one to help him support and move my leg. They take the first films and are a lot more careful after seeing the results. Both bones of the lower leg a few inches above the ankle...tibia and fibula...have complete breaks with the fibula broken in two places. I see it on the screen as they wheel me out of X-ray and back to the ER. The doctor gives me two options. One...they cut an incision just below the knee so that a titanium nail can be driven down through the fracture in the tibia to secure it. The second is that they can try to align the breaks and cast it hoping that the bones will keep their alignment and if they don't they would go to option number one. I don't like the idea of them cutting anywhere near my knee and opt to try the second option first. They give me some more IV pain killers and I am wheeled into orthopedics where they pull, push and twist for quite some time before everything looks aligned...Yes, the procedure hurt a lot! They are afraid of swelling and compartment syndrome so they cast me but cut the cast in half with a lower half and upper half and tape them together. This will give them easy access in case of swelling. I am admitted for 24 hours so they can check for swelling. They put compression leggings on my other leg and give me shots in the stomach to prevent blood clots. Every hour or so one, two sometimes more nurses, doctors come in to check for swelling and wiggle my toes, so I don't get any sleep. All goes well and I am released late the next day with a pair of crutches and box of more injections to prevent blood clots and some pain meds. I am to follow up next Monday so they can check to see if the bones are still in place.

Race Results:
There were 27 runners in the Male 50-54 age group and 1753 total finishers
Overall place was 445 of 1753
Age group place was 11 of 27
Time: 57:24 for an overall pace of 11:32 per mile

Of course I really didn't finish the race but some kind sole did run my chip over the finish line and the above results were recorded and since it will be my last race for a very long time, I feel compelled to list them.

Next race...probably none for long time...but there will be a next.

Happy running you all!

Memorial Scholarship 5K, 29 July 2008

2008-07-31T17:44:00.005-05:00

I was working out at the gym and had just finished 30 minutes on the elliptical and was just about ready to jump on the treadmill for about 5 miles but I knew that the Strider's had a scheduled 5K...The Pam Edwards Memorial Scholarship Run...that evening starting at 6:30 and I was itching to get back to racing...and...it was only 3:30. So I jumped on the stair stepper for 12 minutes and then headed out to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens for the race. The heavens opened up with buckets of rain on the drive over but it ended by the time I got to the garden gates.

I registered and got my bib and chip and then ran about a mile for my warm up through part of the garden trails. The trails that we will be running on are blacktopped but are narrow with lots of twists and turns with a couple of small bridges to cross. A couple of places in the trail was covered in water from the passing rain storm but overall it wasn't bad. The storm had cooled the 90+ degree weather some but as the sun came out the humidity started to climb but I planned to run the race easy and try not to race it too hard. My expectation was to maintain a nice easy pace early and slowly pick it up during the later part of the race. The last time I ran this trail in the garden was in the cool of December and finished around 19:34. It's not a place to expect a PR because of the many twists and turns so I was hoping for a time around 20 minutes or less. The warm up wasn't too bad...my right shin did complain at first but settled down a bit as I finished my warm up and came back to the start line.

The walkers started off at 6:00 and we got our race started at about 6:35. I found a spot about 5-6 rows back from the start line...I didn't want to rush out fast and starting back in the crowd of runners would ensure I would start out slow and steady. But it was a mistake because when the race was started, the initial surge of runners had me about a 70-80 runners back and I had to weave through a lot of slow runners on the narrow, twisting trail and it was difficult to find a nice easy pace that I had hoped for. Slowly I gained speed and started passing groups of runners and finally got to a point where I had running room. By mile one I noticed that I had forgotten my watch. It would have been nice to check my splits but it really didn't matter to me today and I just concentrated on catching and passing the runners ahead. By mile two the runners ahead of me had thinned out a lot and instead of passing groups of runners I was picking them off one at a time. I came through the three mile marker wishing I had my watch to see what my splits were but pushed on trying to catch a fellow age grouper that was about 20 meters ahead. We race to the finish and he beat me by a few seconds and the clock read 20:40.

Race results:
There were 26 finishers in the Male 50-54 age group and 282 total finishers
Overall finish place was 40 of 282
Age group finish place was 6 of 26
Time: 20:40 for an overall pace of 6:39 per mile

Overall...I was happy to be racing but my leg was not feel too good at the end. There were a lot of very fast 50-54 AG races in this race...one finished in the 17's, one in the 18's, two in the 19's and two of us in the 20's. I wish I had been a bit more competitive in this race but there will be other races and some of those guys are going down! :-)

Happy racing you all!

End of Rehab...What's Next?

2008-07-29T05:07:00.002-05:00

It's been almost a month since my last blog entry and decided I needed to get one in for the month of July. :) I wish I was more consistent in my blogging but it's been pretty discouraging the last couple of months and I didn't want to moan and groan.

I finally ended my rehab of my right shin after six long weeks of no running. I'm not happy with how it still feels but...I can't/won't wait any longer for it to feel better because I need to start my training for the races this fall. The nearest race I'm registered for is 9 August which is the ASYMCA 8K Mud Run, then the Rock n Roll Half Marathon the end of the month and then the real fun starts with the Marine Corps Marathon, NYC Marathon and Richmond Marathon from the end of October till mid-November...so I can't wait anymore. I am thinking of dropping one of the marathons (MCM since they have a deferment/transfer policy) and adding a third marathon in December to give myself more time to recover between the races.

I started some fast walking on the treadmill about two weeks ago and didn't like how the leg was still tender and made me walk with a limp...What the heck is going on? It could be that even without running on it, I was still doing some heavy cross training and not really giving it the rest that it needed, but six weeks of no pounding should have felt a whole lot better than it did. I started running on it a week ago Sunday with a two mile run sandwiched between some walking warm ups/cool downs. It felt pretty good while running but when I stopped to do the walking cool down, it was painful enough to make me limp... Not good I thought. I stretched, took some Motrin and iced it down good when I got home and it felt pretty good again the next day. I ran four miles on Wednesday and the same discomfort when I did my walking cool down...perplexing and really starting to feel discouraged about the whole thing. Again stretched, took Motrin and iced it real good after the run and it felt good the next day. Ran four miles again on Friday and this time less discomfort and I could actually walk fairly normal afterward...beginning to feel better about running now. This last Sunday I did a five mile ladder, starting at 7 mph and increasing 0.5 mph every mile until I was running 9 mph the fifth mile then jumped it up 0.5 mph every minute the next two minutes for a finishing kick. It felt good to let it out at the end and the cool down walk at the end felt almost normal...no pain...I could walk normally...the tenderness was still there but it didn't seem as bad...maybe it was the endorphins kicking in, but what ever it was I hope it keeps improving.

Even with the no running I was still able to keep my Kindzia challenge streak alive and have exercised at least 30 minutes everyday since the beginning of the year...which was officially at 209 days Sunday...actually I started the day after Christmas which comes unofficially to 215 days.

Happy running everyone!

Weeks of 09-30 June 2008

2008-06-30T18:20:00.004-05:00

Nothing exciting to post about so hence the absence of a post last week. I still have not run...and have only walked once, going around the block...since the two mile warm up at the Women's Distance 5K. Things do seem to be feeling better, although it seems they are healing a lot slower than I like since I'm really really anxious to start running again. It's been three weeks and it is still tender around the right calf, but if things progress like it has been, in three more weeks it should be pain free. That also is the same time period that my 16-week training plan is to kick in for the New York City Marathon. The only other races I am signed up for between now and then is the Rock n Roll Half on 31 August...My birthday...and Marine Corps Marathon on 26 October. I also just registered for the ASYMCA Mud Run 8K on 09 August...so I better be healed and running by then! There are other races that are begging for me to run, but we'll just have to wait and see what it's like by the end of July. I have continued doing my cross training on the elliptical, lifecycle and stair climber with some swimming thrown in. I thought I would try Aqua jogging, so I bought an Aquajogger belt and we'll try that out sometime this week. I finally took my old 10 speed road bike into a bike shop for them to put new tires, tubes and all new cables, so I can start some real cycling...just need some aero bars and maybe some clipless pedals and I should be set for some road work.

Here's how the last three weeks training has gone...pretty boring...but got some good training in.

Week of 09-15 June
Mon: 45 min Elliptical, 40 min Cycle, 9 min Stairstepper, 10 min Swim
Tue: 40 min Elliptical, 45 min Cycle
Wed: 35 min Elliptical, 37 min Cycle
Thu: 35 min Elliptical, 30 min Cycle, 15 min Swim
Fri: 30 min fast walk around the block, 15 min core exercises
Sat: 35 min Elliptical, 32 min Cycle, 15 min Stairstepper
Sun: 35 min Elliptical, 32 min Cycle, 15 min Stairstepper

Week of 16-22 June
Mon: 35 min Elliptical, 45 min Cycle, 20 min Stairstepper
Tue: 37 min Elliptical, 35 min Cycle, 20 min Stairstepper
Wed: 35 min Elliptical, 35 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Thu: 33 min Elliptical, 17 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Fri: 65 min Elliptical, 70 min Cycle, 15 min Stairstepper
Sat: 35 min Elliptical, 32 min Cycle
Sun: 35 min Elliptical, 30 min Cycle, 15 min Stairstepper

Week of 23-30 June
Mon: 30 min Swim, 15 minutes Core exercises
Tue: 31 min Elliptical, 40 min Cycle, 20 min Stairstepper
Wed: 35 min Swim
Thu: 60 min Elliptical, 45 min Cycle, 16 min Stairstepper
Fri: 30 min Elliptical, 33 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Sat: 35 min Elliptical, 36 min Cycle, 20 Stairstepper
Sun: 35 min Elliptical, 35 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Mon: 65 min Elliptical, 65 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper

Feels like I've been a trapped hamster in a cage. I try to vary the exercises on the elliptical and cycle by varying the speed and elevation...doing tempo exercises as well as speed sessions...anything to keep me somewhat sane and motivated.

This week I hope to get more swimming in and when I get my bike back, some road riding on the Dismal Swamp Trail...if they don't have it closed because of all the smoke from the fires down south of us.

I added some statistics for the first half of the year from 01Jan - 30Jun:
Number of consecutive days with at least 30 minutes of training: 182
Total Races run: 17
Total Race miles: 212.8
Total Running miles: 760.94
Total Elliptical miles: 534.3
Total Cycle miles: 1202.41
Total Stairstepper min: 2227 (37:07 hrs)
Total Swim min: 140

Happy training and good racing to you all!

DNS and Week of 02-08 June 2008

2008-06-09T19:34:00.007-05:00

I registered for the Strider's Women's Distance Festival 5K held Saturday, back in early May. It is also a Strider's Grand Prix event so I wanted to make sure that I ran since it was one of my goals to run all the Grand Prix events. I already missed one in April and really didn't want to miss another one. But...I have been having some issues with my foot and legs for about a month and I was a bit concerned. I only ran once for a little over three miles two weeks ago but was able to run 5.25 miles Tuesday and again Thursday of this week in preparation for this race. After each run training session, my calves and shins were painful during the run and even worse in the morning after. Also noticed lingering arch tenderness to both feet. I thought my new shoes were the culprits but running in my old shoes on Thursday didn't seem to help any. I still had hopes that come Saturday evening, I would be ready to run the 5K race.

Saturday dawned hot and it only got hotter as the day progressed. The forecast was for near 100F afternoon temps. The race is run at Fort Story in the northern part of Virginia Beach so the temps should be lower with a nice ocean breeze. The women race first at 6:00 p.m. and then the men race after the women are finished at 6:45. Since this was my first race not run in the morning, it was hard to figure out when/what I should eat before the race. I decided to eat my normal lunch around 2:00 and to hydrate really well during the day. I also took two Motrin to ease my leg pain.

I drove down a bit late and with the somewhat heavy beach traffic, I got to the registration late and could hear the horn blow for the start of the women's race as I picked up my race number. As I was handed my bib they mentioned that because of the heat the race was being scaled back to a 2 mile run instead of 5K...which seemed reasonable but what difference would 1.1 mile make? I had wanted to watch the women start and finish but decide to do a couple of miles to warm up. I figured I needed at least two miles for my legs to be warmed up enough so the pain would be bearable during the race but by the end of mile one, the pain seemed to be getting worse and not any better. I jogged the mile back to the start area and the leg pain was too much and I decided not to run...even if it was just two miles. I could easily jog it but decided just not risk my going out fast and injuring it even more. So I unpinned my race bib and walk to the start/finish area to cheer on the racers. It was the first time that I have actually watched a race with out racing in it. It's quite a different perspective standing on the sidelines cheering runners on...kind of cool to see the racers go out and come back, but jealous that I could not be out there racing them. My first DNS (Did Not Start)...at least it wasn't my first DNF...I hope there never will be a DNF but anything can happen out there on the racecourse.

Here's last week's training:
Mon: 50 min Elliptical, 50 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Tue: 5.25 miles run, 25 min Elliptical, 12 min Stairstepper
Wed: 31 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Thu: 5.25 miles run, 25 min Stairstepper
Fri: 35 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 15 min Stairstepper
Sat: 2 miles warm-up miles run, 30 min Swim
Sun: 35 min Elliptical, 35 min Cycle, 30 min Stairstepper

Even the Stairstepper seems to aggravate my calves and shins. My plan now is to stop running till the pain and tenderness is gone...at most about 5-6 weeks...but continuing with the cross training on the Elliptical, Cycle and Swimming with some fast walking as tolerated on the Treadmill. I have plenty of time to heal before I start ramping up training for the fall and winter marathons starting middle or end of July. I'll just need to take this a week at a time till all is better again.

Happy training to you all!

Training for 26 May - 01 June 2008

2008-06-05T18:19:00.003-05:00

Not really anything to note in my training for last week. I haven't been running much because of some aches and pains to the bottoms of both feet around the arch and both shins since after the MCH Half. It is puzzling because even with the rest from running they seem to stay about the same and doesn't seem to be improving any...and hurts more after running. I have continued with my cross training on the elliptical, cycle and stair stepper, which doesn't seem to bother my leg and foot problems. I have added swimming since we opened the pool a couple of weeks ago, so fitness-wise, I feel okay. Not super, but okay.

My next race is the Strider's Women's Distance Series 5K this Saturday in the early evening, so we'll see how that goes.

Training for the week:
Mon: 36 min Elliptical, 35 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Tue: 40 min Elliptical, 40 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper, 10 min Swim
Wed: 45 min Elliptical, 45 min Cycle, 20 min Stairstepper
Thu: 32 min Elliptical, 35 min Cycle, 25 min Stairstepper
Fri: 30 min Elliptical, 21 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Sat: 3.35 miles run, 32 min Elliptical, 32 min Cycle
Sun: 35 min Elliptical, 35 min Cycles, 12 min Stairstepper, 10 min Swim

Only a little over 3 miles on Saturday which didn't feel good at all. I have run twice this week for over 10 miles...still painful but got it done. I'm beginning to think it's the shoes. I've been running in my new Kayano 14's since the beginning of May. I've switched back to my Kayano 13's for my last run and it felt a bit better. Hopefully that's what it is. We'll see how it does on Saturday and after.

Happy training to you all!

Elizabeth River Run 10K 24 May 08

2008-05-30T19:27:00.004-05:00

Ran the Elizabeth River Run 10K last Saturday, another one that I ran last year. The race course is a looping out and back, first making a couple of loops in Olde Towne Portsmouth then along the waterfront called Portside, looping through the Naval Hospital waterfront and finishing near the Ntelos pavilion. Weather-wise it was raining a bit during packet pickup but cleared up well before the start of the race. The temps were in the low 60's with just a bit of wind. A very nice day for a race. I ran about two miles along the waterfront as a warm-up and then went looking for a port-a-potty...couldn't find one so had to go back to the area around the pavilion and got in long line.

The race starts at 8:15 with a kids 1 mile run starting at 8:00. We cheered on the kids as they came racing past us to the finish...our future runners in action. We get to the starting line and we are off to make our first loop though the Olde Towne section with a group that included Steve and some others including a couple in my age group. The first mile was about 6:00 and I was feeling the effort and backed off. We continued on through our second longer loop and mile two was 13:00...for a 7:00 min mile...and the wheels started coming off. We started our run along the walkway following the waterfront and even with the slight breeze, I was still feeling sluggish and the legs were heavy and mile three is in 20:07 for a 7:06 pace. We go through the Naval Hospital gates for our loop around hospital point and mile four is 27:27 for a pace of 7:20...looking real ugly now and runners are passing me that I normally beat pretty handily...not today. We make our way out of the hospital and mile five is 35:10 for a 7:43 pace. The final 1.2 miles and I try to kick it in but the effort is too much and I coast to about the last mile marker and kick it in for the finish and cross the line in 43:37. I waited around the finish for my two gym mates and cheer them on to the finish...a PR for both of them! Way to go ladies!

Race results:
There were 59 finishers in the Male 50-54 age group and 758 total finishers
Overall finish place was 67 of 758
Age group finish place was 7 of 59
Time: 43:37 for an overall pace of 7:00 per mile

Weekly Training:
Mon: 35 min Elliptical, 33 min Cycle, 20 min Stairstepper
Tue: 63 min Elliptical, 45 min Cycle, 21 min Stairstepper
Wed: 7 miles run, 20 min Elliptical, 18 min Stairstepper
Thu: 36 min Elliptical, 40 min Cycle, 15 min Stairstepper
Fri: 4.5 miles run, 25 min Elliptical, 20 min Stairstepper
Sat: 8.2 miles run with 10K race with 2 mile warm-up
Sun: 35 min Elliptical, 37 min Cycle, 20 min Stairstepper

No races this weekend, but I feel I need the rest.

Everyone have a great weekend!

Marine Corps Historic Half 18 May 08

2008-05-20T17:58:00.003-05:00

Ran the Marine Corps Historic Half on Sunday in Fredericksburg. I signed up for this inaugural half when registration opened way back in Nov and it was no surprise when the 5000 slots filled up very rapidly since this event is put on by the same people who put on the annual Marine Corps Marathon (The 25,000 slots for this one sold out in five days...and I have one of them!).

I drove up the day before to attend the Expo and pickup my race packet. Later after checking into my motel and doing a brief workout and shower, I met up with some runners from the Runners World forum for a wonderful dinner at the Poppy Hill Tuscan Kitchen located in the historic downtown section in Fredericksburg. My expectations for this race was initially to try to run it for a PR, but after riding around the city going to the Expo, restaurant, motel and looking at all the not so gentle hilly terrain, I was hoping for a sub 1:30. I would still start out running for a PR and would see how the early hilly miles would affect me.

Woke up Sunday to cloudy skies but checking the weather, it said the temps would start in the high 50's with highs expected in the low 70's with some wind, clouds and rain...but the rains would hold off until after 9:00...the race starts at 7:00, so everything should be good.

We were told we could park in the area shopping center parking lots if we didn't utilize the shuttle service from and to two outlying Park n Ride lots. I chose to drive and parked in the Wal-Mart parking lot and walked the 3/4th of a mile to the start line. I got to the starting area in plenty of time to take care of business...a few times...and chat with some runners. The starting area was corralled with expected finishing times and I staged myself in the under 1:30 corral and met and talked with a couple of runners from Virginia Beach staged one corral behind me. It was now about 6:45 and I had this urge to go and the port-a-potties were way back at the end of the last corral...too far away, but I noticed a good size trailer with Men's and Women's signs on the doors...bathrooms on wheels for the dignitaries...but I and the two from the Beach went and utilized some very fine toilet facilities! We got back to the starting line just as the Marine Color Guard marched to the front and the singing of the National Anthem.

The race starts with a shot from a flintlock rifle from a revolutionary uniformed militiaman, confetti gun firing and the release of some white doves, and we were off to the races. We race down the street passed the Wal-Mart, take a left running under a large American flag set up by a ladder fire truck and under a balloon banner and down a rather large hill...same hill we will be coming back on...and the first mile is 6:22...a bit fast but we are headed downhill so it shouldn't be too bad. After the first downhill, we come to a small up hill and then down another stretch of hill. I miss mile two but mile three is 12:50...which comes out to about 6:25 splits and a total of 19:12 for the three miles...so still doing pretty good. But we come up on some good uphills as well as downhills and mile four reads 6:36...still doing good but starting to feel it every time we get an uphill section and mile five comes in at 6:47. I feel myself getting fatigued and it surprises me that I'm feeling this way so soon. Usually in half's I start feeling it around mile 10-11...not in the early miles. The first five miles has a net loss of about 250 feet but there are numerous little uphills that I'm feeling the effects from. I miss mile six but mile 7 is a total of 14:12...which means my pace is now about 7:06 and I'm losing ground fast and I feel I have no energy. I try to up the pace and mile eight is in 7:o1 but I slow down again the next mile to 7:22 and things go down hill from there for me and the course starts to go uphill. the 250 feet drop in elevation has to be made up in miles 10-12 and these are two long and rather steep stretches. Mile ten is actually quite pleasant running by a raging brown river and then through a small path through a canopy of trees but my watch split reads 7:26 for a total of 1:08 for ten miles. 3.1 miles to go and it looks like even 1:30 will be a real struggle to get...and here comes the two big hills. The first winds up through the University of Mary Washington Hospital...how appropriate...there is an Emergency Room direction sign pointing the way we are turning to go up the first long hill...I think it's trying to tell us something. I slow considerably going up this hill and mile eleven split reads 8:22...ugly! A small downhill and we are going up the final hill and it gives me some energy knowing that this is the final hill and then only about a mile to go and I try to up the pace and the split at twelve reads 7:37. We are back on somewhat level ground now and again go under the huge American flag draped off the ladder of the fire truck and make the turn headed to the finish and mile thirteen is 7:05. I try to sprint the final tenth and cross the finish line as the time on the race clock reads 1:32:24...chip time was 1:32:23. We receive our medal, a cool towel and another finisher coin. We are directed into the back of the Expo building to get food and fluids...I grab some in a bag and head out to the Wal-Mart parking lot to unload my stuff and then head down the course looking for two runners...one from the dinner who expects to finish around 2:00 and another from my gym who expects to finish around 2:30. I find the first runner just past the flag draped fire truck and run with her back to the finish line. She has had a very rough run starting around mile five where she got dizzy and week and had to stop for awhile...even thought of dropping out but she was just topping the last hill when I found her and she did well all the way to the finish. I went out again looking for my gym lady and find her near Wal-Mart. She tells me her friend is still out on the course so when we finish and she gets her medal and drink, we head out to find her friend still on the course. She texts her but doesn't get a reply back so we get worried. We are going past Wal-Mart again when we get a text that her friend is at the finish, so we head back to join up and find her.

The race was actually very scenic running through quaint old town Fredericksburg with it's shops, pubs, restaurants and boutiques, through neatly maintained neighborhoods, through tree lined paths next to raging rivers and starting and finishing in the modern large shopping centers, with broad streets, large motels and chain restaurants...and...lots of rolling hills...some not so rolling. The people were great cheering us on in the early morning. A fun race and I actually had a real good time...one to do again next year!

Race Results:
There were 210 finishers in the Male 50-54 age group and 3826 total finishers
Overall finish place was 77 of 3826
Age group finish place was 4 of 210
Time: 1:32:23 for an overall pace of 7:04 per mile

Weekly Training:
Mon: 6.7 miles run, 20 min Elliptical, 10 min Stairstepper
Tue: 31 min Elliptical, 30 min Cycle, 10 min Stairstepper
Wed: 9 miles run, 25 min Elliptical, 20 min Stairstepper
Thu: 40 min Elliptical, 47 min Cycle, 20 min Stairstepper
Fri: 8.2 miles run, 20 min Elliptical, 20 min Stairstepper
Sat: 36 min Cycle
Sun: 18.8 miles run, including 13.1 MCHH in 1:32:23

Next race is the Elizabeth River Run 10K on Saturday...My quads are still sore and my left shin is tender from the half so I don't know what to expect from this race...depends on how much I have recovered.

Have a great week you all!

New York City Here I Come!

2008-05-13T13:53:00.006-05:00

Move over Lance...Save a spot on that starting line for me!

I had registered for guarenteed entry into the ING New York City Marathon , to be held on 02 November, about a month ago since I had about five different qualifying times and received this in my email today:

"Dear Charles,
We are pleased to confirm that you have been accepted for entry into the 2008 ING New York City Marathon. Our records have been updated to reflect your acceptance. Your entry number is 281703. Please include this number along with your name in any correspondence pertaining to the event.You can check your status or update your personal information by clicking on the link below and logging in with the username and password you created when you registered."

Oh Happy Days!

Only problem is that I also registered for the 33rd Marine Corps Marathon on 26 Oct...which is a week before the NYC marathon. What to do you ask? I could defer the MCM till 2009 but...I'm going to do both of course! The plan is to run MCM at a leisurely pace having fun and then do NYCM for time. And then of course I will need to do Richmond but that's at least a couple of weeks after NYCM, so hopefully I will be rested enough to go for a great time there. :) Why oh why do I do this to myself?

Not much else happening on the running front for this week. No races...did look at some options but decided I needed the break from races. Training was scaled back a bit to allow for more recovery from the last three weeks of racing and in preparation for the First Historic Marine Corps Half Marathon coming up Sunday.

Weekly Training:
Mon: 30 min Elliptical, 30 min Cycle, 20 min Stairstepper
Tue: 6.5 miles run, 20 min Elliptical, 10 min Stairstepper
Wed: 50 min Elliptical, 50 min Cycle, 14 min Stairstepper
Thu: 8 miles run, 21 min Elliptical, 14 min Stairstepper
Fri: 36 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 20 min Stairstepper
Sat: 8.2 miles run, 10 min Stairstepper
Sun: 20 min Treadmill, 10 min Elliptical, 30 min weights and core

Training for this week will probably look pretty much like last week with runs on Mon...Ladders, Wed...Speed session, Fri...Tempo and MCH Half race Sunday.

Hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day weekend!

Have a good week you all!

Frederick Marathon 04 May 2008

2008-05-05T18:22:00.009-05:00

Ran the Frederick marathon Saturday which of course is held in Frederick, Maryland. I ran this marathon last year with a disappointing 3:57, where I barely survived finishing and hoped to do much better this year. They changed the course this year for various reasons and after looking at the new elevation chart, could tell it would be a very challenging course with some big hills from miles 16-20...but...I like hills...yeah right! I had just run the CMM marathon a week, which was also billed as a "hilly course" and thought it was rather tame with it's rolling hills. A more pressing concern than the hills was doing two marathons in a week and how much the first would take from the performance of the second. I ended up running CMM in just over 4 hrs, which was a bit more than a minute per mile slower pace than my last two marathons, so reasoned that I could be fairly ready for this weeks marathon. I still placed high expectations on my performance and set some goals: 1. Sub 3:10, 2. Sub 3:20, 3. PR 3:22:56, 4. BQ 3:35:59, 5. Finish sub 4 hrs. I planed to start off slow with a 7:15 pace for the first few miles and then step it up to 7:10 and then 7:00. I do a lot of ladder training runs in most of my speed sessions and thought this strategy would be fine. On to the race.

Drove up the day before and picked up my race packet and then checked into the motel. I needed to do my daily workout for my Kindzia challenge and was in luck to find a fitness center in my motel. It had two treadmills, an elliptical and a stationary bike. My last training run was Thursday and I had some issues and shortened the run from 8 to 6.5 miles because of some foot pain. It was puzzling and I didn't know where it came from since it was fine on my 9 mile run a couple days previous. So I didn't want to run on it again until race day. So I did 30 minutes each on the elliptical and bike and the foot was feeling fine. The race starts at 6:30, so I woke up my usual 4:00 and was able to prepare for the race without being in a rush. Parking at the fairgrounds was easy and I roamed around looking for people that I knew. I found two runners from Virginia Beach...one was doing the half and the other the full...and talked with them a bit before making my final pit stop and headed to the start line.

The weather was forecasted to be sunny skies with temps around 51 at the start with the temps climbing into the mid 60's at the finish and winds in the 12-15 mph range. A bit warm and windy for my taste but still reasonable.

While waiting at the start line I see fellow runner and blogger Steve and went up to him to say hello and wish him a good race. Usually I like to start with Steve and run a couple of miles with him but today I really wanted to start slower than his sub 6:30 pace so backed up in the crowd between the 3:10 and 3:15 pace groups so I wouldn't be tempted to go out too fast.

The race has both marathoners...about 1200...as well as half marathoners and relay teams ..about 3500... all starting at the same time with the halfers spliting off at 13 miles like CMM the week before but a whole lot smaller. The race starts with the wheel chairs being sent on their way and a few minutes later we are on our way. As we get settled in our paces the first quarter mile I see this lady runner running past me and on her top she has "TARA" imprinted. Last year I had run almost 21 miles with a runner named Tara who had just given birth four months prior...she paced me with her Garmin and she had had some issues around mile 21-22 and she never finished. I waited around the finish and went back up the course to run her in but never found her. I knew her husband and family were out on the course tracking her at various spots so was certain if something had happened to her, her husband would find her. This year while I was at the grocery store around the corner from the motel getting some stuff for the next morning I see this lady talking to the cashier about running a marathon. Her voice was familiar and she looked familiar but at the time I just couldn't place where I had seen her from. She had a name on the front of her shirt...Bebe...but that didn't ring a bell either because I didn't know any Bebe's. At last year's race she had worn a shirt that had "Tara" on the front and everyone on the course would yell out her name, so Bebe just didn't ring a bell. She must have thought I was a weirdo staring at her chest. So I go back to the motel and in the middle of the night I realize who she is. Back to the race...So I catch up to her and tell her who I am she tells me how she had to drop out of the race last year because of leg pain that later turned out to be a fracture that took her out of running for almost six months. We decide to run with each other for a few miles since her primary goals are about the same as mine...3:10-3:15. We miss the first mile and the second mile reads 14:33, so a 7:16 average...right where I want to be. Mile three split is 7:12, mile four is 7:23 and mile five is 7:15...so far so good and I want to speed it up a bit to 7 minute mile splits and she falls back with the 3:10 pace group as I go on out ahead.
Mile six split is 7:02
Mile seven at 6:55...ops, too fast but it's still feeling good.
Mile eight back down to 7:00
Mile nine is 7:04
Mile ten is 7:02
Mile 11 is 6:52...where did that come from? The hills are coming and I need to save some for them, so I try to slow it down.
Mile 12 is in 7:14
Mile 13 is in 7:46...didn't feel that slow...pick it back up. The half marathoners split off to their finish and we continue on through the fairgrounds where we started and out the back. The half split is 1:33:58...and felt a whole lot better than the 1:30 half split at Shamrock in March.
Mile 14 is 7:21
Mile 15 is 7:40
Mile 16 is 7:35, but here comes the first big long hill.
Mile 17 is 8:33, and after a bit of a down hill here comes the second long hill.
Mile 18 is 8:19...not bad but then my problems start. My legs apparently didn't like the two long hills and start to rebel and cramp up as I make a turn after 18 to go up another steeper hill. I have to stop to massage the leg and walk a bit and mile 19 shows it with a big fat 12:14. I am devastated...I only have about a mile to go until most of it is down hill and I limp across mile 20 in 11:59 with a total time of 2:37:04. If I can recover the last 10K I could still make 3:20 but it's not to be, as at every downhill or uphill and changes of direction my leg cramps stop me, so mile 21 is in 9:27
Mile 22 in 9:24
Mile 23 in 9:12
Mile 24 in 9:32, even though most of the course is now mainly down hill, we still come to some roller and another rather long climb and mile 25 is in 10:02. I only have 1.2 to go and most of the hills are gone and I try to speed up as best as I can and mile 26 is 8:52 and crossing the finish line the clock reads 3:35:55...Chip time 3:35:51. Hey at least I still made another BQ by 9 seconds! I waited around near the finish for Tara and she arrives a couple of minutes after...she also had problems with the hills and ran out of gas.

I don't like my final time. I feel at my current training and level of fitness I have no reason to be over sub 3:30 but then I have to factor in that I just ran 26.2 last week and this week's course was very challenging with some very tough hills from 16-20. And I did run it 22 minutes faster than last year. I like the course...I like hills...I will come back next year on fresher legs and see what I can do. Now that's what I call Hills!

Race results:
There were 75 finishers in the Male 50-54 age group and 928 total finishers
Overall finish place was 116 of 928
Age group finish place was 11 of 75
Time: 3:35:51 for an overall pace of 8:14 per mile

Weekly Training:
Mon: 35 min Elliptical, 32 min Cycle, 25 min Stairstepper
Tue: 8.82 miles run, 20 min Elliptical, 10 min Stairstepper
Wed: 35 min Elliptical, 35 min Cycle, 10 min Stairstepper
Thu: 6.75 miles run, 21 min Elliptical, 25 min Stairstepper
Fri: 50 min Elliptical, 46 min Cycle, 10 min Stairstepper
Sat: 30 min Elliptical, 30 min Cycle
Sun: 26.2 miles run, Frederick marathon 3:35:51

Next week there are no races scheduled so a time to regroup for the Historic Marine Corps Half Marathon on 18 May in hilly Fredericksburg, VA.

A special shout out to Steve on his awesome 3rd Overall finish! Go read his post...Now that is how a marathon should be run! Congratulations Steve!

Happy training all!

Country Music Marathon 26 Apr 08

2008-04-27T17:56:00.011-05:00

Saturday, I ran the Country Music Marathon held in Nashville, TN. Land of the Grand Ole Opry and the heart and soul of Country Music. The CMM is one of six Rock 'n' Roll marathon/half marathon series run by Elite Racing, which is a fun series where if you run multiple events in the different cities around the country in the same year, you can earn extra Bling. I didn't run it for the extra Bling...but I will take when offered after I run the Rock 'n' Roll Half in Virginia Beach on 31 August. This race has both the marathoners and half marathoners starting at the same time in 30 or so corrals in 2-3 minute wave starts and the course is basically a three loop course with the start line a few miles from the finish line so parking was provided near the finish line outside of the LP Stadium…where the Titans play…and buses were provided to bus runners to the start line. The first loop heads south of the city with the half marathoners breaking off around the 11-mile mark near the stadium to run a separate section to their finish with the marathoners continuing on a westerly loop which takes us pass the stadium again and then on to an easterly loop which finally brings us back to the stadium for the final time to our own separate finishing area.

I drove to Nashville Friday, which was a rather pleasant drive considering the 10 hrs it took to get there. Rolling through the Smoky Mountains impressed the heck out of me. Real hills...or rather mountains...it was real tempting to stop my truck and see if I could run up some of them...but good thing there wasn't any room alongside the road filled with whizzing cars and trucks or I might have tried to. The Dogwoods and Redbuds were in bloom and the trees were just getting their green leaves, all amongst the jagged boulders and sheets of sandstone...quite beautiful. The only concern I had was not the steep curving ascents and descents of the road, but the signs that said 'Beware of Falling Rocks'...Rocks!?! These were huge boulders and sheets of limestone that come cascading down the mountain. I didn't actually see any come down but there was plenty of evidence along the side of the road.

I made the trip in good time and even had the benefit of an extra hour from the time change. So I was able to get checked into my motel and then decided to do a quick 30 minute run...not because I wanted a chance to run the hilly roads but to fulfill my Kindzia streak challenge...besides it was a good chance to stretch my legs from the long ride. I don't know how far I went but I went 16 minutes out and back for a total of around 32 minutes...so probably 4 miles...and after a quick shower, headed downtown to the Expo to pick up my race packet. The whole downtown area was very congested and hard to navigate because of all the cars trying to get in and out of the expo the last minute…like me…but I was finally able to find public parking almost next to the Convention Center. The expo was wall to wall people with lines at each area but the lines moved surprisingly fast and soon I had my bib, chip and goodie bag. I wandered around the expo and got some souvenirs for my girls and then headed out to have dinner with Nat, her good friend Fishstick (just her nickname and running the half)...both had driven up from around Atlanta and another good friend of Nat’s Chris...at Germantown Café also owned by Chris. We had a wonderful dinner and the food and drink was plentiful and good. If you ever go to Nashville…be sure to stop by and take in the great view of the city while enjoying a wonderful meal. Thank you Chris! It was great to meet Nat and Fishsticks…Nat and I have been visiting each other’s blog for over a year now and finally getting a chance to meet her was fantastic! She’s as wonderful a lady in person as she is on her blog!

After dinner I got back to my motel and laid out my stuff for the next morning, set the alarm and asked for a 4:00 wake up call and tried to get some sleep…Yeah Right! It’s always difficult to sleep in a strange place with strange sounds and smells but I was able to drift off to sleep eventually but was suddenly awaken to the sound of thunder and pouring rain early in the morning around 3:00. Unable to get back to sleep, I got up and got ready for the race and drove to the LP parking to ride the bus to the start line. I took a plastic bag with me to help keep my shoes dry since it was raining on and off…sometimes hard but mostly just a drizzle and misting. I don’t mind getting wet but wet shoes just doesn’t do it for me. I noticed some people tied plastic shopping bags to their shoes but I only had one bag and just tried to shelter my shoes to keep them dry while waiting for the bus and at the start line to wait for the start. There were plenty of buses so thankfully there was little waiting in the rain. The buses did get crowded with people standing in the aisles but everyone was cheerful and upbeat and it was great to talk about running and to talk with the locals to get the scoop on the course. We arrive at the start line and there is very little shelter from the rain except for some large trees but the rain seems to be slacking off with only an occasional hard rain. I got in my bathroom break in a group of port-a-potties…good luck…no lines…and then went down to near the start line and waited under some large trees. After a bit nature was calling again and since by this time the port-a-potties were too far away to walk to in the rain and crowded by now, I selected a nice large tree away from the crowd of people. I wasn’t the only one…every tree had one or more guys relieving themselves. It’s good to be a man…but later…I was told…the ladies were using them too! After finishing my second call to nature and waiting under a tree, I spotted Nat with her umbrella! I had thought of bringing an umbrella to rainy races before but I always never knew what to do with the umbrella when the race started. Nat buys a cheap umbrella at the Dollar store for a race and when the race starts she hands it to a volunteer or spectator…What an excellent idea…a great investment of a dollar which keeps you dry and a volunteer or spectator happy and dry!

We got into corral #2 a few minutes before the 7:00 start and watch and cheer as first the wheelchair racers are sent on their way, then the elites and the first corral. They move our corral to the start line and drop the rope and we all start running but we’re halted again just before the starting mats with another rope…a false start…but about a minute later we are sent on our way.

The goals of this race is to get Nat a PR of under 3:37 and if all goes extremely well a 3:30, so off we go on a pace which I think is slow…I only have a chrono on my watch and Nat’s Garmin is broken so there is no idea of pace until the first mile marker…Oh…did I tell you I also forgot to start my watch until we were about two minutes into the race. So we ask around what the time is and someone says 7 something, which is way faster than the low 8’s we are trying for, and we try to slow it down. About this time one of my MCM forum friends races up and talks with us a couple of minutes before continuing on ahead…his marathon finishing times are close to mine and he is trying to go sub 3:20 today. We come up to mile two and it is still in the high 7’s and again I try to slow the pace down some more. We hit some gentle rollers and at the three mile the split is low 8’s and the 5K mat says 26 something and I think we are on a 8:30 pace but I forget that we started two minutes later so the real split turns out to be 24:26…which is about a 7:50 pace. I think we are doing great but Nat says she is feeling it a bit and we try to slow down the current pace some more. We reach the six mile mat and it reads a little over 49 which should be around an 8:15 pace and I think we are again right on pace…but again the real time, due to the 2 minutes delayed start, is 47:48 for a 7:58 pace. My watch splits seem to be steady in the low 8’s now and we continue our pace but Nat is still starting to feel uncomfortable and she takes a GU. The 10-mile mat reads about 1:22:30 (actual 1:20:39), which is still about an 8:15 pace with the actual being around a little over 8. Around the 11-mile mark the half marathoners split away from us to their couple of miles to finish and we start on our westerly loop and Nat seems to be still having issues and the GU seems to have made things worse rather than better, so we try to slow it down a bit and readjust our goal of a PR of 3:37 instead of going for 3:30. We come to the halfway mat and it reads about 1:49…we had wanted it to be between 1:44 and 1:45 but we are just going with the flow now and Nat wants a picture so we slow down and take a picture with her phone…but when she tries to save it, it says there is insufficient space to save. She deletes a picture and tries again and still receives the same message. The third time is a charm and she gets our picture and is able to save it and we continue on our way. We start taking it easy through miles 16-20, which has some long steady climbs as well as some good downhill’s. We try to cheer on the crowds and hamming for the cameras…something about rabbit ears over my head at one of the picture taking areas...and you should have heard Ms Natalie sing! She was belting out the songs from her ipod as we ran. We finish our westerly loop by the stadium and start our easterly loop and we crossed the mat at 20 in about 2:55. Around mile 21 I see Jimmy again…his mile 25…and we cheer each other on and he is looking good. Around mile 23 we go around a field with a large pond and meet up with one of the Runner’s World posters, and another fan of Nat’s blog, from Alabama and he joins us going around the pond. We pick up another runner from Alabama and our little group is growing but we lose the Alabama gal in the final mile or two. Between miles 24-25 I see another MCM forum runner going the other way and cheer her on. Mile 26 comes up lined with cheering crowds and we pick up the pace for the final 0.2 and as we round the final bend we see the finish banner and clock and make a final sprint for the finish to try to keep our time under 4 hrs.

Race Results:
There were 210 finishers in the Male 50-54 age group and 4373 total finishers
Overall finish place was 1225 of 4373
Age group finish place was 59 of 210
Time: 4:00:17 for an overall pace of 9:10 per mile

Weekly Training:
Mon: 6.7 miles run, 15 min Elliptical, 12 min Stairstepper
Tue: 35 min Elliptical, 32 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Wed: 8.2 miles run, 21 min Elliptical, 12 min Stairstepper
Thu: 35 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 21 min Stairstepper
Fri: 32 min run
Sat: 26.2 miles run at CMM
Sun: 34 min Treadmill

This was probably the most enjoyable marathon that I have run. I was able to run relaxed, enjoy as much as possible and not worry about my goals, but I was disappointed in myself for not being able to bring Nat her goals. Also on the plus side, even with running a very strong half last week before this marathon, my legs felt great and I didn’t experience any leg/muscle cramps or any other issues. Today I feel some tightness from completing 26.2 miles but everything feels good and I feel confident that I can do well in the Frederick Marathon this Sunday.

Have a great week you all!

Dismal Swamp Stomp Half 19 Apr 08

2008-04-19T18:26:00.011-05:00

This is the second year of the Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon and also my second year of running this race. A race that is run on a two lane blacktopped road that was formally the old Highway 17 in Chesapeake. When they built the new four lane 17 they turned a portion of the old 17 into the Dismal Swamp Trail, a picturesque trail that runs next to the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway...a waterway that runs from New York to Florida. The trail is flat and goes about 8.25 miles out so an out and back will get you 16.5 miles...and I frequently do my long runs there. Last year I had a big PR with a 1:32:26, which also netted me a surprising Age Group 1st place finish...The first AG award in my young racing career. This year I PR'd again at the Norfolk Half Marathon with a 1:28:01, and since my training had been going fairly well and I had had a big confidence boosting sub 40 PR at Ukrop's 10K, I was expecting another PR here and my goal was to at least go sub 1:28 with a secret (well not really a secret since it is a 2008 goal) if everything went right...goal of sub 1:25.

Woke up this morning to clear skies with cool temps in the 50's. The forecast called for around 60F for the 8:00 start with the temps climbing into the 80's by midday. Not my notion of ideal racing temps but at least it wouldn't be humid. I ate my breakfast and headed to the race early. Last year the parking was so limited that there were still lines of cars trying to park when the race started and a lot of runners started very late. This year the parking seemed to have expanded and I didn't hear of any problems like we had last year. I got parked and relaxed reading the paper while I waited for a couple of women from the gym who were also running. I hit the port-a-potty and met one of them there and the other shortly after. 30 minutes before race time, I ran my two-mile warm-up on the trail and everything seemed to feel fine. I got back to the start line and see Paul on his hand crank and talk with him a bit and wish him a great race. I join the crowd of runners near the front and look for people to pace/run with, thinking that if I stick with one of them I won't go out to fast. I found Colleen, Leisa and Charlie all in the same area and whom I knew are faster than me, but going out with them would prevent me from jack rabbiting my start. My plan was to stick with them as best as I could and was confident that they would give me more even pacing than if I went out by myself...besides, the time and miles seem to pass faster when with a group and talking.

Paul is sent off first on his hand crank a few minutes before the 8:00 start and we soon follow. I start off with Colleen while Leisa goes out ahead and Charlie is a bit behind. We talk a bit the first couple of miles and I miss the first mile marker but the second is in 12:52, which averages out to about a 6:26 pace and it felt easy and I had to keep telling myself that the first few miles always feel easy and I need to keep paying attention to my pacing. Colleen seems to be dropping off a bit and Charlie with a group of two other runners passes us and I decide to follow them. Mile three is in 6:30 for a total time of 19:22. Charlie's group seems to be picking up the pace and we bridge the small gap to Leisa and mile four is in 6:41 and I decide to stick with Leisa because in the past races she has always run me down from my fast starts towards the end with seemingly effortless ease and I figure I can do my best by running with her for a while. I see Paul ahead and we pass him around the five mile mark and it reads 6:34. I urge Paul along as we pass and he seems to be doing very well and on his way to a brand new PR because I'm surprised it has taken us so long to catch him. On the way to mile six, we see the lead pack of five Kenyans on their way back and then a few more runners...I try to do a Steve and count the lead runners going by but lose count at about 12, and mile six is in 6:38. We get to the turn around point and head back. This is my favorite part because I get to see all the runners coming towards me and am able to see a lot of runners that I know and we greet each other including my gym mates and I miss mile seven but mile eight is in 13:18 for an average pace of 6:39. Keeping with Leisa has really helped in my pacing but she seems to be falling off pace and I gradually lose her. I set my sights on the runner in front of me and slowly catch up to him and pass him and again set my sights on the next runner about 75 meters out and mile nine is in 6:40. I catch up to the second runner and we play leap frog for a bit and then we both settle into the same pace and we are able to talk a bit before he seems to fall back also and mile ten is in 1:06:04 for a 6:47 pace. I set my sights on the next runner that I can barely see in the distance. By this time the bulk of the runners still going out to the turn around comes to an end with only an occasional late starter or walker still heading out and the road is lonely and quiet and mile eleven shows it because it's my slowest split at 6:58. I get mad at myself for falling so far off the pace and try to pick it up but mile twelve is in 6:50. 1.1 miles to go and I try to concentrate on my stride and pace but can feel myself slack off and the final 1.1 is in 7:29 for a finish of 1:27: something. Later checking the race results my time is posted as 1:27:23 for an overall pace of 6:40/mile, 22nd overall and first in my age group. Another PR although only by 38 seconds...but hay...I'll take it! Paul comes in a few minutes behind me with a great PR in the 1:31 range. Great Race Paul! I went back to my truck for my camera so I can take pictures of my gym mates and was able to get a picture of both of them racing towards the finish. Towards the 2.5-hour mark I notice that the ambulance seems to make a lot of trips out on the racecourse and back. I learned later that about six runners needed medical attention on the course with one that they had to use the defibrillator on...currently I don't know how she is but I hope she and everyone else are fine.

Race Results:
There were 47 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 1124 total finishers
Overall finish place was 22 of 1124
Age group finish place was 1 of 47
Time: 1:27:23.40 for an overall pace of 6:40 per mile

Weekly Totals:
Mon: 30 min Elliptical, 45 min Cycle
Tue: 9.1 miles run, 20 min Elliptical, 20 min Stairstepper
Wed: 33 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 25 min Stairstepper
Thu: 7.2 miles run, 20 min Elliptical, 10 min Stairstepper
Fri: 30 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Sat: DSS Half race with 2 miles warm-up
Sun: 31 min Elliptical, 30 min Cycle, 15 min Stairstepper

Next race is a marathon next Saturday, the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN
Hope everyone has a great weekend and week!

Week of 7-13 Apr 08

2008-04-13T18:41:00.007-05:00

No races this week and not an impressive training week either. Was looking at a 5K yesterday but I have this backlog of things to do at home...mostly yard work...and badly needed to do a 20 miler on Sunday, which was more important than running a race that I probably would do well and enjoy...it was being run at my favorite place for racing at Ft Story. Friday, I thought I could get my training in and still get some of the home stuff knocked out but life happens. I'm just in the middle of my elliptical and I get a message from my oldest daughter that she has locked her keys in the car and needs for me to go home and get the extra set of keys. I get her the keys but now I'm two hours behind but I decide to go ahead and finish my workout at the gym. Friday night I'm checking Saturday's weather and see that it's suppose to rain off and on most of the morning so figuring my Saturday yard work is a no go, I look to race the 5K instead. So I think...if it's raining...I will go run the race...if no rain...I will do my yard work. I wake up early Saturday morning to sun with some clouds and get back in bed and get some more sleep. I spend four hours edging, weed whacking, mowing and pulling weeds but am able to get most of it done before it starts to rain about 1:00. I take a shower and take my wife to pickup a bookshelf she has ordered and after grabbing a bite to eat out, get home and I realize that I haven't done my exercise for the Kindzia Streak yet! I still haven't missed a day since the New Year...actually my streak started the day after Christmas...and I'm not about to miss one now. I try to convince myself that the four hours of yard work should count for something...and this morning I was convinced that I had a real work-out yesterday because my legs, back and arms are sore today, and even got some sunburn on my neck...but I think it's lame to claim it so I went to the gym for my regular work-out.

Today I wake to do my long run. I am sore. My back is sore, my legs are sore, my neck is burned and even my arms are sore but I need to get my run in. I eat my breakfast and head out to the Dismal Swamp Trail with two bottles of water and a squeeze bottle of Gatorade. It is going to be sunny today and somewhat warm...in the 60's but I forgo stashing my extra bottle of water up the road like I normally do and just carry a bottle with me. I don't worry about a specific pace since all I want to do is get the 20 in at a nice easy pace since it has been a while for a longer distance than about 10 miles since Shamrock. The first mile is really easy...I figure about 7:30-8:00 mile pace...I didn't wear my watch. I don't see very many runners, which seems odd because next week is the Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon and I expected a bunch of people trying the course out or getting their runs in. I do see a lot of cycle riders...recreational as well as racers. I get to the end of the trail and head back. The sun is shining, there is a small breeze, butterflies are flitting around and wild flowers are blooming. A pretty serene morning. I have been trying to conserve water and my eardrums start crackling and I know that I am getting dehydrated. I start swigging my water at a faster pace and at about the 10-mile mark I notice that I am really low on water...maybe about 2-3 good swigs left. I try to convince myself that there is plenty left for the 6.5 miles. Around mile 12, my water is gone and I feel some twinges in my left hams. I slow the pace down and about a mile later there's another twinge...not a good sign...most likely I need more electrolytes and all I had was water and I seemed to be sweating a lot more than usual. I nurse myself till I get to the entrance to the park and my truck...16.5 miles completed in 2:08 according to my trucks clock. I get my Gatorade from the truck and take that with me on my 3 mile loop the other way and have completed that by the time I get back to my truck again as well as having three cramping episodes on the loop. I get my last bottle of water out of the truck and I only have half a mile to go and it's not going to be easy with all the cramping. I finally make it out to the quarter mile mark and back with one more cramp hitting me at the turn around...but...I was finished now...the whole 20. It took me almost 3 hrs but I got it done. I had thought today would be a lot easier than it was. I think all the work yesterday took a lot out of me and affected me today.

My training week looked like this:
Mon: 8.1 miles run, 15 min Elliptical, 13 min Stairstepper
Tue: 31 min Elliptical, 37 min Cycle, 16 min Stairstepper
Wed: 8.1 miles run, 25 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Thu: 30 min Elliptical, 30 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Fri: 22 min Treadmill, 35 min Elliptical, 35 min Cycle, 16 min Stairstepper
Sat: 31 min Elliptical, 35 min Cycle, 13 min Stairstepper
Sun: 20 miles run at the Dismal Swamp Trail

Next Saturday is the Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon.

Hope everyone is doing well and training is on track.
Have a good week!

Ukrop's Monument 10K, 05 Apr 08

2008-04-05T16:51:00.013-05:00

Ran the Ukrop's Monument 10K today...another race that I had wanted to run last year but waited too long to sign up missed out. Billed as one of the largest 10Ks in the country with over 25,000 signed up last year and over 30,000 this year. The out and back race is run in Richmond...our state's capitol...on Monument Ave which is a four lane city road split in the middle by a large median with about six monuments spaced at major intersections. We go up one side at a gentle incline and come back on the other with a gentle downhill. The monuments are huge but it's funny how I only remember running by three of them...my thoughts must have been elsewhere...the racers in front of me, the racers behind and of course the crowd of people on either sides of the road cheering us on. The race is chip timed and started in corrals with the elite starting at 8:00 and then corral A...which was my corral!...two minutes later and then the other 20 or so corrals every four minutes.

The weather forecast all week, and even up to the last day, painted a gloomy day with 70-90% chance of rain with thunderstorms. At least the temperatures were to be in the 60's and very little wind. Checking the race day radar showed intermittent groups of showers to pass over the area during the morning.

I woke up early in the morning, got my shower, ate my breakfast and drove the over 100 miles to Richmond. The race starts at 8:30 and I got there early enough to get a nice parking spot in one of the parking garages near the finish line...the start line is about four blocks over...and was able to visit the port-a-lets that lined one side of the small park where the finish festivities were to take place. I must have gotten into one of the potties that no one had used yet because the toilet paper was still wrapped and no stinky smell. But one disadvantage of being the first one is that the blue liquid they put in there may splash up and onto you...I know you wanted to know that...but it was quite a surprise when I hear this splash and then feel the cold wet on my bum...yuck! What else could go wrong on this day? The whole week I had been feeling tired and weary...and the last couple of days it seemed like I was catching something. My training hadn't been what it should have been either and I seemed to just go through the motions to get it done, so I didn't know what to expect on race day. My main goal was to break 40 minutes and today didn't quite feel like it would happen. The weather was bad, I was feeling bad, the roads were wet and slippery and the air was humid...and now the toilet splashes me.

I ran part of my warm-up running to the start line and then ran three laps up and down a few blocks on Broad St...where the race starts...for about two miles. On one of the laps I run into Bill...the guy who kept beating me in the Mud in Your Eye cross country series and we chatted a bit while warming up. He invited me to go out with him since he was starting at around a 6:30 pace. I get back to the starting corral A, which is already filling up and I can't find an opening in the railing along the sides so I just climb over it and then head to near the front of the corral. I see Bill and also see Jim...one of the top 50-54 AG runners in the area...about a row of runners in front of me. I look around for other familiar faces and don't see any but looking around I see all these really fit runners in my corral and start asking myself if I really should be up here with these guys and gals but I kept telling myself that I belong there just like the rest of them.

At 8:00 the elites are given the Go!...and they are off racing up the street. Our corral edges up to the start line and two minutes later we are off and running also. Up Broad St we go and then cut left onto Lombardy and then right onto Monument Ave. I'm looking for Bill to pace with but don't see him...later I found out he ended up behind during the first 1-200 meters. I also see Jim way out in the front pack of runners from our corral. The first mile comes up and it is 6:09...a bit fast but not my usual jack rabbit start of under 6 minutes...but I'm breathing hard so I back off a bit...there's still a long ways to go. My plan was to start slow...6:20-6:30 pace...the first three miles and at the turn around to kick it up a bit...so 6:09 was about 11 seconds faster than I wanted. We are also in a bit of a headwind which feels nice in the warm, humid feeling air. Mile two is in 6:17...getting down where I wanted but still a bit fast. About half way to the three mile marker we start seeing the elites coming back on the other side...they sure look smooth and fast...like greyhounds. After a bit we see the lead runners in our corral so I know the turn around is just ahead and mile three is in 6:29...oops...just a bit too slow now but here's where I kick it up a notch. We make the turn and now we have a slight tail wind and gradual downhill and we pass the 5K mat and the timer and it reads 21:35...which makes me think for a minute that I'm behind my goal, but I realize that since our corral started two minutes after the clock was started, it really is 19:35. I also realize that I need to maintain the same speed/pace or I won't be breaking 4o minutes this day...so I try to pick up the pace passing a few runners ahead of me and mile four is in 6:13...Yeah, I can do this...but fatigue starts to set in a few minutes later and mile five is in 6:21. Still doing good and about that time I hear someone cheering Bill on and I know that he is behind me so I will myself to go faster and mile six comes in at 6:11. Just 0.2 more to go and I can make out the finish banner down the street and just about that time I also see Bill passing me on my right...how could that happen? I tried to keep him near and then sprint for the finish but he beats me to the finish, but I don't really care...because the time on the clock says 41:02 and my watch says 39.02...Yeah! The last of my 2007 goals achieved! For the record, the last 0.2 was in 1:20. The rain is starting to pick up now but I don't care about that either. I congratulate Bill and the runners around me, get my chip off, get some water and food. Bill and Jim are talking about running the course a second time and invite me to join them but I bow out...I want to do a long run tomorrow. Oh...the final chip time is: 38:56!...a PR from my previous 40:34 by 1:38. So I not only got my 2007 goal of under 40 minutes, I also got my 2008 goal of under 39 minutes for this year...so it looks like I need to revise my 10K goal to break 38:30 now. It's raining harder now, but I don't really care!

Race Results:
There were 840 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 24,055 total finishers
Overall finish place was 123 of 24,055
Age group finish place was 5 of 840
Time: 38:56 for an overall pace of 6:16 per mile

Weekly Training:
Mon: 51 min Elliptical, 51 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Tue: 7.15 miles run, 20 min on Elliptical, 15 min Stairstepper
Wed: 50 min Elliptical, 50 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Thu: 7.2 miles run, 15 min Elliptical, 13 min Stairstepper
Fri: 30 min Elliptical, 30 min Cycle, 13 min Stairstepper
Sat: 10K race with 2 miles warm-up
Sun: 36 min Elliptical, 36 min Cycle, 21 min Stairstepper

No scheduled race for next weekend. There is a 5K at Fort Story but I do want to get in a 20 miler instead.

Speaking of race scheduling...it looks like I maybe able to run the Country Music Marathon in Nashville on 26 April now. A trip that kept me from going in the first place for that weekend fell through and now will be done another week. I'm just wondering if I can do CMM one week and Frederick the next? The Frederick marathon has a deferral policy, so I could defer to next year...or I could go ahead and run it easy just to do it too! Of the two, I really would rather do the CMM this year. I hate decisions like these!

You all have a great weekend and week! I will!

Yorktown Victory Run, 29 Mar 08

2008-03-29T15:21:00.017-05:00

The Yorktown Victory Run is a picturesque eight-mile point-to-point race starting at the Newport News Park and follows a bikeway/trail going past the Washington's Headquarters on the Yorktown Battlefield, through Surrender Field and finishes at the Yorktown Victory Monument in the Colonial National Historical Park. Most of last week the weather consisted of mild spring-like temps from 60-80's with sunny skies, but a cold front was to bring in colder temps in the 30-40's with wind and showers. The race starts at 9:00 but no chance of it warming up by then.

I had to leave home early since I hadn't pre-registered and got there in plenty of time to register, get my bib and drop off bag...they were to take the drop off bag to the finish. Since this is a point-to-point race I figured I would need the bag drop off since it would be cold and windy at the finish and I would need dry warm clothes...and I'm glad I did! I ran a nice easy two-mile warm-up through the park...a very nice large park with lots of trails and historic markers. It is windy and cold but no rain and the terrain isn't as hilly as I imagined it would be.

This is a gun time event with no chip, so as the starting time gets near, I drop off my drop bag and head to a spot a row back from the front of the starting line...mostly to keep warm in the midst of the other runners...but there is a brave soul with his shirt off at the start line in the windy 30 something temp. The starter gives us the "Ready...Go" and we are off. We start off on the paved road heading into the wind but after a short time we veer off to the left onto a packed dirt trail...I didn't expect this to be a trail run! We twist and turn on this trail going up and down some small dips dodging tree roots. This definitely wasn't what I expected, but it was beautiful with rivers, streams and the wooded trail . At the first mile marker the volunteer shouts out the time: 6:05, surprising me but looking at my watch it says 6:21...he must have received the wrong information on the start. We keep winding through the trails crossing many small wooden bridges and finally get to a wider and straighter gravel bike trail which we follow for another couple of miles and mile two comes in at 6:39...it seems this trail type run is taking a lot out of me and I'm wishing for the nice blacktop road. Mile three is in 6:39 again and we finally get onto a regular asphalt road and I get a good pace going and after a bit I see the front runners coming back to me so there must be a turn-around up ahead which is just before mile four and mile four is in 6:11...that can't be right and mile five comes in at 6:57 so I suspect one of the mile markers are off but it does give me an average of 6:34 for the two miles which is okay. We are still on the blacktopped road and I see a runner ahead of me and set my sights on him to draw him to me and I pass him just before the six-mile mark and it comes in at 6:27. We leave the blacktop and head onto the gravel trail again but there are only two miles to go so I try to keep the pace and mile seven is 6:28. One more mile to go and we get back onto the blacktop and to a main road. All through the race we have been heading north into the wind but have been sheltered somewhat by the trees but on the main road there is nothing to shelter us from the 15-20mph headwind and it becomes really hard to maintain pace...reminded me of the headwinds on the boardwalk but we race on knowing the finish is just up ahead. We finally make a right turn to the final stretch to the finish...up hill! Not really a bad hill but reminded me of the MCM final hill finish, so I charge up the hill and cross the finish line with my watch showing 52:29. So Steve...I guess we split the difference in your prediction of my finish time of 51:59 and my prediction of 53:00. I went through the food and water line grabbing something to drink and eat and head for the Drop Bag area, find my bag and put on a dry shirt, warm-up pants and hoody. I wait around cheering the others finishing for about 30 minutes but I'm still cold and getting colder so I head to one of the buses to take us back to the start line. I didn't wait around for the official race results so I'll have to wait for the official finishing time when the results are posted to put in all the results.

Official results are in with a finish time of 52:26, which put me in 1st in my age group because the actual 50-54 AG winner was 2nd overall.

Race Results:
There were 8 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 195 total finishers
Overall finish place was 10 of 195
Age group finish place was 1 of 7
Time: 52:26 for an overall pace of 6:33 per mile

Weekly Totals:
Mon: 31 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 25 min Stairstepper
Tue: 9 miles run, 16 min Elliptical, 16 min Stairstepper
Wed: 31 min Elliptical, 30 min Cycle, 12 min Stairstepper
Thu: 7 miles run, 21 min Elliptical, 10 min Stairstepper
Fri: 31 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 16 min Stairstepper
Sat: 10 miles run, Yorktown Victory Run and warm-up
Sun: 36 min Elliptical, 36 min Cycle, 25 min Stairstepper

Next week is the big Ukrop's Monument 10K!
Everyone have great races tomorrow...Natalie and Stephanie at the ING GA and Steve at the Virginia Duathlon!

Week of 17-23 March 08 and Spring Schedule

2008-03-23T18:00:00.014-05:00

Nothing much to report for this week except for my weekly workouts. I'm happy to report that a week after the marathon and everything feels pretty good.

Monday, the day after the marathon, I went to the gym with the intention of just doing some easy cross training but after about 30 minutes on the elliptical everything was feeling pretty good so decided to run a couple of easy miles to loosen up the legs. Ended up running mile ladders starting at 6.5 mph and increasing 0.5 mph every mile. Wound up running 5 miles and finishing at 8.5 mph and then ended up the session with 16 minutes on the stairstepper.

Tuesday was just over an hour and half of cross training with 45 minutes each on the elliptical and cycle and 12 minutes on the stairstepper.

Wednesday was 30 minute warm-up on the elliptical and again one mile ladders on the treadmill. Again starting at 6.5mph, increasing 0.5 mph every mile ending with 6 miles and finishing at 9 mph, cooled down with another easy quarter mile more and then finished with 25 minutes on the stairstepper.

Thursday was again just cross training with an hour each on the elliptical, cycle and 10 minutes on the stairstepper.

Friday, 21 minutes warm-up on the elliptical and then ladders again on the treadmill. Started again at 6.5 mph increasing 0.5 mph every mile, finishing 7 miles at 9.5 mph. Ended the session with 21 minutes on the cycle and 12 minutes on the stairstepper.

Saturday was just cross training with little over 30 minutes each on the elliptical and cycle and finishing with 10 minutes on the stairstepper.

Sunday ran 12 miles at the Dismal Swamp Trail after church today. A nice easy relaxing run in mostly bright sunshine with a cold breeze. Didn't wear my watch with the intention of just running for the joy of running. Did note the time when I left my truck and when I got back for a time of 1:31 for a pace of 7:35/mile.

Have been trying to plan my race schedule for the rest of the spring and had been looking at both ING GA and CMM as my second spring marathon. Even looked at the National Marathon in DC on 29 Mar but decided not to do a second marathon so soon after Shamrock. CMM is also out because of other travel plans so that leaves me with running the Frederick marathon in May. So this is how my schedule is shaping up:

29 May - Yorktown Victory Run, a scenic point-to-point 8 miler starting in Newport News and finishing in Yorktown which is near Williamsburg, so promises to be another nice rolling hills course. The first point-to-point race I have run...they bus us back to the starting area in Newport News at the end.

05 Apr - Ukrops 10K Monument Run in Richmond...one of the biggest 10K races in the country which I wanted to run last year but registration filled up and closed before I could sign up. A great chance for going under 40 minutes on this one since the first half is a steady climb but coming back is all slightly downhill. One big disappointment is that it's on the same day as one of the Striders Grand Prix 5K race is to be run and I had made it one of my goals to run all the Grand Prix events but I hope it will be the only one I'm unable to run.

19 Apr - Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon, the second year for this flat out and back run and one I have to run because it's practically in my backyard.

26 Apr - Chesapeake Bay 10K, a flat out and back 10K that I ran last year and one that I want to do again.

04 May - Frederick Marathon in Maryland...another rolling hills marathon that I ran last year. This year they changed the course and it promises to be even hillier...especially towards the end.

18 May - The brand new, First Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon, put on by the same people who do the annual MCM. Another hilly run and should be a fun one.

24 May - Elizabeth River Run 10K, a flat looping course and again one that I did last year and had so much fun...besides...it's one of the Strider's Grand Prix events.

There are a couple of weeks during this schedule that doesn't have a race...What am I ever going to do?!?! Don't worry...I'm sure there will be a race somewhere close to fill in those blank weeks if needed...but rest from racing those weekends might be nice too.

Hope everyone had a great Easter!
Have a great week!

Shamrock Marathon 16Mar08

2008-03-16T15:44:00.010-05:00

Won't I ever learn...apparently not! I had been happy with the training and races since the beginning of this year and was really looking forward to this marathon. All the training and races leading up to this point indicated that there was a potential for a very nice marathon with a nice PR. I was hoping for a finish in the 3:10 to 3:15 range. And if I had run it like I should have, there would have been no problems. The race is run in Virginia Beach first going south on Atlantic Ave and General Booth Blvd for about 6 miles, looping back onto the Boardwalk, then North along Shore Drive to the west entrance of Ft Story, going South again out the east gate, down Atlantic Ave and finishing on the boardwalk near the Neptune statue. The weather forecast for this morning was showers stopping around 7:00 am temps in the 40's with 19-22 mph NW winds. Not ideal but at least it wasn't going to rain. Woke up to some pretty good rain but checking the weather radar, it looked like the last of it was passing through so it should clear up by race time. Left the house in plenty of time to get to the 8:00 race time. Parking seemed to be an issue but I finally found a private lot and walked a couple of blocks to the starting area. There are a lot of hotels in the area and I ducked into the Hilton to use their restroom...beats using port-a-potties! Inside the crowded restroom I find my running buddy Jon from the MCM and Richmond marathons. I found out he was running the marathon and planned to look for him but hadn't expected it to be so easy! After finishing we head back to the starting area and he goes off to stretch and I go into another hotel to use their bathroom and I meet up with Brian...the guy I roomed with for the MCM...I also had planned on looking for him and was pleasantly surprised to meet up with him. It's amazing the people you meet in bathrooms! About the time we finish we have about a minute before the start of the race and hurry out to line up...he planned on a 3:40 finish so he ducked in line right there and I headed up front as close as I could get looking for fellow blogger Steve but never found him before the starting gun sounds. The starting gun sounds and we're off to the races and I follow the fast crowd out heading south with a nice tail wind. I end up with a group of women and around the 1 mile mark...that I never saw...people from the crowd are yelling..."First Females" and I know that I have gone out too fast. I finally get to the second mile marker and it comes in at 12:42...way to fast but it felt sooo good. We start going over the Rudee Inlet Bridge and catch up with Paul with his hand crank and I greet him as I pass. Going down General Booth Blvd, mile three is in 19:20 and mile four in 25:51. I'm still way to fast but it's hard for me to back off and mile five is in 32:24. About this time I hear Steve behind me yelling out to me and just before the turn around he catches me and we head into the wind and greet Paul again and mile six is in 39:36. We make a right turn heading towards Camp Pendleton and mile seven is 46:37. We enter Camp Pendleton exposed even more to the heavy head wind and mile eight is 53:41. I get a boost from a group of soldiers cheering us on from their barracks as we loop through unsheltered Pendleton and mile nine is 1:00:47. I have the pace I want but it's too late because with the fast start and the stiff headwind, I am laboring. We finally start going back over the bridge and loop back to the southern end of the boardwalk and mile ten is 1:08. The wind on the boardwalk seems brutal and I try to put my head down and run through it. I miss mile eleven but mile twelve is 1:22:41...starting to slow down too much. We finally get off the boardwalk and back onto Atlantic and get a nice lift from Steve's wife Ally and her Mum...I think...cheering me on. Here is the picture she took...Thank you Ms Ally!

The wind seems to be blowing just as strong here even with all the buildings and mile thirteen is 1:30:09. We keep going north on Atlantic and mile fourteen is 1:37 and mile fifteen is missed but mile sixteen is 1:54:04. We finally get to Shore Dr which is sheltered by trees and mile seventeen is 2:01:56 and mile eighteen comes in at 2:09:55...losing energy real fast and trying to hang on. We enter the west gate of Ft Story with a nice tailwind and mile nineteen is 2:17:56 and mile 20 is 2:25:56. About this time I feel a twinge in my right hamstrings and I know that feel well...my legs are trying to cramp up but I press on and mile 21 is in 2:33 and mile 22 in 2:41:20. I get my first cramp and I stop along side of the road to massage the leg until I can walk and then gradually back running and mile 23 comes in at 2:50:18. I get another cramp, this time in the left leg and have to stop to massage and stretch until I can again walk and then gradually get back to running and mile 24 is 2:59:02. I get another cramp in my left leg and again stop to massage and stretch but this time it lasts longer before I am able to even walk and then eventually start running again and mile 25 is in 3:10. We finally get to where we make a left to get on the boardwalk for the finish and just as I make the turn my right leg cramps up and I am forced to stop to massage and stretch...it seems so evil to get a cramp there when the finish is so close. I finally get running again and mile 26 on the boardwalk comes in at 3:21:04 and finish in 3:22:56 gun time and 3:22:51 chip time.

Not the finish that I had imagined for myself but it was still a PR. I saw all my goal times disappear one by one every mile for the last 3 miles...first the 3:10, then the 3:15, then even 3:20...but I was determined not to let the PR go...I was just hoping and begging for my legs not to cramp up the final 1.2 miles. All my training long runs...even the 24 miler in 2:53...I had no leg cramps and was sure that they would not haunt me again...but I learned today...again...I go out too fast...My legs are going to let me know about it. Hopefully my next marathon I will be a lot more conservative at the beginning and slowly get up to pace speed instead of starting off at a crazy pace trying to keep up with the young bucks.

I will remember and learn!

Race results:
There were 133 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 2273 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 190 of 2273
Age group finish place was 6 of 133
Time: 3:22:51 for an overall pace of 7:45 per mile

Weekly Totals:
Mon: 30 min Elliptical, 70 min Cycle, 10 min Stairstepper
Tue: 6.5 miles run, 20 min Elliptical, 20 min Cycle, 10 min Stairstepper
Wed: 31 min Elliptical, 30 min Cycle, 28 min Stairstepper
Thu: 7.1 miles run, 12 min Elliptical, 25 min Lifecycle
Fri: 30 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 30 min Stairstepper, 14 min Treadmill
Sat: 21 min Elliptical, 21 min Cycle, 15 min Stairstepper, 15 min Treadmill
Sun: 26.2 miles run in 3:22:51

It was good to see everyone out there today!
Have a great week!

Week Before Shamrock

2008-03-09T18:09:00.004-05:00

The Shamrock marathon is one week away so this past week was a cut back week...somewhat. Most preparing for a marathon would take two even three weeks of taper where mileage would be cut back in order for the body to be rested for the day of the marathon...but...I never have. The week before last was my highest mileage week...47 miles... in preparation for this marathon with a goal of cutting back this last week to around 36 miles...and I accomplished that...somewhat. I ran Tuesday and Thursday with a plan of running my final longish 16-mile run on Saturday, but with storms forecasted for Saturday, I pushed my run to Sunday and ran an extra day on Friday. It was a good thing I put it off till today because yesterday's weather was pretty bad. We had heavy rain most of the day with winds gusting into the 50's. Around 5:00 pm, we hear this big boom and I know that a large tree has fallen...we heard that sound many times during hurricane Isabel when we lost half of our trees with two of our neighbor's tree on our roof. Looking out the front window, we see that a large pine tree has broken about 15 feet up and crashed through the roof of our neighbor's house across the street, kitty corner to us. No one was home at the time but after the police and fire department arrive, they wouldn't let the homeowners back into the house. Thank goodness no one was hurt. Today they had to get a large crane in to lift the tree off the house.

After the severe thunder storms, rain and temps in the 70's on Saturday, Sunday dawned bright, clear and crisp with temps starting in the low 30's. Daylight savings time also meant waking up an hour early and it promised to be a great day for a run, so I ate and changed into my running clothes and headed down to the Dismal Swamp Trail again for an easy out and back which would be about 16.5 miles. My initial plan was to take it easy for this run but still finish it in two hours or less. This time I didn't bother to stash a water bottle since I didn't think I would really need it and just started off with a bottle of water in hand. I started the watch at the starting barrier and took off down the trail at an easy pace. I felt a little tight in the calves and ankles at first but by the first mile, things were feeling good and it came in at 7:31...a nice easy start and I picked up my pace. There weren't as many people out today as last week...just a few bikers and walkers and the trail was strewn with branches and pinecones from yesterday's storm which I had to carefully maneuver through. Mile two's split was 6:41...a little faster than I had wanted and tried to slow it down a bit. The third mile was in 7:03...just about where I wanted to be and mile four was 7:02 and mile five in 7:00. About this time I pass the first runner who is running with his unleashed dog...the dog wanted to run with me and started straying away from his master but he was a well trained dog and after a few commands to come back, he left me. Mile 6 was in 7:03 and I kept telling myself that this was way too fast to be running a nice easy run and tried to cut back the pace and mile 7 came in at 7:28...a bit too slow and mile 8 comes in at 7:26. At about mile 8.25 the hardtop ends and there is a turn around circle to head back, but I continued straight on which looked like firm ground for another tenth of a mile till it almost got to the new highway and turned around to head back. I got back to the 8 mile marker and I mashed the lap button because I wanted it to read the miles on the way back as a count down and it reads 4:18 for that portion of the run. I'm headed back in a good headwind again...why is it that I usually get headwind on the way back? Only once that I can remember I had a tailwind on the way back but the next mile marker 7 comes in at 7:18, mile marker 6 comes in at 7:19 and mile marker 5 in 7:27. At this point I decide to kick it in because if I kept at my present pace and because of the extra 0.2 mile, I wouldn't get back in the 2 hrs I had planned and mile marker 4 comes in at 6:51 and mile marker 3 in 6:57. I again meet the two gym ladies going out for their long run and mile marker 2 comes in at 6:56 and the 1 mile marker in 7:02 and finally back to the start/finish barrier in 7:05...a total time of 1:58:36 for 16.7 miles, a pace of 7:06/mile and a total of 38 miles for the week. So much for a nice easy 16 miler!

The rest of the week went like this:
Mon: 31 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 21 min Stairstepper
Tue: 7 miles run, 20 min Elliptical, 10 min Stairstepper
Wed: 67 min Elliptical, 46 min Cycle, 16 min Stairstepper
Thu: 9 miles run, 20 min Elliptical, 19 min Stairstepper
Fri: 4.3 miles run, 30 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 30 min Stairstepper
Sat: 32 min Elliptical, 30 min Cycle, 15 min treadmill, 15 min Stairstepper
Sun: 16.7 miles in 1:58:36

I'm really ready for this marathon to be here! Just seven days to go!

Happy running to you all!

Final Long Run Before Shamrock!

2008-03-02T17:13:00.002-05:00

I decided to forgo the 5K race on Saturday so I could be well rested and focused for my long run today. I wanted to do between 22-24 miles to get a better feel for how ready I am for the Shamrock marathon just two weeks away. I wanted to see if I could maintain a pace that was in the 7:15-7:20 range.

I again ran at the Dismal Swamp trail...a paved trail that is 8.25 mile long and with an additional 1.5 miles outside the trail, which provides a nice 19.5 mile out and back. My plan was to add another 2.5-4.5 miles in the end to make my total long run 22-24 miles depending on how the first 20 went. The weather was great...sunny skies with temps in the high 40's with a bit of a wind. I stashed my extra bottle of water in my normal hiding place and went back to the beginning of the trail to start my run. I did wear my watch this time since I did want to maintain a certain pace.

Carrying another bottle of water I started my watch as I passed the main barrier to the trail entrance and the long run was on. There were quite a few runners out on the trail this time...probably being a great day for a run and I'm sure a lot were getting in their runs in preparations for their Shamrock run. The first mile came in at 7:00...nice pace to get the kinks out. Mile two was in 6:45...a bit too fast but I was liking the run and was enjoying chasing runners down. Mile three 6:57...back to a better pace...besides...there were fewer runners to chase down. Mile four 6:53 and things are feeling awesome...the sky is blue, the temps are cool and lots of people out and about. Mile five came in at 6:59 and mile six in 6:57 for a total of 41:35...I was surprised that I was maintaining my pace so well. Another 6:59 for mile seven and 7:00 for mile 8. I get to the 8.25 mile turn around point and start to head back to the main entrance to the trail and I noticed a good headwind and my pace started to drop into the low 7's. I retrieved my stashed second water bottle and 13 miles came in at 1:30. Shortly after, I see two ladies from the gym coming the other way...one is doing the half at Shamrock and completed both the Mud in Your Eye series and the Strider Distance Series. We greet each other in passing finding out how far we're going and I tell them I will be back. Getting back to the entrance...16.5 mile mark...the time was 1:55. I headed out to do the 1.5 mile out and back outside the park and reached the far end of the road...18 mile mark...in 2:06 and back to the entrance barrier again...19.5 mile mark...in 2:17. I headed back out on the Swamp trail and decided to go ahead and go for another easy 4.5 miles for a total of 24 miles, since all systems were go and I was feeling pretty good. I see the gym ladies again coming back near the entrance...I had hoped to catch them further out on the trail to run back with them but one of them was only doing 6 miles. 20 miles was in 2:21 and mile 21 in 2:29. I reach my turn around point and mile 22 comes in at 2:37 and mile 23 in 2:45 where I see one of the gym ladies coming back out to complete her 11 miles. I finally reach mile 24 and the finish in 2:53:11...a pace of 7:14 per mile. Everything felt good and I hydrated with some Gatorade and ate some trail mix and then walked back down the trail intending to run back with the gym lady and see her coming back just passed the quarter mile marker. I attempt to run with her but apparently my legs had tightened up even with the walking and my calves started cramping up...so I told her to keep running and I would catch up with her at the end.

Overall I was very pleased with my long run and the time. It had me thinking that if I could manage 2:53 for 24 miles on a training run...there's a good chance it could get even better during the marathon. It's a great confidence booster in my plan to run Shamrock between 3:10-3:15. But...if all goes well...who knows what time could be put up. But of course marathons have lots of variables and things that could go wrong, so I have to be realistic and take what the course gives me on that day.

Weekly Training:
Mon: 2 miles run and core exercises totaling 40 min
Tue: 10.1 miles run, 20 min Elliptical, 16 min Stairstepper
Wed: 47 min Elliptical, 46 min Cycle, 17 min Stairstepper
Thu: 10.1 miles run, 12 min Elliptical, 30 min Cycle, 20 min Stairstepper
Fri: 1 mile run, 30 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 17 min Staristepper
Sat: 30 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 11 min Stairstepper
Sun: 24 miles run

47 total miles last week...the biggest weekly miles this year...but of course with me only running 3-4 times a week...it's hard to increase my weekly mileage beyond this week's. Now the taper begins...I plan about 35-36 miles this coming week with a 16 mile long run on Sat or Sun. Then the week before the marathon will only be about 20 miles with two days of no running before the marathon on the 16th.

Happy training to you all and hope you all have a great week!

Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon 24Feb08

2008-02-24T19:02:00.010-05:00

Ran the Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon today up in Williamsburg...the ninth race in the short eight weeks of this year. I had just run the Mud in Your Eye 8K the day before and this half was billed as being very hill, so I wasn't looking for a record time, but looking to put in a good effort and see how I could handle a hilly course. I was still hoping to at least get under 1:30.

The race is run in the wooded and rolling hills of the Williamsburg area, starting and finishing on the beautiful William and Mary campus. The start line is in the southern end of the campus and the route takes us through a mostly wooded, one lane paved road that runs about six miles out and back finishing inside the William and Mary Hall...the campus' basketball arena. The weather forecast called for partly cloudy skies, temps in the low to mid-40's and very little wind. In my opinion, an almost ideal condition for a long run. Also the race starts at 1:00 in the afternoon, which allows the temps to reach its peak...which is good on a cold winter's day.

So, I slept in till just before 8:00...felt good to not be in a hurry and not worry about getting up early. Except for going to Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg a few times, I didn't know the Williamsburg area very well, so I printed a Google map of the area so I wouldn't get lost. I had planned to leave in time to get to the same day Expo and packet pickup early, which ran from 10:00 - 12:00. But I ended up leaving about 10:00...later than planned, but I figured the race being only about an hour up the road, it would still give me plenty of time to get up there in time. Once I got up near the Williamsburg area, I decided to take a short cut. Looking at the map there was a road that ran more directly to where I was going instead of going up and around, only problem was that it was a business route and it didn't take the direct route that it showed on the map...well...to make a long story short...I got lost! Not only did I not know where the road was taking me, I was in a long line of cars slowly traveling up a two lane road being held up by someone wanting to travel at 20 mph. I finally saw a road I recognized on the map and looped back to get on it and magically I was at the entrance of the William and Mary campus near the Hall that I was trying to reach...and it was only a few minutes past 11:00. I got my bib and asked where to go for the chip pick-up and was surprised when they told me there was no chip. Okay...I went all the way around to the other side to get my t-shirt and then decided to go into the arena to check out the finish line. I get inside where the seats are and who do I see relaxing in the seats...fellow blogger Steve with his wife and her mum. After chatting a bit, I head out to explore the expo...which was really small and then since the start line was about half a mile away, I wanted to explore and wander around the campus to the start line. I got about half way there and noticed the rolling terrain which was a bit intimidating, and turned around to go back...I still needed to put my running gear on...but first headed to the back of the arena to check out the finish ramp where we were to run up into the arena for the finish...just to get a feel for it. Went back to the truck and got my gear and bib on and then headed out again towards the finish line. Just about this time I heard some drumming and fife music, which was coming from about half a dozen men dressed in colonial uniforms, leading the runners to the start line. I followed a bit...like following the pied piper but after a bit, I felt the need to do a warm up and started my slow jog to the start line. Got there and after a bit met up with Steve again along with a few other runners from down our area.

As the starting time got close we headed to the front of the massed runners and was able to get to about a row from the front. The horn starts at 1:00 and we are off. I started running the first couple miles with Steve and another local runner also named Charlie, and the first mile came in at 6:34, and we notice that we are constantly going up or down these rolling hills. The second mile was a long down hill stretch...realizing that this down hill stretch will be an up hill stretch when we return between mile 11 and 12...and mile two comes in at 6:31. We come to the first of four water stops...all water stops just had water, which was fine by me...and I get a cup of water and lose contact with Steve and the other runner but I let them go because they are running at a faster pace than I intended. I miss mile 3 but mile four is 13:28...so about a 6:44 pace for those two miles, and we are running on a one lane paved road that is winding through the trees. The only spectators are probably the few homeowners in this area. We were told that spectators were not allowed on this section of the course and I could see why since it was only a one-lane road. Mile 5 comes in at 6:48 and mile 6 in 6:59 for a total time of 40:21...I was happy with that. During this time the runners have spread out and I pass a few runners as well as get passed by some. After mile 6 we do a loop that first veers off onto a soggy trail to get to another road...reminded me of the soggy run of yesterday. We get on a paved road for a bit before we hit another wooded trail that again loops us onto a main four lane road. We go over an overpass and we can see the runners below that are headed for the turn around loop. During the period on the wide-open road, I get my second wind and start chasing down runners. I miss mile marker 7 but mile 8 comes in at 13:35...about a 6:47 pace for those two miles. We make a left back onto the one lane road through the woods, headed back to the finish, and meet up with the runners still running out to the loop...which kind of gives me another boost and mile 9 comes in at 6:36. By mile 10 we have passed the last of these back of the pack runners and it becomes lonely again and my time is 6:47, which gives me a total time of 1:07 for the 10 miles. I know that I'm doing well and even with all the rolling hills, I am feeling real good and mile 11 comes in at 6:44. Then comes the dreaded long uphill stretch and I just focus on the runner ahead of me trying to draw him to me. I pass him about half way up the hill and set my sights on the next runner. We crest the hill, and make a left turn which takes us back to the William and Mary Campus and mile 12 comes in at 7:08...my biggest split but it actually didn't feel like I was going that slow up that long hill. 1.1 mile to go and my time is 1:21...Steve has finished about now...and I try to pick up the pace. I try to pass a runner on another up hill climb on the campus but as soon as I get to his side, he kicks it in and I am content to follow. We finally see the Hall where we will finish and race from the front of the building clockwise to the back ramp. We race up the final ramp into the arena and cross the finish line and the time shows 1:28:34 on the clock as I glance back.

A very satisfying race. No PR but very close to the 1:28.01 that I ran in the Norfolk Half...and this was on a very hilly course after an 8K race the day before and I felt very strong the whole second half of the race. So I was very happy with my time. Only disappointment of this race was...No Bling...No medal...I don't think they even had age group awards, just cash awards to the top ten men and women overall. This is a great run and I feel could be even better if they just organized it better. Their race web site is very lacking with very little information about the race, no on line course map or directions to get to the expo or race site...we got a couple of hand drawn maps of the course at packet pickup...no address, no chip timing and no bling. But it was a fun race on a nice course.

Race Results:
There were 78 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 860 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 70 of 860
Age group finish place was 2 of 78
Time: 1:28:32 for an overall pace of 6:44 per mile

Weekly Totals:
Mon: 10 miles run, 35 min Elliptical, 31 min Cycle, 20 min Stairstepper
Tue: 48 min Elliptical, 47 min Cycle, 26 min Stairstepper
Wed: 7.6 miles run, 20 min Elliptical, 16 min Stairstepper
Thu: 47 min Elliptical, 45 min Cycle
Fri: 3 miles run, 22 min Elliptical, 33 min Cycle, 16 min Stairstepper
Sat: 8K race with 0.4 mile warm-up
Sun: 13.1 mile race with 0.5 mile warm-up

Next week I had planned to take a break from racing since I need to get in a final 20+ mile run before the Shamrock Marathon on 16 Mar, but there is a 5K race that looks real tempting. We'll see how the rest of the week goes.

Mud in Your Eye 8K XC Series #3 of 3, 23Feb08

2008-02-23T20:17:00.003-05:00

Today was a very wet, cold, muddy and believe it or not, a fun third race in the three race cross country series called Mud in Your Eye. After the last two Mud in Your Eye races...run in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, I found myself in third place in my age group but I wasn't expecting to move up in the field with the two strong runners ahead of me and just hoped to hold off the fourth place runner with a solid run.

This 8K race was run on the Virginia Wesleyan campus in Norfolk and consisted of one small loop followed by two large loops going around the perimeter of the campus. The course is flat except for a very small mound in one of the fields. Past races also included a pile of hay bales to run up and over as well as some potential mud to run through...Hey...This series is called Mud in Your Eye!...I was looking forward to seeing some mud and with the rain we had the night before, the prospect of mud on the course was very good. The weather forecast had called for low temps in the 30-40's with some showers for today. I decided to wear the minimum in case it rained, so just a short sleeved shirt, running shorts, shoes and socks. I took my watch but decided not to wear it for this race, so there will be no splits.

I get up and look out the window to check the weather to find it overcast and although it had rained the day before, the roads were drying. Looked like a great day for a race. Took my shower and ate my breakfast and headed out to the race site. Just as I get to the entrance of the campus, a few small raindrops hit my windshield. As I parked about 500 meters from the bib and chip pickup, it started drizzling. I picked up my bib and chip and headed back to my truck and the rain started coming down hard. I stayed in the truck since there was no other cover except for some scattered trees. At one point the rain stopped completely for a few minutes but started again. I had planned to run a mile warm up but decided to stay in the truck until the last few minutes and run to the start line. I also had to make a pit stop but the three port-a-lets had a long line. Finally about 10 minutes before the start of the race, I left the warm and dry confines of my truck and started jogging out to the start line in pouring rain. I stood in the port-a-potty line thinking I may need to find a tree or bush instead but just as I was about to leave someone said there was only one minute until the start and almost everyone in line left leaving me and a couple of others that had to go too. Earlier as we're standing in the potty line there is a flash of lightening and a good roll of thunder, causing a lot of us wondering if this race was going to go on but that turned out to be the only one. Finally finished and ran to the start line splashing in the puddles along the way. This was going to be one wet and muddy race!

I get to the starting line and they warn us the course is very wet and slippery and to watch our step out there. The horn sounds at 8:00 and we are off...charging down the field, splashing in the soggy grass trying to avoid the deep puddles that have already formed and it's still raining. I try to hold back a bit and stay with the runner that is second in my age group for the first small loop. I remark that I hadn't seen the first place runner in our age group and find out he wasn't able to make this race because of a business trip. We near the area near the start line again we come to the neat stack of hay bales and I take it safely by running up and down instead of trying to hurdle it. We start going around the first large loop and pass the one mile marker. We're still running on soggy grass with puddles and hit a small stretch of asphalt where I can speed up without fear of slipping but soon we are back on the grass and trail. Soon we hit another small stretch of asphalt where I can speed up again. Coming off the asphalt we hit a very muddy trail...no grass, tree roots or anything else for traction...and I cautiously make my way slipping through the mud, trying to avoid the deeper pockets and trying not to slip and fall. We hit a nice grass trail again...it's still very soggy but not as slippery as the muddy area...and we pass mile 2 and cross a road to the small mound in the field that we run up and over. Then around the front perimeter heading back to the start/finish line and the hay bales again starting our second loop. The second time though the loop, the course is even muddier since it has been beaten up by all the runners from the first go around and I try to run along the edges of the trail to keep on firmer ground and grass...and pass mile marker 3. The first long loop I had passed a lot of runners and had been passed by a couple but the second loop everyone was pretty much spread out and the only ones passed were those still on the tail end of the first loop. Even with the deteriorating course, I manage a good pace through the grass and muddy parts and speeding up when we hit the asphalt sections. We hit mile 4 and then we go over the mound again and head along the outside perimeter heading to the finish line. Just before the finish is a huge puddle right in the middle of our path and I just run though it...what's a little more water on a wet day...and cross the finish mat with the clock showing 34:01.

I wait around near the finish for a while waiting for one of the ladies from my gym but don't see her. I'm starting to shake from the wet and cold and start walking back to my truck to get dried off and get some dry clothes on. That was one wet, cold and muddy run, but it was great fun. Fortunately they held the awards ceremony in one of the dry, warm buildings where they also had pizza, bagel, Danishes, coffee and hot chocolate...they ran out of coffee and hot chocolate when I got there. I placed second in my age group for the three series with a total time of 1:19:19:30 and got a great hand made iron trophy of a runner.

Race Results:
There were 10 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 247 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 28 of 247
Age group finish place was 2 of 10
Time: 34:01.25 for an overall pace of 6:51 per mile

Next race is tomorrow...The Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon...but start time is 1:00 pm and the weather should be dry and a bit warmer.

Happy weekend to all!

Striders Distance Series 30K, 16 Feb 08

2008-02-17T20:42:00.009-05:00

Saturday was the third race in the Striders distance series, which consists of three races 20K, 25K and 30K. A fun series and a great way to prepare for the Shamrock marathon on 16 Mar, by running progressively longer races every three weeks. They also run a shorter distance series at the same time...10K, 15K and 20K...for those preparing for the Shamrock half marathon. I looked forward to this the final race in the series because it would be a good measuring stick on my preparations for the upcoming marathon. My goal time was under 2:10 and if I got 2:08, I would be very happy.

As with the other two distance series, this race is run on Fort Story Army base, running the 10K course three times. The weather was forecasted to be cold with temps in the 30's-40, which would feel even colder with 12-16 mph winds...but at least no rain.

The race starts at 9:00, so I could sleep in a bit more than usual on race day. I got my shower and breakfast and got to registration/packet pickup in plenty of time, got my bib and chip and got ready for the race. I warmed up by running the course out to the first mile and back. When I got back from my warm up I noticed that a lady from my gym...who was doing the shorter series...was just starting her warm up lap around the block and I accompanied her. When we got back to the start line it was almost race time.

The horn starts at 9:00 and off we go on the first lap. I fell in with a group of runners who consisted mainly of the top runners in my age group...the first, second, third (which was me) and fifth place runners as well as the first place runner in women's open and first place runner in the 55-59. We all ran together for about the first 3-4 miles chatting amongst ourselves until we started spreading out with our different paces with the first and second place runners as well as a few others going on ahead. I hadn't paid too much attention to some of the lap times because I was paying more attention to the conversation than the mile markers but the second mile came in at 13:14 and the 5K in 20:46. Mile 4 was in 26:56 and mile 5 in 33:34. The next two-mile splits were missed but mile 8 was in 54:38. The first 6-7 miles I was still feeling good but around mile eight I started feeling fatigued. I took a gel that was offered on the course around the 15K mark thinking that it would give me some energy but it just seem to set in my stomach and make things worse. I feel bloated and felt like I needed to stop for a port-a-potty but the next one wasn't until near the start/finish line around mile 12. Ten miles came in at 1:09 and just before the turn that takes us up one of the hills, I see the second place runner in my age group is off to the side of the road having his own problem, massaging out a cramp in his lower leg. I make sure it's only a cramp and encourage him as I head up the hill. I missed miles 11 and 12 and when I went by the start/finish, I decided not to stop at the port-a-potty but to keep on going to the next area that had a port-a-potty around the 15-mile mark. Mile 13 came in at 1:31...the slowest split at the time but I was able to pick it up on mile 14 which came in at 1:38 but everything went downhill from there. I felt very little energy and my pace slowed again. Around mile 15 a runner that had been behind me for a while comes up along side and then slightly ahead and seeing that I was having a rough time in the wind, motions and tells me to follow and draft off of him. I was really impressed...no...I was touched by his gesture and his willingness to help me out...I thought it was really cool...Later I found out his name was Cool...well actually it was Iscool. In this sport I have found that runners are always willing to encourage and help each other. I stayed with him for a couple of hundred yards but let him go on his way. 25K came in at 1:49 and mile 17 in 2:01. Went up the final hill before the finish and mile 18 was in 2:09 and then crossed the finish line in 2:13:57. Not the finish I was expecting but thankful that I was able to run the whole thing and finish. There will always be bad days and this felt like a bad day, but...there will be good days too and I feel next week will be a good one.

Race results:
There were 17 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 195 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 18 of 195
Age group finish place was 3 of 17
Time: 2:13:57 for an overall pace of 7:12 per mile

Weekly Totals:
Mon: 61 min Elliptical, 65 min Cycle, 31 min Stairstepper
Tue: 9.4 miles run, 31 min Cycle, 15 min Stairstepper
Wed: 30 min Elliptical, 30 min Cycle, 21 min Stairstepper
Thu: 10.2 miles run, 16 min Stairstepper
Fri: 23 min Elliptical, 46 min Cycle, 20 min Stairstepper
Sat: 21.2 miles run including 30K race
Sun: 40 min Elliptical, 35 min Cycle, 30 min Stairstepper

Next week I have two races. Saturday will be the Mud in Your Eye 8K, the third and final in that series. I hear there could be actual mud to run through in this one as well as some hay bales to run over...should be fun. Then Sunday I will be running the Anheuser-Busch Colonial Half Marathon up in Williamsburg, which is said to be a hilly course. So it should be an interesting weekend.

Hope all have a great President's Day weekend!

Run Forrest Run!

2008-02-10T16:32:00.000-05:00

Ran my second 20 miler today in preparation for the Shamrock Marathon on 16 Mar. With all the races that I have been competing in (six in the last six weeks), it has been hard to schedule my long runs with any consistency. I have been able to get some good quality racing long runs in with the Norfolk Half last week and the Striders Distance Series...with a 20K and a 25K the last month and next weeks final 30K...which has helped with my preparations for the upcoming marathon. I normally don't do two hard runs back to back but after yesterdays 6K race, I was still feeling good and was thinking about putting in another 10 or so miles in at the gym after the race...like the last time. But I felt that I really need to get another 20 miler in and didn't relish the idea of doing it on the treadmill. So...I decided today would be the day to hit the trail at the Dismal Swamp Trail...the long, flat 8.25 mile course...16.5 miles out and back. The weather was suppose to be nice but heavy winds were forecasted...12-15 mph building to 20-30 mph gusting to 40, but what's a little wind?

I stashed an extra bottle of water around the 6.5 mile mark and started my run at the main entrance with nothing but another bottle of water in hand...no gels, no beans...not even Gatorade...and again, no watch...I did note the time on the clock on my truck before starting. I liked the feel of the last 20 miler not worrying about time and pace and decided to just pace as I felt and see how it goes with the main objective of the run to get the 20 miler in with no stops and at a good pace.

I started out at a slow pace and found my legs were a bit tight and my right achilles was sore, but after about a half mile they were feeling fine. It was windy out on the course but the first four miles is protected by the trees that line the trail. Even further, there are trees on the canal side that shelters a bit as long as the wind is coming from the NW...which it was today. The wind also brought other dangers to be wary of while running this trail and it wasn't keeping a lookout for bears or bobcats. Since most of the trail is tree lined and with the heavy winds...I was constantly dodging falling pine cones and gumballs...gumballs are the seed pods of the gum tree and about the size of ping pong balls but have spikes...kind of reminds me of those floating exploding mines with spikes sticking out in all directions to sink ships. These gumballs weren't big and they didn't explode but stepping on them while running is very uncomfortable, so you try to avoid them. The road was littered with these little mines and you had to wind your way through these mine fields trying not to step on them. Then the biggest danger was falling branches...most were small but I saw a few that were quite large and could give you a good headache if hit with one...so I tried to stay in the middle of the trail. For the first three miles or so, I would see a few runners coming back and small groups of bikers going and coming. After around the five-mile mark, I hardly saw anyone. Seems like lots of people don't like going out further because...you got to get back too and the further you get out on the trail...the more distance you need to cover to get back to the entrance. So anyone you see this far is usually the hardcore runners or bikers getting their miles in. I kept myself hydrated by chugging on my water bottle about every mile and everything was good. At one point I could see way off into the distance with no one in sight except for the freeway that parallels the trail, off to my left about 500 yards out, and all I could think of was what these people in their cars were saying seeing me running down the trail with no one else in sight. What came to mind was: "Run Forrest Run"! I got to the end of the trail at the turn around and headed back, clicking off the quarter mile markers. It's great having quarter mile markers like this trail has because most of the time you can see the next marker ahead and the miles just seem to go by faster. At the 6.5 mile marker, I retrieved my second bottle of water. Getting back to around the five mile mark, I started seeing other people again, runners, walkers, bikers and even an inline skater. Now if I was having problems avoiding those gumballs...I wondered how the inline skater was fairing. I got back to the entrance/beginning of the trail and since the out and back only netted me 16.5 miles I kept on going out the park and down the road to the 1.5 mile turn around at the other end and back to the park entrance. This section did not have anything to shelter it from the wind. The out to the turn around was fine with a nice tailwind, but coming back into the strong headwind was quite hard especially when there was even stronger gusts. Finally got back to the trail entrance and ran another quarter mile out and back on the trail to complete my 20 miles. I checked the clock on my truck when I finished...total time was 2 hrs 38 minutes for a pace of 7:54 minute miles. I was happy with that, especially since I felt really good at the end...like I could do the whole thing over again...But that was only a fleeting thought as I walked and stretched a bit before heading home to a hot shower and a big lunch.

Next week is the final Strider's distance series...a 30K race on Saturday...which comes to about 18.6 miles, and with my usual 2 mile warm-up, I should be getting in another 20 miler too! Looking forward to next week's race.

Happy running everyone!

Mud in Your Eye 6K XC Series #2 of 3, 09Feb08

2008-02-10T15:06:00.001-05:00

Ran the second of the three cross-country series called Mud in Your Eye. The first was a 5K at Mount Trashmore and this one is a 6K at Bells Mill Park in Chesapeake...close to where I live! The first one I had a fainting episode prior to the race and tried to take it easy during the race. This second race, I have been recovering from a cold that has been hanging around in my chest for the last two weeks, but still wanted to give it a good effort. After the first race, I was in third place in my age group, trailing the first place runner by about a minute and the second place runner by about 16 seconds. For this race I had hoped to close the distance and hopefully get into second. I was looking for a time of less than 24 minutes.

The race takes place in a park in Chesapeake and the course runs through mostly grass covered trails going around or zigzagging two large grass fields surrounding a couple of lakes/ponds with one field that has a bit of a hill. The weather forecasted a perfect day of low 40's-50's with sunny skies and hardly any wind.

I got to the park in plenty of time and was able to park fairly close to where they were handing out the bibs and chips. I ran the west field as a warm up, took my potty break and headed to the starting line. The start was at the far end of the main field.

At the start we charge down the main field...reminded me of a cavalry charge in one of those Civil War movies, with everyone strung out across the field charging down to the turn. We take a right turn when we reach the end of the field to go around one of the lakes to the second field where we run the perimeter. At the start I was trying to keep the first place runner in my age group in my sights and try to pace off of him...I also 'felt' the second place runner in my age group pacing off of me. I kept the distance to the first place runner into the second field but the pace became noticeably faster than what I had planned. The first mile came in at 6:09 and I was breathing quite hard and running that fast over uneven ground was tiring me out fast. I slowed the pace a bit and the second place runner shot ahead of me and I tried to keep him in sight...thinking I could get my second wind shortly and overtake him near the end. We come out of the second field back into the main field and circle the perimeter counter-clockwise to the back of the hill and then a sharp left takes us up the hill. At the top of the hill we hit mile two and it comes in at 12:48. We go down the hill but make a sharp turn back up the hill and again down the back side until we again continue our circle around the perimeter of the field running on the side/slope of the hill. We continue to circle the main field and towards the end we head back up the field and circle around to the start area and mile three comes in at 19:32...the first place AG leader is way ahead now as well as the second place AG runner. We again charge back down the field like we had at the start and make our right turn going around the lake headed to the second field again. But before we reach the second field we turn around and head to the finish near the entrance to the park. The finish mat clock reads 24:21 as I cross. These cross-country races just beat me up. It feels like I have just run a 10k. I still came in third in my age group but lost valuable seconds to both first and second place finishers. I will need to run a very good third race in the 8K in two weeks to stay in third because the fourth place runner is not far behind me. I just love these series races...but cross-country races are really taxing.

Race Results:

There were 11 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 271 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 40 of 271
Age group finish place was 3 of 11
Time: 24:21.65 for an overall pace of 6:32 per mile

Weekly Totals:

Mon: 10.1 miles run in Bells Mill Park
Tue: 70 min Elliptical, 75 min Cycle, 11 min Stairstepper
Wed: 9.1 miles run, 31 min Cycle, 10 min Stairstepper
Thu: 48 min Elliptical, 46 min Cycle, 20 min Stairstepper
Fri: 2.1 miles run, 21 min Elliptical, 21 min Cycle, 16 min Stairstepper
Sat: 5 miles run includes 6K race and warmup
Sun: 20 mile run in 2:38 on a very windy day

Next week's race is the third and final run in the Tidewater Striders Distance Series...a 30K race.
Happy training to you all!

East Beach Norfolk Half Marathon, 02 Feb 08

2008-02-02T19:29:00.000-05:00

Today was my first half marathon of 2008...The East Beach Norfolk Half and 5K...Another race that I had wanted to run last year but was unable to because of injury. Another race where visions of breaking the 1:30 barrier danced through my head for the past four weeks...visions that seemed unlikely this last week because of a bad cold that had invaded my body with fever and chills...my head and chest with congestion...keeping me hostage at home for two days. But the training continued, although it was a trimmed back version to give this old body energy to fight back the viruses. By Friday evening, most of the body felt good except for a lot of coughing...the body's way of trying to get rid of all that phlegm still rattling around in the upper chest, but I knew that I would still run this race. I still felt confident that I could beat the 1:30 time I had set for myself.

The race takes place in the East Beach section of Norfolk, a picturesque setting along the beach with new high priced houses, condos and townhouses along with the older established homes, apartments, stores and restaurants. The course last year was a simple out and back and flat, but because of some construction going on this year, the out and back portion was shortened and a two-mile loop was added at the beginning and the same loop again at the end.

Woke up Saturday to cold temperatures but clear skies...I like the cold! The forecast called for race time temps in the 30's to 40's with sun and a bit of wind...a perfect day for a race! Drove down in plenty of time and picked up my packet, bib and chip and did my two mile warm-up. Everything felt good and the coughing wasn't too bad.

The horn starts us a few minutes past eight and we are off on our initial two mile loop through the new neighborhood with it's beautiful homes and condos. The first mile came in at 6:16...entirely too fast! I thought I let up the pace a bit but the next mile came in at 6:17. It felt easy and my coughing was only sporadic but I still tried to ease up the pace. We had now finished the loop and were headed out to the long nine-mile out and back. The three-mile mark came in at 19:02 and six miles in 39:09. We reached the turn around point and headed back. Mile nine came in at 59:04 and mile 10 in 1:05:48...again a new 10-mile mark. Reaching mile 11 in 1:12:34, I knew breaking 1:30 was in the bank with only the two mile loop to finish, so I let up on my pace and just cruised around the loop and crossed the finish line in 1:28:03 gun time...broke my PR by over four minutes! Oh Happy Days...The 1:30 is history! With my new time, McMillan says I can do a 3:05 marathon...I wonder if that is true? It doesn't sound possible. The Striders Distance Series 30K in two weeks should tell me more...I want to be healthy for that race and give it a good effort. After the race, a nice new medal for my growing collection along with good eats (Pizza!) and drink, a beach blanket as an AG prize and good runners to celebrate with!

Race Results:

There were 22 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 312 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 31 of 312
Age group finish place was 1 of 22
Time: 1:28:00.55 for an overall pace of 6:43 per mile

Weekly Totals:

Mon: 31 min elliptical, 46 min cycle, 16 min stairstepper
Tue: 2 miles run, 15 minutes of pushups and crunches
Wed: 8.8 miles run, 30 min elliptical, 30 min cycle, 10 min stairsteppper
Thu: 50 min elliptical, 55 min cycle, 13 min stairstepper
Fri: 2 miles run, 24 min elliptical, 23 min cycle, 11 min stairstepper
Sat: Half marathon, 15 total miles run
Sun: 30 min elliptical, 31 min treadmill, 46 min cycle, 16 min stairstepper

Next week is the second in the Mud in Your Eye cross-country series...a 6K race...here in Chesapeake. I'm thinking about running a practice run on the course tomorrow...just so I will know what to expect this time.

Happy running to you all!

Striders Distance Series 25K, 16 Jan 08

2008-01-26T17:43:00.000-05:00

This is the second of three in the Strider's Distance Series that help prepare runners for the upcoming Shamrock marathon and half. I had been looking forward to this one about a week ago but the last few days was wishing I had another week to prepare. Haven't felt good the last few days and think I have caught my youngest daughters cold that she has had for the last week. I was feeling run down and tired, but tried to keep my training up...yesterday I would have taken a complete rest day if it weren’t for the exercise challenge streak. Earlier in the week, I was looking for a goal time of under 1:45 but come race time was just looking to finish in a decent time.

The race again takes place at Fort Story Army base in Virginia Beach. A picturesque place with historic lighthouses, sandy beaches and tree lined trails and lakes...also has some hills. We start off by running a 5K course and two of the standard 10K course, which lets us go over the two hills three times...what a treat!

The weather looked ominous throughout the week with forecasts anywhere from cold rain, windy and freezing temperatures. It ended up being pretty nice with hardly any wind, no rain and some sunshine but it was cold with temps in the lower 30's to lower 40's...the race starts at 9:00 so it gives the sun a chance to warm things up a bit.

I decided to wear my long sleeved UA that I wore at last weeks 5K XC race since I thought it would be windy out on the course, and even some gloves and regular shorts.

This is a mixed race of 15K and 25K runners all starting at the same time and pretty much running the same course of an initial 5K loop and then the regular 10K loop or two depending on which series was being run. The air horn again squeaks to get us started and we are all off running the first shorter 5K loop. I found fellow blogger Steve a short time after the start and was able to run the first 5K loop with him until he started pulling away after about four miles...or it could have been that I started slowing down. I didn't have any miles splits on my watch because I missed the first few miles and decided not to worry about splits and just note the time at certain points in the race. The first 5K loop came in at 20:36 and we were off doing the first 10K loop. The first 6 miles in 40:22 and the finish of the first 10K loop (9.3 miles total) came in at 1:04. All the top runners were constantly catching and passing me during the first 10K loop since I had slowed quite a bit, but I didn't really care...until this one runner gets up to me and tells me that he's going to stay with me because he thinks he started off too fast. During the second 10K loop, I seemed to get a second wind and started upping the pace and dropped the runner that had been pacing off of me and my times started to improve. The 13 mile mark came in at 1:29:08...which told me that I had a real good chance at breaking 1:30 for a half marathon at next week's Norfolk half marathon. For most of the middle part of the race I was running pretty much by myself...except for the runner that was pacing off me. No one in sight since the faster runners were way ahead out of sight on the winding roads and glancing back, there didn't seem to be anybody either...which made for a very lonely run. But by the beginning of the second 10K loop I started passing the 15K runners that were walking by now...a couple at first and then groups of them. It gave me something to focus on and something for me to try to catch and pass. The final turnaround came and then the final hill and I tried again to give it a little more gas and finally crossed the finish line in 1:47:35...a few minutes slower than my goal time but happy to finish strong. Went home, showered, took some drugs...legal OTC cold meds...and took a two hour nap.

Race Results:

There were 24 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 214 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 18 of 214
Age group finish place was 3 of 24
Time: 1:47:35 for an overall pace of 6:56 per mile

The race results listing also combines the times of the two races in the series and for those results, I end up third in my age group and only 1:40 from second...but only because one of the runners in my age group is in the Men's Overall/Open standings...I'll take it...Something to build on for the next 30K race on 16 Feb.

Next race is next Saturday...02Feb...The East Beach Norfolk Half Marathon where I hope to break 1:30, and as long as I am healthy, I'm sure it will fall!

Hope all are having a great weekend.

Forgot my weekly totals:
Mon: 41 min elliptical, 46 min cycle, 20 min stairstepper
Tue: 9.1 miles run, 31 min cycle, 10 min stairstepper
Wed: 30 min elliptical, 30 min cycle, 21 min stairsteppper
Thu: 10 miles run, 30 min cycle, 11 min stairstepper
Fri: 32 min elliptical, 31 min cycle, 10 min stairstepper
Sat: 25K race, 17.5 total miles run
Sun: 45 min elliptical, 45 min cycle, 30 min stairstepper

Mud in Your Eye 5K XC Series #1, 19Jan08

2008-01-19T17:14:00.000-05:00

Decided to run a cross-country series called Mud in Your Eye. It's a three race series with three different distances, which takes place in three different cities about every 2-3 weeks. The first is a 5K...today...at Mount Trashmore in Virginia Beach, the second a 6K on 09Feb at Bell's Mill Park in Chesapeake and the third a 8K on 23Feb at Virginia Wesleyan College in Norfolk. A fun series that I had wanted to do last year but was unable to. This year, I hadn't really planned on doing it since I had the Strider's series and the Norfolk Half on tap before the Shamrock marathon in March...but...I had never done a cross-country race and had heard that this was a fun series...so...at the last minute...I signed up.

So, today's race is in Mount Trashmore...the same place where many of the other shorter races are run. But since this is a cross country race, the course is different in that instead of going around the hills and surrounding lakes on nice paved roads, you run up, across and down the hills on grass and dirt paths...some places there were no paths...you just followed white arrows painted on the grass. There was a small stretch of paved path around the back of the hills but other wise you were running on the grass and ground with some muddy areas because of the rain.

Checking the weather through the week called for cold temps and rain showers later in the morning...I was hoping it wouldn't start till after the race...turning into snow by evening...not a combination that I like. I can run in cold and I can run in rain and even snow is nice, but...running in cold rain is not for me but...I had already registered and I was going to survive. I normally just run in a shirt and shorts...socks and shoes also of course. But to make myself more comfy I decided to wear my double layered long sleeved UA cold gear. It had kept me warm during last year's cold Shamrock marathon.

My expectations...I didn't know what to expect time wise since I have not run this type of race before. I didn't expect a 5K PR and decided that if I could get near 20 or under, it would be a good day.

Got down to the park, got my bib and chip and as I was back in my truck putting it on, the rain started coming down. Just a drop or two at first but it turned into a steady drizzle in a short time. After about a half hour, I was resigned to running in this cold drizzle, the rain slowed down to a few stray drops. I needed to warm up and started running the road that goes behind the small hill and fellow blogger Steve coming the other way greets me. I run up the small hill and traverse it and back down and start the long climb up the big hill. I was on the lookout for a port-a-potty or restroom and spied a restroom down the hill on the lake side and ran down to it. I went inside and it was very warm inside...it was heated...must have been 70-75 degrees inside...quite a difference from the 30-40's outside. There was no long lines and only one other person using the urinal so I went into the handicap stall, lifted the lid and as I started going...I had this weird sensation come over me and I started feeling dizzy. I grabbed onto the handicap rail with one hand to steady myself and the next thing I know is that I awake with one arm still wrapped around the grab rail and the rest of my body dangling over the toilet. I must have fainted for a few seconds. It was really weird...I have no idea what happened...it must have been a vasal vagal response where the body kind of shuts down...you faint...from an external stimuli. The only thing I think could have caused it may have been coming in from the cold to warm after running up and down the hill. I hadn't been sick or felt sick and I had eaten a good breakfast. I didn't feel sick or weak after the episode but the side of my head felt a little sore, probably from hitting it on something on the way down, but I felt fine otherwise. I was trying to decide whether to do the race or not but decided to continue my warm-up and see how it felt. I went outside and started running slowly and everything felt fine, so I picked up the pace and ran up the steep side of the big hill to the top...I know, probably not a wise thing to do after fainting...and ran across and back down the other side towards the start line. And everything felt okay, so I decided to run. I would take it easy and increase pace gradually.

We lined up on the pavement facing across the open ground near the big hill and when it was time to start at 8:00, the starter tried to toot his air horn but nothing came out so he just yelled GO, and the race was on. The whole line of runners rushed out into the open ground dodging mud puddles and trying to find firm footing to run on. We all merge into a long line as we make the first turn and start a steady climb up the large hill. I started out at a slower pace but half way up the hill, I feel exhausted. I see Steve about 50 meters ahead but I have no energy to pull myself up to him so I keep my pace. We finally make the top of the hill and traverse it along the top going around a vent shaft and doubling back the other way and back down. As soon as we reach the bottom, its up the small hill, traversing the length of it. The first mile comes in at 6:31...slower than what I expected...and then we go down a steep decline till we reach the bottom and we make a 180 around the stairs that are built into the hill and we go back up the steep side of the small hill to the top again. We run the length again coming down and taking us finally to the blacktopped road that goes around the small hill. It feels sooo good to be running on a smooth surface and I increase my pace. After going around the hill and near the lake, we get off the road and run again on the grass and ground near the lake headed to the front of the park. Mile two comes in at 13:17...not good...I have slowed some more. Near the front we again go up the big hill about half way where there is a berm-like ridge that we run across the face of the big hill and at the stairs we again make the steep climb to the top of the big hill. We run again around the vent pipe and start our final decent and back towards the starting area looping around the back and mile three comes in at 20:18. The last 10th I think about sprinting it in but only manage to increase my pace a bit and cross the finish line in 20:56. The race was fun but very exhausting.

After finishing and returning my chip, I head back up the big hill to see if I can find one of the ladies who goes to my gym who is also running. I find her and we run to the finish.

On the drive home, I feel that I need to workout some more today since it's supposed to be my long day. With the warm-up, race and running the last part a second time probably only got me about 5 miles and I need a few more miles, so I drive to the gym and get on the treadmill for 70 minutes. Then the cycle for 30 minutes and finished up with 10 minutes on the stairstepper, go home and get a nice hot shower while my daughter makes me a grilled cheese sandwich...Yummy!

Race results:

There were 12 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 321 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 43 of 321
Age group finish place was 3 of 12
Time: 20:56 for an overall pace of 6:45 per mile

Training this week was interrupted on Wed because of a Dental appointment that went way over and I was unable to do get to the gym for my run and workout. So...to keep up my goal of exercising at least 30 minutes each day, I did core and strength exercises at home...situps, crunches, pushups, side straddle hops and various other callisthenic exercises and then finished with some weights. The next day I had the best feeling training run that I can remember. It felt so effortless and it seemed like I could go forever. I ended up increasing the pace .5 mph every 10 minutes until I finished with a minute at 11 mph. What a difference it makes when the legs get a complete day of rest...that taper stuff must really work!

This week's totals:
Mon: 7.5 miles run, 20 min elliptical, 20 min stairstepper
Tue: 60:30 min elliptical, 60:30 min cycle, 10 min stairstepper
Wed: 35 min of core strength...had a late Dental appointment
Thu: 9.1 miles run, 31:30 min cycle, 11 min stairstepper
Fri: 32 min elliptical, 31 min cycle, 22 min treadmill, 12 min stairstepper
Sat: 5K race, 14 total miles, 30 min cycle, 10 min stairstepper
Sun: 61 min elliptical, 61 min cycle, 16 min stairstepper

Next up, Strider Distance Series 25K on Saturday, 26 Jan...the second of three runs.

A Much Needed Long Run

2008-01-12T15:25:00.000-05:00

Training for the 16 March Shamrock marathon and I have yet to run a long run over 15 miles since The Richmond marathon in early November. I've run a couple of 14+ and a 15 with a few more from 12-13 but nothing longer. Most of the reasons have been that I have raced almost every weekend and the long runs have been pushed to the back burner...for instance...last week I ran the 20K in the Strider Distance Series...I had intended to run another lap that day but after putting so much into the race there was little left in the tank. I did do about a two mile warm-up before the race but that only brought it to about 14.5 miles. So...with no planned races for this weekend, thought Saturday would be a perfect day to get it done.

In the past, the majority of my long runs have been run on the treadmill at the gym but I wasn't really enjoying running 2.5 hrs on the treadmill sweating away...I have to bring four hand towels with me to wipe up the sweat that builds up otherwise my shoes end up sloshing wet. Also very annoying is that the treadmills stop after just 60 minutes...so what I normally do is take a restroom break, wring our my wet shorts and shirt, and get some nutrition...like a GU or some type of PowerBar...which isn't all that bad but it breaks up my rhythm and it's really hard to get back into it.

So this time I decided to run it outside at the Dismal Swamp Trail...the same place that I tried to run a 20 last spring before the Frederick marathon when the temps ended up in the 80's...where I didn't take enough fluids and almost ended up with heat exhaustion. For a nice trail park...they don't have any water fountains...not a one the whole 8.25-mile trail. The trail is actually an old two-lane highway 17 running next to the intercoastal canal. They built a brand new highway 17 running all the way to North Carolina and decided this section would be great as a recreational trail for runners, bikers, skaters, horses and walkers...just no motorized vehicles.

This time I checked the weather for the best day between Saturday and Sunday...Saturday was best with temps in the low to mid 40's...and I took lots of fluids to stash along the trail. The trail has several entrances and I just drove to two entrances about equal distance apart and stashed a bottle of water or Gatorade at each. I also planned to carry a bottle of water with me.

So...with my plan in place and my fluids stashed I made my way to the main entrance to the park and got ready to run, stuffing my one pocket with a pack of GU and a pack of sports beans, and find out I forgot my watch...best laid plans of mice and men yada, yada...I forget my watch. That's okay...I don't need no stink'n watch! I note the time on my truck before I leave...it reads 11:00 on the dot...and I start my run. I didn't stretch but did start off at a slow pace and everything felt awkward and tight but by the first half mile I was in my long run cruise mode. I had planned to take this really easy so I tried to run slow and easy...which turned out really hard to do, so I just ran at a pace that felt good and since I didn't have a watch to check my times, I had no idea what that pace was...but it felt good. Between miles two and three I saw a total of three runners...headed back. One lady warned me that there was a bad head wind coming back...I don't know how far out she went since the trail is 8.25 miles long and you can turn around at any point. After mile four, I didn't see another runner until I came back...I did see some people on bikes and one guy on roller blades but that was it. Around mile four I noticed that my eardrums were starting to crackle...usually a sign of the beginnings of dehydration...I hadn't been drinking the water I had been carrying since it was really cool and I hadn't had the urge to drink, but even running in the cold can dehydrate you...so I decided to drink from my bottle every half mile whether I think I needed it or not. After a couple of miles the crackling in my ears stopped and everything seemed to be going smoothly. A Boy Scout, as a project for his Eagle award, had placed distance markers on posts every quarter mile, so it was nice to see the mileage going by. Things were going very well now and I got to the end of the trail and turned around to head back...that's when I noticed the strong head wind that I had been warned about. It reminded me of the head winds going up Atlantic Ave during the Rock n Roll half, but this was going to stay with me all the way back for 8-10 miles. Most of the beginnings of the trail is pretty much sheltered by trees and brush on both sides but way out near the turn around, there was hardly a tree in sight where the wind was coming from and its pretty much out in the open. Sometimes there would be a thicket of trees and brush to shelter me a bit but not much until I got closer to the entrance...the wind seemed to be coming right down the trail at me but I trudged on. My first water stash was coming up and I finished the bottle I was carrying and scooped up my hidden stashed bottle to take its place. They have green waste barrels along the trail so I was able to pitch my empty and carry the new bottle. Coming back to the five- mile marker I see the first runner who is coming in my direction...from the start...and it's a girl. I know women are good runners, but it surprised me that she was this far out and on a long run of at least 10+ miles and doing it at a good pace. Getting closer to the main entrance, I encounter more and more runners just starting out. At the 2.5-mile marker I have stashed my second bottle but I don't need it and decide to go back with my truck to get it after the run. Getting closer to the entrance I also know that getting back to the starting area only gives me about 16.5 miles, needing 3.5 more miles and I have a decision to make on whether to turn around and do a small loop taking me to the 1.75 mile marker and back or continue on out of the park following the road to where it ends about 1.5 miles ahead and turn back...but that would only give me about 19.5 miles. I decide to keep going straight and then come back and do the additional half mile loop after. At the barrier to the park entrance I was able to ask a woman for the time...which was 1:05, making it 2hrs 5 mins for the out and back for the 16.5 miles...not bad...I thought I was going much slower. I do my three mile out and back and then the extra half mile by running to the .25 mile marker and back to get my full 20 miles and check the clock in the truck which reads 1:37...so a time of 2:37 for my 20 mile run giving me a pace of about 7:51 per mile...not bad...not bad at all. Was able to run the whole thing except for the few seconds to pick up my second water bottle, and surprisingly no cramps or other problems except for the weird feeling at the start. I also only drank the two bottles of water and no Gatorade, nor did I use the GU or sports beans that I carried in my pocket...didn't feel the need to. So I was quite happy with my first long run. Went home and took a long hot shower and settled in to watch some football.

Training for this week:
Mon: 6.85 miles run, 20 min elliptical, 15 min stairstepper
Tue: 51 min elliptical, 51 min cycle, 21 min stairstepper
Wed: 8.88 miles run, 16 min stairstepper
Thu: 61 min elliptical, 61 min cycle, 16 min stairstepper
Fri: 45 min elliptical, 46 min cycle, 20 min stairstepper
Sat: 20 mile run in 2:37
Sun: 46 min elliptical, 46 min cycle, 15 min stairstepper, 15 min treadmill

Happy training everyone!

Goals for 2008

2008-01-08T19:34:00.000-05:00

Okay...my goals for 2008. But let's look at last years 7 goals in 2007 and see how we did on those first.

1. Run 2-4 marathons...Accomplished...Ran four...Shamrock, Frederick, MCM and Richmond
2. Run 2-4 half marathons...Accomplished...Ran three
3. Qualify for Boston...Accomplished
4. Run 5K under 20 minutes...Accomplished...Three times
5. Run 10K under 40 minutes...Failed...Missed by 35 seconds
6. Half marathon under 1:30...Failed...Missed by 2:25
7. Marathon under 3:30...Accomplished...3:23

A record of 5 and 2, but those two misses were really close and with my last race as a gauge, I feel they are going down real soon. I ran my 20K race time through McMillan's Pace Calculator and it spit out the following:

5K in 19.01...Done that
10K in 39:31...Can do that
Half in 1:27:55...Can do that
Marathon in 3:05:26...Hummm...Sounds daunting...But it says I can do it!

So here are my 8 goals in 2008:

1. 5K under 18:30
2. 10K under 39:00
3. Half under 1:25
4. Marathon under 3:10
5. Run at least 4 marathons
6. Run a multisport event...duathlon and/or triathlon
7. Run all 12 Strider's Grand Prix events
8. Have fun...Stay Healthy

Events that I have already registered for are:

The Striders Distance Series...25K on 26 Jan and 30K on 16 Feb
Norfolk Half Marathon on...02 Feb
Shamrock Marathon on...16 Mar
Dismal Swamp Stomp Half...19 Apr
The Historic Marine Corps Half...18 May
Rock n Roll Half...31 Aug...My Birthday!

I still need another spring marathon. My options are...ING GA on 30 Mar, CMM TN on 26 Apr, Boston on 21 Apr would fit too...but...I want to wait till 2009 for this one. ;-)

For two fall marathons, I'm looking at NYC on 02 Nov...If they have the same policy as last year...I have a qualifying time and won't need to depend on the lottery, OBX on 09 Nov and Richmond on 15 Nov is always a consideration...wouldn't it be crazy if I did all three...they are about a week apart this year! And then maybe another in early December like Kiawah or Thunder Road in SC.

Here are some long term goals:

1. Run Boston...2009!
2. Run a marathon in a different country...London, Berlin, Paris, China Wall, Antarctica, Comrades...well maybe not Comrades.
3. Run the Disney Goofy
4. Run an Ironman
5. Qualify for and do Kona

Okay...Lots of very ambitious goals and something for me to focus on...Definately need to step up my training if I'm to make good on these goals.

2007 was a good year...Let's make 2008 even better!

Striders Distance Series 20K, 05 Jan 08

2008-01-06T15:19:00.001-05:00

The Tidewater Striders Distance Series is a set of three races (20K, 25K and 30K) spaced about every three weeks designed to help prepare runners for the March Shamrock Marathon. It also includes a 10K, 15K and 20K for runners preparing for the Shamrock half marathon. A great way to get your long runs in while running/competing with other runners and having a good time.

I had planned to do the whole series last year but was only able to complete the 20K because of some bad shin splints that I had been nursing for a few months. I had hoped to run this race in a time of about 1:35 last year but because of the shin pain was only able to manage a 1:44. After finishing, I was barely able to walk for nearly a week and took a total of five weeks off to give it a chance to heal.

This year I am healthy and my fitness seems to be improving with every training cycle and even though I was thinking of this as more of a training run, since I had just raced a 5K on the 1st and my training was just kicking in strong the rest of week, but the competitor in me wouldn't let me.

My goal for this race was to start off slow and finish strong around 1:25. The race is run on Fort Story in Virginia Beach, which I think is probably the best place to run in all of South Hampton Roads because of the variety of winding road and hills...probably the only hills you will find in this area...also the scenery is great with the trees, beach and did I mention hills! So I love to run races there and I seem to do very well.

I got there early to register and signed up for all three races in the series, got my chip and went back to my truck to get ready for the race. It was very cold out initially and I warmed up in my warm-up pants and a hoody by running the course backwards up the finishing hill and then running a portion of the start for about 16-17 minutes. I then ditched everything except my running shorts and shirt and headed to the start line. I tried to keep in the middle of the runners to let them shield me from the cold and wind about 4-5 yards from the front.

At 9:00, the starting horn squeaks...I think it froze up a bit from the cold...and we all start running. The 10K and 20K runners all start at the same time with the 10K runners only running one loop of the course while the 20K runners run two loops. So it's quite crowded at the start. After making the first turn I finally free myself from most of the crowd of runners and spy Steve ahead and move up to run with him a bit. I knew he was planning a 6:26 per mile pace and thought I would try to keep up with him as much as possible. After making another turn and going up a slight incline we pass the first mile and it comes in at 6:25...so I figure I haven't slowed him up much. The second mile is along Atlantic Ave next to the beach and it comes in at 12:47. We make a left turn away from the beach and make the third mile in 19:30...our slowest mile and I mention to Steve to not let me slow his pace down, but he says it's still fine. Mile four comes in at 26:00 and we start up the first of two hills on the 10K loop and back down the other side making a hard left turn and back to the level road heading to mile 5. He mentions that a runner about 75 yards ahead is Dave McDonald...a former US Olympic Marathon trials qualifier and soon after Steve picks up the pace and I wish him a good run as he pulls ahead. Mile five comes in at 32:34. Steve soon catches Dave and passes him and I set my sights on Dave to use him to pace off of. We make an out and back turn before the second hill in the 10K loop and I can see who is chasing me. I see my main competitor in my Age Group about 50 yards back and then the first female and then a guy in the 55-59 AG whom I had chased to the finish at the Cape Henry 10 miler...now he was chasing me. These three were the ones I was most interested in keeping ahead of. I didn't see mile 6 but going across the start line for the second loop I noticed the finish clock reading 40:30..something and know that I am on a good pace.

The runners in the race have thinned out considerably now since most were only running 10K and are no longer with us. I could still see Dave McDonald ahead of me about 50 yards out and kept pace with him...otherwise it was kind of lonely. Mile seven comes in at 46:13 and then I hear heavy steps behind me. It seems to be keeping pace with me going up Atlantic Ave again, and I know that it's my main competitor. Just before the eight-mile mark he passes and I try to keep pace with him. Mile eight comes in at 52:55. Between miles 8-9 he steadily pulls ahead and mile 9 comes in at 59:52. We come up the first hill again and back down the other side and mile 10 comes in at 1:06:51...almost two minutes faster than my Cape Henry 10 miler but I hear someone bearing down on me. I miss mile eleven but at the out and back before the final hill, I see that the runner hot on my six is the first female and I'm not about to let her catch me. At this time I pass Dave and start up the final hill and try to increase my pace. I reach the top and race down the other side and mile twelve comes in at 1:20:34 and I also hear some one cheering me on...it was Steve's wife Ally and this gave me a bit of a boost.

The chasers...taken by Ally Speirs.

As I made the hard left turn at the bottom of the hill, I looked over up the hill to see who was behind me and found that the nearest runner was quite a ways away. Racing around the final turn to the finish I see Steve and he cheers me on too. I cross the finish line with the clock reading 1:23: something...A nice feeling that I made it under 1:25.

I found out later that my age group was very competitive today. There were five of us that came in under 1:24 with my 1:23:19 coming in 4th and I think 17th overall. Checking last year's race results, 1st in AG 50-54 came in at 1:24:50...we all must be getting better with age!

Race results:

There were 33 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 257 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 17 of 257
Age group finish place was 4 of 33
Time: 1:23:19 for an overall pace of 6:43 per mile

Hair of the Dog 5K, 01 Jan 08

2008-01-01T21:22:00.000-05:00

First day of the new year, why not a first race of the new year! Ran the Hair of the Dog 5K today at Mount Trashmore in Virginia Beach. This is the second year for this race and it looks to be a fun annual event. The race has different running catagories like Formal Wear and Weight Division as well as the normal run and walk. So it was fun to see people running/walking in sleep wear as well as New Year's party dresses and tuxedos...and of course then there was all of us party poopers...or rather...serious runners...in our various forms of running attire. The race goes almost the same route as the Davis Corner run two weeks ago but is run in a different configuration which makes it a true 5K course rather than the "short" course of the last race. The race also starts at 10:00, so runners can get at least a little bit of rest from the night's/early morning New Year's Eve celebrations. The weather was rather nice, sunny with the temps in the 40-50's with a bit of a wind.

I went to bed a bit early...a little after 1:00 a.m... New Year's Eve but still wasn't able to get to sleep for about another hour because of fireworks being set off in the neighborhood. But because of the late start time, I was still able to get some much needed rest. I still got to the park rather early and was able to get my bib and chip with no problems and then warmed up for about 15 minutes by running up and around the mounts.

The race is chip timed so there was no reason to get on the starting line and I settled into a spot a couple of rows back on the left edge. The starting horn blasts us on our way at 10:00 and we are off on the first race on the first day of 2008. Because of the warm up, I was feeling quite good at the start but by the first turn my breathing started to labor from trying to get around slower runners. About that time Steve catches up to me and we run together awhile and chat until the next turn when we get squeezed together by the crowd of runners making the turn and I let Steve go on ahead. I had planned on breaking 19 minutes today by trying to run a 6 mpm pace and had hoped to pace off of Steve as long as I could but the jostling around the corner gapped us to about 10 meters before I got back on pace. He had on a bright yellow shirt so it was easy to keep him in sight though and I continued on. There was also another fast runner that was just ahead of me that was in the 55-59 age group whom I had beat in the Santa Claus Shuffle about a month ago, so I paced off him to the first mile which came in at 5:55...just about where I wanted to be. We passed a water stop just before going around the lake, where I grabbed a cup to just wet my mouth and then I passed the guy and set my sights on a couple of young men, one wearing a plastic yellow head of hair. I could still see Steve about a hundred yards ahead. About then a runner wearing a tux passes...which amazed me that he was able run that fast with so much clothes on. Mile two came in at 12:32...6:37 pace!...I couldn't believe I lost 37 seconds...so I upped my pace and soon passed the tux runner. Yellow plastic hair was close now also and they turned to see me catching them and they increased their pace just as we were coming back across the start line again. We came to the last turn heading to the finish and mile 3 comes in at 18:34 and I think there is still a chance for slipping under 19 minutes and sprint for the finish. As I hit the finish line I see the clock read 19:02 and then :03...I should have picked up my pace sooner...the last 1.1 mile was in 6:30. Chip time ended up 19:01.50...1.5 seconds off! So...Some very mixed feelings...I was disappointed to miss by so little, but I was still happy with my 15 second PR, a 1st in my age group and 11th overall.

All finishers received a dogtag on a chain with the Hair of the Dog design and the Age Group awards were very cool Hair of the Dog medals, which I understand Steve designed. Cool design Steve!

Race results:

There were 21 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 414 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 11 of 414
Age group finish place was 1 of 21
Time: 19:01.5 for an overall pace of 6:08 per mile

A great way to start off the New Year.

Happy New Year...You all!

Davis Corner Rescue Squad 5K 15 Dec 07

2007-12-15T19:14:00.000-05:00

Thought this 5K race would be a nice finish to the 2007 racing season. I had run this one last year as my first 5K when it was run at the Botanical Gardens in Norfolk. Last year the Loco running shoe company had given out a free pair of running shoes to all who registered. This year they moved the run to Mount Trashmore in Virginia Beach...no free shoes but a nice Henley style t-shirt. The course ran around the main hill a couple of times with the second going around the second smaller hill and then around the lake and to the finish. The weather was cold and windy with temps in the low 40's...quite a difference of a couple of days ago when the temps were in the 70's and 80's. The weather has been really strange this year.

There were only a little over a hundred people running this race so registration and packet pickup was fast. I warmed up by running up and over the main hill to the start line. This is a gun timed race so I started at the front.

The horn sounds at 9:00 and were off and running. The first 200 yards goes from a paved parking lot road to a gravel rutted path that goes between the two hills...not my favorite running surface but we finally hit the paved road that goes around the main hill passing where the race finishes. Up to this point things just weren't feeling right...my breathing was heavy and I just couldn't find a pace I was comfortable with so I decided to take this as an easy effort run. Just then a group of runners passed me and I decided to join them as we take a right around the big hill. The first mile came in at 6:19, which I thought wasn't right for the effort I had put out and usually I am faster on the first mile. By the time we reached the start line again I had found a good pace and things began to feel good. I leave the small group and started passing people as we go around the second smaller hill and we cross the finish line for the second time. This time around we go left that takes us on a course that will lead us around the lake. I passed a couple of more runners and at the far end we hit mile 2 and it comes in at 12:38...lap time of 6:19, which is the same as the first mile. We continue around the lake and as I look ahead, I can only see three other runners ahead of me and I set my sights on the third place guy who is way off in the distance. I slowly make up some ground as we run around the back part of the lake heading for the finish. We make the final turn to the finish and mile 3 comes in at 17:38...but that can't be right because that gives me a lap time of 5:00 for the last mile and there is no way I could run the third mile in five minutes. But I race on ahead and hit the finish line in 18:14 and think to myself it must have said 19:14. Later talking with others and checking my splits, we suspect that the last mile must have been 3-400 meters short, which was disappointing. I also never caught the third palce runner and missed third place overall by only 15 seconds but I did get first in my age group...of course I did notice that the usual faster runners did not run this race and the final total of finishers only came out to 122.

Race Results:

There were 12 finishers in the Male 50 to 59 age group and 122 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 4 of 122
Age group finish place was 1 of 12
Time of: 18:14

I'm not even considering this as a 5K PR since the distance or timing seemed to be way off. They say that the New Year's Day race...Hair of the Dog 5K...is run on the same course, so hopefully they will get it distanced right.

Happy Holidays to you all!

Santa Claus Shuffle 5K 08 Dec 07

2007-12-08T20:31:00.000-05:00

Well...I was going to run the Blue Grey Half Marathon tomorrow but won't be doing it. Oh well, I hadn't registered and had planned to drive the two and a half hours there early enough to register same day...but now I won't need to. So...since I couldn't go do the half on Sunday, I was looking for a local race to do today and this 5K seemed to fit the bill.

This race takes place in the Norfolk Botanical Gardens with winding paved trails with beautiful scenery...even in the fall/winter months. I have run the trails in a different race last year so was somewhat familiar with the course. It has narrow paved paths with many tight corners and a couple of small bridges...not a real good place to expect a PR but I wanted to try for one anyway.

I woke to a beautiful morning...the temperature in the mid-40's with very little noticeable wind. It was forecasted to only get into the mid to high 50's. I ate breakfast and drove to the Gardens as the sun was coming up. I was cruising down the highway not paying attention and noticed that I had missed my turn off to the Garden but the race doesn't start till 9:45 so there was no hurry and I made it to registration with plenty of time to spare.

Registration was a breeze and I got my bib, timing band and goodie bag. At 9:00, the kid's 1 mile race starts and it was fun to watch them dash away and return a few minutes later...our future racers.

I did about a half mile warm up a few minutes before the start of our race. After getting to the starting line, one of the runners comes up to me and says...I remember you. His face looks familiar but I can't place where I know him from until he says he is from Albuquerque...and then it dawns on me that this is the guy that keeps coming to race here and has beaten me twice this year, at the Chesapeake Bay 10K in April and the Fleet Week Half Marathon in October...He took first in both and I came in second behind him. We talked quite a bit before the race started and after the finish. Seems like he has been on business trips each time...he did something for NASA... and takes these opportunities to race in the places he gets sent to...and...most of his trips bring him to Hampton. The horn sounds at 9:45 and we are off. Even though I started a row back from the front, there are runners sprinting to the front from both sides at the start and it is very had to maneuver around some of them, especially with the tight, narrow turns on the path. I had planned to try to keep up with my new friend from Albuquerque for as long as I could...although talking to him at the start, I knew I wouldn't be able to stay with him very long this time because he is pretty fast, but maybe in the future... but during the initial surge on the start, I lost him to a pack that was running way faster than I intended. None the less, the first mile comes in at 5:58 and it seems like I have expended a lot of energy weaving and dodging the other runners because I am breathing hard. There is also a runner that I think is in my age group that is pacing off of me because I passed him about the half mile point and I could sense him in back of me...he was breathing hard too...so I could actually hear him. At about the 1.5 mile point he moves ahead and I decide to pace off of him about 50 yards back. The second mile comes in at 12:14 which I'm surprised that I have lost about 16 seconds...it seems as though we have maintained pace since the start...but I am continuing to feel the fast pace in my breathing. The runner I have been pacing off of seems to be moving further away now and I try to maintain. Around the 2.5 mile point I seem to be gaining on the runner ahead of me and just before the three mile mark, I make the pass. The third mile comes in at 18:37...I'm not going to break 19 minutes but I will have a new PR. I increase my pace to make sure the runner that I just passed won't be passing me again and then sprint to the finish on the final straight away and cross the mats with the time of 19:17...a PR of 10 seconds. I'm making my slow march to breaking 19 minutes. The runner I passed around the three mile mark comes up to congratulate me at the finish and asks what age group I was in...come to find out he was in the 55-59 AG and still wins his AG. And of course the guy from Albuquerque crosses the finish about minute ahead...again. So I ended up second in my age group. He told me at the finish that he was trying to finish in the top three overall so I would get first in my age group, which I thought was really nice of him to think about me that way. But at the awards ceremony we find out that they are only awarding the 1st overall for male and female with no 2nd or 3rd...He did come in 3rd overall and I came in 9th. We talked running and racing after the race while awaiting the raffle drawings and awards ceremony and like most runners I have met and talked to he was really a nice person to talk to and I will be more than happy to race him when he comes back in the spring...maybe I can get closer in time by then.

Race Results:

There were 21 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 525 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 9 of 525
Age group finish place was 2 of 21
Time: 19:17 for an overall pace of 6:12 per mile

There's another 5K next weekend...I wonder if I should run that one too?

Fort Story Army/Navy 10K 01Dec 07

2007-12-01T12:50:00.000-05:00

This 10K was my first 10K just last year...so...of course I had to do it again. Last year I finished 48th overall and 6th in my age group with a respectable time of 44:29. This year my goal was to break 40 minutes. There have been three other 10K's...two in the spring with times of 41:59 and 42:13...and one just last week of 41:37. It seems as though I am stuck in the 41:30-42 range. So this week I trained hard for this race. Sunday I ran 14.5 miles, Tuesday 7.1 miles and Thursday 7 miles. Tuesday and Thursday I worked on speed with fast tempo runs after warming up on the elliptical or cycle and the other days I did 1.5-2 hours of cross training on the elliptical, cycle and stair stepper.

The race takes place on Fort Story...a place I have run a few races and am quite familiar with. Most of it is flat with a few undulations and towards the end are two hills...one just after mile 4 and the last between miles 5 and 6. The hills...although not big by most standards...make for a somewhat challenging but fun race for those of us that run races on mostly flat areas of lower Hampton Roads. It is also next to the beach so we get these 'wonderful" winds off the ocean.

Today's weather was forecast to be in the 40's with 14-19 mph wind gusting to 26 mph...makes for a chilly, windy run...but the race starts at 9:00...so a chance it will get warmer for the race-Right?...Yeah I wish! But I do like to run in the cold...just not when it's very windy and cold. When I go out to get the paper in the morning, the cold and wind makes me want to go back and crawl back into the warm bed but after breakfast, I throw on some warm-ups and a hoody over my running shorts and running t-shirt and head out for the Beach.

It is very warm in the MWR building where I go to get my race bib but I head back out to my truck to put my number on and wait for a few minutes before the start of the race. About 10 minutes before the start I take my warm hoody and warm-up pants off and do a warm up lap around a block for about half a mile. The wind is very brisk and cold...especially heading into it and I wish I had brought my gloves and something warm for my head.

I get to the start line and try to get as close to the front...a row back from the start line since this is a gun timed race and not a chip timed race...and complete my stretches. At 9:00 the starting horn sounds and we are off. I don't want to jack rabbit the start like I did for the Turkey Trot and set off on what seems like a nice pace. The first mile comes in at 6:13...a bit fast but it feels comfortable and now we are heading directly into a head wind for a while. Mile 2 comes in at 12:33 which is about where I want to be. At this time I am chasing down runners...even though out near the front there are very few runners to chase down and the total field of runners are small...there are a few that I know I can reel in over the next 2-3 miles. Mile 3 comes in at 19:14...still on a pretty good pace but I'm losing some ground, time wise but I have passed two of the runners that were ahead of me and ready to catch the third. The third runner is caught as we near mile 4 and it comes in at 25:57...a few more seconds lost and here comes the first hill. I try to maintain my pace on the hill and soon we are going downhill and make a sharp...almost 180 turn and head to mile 5. When we make the sharp turn I notice there is a runner hot on my heels and he overtakes me before the 5 mile marker. 5 miles comes in at 32:33. We head for a turn around in the road before we head up the final hill. I can see most of the runners up front...that I'm definitely not going to catch and at the turn around I can see who else is chasing me. The closest runner is a woman...who ends up winning the female overall...who is about a hundred yards back and charging hard, but I don't see anybody that I know in my age group as we head up the final hill. This one seems a bit longer and steeper and into a stiff wind but we get up and over and down the other side to another near 180 turn. At mile 6, my time reads 39:18 and I know I can't make the .2 miles in 41 seconds but I charge on and hit the finish in 40:34...A PR of over one minute. I came in 14th overall and 2nd in the age group of 50-59...the AG winner came in at 36:29 and is only a year younger than I am...Something to train real hard for. So the 40 minute mark eludes me again, but it is 1:03 closer than it was at the Turkey Trot and only 34 seconds away...that's like 6 seconds per mile...I know I can do this, but the next 10K will probable be in the spring...a whole winter to train to get faster. It was nice talking with Steve over a bowl of warm soup just before the awards were announced. He had a very nice race...Congrats on your 6th place overall and 1st in your age group!

Being this was an Army/Navy race, there was a special catagory for Army against Navy runners...overall for male and female and as a group...Navy prevailed in all catagories and I like to think I helped some with a 5th place overall Navy finish!

Got home just in time to watch the Navy football team beat Army...24-3...but it was a close game if it were not for some costly Army mistakes.

Race Results:

There were 12 finishers in the Male 50 to 59 age group and 152 total finishers.

Overall finish place was 14 of 152

Age group finish place was 2 of 12

Time: 40:34 for an overall pace of 6:31 per mile

Next week I want to do the VA Runner Blue/Grey Half Marathon in Fredericksburg.

Everyone have a wonderful weekend. Go Navy...Beat Army!

Turkey Trot 10K 22 Nov 07

2007-11-23T12:48:00.000-05:00

It had been only 5 days since the Cape Henry 10 miller but I wanted to run this race on Thanksgiving Day...besides it's only 10K. After running two marathons and a 10 miler in three weeks, a 10K should be a piece of cake and I wanted to see if I could improve on my time with hopes of breaking 40 minutes on this flat course.

The Turkey Trot 10K takes place in Virginia Beach at Mount Trashmore...Yes the Mount is a former mound of trash that has been capped and now it and it's surrounding land and lakes is a park...and probably the highest point of land in the lower Hampton Roads area...but we don't run up or down the mount, just around it, one of the lakes and the surrounding neighborhood.

All week the weather reports were calling for showers and mild temperatures. Last year I heard that it was run in a downpour...and I really didn't like the idea of running in heavy rain. I don't mind anything above my shoes getting wet...it normally does because I tend to sweat a lot...But I hate running in wet soggy shoes. But Thanksgiving morning dawned with now a forecast of slight chance of showers later with sun and clouds but also with higher temps...in the 70's...and winds in the 12-20 mph range.

I slept in...If you can call getting up at 5:30 sleeping in...I do, since I usually get up during the week at 4:00. I would have slept in longer but I had decided to do the same day registration and packet pickup and needed to get there earlier in order to do that. I got to the YMCA around 7:30, got registered, got my bib and timing chip and still had some time to kill since the race didn't start till 9:00. I warmed up by running up and down Mt Trashmore a couple of times and then walked to the start line. I had gone to the port-a-lets just before and when I got out to head to the start line I see hundreds of runners already there awaiting the start. I hadn't realized that so many people were running this on Thanksgiving morning thinking there would be the usual 4-600 people until I see all these people massing there...it looked like a couple of thousand. Since this is a gun start with a chip timed finish...meaning no chip mats at the start, just finish time mats...I found a place to await the start about 3-4 rows of runners back from the start line and did some final stretches. At 9:00 the horn sounds and we're off and I start my watch. The front of the pack rushes out with us all following. I don't want to go out too fast but all the runners around me are starting to kick it in from the start and I follow one of the "slower" packs out but we still seem to be going pretty fast. I just don't realize how fast we have started until Steve, a fellow local blogger ...who is a sub 39 10K'r and is a whole lot faster than I am...catches up to me just before the first mile marker. I'm surprised because I'm thinking he is in one of the packs out front. We chat a bit before he continues on ahead I try to find my pace. The pack I'm with finally goes pass the first mile marker remarking that its 5:50 something and I'm thinking, No Way!. I press the lap on my watch and it reads 5: 57...this is way to fast and I back down just a bit. We are now in a neighborhood looping around through the streets and mile two comes in at 12:23...a 6:12 average...still a bit fast since I was planning on 6:30 splits with the first ones a bit faster in the 6:20 range. Mile three comes in at 19:12, which gives me a 6:26 pace and all seems to be well. We head out of the neighborhood back towards Mt Trashmore that takes us behind the mount and around the surrounding lake and into a strong head wind. As we're leaving the neighborhood, a fast runner I recognize from other races as being in my age group overtakes me. I want to hang with him but it seems like the energy isn't there and I see him stretching his lead with every minute. There are others passing me now...kids...they can't be more than 16-18 year olds...they seem to have so much energy and are running effortlessly...oh to be young again. Mile four comes in at 26:16...that's over a 6:30 pace and I can feel I'm losing ground on my quest for sub 40. We are finishing the loop around the lake headed back towards Mt Trashmore and mile five comes in at 33:21 and I try to push faster. We go around Trashmore for the final time and hit the main road that takes us to the finish. Mile six comes in at 40:15 with the finish in view now and I pick up the pace some to try to finish strong and cross the mat in 41:37. Not a sub 40 but sill a 22 second PR from my best 10K. It still was a good day until the awards ceremony. The trophies for the top three AG finishers were turkey topped trophies and I thought I had a good chance of getting one...I had only seen...recognized...one other person in my AG that had passed me but it turns out my AG as well as all the others had a very strong field of fast runners and there were two others that were way up front that I never saw, and I ended up fourth with no Turkey...Oh well...maybe next year. It was a fun race and it was nice to talk with a couple of runners from my work as well as a couple of women from my gym. Then home to a wonderful feast of turkey and all the fix'ins with the family and a birthday party for my granddaugher Kaylee who is 2!

Race Results:

There were 75 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 1256 total finishers.

Overall finish place was 53 of 1256

Age group finish place was 4 of 75

Time: 41:37 for an overall pace of 6:41 per mile

Hope all are having a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

Cape Henry RunFest 10 Miler 17 Nov 07

2007-11-17T18:47:00.000-05:00

Just had to do another race...well, I really didn't have to but why not! After the Richmond marathon, I have remained in training mode...did a mile after some cardio on Monday, 7 miles after cardio on Tuesday and 7.5 miles then a bit of cardio on Thursday. Steve had mentioned that he was doing a 10 miler...The Cape Henry RunFest and Duathlon...this weekend and since I was thinking of doing at least 10 miles as a training run during the weekend, I thought why not...besides, I have never done a 10 mile race and it would be interesting to see how I would do. Everything was still feeling good after Richmond and no real aches or pains to speak of, so Friday evening after work I went down and signed up at packet pickup.

The event is a multi-sport event that takes place mostly in Fort Story which is on the north end of Virginia Beach. The main event was the Duathlon...5K run, 32K bike and 5K run. They also have a 5K walk/run and the 10 miler. The 10 mile course winds through different sections of Fort Story with a couple of good hills...one which we go over twice. I've run most of the course at last years Army/Navy 10K and early this year for a 20K that was part of the Tidewater Striders Distance Series...so I was familiar with the terrain. The number of participants for the 10 miler was only a bit over 200...small but fun.

The weather was initially cold in the morning...in the low 40's...with a 4-5 mph breeze, which later warmed up nicely at the end. I got up around 5:45 with no sense of urgency since the start time for the 10 miler was at 8:30. I showered and ate breakfast and got my stuff ready and left the house around 7:00...thinking I had plenty of time to get there, get my chip, get a potty break in and get to the starting line...besides it's only about 30 minutes away. I get down to the gate entrance into Fort Story and the line of cars trying to get in seemed to be a mile long coming in from two directions and seemed to take forever to get through the gate. The time on my watch is a few minutes after 8:00 by the time I get through and the caravan of cars seemed to crawl through some winding back roads to the parking area. I finally get parked about a quarter mile away and try to walk/run to football field to get my chip. Once I get to the main area, I see Steve and his wife and can only manage a quick hello as I rush to get my chip. I do get my chip and even have time to wait in line at the port-a-lets before heading to the start line and get near the start mat about the second row of runners back.

The horn goes off at 8:30 and we are off. It is a very winding course with many loops and turn arounds. Looking at the course map provided, it was very confusing, but running along the course, there are traffic cones and volunteers stationed at almost every intersection to direct runners which way to go. The first mile comes in at 6:39...a little fast but I was planning on around a 6:45 pace to see if I could handle it. The next mile, I missed pushing my lap button on my watch, takes us up one of the hills, which I notice we will have to come back over near the finish because I also see the 9 mile marker there. The third mile comes in at 20:56 and the fourth shows 27:15. The fourth mile involves going around a block long loop and coming back we are able to see the rest of the pack coming the other direction. We come to mile 5 at 34:06 and mile 6 at 40:59. From miles 2-3 the field of runners have thinned out and by mile 5 I have set my sights on two runners about 100 yards ahead of me and make steady progress towards them. At the second water stop, one of them drops to a walk and I pass him grabbing my cup of Gatorade and the other slows a bit to get some water but still is a few yards ahead. I finally over take him around the 6 mile mark and a short ways later we come to a turn around point and head back. Mile 7 is yet another out and back and comes in at 47:56. By this time I have set my sights on another target a couple of hundred yards ahead and proceed to close the distance slowly. Between mile 7 and 8 we go over another hill and I have closed to about 50 yards and mile 8 comes in at 54:51. On the flats my prey speeds up and I try to maintain our distance. We get near mile 9 and the final hill and I push it a bit because I know we only have about a mile left but so does he. Mile 9 comes in at 1:02 and we head downhill and he seems to be drawing away again. I try to push it to the end and try to kick it in for the final 200 yards as I can see the finish mat...the final 100 yards are through the grass and finally I hit the finish mat and it reads 1:08:30 something and about 15 seconds behind the runner I was chasing. I meet him at the chip removal area and we congratulate each other. Seems he was aware of me but he was trying to set the record for his age group for this race...55-59. I find out he had just turned 55 a couple of months before and he had also set the record for the 50-54 age group with a 1:05...So I was kind a happy that I had been able to keep up with him. When the times are posted later, we find out he missed setting the record by about 10 seconds...he was close. My chip time was 1:08:30 and finished 1st in my age group.

Race results:

There were 10 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 214 total finishers.

Overall finish place was 12 of 214

Age group finish place was 1 of 10

Time: 1:08:30 for an overall pace of 6:51 per mile

I later watched some of the Duathlon participants racing up the road on their bikes, going through their transition and finally finishing their run as they cross the finish line...thinking...I could do that!

What Did I Do Right?

2007-11-16T11:14:00.000-05:00

The analytical person that I am is asking…What did I do this time that I haven’t done before? What was the magical thing I did or not did that allowed me to run the full marathon without so much as a muscle twitch? I didn’t even feel the “wall”…where usually I feel drained and my pace starts to slow. Oh, there were spots in the run that my pace did slow down. The first time was through the first series of hills…miles 10-12, which I was just trying to maintain a steady effort…but the splits were only off by about 15 seconds. Then crossing the Robert E Lee Bridge, going up Main St and Boulevard from miles 14-20 in the head wind…but again only off by 10-15 seconds. And the last 2 miles from 24-26 where I backed off a bit on purpose to make sure the evil cramps didn’t rear their ugly heads. And of course the first mile in 8:28 doesn’t count…but may have contributed to the success. So I looked at different parts of the race to see what made the difference.

The Weather: Was mostly overcast, cold in the 40’s with a good 10-12 mph chilling wind…but Shamrock in March was about the same and I still cramped then around mile 20. I love running in the cold more so than warm…so this was perfect weather as was Shamrock, Frederick and MCM.

The Terrain: It was mostly rolling hills at the beginning with some undulations towards the middle. You would think flat like Shamrock would be better on the legs but maybe the rolling hills let different muscles work…but again, Frederick, in May also was rolling hills and I cramped there around mile 21 and MCM had almost same type of terrain and I started cramping around 17.

The Nutrition/Electrolytes: I always eat well…pasta, breads, potatoes as well as greens and other nutritious foods at least a couple days before a marathon and always hydrate well. The morning of the marathon I eat a good breakfast that includes some type of oats, bananas, bagels and coffee…this time I didn’t get a chance to get my morning coffee and had planned to get some before the race. If I don’t have coffee during the day…I end up with headaches the rest of the day…Okay…I’m an addict! During the marathon I try to make sure to keep hydrated and will take offered water or electrolyte drinks after the first water stop. Last three marathons, I carried gel packs/Bloks, Endurolyte capsules and sometimes sports beans and try to take them regularly…every hour to half hour. I would also eat what is offered on the course…bananas, gels, sports beans, Fig Newtons, pretzels, gummy bears, etc…I’m a good eater before, during and after running. This last race…I carried a package of Clif Bloks, a package of sports beans and Endurolytes in a baggie. I only took the Endurolytes every hr after the first half hr for only two hrs or two doses. I didn’t touch the blocs or the beans but I did take an offered gel at around mile 14 which I carried till just before mile 18 where I washed it down with some water from. I did have the offered cup of Coke at the “Junk Food” stops at 16 and 22…This Coke junkie couldn’t resist…but I did resist the beer from the Hash House Harriers around mile 22…last year I took two cups of offered beer since it was hot that day and I was not setting any time/distance speed records with a finishing time of 5:33.

The Physical/Fitness Level: I had no real nagging injuries for this marathon…well, my left lower leg was still a bit tender from a problem sustained during a August Mud Run but it did well during the MCM and I didn’t notice any leg/foot problems anytime during this race. The Frederick Marathon in May also was injury free with no real problems other than the cramps during or after the race. For this marathon I had just run the MCM two weeks prior, the Fleet Week Half a month prior and RnR Half in early September. My training plan had been interrupted from August to September due to an injured left lower leg…but I set PRs in both the Fleet Week Half and MCM. Training for the Shamrock Marathon was interrupted by shin splint problems from January to middle of February but still managed my first under four hour marathon at 3:55. Before the Frederick Marathon in May, I had just run Shamrock in mid March, the Dismal Swamp Stomp Half in mid April…a PR…and ended up running Frederick two minutes slower than Shamrock even though I thought I was in the best shape that I could be at that time.

The Pace/Speed: I did start the race really slow with the first mile coming in at 8:28 but the pace increased to around 7:45 for the rest of the race with a few fluctuations due to hills or wind. Most races I start off fast…usually in the 6:45-7:20 mpm pace and end up suffering bad when the leg cramps come on later and my pace ends up in the 9-11 mpm. I did experiment in the RnR half by going out slower than normal and trying to maintain a steady pace throughout but ended up slowing down significantly towards the last third of the race…but not because of leg problems or cramps…more through mental fatigue. I ended up with a half that was six minutes slower than my last one. So for the next half I just ran it the way I normally did…relatively fast at the start and even though I had a bit of fade at the end, ended up with a new PR.

The Mental: The other marathons…I was on a mission…Break 3:30…Qualify for Boston. I like to talk to people when I run distance races…it takes my mind off running and the miles seem to go by faster. I usually end up finding someone that’s doing a pace that I want to do and hang with them until either one of us drops off…usually me. This race, the mission was to take it easy, enjoy the race, the scenery and the crowds. I didn’t attempt to hook up with anyone and stayed pretty much to myself, running the pace I wanted to run. There were occasions when I would talk with runners as I came upon them but never for long. There were lots of time to think and reflect…but none affected me negatively…I was always aware of my legs…wondering when they would start cramping…reveling in the fact that they were performing so well. As the miles drew to a close…my mental psyche started to soar…which had never happened before.

The Things that were Different: I’m just drawing straws here but…I didn’t get a chance to have my morning cup of coffee before the race…which in effect made me want to go to the bathroom less…I only had two potty breaks just before the race where normally I would have the urge to go 5-6 times and then one more during the race. This race, I had the urge to go around mile 7 but held off and pretty soon the urge was gone and I never had to stop during the race to go…which was a first for me. Maybe by not having the caffeine…a diuretic…in other words makes you go…in my system preserved body fluids and electrolytes which may have helped? Since I didn’t need to stop for a potty break, I ran the whole 26.2…Yes, I did slow down at water stops to get my drink down but never stopped or walked. How about the two Cokes I had during the race? The Coke has a bit of caffeine and mostly sugar…would that have helped in any way…I can see myself carrying a small flask of Coke on my next marathon…hey if it works…I will do it!

So in closing…I don’t know what the difference was. Maybe it was just one thing that I mentioned or something that wasn’t obvious….or it was a combination of the above…or a magical formula from a mixture of what was listed. Maybe my legs are now just used to that distance and now I can concentrate on faster paces and the dream of a sub 3:00 marathon. I just hope that the cramping problems don’t come back…Ever!

I can hope.

The Beast is Conquered!

2007-11-11T13:07:00.000-05:00

The Richmond Marathon...Billed as "America's Friendliest" marathon...My very first marathon, which was just last year...A race where I finally knew what running a marathon meant...and failing miserable the first time because of lack of training and being unprepared...I foolishly thought I could conquer anything and 26.2 would be a challenge, but I could do it... even though the furthest I had run before then had only been 13.1... and Richmond last year showed me different. Oh, I finished last year...in a miserable 5:35...of course I walked about a third of the last half. Since then I have completed three other marathons...Shamrock in March for my first under 4 hr marathon, then Frederick in May, still under 4 hrs but barely, then the Marine Corps...just two weeks ago...with a PR of 8 minutes, but...what I still considered a failure, because I didn't meet my goals and felt I hadn't run a race that I am fully capable of running...mostly because of muscle cramps during the later stages of the race. In each of the previous marathons, I was stopped short of my goals because of these painful, unwelcome cramps. Cramps that stopped me in my tracks and took time to stop, stretch, massage and start slowly up again only to cramp again after a few more miles. At MCM...around mile 18...I was so disappointed and tired with the cramping that I swore I would never run a marathon again...I would stick to half marathons where I knew I could do well and improve, but of course crossing the finish line...I knew there was another marathon out there just calling my name and my running buddy Jon reminded me of it...and I answered. So...I kept my training going as if MCM was just a long hard training run.

The Richmond marathon takes place...of course...in the city of Richmond...the capital of Virginia! A city of tall buildings, narrow streets, quaint old houses as well as majestic stately homes. A city with undulating hills beside the mighty James River. The marathon starts off in downtown Richmond going up Broad St and Monument Ave, crossing the James River on the west end of the city by way of the Huguenot Bridge. Then we go down and run along the James River while climbing and descending a couple of hills before crossing the James River again over the long Robert E. Lee Bridge going back into the city. We race west on Main street and then north on Boulevard looping back towards the heart of the city, making twists and turns on the city streets until we race to a down hill finish on Cary St. A mostly spectacular view of the city and the James River in the fall with brightly changing autumn leaves.

Jon and I decide to drive together early Saturday morning, since we still had to pick our race packets up before the race, so I got my stuff together the night before. When the alarm went off at 3:45 I was up, got a quick shower ate breakfast and was just finished getting my stuff together when Jon arrived at 4:30. We drove up in drizzling rain that turned into a downpour when we were only 20-30 miles away...not a welcome sight. I had checked the weather radar before we left and it did show heavy rain over the city of Richmond and nothing behind it and I was sure by the time we reached the city it would be gone. As we neared the city, the rain did stop and we got parked near the Omni where the packet pickup was...also near the finish line. We got our packet and went back to the car to put our bib and chip on and final preparations for the race.

We finally headed to the starting line, in the cold and wind, which was about half a mile away. I made my final pit stop in the port-a-lets near the start line...I only made two bathroom breaks instead of the usual 5 or 6...one while we were in the Omni and this one...of course I had forgotten my morning cup of coffee...so that might be the reason. We get into the coral that Jon had registered for and waited for the starting gun.

My race plan was to take this marathon slow and easy since we had just run the MCM two weeks prior. This was just to be a fun race! We started off slow enough...the gun goes off...well, where we were near the middle we didn't hear anything...just the people in front of us started walking towards the start line. About three minutes later we finally get to the start line and start jogging...I start my watch and we are off. Up Broad St we go and I mean up, since in is a slight incline for the next four miles. By the first mile marker I punch my lap button and notice that it is almost 8:30...nice easy pace and still very crowded...but I feel warmed up and ready to cruise. Jon had decided to run even slower...at about a 9 minute mile pace and was by now a ways back. I gradually start increasing my pace until mile marker 2 shows I'm at a little over 16 minutes, which feels really comfortable...in the back of my mind I keep telling myself...slow and easy. We make a turn south to Boulevard and then go west again on Monument. Mile 3 comes in at a little under 24 min which tells me that I'm right around a nice 8 mpm pace and it feels really good...and decide to keep this pace...but later looking at my lap times, I noticed that my pace was actually around the 7:45 or better pace. After the 6 mile mark, I'm looking for the timing mats...usually at the 10K mark...but I don't see any. Around mile 7 we start going over the bridge that takes us over the James River to the other side of the city. The roads are still wet from the morning rains and some parts of the bridge are really slippery. About the time I'm saying to myself to be really careful of my stride, I hear this thudding sound behind me. Looking back, I see a runner that has slipped and came tumbling down on the roadway...I see he is getting backup and running again but I'm sure he would be really sore for the rest of the race. Mile 10 brings us to one of the hills on this side of the course and I am still cruising and then mile 11 brings another hill, back down a bit and then it seemed like a steady climb from 12-15. By the halfway point the clock at the timing mats said 1:44 something. I'm still feeling really good and the first visions of a 3:30-3:35 finishing mark fills my head...but I'm not all that optimistic because I know that I will be cramping around mile 20-21...so I try to relax and just enjoy the run. We reach the long Lee bridge taking us back to the city and the wind is pretty strong...but I don't care...because last year this time I was cramping and hobbling/walking across this bridge...and now I'm cruising. We enter the city again and mile 17-18 takes us west on Main St back to Boulevard and north for the next three miles...the most boring part of the race going north out of the main part of the city...except for the pockets of people cheering you on. Let me tell you the people were great. Here it is in the low 40's with probably a 12-15 mph cold wind and they are out there on all parts of the course cheering you on...some offering their own water, bananas, cookies, donuts...they were amazing! Just before mile 20 there is a bridge that goes over I95/64 expressway and it seems quite steep...but I just give it even effort and I'm up and over with the 20 mile timing mat in view in the distance. The clock at the timing mat reads 2:38 and change as I go across. 20 miles down and my legs are still feeling fresh...no sign of muscle twinges or cramps...I am amazed...but I caution myself that there is still the last 10K to go and anything can happen. All along I have been steadily passing runners...just one here and one there. As soon as one is passed, I set my sights on the next and continue on. At this point I notice that a young woman in pink, that I passed just before the Lee bridge, is still with me but staying a few paces behind. After the 20 mile mark we pass this older guy...at least older than I...but this guy apparently doesn't like to be passed and he passes us back at the next water stop when I slow a bit to get a cup and drink. We do this for the next four miles and the girl gets dropped during this time. By mile 24...2.2 miles to go...I know I have a nice PR and BQ in the bag...no cramps and I've been actually picking up speed since the 20 mile mark...mostly because of this old man that I've been playing leap frog with and we have been passing a whole bunch of people. I think to myself that I could actually just walk the rest of the way and still make 3:35 and it would be a shame if one of my wicked cramps came on and stopped me in my tracks...so I slowed a bit. We finally make the final turn onto Cary St with about a third of a mile to go. The street has a steep downhill with it leveling off near the finish. Each step down hill jolts my quads and I thought they were sure to go into spasms...I tried to slow a bit to ease my foot falls and when I reached the flat, I take off. I was pumping my arms up and down to get the crowd to yell louder as we entered the crowd lined finishing chute and they responded. I cross the finish line with the time showing 3:26 and change, with a very big grin on my face...I look down at my watch and it says 3:23 something. Oh Happy Days!

I had conquered the beast...My past demon had turned into a Boston Qualifier! Not a..."Just making it" BQ, but I crushed it by 12 minutes. How ironic that I missed my BQ at MCM by 12 minutes, yet 13 days later I make BQ by 12 minutes, which means a 24 minute PR from MCM.

My splits:
Mile 1 in: 8:28
Mile 2 in: 7:42
Mile 3 in: 7:43
Mile 4 in: 7:35
Mile 5 in: 7:42
Mile 6 in: 7:39
Mile 7 in: 7:24
Mile 8 in: 7:23
Mile 9 in: 7:34
Mile 10 in: 7:40
Mile 11 in: 7:58
Mile 12 in: 7:50
Mile 13 in: 7:36
Half in: 1:41:10 Timing mat total time: 1:44:20
Mile 14 in: 7:24
Mile 15 in: 7:31
Mile 16 in: 7:54
Mile 17 in: 7:56
Mile 18 in: 8:05
Mile 19 in: 7:59
Mile 20 in: 7:56 Timing mat total time: 2:38:14
Mile 21 in: 7:51
Mile 22 in: 7:45
Mile 23 in: 7:36
Mile 24 in: 7:41
Mile 25 in: 8:01
Mile 26 in: 8:00
Mile 0.2 in: 1:28
The finish is in: 3:23:26...First half in: 1:41:10...Second half in: 1:42:16 Almost even halfs! A race where everything seemed to come together nicely...and in my mind...I know I can do better.

Race results:

There were 249 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 3682 total finishers.

Overall finish place was 335 of 3682

Age group finish place was 18 of 249

Time: 3:23:26 for an overall pace of 7:46 per mile

What's my next marathon goal? Well, I know I can increase my pace to 7:30...even a 7:15 could be possible. Am I dreaming? Dreams are made from planning, training and effort.

Boston, Here I Come!

BTW...Here is a photo I found that the Richmond Times got of me on the final turn to Cary St before the finish...their caption says I'm hamming it up but actually I was acknowledging the crowd and trying to get them cheering louder.

Richmond is calling me!

2007-11-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

Well, Jon, my running friend did last night...So...We're definitely running Saturday...Just 13 days after the Marine Corps Marathon. After finishing the MCM we decided that we just had to run it if our legs were feeling good in a few days...Since it was our first marathon...Just a year ago... And this year is also Richmond's 30th anniversary...Which all makes it special too.

I'm a little apprehensive running two marathons two weeks apart but as long as we take it easy we should be fine.

My work outs since the MCM has continued as if the MCM was a long, hard training run and my legs are feeling rather good. Following is the training since the MCM:

Mon: 30 min on the elliptical, 30 min on the lifecycle and 15 min on the treadmill
Tue: 45 min on the elliptical, 45 min on the lifecycle and 12 min on the stairstepper
Wed: 7.25 mile run with middle 6.2 at 7:30 mpm pace and 10 min on the stairstepper
Thur: 30 min on the elliptical, 30 min on the lifecycle
Fri: 7.75 mile run in one hour with warm up and cool down
Sat: Rest
Sun: 11 mile longish run at mainly 8 mpm pace
Mon: 45 min on the elliptical, 45 min on the lifecycle
Tue: 8 mile run at mainly 8 mpm pace
Today will be cardio on the elliptical, lifecycle and stairstepper
Thur will be my last run...probably at least 10K
Fri will rest and Saturday the marathon.

It will be interesting to see how this body will handle it...but...It's going to be fun...It will be fun!

Ms Natalie..You have a great race at Chickamuaga!

Marine Corps Marathon 28 Oct 2007

2007-10-31T17:38:00.000-05:00

The Marine Corps Marathon...One of the fourth largest marathons in the country...The Peoples Marathon...A must do marathon in my books...30,000 signed up…about 24,000 showed up…and less than 21,000 finished. The marathon starts at the Arlington Cemetery, winds through Rosslyn, across the Key Bridge to Georgetown, through Washington DC, looping around Haines Point, back to the Virginia side by crossing the 14th St Bridge, then looping through Crystal City, passing the Arlington Cemetery again, looping back up to Rosslyn and back and finally charging up the hill to finish near the Marine Corps Monument Iwo Jima. Packed with sights and sounds of our nation’s capital and surrounding cities and it was all that it's billed to be.

I've wanted to do this marathon way back when I was still in the Navy…I was a Navy Corpsman for 23 years and served with the Marines (the Marines…a Department of the Navy…use Navy Corpsmen and Navy Medical staff) as a FMF corpsman for the first four years of my career and again with them during Desert Storm. Some don't know that one of the six men raising that flag on Iwo Jima is a Navy Corpsman...'Doc' John Bradley. I first started training for this marathon about six years ago, but a knee injury, while cross training on rollerblades, ended that hope then. With some self-rehab and slow, steady progression in running, I was finally running, knee pain free for the last couple of years. I picked up a registration form from the Shamrock Marathon in March to ensure that I would be registered. I mailed in my registration in April and in June got my confirmation email stating that I was registered in the MCM...Oh Happy Days! The last week of June started my MCM training cycle which was filled with ups and downs all coming down to this day...Sunday 28 October 2007...the 32nd Annual Marine Corps Marathon.

I booked a room in Alexandria...about six miles from the start of the marathon...in June after receiving my confirmation. My wife and family were not making the trip so I shared my room with another runner, Brian. I drove up to the Expo Saturday morning with rain coming down in buckets, but half way there, the rain stops and the sun comes out. I went to the Expo first, which is in the Armory in DC, and got my race packet and shirt and then wander through the vendors picking up free things...sports beans, couple of different flavors of Clif Bloks...the one I was interested in was the Margarita flavor because it has extra sodium because I cramp a lot in long runs and I need all the help I can get...and it was free...plus there were other free stuff and samples. Then I drove around the starting area trying to find places to park for the next day and checking out Metro stops and parking areas next to them...I wanted to have a plan to get to the race the next day. I got back to the hotel at 3:00 in time to meet Brian for check in and we are told our room isn't ready for another 20-30 minutes. He gives us both complimentary parking because of the wait...Yeah, it was normally $10 per day for parking...amazing...having to pay to park at the hotel that your staying! We also find out that the hotel is providing transportation to the Pentagon...where the start is...and back from Pentagon City Metro when we are done. We finally get our rooms and Brian has to still go to the Expo and I have a dinner get together (FE) with a bunch of runners from the Runner's World forum. I have printed Google maps with directions and head out to find the place. I make two wrong turns, the first one which takes forever to find a place to turn back around and the second takes me to a traffic backup near the Kennedy Center with the river on the left and no exits to the right. I call and tell them I'm stuck in traffic and not to wait for me...45 minutes later I tell them there is no way I can get there before it's even over. Finally I get out of the traffic jam and go back near the hotel to find something to eat, get back to the hotel around eight and start preparing for the next days run.

Sunday dawns...well it was actually still dark at 4:45 in the morning when two alarms and the phone wake-up service wakes us up...we wanted to make sure we got up in time. The temperature forecasted for the day is in the low 50's in the morning with it warming to the low 60's for the high, with a bit of wind 10-12 mph in the morning building to about 15 mph around noon. It's not going to be hot and it's not going to be raining...what more could we ask for?

We get showered and dressed and go down to catch the van. We were told the service would start around 6:00 but we find out they have already been running since 5:00, but no big deal...the race doesn't start till around 8:00. We jam into the next van and which takes us the Pentagon City Metro and are told we should take the Metro to the Pentagon but we convince the driver to just drive us to the Pentagon and he lets us off there. We get out and join a long line of people walking around the south side of the Pentagon to the east and then north. It seemed like ages before we get to the staging area with tents, UPS trucks for our gear drop off and of course the all important port-a-lets...hundreds of them...so while we were there, there were no long lines. We explore to find the starting area and finally after asking directions find it. Both sides of a four lane road next to the Arlington Cemetery are roped off into corrals according to expected finish times. We go back to the UPS trucks and dump off our warm jackets and hoodies...it was cold with the wind and low temps...and then head back to the starting corrals. Brian wants to run with the 3:40 corral and I want to run with the 3:30 corral so we get in the middle so we can start together. It's about 7:40 now and we decide we need to make a pit stop so we walk back about a hundred yards to some port-a-lets, do our thing and get back to the corral. The wheel chair's go off about 7:45 and I get the urge to go again so I climb down to the trees on the right where a whole bunch of other men are 'watering' the trees and bushes. I get back in the corral and at about 7:55 I feel the urge again and go back to the trees. I get back in the corral just as the ropes separating the corrals are being released and everyone surges forward crowding together.

The starting gun goes off...well, I don't even remember if there was a gun or horn, but the runners start walking forward towards the start line. Near the start line we start to trot and then stop again, then start walking and then trot again. We finally get to the start line in a trot and I start my watch as we cross the beeping starting mats and we're off...still jogging, dodging, slowing down, speeding up...but we're on our way. Brian and I stay together for about the first half mile and I tell him that he will probably catch me later if I should cramp up. I then steadily make my way to the 3:30 pace group...I can see the balloons in the distance about 200 yards away and by the first mile, I had caught up to them. The first mile stripe, I hit the pace button on my watch and it says 9:19...and I am puzzled that it is soo slow, even with the slow pace at the start line, and everyone else is too...we think it was a long mile. About the one mile mark we even passed a woman doing it on crutches and we give her encouragements as we pass her. I see the balloons for the 3:20 pace group...which is the one that I really want to be with and I steadily made my way over a period of about 3 miles to them. The first 8 miles had two hills that even challenged a few of the wheelchair/hand bike participants as we passed a few who were struggling. At the 10 mile mark we pass the road that goes between the Kennedy Center and the Potomac River…the same place I was stuck in traffic for 45 minutes the night before…imagine that…I’m running faster than I was driving the night before. We loop through the Washington Mall area with the Washington Monument and all the other monuments, historic buildings and the Capital building. I pass the 13.1 timing mat in 1:37:38…faster than my Rock n Roll half time just two months ago, but still at the pace that I wanted to be and still feeling good…but I had to go…even with all those pre-start pit stops…I needed another and bad. I had been searching for a spot looping around the mall area but didn’t really want to stop and water a tree with our Nation’s Capital in full view. I finally see two port-a-lets just before the 14 mile mark and wait about a minute till one is vacated. It seemed like every thing slowed down at that point…I couldn’t find my pace…the stop seemed to have messed me up. By this time we are entering Haines Point and I feel my lower legs telling me that they are not happy…I try to alter/slow my pace so they won’t cramp, but after making the turn at the far end of Haines Point, the calves start cramping bad. I stop to massage and stretch and continue on for about a quarter of a mile and cramp up again. I have to stop to massage and stretch about four more times coming out of Haines Point and I am asking myself why I am doing this…I swear that this is the last marathon I do…I can’t stand cramping every time and that I am just going to stick to half marathons and shorter races…No.More.Marathons…then I hear the roaring crowds where the road circles around to get on the 14th street bridge. The crowd makes me want to get my pace up and I do a bit but when I am almost to the top of the ramp to the bridge, my legs cramp again. I do my stop to massage and stretch the cramps out about three more times on the bridge. At about the 20 mile mark my roommate Brian catches up to me and he is having ITBS problems too. We run together until one of us has to stop to massage/stretch and then catch up to each other as the other has to stop. We finally get off the bridge and again into a roaring mass of crowds lining the road looping Crystal City. We can also see all the runners coming back from the Crystal City loop on the other side and the line of runners seem to stretch out into the distance…with no end in sight. We finally make the turn around at the 22 mile timing mat and head through the cheering crowds out of Crystal City. Exiting Crystal City I am having my doubts and self pities again and plan to just jog it in…heck I’m barely running as it is! Just then Jon yells Charlie and tries to give me a bear hug as were running. Let me tell you about Jon. We ran our first marathon last year…Richmond…I was trying to find a person to drive with to Richmond for the marathon because I didn’t know if I could drive back after. We drove up together ran the marathon…well, he ran and I had to walked most of the last half…I was ill prepared to run a marathon and it was really hot that day…and of course I had cramping problems. We have been marathon running buds since. We ran Shamrock and when I ran Frederick, he was having leg problems but was up there as a volunteer with Kale Running. He had told me he was doubtful for MCM and I didn’t know he had even registered. Now here he was full of joy and enthusiasm…just what I needed. I found new energy running with Jon and Brian was still with us and the pace quickened a bit. Even Jon was having leg problems so now here the three of us are each with their own problems, each stopping now and then to massage and stretch and then catching up to the group. We run pass the Pentagon and back to the Arlington Cemetery…where we all had started a little more than three hours ago…it seemed so surreal…the starting corrals were gone, the starting mats and huge air filled red starting gates were gone…but we had been here before. I cracked that we were being force to do the marathon again because we were too slow…it was the Marine way…Do it again! But we knew we only had two more miles to go. We lost sight of Brian during the down hill loop that takes us to the morning start line…the down hill makes his ITBS worse and he has to stop to stretch. Back up to Rosslyn we go and do the final loop and finally head back to the finish. We get to the right hand turn going up hill to the finish and Jon starts yelling as he charges up the hill…THIS AIN’T NOTHING…We make the final right turn and see the finish line and charge to the finish, giving each other a low five across the first set of timing mats and then raising our arms in victory as we cross the finish. A great ending to a great marathon! We get our medals from the Marines and then are herded to the food/beverage line. We want a picture at the Iwo Jima Monument and realize we have to go back the way we came to get there. We are like salmon going up stream as we try to weave through the runners coming the other way through the food line. We finally reach the monument and get our pictures taken and head to Rosslyn…he to find his father in the crowds and me to the UPS truck and to find Brian. I also want to get back to the finish line to see if I can see the finish of some of the people that I was hoping to see around the 4:30 mark and get there just as the announcer is saying the 4:30 runners are coming through…I don’t see them and wait another five minutes or so and still don’t’ see them and think I must have missed them. I go back to the UPS trucks to get my stuff and see if Brian is there but I miss him too and with all the runners and crowds, it’s hard to meet up with anyone. Later I found out that Brian was only about 20 seconds behind us when we finished. I make my way to the Rosslyn Metro and find it crowded with people trying to get back down to the Pentagon area or Crystal City. It takes more than 45 minutes to get through the pass gates and to the escalators. We get to the escalators that take you down to the tracks…looking down it looked steep and seemed to go down into the bowels of the earth. We get on the escalators and had just started down when it lurches to a stop. The up escalators are still running but ours…the down escalator was stopped dead. We had to walk down the steps…when you have just completed 26.2 and your legs are cramping, the last thing you want to do is go Down some steps…especially down a lot of steps. We make it down but find we still need to get to the lower level of the tracks to get to our ‘Blue” line to take us to the Pentagon City Metro stop. So down we go again.

My watch splits and timing mat splits are as follows:
Mile 1 in at 9:19...I think was a long mile
Mile 2 I don't see the mile marker
Mile 3 in at 22:37
Mile 4 in at 29:15
Mile 5 in at 36:43…Timing mat time was 37:15
Mile 6 in at 44:25
Mile 7 in at 51:34
Mile 8 in at 58:55
Mile 9 in at 1:06:26
Mile 10 in at 1:13:50…Timing mat time was 1:14:22
Mile 11 in at 1:21:31
Mile 12 in at 1:28:53
Mile 13 in at 1:36:46
The Half in at 1:37:38…Timing mat time was 1:37:50
Mile 14 in at 1:46:36...I had to take a pit stop
Mile 15 in at 1:54:49…Timing mat time was 1:55:22
Mile 16 in at 2:03:22
Mile 17 in at 2:12:15
Mile 18 in at2:23:18…Timing mat time was 2:23:51
Mile 19 in at 2:35:02
Mile 20 in at 2:45:41
And then something went wrong with my watch and I have no other splits from my watch but the 22 mile timing mat was 3:07:10
The finish is in 3:47:28.

I think the discrepancy between the timing mat splits and my watch splits was the difference from gun time to actual chip time...the mat times seemed to be gun times...except for mile 18…and I think it was here that the Marine that was calling out the time said the time on the clock was wrong. But anyway...overall pace was a disappointing 8:40 per mile. But the finish although 12 minutes short of a BQ was a new 8 minute PR from my best of 3:55 at Shamrock...so...something to be pleased about.

Race results:

There were 1147 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 20631 total finishers.

Overall finish place was 2837 of 20631

Age group finish place was 120 of 1147

Time: 3:47:28 for an overall pace of 8:40 per mile

Next stop...Richmond? or OBX?

Fleet Week Half Marathon 14 Oct 2007

2007-10-15T07:45:00.000-05:00

Haven't had any new posts since my last half marathon...haven't really had anything to post about but Sunday I ran the Fleet Week Half Marathon. This race is a significant mile stone in my running because it was the first race that I had ever entered...which was only one year ago...besides my MCM training schedule had me running 13 miles at marathon pace, and what a better way to run at marathon pace than a race with hundreds of other runners and people to cheer you on. Last year I ran this race in 1:45:58, 5th in my age group, 132nd overall with a pace of 8:05 minute miles...not bad for a first race ever being a half marathon. My best half marathon since then was a 1:32:26 in April's Dismal Swamp Stomp Half. My last half marathon was the Rock n Roll Half just completed six weeks ago in a disappointing 1:38:27...but it was on a bad leg. So my goal for this half I wanted at least something between the 1:32 and 1:38 and with a secret...wishing, if all goes extremely well...1:30 or better...which I knew wasn't likely because my training hasn't been what it should have been the last couple of months.

The race takes place at the Naval and Air Base here in Norfolk. The race course is a large loop consisting of running through the air base, down and back to Breezy Point...a recreational area, by the helo pads, by the base marina, by the monuments to the USS Cole and USS Iowa, along the piers with the massive carriers, cruisers, destroyers and other ships and finally back to the start finish. Quite a tour of the base. It even went by the building where I work on Morris Street! There was also a "Spirit on the Course" competition where different commands come to cheer on the runners and the top three winners would win cash prizes for their Moral and Welfare Recreational committees...these are people who organize fun things for the command to do...like picnics, dinners and other fun events for the whole family. Well, SPAWAR...which is the command I work for, decided to enter competition to win some funds and of course have fun cheering the runners on.

The temperatures were forecast to be in the mid 50's at the start (8:05) with it going up to around 65 by (10:00), sunny with a bit of a cool breeze from the northwest. A perfect day for a race in my books. I get up at 5:00 and do my normal routine...had everything laid out the night before like normal. The thing I was still contemplating was what shoes to wear...my red Kayanos where the right shoe was rubbing just under my right ankle or my blue Kayanos where the left shoe was rubbing my left ankle...or do I wear my new NB 767 that only had 3 miles on them. Then I had this strange notion to wear the blue one on my right foot and the red on my left...but...in the end I went with the red Kayanos with a sports Band-Aid on my right ankle to protect it. I head to the Naval base around 6:30 and arrive at the gates to the base around 7:00 in a slow stream of traffic of cars trying to get in and parked. I get parked and get my chip and start my warm-ups by walking/running around a track where the event is setup. Last year there were about 600 runners and this year they expect over a thousand. Also last year there were a few Kenyans but this year I didn't see any...even though there was cash prizes but only for 1st and 2nd. I hit the port a potties a couple of times and the last time I have this rumble in my lower abdomen and feel the urge to go and it's almost diarrhea...so I am a bit concerned...so I go scout out where all the port a lets are located along the course map in case I need to use them...and there seems to be plenty of them...and fortunately, I didn't have any problems during the race. I head to the start line and find the 1:30 pace group and get behind them and complete my stretches before the National Anthem is sung and the gun goes off at 8:05 starting the race and I start my watch as I cross the start line. I fall in behind the pace group going through the first half mile and then head to the front and past...the first mile comes in at 6:28...not bad and feeling really good...but that's normal for me to start fast...and I'm going to do what feels good to me...even though I probably will fade at the end...we'll see how it goes but i reign myself in a bit and the second mile comes in at 6:55, and that is where I find my SPAWAR cheer leaders cheering me on. Mile three comes in at 6:50 and the first water stop...I am disappointed that they are using plastic cups and not paper cups, but I grab a water and try to squeeze the plastic cup down so I can drink without it going all over me...it doesn't work...I get half of it down my shirt. On the way to the turn around point at the Breezy Park, I get to see the leaders coming back and upon my turn around I get to see the runners going by behind me and also size up my competition to see where they are...most seem to be quite a way back and I can't remember any being in front...at least the ones I knew were in my age group. I don't remember seeing the four-mile marker and time and so I didn't punch in my lap time on my watch either. About the 4.5 mark I again see my SPAWAR cheerleaders which gives me a boost and mile 5 comes in at 13:46 (miles 4 + 5), which is still at about a 6:53 average for the two miles. Mile 6 comes in at 6:56 and seven in 6:48...these miles I am running with a guy who is running at my pace but he is going through the water stops really fast and I have to expends some energy trying to catch up...I think I was having problems with the plastic cups and had to slow a bit to squeeze them down so I could get a decent drink. So even though it is nice to pace with someone going your pace, at the next water stop, I let him go rather than try to catch up to him. And it showed on my next time at mile 8, I dropped down to 7:18, picked it up at mile 9 to 7:09, dropped down to 7:23 at mile 10...and they finally had paper cups instead of plastic one... 7:27 at mile 11, 7:29 at mile 12, picked it up some for mile 13 at 7:13. I try to sprint to the finish and as usual...I forget to punch the lap time at the finish, but I see the race clock at 1:32: something and feel satisfied. No 1:30 but the 1:32 did feel good. My final official time was 1:32:24...a whole 2 seconds faster than my best at the Dismal Swamp Half...so a PR!

The last half where I had come in at 1:32, I came in first in my age group and I don't remember being passed by any "old guys", so I waited around for the posting of the race times...anticipating a first in AG...but not to be. A guy from Albuquerque, NM came in before me...and...I think it was the same guy that took my 1st place AG in a 10K I ran in the spring! Why can't he stay in Albuquerque? Turns out I meet the guy at the score sheet. He was up at the score sheet at the time I was looking for my name and it said I came in 3rd and the guy for Albuquerque had come in 2nd but we couldn't see a name or time for the guy who came in 1st...There wasn't any! WTF...I mean Hay? I told him it must be a recording error and that he was sure to be first and I was second. Then talking with him, he said he had flown in the day before to race...I jokingly told him next time stay at home so I could win. Next time he comes back I will be waiting for him...yes, I want him to come back...He came in at 1:27, and I have a way to go, but it will be nice to run with him next time. So we wait around for the awards he with his family and me with my SPAWAR cheerleaders and wait for the announcements. He does get 1st in AG and I come in 2nd...we get our awards and get our pictures taken and congratulate each other. My SPAWAR cheerleaders take second prize for the Spirit on the Course...they should have taken first but a group in cheerleader outfits took first.

In all a good race...my leg was still sore at the beginning of the race but wasn't too bad at the end. This morning there are some aches but nothing way out of the ordinary. So hopefully I will be able to give my best for the next two weeks training and the Marine Corps Marathon on the 28th.

Race Results:

There were 42 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 880 total finishers.

Overall finish place was 52 of 880

Age group finish place was 2 of 42

Time: 1:32:24 for an overall pace of 7:03 per mile

First 5 mile split was 34:01 for a pace of 6:48/mile

Second 5 mile split was 35:34 for a pace of 7:07/mile

Last 5K split was 22:48 for a pace of 7:21/mile

A typical race for me...start off fast and fade at the end...but I did take 6 minutes off from my last race (RnR Half) by running it this way...I need to find a solution to end the last half stronger. When I tried to start off slow at the RnR half, I just ended up going slower still at the end.

Two more weeks of training and on to the MCM!

The Rock n Roll Half Marathon 02 Sep 07

2007-09-11T18:31:00.000-05:00

The Rock n Roll Half Marathon takes place in the beach area of Virginia Beach...starting at the Convention center on 19th St, turning down Pacific Avenue, over the Rudee Inlet Bridge, down General Booth Blvd, turning back at Oceana Ave, by winding through Camp Pendleton, back over the bridge, up Atlantic Ave with the final 2+ mile leg down the boardwalk. Last year...I heard...it was really hot and humid but this year promised to be sunny but cooler.

I got up at 4:00 to a crisp cool autumn-like Sunday morning...I swear I could see my breath when I let the dog out. Weather was in the mid to high 60's and projected to be not more than about 74F at my finish time...8:30-9:00...with the temps not reaching more than low 80's into the afternoon...almost a perfect day for a race. I was concerned about parking down near the race...there was to be no parking at the Convention center...where the race starts... and with 20,000 runners expected plus family and friends, parking was expected to be scarce. The race organizers were encouraging people to park at the Amphitheater...a good 20 minutes away...and utilize buses that would take people to and from the race. I didn't want to be reliant on bus transportation to get me to the race on time or to wait for buses to start running 2-3 hours after the race. So I decided to get up earlier and beat the crowd to the limited parking at the oceanfront. I was out of the house by 5:00, even going through my normal routine of a shower, coffee and breakfast and my morning constitutional. There were no problems driving to the race area except getting closer to the beach the traffic did pick up a bit. The first parking lot I pulled into, where I saw a lot of cars pulling in, was a private lot and they wanted to charge me $20 to park to which I laughed at the guy and pulled back out. There was an adjacent municipal parking lot on the corner of 19th and Pacific where I found a more reasonable $7 charge...and it was about equal distance from the start and finish line. I walked/jogged almost a mile to the starting area which gave me a chance to warm-up/test out my left lower leg problem that I had sustained during the Mud Run about three weeks earlier. It was healing but the pain was still there especially at the beginning of a run. I had taken three extra strength Tylenol at breakfast to help take most of the discomfort away even though I don't like the idea of taking meds on race day.

The race starts at 7:00 so I had plenty of time to stretch and do another warm-up jog as well as eat part of a bagel, half a banana and sip some water. Made a couple of visits to the port-a-lets but when I got to my starting corral 15 minutes prior to the start, I felt the urge to go again...but I suppressed the urge thinking that I could certainly make it through the hour and half to the finish. The race is corral started with each corral waiting 1-1.5 minutes after the corral ahead starts...there are at least 24 corrals. They start the wheel chairs first, then the elite women about 15 minutes prior to the main start. They start the elite men as well as corral 1 at 7:00...I'm in corral 2 and we move up to the start line and wait almost a minute and a half before we are let loose. Since I am very bad at pacing myself I had hoped to go with a pace group but this race didn't have a 1:30 pace group...the fastest one was 1:45...I wanted to try starting off slow this race, around 7:00 minute miles...most races...well all the prior races without a pace group...I start off like a jackrabbit with a pace anywhere from 6:15 -6:30 minute miles. This course was very well marked with visible mile markers with electronic timers at each mile, 5K, 10K, 15K and 20K as well as timing mats at 5K, 10K, 10 mile and 11 miles. The first mile surprisingly was very near my expected pace of just under 7:00. Even at the 7:00 mpm pace, we caught up to the tail end of corral 1 before we make the turn onto Pacific Ave which is a bit before the 1 mile mark. The next 5 miles are also at the same pace. The second mile we went over the bridge and onto a mostly shaded General Booth Blvd for the next 2 miles. Running through Camp Pendleton from miles 6-7, we caught a nice cool crosswind, which felt good. Then back over the bridge for mile 8 where we could see runners from the later corrals still going the opposite way. There was a bit of a headwind going up Atlantic Ave miles 8-11 and I felt my pace slowing quite a bit, then we turned onto the boardwalk for what seemed the longest two plus miles I had ever run. It seemed long because you could see the finish banner/towers in the distance and they didn't seem to get any closer. I finally crossed the finish line in 1:39:46/7...chip time: 1:38:27.

The Not so Good:
I was unable to maintain my PMP of 7:20...ended up with a 7:31 pace
My leg...I had left leg tenderness up to about mile 3 than just a dull ache until we reached the boardwalk where the pain became more apparent. After the finish, I was limping pretty bad due to the discomfort. The morning after the race, I could barely walk on it but with Motrin, ice and rest it was feeling well enought to move around some later in the day...thank goodness Monday was a holiday. I'm hoping it's just a shin splint and not a stress fracture.

The Good:
A great event...had fun.
The crowds and bands were great, the cheerleaders and volunteers were awesome and this seemed to be a very well organized race for the large amount of runners.
And the weather...you couldn't have asked for better for that time of the year.

Some of the sights seen during/at the end of the race:
- 1 of 3 running Elvis seen.
- Sponge Bob seen with cheerleaders singing Sponge Bob Square pants song.
- Runner juggling 4-5 bean bags while running.
- Geico Cavemen...about four of them running together
- The amazing Team Hoyt...a person was also handing out iced wet Hoyt towels between miles 4-5...a very welcome relief.

Race timing mat splits:
5K: 21:42
10K: 44:34
10Mi: 1:13:23
11Mi: 1:21:32
13.1: 1:38:27

Race Results:
There were 580 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 17013 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 736 of 17013
Age group finish place was 22 of 580
Time: 1:38:27 for an overall pace of 7:31 per mile

Rock n Roll Half this Weekend at the Beach

2007-08-31T07:53:00.000-05:00

Everyone will be Rock'n Roll'n at the beach this weekend...It's the
Rock n Roll Half Marathon weekend at the Beach...Virginia Beach that is! Great weather is predicted and fun party time for all on a Labor Day weekend...the last big weekend before most schools start!

This will be my first RnR half but my third half marathon. Last year about this time I was watching the events, wishing I was running...which prompted me to get it in gear and start training for racing. Up to that point I would run occasionally, sporadically, never more than 6 miles and had never entered into a race. Well, I had run a 10K way back in the 80's for my ship's team...can't even remember what my time was. My first race...last year...was a half...the Fleet Week Half ...I was ambitious...very ambitious. I thought I was still young and could do a half by jumping into training for about a six weeks doing five mile runs with a long run of only 7.5 miles and with a goal of 1:45...secret goal of 1:30. I did finish in 1:45:58 or there abouts so technically I did get my first goal but I cramped miserably at the 12 mile mark and limped to the finish but with some satisfaction of finishing.

What's my goal this time...I'm not telling...well you know I'm trying to break 1:30. My last half was the Dismal Swamp Stomp back in mid-April with a time of 1:32 and change and I think I can better that time...we shall see. I seem to be in the second corral and had hoped to be in the first...I thought I had put 1:30 as my expected finish way back in May when I registered. Packet pick-up starts today and I will check to see if I can move up...If not my bib number is: 2250.

Oh...Today I am 52!

Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone!

How did this happen!

2007-08-16T08:55:00.000-05:00

Well...it appears I may have injured my left leg during the ASYMCA Mud Run 8K on Saturday. I can’t figure out where the injury occurred but it was probably at one of the many obstacles during the run. My left lower leg was hurting after getting home and after the nap. Also had problems walking down the stairs but once it was warmed up/stretched, walking on it was only a bit of uncomfortable. I gave it plenty of rest on Sunday and delayed my Week 5 Key workout #3, which is an 18 mile run, till Monday.

Monday: I stretched real well and warmed up slowly by briskly walking for about five minutes and then started my run. The run calls for a long run of 18 miles at PMP + 45-60 seconds per mile. I started the TM at 7 mph for the first mile and then increased to 7.5 mph. The first three miles were quite painful…pain that I hadn't felt since my big bout of shin splints back in January, but I was determined to finish the 18 miles so I slowed the pace back down to 7 mph. After about five miles the pain was a dull ache and I completed the 18 miles, kicking it in the last three miles and finishing in 2:24 and change. I finished with 10 minutes on the stairstepper for 52 floors to help stretch out the calves and went home and swam in the pool for about 30 minutes.

Tuesday: My left calf was hurting pretty good when I got up. During the day it hurt a lot to walk after sitting for a spell but once I was walking a bit, the pain would ease up a bit. I did my 40 minutes of abs and weight workout and then decided to go ahead and do my cross training. Started with 30 minutes on the elliptical set at Random, Level 10 good for 3.4 miles. Then 45 minutes on the lifecycle set at Random, Level 10 good for 12 miles. Finished with 10 minutes on the stairstepper good for 52 floors. Went home and swam 24 laps.

Wednesday: Calf was still quite painful so decided to skip my Week 6 Key Workout #1 which is a speed interval workout. There was no way I was going to be able to complete even one set and didn't want to cause further injury...I want to give my calf a chance to heal so instead I did cross training again. 60 minutes on the elliptical set at Random, Level 12 good for 7 miles. Then 60 minutes on the lifecycle set at Random, Level 12 good for 17.4 miles. Finished with 10 minutes on the stairstepper set at Random, Level 12 good for 53 floors.

Today my left calf is still hurting so I will stick to cross training until the pain goes away...I don't know how long that will be but I know I need to let it heal before it gets worse…hopefully not more than a week.

Here are some pictures from the ASYMCA Mud Run:

The Stampede start on the beach...boxed in by some big dudes...makes you want to hum the tune from "Chariots of Fire"...Can you find Waldo?...I'm the grey haired guy:
Start

The Water crossing:
Water Crossing

The Hay bales...some went flying...no, not me...no pictures of me playing in the hay.
Hay Bales

Up and over one of the many berms:
Berm

Through the muddy waters:
Mud

Finally...the Finish:
Finish

ASYMCA Mud Run 8K 11 Aug 2007

2007-08-11T17:02:00.000-05:00

Instead of doing my Week 5 Key Workout #2, I did an 8K race...The ASYMCA Mud Run 8K

Thursday: Was suppose to be a cross training day but couldn't work out so it was a rest day.

Friday: Cross trained instead of the Key Workout #2. I figured I would substitute the race on Saturday for my key workout. First I did 40 minutes of abs and weights. Then 30 minutes on the elliptical set at Random, Level 12 good for 3.4 miles. And finished with 30 minutes on the lifecycle set at Random, Level 12 good for 8.2 miles.

Saturday: Ran the 8K Mud run.

This run takes place on the Naval Amphibious base in Norfolk off of the Chesapeake Bay. The mud run consisted of an obstacle type course with a combination of running on the sand, running over sand berms, over hay bales, through a stream, a couple of low crawls, going over a wall and of course running through muddy water. I thought it would be interesting and a break from the usual road course type races. We couldn't have ordered a better day...weather-wise...than what we got for the middle of summer...especially after two weeks of very hot and humid days and nights. It was probably in the 70s at start time with a nice breeze off the ocean and cloud cover most of the time.

The night before...I like to lay out my running stuff and pin my bib on my shirt so there won't be things that I forget on race day...I had a problem with deciding what to wear because I knew I was going to get wet, sandy and muddy. I decided on a pair of NB 856 shoes that were tight fitting and would drain the water out well. I figured with the tight fit, less sand and water would get in. I didn't get a restful sleep that night...not because nerves or getting to bed late...but because of our fire alarm system starting to beep around 2 a.m. It will beep if the backup batteries are low or if they are dirty. I tried to go back to sleep but it kept beeping about every 30 minutes. I was just going to leave it till I got home from the race to change the batteries but my wife...bless her thoughtful soul...tried to find which of the 8 alarms was beeping and finally changed three of them before the beeping one was found...my wife is sooo good to me for doing that so I could get some sleep. I just get off to sleep and the alarm clock goes off telling me it's time to get up. I shower and eat breakfast and drive to the base getting there about an hour before the 8:00 start time. They had us park in a area about half a mile away because they were expecting quite a turnout for this race...I think there were over 2000 runners, but no problems, there was plenty of time before the race and it was good to warm up a bit. I get my timing chip, make a visit to the port-a-lets and warm up by running and exploring the final finish stretch which is mostly asphalt covered by sand.

The start of the race was in the sand on the beach at the water line and goes down the beach for a little over a mile in the sand...and we started off in waves. The first wave was just men up to the age of 39, the second wave...which is my wave... for us older guys and some of the teams, a third wave for other teams and women and a fourth wave...I think for some of the military teams...can't remember it all but I was in the second wave. Each wave starts five minutes after the wave before it. So the first wave gets off at 8:00 and five minutes later our wave gets started. I find myself a couple of rows of runners back from the front of the start line and in the middle...which was a big mistake. The horn goes off for our wave and everyone surges forward. I find I have to walk and jog a bit to get around the slower runners in front as more runners surge past on both sides of me...in sand that is very hard to run and maneuver in. The only packed sand was at the water edges where the ocean waves would cover your shoes if you didn't watch out. At first I tried to keep out of the water and on dry sand but progress on the dry sand was very slow and energy sapping. It seemed like I couldn't get out of the crowd of runners that I was in unless I went wide right into the very soft sand or wide left which was in the ocean. After about half a mile the runners started thinning out and I could finally get past a good number of slower runners. A couple of times we actually had to run around obstacles...tree branches, trunks...and into the surf to get around. After about a mile we turned right into the sand dunes going up an incline...sand berms...and finally found firm ground to run on. We weaved through a parking lot and through some trees. The path through the trees was very narrow where passing other slower runners was dangerous due to the thorny brambles along the path grabbing at your ankles and thighs along with dangerously low tree branches that we had to weave and bob around. I was able to make some passes at corners or on rare occasion where the path widened. We came out of the trees into the parking lot again and then into more sand dunes and berms that were created by the course designer where they would heap up the sand into mounds that had to be climbed and crossed. We then had to run through a stream that was almost knee high and about as wide as a one lane street. Then more sand dune running heading back towards where the start/finish area is and up over some hay bales. We finally get back to the blacktopped road for a bit before going up a stretch of a nice hill and coming back down to the blacktop and actual street running for about half a mile. I was able to pick up my pace and passed a whole bunch of runners on the flat, firm wonderful asphalt! But all too soon it was back to running in the sand and going up and down sand berms. After running through some more sand we reach the low crawl obstacle. There is about 10 feet of rope strung out across the sand path and up hill. We exit to more sand...more berms and more hay bales to climb over. We eventually hit the wall...no not the running wall but a barrier type wall where we have to get up and over. Just after the wall we get to the mud pit and run/slosh through about 6-8 meters of mud, sand and water...not bad but it does slow you down a lot. And then of course more sand and berm running on the other side. A final low crawl through some more ropes and more sand running and a final up over a sand berm and we're back on sand covered blacktop heading to the finish line. I sprint as soon as my feet hit solid ground to the finish. My finish time that I saw on the clock was 53 minutes something but after subtracting the 5 minutes for the second wave start, it came out to around 48 minutes...48 minutes for 5 miles! My worst 10K was 3 minutes faster! It was hard to accept that my pace was nearly 10 mpm...I really thought I would have done a lot better. It was hard to pass runners in some spots and was forced to run at their slower pace. The sand was very difficult to run in. I tried different strategies...running in the foot steps, running on the edges...running in the middle...none seemed to be any easier.

That was probably the most exhausting short race that I have ever run. Running through the sand is not easy...especially going up the berms...and saps your energy quickly. The other obstacles were minor bumps in the road and were no problem...although I did see a guy in front of me trip on a hay bale coming down and hit the ground pretty hard...he was okay though...the sand at least cushions your fall.

After crossing the finish line and talking with a few people who I had run with, I headed for the water and food...Pizza...Yes! I must have eaten almost a whole pizza myself. I rinsed off at the water buffalo...a large military water tank on wheels that is towed by a truck...went back for some more pizza and drink and headed home. It was a fun run and I had a blast!

Race results:
There were 21 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 1633 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 98 of 1633
Age group finish place was 2 of 21
Time: 48:17 for an overall pace of 9:42 per mile

I took a nap when I got home...I was that tired!

Week 5 Key Run #1

2007-08-08T18:34:00.000-05:00

Monday: Cross trained. First 30 minutes on the elliptical set at Random, Level 12 good for 3.2 miles. Then 40 minutes on the lifecycle set at Random, Level 10-12 good for 10 miles. Then back to the elliptical for 30 minutes more at the same setting good for 3.3 miles. Finished up with 10 minutes on the stairstepper good for 51 floors. Went home and swam 512 meters.

Tuesday: Cross trained. First 60 minutes on the elliptical set at Random, Level 10 good for 6.7 miles. Then 60 minutes on the lifecycle set at Random, Level 10 good for 15 miles. Finished with 10 minutes on the stairstepper set at Random, Level 12 good for 52 floors.

Wednesday: Week 5 Key Run #1 calls for 10-20 min easy run, then 3 x 1600 meters with 1 minute RI and 10 minute cool-down. My pace for the 1600 meters is 6:05. Started by warming up on the TM at a fast walk for two minutes and then 7 mph for a couple of minutes and moving it up to 7.5 mph for a couple more minutes, then 8 mph and the rest of the warmup at 8.5 mph good for 3 miles in about 25 minutes. Then set the TM to 9.9 mph (which comes to 6:03 mpm) and started the first one mile repeat. Did great to the finish and slowed down to 7 mph for the one minute of RI. Set it back to 9.9 and had to really hang on to finish the mile and then dropped down to 7 mph again...but I took an extra minute to get ready for the final mile. I was so beat I started at 8 mph and took it up gradually by 0.5 mph every 30 seconds to 10 mph and finished the set. Dropped down to 7 mph for about 3 minutes then set it at 8 mph for the rest of the hour. Came out to 8.1 miles total. I'm beginning to not like speed work...it's really hard for me to do. I finished with the 10 minutes on the stairstepper good for 52 floors, went home and swam 536 meters in the pool.

Overall a very good workout, but I haven't been able to complete these speed workouts without some cheating. There is no way I could have done anything close to what I did if I had to have done it outside. It hit 102F with a heat index of around 117F. Even now at 8:00 pm it's still 97F with a heat index of 109F...Hot...Hot...Hot!

Week 4 Key Run #3

2007-08-05T19:12:00.000-05:00

Saturday: 40 minutes of abs and weights, then did 10 laps in the pool after mowing the lawn. Tried to rest for Sunday's 20 mile run but it was hot and humid while mowing the lawn and I felt really drained after mowing but refreshed after the swim.

Sunday: Key run #3 calls for 20 miles at PMP (7:20) + 45-60 which comes out to a 8:05-8:20 per mile pace. I was debating whether I wanted to run it at a faster pace since most of my paces for long runs in the past have been in the 7:-7:30 pace but again I decided that I need to follow the plan as closely as possible and see how it comes out for this first of five 20 milers. I didn't do any other cardio this time prior to the run but started by fast walking for the first minute then set the TM to 7.5 mph which comes to 8:00 minutes per mile...yeah 5 seconds faster then what it calls for but...my actual PMP is 7:15-7:17 so it fits! First hour went by and I felt the urge to go faster but I stayed at the prescribed pace. I took a vanilla flavored Powergel after the first hour and some water. I also used Gatorade about every 30 minutes. After the second hour (15 miles down) I took a chocolate GU and some water. I was still feeling good with no problems with the pace...I still wanted to go faster. At the 18-mile mark I succumbed and pushed the speed up to 8 mph and at the 19-mile mark pushed the speed up to 8.5 mph. I finished the 20 miles in 2:38:30 but I ran it out to 2:40:00, which came to 20.25 miles. I really felt I could continue on for the last 10K but stopped. After the run I did 10 minutes on the Stairclimber at Random, Level 12 for 52 floors. I find the Stairclimber is good for stretching out my legs especially the calves. Usually after my long runs I treat myself to something special...a Big Mac with fries and a Coke...I figure it's a good way to get protein and carbs into my system...so on my way home I had my treat! Got home and also had some really good raspberry cheesecake with a large glass of milk and then did almost 500 meters in the pool.

My first week of the Furman program is under my belt. I found the speed intervals was my hardest day and the other two days were fairly easy. Let's see what next week brings.

Total Running miles this week: 35.05

Week 13 (4 of 16) Key Workout # 2

2007-08-03T16:54:00.000-05:00

Thursday: The day after Key workout #1 left my calves a little sore...never did a workout like that...it was so intense but I still did my cross training at the gym. Started out on the Elliptical set at Random, Level 12 for one hour good for 6.6 miles. Then moved to the Lifecycle set at Random, Level 12 for one hour good for 18 miles. Then finished at the Stairstepper set at Random, Level 12 for 10 minutes and 52 floors.

Friday: Warmed up on the Elliptical set at Random, Level 15-12 for 10 minutes then moved to the Treadmill for the Key Run #2 which calls for 1 mile easy, 4 miles at MT pace (6:55/mile) and then 1 easy. Started the 1 mile run easy at 7 mph and gradually moved up 0.5 mph every quarter mile then after one mile, set the TM at 8.7 mph which came to 6.53/mile pace and ran for 4 miles. I felt like I could go quite a bit more at the end of four miles but I want to stick to the plan as close as possible so I set the TM to 8 mph for the first half mile of easy run and then decreased to 7.5 mph for the rest. I just didn't want to quit at 6 miles...why not 6.2?...So I went the additional 0.2 for an even 10K all in a time around 45:30. I still felt I had left quite a bit in the tank so I rode the Lifecycle set at Random, Level 10 for 30 minutes good for 8.25 miles and then finished up on the Stairstepper set at Random, Level 12 for 10 minutes good for 52 floors. Went home and swam 200 meters.

Tomorrow is a rest day...probably will do 40 minutes of abs and weights and then Sunday will be the first of five 20 mile runs in the plan. I do plan to substitute a 22 and a 24 mile in there for two of the 20 milers. I need to get past my 22-26.2 mile cramp zone.

Furman First to the Finish Program

2007-08-01T18:41:00.000-05:00

After trying to prepare for the MCM with a do-it-yourself plan based somewhat on the Furman plan and not really being satisfied that I am getting all that I can from my training...I took the plunge and decided to follow the Furman First to the Finish Marathon Program as set out without modifications. The program takes sixteen weeks but since the MCM is on 28 Oct, that only leaves me 13 weeks...so I start on the 13th week which is actually the 4th week of the 16 week program...no problem since I have been training hard since the last week of June. As with my past workouts, the majority of the workouts will be done on the treadmill.

First I filled out the Training Pace Worksheet to determine what my pace should be for the various workouts. I used my latest 5K time of 19:28 but rounded it up to 19:30...I like round numbers. So after doing all the math based on a 6:20 5K pace, I am left with the following:

Planned Marathon Pace (PMP): 7:20 (rounded up)
Long Tempo (LT): 7:10
Mid Tempo (MT): 6:55
Short Tempo (ST): 6:40
And for the Speed Workouts: 400M: 5:40; 600M: 5:45; 800M: 5:50; 1000M: 5:53; 1200M: 5:55; 1600M: 6:05

Now that I have the important numbers...On with the training!

Based on the training plan the actual running workouts...called 'Key Runs' are only done three times a week with the rest of the week devoted to cross-training or rest. Since I like doing my long runs on Sunday, I arranged the weekly plan to the following:
Monday: Cross-train or Rest
Tuesday: Cross-train
Wednesday: Key Run #1
Thursday: Cross-train
Friday: Key Run #2
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Key Run #3

So...to confuse you again...this week is Week 13 of the plan...which is really week 4 of 16.

Monday: Cross-training 60 minutes on the Elliptical set at Random, Level 12 good for 6.41 miles. Then 70 minutes on the Lifecycle set at Random, Level 10-12 good for 20 miles. Then ran on the treadmill for 3.5 miles starting with a set of hill workouts and finishing with two sets of speed work...I hadn't known I was going to jump into the Furman program until today. Finished with 10 minutes of stairsteppers set at Random, level 12. Went home and cooled down by swimming 10 laps.

Tuesday: Rest day

Wednesday...Today: Key Run #1 which calls for 10-20 minutes of warm-up, then 5 x 1000 meter intervals with 400 meter Rest Intervals in between and then finishing with 10 minutes of cool-down. I warmed up with 30 minutes on the elliptical (3.6 miles) and 30 minutes on the lifecycle (8.2 miles). Then on to the workout! I figured I needed to warm-up on the treadmill before doing the workout so 10 minutes on the TM at 7 mph for warm-up. According to the plan worksheet, I was to do the 5 x 1000m in 3:40 minutes each...a 5:53 mpm pace. I set the TM at 10.2 mph with 1% elevation...which actually comes out to a 5:52 pace...and off we went for 0.62 miles in about 3:40 minutes...TMs are soo great at keeping you on pace. For the Rest Interval (RI), I slowed down to 7 mph for 0.25 miles and then did my second 1K...the first one was relatively easy...but the second was a bit harder...the third was even harder and I could barely finish the fourth one...leaving me gasping for air and taking a minute more for my RI. For the fifth one I dropped the speed down to 10 mph and barely finished that one...thankful the series was over. I think for my next set of speed work, I'll do the cardio at the end of the workout...if I still have enough energy that is. But...What a workout! I finished up with cooling down at 7 mph to finish out 40 minutes total time. After the run I did 10 minutes on the stairstepper, went home and did 10 laps in the pool.

A very hard workout but I can hardly wait for Friday's Key Run #2 and the long run this Sunday will be 20 miles. I'm sure I can do tempo runs a whole lot better than speed intervals...we'll have to see.

Wanted to TRI Something Interesting Today!

2007-07-06T17:55:00.000-05:00

I have been training for the Marine Corps Marathon and the official training started the last week of June. I had already been swimming after my runs and on my off days ever since the water has been warm enough to swim in. And recently I have been turning some miles on the Lifecycle at the gym after my run workouts and for cross training. So...I was off from work today and I wanted do something interesting for my training today. My regular training called for one hour of running at tempo pace with some speed intervals towards the end. Since I was at the fitness center using the treadmill, and I have been riding the Lifefitness cycle for 30-40 minutes after the run, I decided to do my hour of running on the treadmill, then an hour on the cycle and when I get home I could do one hour of laps in the pool...and that's what I did.

Run: Warmed up first by walking on the treadmill at 4.2-5.0 mph for three minutes. Then I reset the treadmill and started my run at 7 mph for one minute, then upped it to 7.5 mph for one minute then increased it to 8 mph for the first part of the run for 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes, I increased the speed to 8.5 mph for 10 minutes, then 9 mph for 10 minutes, then 9.5 mph for 10 minutes and finally 10 mph for 10 minutes and then backed it down to 8 mph for two minutes and then stepped up the speed 0.5 mph every minute till 10.5 mph and then back down to 8 mph for the final minute. Final total on the run: 8.58 miles in one hour.

Lifecycle: Was already warmed up so I selected the Random setting, set the time for one hour and started at level 6 and started peddling. I increased the level from 6-10 depending if I was on the hills or not. I tried to keep the peddle turnover at 100/min or higher. At the end of an hour I had gone exactly 15 miles...so I guess I was averaging 15 mph...Looks like I need some improvement here!

Swim: Left the fitness center and went home to the pool and swam laps for one hour. The pool is only 40 feet long so there was a lot of laps to keep track of...which is really hard when you're trying to concentrate on proper strokes and breathing...I usually try for a five strokes to a breath so I breath from each side...I think I added extra laps and may have missed some laps but I think it all evened out in the end. I didn't do flip turns because doing those would only leave me about 5-7 strokes before getting to the other side. So I just touched the sides with a slight push off from the wall. At the halfway point I had 80 laps and the last half hour was also 80 laps...so I was consistent...consistently slow...but none the less consistent. I had problems with muscle cramps about half way through...especially in the toes...but I finished the hour. Total laps: 160 for a total of 1950 meters...like I said...really slow.

Next time I do something like this...I want to reverse the order...swim, cycle and run...just like they do in the TRIs...but want to add the miles to the cycle to 56 and the run to 13.1. The swim distance was fine...just need to work on the speed as well as speed on the cycle. Let's see how this training goes...of course my primary training is for marathon running...the next one being the MCM in October with a couple of halfs...one in September and one two weeks before the MCM.
But...It is all good cross training...Isn't that Right?

We Build People 5K 4 July 2007

2007-07-04T10:41:00.000-05:00

I finally had an opportunity to run another5K race. It was put on by the Virginia Beach YMCA called We Build People 5K ...An opportunity to finally see if I could break the 20 minute mark for a 5K. My first and last 5K was last Decemeber with a time of 21:02. I figured I needed a pace of 6:15-6:20.

The race is at a place called Mount Trashmore...it's actually a trash dump that has been covered over and now is a park...in Virginia Beach. The weather was very nice for this time of year...about 70F at race time with a little breeze. The course was laid out around Mount Trashmore and the adjoining street. A kind of down the road, around a small loop, down the road some more, then a loop around the mount and then down the road again, double back down the road, crossing the start/finish line but continuing on for about a quarter mile before doubling back again to the finish line. So, lots of opportunities to see people behind you on the double backs...also good opportunity to see whose ahead of you.

I did my normal race day wake up routine, getting up early, eating breakfast and relaxing before heading to the race. The race starts at 7:30 and I got there about an hour early. I had pre-registered the day before but still needed to pick up the timing chip. After picking up the chip I walked out to the "Mount" for a warm-up and did some hill work. I sprinted up the face of Mount Trashmore, ran along the crest at the top and jogged down the other side. Then I turned around and sprinted back up the hill, ran the crest and jogged down again and then headed for the start line.

The race started pretty much on time...well, maybe a couple of minutes late, but no big deal. I was a row of runners back from the start line and had a lousy start when the starting horn blew. There were a bunch of kids and slower runners that sprinted ahead of me that I had to weave around but after about 200 meters, it was pretty much clear running and I settled into a fast pace and started running down slower runners. The first mile marker was near the back of the Mount Trashmore loop and came in at 6:13. I was feeling really good...the pace being not too fast, feeling just about right and I was still picking off a few runners. The second mile marker was after the turn around on the main road and it came in at 12:29...still doing great, feeling great, on time and still picking up a runner or two. Heading to the third mile, we cross the start finish line and head out to our final out and back. Mile three is after the turn around and comes in at 18:52...lost some time but still well within range of that under 20 minute mark...just a tenth to go. Before the mile three marker a guy I had passed passes me and I know it's time to kick it in gear. We sprint to the finish...and I beat him across the finish by a couple of seconds as the clock reads 19:28. It twas an awesome feeling!...but I forget to stop my watch or even set the lap.

We get our chips removed and head to the water and food tables...bananas, apples, bagels and watermelon...yummy...but glancing at my watch I see that I forgot to stop my watch or even set the lap at the finish... it's now showing over 20 minutes. A little later the first race results are posted and I am really surprised to find the time 19:58 next to my name...more than 30 seconds slower than what the finish clock showed when I crossed the finish line...or was I seeing things and not get the right time? It was puzzling but it still was under 20 minutes and I did place 22nd overall and first in my age group.

At the awards ceremony they anounced the official time which ended up 19:27...so there must have been some type of glitch in the initial results. Oh Happy Days!

Race stats:

There were 26 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 415 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 22
Age group finish place was 1
Time: 19:26.80 for an overall pace of 6:16 per mile

Another goal accomplished...on to the next!

Hope everyone had a very happy 4th of July!

Week of 18 June

2007-06-25T05:03:00.000-05:00

The week before last was slack week...only 17 miles...actually my right heel was bothering me and I tried to take it easy to see if the tenderness would go away. This week it's back to normal...my heel is still bothering me to a lesser degree and best of all it's not getting any worse. In addition to the swimming, I started riding the Lifecycle after running at the gym. We'll see how that goes.

Results of this week are:

Monday: Ran 8.2 miles intervals in one hour, 10 minutes on the stair climber then swam 365 meters after.

Tuesday: 40 minutes of strength and weights then swam 1268 meters after.

Wednesday: Ran 7.4 miles hills in one hour, five minutes on the stair climber then 5 miles on the Lifecycle at level 6 in 18 minutes then swam 512 meters.

Thursday: 40 minutes of strength and weights then swam 853 meters.

Friday: Ran 8.25 miles intervals in one hour, 10 minutes on the stair climber then swam 340 meters.

Saturday: Swam 485 meters after mowing the lawn.

Sunday: Ran 16.47 miles in two hours. First hour ran at 8-8.2 mph pace, second hour at 8.2-8.4 pace, five minutes on the stair climber, then one mile on the Lifecycle...would have done more but calves started cramping after half a mile.

Totals:
Run: 40.32 miles
Swim: 3828 meters
Cycle: 6 miles

CHKD Run/Walk for the Kids 8K 16 June 07

2007-06-17T18:28:00.000-05:00

Race report for this 8K, which was held in Norfolk on Saturday. Weather was pretty good with the temps in the high 60's at the start. The race consisted of both the 8K and a 2 mile run/walk run on the same course (the 2 milers went as far as the first mile and then they looped back to the finish) and starting at the same time. This was my first 8K race, so my expected finish was based on an estimate of my 10K times, so I set a goal of 34-32 minutes with the possibility of finishing in the 30s if all went well. The last two weeks training had not gone well due to commitments and a right heel tenderness. The heel was tight and almost painful...especially when standing and walking after rest and it took a few minutes of stretching or exercise for the discomfort to diminish to the point I could walk normally without limping or a seemingly lopsided running gait. I don't know where or why this injury occurred with no new shoes or trauma recently and only the right heel being affected.

The race takes place in mostly upper part of downtown Norfolk, starting and finishing at the Children’s Hospital of the Kings Daughters. The course winds through the streets of adjacent neighborhoods, a couple of parks and part of an industrial complex near the waterfront. Nice and scenic on most parts of the run but consisted of a lot of turns on the street and loop backs. There were mile markers at every mile but no timers to check your time. We wore timing chips but it was only for the finish times so the race was essentially based on gun time.

I woke up for a normal time on race day...5:00 am...took my shower, got dressed, ate a good breakfast and relaxed before leaving. The race starts at 7:45 and I leave the house around 7:00 and get to the hospital parking garage about 7:20. Plenty of time since I had already pre-registered and already had my number but I did need to pick up the timing chip. I grab a banana at the tables and some water and head to my favorite pre-race staging area...the port-a-potties of course. No lines, no problems. I warm up by stretching...especially the right heel and running around a couple of blocks through the adjoining neighborhood and then head to the start line.

I settle in the second row of runners behind the start line and talk with a couple of people as we wait for the start. The 8K runners and the 2 mile walk/runners are all starting together in the same group which isn't a problem...at least for me...at the beginning of the race...but at the end they become a problem. The horn blows signaling the start of the race and we are off. I don't find any of the "regular" runners that I pace off of so I have to make my own pace and it's a quick one going through the first mile at 6:12...I had hoped to be around 6:20. We split off from the 2 milers just before the 1st mile after going through a waterfront park. We continue on looping through some neighborhoods and at mile 2 the split is 12:45...which is about where I expect to be. We continue through another park and at the 3-mile mark the split is 19:17...I've lost a few seconds and I don't know why. We loop through some neighborhood streets again and start heading back to the hospital and the finish line. The 4-mile mark is again at the first waterfront park and my time is 26:11...I have fallen off some more but I feel good and try to up my pace. After leaving the park, we start picking up walkers from the 2 milers...a few at first and then large groups of them as we get near to the finish. We only have a one-lane road that is coned off for all the runners and walkers, with traffic on the other side of the cones. Some group of walkers, some with strollers, stretches the whole width of the lane oblivious to the runners trying to get by them. I yell ahead several times "Excuse me" but they don't hear until we are right upon them and then we have to veer around the cones into oncoming traffic to get around them. This happens for the last quarter mile to the finish. We turn back into the hospital and finally see the finish line ahead. Weaving through the crowd, I cross the finish line but did not see the time since I was so distracted and concentrating on not running someone over. I also fail to hit the stop on my watch. I get to where they remove my chip and I glance at my watch as I'm heading to the food tents and see that the watch is still running and the time is around 34 minutes, but I don't know what my actual finish time is...I figure it must be around 33 minutes.

After the race, I hang around and talk with a runner Mike from Chesapeake...which is where I live also...and find out that he had been using me to pace and had passed me around the 3-mile mark. I also run into my marathon running buddy Jon...although he hadn't entered the race officially, he had run parts of it to help pace one of his running mates. Around that time we hear announcements for the group awards and head there. I find Mike there and as we are talking, someone taps me on the shoulders and I see it's the CO (Commanding Officer) and his wife of where I work in Norfolk. He wasn't running...although he does run...but just there supporting someone else that was there. A nice surprise to see him there. As I'm talking to him and Mike they announce Mike's name for the 40-44 age group award. We congratulate him when he comes back and they finally get to my age group and start announcing the placements and times and I am pleasantly surprised to find out that I'm first in my age group, but I still miss the time that I came in at...I just hear 32 something. I finally find out Sunday morning looking through the sports page that my time is 32:48...not bad but something to improve on.

Race stats:

There were 17 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and about 436 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 17
Age group finish place was 1
Time: 32:48 for an overall pace of 6:35 per mile

Oh yeah...after the race...I get home and had to mow the lawn but then swam a few laps in the pool and relaxed on the deck...a nice finish to a rather nice day.

Next race...Don’t' know yet but I would like to do the Virginia Derby Day 5k & Party on the Green , July 21 about an hour away. The race finishes at the Colonial Downs horseracing track. I think it would be wild running on a horse track!

Happy Father's Day to all you fathers!

Week of 04 June

2007-06-10T16:22:00.000-05:00

No races this weekend or anything really exciting or even not so exciting in my running world. Actually kind of took it easy this week on running but did do a bit more swimming.

My workout for this week:

Monday: Complete rest from Sunday's 16 miler.

Tuesday: 7.6 miles in one hour. 0.5 warmup, then 9 mph pace for 2 miles then three sets of speed intervals and then 0.5 cooldown. Swam 30 laps for 365 meters after the run.

Wednesday: 40 minutes of weight and strength workout. Then swam 82 laps for 1000 meters.

Thursday: 10 miles in 1:12. 0.2 warmup then 8.2 mph for 1 hour and finished with 10 minutes of speed intervals and 0.3 cooldown. Swam 32 laps for 390 meters after the run.

Friday: Swam 100 laps for 1220 meters

Saturday: My famous yardwork cross training...mowing...weedwhacking...edging...really-it builds up the sweat! Then swam 10 laps for 120 meters...would have done more but was interrupted.

Sunday: 5 miles in 36 minutes after 0.25 warmup, then swam 40 laps for 485 meters.

Weeks totals:
Running: 22.6 miles
Swimming: 294 laps for 3585 meters

Week of 28 May

2007-06-03T14:32:00.000-05:00

My workout for this week. Training for nothing special...just trying to keep my core running up and trying to increase my speed.

Monday: 9 miles in 1:05:00. 0.6 warmup, then 9 mph pace for 6 mi, then 8 mph pace for 3 miles and 0.4 cooldown. Swam 18 laps (200 meters) after the run.

Tuesday: 40 minutes strength and weights then swam 25 laps (300 meters)

Wednesday: 9.4 miles in 1:05:00. 0.2 warmup, 9 mph pace for 30 min then 9.2 mph pace for 25 min, then 9.5-9.8-10-10.2-10.4-9.5-9 mph...each one minute then 0.8 cooldown. Swam 22 laps (260 meters) after run.

Thursday: Strength and weight x 40 min. Then swam 42 laps (512 meters).

Friday: 6.65 miles in 50:10, intervals x 3. Swam 24 laps (290 meters) after run.

Saturday: Rest

Sunday: 16.4 miles in 2:05:00 0.2 warmup, 8.0-8.4 mph x 2 hours then 0.8 cooldown. Swam 26 laps (315 meters) after run.

Total miles running: 41.45
Swim total: 139 laps for 1690 meters

Elizabeth River Run 10K 26 May 07

2007-05-27T14:47:00.000-05:00

Ran the Elizabeth River Run 10K yesterday. The forecast throughout the week varied from thunder showers, mild temps to warm weather. The day started in the mid 60's with a forecast high of 88 F...so...It ended up being a sunny and warm...well...very warm day...at least the humidity was only in the 50's and there was a small breeze.

I woke up early Saturday with my normal routine of a shower, breakfast and relaxing, reading the morning paper before heading out to the race site.

The course takes place in downtown Portsmouth which is across the water from Norfolk. The race starts by making a couple of loops in the 'Olde Towne' section of the city, then winding along the Portsmouth waterfront in downtown, looping around the Naval Hospital along the waterfront and then ending by winding back past the start line a couple of blocks. In all a very scenic course.

I got to Portsmouth and parking was not a problem. Even though it was downtown Portsmouth and probably over 700 runners and volunteers, there was ample parking to be had very near the start/finish line. I got my number, chip and goody bag and went back to my truck to drop things off and put my number on. I had thought the race started at 8:00 and headed to the start line a couple of blocks away. When I get there, there is nobody there and talking to another runner, find out the 1 mile kids run starts at 8 and our 10K starts at 8:30. So no problem, I wander back to watch the 1 mile race and then head back to the start line with 20 minutes to start time. I warm up by running up and down a side street a couple of times and then mingle with the starting line crowd facing north...but 5 minutes to start time they tell us we are facing wrong and we all turn the other way and backup. This race is chipped timed but we don't see any timing mats at the start line and find out at the end of the race that the chips are only used for the finish gun time and not for chip time. If I had known that I would have started nearer to the start line...but that wouldn't have helped me too much anyway.

The gun goes off at 8:30 and we are off for our first clockwise mile loop in Olde Towne ending up going across the start line again going now in the other direction. We make another loop in Olde Towne going counter-clockwise now and across the start line again and then along the waterfront. I planned my mile splits to be around 6:20...my first mile split was 6:16...a little fast but not bad. Second mile split was 12:40...right where I wanted it to be. The third mile split was 19:29 with the first 5K in 20:14...14 seconds too slow. By this time it was feeling warm and I seemed to be struggling but I tried to keep up with a couple of runners also going for under 40 minutes. The fourth mile came in at 26:34 which meant I had dropped a lot and at that point I just didn't care. The fifth mile came in at 33:58...up to a 7:24 mile...I was really struggling but tried to kick it in some. Mile six came in at 40:59...down to a 7:00 mile. The finish came in at 42:13...disappointing but not really...I had given up the quest for under 40 minutes a couple of miles ago and had cruised home still in a relative good time for me. Past 10Ks I had never had a need to drink at the water stops...this race, I seemed to take water at almost every water table...at first to only take a couple of swallows running full speed and at the end slowing to gulp down the majority of the cup...I was thirsty! At the finish, I was drinking fruit juice and water for the next half hour and then downed a banana and couple of slices of pizzas...I always get hungry after a run. I didn't stay for the post race ceremonies thinking I hadn't placed in anything since I had seen quite a few grey haired men finishing in front of me...later I find out I still placed 2nd in my age group.

The final race results:

There were 54 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 651 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 46
Age group finish place was 2
Time: 42:13 for an overall pace of 6:47 per mile
1st 5K time was 20:14 for a pace of 6:31 per mile
2nd 5K time was 21:59 for a pace of 7:05 per mile

I seem content with the results...I think maybe...I just happen to be a 42 minute 10K runner at this stage of life and training. I still want that under 40 minute 10K and will up my training pace for the fall races. I got home and did 18 laps in the pool...about 200 meters.

Last weeks running totals:

Monday: Weights and general strength
Tuesday: 8.65 miles in 1:06
Wednesday: Weights and general strength
Thursday: 8.6 miles in 1:05
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 10K in 42:13, 200 meters in the pool un-timed
Sunday: Weights and general strength
Total Miles: 23.45

Hope all have a wonderful Memorial Day!

And Two Weeks Go By...And I'm Back!

2007-05-20T18:43:00.000-05:00

I missed posting anything last week and I could say I was on company travel...which I was...but actually...I was so discouraged with my performance at the Frederick Marathon that I just didn't feel like doing anything and just took the week to reflect. I could say I was too busy to run after work during my days up in N VA, or that I didn't take my running gear...but I had plenty of free time and actually did take my running gear. I even went down to the gym where they had an excellent array of weight equipment, treadmills, cycles and elliptical machines...even a indoor swimming pool. I went down there every day I was there but the urge to do anything wasn't there. I did take some long walks through the neighborhoods...nice rolling hills...tree lined streets...a great place to run...but...I didn't run...not one step. I did eat a lot...the different cultural restaurants near DC is immense, and since I do like to eat...we visited different restaurants, lunch and dinner...It was great! Mornings we would stop in at Paneras and have coffee and a bear claw, Danish and relax for an hour before going in to work. Then we got back...and I'm back! I already have a 10K on tap for Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend...Elizabeth River Run ...nothing like a race to get someone motivated...and I have been training hard for it all this week...and here's how it's gone:

07-11 May: Nothing...Nada...Zilch

Saturday 12 May: 7.0 miles in 50 minutes...Intervals...warm-up at 8 mph...8-9-10-8 mph for one minute each x 4...cool down at 8 mph

Sunday: Rest...after a week of doing nothing, Saturday's workout made my legs and butt really sore!

Monday: 7.5 miles in 55 minutes...Warm-up...then 10K at 9.3 mph in 39:50...then a cool down...I'm going to break 40!

Tuesday: Weights and aerobics for 40 minutes

Wednesday: 7.5 miles in 55 minutes...Intervals...warm-up at 8 mph...8-9-10-10.5-9-8 mph x 3...cool down at 8 mph

Thursday: Weights and aerobics for 40 minutes
Friday: 7.5 miles in 55 minutes...warmup at 8 mph...run at 9.4 mph...cool down 8 mph

Saturday: Uncovered the pool, cleaned filters, scrubbed the pool cover, cleaned the pool...also must have been a great workout, because the backs of my legs were tender the next day...but...Pool's Open! Water was at 70F but it felt great! I really missed swimming after my runs.

Sunday: 12 miles at an easy 8 mph run in 1:30...felt really good.

Total running miles: 41.5 miles

Frederick Marathon 06 May 07

2007-05-07T10:20:00.000-05:00

If I were to sum it up in one word...Disappointing! Two words...Very Disappointing! The mind was willing but the body failed me...I knew I could do it, I wanted to do it...but the body said...No.

Drove up to Frederick, MD Saturday afternoon in sporadic rain and lots of traffic...especially near DC. Checked into the motel...which was across the street from the stadium where the event was being staged...and then drove over to the stadium to get my packet...could have walked but I wanted to drive around town and check it out. Got my bib and was surprised to see Jon...a buddy I had run my first marathon in Richmond and also my second, Shamrock...we were going to run this one together but he had developed an injury from Shamrock and wasn't running. He was there volunteering for Kale Running. Picked up the rest of the goodies including a nice hat, tech shirt, gloves and other little things. Walked around the expo but there wasn't much to see...only one vender...which was odd. I left and drove around town...rolling hills everywhere. Now Chesapeake and most of the Hampton Roads area is about as flat as a pancake...the only hills are Mount Trashmore...yes it's a hill built from trash and is now a park...and then there is Ft Story with some. So these "Rolling Hills" was quite intimidating. I got something to eat and then walked back to the stadium to check out the twilight 5K race and then some fireworks.

Walked back to the motel to get some sleep...Sleep!...What is That? First, when I booked my room, I know I asked for a no smoking room...but I get a smoker's room...and asking at the front desk...they swear I booked a smoking room. They have no other rooms available...so I go back to my room. The room reeked of smoke...I thought it might be coming from the room next door and stuffed pillows under the crack of the door that adjoins two rooms...the room just stank of smoke. I get everything ready for the morning, set the alarm for 5:00 a.m. and go to bed...it's now about 10:30. All through the night I hear doors banging, dogs barking and vehicles coming and going...and of course the room AC is constantly coming on and off...I wasn't going to turn that off because it was providing me with much needed oxygen. I don't remember sleeping...I kept looking at the clock and I swear I saw every hour go by until 5:00...good thing I had plenty of sleep the night before.

I get up at 5:00, shower and have my breakfast...cereal, banana, bagel and coffee and relax a bit and get ready for the race. I pack my race shorts with three Gels and four capsules of Endurolyte...somthing new that they say helps prevent muscle cramps...and some money...in case I need to buy something...for some reason I always take some money. Checkout is at noon, so I go to the desk and ask for a late check out around 1:00 so I can take a shower after...I'm glad I did...and others did also because the clerk said she would add my name to the list.

I leave the motel around 7:00...the race starts at 7:30 and the motel is only about 1000 meters from the start line. I join the long line to the bathrooms and by 7:15, I'm at the starting area looking for the 3:30 pace group...but the closest pace group I see is 3:40...3:40 will not do! I look for the 3:20 pace group...but nadda. I ask the 3:40 pace leader and he says there might not be one because nobody may have signed up. And I think...Oh great!...I was depending on a pace group to keep me at an even pace...now what am I going to do. All the time up to the start, I'm looking around for the pace group. The temp is in the high 40's...expected to reach 60 with wind...they say we will have 15-17 mph winds with gusts of 25 mph! They tell us that due to the high winds some of the mile markers won't be up...but will be on the side laying down or marked on the street, and there will be no electronic timers along the course.

The starting gun goes off at 7:30 on the dot...Kale Running seems to always start on time...and we are off. I start my clock as we cross the starting mats and I follow the crowd in front of me. As we circle the outside of the stadium and about 1/2 mile into the run, we see people that are just getting off the bus shuttles and running to the start line...apparently they didn't have enough buses and a lot were late. Around the seven-minute mark, I'm looking for the first mile marker and never see it...I ask the runners around me and they haven't seen it either. Mile 2 is there and I check my watch and its 13:52...way too fast. I try to slow my pace and at Mile 3 it is 20:56...still too fast and I slow it some more. Miles 4 and 5 come in at 28:17 and 35:37...it seems to be a good pace and I even feel like it's way to slow but I try to slow it even more. Mile 6 is 43:04 and 7 at 50:37 and I take it down some more...it sure is hard pacing yourself! Miles 8 and 9 are just where I want to be pace wise at 58:33 and 1:06:29...a 7:55 pace. I take a pit stop between mile 9 and 10 in some trees and mile 10 comes in at 1:15:11...lost some time...but still good on time, pace and feeling great! As I'm running I try to chat with the other racers...trying to figure out who is running what pace and their goal time...so I can run with someone...I hate running alone! I finally meet up with a girl from Jersey...Tara, who is on a 3:20 goal and...she has a Garmin! This is her 11th marathon...her best is 3:20 but she just had a baby four months ago and still wants to PR. My respect for women runners is way up there! She was still running into her 8th month of pregnancy and here she is running a marathon after giving birth four months later...amazing. I shared my goals and she wants to help pace me...so...With her pacing with her Garmin...the next three miles are even 8 minute miles so we reach 13 miles in 1:39:01...the half around 1:40...which was still kind of fast so the next three miles we took it down some more, so at 16 we were at 2:04:37. About mile 17...we go through the cemetery just above the start line and the stadium...and the finish line. It is soo cruel to have to pass the finish line as you're heading away for miles 18-21. Around the 18 mile mark I feel Tara start slowing down but she reassures me that we are still on pace for 3:30...so I place my trust in her. Around mile 20 we meet up with her husband...who is meeting her about every 5 miles along the course...and she tells him her knee isn't feeling good...which concerns me...but I try to encourage her telling her there's only 10K left. We go through 20 miles at 2:40:12...which means we are right around 8 minute mile pace and we can't drop anymore...10K to go and it seems doable in 50 minutes...piece of cake...I'm elated at this point...but Tara is laboring and really falling off the pace...I keep waiting for her and encouraging her...but she keeps falling back and wishes me luck. I slowly lose her from 20-21...when I start having my problems between miles 21-22. My right leg starts cramping up...bad...the kind that stops you in your tracks...I hobble to the side of the road and try to stretch and massage...I'm working at it desperate for the muscles to relax. I take a few steps...it cramps up again, I massage and stretch. Finally I get to the point where I can run...but at a very diminished pace. This keeps on for the next three miles...at mile 23, my time is 3:15:14...with healthy legs I could easily churn out a 5K in 21 minutes...but not now. What a turn of emotions...from elation to knowing I can do the last 10K in 50 minutes to knowing that I can't get the last 5K in the require goal time of even 3:35. The last three hills are brutal...at least for me in my state...but I am able to run up all three...although it is real slow going. I reach the last downhill and see the stadium lights in the distance and finally make the last turn into the stadium...we run the warning track entering in from the first base line and running the track along the back around to the third base line and make the turn coming home...to the finish! One more cruel hill awaits though...although not much...just a practice pitchers mound in the middle of the track just before the finish mat. I go through the finish with the time showing 3:58 something...chip time was 3:57:55...not even a PR! Really disappointing! I waited around for Tara...but never saw her finish...perhaps she didn't...I can't find her in the results...I hope she did finish.

What did me in?

1. Going out too fast?...Likely...I do tend to go out fast...a pace group would have been nice.
2. Dehydration/not enough electrolytes?...Not likely...I hydrate and eat well a few days before races and I hydrated at every water stop from four miles on. I took gels at mile 8, 14 and 22. I took the Enduralytes one capsule 10 minutes before the race with a banana and one capsule every hour.
3. Weather?...Cold and windy...didn't really seem a problem except later in the day it was gusting pretty good and it was in our face all the way from mile 22 till entering in the stadium.
4. Hills?...Most likely...even though they were "rolling" hills, I think they took a toll on my legs...especially since my legs are not use to them. The hills although not steep seemed to be endless...we were constantly going up and down from miles 1-19, then it was mostly flat until miles 23-26, when they seemed worse. The only leg that really cramped up was my right upper leg...in the hams. There were no problem with my calves and I can't remember my left leg giving me any problems.

Conclusion: I need to work on my miles...longer miles on my long days to build up my legs and more miles per week...or maybe...just maybe...I just need to finish a marathon in less than 3 hours...before the cramping starts!

Race Results:
There were 60 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 721 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 294
Age group finish place was 20
Gender finish place was 253
Time: 3:57:55.80 for a pace of 9:05 per mile
6.4M split was 47:09.40 for a pace of 7:21 per mile...3rd in Age Group
13.1M split was 52:53.30 for a pace of 7:54 per mile...4th in Age Group
17.4M split was 36:14.20 for a pace of 8:26 per mile...6th in Age Group
Finish split was 1:41:44:50 for a pace of 11:34 per mile...20th in Age Group

Did I mention...After the race, I went back to the motel room and soaked in the bathtub for 20 minutes and then drove the four hours back home and mowed the lawn...Well...I had to. I didn't mow it Friday or Saturday because I didn't want my sinuses all stuffed up for the race. I had to do it when I got back because with all the rain there was no way I was going to leave it another week till I got back from my company travel this week to DC.

This morning the legs and feet feel good...a little tightness in the upper legs...If I could just solve this leg cramping problem three hours into a race.

Chesapeake Bay 10K 28 Apr 07

2007-04-28T16:08:00.000-05:00

At the last minute, I decided to go ahead and run the Chesapeake Bay 10K instead of doing a 14 mile run...I can still get the 14 in on Monday, do a short 6-7 mile tempo run Wednesday and an easy 6-7 mile run on Friday before the Frederick marathon on Sunday...besides, I wanted to see what I could do on a 10K since my last and first 10K was last November when the time was 44:29. My main goal was to PR with my ultimate goal to break 40 minutes. I woke up early as usual with a shower and breakfast and read the paper till about 6:30 and headed for the race.

The race takes place on the beaches of the Chesapeake Bay in Norfolk. You have the beaches on one side with some parks, restaurants and houses and on the other side, businesses and houses...so somewhat scenic...as long as you look toward the beach! The temperature was about 64 F but the humidity was probably around 95...we had some heavy rain the night before and it was still misty at times with the sun peeking in and out. The course was an out and back for about five miles and then a smaller out and back the other way finishing in a park on the beach.

There were long lines to get race numbers, t-shirts and timing chips for the people that were pre-registered, but the line to register was...well there was no lines...just a couple of us filling out the paperwork, paying and getting our numbers and chips. I put my chip and number on and then hung out at my favorite place at races...the port-a-lets! There were beach restrooms but for some reason they were being cleaned...go figure! After, I ran easy for about five minutes for my warm up and then back to the restrooms... this time they were done cleaning them...and then headed to the start line getting near the front about 5-10 yards away...there were only about 400 runners but we were all trying to crowd into a single lane of a four lane road...the single lane was all they could block off for the race because there was other road work being done.

The starting gun sounded exactly at 8:00 and we were off on the first out and back. I remembered to properly start my watch this time and made sure by watching the seconds start up. The first couple of miles I stayed with a pack of runners that were going at what I thought was about a 6:30 pace but the first mile clock showed us going through at 6:15 and then we settled into a slower pace and went through the second mile in about 12:45. We went through the first turn around and hit the 5K timing mat in 20:21. Meanwhile the pack I was with started to lose runners...either faster or slower... and eventually I was running alone. Since there were electronic timers on the course almost every 2 miles, I didn't bother...or forgot to set each one mile lap times...I wish I had, to be able to check the performance at every mile would have been helpful in plotting my next 10K in May. We passed back over the start line and continued on to our next out and back the opposite way...we could see the finish line to our left as we went out and I tried to see what the time read but couldn't see it clearly. We did our final turn around and headed for the finish line. Looking at my watch, I knew the under 40 minute mark was out of reach but tried to up the pace. The last .2 I could see the finish line and tried to sprint as the seconds on the clock slowly ticked away. I crossed the finish line as the clock showed 42:01, disappointed not only in not breaking 40 minutes but also going over 42...and...later I find out the guy who came in first in my age group was from Albuquerque NM!...why did he come all the way over here to run this small race!. But...I was happy in knowing that I had PR'd from my previous by over 2 minutes. As I was talking with some runners and eating...running always makes me hungry...there was an announcement that the first set of times were posted, so we start wandering over to the time sheets where there were already long lines. I finally get to the sheets and look for my name...Overall Place 33...Gun Time: 42:01:80...Chip time 41:58:55...Age place 2...I hadn't even thought my chip time would be that much different from my gun time since I started not too far from the front. I did the happy dance!

Race Results:

There were 16 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 362 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 33
Age group finish place was 2
Gender finish place was 30
Time: 41:58.55 for an overall pace of 6:46 per mile
1st 5K time was 20:21.35 for a pace of 6:37 per mile
2nd 5K time was 21:37.20 for a pace of 6:58 per mile

Week of 15 Apr 07

2007-04-22T19:45:00.000-05:00

I'm still training for the Frederick Marathon 6 Jun and this is how my training week has gone.

Sunday...The day after the half marathon, I took inventory of aching body parts and was very surprised at very little aches and no pain at all. I did 1.5 miles just to stretch things out and make sure everything was functioning properly. I did about 40 minutes of aerobics and weights and then did half mile of fast walking to start and then half mile of running at 8 mph and then finished with a half mile of fast walking...all on the treadmill...and everything was feeling great. It's been a very long time since I have been able to run without shin or toe pain after.

Monday...Went to the fitness center and did 7 miles on the treadmill alternating the speed from 8-10 mph. A great workout and felt strong at the end.

Tuesday...Rest day but did 40 minutes of aerobics and weight.

Wednesday...The fitness center again and did 7 miles on the treadmill, starting at 8 mph and increasing speed gradually till finishing at 10 mph.

Thursday...Rest day with 40 minutes of aerobics and weights.

Friday...11.68 miles in 1:33:14...Outside...It was such a nice day out after work...about 60 degrees with a cool 5-10 mph breeze. I wanted to do more but I already planned a 20-mile long run on Sunday.

Saturday...Rest day...Did a bunch of yard work...edging, weed whacking and mowing...so you could say it was like cross training. :o)

Sunday...20 mile long run outside...well I did 18 miles running and final two miles walking. It started out a gorgeous day...temps in the 60s with a nice breeze...the weather cast the night before said it would get to around 72...a nice day for a long run...so I thought. I did the long run at the same place we did the half last week and wanted to do the complete 20 mile course...it's an out and back for 1.5 miles in one direction and 8.5 miles in the other with very few farm houses in between...no stores and no water fountains. I took a water bottle, 2-12oz of Gatorade and a banana, which I left in the truck. The first 3 miles out and back brought me back to my truck around 21 minutes where I drank some water and Gatorade and decided to take the rest of the Gatorade with me to stash along the trail. The next out and back is 8.5 miles out and I started off again. Around the 3.25-mile mark, I stashed the drink bottle near a fallen tree after taking a good pull on it. The rest of the 8.5-mile out was uneventful and I was still feeling good. There were a lot of bikers out and only a handful of runners...the runners all coming back. It started getting hot, and I started getting thirsty a few minutes after I made the turn at the turn around point...8.5 miles from my truck, 11.5 miles into my run and 5.25 miles from my stashed drink bottle...and the heat of the day was building...it must have been in the high 70's by then. I remember seeing a boat ramp at the 6-mile mark and decided I would ask the people there for some water...Did I mention I was getting very thirsty. Before I got to the boat ramp I saw a bunch of people sitting under the shade of some trees near a house and decided to ask them for water. I asked if I could use their hose but the guy went inside and brought out a cold bottle of bottled water. I drank half the bottle while talking with the guys there and then thanked them and continued on my way. I slowed my pace down so as to conserve energy and nursed the bottle for the next couple of miles. I got to my stashed Gatorade again very thirsty and hot. I drank half of it on the spot...by now the temps must have been in the 80's and I wasn't feeling too well...a little dizzy and very hot. I walked and ran for a little over a mile more and then decided since this was a training run there was no sense endangering myself of heat exhaustion or stroke, so I walk the last two miles. I got to my truck very hot, thirsty, weak and nauseous and drank some of my water, ate the banana and then went over to one of the picnic benches to sip more water and Gatorade and cool off. I stayed until most of the nausea went away and then drove home and took a nice cool shower. Surprisingly I didn't really cramp up until after my shower and I was laying watching a game on the TV. During the last part of the run, I felt my calves and quads trying to cramp up but they never did, but resting, each muscle group decided to cramp...even the toes…they took turns inflicting pain and discomfort. Next time…I stash a lot more liquids…or better yet…I’ll do the runs in the safety of the fitness center. But it was a gorgeous weekend weather wise!

Recap:

Sunday: 1.5 miles
Monday: 7 miles
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 7 miles
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 11.68 miles
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 20 miles

Total miles: 44 running miles

This week and next will be taper weeks although I may run a 10K Race next Saturday...will see how this week goes.

Dismal Swamp Stomp Half Marathon 14 Apr 07

2007-04-15T08:09:00.000-05:00

This post is the first of hopefully many others...I just want to get this off the ground! I had created this blog after Natalie, who has a great blog site, had suggested it quite a while back, but just didn't know what to write. I cruised around and looked at other blogs and got some ideas but everyone else's blogs looked so great and they wrote so well...I guess I was intimidated...somewhat. Sooo....I'll just jump in here with my first race report and later I will get caught up for the last year.

I ran in the inaugural Dismal Swamp Stomp yesterday...my second half marathon. All through the week I had been watching the weather report because it had been forecasting rain and high temps...which I wasn't looking forward to. Race day was almost a perfect cloudy 48 degrees and no wind but it was still projected to rain later in the morning. I woke up at 5:00 and did my normal morning routine...showered, dressed, ate breakfast (cereal with a banana and coffee...in case you wanted to know) and relaxed a bit until Melissa (my daughter) came down to get ready...she is in JROTC and their group was manning one of the water stations...but she didn't know which one...I ask her to call me to let me know...although it's hard to miss a bunch of teenagers with JROTC t-shirts on. She leaves because they need to be there early. My wife comes down after Melissa leaves and goes takes her shower...she has never come to one of my races because she always has something else going on...and I'm thinking she just might show up this time...at least she hasn't said anything about other plans. I tell her bye and I'm out the door around 6:50 just as Melissa calls back saying she's hungry and would I stop at Hardy's to pick something up for her and meet her around the start line and I agree. She calls back a few minutes later saying never mind because they are already being taken to the water station...but still doesn't know which one. The drive to the race is a short one since I only live about 10 minutes away. She calls back as I'm parking and says she will be at the 1 and 12 mile marker ( this is an out and back course)

The race course is on a 8.25 mile section of an old two lane highway (Route 17) that runs next to the intercoastal waterway...the waterway runs from way up north near NY to Fl...I've heard...but we are only running a 6.5 mile out and back section that has recently been made into the Great Dismal Swamp Trail and park where people can hike, bike, rollerblade, walk their dogs, ride horses, fish...they can almost do anything except use motorized vehicles. So it is a very pretty setting with a long straight two lane asphalt road with water on one side and trees and bushes on both sides. When the trail was first created, a Boy Scout...as part of his Eagle Scout project...had put out quarter mile markers the length of the 8.25 mile main section, so it is a great place to run and bike and a great place to have bike and running races. The beauty of it also is that it's a great place to do long runs...an out and back on the main trail is 17 miles but there is an additional 1.5 mile section of road connected to it, so it's great for a 20 mile run also.

I get to the course and get parked about a mile from the start line. They do have vans shuttling runners to the start area, but I'm there early so I walk/jog to the start are as a warm up. As I get near the start area, I see a stream of cars coming in from both directions and think there is noway they can get over 1600 runner's vehicles in such a small area...but they evidently did...although later I heard that some runners were late to the start line...some almost 30 minutes. I wait near the port-a-potties since I usually have to go two or three times before the race, and look for people I know but can't spot any...which is unusual...there are lots of local races in Virginia Beach and Norfolk and you usually see the normal local runners. I get my three potty breaks in and it's 10 minutes before race time and I head to the start line and look for the 1:30 pace group...that is my ultimate goal to break 1:30 with a realistic goal of under 1:40...my previous race PR was 1:45 six months ago and during my training I have run 1:38 and 1:36 and during the Shamrock marathon just a month ago, my 13.1 mile split was 1:43. Five minutes before the start of the race...I feel the urge to go...again! But the port-a-potties are about 300 yards back with long lines. I look around for a suitable spot and since there are lots of trees around, I head to the canal side with some nice size trees, and then of course...I can't get it started. I hear from the speakers as the guy is counting down how many more minutes to the start time..."It is now two minutes till start time"...come on any day now..."It is now one minute to start time"...and I'm finally going..."It is 30 seconds till start time"...and I'm still going and trying to hurry...10...9...8...I finish and race to the start line...3...2...1...and we're off and I push start on my watch as I cross the start line. The Kenyans, Ethiopians and other elites are of course sprinting way in front already. I spy the 1:30 pace group and settle in with them...there are only about four of us. The pace seems to be really fast but I'm thinking I just need a few miles to loosen up and all will be fine and then glance at my watch at the .5 mile marker and see that my watch hadn't started...I guess I didn't push the start hard enough. So I decide to rely on the actual time which was real close to the start time at 8:00. We get near the 1 mile water stop and see a line of JROTC cadets in their blue t-shirts and pick out my daughter...and tell her hi as I get a cup of water still running full stride, and she says "Go Daddy!"...I don't need the water yet but I get one anyway and take a few sips and throw it at a trash receptacle...and it misses...I have this great big urge to stop and put it in the receptacle...but of course I don't. I'm still with the 1:30 pace group going through the two mile mark and they seem to be on time but I am feeling way to good and set my sights on a big pack of runners about 100 yards ahead and pick up my speed just a bit. As I get near the big pack...the pack seems to be shedding runners as it seems to be picking up speed. I pass a few and finally settle in with a girl who seems to be running my pace. I start a conversation as I feel a couple of rain drops. She was from Norfolk and had also raced in some of the races that I had...like the Fleet Week Half ...my first half marathon and Richmond ...my first marathon. Her marathon personal best was around 3:06 something and her half best was around 1:28 and she was hoping to PR. As we were talking about awful race pictures...since we were coming up to and passing the race photographers around the four mile mark...we hear this group coming up behind us and then passing us...it was the 1:30 pace group...which really surprised us since we were doing a pretty good pace and had passed the 3 mile split time clock at 19 and change. We stayed with them for a bit but around the five mile mark, I let them go since I felt they were going faster than my pace. We started seeing groups of elites racing back from the turn around point by the time we were passing the five mile marker...the turn around point was around the 6.5 mile mark. The next split time clock was at 6 miles and I went through that at 40 plus change and was still feeling good and confident that I could still do this in 1:30 even though the 1:30 pace group was a bit ahead of me. Came up to the turn around point and made the quick double back being careful not to slip and twist an ankle or something. It's fun to do an out and back because you can see all the other racers on the course as you double back and see and greet people you know as well as size up the competitors. I started running with another girl who was also racing for a 1:30. She had travelled in from northern Virgina that same day something like over three hours drive. We were talking and I hear this breathing that sounds like a train coming up from behind and I was just mentioning that it sounded like a train was behind us this older runner came by and said..."Here's the train coming by". All three of us were laughing and wishing each other good luck as he slowly pulled ahead...then the competitor in me is thinking...hey...he's probably in my age group and I better stick with him...So I yell out asking about his age group and we find out that he's in an older...55-59...group and I settle back in my stride and let him go. In hindsight, I should have stuck with him because he finished in just under 1:30. The next split time clock was at 10 miles and I went through that in 1:09. With 3 miles left, I still thought I could do it in 21 minutes and still get my 1:30 time and so tried to up the pace since I had dropped a lot from the 6 to 10 miles. At the 12 mile water stop, again I said hi to my daughter and got a cup of water from her as they were all cheering for me as I went by! With a little over a mile to go I looked at my watch which said I had about 5:10 minutes to get there for a 1:30 and I knew I wouldn't make it but still tried to up my pace. As I was nearing the finish line, I hear "Go Charles" to my right and glance over to see my wife taking pictures...her first to see me race...I felt really good! I cross the finish line with the time showing 1:32:25.

As I'm going through the finish corral, I'm searching for my wife as the helpers are running after me trying to get my timing chip. We finally get the chip off and I get my medal and a couple of bottles of water and a picture taken and see my wife trying to get a picture too. Twas a great feeling...it felt wonderful. We went back to the finish line looking for some of her and my friends finishing the race. We stayed till about the 1:55 time mark cheering racers on when it started to rain...she hadn't brought an umbrella and with the temps still in the 40's, it was feeling really cold, we decided to leave and walked back to our cars...as I'm walking back, I meet up with the first girl I ran with and found out she had PR'd in 1:26 and we congratulated each other. By the time I reached my truck it was raining pretty hard and I was cold and soaked...but feeling really good! We got back to the house and I had already taken a shower and put on some dry clothes and went online to see if the results were posted...thinking it was way too soon...but they were posted. I searched for my name and see that I came in First in my age group. Now when I first got to the race in the morning, I had seen the trophies for the race, which were wood...or were they plastic...carvings of blue herons...the official symbol of the great City of Chesapeake...where I live... and had wishfully thought it would be great to have one...even a third place one would have been nice...but with so many runners, my chances weren't looking too good. Well...it was only about 11:30 when I saw the posted results and my wife suggested I go back to get it, so I drive back to the race...mind you, I only live 10 minutes away...and found someone to get me my 1st place age group award bird. All was good now...a great PR...a 1st place age group award...and having my wife and daughter, who watch me race for the first time, be there too...Like they say in that commercial...Priceless!

Race Results:
There were 75 finishers in the Male 50 to 54 age group and 1366 total finishers.
Overall finish place was 66
Age group finish place was 1
Gender finish place was 56
Time: 1:32:26.25 for a pace of 7:03 per mile
3M time was 19:50.95 for a pace of 6:37 per mile
6M time was 40:44.40 for a pace of 6:58 per mile
10M time was 1:09:18.75 for a pace of 7:09 per mile