Lost in Houston

I'm in Houston on business. So I head down to the hotel "fitness center" this morning. Three treadmills. Two are being used, one is broken. So I decide to venture out. You see where this is going, so since I'm on my Blackberry, I'll not include every detail. In a nutshell, I got lost. And after being directed to the wrong Marriott by a large female parking lot security guard in a golf cart, and getting my running shoes muddy from running in a construction zone, I finally made it back. No idea how far I ran, but the round trip took me about 45 minutes, making me late for breakfast with my colleagues.

Couldn't not run today...20 miles on Saturday.

Arch Enemy (It's a pun)

After icing my left arch for two days and staying off of it for two days, I finally got out this morning to run. In addition to the above measures, I also bought arch supports for my running shoes. My healing labor may have helped. Even though I could feel some soreness during my run, it passed soon after I quit.

It was colder than I had expected this morning, which required a quick clothes change just before I went out. But it was a nice cool morning with almost no breeze.

I'll be in Houston tomorrow. I hope I can find a good 5-mile track.

3-25-09
Distance: 7 miles
Time: 58:34
Avg. Mile Pace: 8:16

A Stinky Run

This past Saturday's run with the Runner's World group was down the west side of the Arkansas River. Unfortunately, this path is adjacent to a refinery, a power plant, and a water treatment center. It was an out-and-back, so basically, there was no relief from the smells that billow from such places for the entire run

The run was supposed to be 10 miles, but I ended up turning around at the wrong place, and logging only 9.5 miles for the day. I guess that's what I get for being late!

Monday's (yesterday's) 5-mile neighborhood run was ridiculously windy. I have a thing with wind; I hate it. Even when I'm not running. And running on windy days only exacerbates my disdain for the wind. Also, my MP3 player died less than a mile into my run. But really, that's OK. I couldn't hear it anyway--BECAUSE OF THE WIND!

I moved this morning's 7-mile run to tomorrow. My left arch has been pretty sore lately. I bought some arch supports yesterday, and I iced my foot last night and took some Advil. My hope is that all of that plus a day of rest will make this Saturday's 20-mile run a little less painful.

3-21-09
Distance: 9.5 miles
Time: 1:23 hours (apprx.)
Avg. Mile Pace: 8:18

3-23-09
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 41:59
Avg. Mile Pace: 8:19

A Day Off

Yesterday morning, I skipped my regular Thursday 5-mile run. Haven't missed a day since January, but I'm actually not too bothered by it. In the past, I would occasionally intentionally skip a day, just to give my body a short break. Of course, my skipping of yesterday's run was nothing nearly so noble as giving my body a rest. It was, in fact, because of a particularly festive evening Wednesday night in celebration of big events at work. Despite the fact that there was no good reason to miss, the rest did feel good, and while I did have a few mental proddings to get out and make up for it last night, I decided against it. My left arch has been sore for about 3 weeks straight now-I believe a case of plantar fasciitis-so I welcomed the rest. And I'm looking forward to a solid 10-mile tomorrow morning with the Runner's World group.

A Lesson Learned

As I mentioned in my previous post, this past Saturday's 18.4-mile run with the Runner's World group was pretty tough. And like a kid who got his arm stuck in a vending machine, I think I've learned my lesson. I've never been one to push myself athletically. I've run a half marathon and a few 5K's in the past, but even then, I can remember thinking to myself, "all I want to do is finish." (Yes, I said 5K.) But this past Saturday showed me that it's time for a fundamental shift in the way I think about athleticism.

The mantra that has been going through my head during my runs since this past Saturday is, "Do the hard work now." I've actively tried to improve my speed, and consequently, my lung capacity, realizing that if I don't improve strength and lung capacity now during my 5- and 7-mile runs, I'm going to be in bad shape on April 26 (and beyond).

Last Saturday was a very good lesson for me. I don't think I'm too late to see noticeable speed, strength, and endurance improvements in the next month and a half. But in order for that to happen, I'm going to have to make very intentional attempts to improve in the next 5-6 weeks. And I'm going to need a pretty mean drill sergeant in my head.

3-17-09
Distance: 7 miles
Time: 57:37 (PR)
Avg. Mile Pace: 8:07

18 Miles of Reality

Two weeks since 16.4 and I was ready to go even farther. Or so I thought.

Not sure if it's the leisurely pace I have frequently run in my long days up to this point, or the regular stops I have taken on my long days up to this point, but this past Saturday's Runner's World 18.4-mile training run was WORK! Knees and arches started getting sore around mile 10 or 11, and I knew I was in trouble. I was able to run almost the entire track with an old high school friend of mine up until the last 4 miles. He received a call from work, so the last 4 miles were mine to battle alone. Actually, it was probably a good thing because my struggle was pretty obvious.

Still no real concerns about completing 26.2 though. I've got to make sure my form is good. Got to keep trying to work out the arch pain I've been having in my left foot throughout the weeks. Got to work harder during my weekday runs. And I've got to mentally prepare for the reality of running that long of a stretch. Obviously, 26.2 miles is not impossible, but I don't think it's supposed to be easy. After 16.4, I think I had deceived myself into thinking that 26.2 and 16.4 probably didn't feel too different. Now, I have more respect for the mileage.

I did try to dig in a little more during this morning's 5-mile run, but still didn't move as quickly as I would liked to have. The late night last night for my wife's surprise birthday party (thank goodness I'm not keeping that secret anymore!) didn't help, but I've run 5 miles on even less sleep than I got last night! I guess a good thing about running is that it is a constant (and constantly changing) challenge. You don't just win and quit. You can always improve some aspect.


3-14-09
Distance: 18.4 miles
Time: 3 hours (apprx.)
Avg. Mile Pace: 9:46

3-16-09
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 40:12
Avg. Mile Pace: 7:58

Hurry Up and Wait

Tomorrow, I run 18 miles with the Runner's World group--the farthest I've run so far. Every two weeks, we bump up our distance by 2 miles. (The alternating weeks are shorter distances for recovery and other training.) For the 13 days previous to each long run, I think to myself, "I know I can do this. Why don't I just do it now." Or I think, "I know I can run x miles, so why not run an extra two for x + 2 miles and get ahead." But then there's a part of me that says, "I want to stick with the training regimen and prolong the excitement." After hitting 16.4 two weeks ago, I knew I would ultimately be able to accomplish 26.2. I think I could have just knocked out the additional 9.8 2 weeks ago for the full distance, but it would have been like finding out what you were getting for Christmas--in October. The training schedule is good because it helps prevent injury, but it also provides long term anticipation that makes it seem impossible to wait for the big day. (And that's a good thing.)

Cold Again

As is typical in Oklahoma, the daytime temperature dropped from the 70's to the 30's in the matter of a day, so this morning, I was back to my long-sleeved shirt, my cold-weather tights, and my running vest again. Fortunately, I finished my run before the "winter-mix" rolled in--as I left my house for work this morning, the freezing rain had started.

Despite the cold, I was finally able to get below 8-minute miles again, something I have not done since December 23. It felt good to work harder for that time, and it reminded me of how lazy I've gotten in my Saturday morning distance runs with the Runner's World group. Gotta work on that.

As far as long range plans, I am contemplating trying for Marathon Maniac (bronze) status with three races toward the end of the year: The Chicago Marathon (October 11), the Spirit of the Osage 50K (Missouri, November 1), and the Route 66 Marathon (Oklahoma, November 22). Not only would I take care of Marathon Maniac status by running these races, but I would also hit another goal of mine: a 50K, and on a paved road to boot. Still haven't made a final decision on this yet.

3-12-08
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 39:41 (PR)
Avg. Mile Pace: 7:52

Is This What Running Really Is?

Again, 5:30 came early this morning. To be exact, sixty minutes of beautiful sleep potential earlier than what I have been accustomed to.

I put on running pants before checking the temperature. 70 degrees?? Well, I was already dressed, and I didn't want to wake my wife by going back in and changing into shorts. I just kept telling myself, "you'll lose weight this way!"

A half mile into my run, the music stopped. I looked at the MP3 player strapped to my arm, but couldn't quite make out the message being displayed. So I ripped it off my arm and looked closely at the screen as though it held precious secrets of life: Battery Depleted. Ugh. Six and a half more miles of listening to my feet hit the pavement.

From mile two to three, I ran around and through a big neighborhood block where apparently a skunk was also spending his morning. Moving into miles four and five, I ran past a neighborhood trash truck. It was a morning of lovely smells.

As I was wrapping up miles six and seven, I was asking myself, "is this what running really is? Dead MP3 players, dark mornings, skunks and trash trucks?"

Being honest with myself, I realized that, yes, that probably is real life--that is probably what I can often expect from running. And I then thought to myself, "I'm OK with that."

3-10-08
Distance: 7 miles
Time: 1:01:56
Avg. Mile Pace: 8:43

In the Dark Again

Despite the not-so-sunny 9-mile run with the Runner's World group on Saturday, this morning's run seemed unusually dark, thanks to daylight savings. It was tough getting up this morning knowing that it was really 4:30, but I knew that I would feel better today if I just got out of bed and ran. I was tired after a night of teething 1 year old last night, and I made no attempt to beat any records this morning.

Saturday's run with the Runner's World group was nice, easy 9-mile run. (Daryl and I joked about the relativity of the perception of running distances. What is now a nice, easy, short run was once a distance that seemed impossible!) Aside from the ridiculous wind, the weather (temperature) was pretty nice for a run, and the slow pace with occasional stops made for pretty relaxing training. This coming weekend however, I have decided that I've got to step it up in my training if I want to come in anywhere below 5 hours on April 26. I have been a little lazy lately in my long runs, maintaining 10+ mile paces, and stopping much more often than I really need to, with no speed work at all.

3-7-09
Distance: 9.4 miles
Time: Not measured
Avg. Mile Pace: Not measured


3-9-09
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 42:54
Avg. Mile Pace: 8:31

The Power of Goals

I'm not a big "goal guy" when it comes to running. I have hopes whenever I run races, but with regard to running, I don't set too many real goals.

On Monday of this week, when I had full intentions of running 7 miles the next morning (if you read my previous post, you saw that that did not happen), I thought, "Wouldn't it be nice to run my 7-mile in under an hour tomorrow?" This thought evolved into "I hope I run my 7-mile in under an hour." Then, a strange thing happened. The thought leapt from water to land and became, "My goal is to run my 7-mile in under an hour." Weird. Incidentally, up to this point, my fastest 7-mile morning run was 1:01:53, so I had to shave off about 2 minutes in running the short, serpentine 7-mile track through nearby neighborhoods--a track I have been running since mid-January.

So I ended up moving my 7-mile to today (Thursday). This morning's run was a little tougher than usual. I was pretty tired this morning, and there was a decent breeze, especially when running south. On top of that, the first 3 of 4 songs that played on my MP3 player were by Live. Don't get me wrong: I love the band, but they are just not the most inspirational when it comes time to run.

As I was running this morning, I would catch myself slowing down, and I'd remind myself of my goal. As I ran the final 3/4 mile around the "shell" of my neighborhood, I did not have high hopes. I expected to see 1:03+ when I picked up my "stopwatch" (an old iPod). As I ran up my driveway (unusually exhausted) and picked up my iPod, the animated digital numbers I saw made me laugh out loud:

59:01

I think I'll keep setting goals.

3-5-08
Distance: 7 miles
Time: 59:01
Avg. Mile Pace: 8:19

What Can this Mean?

I woke up at 5:30 this morning, ready to run my regular Tuesday 7-mile run. Then, I made the mistake of checking my Blackberry. Forty-five minutes and one lengthy, moderately heated e-mail reply later, I realized that I had lost my opportunity to run this morning. I was not too bothered, as I have occasionally taken a day off every so many weeks in the past, and have actually felt very good as a result. So I went on with my day.

The thought of running kept popping into my head as I drove to work. At work, I could feel myself getting antsy. I contemplated a walk on the treadmill at lunch, but I knew that wouldn't do the trick. By about 2:00 this afternoon, I had decided that somehow, I was going to have to slip out of the house this evening and run. I just had to figure out how! As the day progressed, my opportunity became clear: The Bachelor was on again tonight for a full hour. No way would I be caught dead watching that show. The kids would be in bed, and I knew my wife would be glued to the TV. It was The Office's "win-win-win"!

About an hour and a half after two helpings of spaghetti and meatballs, I donned my Nike tights and a short-sleeved shirt, and I was out the door. Despite my Rhapsody problems of late, I was able to listen to some new music on my old Verizon phone. I was a little bothered by the mellowness of Poor Old Lu at first, but I then realized that so soon after dinner, I did not need to run with any serious intensity.

My gut was full for 4 of the 5 miles. I guess during the 5th mile, things had completely settled. I passed 6 people while running, all of them men, all of them no doubt also trying to escape their Bachelor-broadcasting homes. I also noticed some things I don't normally get to see during my morning runs, like the solar-powered landscaping lights in the lawn of my wife's childhood home, which I run past 3 days a week.

Most of my thoughts during my run focused on the upcoming marathon. Cowtown was this past weekend, and a few of my friends went. I'm sure it was very exciting, and it makes me anticipate April 26th that much more.

Ultimately, my hope is that my irrepressible desire to run today was an indication that I am becoming a runner, and not just somebody who runs.

3-3-08
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 42:37
Avg. Mile Pace: 8:26

New PR: 16.4 Miles

Finally, 26.2 is less than 10 miles away! This past weekend's run was one that I had been building up in my mind for weeks leading up to it.

The run started out from Veteran's Park, heading north up Riverside. The cold wind was right in our faces, blowing as if it didn't even realize we were there (or it just didn't care). As we turned west at 11th, I thought we would get a break from the wind. Wrong! It still kept pounding away at the right side of my body as we started the long westward trek toward the opposite side of Sand Springs. At least there was plenty of new scenery to enjoy: crashed police cars and fire trucks at the Tulsa city vehicle maintenance facility, a house that had obviously experienced a fire, but was still being lived in (the burned items had simply been dragged to the back patio), and a church that looked to be holding regular services despite the fact that its windows and back doors were boarded up.

The group I was running with was maintaining a pace around 10:00 with plenty of water breaks. This more relaxed pace was just about what I was looking for in order to see how a distance like this would feel. In two weeks though, I hope to bump it up some. (18 miles)

At the turnaround (McDonald's on Hwy 97), I knew I could not go any farther without a restroom break. This added a good 10 minutes to my "out" time; fortunately, Rob had his Garmin set to auto-pause, so I was able to get a McDonald's-free time at the end.

The run back was quiet. The wind was now working away at my left side, and the sun was starting to peek through the clouds. We were all a little quieter on the return, as soreness and tiredness were setting in. Aside from my nearly choking on a jelly bean, the return trip was without incident.

It did not hit me for a minute or so after I finished that I had just broken my previous personal (distance) record of 14.5 miles. I did however now know for sure that 26.2 could and would happen.

2-28-08
Distance: 16.4 miles
Time: ~2:40 net, ~3:05 total
Avg. Mile Pace: 9:43


3-2-08
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 41:30
Avg. Mile Pace: 8:13