Geeking it up

This morning's running checklist:

Running shoes with little reflective panels...check. (No need for my YakTrax today.) Left- and right-specific, moisture resistant ankle socks...check. Shorts with built-in compression liner and zipper pocket in the back...check. Spi-belt...check. Runderwear...check. Free marathon finisher tech shirt...check. Neoprene arm band-strapped MP3 player...check. Garmin...check. Garmin heart-rate monitor...check. Oval 13.1 and 26.2 stickers on rear car windshield...check. Sweat-resistant car seat cover...check....

Brand new personal head lamp...check.

Yep, I'm a running geek.

To wit:

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 665 ft Location: Broken Arrow, OK Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 01/20/10 Up/Downhill: [+521/-521] Time: 05:40 AM Difficulty: 3.1 / 5.0 Weather: Partly Cloudy 59 F temp; 86% humidity 59 F heat index; winds S 6 Performance Distance: 8.02 miles Time: 1:05:52 Speed: 7.3 mph Pace: 8' 13 /mi Heart Rate: 161 bpm (Avg) Calories: 950 191 bpm (Peak) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 24 +0' 11 7.1 -0.2 +6 ft 2 8' 09 -0' 04 7.4 +0.1 +49 ft 3 8' 16 +0' 03 7.2 -0.1 -13 ft 4 8' 17 +0' 04 7.2 -0.1 +29 ft 5 8' 11 -0' 02 7.3 +0.0 -19 ft 6 8' 06 -0' 07 7.4 +0.1 +3 ft 7 8' 07 -0' 06 7.4 +0.1 -50 ft 8 8' 07 -0' 06 7.4 +0.1 -6 ft end 7' 30 -0' 43 8.0 +0.7 0 ft Versus average of 8' 13 min/mile

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I should add to the list: Running blog with post entitled, "Geeking it up"...check.

The new head lamp was surprisingly awesome. (To me, anyway. I know that it would serve as a source of pure embarrassment to my children, were they a little older.) Just picked it up at Runner's World yesterday. I was afraid it would be uncomfortable and itchy, but the high-quality, thick strap is great. (I would recommend paying the extra $15 for the improved strap alone.) And it was nice and bright--exactly what I've been looking for for those early morning, pre-sunrise runs on the completely unlit Creek Turnpike Trail.

And by the way, the little reflective panels on my shoes look really cool when the light of the head lamp hits them.

Moving Beyond What I am Accustomed to

Saturday's run kicked my butt. We were scheduled for 16 miles, but after having taken December's long runs off to rest up, I was only up to about 12 miles. And many times during that 12 miles, I had considered cutting it even shorter. According to my Garmin and Bones in Motion, we averaged an 8:26 pace, ranging from 9:33 m/m to 7:58 m/m.

In an attempt to maintain my pride during future runs, this weekend I began accepting that I'm going to have to start moving outside of the pace I have become accustomed. It will simply be necessary if I want to hang with my Saturday running group, and ultimately, to come in under 4 hours at a marathon. Ultimately, I see the change as a good thing, but it's not going to be easy. I'm going to be in the "enduring" phase for a while--not yet "embracing."

This morning, I tried to improve my pace a little. I did so, but I would emphasize "a little." I was kind of disappointed when I looked at my Garmin at the end of my run to see 52 minutes. My hope was to be a little closer to 48 minutes. I did catch myself coasting every once in a while during this morning's run, but for most of it, I was engaged and actively trying to improve my pace. Just going to take practice and repetition I suppose.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 688 ft Location: Broken Arrow, OK Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 01/18/10 Up/Downhill: [+446/-446] Time: 05:45 AM Difficulty: 3.4 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 38 F temp; 92% humidity 38 F heat index; winds SE 5 Performance Distance: 6.38 miles Time: 0:52:27 Speed: 7.3 mph Pace: 8' 13 /mi Heart Rate: 159 bpm (Avg) Calories: 754 189 bpm (Peak Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 22 +0' 09 7.2 -0.1 +40 ft 2 8' 20 +0' 07 7.2 -0.1 +46 ft 3 8' 16 +0' 03 7.2 -0.1 -40 ft 4 8' 15 +0' 02 7.3 -0.0 -7 ft 5 8' 16 +0' 03 7.2 -0.1 +49 ft 6 8' 00 -0' 13 7.5 +0.2 -46 ft end 7' 52 -0' 21 7.6 +0.3 -42 ft Versus average of 8' 13 min/mile

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Warmer Temps Do Not Necessarily Mean Better Conditions

I love cold weather, and I really love running in cold weather. However, even I was ready for some above-freezing temperatures, primarily to melt off the snow and ice that have covered the Creek Turnpike Trail to some extent since Christmas Eve. In the last couple of days, we've finally seen these longed-for higher temperatures in Tulsa. The sustained "warmth" (temps in the 40's, that is) and the anticipated thawing of the Trail had me all excited about this morning's run.

I parked on Garnett, across the street from Grace Fellowship and headed west. I ran on the turnpike offramp for the length of the church property. It was well-cleared, but that is nothing new. It has been for some time now. Once the offramp ended, I caught the path itself.

It did not take me long to realize that there was black ice laced in random spots all along the path. At 5:30 in the morning, the thin sheets of ice were especially hard to see, and because moisture was creeping over the surface of the path all over the place, they were even harder to avoid.

Close to a mile in, after several slips, I decided to forgo the rest of the run for the day--not worth slipping and falling. I ended up with not quite 2 miles. Impressive, I know.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Broken Arrow, OK Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 01/14/10 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 05:35 AM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0 Weather: Overcast 44 F temp; 70% humidity 44 F heat index; winds S 6 Performance Distance: 1.85 miles Time: 0:16:16 Speed: 6.8 mph Pace: 8' 48 /mi Heart Rate: 154 bpm (Avg) Calories: 212 180 bpm (Peak Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 167 - 185 0h 06m 40% 0.78 mi Zone 4 148 - 167 0h 05m 29% 0.56 mi Zone 3 130 - 148 0h 04m 23% 0.42 mi Zone 2 111 - 130 0h 02m 10% 0.16 mi Zone 1 93 - 111 0h 00m 0% 0.00 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0% 0.01 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 12 +0' 24 6.5 -0.3 162 -- ft end 8' 22 -0' 26 7.2 +0.3 144 -- ft Versus average of 8' 48 min/mile

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Hitting the Trails--Literally

This past Saturday, instead of running with the Runner's World marathon training group, I decided to try something different. So Saturday morning at 7:00, I met up with the TATURS for a 6-mile trail run in the 10-degree weather.

Seven or eight of us gathered, bundled from head to toe, on Turkey Mountain. After a few words of instruction, we started heading up the mountain, single-file.

We hit ice right away, and I was immediately mad at myself for not bringing my Yaktrax. We slowly, gingerly tiptoed across a lengthy section of icy trail. It didn't take long for me to fall--twice. (I'm getting used to it now.) The first was an all out splat. The second, a mere slip and quick fall. Both, slips on the ice.

To be honest, I did not love the experience; however, I think much of that is due to the fact that I chose the wrong day for my first trail outing. Once we finished, Marvin, our leader, was discussing with us some of the differences between trail running and road running. He pointed out that road runners (for lack of a better term) are regularly monitoring pace and distance, while trail runners are often focusing more on time.

As he was talking, I was thinking to myself that one aspect of running that I really enjoy is the pace and distance part. So I probably will not become a regular trail runner, but I'm also sure I will be trying hard to work it in to my running schedule on a regular basis. It definitely works on areas untouched by road running. One aspect of trail running that I really appreciate is that the brain cannot disengage. If you coast and take your eyes off of the trail, you may very well end up on the ground.

This morning's run actually seemed colder than Saturday's, probably because there are no trees to block the wind on the Creek Turnpike path. I was surprised that there were still entire sections of the path that were completely covered in snow and ice. At one point, I even veered off of the path, simply because I could not see it. Pace was slow today (see, I can't help focusing on it!) because of it.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 688 ft Location: Broken Arrow, OK Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 01/11/10 Up/Downhill: [+413/-413] Time: 05:46 AM Difficulty: 3.9 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 21 F temp; 77% humidity 21 F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 6.01 miles Time: 0:52:10 Speed: 6.9 mph Pace: 8' 41 /mi Heart Rate: 157 bpm (Avg) Calories: 708 187 bpm (Peak) Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Heart Rate (bpm) Heart Rate Zones Zone Range (bpm) Time In Zone Distance In Zone Zone 5 167 - 185 0h 08m 14% 0.85 mi Zone 4 148 - 167 0h 37m 71% 4.32 mi Zone 3 130 - 148 0h 08m 15% 0.97 mi Zone 2 111 - 130 0h 00m 0% 0.01 mi Zone 1 93 - 111 0h 00m 0% 0.00 mi (none) out of range 0h 00m 0% 0.02 mi Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Heart Rate Elev Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 53 +0' 12 6.8 -0.2 171 +40 ft 2 8' 52 +0' 11 6.8 -0.1 156 +52 ft 3 8' 54 +0' 13 6.7 -0.2 149 -49 ft 4 8' 50 +0' 09 6.8 -0.1 155 +49 ft 5 8' 18 -0' 23 7.2 +0.3 156 -59 ft end 8' 25 -0' 16 7.1 +0.2 154 -33 ft Versus average of 8' 41 min/mile

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A Few Firsts at the Las Vegas Rock n' Roll Marathon

With this being my first time to visit Sin City, it seemed appropriate that I experience a few "Firsts" at the Las Vegas Rock n' Roll Marathon on December 6. Travel While I have driven a few hours here or there to attend previous marathons, this was the first time I actually had to pack up for significant travel to be in a marathon. I arrived Saturday afternoon, unloaded my luggage in my room at the Paris, and began a walking trek down the Las Vegas Strip to Mandalay Bay to get checked in at the health expo (which was by far the biggest event of its kind I have attended). Realizing the folly of my mode of travel on the way out, I took a cab back to the Paris. Surprisingly, I was able to sleep Saturday night, and I woke up Sunday morning feeling ready for the race (this feeling due in part no doubt to the extra 2 hrs. Pacific Time afforded me). Sunday morning, I took the monorail to the MGM Grand, which put me much closer to the Mandalay. Monorail: another marathon travel first. I found my starting "corral" easily, and luckily, there was an opening in the gate right next to it. The crowd began to pack in, and before too long, the fireworks announcing the start of the race went off to the east... ...Thirty minutes later, I crossed the Start Line. Indeed, there were so many people racing that it took over 28 minutes for my race to begin. While we in Corral 15 waited, we were able to watch the previous 14 corrals cross the Start line on the huge screen in the Mandalay Bay sign. The route took us just south of town where we u-turned to see that famous diamond-shaped Las Vegas welcome sign. Our path took us from one end of the Strip to the other. This was a perfect opportunity to see some of the amazing hotels (and to get oriented for the upcoming work week--I would be attending a trade show hosted by my company through Thursday). At the north end, we wove through some neighborhood roads, and eventually turned back to the south, back to the Strip. The Fall At the beginning of the race, I noticed that the road we were running on had groups of white reflective bumps that served as lane-dividers. I made a mental note to myself to stay off of these. At mile 9, I began to get hungry, so I pulled out my baggie of Sam's Brand chocolate-covered peanut butter and chocolate shortbread cookies. I was having trouble opening the ziplock bag with my gloves on, and just as the endeavor consumed my last bit of attention, my right foot hit one of the white reflective bumps; one of the very ones I had made a mental note avoid maybe 8 miles previous. The next 10 seconds were in slow motion. I vividly remember mentally berating myself: "I told myself to watch out for these!" The thoughts that followed: "I think I'm going to be able to hold it...no, I'm not going to make it..." BOOM! I landed on my hands and knees and my cookies slid far away from me. I got right back up and continued running with only a sore right knee and sore knuckles. The bloody results were very minimal (see picture, right). But it was the first time (and hopefully the last time) I have fallen during a race. The worst part of the fall: I lost my bag of cookies without ever eating a single one. I did still have my Gu, and there were a couple of Gu stops along the track, which I utilized. (I felt the city of Las Vegas owed me the Gu as a result of foolishly placing the groups of white reflective bumps that served as lane-dividers all along my running path.) One positive result of the fall was that I received a quick burst of endorphins. I also regained my focus, which kept me off of the groups of white reflective bumps that served as lane-dividers for the remainder of the race. At this point, I simply collected the pieces of my shattered pride and continued on. We veered off the Strip about halfway back. At this point, we were about 2-3 miles into a gradual 12-mile incline that would take us to mile 20. These miles were without incident. At around mile 14, I received another rush of endorphins as I experienced the much-coveted "runner's high" while trying to hammer away at a particularly nasty incline on the city streets. Paramore's "Hallelujah" was playing (one of the most motivating songs in the 1000+ on my MP3 player), and I looked over to see one runner placing her arm behind another runner to help support her as she struggled with the hill. It perfectly captured the spirit of the running community, and it was a moment I'm glad I did not overlook. Shoes Untied--Twice I love my New Balance 758s. Probably the best pair of shoes I've had since my Mizzunos from last year. One feature I particualrly like is the cool lumpy shoelaces that allegedly stay tight and tied. The latter, I discovered, is not necessarily so. I don't remember which mile I was on the first time I heard that familiar swap-click-swap-click-swap-click, but I know I was far enough into the race to have felt sore when I steered off the path to bend over and tie them. (Based on my pace map below, looks like it was around mile 16 or 17.) I tied them, pulling the laces tight, thinking I must have just been careless in my initial tie. I remember very well where I was the second time they came untied: I was actually looking at the Mile 25 marker. I remember saying aloud to myself, "You've got to be kidding!" Apparently, the trouble was not caused by a careless tie; that is, unless you consider failing to tie in a double-knot careless. From now on, I will consider it so. No Walking In the three marathons I had run in previous to Las Vegas, I had walked varying distances of each race, from the handful of water stops in the last 6 miles of the Route 66 in November, to what surely amounted to several miles in OKC this past April. I recently read an article about the ways people hammered out the last 6 miles of a marathon. One idea I thought was a particularly good idea was that of dedicating each of the last 6 miles to someone significant. I was not sure I wanted to go this route, for fear that I would hit an insurmountable wall during these last miles, and then I'd feel badly for failing on someone's mile. Nevertheless, at mile 20, I texted my wife to tell her that that mile was for her. At mile 21, I texted her again to tell her I was dedicating the mile to my daughter, which was good, since I had misspelled during my wife's mile, and she needed the additional text to clarify. (Hey, it's hard to text while running and wearing gloves!) Mile 22 was for my son. I continued dedicating each of the next few miles to people close to me, wrapping up with the final 1.2 miles dedicated to my father, whose death about a decade ago still stings sorely. The dedications truly did motivate me, and when I finally hit the finish line, I walked--for the first time in 26.2 miles. My official time was 4:03:20, a 46-second improvement over the Route 66 and a new PR for me. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 2213 ft Location: Spring Valley, NV Elev. Gain: +7 ft Date: 12/06/09 Up/Downhill: [+659/-652] Time: 06:45 AM Difficulty: 3.9 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 26.40 miles Time: 4:03:00 Speed: 6.5 mph Pace: 9' 12 /mi Calories: 3115 Map Elevation (ft) Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 10' 25 +1' 13 5.8 -0.8 +26 ft 2 9' 06 -0' 06 6.6 +0.1 -39 ft 3 8' 54 -0' 18 6.7 +0.2 -26 ft 4 8' 51 -0' 21 6.8 +0.2 -19 ft 5 8' 48 -0' 24 6.8 +0.3 -36 ft 6 8' 52 -0' 20 6.8 +0.2 -26 ft 7 8' 54 -0' 18 6.7 +0.2 -19 ft 8 8' 56 -0' 16 6.7 +0.2 +4 ft 9 8' 50 -0' 22 6.8 +0.3 +13 ft 10 9' 03 -0' 09 6.6 +0.1 +26 ft 11 8' 58 -0' 14 6.7 +0.2 +42 ft 12 9' 02 -0' 10 6.6 +0.1 +49 ft 13 9' 12 +0' 00 6.5 -0.0 +59 ft 14 8' 58 -0' 14 6.7 +0.2 +43 ft 15 8' 47 -0' 25 6.8 +0.3 0 ft 16 9' 10 -0' 02 6.5 +0.0 +55 ft 17 9' 17 +0' 05 6.5 -0.1 +65 ft 18 9' 16 +0' 04 6.5 -0.1 +7 ft 19 9' 33 +0' 21 6.3 -0.2 +42 ft 20 9' 34 +0' 22 6.3 -0.3 +52 ft 21 9' 00 -0' 12 6.7 +0.1 -65 ft 22 9' 04 -0' 08 6.6 +0.1 -45 ft 23 9' 07 -0' 05 6.6 +0.1 -62 ft 24 9' 20 +0' 08 6.4 -0.1 -59 ft 25 9' 48 +0' 36 6.1 -0.4 -55 ft 26 9' 51 +0' 39 6.1 -0.4 -13 ft end 9' 14 +0' 02 6.5 -0.0 -9 ft Versus average of 9' 12 min/mile

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