To finish the week Friday I ran 4 miles in 37:47 @ 9:25 pace. That is just plain crazy for me to run that fast for 4 miles, I was so happy about that run. I think I even posted something on facebook that next thing you know I’ll be running in the 8’s. Saturday is a rest day, so I packed up my running bag with some warmer clothes for Sunday’s race and long run just in case the weather decided to get nasty. Sunday’s race was at 8:30am and was about a half an hour away so I got up around 6:00 and got the rest of my stuff ready. I am also trying out a new sports drink on my long run home its call accelerade, to help out with recovery, something about 4:1 ratio with protein and such. The 5K race is also a 5K walk so the turnout was crazy at least 200 or more runners/walkers plus their families. The course was an out and back, the first 1.5 miles was mainly uphill nothing to crazy but enough were you’ll feel it and of course the way back was downhill. I usually line up at the back of the pack so I don’t get in the way of any of the faster runners. This time I lined up about ½ pack, maybe even a little more towards the front. The start of the race always feels confusing, everyone starts running around each other trying to get in there pace without running over or getting ran over by other runners. Around a ¼ mile everyone is settled in and you have some running room. A very strange thing happened in the first mile, I was passing more than getting passed. The first mile I ran in 8:25! That is just crazy for me. It really didn’t feel like I was pushing it too hard, although I started to feel the uphill a tad. Coming up to the turnaround I started to see runner’s running back towards the finish. At the turn around I noticed that there was lot of people still running behind me, I thought maybe that it was mainly the walkers thou. I ran the second mile in 8:56. I heard my Garmin beep that it was the second mile and knew that I was on the last mile so I wanted to push it just a bit more. One the last turn I could see the finish line in the distance when I got closer I was amazed that the race timer said 26: something, that’s when I started to run like hell trying to get that last few seconds. I ran mile three in 8:34. When I ran through the gates and hit stop on my Garmin and looked down I almost thought I was dreaming, 27:03! Now that’s a new PR. My official time is 27:01 and placed 85 out of 201. I could not be more proud, to think less than a year ago I couldn’t run more than 500 feet without gasping for air. My very first 5K race I think I ran it in 34:00ish, my second 5K was around 31:50 and the third one was 29:30 but that course was short 2.94 miles. 27:01 that is so cool, it makes me feel that I really am improving and just maybe someday I want be a back of the pack runner, but a middle of the pack runner.
After the race awards and a small rest I changed into some warmer gear and loaded up my belt and hit the road for the run home. Mapmyrun said that it would be a 12.67 mile run home, so that would put my around 16 miles for the day. The beginning of the run was a bit hilly up and down, I wanted to take this run really slow so I didn’t get burned out. Around mile 6 I started to get some pain in my left heel. I hate to say it but I have been getting that heel pain a lot lately, mainly the next day thou. So I walked for about 2 minutes to give it a rest and refuel. Mile 8 it started to drizzle, I hate cold rain! Trying not to think about the heel pain I pushed on. The run home ended up being 11.66 miles, I was 1.5 miles short for the 16 mile total, but I didn’t want to push it anymore. When I got home I drank my new R4 recovery drink and soaked from my waist down in the ice bath for about 10 minutes. The run home was in 2:19:23 @ an 11:57 pace. That’s not too bad given all the walking breaks I took and after running my best 5K.
Today, Monday my legs really don’t hurt that much but my heel still is giving me some trouble. Really hurts if I rest it too much. I bought a brace to wear when I go to bed that’s supposed to help with the pain. I know what it is but I don’t want to say it. Maybe that way it will go away. Only time will tell, at least this week is a recovery week. Running 4, 8, 5 and 12 miles.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Week in Review and Workout Updates
Almost forgot to update my blog for the three readers this week! Let’s get last week’s run out of the way. Monday cross train day, well nothing there yet. I do think that I am just going to plan a bike loop and on Mondays just go for a bike ride. I figure its a lot cheaper than joining a fitness club. Tuesday was a rest day. Wednesday was the last of the 3 mile runs 30:34 @ a 10:11 pace. Thursday was a 7 mile run 1:19:05 @ 11:17 pace. Thursday was a 4 mile run 42:39 @ 10:40 pace. I think that 4 miles is my new favorite distance for a run. Really feels like a challenge to see if I can run it under 10 minute miles. Saturday was a rest day. Sundays long was 15 miles, my newest distance P.R.. I ran it in 2:45:44 @ a 11:02 pace. My favorite part of the Sunday long runs is mapping it out. I use mapmyrun.com to get a general idea of the distance, sometimes I’ll even drive it with my car to see what its like and to double check the mileage. So far it has been almost perfect. 15 miles is a long way, when I planned the route I tried to make it like a figure eight loop that way if I didn’t think I could do it or something went wrong I could have a short cut home. Well nothing is to short when you’re running 15 miles so maybe a faster route home. I loaded up my water belt with 4 10oz bottles of Gatorade and a four gel packs. I try to pace myself with the fluids so they’ll last the whole trip, but that never works out very well. At about mile 7-8 I planned my run to go by my sister’s house just in case I had to make a stop for fluid remove. The run went really well started out a little to fast but got into the grove around mile 5. I felt very good around mile 8 so I didn’t have to make that stop. Wait, ok my legs were feeling somewhat heavy around mile 8 but nothing to crazy. Mile 9 I stopped for a couple of minutes for a stretching break, when I stop I usually pause my Garmin gps watch so it doesn’t record my standing there. After stretching I headed on, about mile 11 I noticed that I forgot to restart my Garmin. Damn I hate when I do that!!! So not sure how far I just ran or my real time I just kept going on the planned course hoping that it was real close to the correct mileage. I know the distances to my house from a lot of places around my neighborhood so I was pretty sure that It was correct. At mile 13ish I ran out of fluids so I had to stop off and grab a bottle or PowerAde at the store. I always love the looks the people give you at the counter when you walk in and buy one drink and run off, they always give you that look of your crazy… The last mile was really hard to keep running, I thought a lot to myself that this is only 15 miles and I’ll never be able to run 26.2 miles. Then I try to remind myself that a year ago I couldn’t run 500 feet and now today I am running 15 miles. That usually works if not I think of all the food I am going to eat when I am done. I ran 15 miles in 2:45:44 @ an 11:02 pace. (Took the total time I was out and figured the average pace then added two miles of time to the Garmin total) That brings the week total to 29 miles.
This week’s runs are going very good so far. Wednesday I ran 4 miles 41:51 @ 10:27 pace and Thursdays run was 8 miles 1:18:54 @ an 11:05 pace. In a couple of hours I am going out for Fridays run, I am hoping that it warms up a little before I go out. Saturday is rest and Sunday is the Strides of March 5k race. This leads to a very interesting subject about this Sunday’s long run. I am scheduled to run 16 miles this Sunday and the 5k is 3.1 miles to I would have to run 13 more miles after the race to keep on my training program. So I mapped it out on maymyrun.com and the race is about 12.7 mile away from my house. So yup that’s right, I am going to drive there in the morning and run my 5k race then load up my gear and run home. I really do mean run home, this will give me my 16 mile total for the day. Then later I’ll have my wife drive me back to get my car. I know that it would make more since if she dropped me off in the morning at the race, but then she would have to wake up early on a Sunday and I don’t think that will happen. As always I hope to get some pictures of the race to post and I’ll try to have a update posted on Sunday after the race.
This week’s runs are going very good so far. Wednesday I ran 4 miles 41:51 @ 10:27 pace and Thursdays run was 8 miles 1:18:54 @ an 11:05 pace. In a couple of hours I am going out for Fridays run, I am hoping that it warms up a little before I go out. Saturday is rest and Sunday is the Strides of March 5k race. This leads to a very interesting subject about this Sunday’s long run. I am scheduled to run 16 miles this Sunday and the 5k is 3.1 miles to I would have to run 13 more miles after the race to keep on my training program. So I mapped it out on maymyrun.com and the race is about 12.7 mile away from my house. So yup that’s right, I am going to drive there in the morning and run my 5k race then load up my gear and run home. I really do mean run home, this will give me my 16 mile total for the day. Then later I’ll have my wife drive me back to get my car. I know that it would make more since if she dropped me off in the morning at the race, but then she would have to wake up early on a Sunday and I don’t think that will happen. As always I hope to get some pictures of the race to post and I’ll try to have a update posted on Sunday after the race.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Workout Update
Not a lot of updates this week. I am back on full training mode this week after last week’s flu spell. I do have to find out if I am going to join Fitworks for the spinning class or maybe figure out some type of cross training that I can do from home. I know one thing that I am going to have to start doing some core exercises. After running anything of long distance I can feel my lower back give me a little hello.
Week’s training runs were really nice because the weather warmed up little bit, so that meant I could strip down on the cold weather gear. Just feels a lot better running in shorts. Monday was the day after my ½ marathon so I used it as a rest day. Tuesday is a scheduled rest day. Wednesday I ran 3 miles @ 9:56 pace, which is weird because usually I run slower on the first run of the week. Thursday was a 7 mile run @ 11:23 pace. It feels good going to work knowing that I all ready ran 7 miler. Friday moved up to a 4 mile run that I did @ a 9:56 pace. Saturday is a rest day. Sundays 10 mile run I did @ a 11:13 average. The last two mile of the run felt really draining, and my feet really hurt for some reason. I pushed though it and when I got home had a nice long ice bath to help clear out my legs. I really dig those ice baths, I only soak for about 10-15 minutes (from the legs down) and my legs feel about 60% less of the after run aches and pains. Then I pigged out on some Boca burgers and veggies. I know not much of a pig out to some but for me it was a feast.
I signed up for a new race on March 28th, it’s the 13th Annual Strides of March 5K run and walk. All proceeds from this race will benefit children and adults with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. There are a couple of good reasons for me to run this race, One my brother has down syndrome and I have a lot of good memories when I was younger of him attending lots of school, community programs and sports that I know he enjoyed. If I can help give a little funding to them so future people can also enjoy the things that he had, Plus one! March 28th is also the date that I went to the emergency room because I was having chest pains all week and couldn’t tuff it out any more and was then checked into the hospital because I had a heart attack. Yes I said heart attack at 37 years old. I had one small blockage in some rear lower artery and another that was about 95% blocked. I had arthroscopic surgery and had a stent implant. My cholesterol level was over 600!!! I was diagnosed with CAD Coronary artery disease. I would say it was the scariest event in my life so far. So scary that it was life changing. I felt that I had to make a change to better me and hopefully my change would cause a change reaction with in my family to better them. My change started with my diet, when I was released from the hospital every doctor and nurse pounded into my head that my diet had to change. The way that I was eating and lack of exercise was… well killing me. When I left the hospital I was 5’8” and weighed 235 pounds. I started with eating very little red meat maybe once a week I would have a burger with nothing on it. I mainly was eating turkey, salads and some fruits. I also started walking some, I wasn’t allowed to do anything crazy until I healed up from the surgery. I think that it was about three weeks after my heart attack my friend Jerry stopped over and we were talking about the event that happened and the reasons why it happened. Jerry has always been a body builder type of person very conscious of his diet and such, he told me about this book he just read call the Engine two diet and thought I should check it out. Basically it’s a vegan diet and a the book is about a group of firefighters that tried the diet for 28 days and as a result there cholesterol levels dropped and there over all health was improved. I thought what the heck I’ll try it out and see if I can do it, I was already barely eating meat anyways. I told everyone that I am going to try this out for 28 days and see how it goes. 28 days turned into three months, three months turned into a half of a year and now in April it will be one year since I have eaten any type of meat. I have not eaten any animal products either, well up until last week… I ate a whole medium veggie pizza with cheese after my ½ marathon. I though what the heck I earned it. I really don’t have any cravings for my old diet, no McDonalds no Wendi’s no anything like that. Oh and my cholesterol levels are totally normal now! Also after today’s run I weighed in at 179.4 pounds that’s about a 56 pound weight loss so far. I have a one year check up at the end of this week so I am excited to see the results of my test to see how I am doing.
After I was allowed to move around more after my surgery I thought I would start walking, just to get off the couch and start moving. I walked about almost every night after work. There is a metro park/ hiking paths near my home that made the perfect route for me. A lot of local people use the paths for walking and running, so I got to see a lot of my neighbors that I never met. It was until one night that I was out on my walk and these two younger girls ran by me. It was almost like they ran/floated by me, it was a very graceful run. I thought aahh why can’t I do that. So after they passed I kick up my heals and ran a full 50 feet before I stopped and was gasping for air. I thought that I was going to pass out. I walked the rest of the way home, but I kept thinking that I could run, why not? When I got home I jumped on the computer and looked up running and starting to run. Looking though 1000’s of pages, a lot of them talked about the couch to 5K program. It was a walk run program that trained you to run 5K in about 9 weeks. They also have a cool iphone app that tells you when to walk and when to run. I don’t want to bore you if the painful detail of my first few weeks but it all ends up with me at the local running store buying a new pair of running shoes. Then some new running clothes. I finished the program but it was a timed program, not by distance so I never really ran the 5k only ran for 30 minutes. I decided that it was time to take my running to the next step and run a local 5k race. It was the scariest feeling signing up for a running race. They say the difference between and jogger and a runner is a entry form. My first race 5K race I ran in 34 minutes and something. It didn’t matter how long it took me to run it, it was the fact that I ran it start to finish. I signed up for two more 5K’s and my times improved. Then I had some dumb Idea that if I could go from total non-runner to a 5K runner, why couldn’t I run farther maybe a marathon? That idea bring us to this blog, half way through my marathon training and a ½ marathon under my belt, two more months of training… only time will tell.
Oh ya that’s why I am running this race on the 28th, got a little side tracked .:)
Week’s training runs were really nice because the weather warmed up little bit, so that meant I could strip down on the cold weather gear. Just feels a lot better running in shorts. Monday was the day after my ½ marathon so I used it as a rest day. Tuesday is a scheduled rest day. Wednesday I ran 3 miles @ 9:56 pace, which is weird because usually I run slower on the first run of the week. Thursday was a 7 mile run @ 11:23 pace. It feels good going to work knowing that I all ready ran 7 miler. Friday moved up to a 4 mile run that I did @ a 9:56 pace. Saturday is a rest day. Sundays 10 mile run I did @ a 11:13 average. The last two mile of the run felt really draining, and my feet really hurt for some reason. I pushed though it and when I got home had a nice long ice bath to help clear out my legs. I really dig those ice baths, I only soak for about 10-15 minutes (from the legs down) and my legs feel about 60% less of the after run aches and pains. Then I pigged out on some Boca burgers and veggies. I know not much of a pig out to some but for me it was a feast.
I signed up for a new race on March 28th, it’s the 13th Annual Strides of March 5K run and walk. All proceeds from this race will benefit children and adults with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. There are a couple of good reasons for me to run this race, One my brother has down syndrome and I have a lot of good memories when I was younger of him attending lots of school, community programs and sports that I know he enjoyed. If I can help give a little funding to them so future people can also enjoy the things that he had, Plus one! March 28th is also the date that I went to the emergency room because I was having chest pains all week and couldn’t tuff it out any more and was then checked into the hospital because I had a heart attack. Yes I said heart attack at 37 years old. I had one small blockage in some rear lower artery and another that was about 95% blocked. I had arthroscopic surgery and had a stent implant. My cholesterol level was over 600!!! I was diagnosed with CAD Coronary artery disease. I would say it was the scariest event in my life so far. So scary that it was life changing. I felt that I had to make a change to better me and hopefully my change would cause a change reaction with in my family to better them. My change started with my diet, when I was released from the hospital every doctor and nurse pounded into my head that my diet had to change. The way that I was eating and lack of exercise was… well killing me. When I left the hospital I was 5’8” and weighed 235 pounds. I started with eating very little red meat maybe once a week I would have a burger with nothing on it. I mainly was eating turkey, salads and some fruits. I also started walking some, I wasn’t allowed to do anything crazy until I healed up from the surgery. I think that it was about three weeks after my heart attack my friend Jerry stopped over and we were talking about the event that happened and the reasons why it happened. Jerry has always been a body builder type of person very conscious of his diet and such, he told me about this book he just read call the Engine two diet and thought I should check it out. Basically it’s a vegan diet and a the book is about a group of firefighters that tried the diet for 28 days and as a result there cholesterol levels dropped and there over all health was improved. I thought what the heck I’ll try it out and see if I can do it, I was already barely eating meat anyways. I told everyone that I am going to try this out for 28 days and see how it goes. 28 days turned into three months, three months turned into a half of a year and now in April it will be one year since I have eaten any type of meat. I have not eaten any animal products either, well up until last week… I ate a whole medium veggie pizza with cheese after my ½ marathon. I though what the heck I earned it. I really don’t have any cravings for my old diet, no McDonalds no Wendi’s no anything like that. Oh and my cholesterol levels are totally normal now! Also after today’s run I weighed in at 179.4 pounds that’s about a 56 pound weight loss so far. I have a one year check up at the end of this week so I am excited to see the results of my test to see how I am doing.
After I was allowed to move around more after my surgery I thought I would start walking, just to get off the couch and start moving. I walked about almost every night after work. There is a metro park/ hiking paths near my home that made the perfect route for me. A lot of local people use the paths for walking and running, so I got to see a lot of my neighbors that I never met. It was until one night that I was out on my walk and these two younger girls ran by me. It was almost like they ran/floated by me, it was a very graceful run. I thought aahh why can’t I do that. So after they passed I kick up my heals and ran a full 50 feet before I stopped and was gasping for air. I thought that I was going to pass out. I walked the rest of the way home, but I kept thinking that I could run, why not? When I got home I jumped on the computer and looked up running and starting to run. Looking though 1000’s of pages, a lot of them talked about the couch to 5K program. It was a walk run program that trained you to run 5K in about 9 weeks. They also have a cool iphone app that tells you when to walk and when to run. I don’t want to bore you if the painful detail of my first few weeks but it all ends up with me at the local running store buying a new pair of running shoes. Then some new running clothes. I finished the program but it was a timed program, not by distance so I never really ran the 5k only ran for 30 minutes. I decided that it was time to take my running to the next step and run a local 5k race. It was the scariest feeling signing up for a running race. They say the difference between and jogger and a runner is a entry form. My first race 5K race I ran in 34 minutes and something. It didn’t matter how long it took me to run it, it was the fact that I ran it start to finish. I signed up for two more 5K’s and my times improved. Then I had some dumb Idea that if I could go from total non-runner to a 5K runner, why couldn’t I run farther maybe a marathon? That idea bring us to this blog, half way through my marathon training and a ½ marathon under my belt, two more months of training… only time will tell.
Oh ya that’s why I am running this race on the 28th, got a little side tracked .:)
Monday, March 8, 2010
Workout Update and Mill Creek Distance Classic
Let’s start off saying that Monday was a rest day as planned. I usually spin on Mondays but I thought that I would take it off to save my legs some. Tuesday is my normal rest day. Well on Tuesday I got the flu, I came home from work in the afternoon and it was terrible. I think everyone knows how the flu goes. My wife Lyn also came home from work with the flu. To top that off my three children were also home sick with the flu. Wednesday I spent the whole day on the couch with the whole family sick. So I didn’t get to run my 3 mile run in the morning. Thursday I did feel better but I just couldn’t make it up at 5:00am for my 6 mile run. Friday is my normal day off of work so after getting up and getting the kids off to school I decided to get out and run. Normally Friday is a 3 mile run, but I was hoping to make it a 6 mile run since I didn’t get to run all week. The first 3 mile were pretty hard on me I felt really drained and dehydrated from being sick all week. Thankfully Thursday night I returned the large water belt and got a medium sized one. I only filled up two of the four containers to try it out. The way I felt it should have took all four but at least I had some liquids. I pushed through the next 3 miles and finish the full 6 miles that morning. I felt really good after that run, relieved that I could still run after not running all week. I felt that I wouldn’t push it and take Saturday off instead of trying to make up for lost mileage. That way I’ll be really rested for Sundays 1/2 marathon. I really don’t like getting sick.
The ½ marathon was in Youngstown, Ohio, which is about 80 miles away from where I live. So Saturday night I packed up my running gear. The weather said the high of the day would be around 45 but that wouldn’t be until around 3:00-4:00 and the race is at 8:45 so I packed up warn and cold gear and would decide on what to wear when I got there. Sunday morning I got up around 5:00 finished packing up my water and gels and headed out. When I got to Mill Creek around 7:30 am the weather was still very cold around 25, I am so happy that I packed my compression pants and running jacket.
I went to the check in to pick up my race bib and timing chip. When I read my read my race number I kind of laughed it was number four, I hope they went in order of who signed up first, because I know that wasn’t wishful thinking of what place I would come in. After getting dressed and “filling up only two of my 10oz. water containers” I packed up my GU gels and went back to the car to warm up a little before the race began. Around 8:30 I decided to join the rest of the 400-500 people standing around the starting area. When I grabbed my head phone for my iPod I noticed that I lost one of the rubber inserts of the ear piece. I looked around franticly for it but no luck, it was gone. I thought man that just sucks, I guess I’ll just use one ear piece. I did try using it without it for a bit to have sound in both ears but I mainly just upset me more that it didn’t have a spare one to replace it with. Oh well next time I’ll bring the extra ones.
Around 8:40 they called all ½ marathoners to line up at the starting line. The next five minutes went pretty fast, the next thing I know I heard the starting horn and a crowd of runners started to well… run.
The first mile or so was all downhill. It was mainly everyone trying to find there pace and join up in there running groups. I was a solo runner with no real pace in mind I just knew that I wanted to start and finish before everyone went home. Ok maybe that’s a lie I was hoping to finish around 2:15:00.
Here is a picture of me number 4 running down the first hill at the start of the race cool shades and all.
So the first mile I ran in 9:54. I had my Garmin 305 gps watch setup to split every mile so I could see how I did at the end of the race. Second mile I ran in 10:44, that’s when the hills began. I haven’t really ran hills before, mainly the small one around town and also the few at our metro parks. These hills were huge !!!! I mean crazy huge. Up and down rolling hills the whole race. I think that the total flat land that I ran was about 2 miles. The third mile I ran in 10:13. About then You heard the 5K race begin, The way the route was setup there was a few small laps around the roads in the beginning were you ran some areas twice then headed out on a huge loop. Mile four I ran in 11:01, Here some of the 5K racers ran with us. I was thinking man there running fast, they’re not going to have anything left towards the end, but then I remembered that there only going 5K not 13.1 miles. I ran mile 5 in 10:56. I started to fuel up on my GU gel and some Gatorade here. There were some water station along the course, but I wasn’t sure where they were and how long apart they were. I also had my water on my belt just in case. I ran mile 6 in 10:54. About now the main pack is really spread out and everyone is settled into their pace. I was running with a group of about ten runners and we swapped places depending on if we were running up or down the hills. Mile 7 I ran in 11:01. I was really excited for mile seven, because I knew that I had made it at least half way through the race. Whenever I am out on my long runs the half way point always gives me an extra pump, well I wish that it did that here. There were just too many big hills that were draining me. I ran mile 8 in 11:51. Did I mention that I had to relieve myself since mile three? I was afraid of two things, one that someone would see me run of the course to the wood and see me going to the bathroom in the bushes or I would lose too much time. Well there was a port a potty on the course at around mile 8-9 so I had to do it! I couldn’t wait any longer. The funny thing was trying to just stand there and do my potty break after running 8 miles, my body didn’t want to stop moving around. Anyways I ran mile 9 in 10:55. Mile ten was run in 12:42. Here you can see that the hills were really starting to get to me. I just wanted to run this last three miles and stop. I had finish all my GU gels and working on the last few sips of water that I had on me. I ran mile 11 in 12:06. I started to take a few walking breaks on the uphill’s here, my calf’s were starting to cramp up. I made up time on the down hills, I kind of let gravity take over and pull me down the hills. Mile 12 was run in 12:00 flat. Mile 13 was the hardest of them all. I ran out of water and there was only one water station left, I think I grabbed three cups and drank them down while I walked through. I walked up the second to last think that this was it the last up hill, I really tried to push it and start running up the hill but my toes were really hurting and I felt my legs begging to walk. Starting the last downhill I heard the guy next to me grunt out this is it the last one. We turned right and I look up… damn that first downhill and the beginning of the race is now the last up hill. I tried once again to run up it but I just could not run up hill. Half way up the hill I saw the finishing line and the tree lights with the time 2:2x something. So I started to run one more time to the finish line. Mile 13.2 was ran in 16:39, 13.2 was mile 13 and the .2 my Garmin recorded. My official time from the chip is 2:30:39.6. I was hoping to finish around 2:15:00 but I am glad that I just finished. I think that if it wasn’t all hills I could have made my goal time. I think that I am glad that it was a tough course for me, because that just gives me more motivation to keep working harder.
I also earned my black toe nails award in this race. I think that it was all the pounding of the down hills. I will leave you with that wonderful picture at the end of my post.
So this week its back to training, resting on Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday 3 miles, Thursday 7 miles, Friday 4 miles, Saturday rest and Sundays long run of 10 miles.
The ½ marathon was in Youngstown, Ohio, which is about 80 miles away from where I live. So Saturday night I packed up my running gear. The weather said the high of the day would be around 45 but that wouldn’t be until around 3:00-4:00 and the race is at 8:45 so I packed up warn and cold gear and would decide on what to wear when I got there. Sunday morning I got up around 5:00 finished packing up my water and gels and headed out. When I got to Mill Creek around 7:30 am the weather was still very cold around 25, I am so happy that I packed my compression pants and running jacket.
I went to the check in to pick up my race bib and timing chip. When I read my read my race number I kind of laughed it was number four, I hope they went in order of who signed up first, because I know that wasn’t wishful thinking of what place I would come in. After getting dressed and “filling up only two of my 10oz. water containers” I packed up my GU gels and went back to the car to warm up a little before the race began. Around 8:30 I decided to join the rest of the 400-500 people standing around the starting area. When I grabbed my head phone for my iPod I noticed that I lost one of the rubber inserts of the ear piece. I looked around franticly for it but no luck, it was gone. I thought man that just sucks, I guess I’ll just use one ear piece. I did try using it without it for a bit to have sound in both ears but I mainly just upset me more that it didn’t have a spare one to replace it with. Oh well next time I’ll bring the extra ones.
Around 8:40 they called all ½ marathoners to line up at the starting line. The next five minutes went pretty fast, the next thing I know I heard the starting horn and a crowd of runners started to well… run.
The first mile or so was all downhill. It was mainly everyone trying to find there pace and join up in there running groups. I was a solo runner with no real pace in mind I just knew that I wanted to start and finish before everyone went home. Ok maybe that’s a lie I was hoping to finish around 2:15:00.
Here is a picture of me number 4 running down the first hill at the start of the race cool shades and all.
So the first mile I ran in 9:54. I had my Garmin 305 gps watch setup to split every mile so I could see how I did at the end of the race. Second mile I ran in 10:44, that’s when the hills began. I haven’t really ran hills before, mainly the small one around town and also the few at our metro parks. These hills were huge !!!! I mean crazy huge. Up and down rolling hills the whole race. I think that the total flat land that I ran was about 2 miles. The third mile I ran in 10:13. About then You heard the 5K race begin, The way the route was setup there was a few small laps around the roads in the beginning were you ran some areas twice then headed out on a huge loop. Mile four I ran in 11:01, Here some of the 5K racers ran with us. I was thinking man there running fast, they’re not going to have anything left towards the end, but then I remembered that there only going 5K not 13.1 miles. I ran mile 5 in 10:56. I started to fuel up on my GU gel and some Gatorade here. There were some water station along the course, but I wasn’t sure where they were and how long apart they were. I also had my water on my belt just in case. I ran mile 6 in 10:54. About now the main pack is really spread out and everyone is settled into their pace. I was running with a group of about ten runners and we swapped places depending on if we were running up or down the hills. Mile 7 I ran in 11:01. I was really excited for mile seven, because I knew that I had made it at least half way through the race. Whenever I am out on my long runs the half way point always gives me an extra pump, well I wish that it did that here. There were just too many big hills that were draining me. I ran mile 8 in 11:51. Did I mention that I had to relieve myself since mile three? I was afraid of two things, one that someone would see me run of the course to the wood and see me going to the bathroom in the bushes or I would lose too much time. Well there was a port a potty on the course at around mile 8-9 so I had to do it! I couldn’t wait any longer. The funny thing was trying to just stand there and do my potty break after running 8 miles, my body didn’t want to stop moving around. Anyways I ran mile 9 in 10:55. Mile ten was run in 12:42. Here you can see that the hills were really starting to get to me. I just wanted to run this last three miles and stop. I had finish all my GU gels and working on the last few sips of water that I had on me. I ran mile 11 in 12:06. I started to take a few walking breaks on the uphill’s here, my calf’s were starting to cramp up. I made up time on the down hills, I kind of let gravity take over and pull me down the hills. Mile 12 was run in 12:00 flat. Mile 13 was the hardest of them all. I ran out of water and there was only one water station left, I think I grabbed three cups and drank them down while I walked through. I walked up the second to last think that this was it the last up hill, I really tried to push it and start running up the hill but my toes were really hurting and I felt my legs begging to walk. Starting the last downhill I heard the guy next to me grunt out this is it the last one. We turned right and I look up… damn that first downhill and the beginning of the race is now the last up hill. I tried once again to run up it but I just could not run up hill. Half way up the hill I saw the finishing line and the tree lights with the time 2:2x something. So I started to run one more time to the finish line. Mile 13.2 was ran in 16:39, 13.2 was mile 13 and the .2 my Garmin recorded. My official time from the chip is 2:30:39.6. I was hoping to finish around 2:15:00 but I am glad that I just finished. I think that if it wasn’t all hills I could have made my goal time. I think that I am glad that it was a tough course for me, because that just gives me more motivation to keep working harder.
I also earned my black toe nails award in this race. I think that it was all the pounding of the down hills. I will leave you with that wonderful picture at the end of my post.
So this week its back to training, resting on Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday 3 miles, Thursday 7 miles, Friday 4 miles, Saturday rest and Sundays long run of 10 miles.
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