Running Geek 3.0

The Pinewood Derby Obstrution

2012-01-15T21:45:00.000-08:00

So I still haven't figured out my race schedule for the year, and we're already into the middle of January. It's not for lack of looking however. I've gone through the regional marathons for the fall, but nothing is jumping out at me. I keep toying with the Tupelo Marathon in September, but damn, I'm betting it's gonna be hot. Throw in that it does not play to my strengths as it is not a big marathon, so I'm really iffy about this one.

Image via Wikipedia

Meanwhile, I've been neck deep in activities with my kids, and I have not had much time to do anything else. For example, today I had 5th grade basketball practice (which I love (We're 3-2, so not too bad so far.)) and kids marathon training after practice (which helped with my weekly mileage, so that's all good). When I get home from work tomorrow, I promised the boy that we would start on his pinewood derby car (Ya know, there's a reason that I'm not a woodworker). Nevermind that he didn't want to use the skill saw of the nice man at the scout meeting because he wanted it to be handmade (Did I mention that nothing in my skill set includes woodworking? Just wanted to make sure we got that straight). If I haven't managed to saw off my thumb by the weekend, it will be a frakkin' miracle. On the totally random plus side, I've re-discovered Coolio thanks to Rachel vs. Guy Celebrity Cook Off. 1-2-3-4...Get your woman on the floor!

The Cheddar Accompaniment

2012-01-03T18:19:00.000-08:00

Why can't I get motiviated to prep my race schedule for this year? The only race that I'm officially scheduled to run is the Country Music Half-Marathon this April. (There is also the Disney Goofy Race in a couple days, but due to RL, I've decided to drop out of that one. Lame, I know, but frankly, I'm not upset about it, because I just wasn't ready for it.) I have a vague idea that I will try the Tom King Half again in March and possibly the Middle Half in October. I need to pick a full marathon for the fall, but beyond that I can't muster the energy to do the leg work. I'm sure that it's just the winter/post-holiday blahs, but I really need to get my head out of my ass and get back to work. And yes, I do like cheese with my whine.

Irish Pride 5K Recap

2011-11-22T18:22:00.001-08:00

The Father Ryan Irish Pride 5K was November 13, 2011. As you can see, I'm a little late with this recap. This was a [post] Veteran's Day race that benefitted the Father Ryan scholarship fund. This was a small, local race that I learned about during my stint as my kids' cross country coach. I also learned that several kids and parents from other parochial schools would also be participating. When I found this out, I knew that I would be running this race. After all, I have to represent, right? Word. The weather was chilly, but sunny. Nearly ideal racing conditions. It was a quick little out and back. Although it wasn't a certified course, I whipped out a fast 5K, finishing in 20:37. This was a 6:39/mi pace that won me a 3rd place finish in my age group. It was also a PR! A nice finish to a fun little race.

The Breathe Deep Nashville 5K

2011-11-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

Today was the Breathe Deep Nashville 5K. It was an event sponsored to fund lung cancer research. I formed an SBA team for this race as this was organized by one of the SBA parents who's on the steering committtee. The race took place around and in Centennial Park. Since much of the course was outside of the park, it was a bit hillier than I anticipated, but not significantly so. Despite a late 9:00 am start, it was pretty cold this morning; somewhere around the mid-40's.

I knew that there were a lot of races going on in Nashville today, so I figured that the field would be small. Even so, I hadn't run much since the Lincoln Y Half-Marathon and I wasn't sure how I would do. Turns out that I was right in that the field was pretty small. Probably under 500 participants. Despite the weather and the course, I managed a decent time and finish. I finished the race in 21:17, 6:51/mi with a 1st place finish in my age group and a 6th place finish overall.

Of note from this race, one of my 5th grade cross country runners ran the race today also. Today was her 2nd 5k, and she got 1st place in her age group with a sub 30 min finish! Makes an old coach proud. When did I get so old????

Finally, a shout out to my homies who finished the Savannah Rock and Roll Half and Full Marathon today and the Ragnar Relay. Great job everybody!

Race Recap Trifecta

2011-10-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've admitted that I've been on a blogging and training slump. However in my mind, I still feel guilty about both, so in an act of ~~utter self-congratulatory preening~~ redemption, I'm going to hit you with my last 3 race recaps cliff notes style!

Warrior Dash

Setting: 9/17/11, Manchester, TN. A beautiful day if not a bit warm. This was the site for Bonnaroo.

Summary: This was a 5K obstacle course with about 11 obstacles which included demolished cars, scaling walls, fire and a mud pit! It was as if Bonnaroo and Cross-fit had an unholy union and spawned a race. Most notable were the number of grossly obese and out-of-shape people who attended. Give a man a fuzzy viking hat (looks more like a water buffalo hat from the Flinstones) and he'll try anything. At one scaling wall, I had hooked my arm under a screaming woman and helped her over the wall. She was very thankful as I dropped off the wall and ran onto finish the race.

Conclusion: 23rd out of 612 men, age 40-45. 525th out of 6209 overall. 32:48.00 finish time. 9:23/mi pace. This was a fun race and would have been even more fun had I run it with some of my friends. Next year, I may race it in the morning and come back wth my friends in the afternoon and run it again!

The Middle Half

Setting: 10/15/11, Murfreesboro, TN. A perfect day for a race. Started off cool and stayed cool even after the sun came up. The course was relatively flat and fast with a ton of volunteers and crowd support.

Summary: This was the annual half-marathon in Murfreesboro. This was the race that I had circled on my calendar all year. Typically I run pretty fast in the 'Boro, so I was hoping that I could break my half-marathon record there. Despite a light summer training schedule, I went out pretty fast and was able to maintain my pace. My watch was showing me an average pace of 7:21-ish/mi, but at mile 9 and 10 I started to notice that my measured distance was off significantly from the course markers and my watch distance. I figured that my watch was off by about .4 of a mile. Doing even more math in my head, I figured that I would not get my goal time of a sub 1:39:00. When I hit the finish line, the clock read 1:40:00. I later learned that the police officers directing race traffic accidently sent the early runners the wrong way, and we ran an extra .4 mile, which explained the deviation between the mile markers and my watch. All times were declared unofficial as the race directors could not determine who ran farther and who did not (the officers realized their mistake later and directed the remaining racers correctly along the course).

Conclusion: 23rd out of 153 men, age 40-44. 94th out of 1776 overall. Clock time of 1:40:00 for 13.509 miles, 7:24/mi pace. Re-calculated time for 13.1 miles, 1:36:56, 7:24/mi pace. A new PR either way. If not for the hiccup with the distance, this was a near perfect race in regards to the conditions, course, support, and crowd. I really enjoyed it. Except for the distance screw-up. That really cheesed me off.

The Lincoln Family Y Half-Marathon

Setting: 10/22/11, Phoenix, AZ. Phoenix in October starts off very cool in the morning and heats up quickly when the sun rises. By the middle of the race, the temps were between 80 and 90 but there was a breeze that helped alleviate the heat. The course ran through the South Mountain Regional Park and was lots of rolling hills. The scenary was beautiful, but it also had a stark, desolate edge to it. Not nearly enough crowd presence (practically none) for my tastes.

Summary: I had flown out to Scottsdale for a work conference and learned that this race would take place on the last day of my conference. Seizing the opportunity, I signed up for it earlier in the year and planned to use it as training run. This had not taken into account my experience at the Middle Half. Now with something to prove, I decided to turn this race into a full blown race, but realizing my limitations, I was hoping instead for a strong finish around a 7:30-ish/mi pace. However the combination of jet lag, a half week of gluttonous eating and drinking, and only 4 hours sleep, and I was lucky to make it off the starting line. My pace starting out was well below my goal pace and the rolling hills were quickly becoming a challenge. Like the landscape, the crowd support was bare, which was a big negative for me. I feed off crowd energy to help me push through some of the harder miles, so when there is no crowd ~~for me to play up to~~ to cheer me on, I start to drag. And drag, I did. By mile 7, I was spent and knew that I would be lucky to finish under 2 hours. By mile 10, I was pretty baked by exhaustion, the heat, muscle cramps, and a slight lingering hangover, and I thought I would be lucky to finish at all. Pride kept me moving and I did finish the race, albeit much the worse for wear. I gathered what was left of my sunken pride and my pounding headache and headed back to my hotel to pack up and catch my flight back home. On a side note, the starter for the race was Wyatt Earp's great-great grand nephew or some such. He carried on the family name of "Wyatt Earp" and even dressed the part, mustache and all. He started the race off with ridiculously loud shotgun. That was pretty cool.

Conclusion: 17th out of 49 men, ages 40-49. 66th out of 327 overall. 1:47:38, 8:13/mi pace. Not my best time in the world, but not my worst either. Had I used this race as a pure training long run, I would have been more than happy. However since the Middle Half, I'm still feeling "unofficial." I run races to prove myself, and the "official" stamp, as superficial as it may be, validates my hard work and displays for the world to see (at least the parts that decide to check) that I have accomplished something. So when I string together 2 less than ideal races, I tend to get a little pissy. Still I'm glad that I got to do the race. It was fun-ish but hard.

Next week, I'm going back to my regular training schedule just in time for the Lungevity 5K next Saturday. Let's hope I'm ready, because I don't know how much longer I can stand listening to my pissy, whiny ass!

The Reality Check

2011-10-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

The problem with blogging is that at some point you will hit a creative wall and fail in your bloggity updates. The problem with being a runner is that a some point you will hit a wall in your training and you will fail to keep up your training. I don't actually like to think of it as a failure but more of the body and mind working together to force you to rest and recover. After running two half-marathons on consecutive Saturdays, I can confess that I have hit that recovery wall. This week I have not had the will to muster the strength to go run much at all. This would be all and good if I didn't prop up the time off from running with a mango key lime pie from Publix nearly every night this week. A runner is intimately aware of what his or her body can handle. We know the sound of every creak and pop our joints make as we struggle out of bed. We search out the familiar tightness in our calves as we stretch before a hard run. We suffer every cramp and spasm to know when we start to break down. We know our limits so that we can routinely test them and push past them on occasion. My reality is that despite my best efforts, I'm getting older and it's getting harder to push my body to its limits. And this week I hit mine. Hard. I'm resting and trying not to feel guilty about it. But in reality I know that I needed the rest. So off to rest I go!

The Non-Competitive Learning Curve

2011-09-25T20:49:00.001-07:00

I realize that I'm not always the best judge of what passes for "normal" nowadays, but when people try to tell me that they don't like to compete (in a race, game, etc.) but just have fun, it takes everything I have to hide my look of befuddled incredulity (honestly, most times, I don't hide it all). Can you NOT compete and have fun? I find the idea shocking. What more fun is there than to see your enemies and rivals laid out at your feet awash in defeat? Is it not everyone's dream to stand over your fellow competitors in haughty derision at their loss? Is not victory most sweet stolen from those who are not awesome enough to take it away from you? Playing for fun...and not to win? Sounds like a commie plot to me.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Adrenaline Leakage

2011-09-16T20:50:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the Warrior Dash in Manchester, TN. For those of you not in the know, it's a 5K obstacle course that includes mud pits, slides, pipe crawls and fire jumping. Oh...and horned warrior hats. You read that right. Horned. Warrior. Hats. You had me at "horned." To prepare myself for this race, I've considered wrestling alligators, swinging with gorillas and chasing my dog through the doggy park. This all seemed too 'soft' to me, so instead I decided to cut back on my mileage and weightlifting to run a couple miles with grade schoolers. I kid. Coaching the SBA cross country team has been surprisingly invigorating despite the logistics of managing a 100 + strong member team. Couple the nervous energy of herding small children about, my own over-flowing Joel-ness, and various hardcore rap tunes, and you get one super-pumped warrior-to-be. The trick of course will be to not do something incredibly stupid tomorrow to try to win. I promise you this is no easy feat for me. I can be INSANELY stupid when it comes to competition. Did I mention that winners get a horned warrior hat upgrade? Oh, yeah. IT. IS. SO. ON.

The Franklin Classic 5K Race Recap

2011-09-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I celebrated Labor Day by running in the Franklin Classic 5K Run/Walk. If you look closely at the image to the left, you will notice that there was also a 10K. Anyone who knows me would then be asking yourself, "I wonder why this Dingus didn't run the 10K also? Or even both races?" (In my self-absorbed head, everyone is always wondering why I do the things that I do.) This is becoming a very tired song, but again my training has dropped off lately. Not entirely my fault this time (I'm not just watching TV and shoveling pie into my face) as I have been trying to run/organize/coach/herd my son's school's cross country team through this season. So for the last several weeks, I haven't done much over 20 miles with my longest run being no more than 8 miles. Ug-ly.

So in a move uncharacteristic of myself, I used some good sense and logic to realize that I couldn't race the 10K effectively, much less both races, and signed up for the 5K. Even if I totally sucked, I could at least make a good show of a 5K, right? Seemed right to me.

So race day is a dreary kind of cool and rainy day. Most of the rain had let up by the time the 5K rolled around, but it was still "spitting" a bit. I lined up in the 6-8 min/mile corral. RANT: I realize that everyone likes to be up front and everyone believes that they can be run a 4 minute mile. If you're one of these people and you can even come close to a 4 minute mile, I salute you. I can't do that, but I know that I can do 6:50/mi. However if you're one of those people that insist on lining up front and so that you can mark out your walking trail first, I just want to shake you. You people always seem to be right in front of me, slowing me down and breathing my oxygen. It just ain't right. I don't have anything against walkers. I love 'em. I love 'em lined up in the back, out of my way. So do us all a favor and line up where you actually think you will finish. Rant done.

The race went pretty well. I managed negative splits turning in a 6:54, 6:49 and 6:29 (and a 6:16/mi pace for the last .1 mile). I finished 53rd overall (out of 1t 006) with a time of 21:08, 6:49/mi. This earned me 3rd place in my age group and a new PR! Compared to the Goodlettsville 4 Miler that I had run over a month ago, this race was much better. I had really pushed myself and left almost nothing on the course. The field was pretty big, so placing meant a lot to me. Beyond that, the course was challenging but not overly difficult, and as usual the Striders put on a well-organized event. The race benefitted a great cause, and there was plenty of community support. I would definitely consider doing this race again.

The Cross Country Dilemma

2011-09-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

Before we get started, I could have sworn that "dilemma" was actually spelled "dilemNa" but if Google says I'm wrong, I must be wrong (and the longer I look at it, I know that I was wrong). On to my self-indulgent ranting! At some point after my kids' school started, I stopped being a runner and became an administrative coordinator. Thanks to the political shenanigans of my lovely wife, I am now the cross country coach at my kids' school. I'm in charge of around 113 kids (the number changes depending on the whimsical nature of kids who want to play with their friends after school and the other kids who want to quit because the coach is a psycho meanie-face) from grades K-8. Thankfully I have a cadre of awesome volunteer assistant coaches to help me ~~herd cats~~ keep up with the kiddos.

And while I love running with the kids, I have to admit I don't get to do enough of that. Most of my time before and after practice is spent making sure that I have plenty of volunteers, that I know which kids have joined or quit, that I have emailed every parent with practice updates, and that I'm sufficiently stocked in forms, first aid kits, water, and cups. The list of things that needs to get done between practices seems pretty endless and seriously cuts into my running/workout time.

Don't get me wrong...I actually am having a good time. Since XC (that's how all the cool kids abbreviate it (my lovely wife thinks these are the same kids that spell dilemma with 2 m's)), my mileage has dropped significantly. Between work, school and having a semi-normal life, I have not had a chance to get in all my training runs. Worse for me is that I'm having such a good time running with the kids that I want to run all the time. They're really inspiring when they push themselves hard and suck it up so it doesn't look like they want to quit, even though they're pretty wiped. Even better is that some of them seem to actually enjoy it! I miss that feeling sometimes when I'm trying to slog through the hard miles, but when I run with my kids, sometimes I touch that feeling of joy and fun again for the briefest of moments. And you know what...that is pretty cool.

The Goodlettsville Classic 4 Mile Run Race Recap

2011-08-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

Another race, another race recap. This year was another first for me, The Goodlettsville Classic 4 Mile Run. Even though I used to work in the Goodlettsville area for a year, I had never been to Moss Wright Park. Of course in those days, I was about 50 lbs. heavier and the only place I ran was to the Krispy Kreme when the hot, fresh doughnuts sign turned on. In any case, I was back in Goodlettsville for this odd distance race. By now, you all know the story. My training to-date has been less than stellar. My mileage has been short, but I thought the combination of speed work, hill work and weights would help carry me through. Since this was a Nashville Strider race, I assumed that the field would be large and competitive. Although it was competitive, it was a pretty small field.

The race course itself was relatively flat and beautiful. It was a mix of paved and tight gravel paths. Fortunately my trail running made those transitions from gravel to pavement easy to manage. Ultimately, I finished 27th overall out of 169. This won me a 2nd place award in my age group with a time of 28:48, 7:12/mi. Was this worthy of a top 3 finish? Apparently, but in hindsight, I probably could have tried harder. In hindsight, I probably should have tried harder, and it makes me mad at myself that I did not. Yes, it's nice to win awards and accolades, but if I get them for putting out a second best effort, is it worth as much? Maybe, but I still won't feel good about it. It was a good race with a nice course that deserved more effort from me, whether or not my level of training was up to snuff. Next year, I might race it again, but if I do, I will do it right.

The Captain America Review

2011-07-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

So the boy and I saw Captain America: The First Avenger today. As you can imagine it was a good father and son bonding opportunity. We shared popcorn, discussed what we thought was cool about the movie and even went to Rick's Comic City after the movie to cap off the day (fyi, Dad's this is a great way to spend the day with your kids. Movies and cool swag at Rick's. I highly recommend it. And not just because I hope to get another 5% discount on my comics. Wink. Wink). With a movie like Captain America, you will get any number of mixed reviews from the rotten tomato to upbeat praise of a new action hero. As comic movies go, this is one of the best that I have seen to date. I was somewhat skeptical of Chris Evans from his Human Torch days in Fantastic Four, but he beefed up both his physical and acting skills for the role. The story was a good mix of the classic Cap origin with some modern twists to make the story work and keep the action moving.

What puts this movie above other summer comic movies this year is that it is not only a comic movie but also a running movie! True believers, I am here to testify that this is one of the best running movies that I've ever seen. After Cap gets his amazing powers, the scientist that gave him his powers is killed. Cap leaps into action, running down the street after the Nazi murderer. What the sharp-eyed runner will note is that Cap is doing so....wait for it....'cause it's really good...barefoot!!! Now I understand Evans may actually have worn flesh colored foot boots a la Vibrams, but the message is clear, America's favorite son supports barefoot running!

Now for the rest of the movie, we see Cap running in his trademark army regulation boots, but for a good 10 minutes we were treated to barefoot running Cap. Even without additional barefoot running scenes, the movie is chock full of running. When Cap isn't marching or riding his Harley, he is running and jumping full tilt into battle. The movie trailer alone would be a great advertisement for the Warrior Dash 5K (which yours truly is signed up for in September).

Now I don't think that the boy noticed the running as much as I did (10 year old boys tend to focus on the derring-do, the heroic stances, and the really cool gadgets), but I think that he got the message. Listen to the trailer. A wimpy Steve Rogers explains that once you start running, you can't stop. Truer words, if I ever heard any. But what I liked even more was that it was running movie about heart. Wimpy Steve Rogers didn't become Cap overnight. He had to train. Train hard. He was not the strongest, but he was smart and brave. He had guts and a never-say-quit spirit that naturally appeals to all runners, even the non-super soldier variety. It was reminiscent of a less cocky, less hirsute Steve Prefontaine. Hard work and guts can win the race, kids. And against Nazis no less! Hoorah!

With my final words, I say this is a must-see movie for both comic lovers and runners alike. I dare any runner out there to watch this movie and not appreciate the speed and strength of a barefoot Cap running through the streets of Brooklyn or be thrilled by a suited up Cap tearing into Nazis or even get choked up by a desperate running Steve Rogers running through modern day New York realizing all that he's lost. If you aren't moved, you must be dead inside. Sniff. Truly this is movie for everyone. Would I pay full price to see this movie? Absolutely. I would do it twice and then buy the blu-ray combo pack when it comes out (I don't even own a blu-ray player!). So there you go. Captain America: The First Avenger, the best running superhero movie of the summer. Excelsior!

The Race Apology Recap

2011-07-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

If you've been keeping up with my site (and God bless you, if you have, you poor dear), you've noticed a couple things. One, that I have run 3 races in the last few weeks. Two, I have not been posting the requisite race recaps (or any other damn thing for that matter). Tonight, I apologize to you dear readers (this number still remains questionable. After all if I'm the only one reading this, but reading it on different days, does that count as different reads?), and I will make it up tonight with some speed blogging recaps. So hit your timers and let's go.

On June 25, I ran the Wilma Rudolph 10K and 5K in Clarksville. The weather was near perfect, but we did catch some rain at the end of the 5K. I ran the 10K pretty hard hoping to place in it despite a total (this is becoming a theme for the summer, I'm afraid) lack of proper training. Luckily for me, I did manage a 1st place finish for my age group (with a 16th place finish overall) with a time of 44:25, 7:10/mi (which also turned out to be a PR. Yay for me!). The 5K was a different story. I was fairly depleted after the 10K but still managed a 2nd place finish for my age group with a time of 21:51, 7:03/mi. Now that all the soldiers from the 101st are starting to come back home, it looks like there is a lot more competition up there. I'm glad they're back safe and sound, and almost as glad to have the competition to motivate me to try harder.

On July 4, I ran the I Run For the Party 10K in Nashville. Having run a fast 10K a couple weeks before, I hoped that would translate into another fast 10K. Plus I figured all the fast runners would run the 5K. Shocker. I was wrong. When given a choice, really competitive runners (at this level) usually go for the longer distance (makes us muy macho). Duh. That being said, I did not post a fast time (partly due to my mid-race pit stop at the porta-potty) but finished first in my age group with a time of 46:19, 7:29/mi (Don't be too impressed. The race only gave prizes to the first 3 finishers, the first 3 Masters finishers and the first 3 Grandmaster finishers both male and female. The Masters (my group) were all filled out with the other 40 year olds that whipped my ass to the finish line.).

Now I'm about 3 weeks out from my vacation, and I've decided to work on my beach bod instead of my running for now. I'm glad for the gym time, because I'm just not feeling the drive to put the miles on right now. Hopefully that will change by August, but right now I gotta get ready for the beach!

The Dori Tribute

2011-06-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

Today I learned that one of my friends, Dori Brown, passed away after a long battle with leukemia. If I'm completely honest, I didn't know her very well, but I consider her husband, Jim, a friend and fellow runner. We had coached our sons' third and fourth grade basketball team together, and in that time, I got to know him. My lovely wife knew Dori better than me, personally and through mutual friends. After my wife told me about Dori's passing, I did a quick, hard hill workout. This was on the schedule for today, but after hearing the news, my heart wasn't really in it. I had hoped that the run would help burn out the sadness and anger I was feeling, but it didn't. Now I just feel tired physically as well as emotionally. As runners, we're often said to be running to or running away from things, be it a finish line, weight loss, better health, addictions, life problems, or just sadness. There are no words to express the amount of injustice I feel has been laid at the Brown's doorstep, and despite the number of miles I run, those miles won't change the fact that a family is now without their wife and mother and a community is without a good and kind soul. My thoughts and prayers go out to my friends along with the thoughts and prayers of everyone else that they know and have touched throughout their lives with their kindness. If you know the Browns, you can pass along your sympathies and condolences at Run For Dori and find out information about the services as well. Thanks.

The Lakeshore 5K Race Recap

2011-06-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

I'm in a quandry. If I 1) run a 5k, 2) finish 5th place overall, 3) finish 1st in my age group, and 4) get a PR (21:20) in the process but really have nothing to say about the race other than that; have I 1) lost my blogging/writing mojo, 2) taken short distance for granted, 3) raced in too small of a field, or 4) all of the above? Seriously, everyone I know that knows how I run a race can guess how this went. And this race wasn't any different. It was an inaugural race at the Lakeshore Christian Church to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank. The field was small and after a quick evaluation of my competition, I ~~was cocky enough~~ felt good about my chances.

Like a text book, I went out too fast at first. However in my defense, it was not my fault this time. Some yahoo was standing next to me on the starting line, so he was practically spitting in my face with his challenging spot/stance/position. I can't let a challenge go unanswered, so I hung on his heels till I passed him at the first mile marker. After that I dragged a little in the middle while keeping the lead pack in sight, till the last mile when I nearly fell apart. Still I managed to cross the finish line with a great time, and a 1st place finish in my age group to boot (you have to love a small field sometimes). Other than the place and the time, it feels like I've written this blog before.

Now would usually also be the time that I vow to run smarter next time to really acheive my goals. Also some people would say that maybe if I raced smarter, I would have a better story to tell. To those people I say, phooey. Yes, I said phooey. Capital P to the H to the -ooey. In a long race, you conserve energy to tap into your reserves for those last painful miles. In a short race, I say go out like a comet, baby! A short race is about speed! Gut-wrenching, blistering, pounding-till-you-go-blind, awesome speed! It's about going fast; chasing your demons and running them down for the glory of winning in some spectacular fashion or burning out in smoldering ball of stubborn stupidity. Think about it, the word "race" practically demands that I lay it all out on the line (much like that yahoo who stood too close to me at the starting line) and go for it.

Long story short, I'm too ~~dumb~~ ~~cocky~~ stubborn to change my ways with how I run a 5k. I will probably always 1) give that challenging yahoo standing next to me the stink eye, 2) go out too damn fast at first thanks to my cocky attitude, 3) chug through the middle in blind hope, 3) struggle at the end in a stupid refusal to quit, and 4) hopefully, just hopefully finish big, gratefully, tired, and a better man than when I started.

The 2011 Path to Progress 5K Recap

2011-05-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

I promised you a race report and here it is. Last week I was in Chicago for a conference (Shout out to all my NARCA homies!), and naturally I did some running. Despite being ~~hungover~~ tired each morning, I would get myself out of bed and hit the streets of Chicago. I was staying downtown at the Hyatt Regency on Wacker (that's just funny to say. Admit it!), so I was pretty central to everything on Michigan Avenue. I ran along the harbor, down to Soldier Field and around Millenium Park a little. I had a blast, and for most of the week, the weather was wonderful.

Since I knew that I would be in Chicago, I went to ye olde Internet and found me a 5K, the 2011 Path to Progress run/walk/strut around Soldier Field on Saturday (Actually I thought that I was going to be in Chicago till Sunday and had signed up for the half-marathon and then discovered that I was leaving on Saturday. D'oh!). So after a loooonnngggg night of socializing (my lovely wife called it "boozin' &shmoozin'"), I managed to get out of bed, get dressed, hail a cab and make it down to Soldier Field. Remember when I said that the weather was perfect for most of the week? Well, it wasn't on Saturday. The temperature had dropped from the 70's into the low 40's and like a dumbass, I had not brought any warm running clothes ("It's May. It won't be cold." Of course, it was). So there I am trying to register an hour before the race and my teeth are chattering and my hands are shaking (from the cold, I swear) so badly that I must have looked like I was going into epileptic shock. I was wearing 2 techincal t-shirts and a pair of shorts with my trusty running shoes, but even this was doing nothing to keep the biting winds of Chicago at bay. So as soon as I got my race T-shirt, I threw it on and thanked God for its heat-retaining thoruoghly abrasive cotton (runners know what I'm talking about. Tape 'em up boys!). I briefly toyed with running without it (as I hate to be the guy wearing the shirt of the race he's in), but it was too damn cold. Fortunately the officials had set up a sponsor tent that offered minimal protection from the wind before the race started, so I hung out there most of the time before the race started. I did find some reprieve from the cold in the shelter of a porta-potty but I'm afraid that the odor kept me from hanging out too long in there.

When the officials called for everyone to line up, I rushed to the front of the line but not too far up front. I assumed that there would be a lot of fast people at this race, because I'm in the big city, right? Well I guess most of them had planned on running the half-marathon the next day, because after the gun went off, I found myself very close to the lead pack. As the race went on, I was picking off people and digging in for what I assumed would be an ugly race. I caught a headwind in the middle of the first mile that almost blew me off my feet, but I hunkered down and shortened my stride. The race started outside Soldier Field and went along Lake Michigan where we made the turn after a mile and half. Luckily at that point, I caught a tailwind that gave me a decent boost into the third mile. I was surprised that I was still moving so quickly as my guts were reminding me that I was not very good to them ~~earlier that morning~~ the night before. As we were winding our way around the aquarium and into the Field Museum Campus, I was gearing up to make my final kick (I wasn't looking at my watch to check my distance. Rookie mistake) when I almost ran into the runner in front of me and I realized we had just finished the race. And just like that, it was over. It felt anti-climatic, but it was fun nonetheless.

I wandered around the Campus for a bit trying to decide what to do next. Eventually I decided to head back to the hotel, and when I couldn't find a cab right away, I decided to just run back. This let me see more of Michigan Avenue, which was a lot of fun.

My splits ended up being 7:02, 7:02, 6:45 and 6:35/mi for the last .1 mi. I got 1st place in my age group! When I found out later that day, I was happy but exhausted from a week of boozin' & schmoozin'. I haven't received my prize yet for coming in 1st, but it's nice to have the recognition even if I don't get my prize. My time was 4 seconds slower than my PR, but I'm not complaining considering that I was lucky to make it to the race in the first place.

I loved running in Chicago and my brief time up there has me leaning heavily towards making it my next marathon in the Fall of 2012. Assuming the world doesn't come to an end on Saturday, I will probably start making my plans.

The Race Re-Structuring

2011-05-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

After my marathon, I've decided to back off the marathon (and marathon training) a bit. I had originally planned on doing the Tuepelo Marathon in the fall and then the Disney Marathon (actually both the half and the full for anyone who's counting) in January. However the date for the Tuepelo Marathon is extremely close to the arrival date of my new nephew or niece (much to my lovely wife's chagrin, my brother and his wife have decided to keep it a "surprise"). Throw in the fact that the CMM just beat the ever-loving crap out of me...again. So frankly, I'm more than a little tired of training for distance. Instead, I'm going to be working on speed and strength with just a smattering of distance (I've gotta get ready for the Goofy Challenge sometime). This means a lot of intervals, more hill work (since I did almost no hill work last year, nearly anything will be a VAST improvement), faster tempo runs (my hamstrings are crying just looking at that sentence), even more gym/home workouts (I have to admit the skeletally skinny runners tend to freak me out. Guys, lift a weight and eat a sandwich!), and whater ever neo-workout (i.e. torture) I read about. That being said, I've been doing speed work for the last 2 weeks and it has been enormous fun. My weekly mileage has been low (14 and 21), and though I feel slightly guilty about that, it has been extremely fun just cutting loose. So for the rest of the year, I'm sticking with 5k's, 10k's and half-marathons, and then more of the same after Disney in January. My hope is to do the Chicago Marathon in 2012. I just got back from a work conference in Chicago, and I ran nearly every day that I was there. Running around downtown Chicago was a blast (even slightly hungover), because I could really explore the city that way. Add in that it was mostly flat with plenty of pedestrian access, so now I have to do the marathon there. I even did a 5K race around Soldier Field, but that my friends is a story for another day.

The Country Music Marathon Race Report

2011-05-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

Official subtitle: "Finished Without Medical Assistance." If you went just by the subtitle, you would believe that I did not have a good marathon, and looking at my finishing time, you would have ample evidence to support that. But the truth of this race isn't in the numbers. This marathon was told, as many are, (painfully) near the end, but we'll get to that later.

The day was perfect. The temps started out in the mid-50's, I had made it to the parking lot and the starting village in plenty of time to stretch and do my "business." Wisely I purchased the Publix Platinum Pass which gave me access to the exclusive parking, shuttles, food tent and portapotties. If that is ever an option at race, I will always recommend it, especially for this one. Fighting with 30,000 other people for about 200 portapotties is not fun. I drank some water but really didn't eat much food as I had already had breakfast. This might have been a mistake as it would be 3 hours between eating and starting my race, but I didn't want to take any chances on stomach issues. I figured that I had plenty of GU to make up for my nutritional needs and keep me moving through the race. (Dumbass.)

As for the race itself, what can I say? Nashville is hilly and if you're not ready for it, it will punish you. I truly believed that I was ready for it with my knowledge of the city, but during the heat of the day and 3 hours into a 8:30-ish pace, it will remind you otherwise.* My splits were: 8:30, 8:16, 8:53, 9:11, 8:18, 8;00, 8:18, 8;19, 8;18, 8;13, 8:14, 9:07, 8:10, 8:17, 9:23, 8:10, 8:25, 9:02, 8:35, 8:38, 9:12, 9:29, 10:22, 11:11, 15:13, 26:22 and 13:51. For those of you keeping score, yes that is a 26:22 in there; the slowest mile I had ever ran walked in my entire running career. I had hoped to make this marathon a PR, and honestly believed that going into mile 20 that could happen. (Cocky Dumbass.)
For the majority of the race, I had been feeling good, not great, but running strong and fairly consistent. I made a several potty break stops, and I made sure to hit every drink station. I took my GU at 7, 13, 18 and 21. I had made it past mile 11, 16, and 18 which had all proven to be game breaking (if not spirit-breaking) miles for me in the past. Somewhere around mile 16, I had been running so long that I temporarily lost my ability to do math (a common problem for me when I've been running entirely too long), but I had regained it around mile 20 long enough to know that if I held my pace I should PR, if not barely hit my goal time of 3:45. Until then, my average pace had been right around 8:30/mile and I was feeling happy that I had held onto my pace for that long.  (Jinxed Dumbass.)

It was at mile 21 though, I could feel my legs cramp again. They were small cramps, nothing that I wasn't used to, so in my head, I spewed some Rated R curses at my calves and kept running. By mile 22 the cramps couldn't be denied, and I was forced to truly walk for the first time during the race. I still held on to some false hope that I could pull out a PR if I could walk/run a 10:00/mi pace somehow. By mile 23, the cramps were quickly moving up and down my legs, and I started to suspect that I was in real trouble. At mile 23, I ran into another runner who abruptly quit running and started walking in front of me. We both managed to stay on our feet, but the effort of keeping my balance dropped me to a walk again. Then on the other side of the street, a runner had passed out on the ground, and I and several runners moving towards medical assistance called out help for her. By this time I was walking more than I was running, but the cramps were still getting worse. They would start in my toes, shoot up my calves, and then rip into my quads. By mile 24, I locked up for the first time. I stupidly tried to bend down and stretch out my legs and nearly fell on my face for my efforts. It would have been funny (and today it actually is), if it haddn't hurt so damn much. My left leg was so cramped that I couldn't set my foot flat down on the ground. I pushed down on my knee and I was able to stretch out the cramp and start walking again. Little did I know that this would become a common expercise for me. I tried again to jog and my legs locked up again. Bad idea. I got the message. 10-4 Good Buddy. Just don't hurt me again. Mommy. Swinging my arms, I tried to speed walk, but even that was a herculean effort. So I resigned myself to limping along at whatever pace my legs would allow. That was not much.  (Slow Dumbass.)

At the water station at mile 25, I seriously considered dropping out, but I was just too damned close to not finish (besides my lovely wife would have kicked my ass if I had to show up in an ambulance on her birthday). I grabbed some Cytomax, water and salt and kept walking. Into mile 26, I was walking, stopping, stretcching, repeat.  More times than I can remember. I had several people stop and ask me if I needed help. I waived them off as politely as I could muster and kept moving. I even had some woman offer to rub the cramp out of my leg that was visibily moving up and down my leg (it was painfully cool to watch) and a man offered to help me walk up to the top of the hill. I thanked them but delined their assistance also. I did take half-full bottle of Cytomax from a finished runner (Thank you, kind half-marathoner) and downed it like a man in the dessert. At the turn with the last .2 miles left of the marathon, I took a salt packet from a volunteer and limped toward the finish line (When nothing works, they say take salt to help. Salt is supposed to make you retain water. It makes my tongue feel shitty and my legs still don't work.  Go figure). Nearly every runner that passed me into the chute urged me on, and I was both thankful and ~~really f'ing angry~~ jealous of ther ability to still glide across the finish line. Eventually I did too with a finishing time of 4:26:11. (Cooked Dumbass).

I did not get my goal time. I did not PR. I did not even get under 4 hours. I DID finish. I DID not quit, even though every step I took screamed at me to do so. It sounds stupid (I know that I can't believe that I'm saying it either), but I'm proud of myself for just finishing, not letting this race beat me again. Now in hindsight, I now truly know what it means to "hit the wall." I thought that I understood the statement before, but this race showed me what it was. I hit that wall head on, and I nearly did not get back up. Finishing this race was one of the hardest things that I've ever done, and I know that I'm a better man than I was before for having made the effort (I'm looking at this statement, and I'm thinking what a preachy, self-centered asshat I must be. This may all be true, but I still don't know a better way to explain it).

*-I will admit that I was undertrained a bit, but that's why I tried to be conservative with my pace. However there were a ton of people that were chasing speed and were nearly falling down by mile 3.

Some final notes: The expo was great. The expo here is always huge and with big names like Ryan Hall and Kara Goucher in attendance, it was running geek heaven. I also picked up some new kicks. So awesome expo as usual.

Thanks to all my friends and family, and Nashville in general, for coming out and supporting myself and the other runners. The crowd support here is amazing and one of the biggest reasons that I enjoy this race. I love high fiving little kids along the course, and nothing beats seeing my wife and kids waivving to me along the course, except seeing them as I cross the finish line.

Congratulations to all my friends, acquintances and colleagues that ran yesterday. Whether you walked or ran, you are all winners in my book for getting out there. Specifically a shout out to my boy Matt, my girl Dawn, Kathleen, Elizabeth, Bill, Charlie, Emily, Jim and my daughter's teacher, Ms. Kenimer. Great job guys!

Congratulations also to all the kids that ran in the Kids Marathon, including my son and all his friends. They were all amazing and full of energy!

Next post: We discuss my plans for the rest of the year and why I may be taking a break from the marathon for a while.

The Taper Protocol

2011-04-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

Another day down, another day closer to the marathon, another day into Taper Madness. Once again, I find myself tweaking my training to optimize my training to ~~keep from falling down and crying repeatedly~~ successfully complete the marathon. My first week of tapering, I shortened my mileage per day, but I did harder, faster runs. I still ended up logging around 30 miles this week, so it wasn't too bad. Not too good either, but not too bad.

This week, I figure that I'll do 3 more easy training runs about 5 miles each, but definitely no longer than 7 miles. Today, I weighed in at 163 lbs, so I'm right at race weight, so no major changes to the diet either. I need to finish up my marathon playlist, but that's nearly done (I'm almost ashamed to admit the amount of girly, teeny-bobber songs on it. Almost.). I'll review the course map a couple times more and re-check that I have all my gear ready for Saturday. All par for course. The only change that I'm making is to be in bed by 10:00-10:30 each night, so that I get plenty of rest.

Everyone that knows that I'm running the marathon this coming weekend has asked what's the time I'm shooting for. My answer has been 3:45:00. For those of you mathematically disinclined, 3:45:00 translates into 8:35/mile. Now nothing in my training suggests that I'll hit this number. If anything my lack of training would indicate that this is either a pipe dream or the wild fantasies of a self-deluded ego-maniac. I can assure you that the answer is both. I, for one, have never let reality get in the way of my greedy ambitions, and I'm not about to let it start now. I could rattle off a list of rationalizations, like this is actually a slower pace than I have aimed for in my last two marathons or that my half-marathon times suggest that this time is well-within my reach, but let's face it, I just flat out believe that I can do it. If I didn't have that kind of belief, I would never have gotten off the couch to lose those first 10 lbs. I didn't have that kind of faith, I would never have run my first 5k. And if I didn't have that kind of stupid confidence, I would never have run my first marathon. Under 4 hours. Booyah.

So when I line up on Saturday, I will think of my family and the strength that they give me. I will thank God for the opportunity to keep subjecting myself to this mental and physical torture. I will wish that I had all my friends with me and will look forward to seeing many along the course. And I WILL believe that 3:45:00 is a number that I will see when I cross the finish line.

The Tuneless Experimentation

2011-04-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

With just barely a week left until my marathon, I've been tapering my runs, but trying to keep up my speed and intensity. The rationale being that I will be able to go into the marathon rested, but not soft. Sounds good on paper but as in all things I do, it's a work in progress. This Saturday, I'll finish up the week with a long run of 11-15 miles, and I'm thinking of doing it tuneless. Before today, I couldn't tell you the last time that I did any run of long distance without my tunes, but I've been running without music for the last couple of training runs. Today, I did 8 miles without my music. I am definitely a believer in the motivating power of music, but I've been listening to my marathon playlist for so long that I'm afraid it's starting to get stale. Hence the tuneless runs. And I hate to admit it, but it's been kinda fun running without my music. I was able to really pay attention to all the sights as I ran through Belmont. I enjoyed it so much that I'm considering running without my music for the first half of the marathon. The only problem is dealing with the headphones while on the run. Do I put them in my pocket? Do I wear them but not turn on my player? Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Just to make sure that you don't think that I've lost my geek cred, I'm only running tuneless. I'm still otherwise technologically pimped out with my trusty Garmin 405. At least it was until a few weeks ago before it started to lose power dramatically mid-run. I've done a hard reset, and I'm hoping that resolves the issue. However, it does make me wonder if I should sport my Forerunner 305 come marathon day. Again....decisions, decisions, decisions.

The Procrastination Doctrine

2011-04-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

For whatever reason, I insist on making things hard for myself by waiting till the last minute to do things. When I was in school, I waited till after 10 (or midnight) to my homework. Studying for exams could not happen until I finshed cleaning my apartment. I never do laundry till I need my lucky shirt the following morning. Christmas presents should always be purchased on Christmas Eve. Go to sleep early? Sleep is for the dead, and I have hours of gaming to roll through! A marathon in 2 months? Well I don't have to do a real long run until 3 weeks out, right? That's completely fine...Sure it is...If you're a delusional asshat. And that would be me. I claim this title honestly and rightly. When they make the call for delusional asshats, I'm ALWAYS at the front of the line. If I wasn't a delusional asshat, I would have realized that I'm NOT 7 feet tall, NOT bulletproof, and NOT as fast as Hermes himself. But these things do not occur to me, because...well...I'm me.

So true to form, I did my first long run over 13 miles today with the Nashville Striders. It was a 20 mile run along the Country Music Marathon half-marathon course with an additional 7 miles of ~~punishment~~ fun thrown in. Now every training guide in the world says that I shouldn't have done what I did today, but I needed to know how bad April 30 (the Marathon) would be. After all, if I couldn't do a 20 miler at an easy pace, then there would be no way that I could finish the CMM in any reasonable time (as my lovely wife reminds me, what I consider reasonable and what every other person on the planet considers reasonable are two totally different things).

I even tried prepping for the run the night before by drinking lots of fluids and laying out all my gear. I'm not sure why I even bother sometimes. True to form, I woke up late, wolfed down my breakfast and left half my gear at home (my GPS watch, my wallet, my GU). Luckily for me I had a spare watch in my gym bag in my car, so I strapped it on hurriedly as I got to the park just as the Striders were starting to leave. I grabbed some Vanilla Bean GU and took off.

I learned two things today: First, I can stomach, and actually like Vanilla Bean GU. I usually go for berry/citrus flavored drinks, gels, etc., but vanilla bean wasn't too bad. Second, I learned that I'm in better shape than I thought. I managed the run at a slow and easy pace mostly around 8:50-9:00/mi for the first 13 miles with the random 8:30 and 9:41 thrown in for good measure. Then for the last 7 miles, I tried to hit race pace an managed to keep most of miles at right under 8:30/mi. Other than the usual soreness and exhaustion that comes from running 20 miles, I feel pretty decent. Luckily for me, I have to spend all day in court tomorrow, so I have to take a rest day and recover. We'll see how quickly I recover by Tuesday before I make any predictions about the marathon in a few weeks.

Some might say that I would have had a better run if I had gotten more sleep and made sure that I was more organized in the morning, but that hardly seems like something I would do.

The Percy Warner Park Humbilization

2011-03-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

This morning I had grand plans to knock out 15 miles for my long run. I decided to go to the PWP and run the main drive (11.2 miles) and then the remaining 4 miles on the Boulevard. Yeah, that was a great idea in theory. In reality, I woke up lat e because I determined it was too cold for me to run. Now you may like to run in the cold. I don't like to run in the cold. I hate to run in the cold. Yes, I am a big, whiny baby. Deal with it. My hope was to keep my pace between 8:30-9:00/mi on average. There's too many hills later on for me to keep that kind of pace, but if I could keep it fast on the down hills, that would help my average pace.

I started from the front of the park and trudged up the first set of hills. I started out pretty well and managed to stick with my game plan for 6 miles with an occasional potty break and short walk up some steep climbs. At mile 7, my lack of training was starting to show. It didn't help that about that time I was hitting Lunsford Hill, a particularly hateful and mean-spirited hill to me. I trudged it half way up Lunsford Hill, when I had to throw in the towel and walk for a minute. From there, you can guess the rest of it. I would try to pick up my pace again with varying degrees of success and just as many failures. At my worst, my pace dropped to a 10:45 for mile 9. After that, I reclaimed some speed as I hit the down slopes back down to a 9:10. I gave up on the last 4 miles as I was going to be late getting back home, and honestly, I was just dog-tired.

My average pace ended up being 9:21/mi for 11 miles. I didn't hit the pace I wanted and I didn't run nearly as far as I needed to run. Still, I can't complain about the run. It was a hard course and my time was decent, though disappointing. It does mean that I need to re-adjust my expectations for the marathon though. Before this run, I was hoping for a 3:30:00 marathon, 8:00/mi. Now, I think that a 8:30/mi-8:45/mi is probably more realistic. I have about 3 more weeks left of training before the full, so I'm doubtful that this will change. Now I just have to explain that to my brain. Sadly that is a losing battle.

The Post-Disney Re-Integration

2011-03-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

I have returned from the land of the Mouse, and though I did not run ~~a damn lick~~ hardly at all, I had a super-awesome time with my family and friends. We rode a ton of rides, and my son even rode Space Mountain for the first time. Now that I'm back, I feel ready to get back into it and tackle that pesky marathon that is waiting for me on April 30. My training this week has even been decent despite the craptastic weather that we've had lately. Don't get me wrong, I'm not delusional enough to believe that it won't suck (I am delusional enough to believe that fairy dust will make you fly however); I know it will. But before now, I was kinda dreading it. Now, I've made peace with it, though it's looming out there and I'm ready to have fun with it.

And speaking of delusional fun from the world of the geek, I saw Sucker Punch tonight, and big shocker coming...wait for it...wait....I loved it! I had read the reviews giving it all the approval of Jim Tressel trying to delete his emails, but a movie about crazy, hot chicks with big guns and swords. And steam-powered Nazis. And killer robots. No one could have kept me out of this movie. Believing that the movie would be a steaming pile of poo, I was pleasantly surprised to find a fairly decent movie. If your level of expectation is pretty low (like mine was), then anything better is step in the right direction. Given that, I really dug this movie. It was so over-the-top that not once did I have to suspend reality to buy the story, because the delusional flights of fancy (or wanton violence) lifted me of that burden. The hyper-kinetic fight scenes were ferocious and smooth like some weird chainsaw wrestling match with fairies. Unlike his other movies like 300 and Watchmen, this movie lacked the brutality and intensity of those films. I don't want to give away the movie, but if I have to complain about anything, it would be this: There was not enough wacked-out delusional violence and destruction. Slipping between the levels of reality, though an interesting story-telling device, would bring my adrenaline rush down faster than Space Mountain, and I was left wanting more insanity. I probably would have liked it more if the fantasy of the sub-realities had come crashing through into reality more like a crashing log flume than an illusion for coping with atrocities and pain. Still, I enjoyed it as much as any Wild Ride that had to end too soon. Much better than I expected. Definitely a rental, and possibly a matinee.

Will it win any Oscars? I doubt it, but I'm sure that I'll add it to my collection of movies when it makes it to DVD. That being said, my lovely wife reminds me that I loved Wrath of Khan also, so my taste may be questionable. Just saying.

(And yeah...I did it. I wrote a blog about Disney, running, and Sucker Punch and made them all relate together. That's just the way I roll.)

The Racing Season Initiation

2011-03-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

Well the 2011 Racing Season has started out for me as somewhat of a mixed bag. Yesterday, thanks to a change in schedule, I was able to race the Tom King Classic Half-maration. This was my first year running it, and thanks to a fortunate alignment of the stars and planets, we had pretty decent weather this year. In years prior, it has been cold and/or rainy. Yesterday it was a sunny, but windy, 58 degrees with the temps climbing up into the 70's by midday. I was pumped to be racing again but also tense and unsure as I was going into this race fairly undertrained. I was cocky enough to believe that my prior training and overall fitness might land me a PR, but in my heart, I knew that I just didn't have the mileage or endurance yet to roll out an awesome race. It was this nervous anticipation that sent me to the "little runner's room" several times before the race and which I assume led to my undoing. My plan was to start off with 8:00/mi pace for the first couple miles and then work down from there to 7:50's for 4 miles, then 7:45's for 4 miles and 7:40's for the last 3.1 miles. This actually was a decent plan, and I was able to pull it off for the most part. At mile 6 I noticed that my pace had picked up steadily to 7:40 for that mile, and thinking that was too fast to maintain, I tried backing off. Miles 7-9 were definitely more reasonable with a 7:43, 7:46 and 7:45. It was at mile 10 that things fell apart. I was starting to feel the cramps set into my calves, and by the time I transitioned into mile 11, I had a nasty side stitch that was threatening to tear the whole thing apart. I sucked it up, called myself every conceivable bad word in the dictionary, and tried to regain my pace. By that time, the damage was done, I was dehydrated and I eked out a miserable 8:17 for mile 11. I pulled it together to get a 7:55, 7:37 and 1:27 for the last 2.1 miles but I was moving on sheer hate for my weakness and stubbornness to finish. In hindsight, I was still too slow in the middle miles for mile 11 to have made much difference, but in my race clouded brain, mile 11 was the one that did me in. I ended up finishing with a 1:43:07, 7:53/mi pace. No PR but I was darn close (1:42:00 last year). So considering that I could have used more mileage training, I can't really complain about my results. The day was a bit hotter than expected, I pee'd way too much before the race, and I needed more training, but I only missed my PR by 1:08 minutes. Not too shabby for my first race of the season.

On a final note, the really cool thing about running in my hometown is that I get to race/run with fellow local bloggers/celebrities (Most of the people I follow seem like blogging celebs to me), some of which I consider good friends. For instance, I saw Donna, whose blog is (Mis)adventures in Running. She has had an amazing running career transforming herself from a couch potato to a running coach/fitness guru/motivator/inspiration in just under 4 years. I used to work with her husband in Clarksville, and not only has she inspired me with her progress, but she's impressed me by how many converts she's managed to pull into running. She had a fair contingent of her running pupils taking a shot at the race. I saw Melanie, who writes Life is a Marathon. While I don't know her personally, I've followed her blog for a couple of years. She seems amazingly friendly and in January, she did the Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World (something I'm hoping to do in 2012). I saw her prior to the race and at mile 2, I managed the nerve to tell her that I enjoyed her blog as I passed by. Finally, I saw my friend Jim, who writes Run for Dori. He helped coach my son's basketball team last year, and he is a good guy for someone who is so tall and imposing. His wife, Dori, is fighting leukemia, and he has used running to raise money and draw awareness to causes to fight and cure cancers. Whenever I think about how much I've accomplished, I think about what Jim has done to use running to really help others and build a community of support. So to my friends and fellow bloggers, let me say that it was really cool to share my experience with y'all yesterday. Thanks!

The Widget Re-Assignment

2011-03-04T18:57:00.000-08:00

Last week my laptop was struck with a virus which forced me to re-format my harddrive and re-install my OS and all my apps. Usually big fun, but of course, I hadn't backed up any of my browser bookmarks, (PSA: Always backup, backup, backup!) so I've been spending a small portion of my week re-installing drivers, apps and bookmarking my favorite sites (like this super-awesome blog site, dontchaknow!). In the transition, logyourrun.com now doesn't want to play nice with Garmin Connect. So now, Logyourrun.com is not importing my runs from my Garmin. Lame! Fail! Boo! Hiss! I checked all the obvious settings, but nothing has changed in any of my accounts. Ugh. Not wanting to devote more time than necessary to this little picadilly, I've decided to move my tranining info over to dailymile.com as Garmin Connect doesn't really have the import functionality that I need. Dailymile.com seems to be adequate. I miss all the minutiae of detail from logyourrun.com, but dailymile.com makes it much easier to sync my workouts. All in all a decent trade-off. I haven't gone to the Y at all this week. Epic fail. But I did some pilates/body weight/dumbbell exercises at home to supplement my runs this week. Virtual Hi-five! I finalized my registration for the Tom King Half-Marathon next week, and though I'm no where near ready, I'm looking forward to racing again.

The Obligatory Update

2011-02-20T15:24:00.000-08:00

Like my blogging, my running has suffered of late. I wish that I could say that I was overwhelmed with work, basketball coaching and other sickness, but mostly it was laziness and video game playing. It's shameful how easy it is to blow off a workout session to level up my newest character on DC Universe Online (fyi, I'm on the Zero Hour server. This game is AWESOME!). However looking over my calendar, it occurred to me that I have a marathon to run in two and half months, and my longest run, until today, had been 7 miles. Throw in that I can't run my first two races of the year because of scheduling conflicts, it would be wise of me to defer my marathon. But as my lovely wife has often told me, wisdom has not always been my strongest quality. So today, I ripped out 10 miles at an 8:32/mi pace. I'm feeling it now. And it feels a lot like a large full bag of feces. A very, very FULL bag. For the week, I did 31.23 miles at an average pace of 8:39/mi. I did 10 minutes at the Y of weights and about 5 minutes of light weights at home during The Biggest Loser (afterwards I ate some ice cream while I watched the weigh-in. Good times).

On a more positive note, yesterday was my son's last basketball game. As most of you know, I was one of the coaches for the team. They won in a spectacular fashion with the other team cursing and gnashing their teeth in frustration (and that was mostly the other coach! Not my fault, I swear). They ended the season 6-4, and frankly I was surprised (happily) that the won any games under my watch. That just goes to show how talented the kids and the other coaches were! Go Bears!

End of the Week Recap 1/16/11

2011-01-16T20:40:00.000-08:00

This week I did 18.15 miles at an average pace of 8:32/mi. Not too bad. I tried a little speed work (as in almost non-existent), but I think that I need to lay off the speed work till I get my endurance back up. Interesting (to me, but not to anyone else with a pulse), I stealthed in a long run unintentionally! I had intended to get in a nice 6-7 mile run on Friday. My run was fair, but with my wonderful Garmin 405 (that I got for Christmas! Thank you honey!) on the lap info screen, I didn't notice that I got in 8 miles! My longest run for the year so far (I know, I know...2 weeks. Big whoop.), and it felt good to get in the mileage. I did about 75 mins of cross-training and weight lifting. I'm starting to feel buff again, but not quite beach ready yet. So the re-tooling of the "Gun Show" continues on! Updates as they develop!

End of the Week Recap 1/9/11

2011-01-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

First week of the year, and it was a decent comeback. I did 16.84 miles at 8:22/mi. I also managed 2 hrs of cross-training. My weight was back down to 166.8 lbs from a ridiculous 173 lbs after New Years. I'm trying to stretch at night and do some core work to reduce injury. So far, so good, but that being said, I'm sitting here with an ice pack on my shin. So an easy day tomorrow if the snow holds off. Have to remember, nice and easy. Going for the distance. This is harder than I recall.

The Race Schedule

2011-01-04T21:50:00.000-08:00

Well, I've fleshed out my schedule as much as I can at this point, which you can see on my blogsite. Most of it is still unfinished as many of the races that I want to do haven't posted any information yet. A few notables: The 8th Annual Race Judicata is on February 26, 2011, which unfortunately is the same day as my daughter's last basketball game. I may only run the 5k this year, so I can make it to her game. Maybe I'll get 2 ~~suckers~~ teammates and we can enter as a team. Hmmm.

I'm currently planning on doing 2 local half-marathons, the Tom King and the Middle Half, that I have not yet run, so those should be fun. They're both allegedly very flat and fast. I'm taking another stab at the Country Music Marathon, and hopefully it won't be the disaster that it was last year. My intent is to use it as a training run for my fall marathon. So I'm looking for a nice, easy FINISH that doesn't leave me completely dead. That leaves my big marathon, which should be the Tupelo Marathon. Registration isn't up yet, but in the past they've had the coolest looking shirts and finisher medals (a skull and crossbones!). Even though it is supposed to have some rolling hills, that will be the marathon that I look for my fast time this year.

The race I'm looking forward to the most is the Warrior Dash. Not only does this race have fun obstacles like barbed wire and fire, but it has lots of adult beverages and a cool buffalo hat! There's even steel viking hats for age group winners. Throw in that it's near my hometown and I'm so there! I considered wearing a kilt in the "traditional style" but I think that my lovely wife would probably frown on that.

Finally I'm also considering the Disney half and full marathon in 2012. It doesn't really count for this year, but I'm keeping this in mind for later as I don't want to finish the year either completely dead or injured. We're planning on making it a family thing with my wife and kids and my brother's family and also watch me ~~kill myself~~ run. I want to run the half (on Saturday) and the full marathon (on Sunday) to get the coveted Goofy Medal. My lovely wife thinks that this would be a bad idea (granted this is not the first time that she's said that I've had a bad idea). But seriously, if I'm going to go all that way to run, shouldn't I go for it? I say, YES!

The Running Geek Upgrade

2011-01-03T20:52:00.000-08:00

Well, it's 2011 and I'm still cobbling together my race schedule for the year (i.e. sweet-talking my lovely wife into letting me run some of the crazier races), but I have figured out my goals for year. As stated, I've decided to keep 2011 within more reasonable boundaries. First off, my plan is to get my weight down to 160 and keep it there. Ugh. I can't believe that it's even gone up. Moving on! My race goals are simply put: to be faster than I was last year in every race distance.

Along those lines, I'm scrapping any formulaic training program and using my own what-do-I-feel-like-doing-today methodology. That being said, I will incorporate one day of speed/hill work and one long run. I'll also be working up my distance to get closer to 50-60 mile weeks, but at much slower paces than I did last year to reduce injury and increase recovery. Throw in a decent amount of cross-training/weight lifting to build strength, endurance and overall fitness, and I think I have a recipe for a decent year (consequently, this is close to the same formula that I used 2 years ago to get here). And add in a name change to the blog for some added motivation, and we're off!

End of the Year Recap 2010

2010-12-30T19:44:00.000-08:00

Well it's that time again, where I re-live every race and ~~curse~~ review my performance for the year. Overall it was a mixed bag. This year, I racked up the hardware (usually placing 3rd in my age group). I had several goals this year, and I only made one of them. Here's the numbers (goal first - actual result second):

155 lbs - 168.8 lbs No dice here. I really put the pounds on during the holidays. Turkey, pie and bacon continue to plague me with their delicious, delicious-ness.

5K 21:11, 6:50/mi - 21:22 6:54/mi Ugh. This one was a heartbreaker. I got 3rd in my age group, but I missed my annual goal by 11 seconds. 11 SECONDS!!!

10K 43:23, 7:00/mi - 44:49, 7:13/mi Another mixed bag on this race. I got 3rd in my age group again (detecting a trend?), but missed my annual goal by 1:26.

13.1 1:43:00, 7:51 - 1:42:00, 7:47 - This was the only race that I reached my annual goal. It came pretty early in the year, and I thought it boded well for the year. Sadly it did not.

26.2 3:30:00, 8:00/mi - 4:07:03, 9:26/mi - I didn't even come close on this one. But I was so unprepared mentally and physically for this race, I was just glad to finish.

It would truly be a bad year if I didn't learn anything from this, but I did learn a few things. First, I can't be a good runner just by running alone. A good diet and strong overall fitness are important too for me. Second, I need to work more distance into my training to build my endurance. Third, I need more realistic goals! As my lovely wife likes to remind me, I'm not 6' and bulletproof. That means taking a more realistic assessment of what I can do, so I don't get too down on myself.

Not the year that I was hoping for, but still a good year overall. I've gotten faster in everything under marathon, just not as fast as I hoped. Anyway, here's looking forward to another good (and fast) year! Happy New Year everybody!

The Holiday Protocol

2010-12-24T19:48:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!! Nothing to report. I've been doing weights/cross-training at the Y while I rest my leg. I'll be posting my end of the year wrap-up in a couple days as well as my new year goals. Stay tuned. I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday!!!

Rudolph's Red Nose 5K Recap

2010-12-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

That's me in the Man Up shirt and UT Santa hat!

I didn't have a lot of expectations for this race going in. I'm still mentally dinged up from my marathon, and I didn't run at all this week (instead I did some ~~may-as-well-have-not-even-bothered~~ light cross-training and weight lifting). Considering how poorly I did last year in this race, my hope for this race was to finish around 22:45, which would have given me 7:20/mi. The race officials also changed the course this year, adding another hill right after the 1st mile. Masochists. I know, I know. I've run hillier and longer courses before, but there's something about familiarity with a race that makes any change nerve racking. During my warm ups, my right calf felt tight and all of the sudden, 7:20/mi seemed like it would be a real accomplishment. After my usual last minute pit stop ritual, I scooted over to the start line to find a spot. There were over 1400 runners this year and it seemed like they all decided to run at the front of the line. I was annoyed. I tried not to be (since I was really just running for fun), but I always am. I started out behind a trio of particularly annoying 8th graders, so I navigated the crowd to an open-less-teenager-y spot. Then we were off, and up Woodland Street Bridge. I tried to keep my pace easy but quick, and soon I found myself moving up ahead of the pack. I could see the lead pack and fought the urge to sprint up and cover ground. Instead, I held my pace, breathing hard, but moving well (as opposed to my side splitting run last year). For the last 1/2 mile, I tried picking up my pace and crossed the finish, tired but still standing. My splits ended up being 6:51, 7:16, 6:59, and 1:09 (6:30/mi) for the last .1 mile. That gave me a time of 22:17. Better than I had hoped for, but far from my best. I hung around to check the official results, and Bam! I scored 3rd in my age group! (Never mind that there were only 37 runners in my age group). It's nice to earn some more hardware for my office. I guess being 40 may not be that bad after all. Maybe...

Rudolph's Red Nose 5K Pre-Race

2010-11-30T19:45:00.000-08:00

Sadly this is 5 days of growth.

I have lots of bad ideas. And some terrible ideas, I do repeatedly. My lovely wife attributes this to my stubborn, and often-outright, stupidity. Apparently, I'm just too dumb to learn. Every time I'm off from work for more than 2 days, like I was over the Thanksgiving holiday, I grow a "beard." Or at least it would be if it actually grew in. I can't even claim a manly Judge Lance Ito beard. Instead my beard looks...well...let's just say it looks bad. Kinda like a half-shavenm, motley chihuahua's butt. Very bad.

Likewise, some might say that continuing to do the Rudolph's Red Nose 5K would be a bad idea for me. Maybe not chihuahua beard bad, but bad nonetheless. Let me explain. The Rudolph race is a night race usually the first Friday night in December. Typically this is a very cold night. I do not like the cold. I'm a little man from a small Pacific island near the equator. I'm not genetically designed to handle the cold. I like it not. The course is mostly an out-and-back with a large hill that has to be contended with both ways. Traditionally this hill has made me it's bitch for the last two years. So why do I keep running this race? Well I probably wouldn't, if it wasn't so much fun! The race kicks off Nashville's Christmas parade, so the course is lined with excited children and families. The racers range from the serious to the playful with just as many elves as there are elites, possibly even more on the elf side. Also this is the race that got me started two years ago. So despite the the freezing temps that rob me of my manhood and the cold wind that burns to breathe in, I will continue to run this fun little 5k for as long as I can. In essence it connects me to my running roots. It reminds me of those days when it was painful just to run even 1 mile. It reminds me to let go and just have fun. Now if I could only grow that beard....

Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon Race Recap

2010-11-14T21:33:00.000-08:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! If it wasn't true before, it is true now, that I can count myself as a marathoner. Yesterday was the second official marathon that I finished. While I didn't have the finish for which I was hoping, I was glad that I was able to 1) actually run this race (as opposed to the Middle Half which was a DNS) and 2) actually finish this one (as opposed to the Country Music Marathon). ~~Post-race excuses and rationalizations:~~ Unfortunately I believe that my accident a month ago weighed heavily on the outcome of this race. Missing two weeks of training and 2 big long runs (which included a race to test my speed and endurance) left me unsure as to whether I would be able to run this race. When I was able to get back to training, I ran every step tentatively, wincing at every pain, because I was sure that it was an indication of an impending stress fracture. Still I was determined to run this race, even if I had to crawl across the finish line. Luckily that wasn't necessary, though at times during the race, I was sure that it was a near thing.

For background, the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon takes place in Ft. Oglethorpe, GA on the Civil War battlefield of Chickamauga. It's a small race of about 500 runners for the marathon. There were also about 700 half-marathoners. Likewise the expo was small with a few vendors. Still it was a nice, friendly atmosphere that emphasized paying tribute to the history of the area as well as being friendly to families. The hours before the race, I stood huddled with several other runners around a heater inside the registration tent as the 39 degree chill felt much colder. Still I managed to take care of some of my normal pre-race rituals (poop and pee), but I did not do a warm-up jog. I was just too darn cold!

Eventually, they called for the imminent start, so I lined up with the rest of the runners at the starting line. I found the 3:40 pacer and stood near him. Chickamauga starts off their race by firing a canon (they also fire it for the first finishers of the marathon, half and jr-marathon!). I knew about it, but I still jumped when they fired it. Early on, I had decided to hold back and keep an easy, but quick pace. I just wasn't sure what I could handle physically since the accident and loss of training time. Still as the miles ticked away, I felt strong and stable as I stayed with the pace group. I stopped at the water stops for a minute or two and even took a porta-potty pit stop once or twice.

The race itself was beautiful and eerie. We started out at dawn and as the sun rose through the air, I could see rays of sunlight cut through the treetops and fog. It was like some hazy special effect, and at any moment, I kept expecting to see a ghostly Civil War soldier materialize out of the fog. Adding to this, the steam from the runners' labored breathing added to the ghostly quality of the race. I almost stopped to take a picture of this scene (and wished that I had), but my competitive drive wouldn't let me give up the pace. The course was generally flat, but it had a fair number of hills and some decent elevation to make it challenging. Though it was a double loop course, the scenery of the park and the monuments throughout the battlefield never made the course seem boring. There were plenty of volunteers riding on bikes throughout the course checking on runners, providing medical aid, duct tape (for blistered runners!), and Powerade from their bicycle baskets, if necessary. The water stops and aid stations were well-manned and well-stocked. So all-in-all, my race experience went fairly well.

Mile 15. Feeling good.

Now the race was supposed to provide shuttles (in this case, small school buses) that would take spectators to various points along the race every 15 minutes or so. According to my lovely bride, this did not happen. So it was, that I was only able to see my family at mile 15 before the finish. When they saw me, I was still feeling good and moving well unlike when they saw me at mile 18 of the Country Music Marathon. I was just ahead of the 3:40 pace group by maybe a minute or two, and after shedding my extra clothes and kissing my family, I headed back to the race. About 1/2 a mile into mile 16, I noticed the first bit of cramping. I was surprised as I had tried to maintain my fluid intake, and had even made sure to drink a big bottle of water prior to the race. I soon came upon another water/potty stop and decided to use the "facilities." That's when I discovered that my ~~pee-pee~~ urine was a darkish brown. Now, I'm no dummy (though my lovely bride has told me that I can be a dumbass). I know what this means. I'm majorly dehydrated. I cursed my lack of training and started downing the Gatorade that my lovely bride had given me when I saw my family. I thought briefly about dropping out, but I dismissed that thought immediately. I kept sipping on my Gatorade, and when I got to a water stop, I two-fisted water and Powerade from the volunteers. Still the cramping, like my pace, got worse. I briefly hoped that if I could slow down to 9-10 minute miles that I might have some hope of finishing under 4 hours, and had I been able to do that, I probably would have finished under 4 hours.

My daughter running to me at the finish.

However, my legs were screaming at me to stop. My IT band was flaring in fiery, hot pain from the top of my thigh down to my knee, and every tendon and muscle touching it joined in the hate-fest. At several points, I had to stop and bend over to stretch out my calves and thighs, or I might have locked up on the spot. Around mile 24, I made an attempt at finishing stronger than my last few miles, but the pain was too much. Throw in that I was not mentally ready for it, this time my pace again dropped to crawl. Still I refused to quit, though I must have been quite a sight as a couple volunteers asked me if I was okay. I told them that I felt better earlier this morning, but I would be fine once I finished. Eventually I did reach the finish. I even passed several people, but I got passed by even more. Still, nothing was better than seeing my family waving at me as I crossed the line. My children ran out to me and my lovely bride hugged me and told me how proud she was of me. I told her that I was glad to just be standing.

With the help of my family, I stiff-legged my way over to the Finisher's tent and ate and drank as much food as I could get my hands on. Pizza never tasted so good as it did in that moment. Before I could stuff a 4th piece of pizza into my mouth, the officials were calling for the start of the Jr. Marathon, of which both my children were participating. I waved my wife and kids on telling them to hurry to the start as I gingerly followed behind them. When I caught up to them, my kids were picking their way up to the line. I gave them hugs of encouragement and my son told me that he was going to try to win it! I told him to go for it and stepped back to my wife. At the last minute, I decided to see if my daughter wanted me to follow her (hoping she wouldn't need me), and hobbled towards her. Before I got to her, the canon went off and the crowd of kids rushed off the line. I'm not sure why, but I walked behind, following the crowd. That's when I saw the crowd of kids move around something and the officials rushing into the pack. I knew from my experience with cross-country that meant someone had fallen, and somehow, I knew that it was my daughter. In fact, it was. She is so small that I imagine she could not keep her balance with the surge of the crowd and she was trampled. The officials had picked her up and she was crying loudly. I came up on them, told them that I was her father, and I scooped her up into my arms. I'll admit that I had little left in the tank, but even I couldn't just let my little girl stand there crying. So while she clung to my neck, I started walking around the junior course. I tried soothing her, so I could calm her down and she could finish her race. I don't know why, but for some reason, I thought it would matter to her if she didn't finish. I carried her for awhile, and eventually I was able to calm her down enough so that she could walk. Holding her hand, we walked the course well behind the pack. We talked a bit, and though I wasn't able to get her to stop sobbing, she kept going. She even agreed to shuffle-jog into the finish when her brother came back to us and she got her medal. After that, I let her have as many cookies as she wanted!

Team Vallejo finishing the Jr. Marathon!

Overall, the race was a great experience. The course was beautiful and the weather was near perfect. The officials and volunteers were friendly and helpful. Now for the usual post-race questions: Was I hoping for a better race? Of course, I was. Am I happy/proud with how I did? Absolutely. It wasn't the epic fail of the Country Music Marathon, and I proved that I can still overcome adversity to finish something that I started. Was this race dedicated to anyone? Yes. Of course, I dedicated this race to my mom, but also to my friend Joe Lynn Smith and my sister-in-law's Uncle Bob. Will I do another marathon? Absolutely. I think that I'm going to take another stab at the Country Music Marathon for next year, but I may end up pacing a friend. What about qualifying for Boston? I'm not saying it's out, but unless I really re-vamp and re-focus my training, it doesn't seem likely. The marathon is such a beast, I have no idea how Ultra guys do longer. I think that I'm just way too competitive to give up on striving for Boston, but realistically I can only mentally train to race one marathon a year. I think that physically I can do more than 1 marathon a year, but rolling out sub-8's for 26.2 miles is a lot to train for. Official time: 4:07:03, 9:26/mi. I finished 38th out of 71 in my age group (Ugh. I'm a Masters now. When did I get so old?) and 182 out of 502 finishers overall. My pace times were (thanks to Garmin) in order: 8:21, 8:21, 8:08, 8:50, 7:35, 7:51, 7:58, 8:14, 8:19, 8:13, 8:29, 8:30, 8:11, 8:28, 8:11, 9:16, 8:20, 9:19, 11:50, 10:38, 11:14, 12:47, 11:48, 9:50, 11:58, 11:47 and 10:18 for the final .2 of a mile.

For now, I am going to rest and recover. I'm going to re-vamp my training plan and hopefully get ready for my final race of the year, the Rudolph's Red Nose 5k this December. Keep the faith, kids!

End of the Week Recap 11/7/10

2010-11-07T19:43:00.000-08:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! I am now approaching my final week before the Chickamauga Marathon. As most of you know (all 2 of you that actually read my blog), I was in a car accident that pretty much derailed my training. I've reconciled myself (if I keep telling myself this, it may even become true) to the idea that I won't be able to reach my goal this time. Since returning to training, I've kept my distances up, but my speed work has been ~~sucktastic~~ non-existent. I've been reading Once a Runner and Again to Carthage for inspiration. Sadly, all I want to do is finish the books again instead of run. Ugh. It doesn't help that my 3rd and 4th grade basketball has started, and guess who is coaching? Yeah, I know. Shocker. Don't worry, those boys will be running a fair number of suicides. All right. That's it. Wish me luck. Keep the faith. See you at the finish line!

St. Crispin's Day

2010-10-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

Today is October 25, St. Crispin's Day. For those of you who need your St. Crispin's Day Speech fix (and really, who doesn't), here ya go:

The Marathon Training Update

2010-10-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Week....ummm...huh. Maybe, I ought to back up a bit. Almost 2 weeks ago, I had me a little car accident on my way back home from Knoxville. Long story-short, I got distracted, over-compensated, spun my car, and ended up on the shoulder, lucky not to have ended up in the bottom of a cliff. My car was totaled but I miraculously walked away relatively unscathed. I say relative as I did not have any broken bones, but after a trip to the orthopedist and an x-ray later, he determined that I had some build-up on my tibia that indicated I might develop a stress fracture, if I continued running (I also have an injury to my coccyx. No point to that. I just like to say coccyx). He prescribed 2-4 weeks off. I mentioned my upcoming marathon to him and mentioned that I could miss it due to a stress fracture if I wanted. Thanks doc. Why don't you pass me the bacon and pie right now? Well in my running exile, I dutifully (if not resentfully) rested my legs, and cross-trained on occasion (why is doing the elliptical so sucky?). Thankfully I hadn't canceled my Y membership, so I was able to get in some weight work (do NOT ever sit down on a weight bench with a 40 lb weight in your lap and an injured coccyx!) and low-impact cardio (seriously, why is the elliptical so sucky!?!) After 2 weeks of being pissy and mopey, I went out for a run today. I hit the track (I assumed that it would be easier on my legs) and did an easy 3 miles. While my pace was good (8:23/mi avg), it felt like I was running through mud. I was breathing hard and I cringed at every little ache. Still, it was good to be back out running again. After I finished, I came home, had some breakfast, and took a cold bath (just in case). So my plan for the rest of the week is to go easy and re-build my mileage somewhat before I start my taper. With 3 weeks to go until my marathon in Chattanooga, I'm throwing out my original goal of 3:25 and just hoping to finish with my legs intact at this point. I may be able to recover and do even better than I imagine, but the realist in me says that isn't likely. It's a somewhat disappointing realization after all my training, but I'm still going to enjoy it and have some fun. Later kids! Keep the faith!

End of the Week Recap 10/3/10

2010-10-03T21:47:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Week 10 of marathon training is at an end. This week I ran 32.9 miles at an average of 8:37/mi. I turned in 2:20 hrs of cross-training of golf and weights. My weight came in at 162.2 lbs. Not too bad overall. The highlight of the week was my long run. My training schedule called for a 20 mi run at an easy pace. I was feeling pretty good yesterday, so today I opted for a long run at marathon pace for as long as I could. Turns out that distance was 16 miles. After that I cooled down with a sloooooow (walking slow) 3 miles. I was glad to get that 16 miles out of the way. The pace felt easy and I didn't have any physical problems until mile 15.5, when I felt twinges of a cramp come on. Tonight, I'm tired and my muscles are tight, but otherwise, I feel pretty good. Next week I'll probably try to post that 20 miler.

Geek love: I'm still digging my Droid X. I've transcoded a DVD and it looks AWESOME on my phone! I still haven't named it though. The name should be smart and sexy much like my phone. I got Spartacus: Blood and Sand this weekend. From what little I've seen, it reminds me a lot of 300 cinematically at least. That's it for now. Later kids!

P.S. Today is my dad's birthday. Happy Birthday, Dad!

The Droid X Review

2010-09-30T21:28:00.000-07:00

Time to get my geek on: Last week, I dove into the cellular world that is the Android. After a somewhat lackluster history with the Blackberry Storm and Storm 2, I gave into the allure of the Droid X. In the past, I have stood firm on my ground that I was a power/business user waving my Blackberry with its enterprise level security and amazing email technology in anyone's (read iPhone-ians) face. I long considered the iPhone and the Droid to be cute Gameboy-esque toys that would occasionally allow someone to place a call or send an email. This changed with 2 things: 1. Updates to the Blackberry OS from the Storm to the Storm 2 did nothing to fix its anemic browser. It's slow and nearly useless in how little it can handle most web pages now. Blackberry's OS 6 was developed to address some of these issues, but from my research, it's still behind the curve compared to the iPhone and the Android. 2. With the Froyo update (Android OS 2.2), Google upped the ante with improved enterprise level security as the Droid is supposed to now play nice with Exchange. My office uses Exchange 2003, and after a few updates and reboots we were able to get my phone syncing effortlessly with my office server (Thanks Chief!).

Now the Droid X is a damn sexy phone. It has all the standard smart phone features. It has a 8 MP camera and a video camera that will record in 720P. It has 8 gigs on the phone and comes with a 16 gig micro SD card. It also has a port for HDMI. It's huge with its 4.3 inch screen. The display is bright and is easier to read in direct sunlight then my Storm 2. The browser is fast and can play Flash! (UPDATE: I downloaded the Skyfire Browser and I've been impressed at how fast it loads and handles Flash content even better than the stock browser. Throw in that it can simulate a full desktop browser (not just an optimized mobile browser), and bam! I haven't found a site yet that I can't use.) The Droid OS is far more versatile than the Blackberry and powers up in seconds. With a huge library of apps, this has to be one of the best purchases that I've ever made. I even found an app that allows me connect to my office computer. The mobile wifi hotspot is a great idea, but with Verizon's 2 gig/month data cap, it may not be worth the cost. Fear not, tethering fans, as the Droid X will tether via bluetooth at no extra cost. I got this to work once, but since then my laptop has "lost" one of the drivers to properly run the bluetooth radio. I've tried to re-install the proper drivers several times, but it still won't install it. Perplexing to say the least. Also the OS does seem a bit quirky at times, but it's no worse than any phone that I've used before. When examined under Verizon's extensive network, this phone is the most powerful/useful work purchase that I've ever made. So sorry Blackberry, but I can't go back. And you can't make me either. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 9/26/10

2010-09-26T22:32:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Week 9 of marathon training is officially in the books. This was a decent week in that I got over my mileage and hit my time goals (on average). I did 38.21 miles at an average pace of 8:33/mi. I did 26 minutes of kettleball cross-training. My weight I believe to be firmly at 163.4 lbs. My best run was my long run this morning. I did 16.38 mi at an average pace of 8:25/mi around the Vandy, Belmont, Lipscomb area. It was a great morning for a run, because it was cool and breezy, near perfect. I just ran around the college campuses without a particular plan, and it was neat to see parts of town that I hadn't mapped out/ran before.

Today also marked the end of the cross-country season for "my" kids. Let me tell you; I'm truly blessed to work with such a great group of kids. I was so proud of everyone's efforts, and though I haven't looked over the official times, I think most everyone turned in PR's today! Of note, the 7th and 8th grade girls came in 4th as a team (jointly with another school), and one of our girls finished 11th and 24th! Awesome job ladies! On a more personal note, my son turned in a PR of 14 seconds better than his best time! I have to say that I'm more than honored that I was a small part in helping some of these kids take interest in our sport. Go Bears!!!

That's it for me. Later kids, and keep the faith!

End of the Week Recap 9/19/10

2010-09-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Week 8 of marathon training is done. I've considered calling this week, Hill Week or the Hills are Alive with the Sound of Pain. Instead of tempo run this week, I traded it for hill sprints. The run was short, but hard. Oddly enough, this is the same description that I can apply to my long run this week. I was on schedule to do 20 miles at 8:48/mi, but I decided to do my run through Percy Warner Park (because I'm a glutton for punishment). My long run ended up only being 15.5 miles at a 8:57/mi pace. I would whine about this, but that is a brutal course with hills that go straight up into the air. I swear! Not to mention the wildlife! In the middle of my run, I had to slow down as a gang of wild turkeys filled the road. Now, I don't know if wild turkeys are prone to attacking innocent, tired runners, just trying to get through their workout, but I really didn't want to find out. Thankfully they meandered off the sides of the road and seemed to take no notice of me (though I could swear I saw one giving me the evil eye!). Other than a brush with a family of Bambi's and wild chipmunk, the rest of my run was fairly uneventful (except, of course, for my cursing and gnashing of teeth as I trudged up and down the hills of PWP).

My mileage for the week was 30.94 miles at an average pace of 8:41/mi. I did 42 minutes of actual cross-training and conditioning (Thank you dear for buying me that kettleball for Christmas!), and I weighed in at 164.4 lbs this morning. Not too bad overall.

Random bits: Big Bang Theory premieres this Thursday on CBS at 8/7 Central. Set your DVR's. I already have. This week's parochial cross-country meet was a scorcher, but my kids (my son and the ones I coach) all had impressive runs despite the heat. It makes a dad and coach proud to see those kids toughing it out and finishing strong. Go Bears! Allegedly, Android 2.2 (Froyo) should be coming out on the Droid X soon. I'm betting on Tuesday, 9/21/10, as that is the last day of summer.

Well that's all I have for this week. Run hard and keep the faith! Later kids.

End of the Week Recap 9/12/10

2010-09-12T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Week 7 of marathon training is in the books after some switching around to accommodate my race this weekend. This last week was supposed to be another long run, but I switched it with my rest week that's coming up. I really didn't want to a 20-21 miler after doing a fast 10k. Given this, I still didn't manage my rest week by the book. I was supposed to get in 24 miles, but ended up with 20.58 miles. Considering that over 8 miles was a tempo run and a race, I don't feel bad about not getting in all my mileage. This week I did 20.58 miles at an average pace of 7:49/mi. Golf again counted for my cross-training at 3:30 hrs. My weight is right at 164. Overall, I was a little "meh" about my race this week, but I'm hoping to get back in the mental groove this week. I'm somewhat worried that I won't be ready for my marathon if I don't get my head back in the game. On a final note, I've been really impressed with the effort that my cross-country kids are putting into it. If nothing else, their drive has been a real inspiration for me. Keep the faith, my peeps!

Run Chikin Run 10k Race Report

2010-09-11T21:51:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! This has been a mixed-bag kind of day for me. As I type this report, my beloved Vols fell apart in the second half of the game with Oregon. The realist in me knew it would be a tough game, but I hoped it would be close. The orange kool-aid drinking fan in me thought we really had a chance to steal the game after we scored our first touchdown. But as I've said before this weekend, early projections don't mean crap. You still have to play, and the final score is all that matters. Ugh.

That being said, this is a race report for the Run Chikin Run 10k in Murfreesboro, TN (or it will be after I wipe the tears off of my keyboard and pull my remote out of the TV. I'm very bitter.), and early projections suggested that I would have all the elements in this race for a PR. The course is relatively flat, the field is not enormous (531 timed finishers), and the weather was not overly hot (but fairly humid). Of course, I ran this race last year and scored a PR then of 44:59. This year, I ran it in 44:49 (My splits were 6:41. 7:00, 7:05, 7:32, 7:14, 7:13 and 2:04), another PR, finished 3rd in the 35-39 age group, 23rd in the men's division and 29th overall.

I'm not going to bore you with all the details (that's what long distance race reports are for), but I will give you the highlights. I tweaked my right calf from over-training, so I wasn't all that fired up for this race. I figured my injury would hurt my chances at my goal time of 43:23. Keeping that in mind, my only strategy was to go out hard and hope that I could find a pacer to drag me in. During the race, I thought my pace was faster than it was early on, but by the middle I knew that I had lost it. I did find a pacer, Sue Scholl (who got 2nd in her age group. Congrats!), but I started my finishing kick too early and fizzled out at the end. Still, I finished better than I thought (and probably deserved with my bone-headed strategy). While I'm down that I didn't get my goal for the year, I'm now stoked to get back into training and prove that I have what it takes to finish the year strong. I may not get my marathon goal, but by God, it won't be because I didn't bleed for it. Keep the faith, homies.

P.S. Congrats to my buddy, Matty B. He finished the race 10th in his age group with a time of 54:02. Nice one.

Garmin Giveaway

2010-09-06T14:38:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Before everyone gets all excited, this is not my contest. Check out Garmin Giveaway at DC Rainmaker's blog for the contest before 9/9/10 to win a Garmin Forerunner 310! Better hurry!

End of the Week Recap 9/5/10

2010-09-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Week 6 of marathon training is down and out. For the week, I did 32.86 miles at an average pace of 8:32/mi. I did 2:30 hrs of cross-training. Most of that was golf, but 10 minutes were some body weight exercises. My weight feel in at 165 lbs this morning, because I spent most of the day eating yesterday after my long run. Speaking of which, I did 20 miles with the Nashville Striders, and I hardly felt fatigued. Unlike previous solo long runs, I felt the need to muscle through the run with a group. My runs this week were right on pace this week. I did skip one easy run this week, because I had some minor calf pain after racing my 5th and 6th grade cross country team in the school gym. Skipping the run wasn't terrible, because I needed the rest/recovery plus I had already run some extra miles earlier in the week. Next week, I have a 10k on Saturday in Murfreesboro, so I'm changing up my training schedule. Next week was supposed to be a regular week, but I'm making it my rest week. I really didn't want to try another 20 miler after a fast 10k.

On an unrelated topic, yesterday was Derek Dooley's debut (Yay, alliteration!) with the UT Vols. They laid an enormous beatdown to an unremarkable UT-Martin Skyhawks, 50-0. I believe that this is a good sign for Dooley's tenure at UT, but I remain skeptical that this will be a better than 50% season. If it is...awesome. If not, it was our lack of depth and experience that hurt us, and next year should be better. In any case, congratulations to my beloved UT on a good (not great) season opener. Go Vols!

End of the Week Recap 8/29/10

2010-08-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Week 5 of marathon training is in the books, and slightly better than last week. I did 31.67 miles at an average pace of 8:28/mi. I did almost no cross-training except for ugly 2 hrs of golf. My easy runs have been a bit faster than easy pace, which has tended to build a lot of false confidence. My speed work and long runs have actually been more telling. During a tempo run, I can hit my paces, but I can't hold onto it for more than a mile or two. My long run this showed that I started to lose it after mile 13. My splits before mile 13 were under 8:45, but after 13, they were 9:05, 9:05, 9:19, and 10:38 respectively through 16. Not good. Mile 16 is especially troubling, seeing as how that was where I got dead-legged in the Country Music Marathon. I think that I need to get serious about real cross-training and weight-lifting to further my endurance. Hopefully a new outlook on my workouts will translate into more confidence at the end of my runs also, as I'm sure that my stupid head is getting in the way as much as any physical weaknesses.

And before I close this week down, I'm gonna do that proud parent/coach thing that usually drives me nuts to read. After all, no one else cares about our kids like we do, right? Well, I'm no different. Today was the first cross country meet for the Parochial school league, of which I assistant coach my kid's school's team. I wish that I could take credit, but damn if those kids haven't gotten faster since last year. It is inspiring to me to see those kids gutting out that last quarter mile, just because their wildly hysterical screaming assistant coach is screaming at them to dig deep and bring it home. Oh yes. I was that guy. Holla! As for my kid, you may look up "awesome" in the dictionary and you will see his smiling, sweaty face right there. He clobbered 2 MINUTES off his time from last year, and I couldn't be more proud! Thas my boy! Dayum!

All right, I better cut out, before I embarrass my boy any further. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 8/22/10

2010-08-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Week 4 of marathon training is down and out. This week was a recovery week, but it was also the start of cross country practice. So as I've ~~whined~~ said before, it was hard for me to get any actual recovery in, because I was running nearly every day (though no run was longer than 6 miles). So after sneaking a run in (through the storm) yesterday, I decided to make today a recovery day, drop a run, and ~~sit on my ass and watch TV~~ do some quick cross-training. This week I did 19.28 miles (not 22 as scheduled) at an average pace of 8:43/mi. I only did 12 minutes of cross-training, but my weight came in at a solid 163.4 lbs. It seems like a lot of my miles were run in the rain this week, and if I were a superstitious man (and I am), I would say that this is a bad omen for my marathon (and look, I said it. Jinx!). As for my dropped run, I say short, slow miles are better than no miles, and no miles are better than getting hurt as long as you go back out the day after. I'm taking that one to heart, resting my ~~gimpy ass~~ tired legs and gearing up for week 5 of marathon training. Yeehaw!

The Cross Country Addendum

2010-08-21T08:08:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! The school year has started and with it: cross-country! My son's elementary school (which is awesome by the way. I will totally pimp for SBA, since I think that has been a great learning environment for my kids) participates in a parochial league, and I help coach some of the kids. Why don't I head up the whole thing, you ask? One, I'm so over-committed between work, other school activities and marathon training that I'm lucky that I have time to fart, much less run a K-8 cross country program. Second, our cross country program is a very laid back, come-one-come-all, have fun and run affair. If I were in charge, it would not be. Rumor has it that when it comes to racing, I tend to be a bit...just a bit, mind you...over-competitive. Thankfully, I have other parents, and my lovely wife, to remind me that they are just kids, and we want them to have fun. Don't get me wrong, we would also like to win, and we have quite a few fast kids. But if I were in charge, everyone would hate me because it would be windsprints and long runs every day. Kids would be too tired to do homework. Test scores would drop. The Y would be full of delinquent ne'er-do-wells. Riots would ensue. Like I said, it's good that I'm not in charge.

As it stands, I'm running with the 5th and 6th graders for now. I run them a mile out and back, trying to work on form, breathing and strategy for those who are interested before the meets start. My only problem is that practice is falling on my training days, so I'm having to re-adjust my training schedule to get my miles in. This week was supposed to be a rest week, so I've been able to play with my schedule to figure out how it will work. I have determined that I will have to keep myself in check when I run with the kids. No macho posturing for me by trying to keep up with the kids (durn whipper-snappers are fast!), or I will likely hurt myself before November. Yesterday, I had to cut my 5 mile easy run short, because my legs were dead, and I skipped this morning's make-up run to get some rest. This is a rest week, so rest/recovery are more important to me today than the miles. I'll worry about making up the miles later, but I don't want to overdo it (Wimp!!). Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 8/15/10

2010-08-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! The 3rd week of marathon training is in the books. I ran 29.85 miles at an average pace of 8:26/mi. I did 2:12 hrs of cross-training thanks to a brief visit to the weight room at the Y and a quick 9 holes of golf on Friday the 13th. My weight is still hanging around 164-165 lbs. Because of my race this week, I had to tweak my runs this week to get them all in and still save my legs for the 5K. I did throw in an extra 3 mile easy run, but ended up balancing it out by cutting my long run short this morning. I really, REALLY wanted to sleep in this morning, but somehow I managed to roll my monkey butt out of bed this morning to Shelby Bottoms and knock out 13 miles. I probably could have gutted out the last mile on my training schedule, but I was starting to have some problems by the end of my run. From the race to the heat to my lack of overall fitness, I was sore as all get out, tired as heck, and developing some fun blisters on my left foot. So by the time I passed my car at mile 13, I called the ball and brought my ass on home. Despite all this, it was a good week, and I'm looking forward to my rest week coming up (all easy runs, no longer than 6 miles. Aaaahhh). Later kids!

Fenton Payne and Fred 5K Race Report 2010

2010-08-15T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Yesterday was the 7th Annual Fenton Payne and Fred 5K in Murfreesboro, TN. I signed up for this race, because it's a flat course that lends itself to some fast times. My buddy Matt was also running it, so these were my excuses for running this one at the start of marathon training. This year they changed the course so that there were fewer turns thereby making a PR a strong possibility. Knowing my race schedule for the rest of the year, this is probably the last 5K that I will run to get my annual goal of 21:10, 6:50/mi. My marathon training to this point led me to believe that I could probably get a fast time and possibly a PR, but I wasn't sure that I could maintain a 6:50/mi pace. In hindsight, I probably should have kept my damn mouth shut.

The race is big for a local race, almost 900 finishers, so I tried to scoot up to the front to avoid the crowding in the back. The pace started out fast, and when I realized how fast (5:50/mi), I backed off to save my legs. I did mile 1 in 6:37. Mile 2, I was following a runner in front of me, and then I realized that she was slowing down. I surged past her, but I think by that point the damage was done. I did mile 2 in 6:57. Mile 3 was an exercise in holding on. I tried drafting another runner, but I could never close the gap. Mile 3 was done in 6:48. The last .1 mile I emptied the tank and finished in 1 minute even.

Here's a picture of me near the finish line. Like I said, it was clearly an exercise in holding on (Why are race photo's always horrible?)

I ended up finishing 3rd in my age group with a PR of 21:22, 6:54/mi. Of course in my head, it's still a mixed bag, since I didn't get my annual goal. My wife tells me that this is because I'm mentally deficient. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 8/8/10

2010-08-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Week 2 of marathon training is in the books. Overall a decent week of mileage, but my speed run was lackluster at best. Although I've been performing at or over my training specs for my easy/long runs, I haven't found my groove with my speed work. It could be a result of trying to do speed work on the dreadmill, but in any case, I clearly need to get more bang for my buck there. This week I did 29.49 miles at an average pace of 8:24/mi. I only did 30 minutes of weights this week. I really should go back to swimming to help with my endurance, but I've really been under the crunch with time lately. My weight is right around 163. Overall, I'm feeling okay, but sluggish. No major injuries but my shin splints are starting to creep back up. I'm wearing my compression leg sleeves to help, but I need to do more stretching post-workout. I could probably also use a good sports massage to help me recover. Ok, on to week 3! Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 8/1/10

2010-08-02T19:36:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! For those who've been following this blog, clearly my blogging is starting to follow my blogging, i.e. nonexistent. However this week, I started my marathon training, and though I did get in the miles, they were less than stellar. Due to the heat, I've tweaked my outside runs (read here...less miles, slower times) to allow myself some recovery. I've also thrown in the towel and have started doing longer runs on the dreadmill. For those runs, I've upped the speed and mileage to compensate for the fact that I can cheat while I hamster. For last week, I ran 31.52 miles at an average pace of 8:11/mi. I did 1.7 miles of walking for additional cardio/cooldown and 2 hours of golf. My weight fell in around 164.5. On the plus side, I've been playing the best golf I've played in ages! Back to the ground pounding next week. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 7/25/10

2010-07-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! This week I ran 13.56 miles at an average of 8:32/mi. I did 4:02:00 hrs of cross-training/cardio, thanks mostly to 3 hrs spent on the golf course. I have no idea what I weigh, but if I'm anywhere in the neighborhood of 165 lbs, I'll be shocked. I had a lot key lime pie this vacation. A LOT. I was hoping to get a bit more mileage this week, but due to a nasty rainstorm yesterday, I did not get to finish my run. I did get pelted by sand and water for a good mile. And I learned this neat trick that turns my cell phone into a brick. Otherwise, I was not overly happy with my run. To add insult to injury, after I made it back to the condo and dried off, it, of course, stops raining and turns into a beautiful afternoon. I took it as a sign that the Universe hates me called it a day. No workout today either as I spent 8 hours driving back from the beach. I'm planning on crashing early and starting over tomorrow. This is muy importante as I officially start my marathon training tomorrow. I'm even using a plan (sort of). That's all I have for now. Later kids!

The New Shoe Orientation

2010-07-22T21:28:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! It seems like all I've done this summer is go on vacation, but at best, I've taken a vacation from my running. This week I'm in Gulf Shores, AL with my family and my brother's family. For those of you interested in the condition of the beaches, I have to say that they are not as bad as I thought they would be (I can't scoop up the oil and pour it into my car), but it could be better (it looks like the waterline has turned that part of the beach a rusty brown). BP and the Gulf aside, I have managed to work in a few miles this week. Despite the heat and my general sluggishness, I've been pretty happy hitting the road again. So happy that I thought that I needed a new pair of running shoes. It probably helped that my pair of Brooks Adrenaline 9's were looking the worse for wear.

So my traditional trip to the outlet mall came a bit earlier this week and I picked up a new pair of running shoes. They are Saucony Grid Cohesion 3's. A neutral cushioned shoe. I'm sure that the Born to Run crowd are screaming foul on my apparent snubbing of the Saucony ProgGrid Kinvara, but in my defense, they did not have the Kinvara's where I was shopping. Plus, I'm really cheap, and I got these for $35.00 plus tax. Score! In all seriousness, I'm still considering the Kinvara as a potential racing shoe, but I can't seem to pull the trigger on my tried-and-true Nike TriD III's. Despite the fact that I've sipped the minimalist kool-aid in the past, the fact is that I'm a high maintenance runner. I like to run with my MP3 player on occasion. I find it almost painful to run without my Garmin Forerunner 305. I will fill up my Aquapod handheld with G2 low cal. And yes, I still need some moderate cushioning in my shoes for my everyday trainer. It's sad to admit, but I'm not nearly as strong or bulletproof as I used to believe. So if I can relieve my joints from a little stress by using a more cushioned shoe, then I will. For me, the shoes are only part of the equation. Now, I take more stock in having a comfortable, short stride over gimmicks and fads. Just like anything else, it has taken some experimentation to find out what works best for me, and now I think I've found it. And that means I wear shoes for now. Later kids.

End of the Week Recap 7/18/10

2010-07-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! This week was a mixed bag. I did 21.44 miles at an average pace of 9:04/pace. Not very fast. I did 1:06:45 mins of cross-training/conditioning.. I think that I'm weighing in at 164 lbs. My times as well as my endurance have been crappy. I did do some beach running, barefoot, yesterday, which resulted in some gigantic blisters on my feet. Oh well. Back to vacation for me, and hopefully some more base miles during the week. Later kids!

The Summer Re-Format

2010-07-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Of late, my running, much like my blogging (you can see where this going, can't you), has been fairly non-existent. If it wasn't for my cross-training, I doubt that I would have much to show for this summer. The day before a run, I always seem to have the best intentions, but when the day comes, I always seem to find an excuse. I have too much work. It's too (damn) hot. My legs are achy. It's too damn hot. The British Open is on. I need to pack for vacation. It's TOO DAMN HOT!!! You get the picture. I'm not sure when I became a whiny, sissy, but I don't care for it. Next week, I'll be on vacation (again), but I'm hoping the free time will give me a chance to re-ignite my running.. I need to start from scratch, and re-build my base. The first thing that I need to do, is write down my training plan for the week. Even if I have to switch it around, at least I have a guide to go by. Hopefully this will inspire me to get in my miles.

Hard numbers for the day: No miles today. Just 20 minutes of cross-training/cardio. The usual at-home workout: 5 minutes of jump rope and a couple quick sets of push ups, lunges, curls, etc.

Geek Tip: My IT guy just upgraded me to Windows 7 this week. It called for a re-format of my harddrive and many hours spent re-installing my drivers, apps, and games. After playing with it for a few days, I have to say that 7 is a VAST improvement over Vista (and I kinda liked Vista). 7 is easier to use and significantly faster. It gets my finisher's medal of approval. That's all I've got. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 7/11/10

2010-07-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! This was a rest week. I hadn't intended on taking a rest week (I usually mock those people who take them), but man, did I enjoy the week off. I ran 4.1 miles at a pace of 8:28/mi. I did about 3:26:00 hrs of cross-training/conditioning, but 2 hours of that was golf. Thanks to my week off, I'm topping the scales at 165 lbs. I decided to look up swimming technique on ye olde internet and, surprise, surprise, discovered that my form needed work. I did about 5 minutes of form work today in the pool while the kids played and realized it is harder than I thought. Assuming that I get a break in the storms this week, I'm going to pick up my training again before vacation. That's all I have for now. Later kids!

The Race Schedule

2010-07-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! A quick look at my exercise activities in Logyourrun.com will show you just how little I've done this week. In my defense, it has been really hot, and I've been really lazy. Not sit-on-the-couch-with-bacon-and-ice-cream-sandwiches-lazy but more like I-need-a-break-to-recharge-lazy. My IT guy also installed Windows 7 on my laptop, so I've been geeking out on it. Unfortunately this also meant reformatting my hard drive, so I've been trying to re-install programs, games, and the rest of my junk from my backup. Big fun. About the only running productive thing that I've done this week is to complete my race calendar for the year. My next 3 races before Chickamauga will take place in Murfreesboro, TN (or the 'Boro for the locals). As for the Fenton Payne and Fred 5k and the Run Chikin Run 10k, these are races that I ran last year and scored huge PR's. The Middle Half will be a new race for me, but my friends who've run it before really liked it. The 'Boro is relatively flat and these courses lend themselves to some pretty fast times. Coming towards the end of my marathon training, these races should be good tests of my fitness and speed before my marathon.

Now for the hard numbers: I played 9 holes of golf today. I scored a 45, but my playing partner, the Running Guru, and I had to skip a hole. A pair of drunk yahoos were taking their sweet time between cans of beer and duffed shots into the woods. After riding up on them twice and nearly getting hit, we decided to skip the hole they were playing and move on to the next hole. For score card purposes, we gave each other bogies. It's possible that this might have been too generous, but we were playing pretty consistent bogie golf up to that point. I also managed 10 minutes of cross-training/conditioning tonight. Mostly body weight exercises, but it was enough to get my heart rate up for a bit. Okay, I'm out. Later kids.

2010 AJC Peachtree 10K Race Report

2010-07-07T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! I know, I know. It's taken me nearly 3 days to file this report. What can I say? I'm a slacker. On the 4th, I ran the AJC Peachtree 10k with my friends the Trocchi's (who also graciously hosted us at their home. Thanks guys!) and over 50,000 other runners (Yes. 50,000 runners. For a 10k. But for the record, it was surprisingly organized and orderly for a race that size). The weather was perfect, a cool 75-80 degrees, and nary a cloud in sight. The first 3 miles were downhill, and I figured that I would need to clipping along fairly quick to have any chance at a PR. So you can imagine my frustration, when I realized that several people in my corral (I was placed in the first corral behind the invitees/seeded/subseeded. I know. Awesome, right? You betcha.) were jogging/walking. Looking down at my Garmin and realizing the pace was way too slow, I moved to the left and tried to sprint through the pack. Not easy in corral of 2,000 or so people, but I managed to build up to a decent pace. My paces were 7:38, 6:59 and 6:44. The remaining half of the race was mostly uphill. As the heat built, I tried to stay cool by sticking to the shady parts of the course, dousing myself with water, and taking quick drinks at the water stops. Between the heat and elevation, my pace seriously slowed. Fortunately for me, the last mile was downhill, so I was able to make up some time there. My paces were 7:14, 7:22, 7:05 and 1:48 (6:12/mi for the last .2). My official finish time was 44:51, 7:14/mi, which was a new PR (I know. Awesome, right? You betcha.)! Overall I finished 1402 out of 50,965 finishers (I know. Awesome, right? You betcha.). Booyah!

With a race this big, it could have been a total organizational/logistics nightmare, but surprisingly, it wasn't. The race organizers had volunteers stationed at strategic spots to make sure that everyone got where they needed and kept the runner traffic moving. They had plenty of food, including Georgia peaches, and I was shocked that the bagels even seemed relatively fresh (I had that all races required week old, stale bagels, but these were nice and soft. Awesome, right? You betcha.).

This keen insight into runner needs and pampering was particulary evident in the place that I can commonly be found prior to a race, the porta-potty. These porta-potties provided by Johnny on the Spot were the cadillac of porta-potties.

They were mostly clean and had plenty of TP. The ones that I saw (I had to make use of the facilities before and after the race. I know. Peanut bladder. You betcha.) had fixtures for men (#1) and men and women (#1 and #2). Furthermore, these closets of luxury had hand sanitizers and seat sanitizers! They even had a shelf for your stuff while you took care of business!

Take note race directors, this is how you treat a runner in your race. Get them the upscale porta-potty! The only recommendation that I might have for the Peachtree race director is that the goody bag at the end of the race really needed some deodorant/cologne. There were a lot of ripe folk riding the subway home (I know. Stinky, right? You betcha.) That's all I've got for now. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 7/4/10

2010-07-05T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters. A quick week recap. I've been out of town so my race report will be tomorrow. Only 19.93 miles at an average pace of 7:52/mi. 1:03:43 hrs of cardio/cross-training. I think my weight is still around 162. The big news of the week is my PR at the Peachtree 10K. My official finish was 44:51, 7:14/mi. Race report tomorrow or Wednesday. Later kids.

The AJC Peachtree 10K Countdown

2010-07-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! My countdown has begun for the AJC Peachtree 10K on the 4th. I'm taking my family down to Atlanta, and we're spending the weekend with some great friends who are generously putting us up. The course will have plenty of elevation to be challenging. I'm going off in one of the first waves so I'm hoping that the temps will be a cool 70. My training hasn't been great lately, so I think anything under 50 mins will be acceptable but I'm shooting to finish around 45 mins.

Talking about my training, this is as good a time as any to talk about summer training/running. The main reason that I haven't run much is that it's just too damn hot (and surprise, surprise...I'm not much of a morning runner). So if you're willing to test your sanity like me by running outside in the afternoon, I suggest the following:

1. Drink some cold water before you run. A cold drink before you run will make sure you are properly hydrated before you exercise and help keep your core temperature down.

2. Bring fluids and stay hydrated. I use a handheld with water (sometimes Gatorade) for anything under 10 miles. Anything over that I bring along my fuel belt.

3. Pick a shady route. This can be hard if you run in an urban area, but any shade can be physically and mentally refreshing. For my long runs, I prefer to run in park full of trees. It helps keep me cool and it's nice to be surrounded by nature.

4. For as few runs as I'm doing, I'm trying to make sure they are quality runs. I'm doing speed intervals/tempo runs, hill training, and long runs. If I can only run 3 days a week, I want those runs to be good runs.

5. Since I'm running less, I'm at the gym and the pool more. Not running, doesn't mean that I get to be a slug. I'm digging swimming at the Y, and it feels good to be throwing up some iron again. Honestly though, I usually end up doing body weight exercises at home, since I don't get much time to make it to the gym.

Now for the hard numbers: Today I did 20 laps at the YMCA pool in 29:43 mins. I still swim like a frog, but my endurance seems to be building as my rest breaks were less and less. I also did 13 minutes of conditioning/light calisthenics. Wish me luck this weekend. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 6/26/10

2010-06-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Just a quick recap to keep me honest. It was a short week, running wise, with only 15.87 miles at an average pace of 8:23/mi. I did 1:37:00 hrs of cardio/cross-training and weighed in at a whopping 165 lbs. The weight gain is mostly from a full weekend of burgers and dogs at the lake. I didn't count any of my swimming from the lake though as it was mostly recreational. The drop in mileage is mostly from the heat, so I'm hoping to do better next week.

Lastly, go see Toy Story 3. It is great. It is completely lives up to the hype. 'Nuff said. Later kids.

End of the Week Recap 6/20/10

2010-06-20T21:16:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! This week I rand 20.19 miles at an average pace of 7:59/mi. I did 1:15 hrs of cross-training/conditioning, and I weighed in at 161.8 lbs this morning. The highlight of the week would have to be my back-to-back Wilma Rudolph races yesterday. Despite my pissy rant, I cannot deny that I enjoyed the race, due in no small part to my placement in both races. My mileage wasn't great, but right now, I'm working on my "beach body" (Ha!) until I dive deep into my marathon training.

No hard numbers for today. I took a rest/recovery day after yesterday's races. I did get in some fun basketball practice with my son's summer basketball team, but it wasn't enough of a workout to mention (Oh wait...).

Finally, Happy Fathers Day to all you dad's out there (and to all you mom's out there also, who make it possible for us to be good fathers. I'll admit that if it weren't for my wife's support and love, I wouldn't be a very good runner or father). My wife's Father Day gift was the "Cocky" belt buckle as seen in Bones.

Sadly, it hasn't arrived yet, but when it does, I'm not sure I'll ever take it off! Later kids!

Wilma Rudolph 10k/5k Race Report

2010-06-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Today I ran the 5th Annual 2010 Wilma Rudolph 10k and 5k. Yes both. The 10k first and then the 5k. Instead of boring with you my normal race report conventions, descriptions and witty metaphors, I'm going to give you a general summary of both races, one not-so insightful comment, a quick list of deserved appreciation and two minor pissy rants.

Summary: The races were hot. I tried to stay with the front pack. I was feeling good and thinking awesome thoughts of placing. I passed a couple of people early on. I desperately held onto my spot through the middle. I wavered in the last halves and slowed I cursed myself for going too hard early on. I dug deep for my final kicks. I flailed across the finish line, happy to be done. I'm pretty sure I cramped up at some point during both races. Oh yeah, and the hard numbers: 3rd place award for overall finishes in both races (69.05 combined). 10k- 45:43 (7:22/mi), 9th place overall and 5k-23:21(7:32/mi), 7th place overall. No PR's but strong finishes considering they are summer races.

One not-so insightful comment: For context, understand that the fields in these races were relatively small. I'm not sure that there more than a 100 or so racers in each race (last year, they had 110 in the 10k and 117 in the 5k), so there were no starting line corrals. That being said, I still don't understand why slower racers line up at the front. I didn't start on the line and I finished in the top 10 for both races. Instead, I had a fair estimation of my time and lined up close to the front, but not to close to allow the faster racers a quick, unobstructed route to the front. Or so I thought. In both races, I passed a fair amount of people till I settled into my spots. I might have attributed this to a way-too fast start for myself, but no one caught me (and I was looking for those sneaky bastards on the last miles). I can't even say that it was due to my awesome running abilities, as I posted good, but not great times. Maybe those people really believed that they would finish the races under 7:00/mi, but I find that hard to believe. Dumbasses.

A quick list of appreciation: I was really impressed with the support on the course and the number of water stops for a small couple of races. The Clarksville Running Club really made sure that the runners had plenty of fluids and medical aid/support if necessary. Along that line, the volunteers were awesome. They were generally helpful and upbeat. A special thanks to the volunteer that let me know (unsolicited) that I was in 9th place overall going into mile 5. I was amazed at the number of door prizes that they gave away. The local businesses and CRC members really stepped up with donations. I know my wife appreciates the $10 Starbucks card that I brought home!

Two minor pissy rants: First, this was not a chipped race, so the race officials were keeping up with finishers by writing down their order and time. Apparently in the 5k some yahoo crossed the line either 2 or 3 times, helping to bring in her friends (I have nothing against pacing your friends after your done. I did this also, but I wasn't dumb enough to cross the finish line again in a non-chipped race. Think people. Please.), and the officials did not realize this until they were tabulating everyone's place and time. Apparently this caused havoc with the timers as they had to go through the results line-by-line. They must have done this several times as it took nearly an extra hour and half to announce the final results for both races (the 10k results were already up by the time I finished the 5k). Second (please be warned, this one will really make me sound like a whiny, ungrateful jackhole), I ran both races and finished in 9th in the 10k and 7th in the 5k, and as a result of these strong finishes in both races, I was kicked into a special finishers/award category. A 3rd place award for my combined times in both races. Pretty cool. But...(there's always a but in a rant. This time, the butt is me) I should have also finished 1st for my age group in both races. However since I got my 3rd place award, I didn't qualify for 1st place spots in the individual races. I understand. I got a nice award. I did. I'm proud of it. It was nice to be recognized for doing well in both races. I know this allows other people to win awards. Yay. (Here comes the butt). The thing is I almost would have rather not even got the 3rd place award. I'm competitive enough to admit that when I line up for a race, I want to do my best (i.e. win and ~~gloat over my victory~~ inspire my fellow runners). So if I have the chance to be 1st, I would rather be 1st than 3rd (or the 2nd loser according to my 6 year old daughter) overall. I understand that I won't always win, so I guess that's why this one stings a bit. Also I would have been okay with not getting the top nods, if I finished 3rd in each race. But I didn't. I finished 9th and 7th. I've never been 1st before (and I'm still not, dammit), so not even getting a verbal recognition for that accomplishment at the awards presentation was kind of a kick in the balls. Like I said, I'm just being bitchy. Sorry. Sigh.

Overall, though, I did have fun. The course was challenging but not ridiculously difficult. The field was a good size (it's nice to run a small race on occasion), and the volunteers were great. And I did well for no PR's. They are still two races that I look forward to running every year, but next year, I'll try to go a bit faster! Later kids.

The Weight Loss Nemesis

2010-06-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! What we see here are 2 buttery, light-as-a-feather croissants with honey butter from Rafferty's. And yes, I did order and eat them both with my salad at lunch yesterday. What we don't see is the third croissant that I swiped from friend and also proceeded to stuff into my face. I don't know how bad these delicatable pastries are, but I know they are bad. With runners, I've found there are two camps: one camp that carefully monitors their diet and calories to maximize calorie-to-fuel ratio and then the other camp that just eats whatever the hell they like because they can. I often hear the comment from non-runners that it's okay for me to eat whatever I like, because I will run 10 miles in a day. Otherwise, people will ask me if I'm allowed to eat at Mickey D's or some other fast food, since they know I'm a runner now. I tend to fall somewhere in the middle. I try to keep my diet pretty balanced with lots of fruit and vegetables throughout the day, but since I'm on the road a lot, I try to stick to healthier choices for my fast food. I'm a big fan of Chic-fil-a and the fresco-style tacos at Taco Hell. My biggest weakness, however, are Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnuts. These sinful pastries will bring me to my knees in sugar oblivion every time. There is a Krispy Kreme store on one of my running routes, so I have to run on the other side of the street to avoid the temptation to stop when the Fresh, Hot Doughnuts sign is on. My second biggest weakness is, you guessed it, honey buttered croissants from Rafferty's. When I'm hitting the scales at 164, and I'm trying to get down to 155, a trip to Rafferty's is not always conducive to my goals. Every reformed fat kid (like myself) knows that it's easy to lose weight once you learn the tricks. The hard part is keeping the weight off after reached your goal. Suddenly every calorie and every mile is a careful balancing act of calories in and calories out. Sure I can eat 3 croissants, but I really will have to run an extra couple miles to make up for that bad decision. God bless my fat kid heart.

Now for the hard numbers: Today I did a 2.63 mi easy run at an average pace of 8:17/mi. I followed it up with 1 mi of hill sprints and recoveries at an average pace of 9:17/mi and a cooldown run of 2.68 mi at an average pace of 8:38/mi. Tomorrow I go to the Y to work on my beach body and then I have a the Wilma Rudolph 10k and 5k on Saturday in Clarksville. Wish me luck! Later kids!

End of the Recap 6/13/10

2010-06-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! This week I ran a token 18.3 miles at an average pace of 8:58/mi. I did 27 minutes of conditioning/cross-training, and 3:45 hours of golf. I topped the scales this morning at 162.8 lbs. It was a rough week this week trying to settle back into a summer routine and to catch up on my work. I had every good intention of knocking out a 12 mile long run this morning, but I didn't drag my lazy ass out of bed early enough. By the time, I did get on the road the temperature was already in the 90's. After beating my brains in and sweating through my shorts for 6.5 miles, I decided to call it and put an end to my misery. After that, I used my 3.5 mile run/walk as a cooldown/recovery run and limped back home. The only high note was my golf. My scores weren't great, but considering that I haven't played in over a year, they weren't as bad as I thought they would be. I doubt that I'll give up running for golf, but it's nice to break up the routine every once and awhile. Next week is another busy work week as well as the Wilma Rudolph 10k and 5k on Saturday. I'm running both, but at my current level, I'm just hoping to do as well as I did last year (49:29 and 25:32 respectively). That's all I have for now. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 6/6/10

2010-06-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! I realize this recap is late by a couple of days, but cut me some slack. I was on vacation. I did 21.67 miles at an average pace of 8:01/mi. I did 28:00+ of cardio/conditioning. I'm reserving the plus as I walked for miles around Disney. Sadly my weight did not fare as well last week as I ate everything in sight (I had forgotten how good real ice cream is!). When I got back home, I weighed in at lucky-it-wasn't-more 165.4 lbs. Most of my runs were early in the morning before my family and friends woke up and we hit the parks. We did stay on-site at the Contemporary Resort-Bay Lake Towers for the last 2 days of our vacation, so I managed a nice 5 mile run over to the Magic Kingdom and then to the Polynesian Resort. And a special thanks to Psyche. I used her lawyer joke at the Disney Laugh Factory Ride (you text them a joke and the Monster's Inc. guys use it in the show), and it was one of the jokes used! Thanks my dear!

Now for the hard numbers (for today): I did a 4.02 mi fartlek at an average pace of 7:29/mi. It was a cool 91 degrees. 2 bikers nearly ran over me. 1 passing runner did not wave after I did. 1 woman of questionable dental hygiene yelled "woohoo" at me. 1 guy standing on the corner commented that "It's too [damn] hot [to be running outside [moron]]. All-in-all not a bad little run, but I need to be racking up more mileage and cross-training. Later kids!

The Vacation Quarantine

2010-06-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! A quick shout out from the World of the Mouse. The weather has mostly cooperated (other than the heat), and my kids have had a blast at the parks with us and our friends. One quick note, my son got a little stomach bug (awww), so he didn't get to go to Aquatica yesterday. He's feeling better today, so we're going to take it easy and visit the parks this afternoon.

Now for the hard numbers: I did a quick tempo run of 3.25 miles this morning with negative splits of 7:39/mi, 7:21/mi, 7:03/mi and a recovery jog of 7:14/mi. That does it for me. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 5/30/10

2010-05-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! I was in the middle of vacation prep this week, so my numbers are terrible. But here they are: I did 16.79 miles at an average pace of 7:36/mi. Not bad time-wise, but my mileage is pitiful. I did 30 minutes of swimming and a few bits of conditioning. When I last weighed, I came in at 160.8, but I'm sure that I'm definitely more than that thanks to vacation, ice cream and blueberry wine. Look for my mileage to be crappy the rest of the week, not that I expect to blog much since I'll be with my family most of the week. So run hard for me. Later kids!

The Vacation Influence

2010-05-26T21:49:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Today was my daughter's kindergarten graduation, tomorrow is my son's last day of school and in less than 2 days my family heads off on vacation with our family-friends to the southern Land of the Mouse. Needless to say, my household is in high gear prepping for our trip. We have snacks in the corner of the pantry, piles of folded laundry sorted for trip and non-trip, and stacks of comics and reading material (not all mine, I swear) to be crammed into duffle bags. My kids have been so ready for vacation, they "packed" a week ago (I"m afraid to go through their bags, but I'm sure they're stuffed with every doll, action figure, Lego and DS game imaginable). For my part, I have to sort through which running shoes (someone has to run and fetch Fastpasses. It may as well be me) to bring, how many tech shirts I'll need (I need that breathable fabric for all my profuse perspiration! Stinky.), and what kind of socks should I wear (I favor the ankle socks, but they leave a funny tan, after all). At work, I've poured through every paper on my desk to make sure I leave as little as possible unfinished (to keep people from snooping through my office). All this being said, I've had very little time to train this week (i.e. I'm tired and I want to take a nap). I'd be upset if it wasn't still so early into my training program (i.e. It won't hurt anything if I have bacon with my pancakes). I figure that I can afford a couple weeks of recovery time (sleep and eating candy) this summer before I really hit my training hard (to make up for all those pancakes and candy). I'm still planning on doing some running next week (Ha!), but I figure my runs will mostly be early (Double Ha! Not unless the trails are in your bed, lazy ass) before we hit the parks. Probably just easy runs for not longer than an hour (you betcha), but you never know (not really, I do know. And it ain't gonna be pretty), I may throw in a tempo run or two to spice it up (or just sleep in).

If you've been following Biggest Loser, like me, this season, then you most likely watched the finale last night. Michael won losing over half his starting weight. Say what you want about the artificial conditions of the show, but that is a HUGE weight loss in 8 months! So a quick congratulations to him. I hope he sticks with the weight loss (he said that he wasn't done yet), because I think the show, at the very least, gives a platform for living healthier lives that the contestants can promote nationwide. On a side note, anyone else think that Daris's popularity screwed him and Koli? If America hadn't voted Daris to compete in the final 3, he would have won the at-home competition prize of $100,00.00 and Koli would have beaten Michael by over 3% total weight loss. Way to go America. Where was the Samoan love?

Now for the hard numbers: Today I did a short set of half-mile intervals with quarter mile recoveries. I did 5x.50 mi intervals at 3:14, 3:19, 3:22, 3:22 and 3:29 respectively. My slowest recovery lap was 2:17. All right, that's all I have for now. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 5/23/10

2010-05-23T22:16:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! This week I ran 30.19 miles at an average pace of 7:57/mi. I did 1:36:54 of cross-training/conditioning, but I ended up topping the scales at 160.2 (ugh). Tonight was also the end of Lost. I'm still withholding my opinion on the final episode, because, to be honest, I'm still trying to figure it out. I still have so many questions that weren't answered, but maybe they were never supposed to be really answered (much like my questions about women or Krystal sliders. How do they make that gray thing so tasty?). Overall, though, I did like the series. I don't know if it was the best series ever (Sorry guys, but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Buffy), but it definitely re-defined what I expected from a TV series.

Okay now for the hard numbers: I did a 10.9 mi long run at 8:32/mi. My pace might have been a little higher if I hadn't run part of it on a nearby trail. Then of course, I fell down. It was my own fault for trying to tackle a technical trail in road shoes. D'oh! Still I managed to escape with a little scrape and finish my run in negative splits. So overall, I can't really complain. I also finished up the evening with 24 mins of pilates and kettleball workouts. All right. That's it for me. I need to go figure out what the hell happened in Lost. Later kids!

The Iron Man 2 Review

2010-05-20T20:42:00.000-07:00

Hail my geeky brothers and sisters! A little departure from our usual programming today, because I finally got to see Iron Man 2. Let me say if you liked Iron Man, you'll like IM2 more. On the plus side, the story is more developed and seems more complete than IM. There's still plenty of cool high-tech action and bad-assery, from Samuel Jackson to Scarlett Johansson, to go around. On the minus side: It needs MORE Scarlett Johansson!!! On a very shallow level, the story explores the cost of technology, fame and greed on our humanity. All the major characters explore this to some extent. I realize that this is an action flick, but I find it hard to sympathize with Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark as we are rushed through all of these themes in the movie. I realize that Jon Favreau had a lot to cover, but I don't think we really get to feel any emotional depth as Downey glibly moves from scene to scene and problem to problem like a kid off his ritalin. The special effects are again, top-notch, as they make me really do believe that a man can slap on an steel jump suit and fly. The fight scenes are to sum up: Awesome. Johansson did an amazing job as the Black Widow. Okay, I will admit that at times I have not been a huge fan of Johansson, but I think that she was a great compliment to Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts. It was almost as if Favreau needed both strong actresses/characters to contrast and reign in Downey's Stark. Johansson's big fight scene was nicely choreographed, but I felt like it needed more. This is a character that could easily spin off into her own movie and hold her own unlike the horrible Elektra spin-off from Daredevil. Even her costume was perfect. It conveyed a sexy practicalness for an acrobatic, and *ahem* limber, super-spy. And as I said, the consensus around most of my male friends is that the movie just needed MORE Scarlett Johansson/Black Widow. And I'm not even talking about more naughty Black Widow as there was hardly any of that (I could probably take my 9 year old to watch it). Sadly her fight scenes were just not long enough, and if given a little more time, could have stolen the show. So one more time: More Black Widow! Are we clear? Good.

Now for the hard numbers: I did an 8 mile tempo run today at marathon pace (7:33/mi). Along with the quick rains and the breeze, it was relatively cool day, which translated into decent numbers for today. The effort was hard, but I didn't feel all that winded afterwards. It was a nice change from the sweltering heat that we've had lately, but I probably could have gone without the rain though. Still, a good run, all things considered. I just hope tomorrow that we get a break in the rains so that I can get in some base miles. All right, I'm out. Later kids!

The Blog Maintenance Update

2010-05-17T19:55:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! I'm doing some blog site maintenance today, which means that I'm playing with the widgets and toys on my blog. I've added links to my upcoming races if anyone is interested in signing up for those. I'm also test driving dailymile.com right now, even though I haven't given it access to my blog yet. Currently I'm using Garminconnect.com and LogYourRun.com mainly. I was hoping to streamline my online running logs down to 1 log, but so far I haven't found one that "does it all" (unlike Cherry on the corner, if you have $20). I like the easy of data integration of Garminconnect and dailymile. I also like the clean visual of dailymile's widget, but I prefer the overall data presented in LogYourRun. Anyone else have a preference?

Okay, now for the hard numbers: Cross-training at the Y today. I did 10 laps at the pool in 28 mins and 2 recovery laps and 2 water jogging laps in the remaining 7 minutes. My swimming technique still sucks (like Cherry, if you have $5), but it's still a work in progress. Tomorrow is intervals, if I can find a track. I figure that I have 2 options. I may swing by my old high school to see if they're done renovating it or by my old college to see if I can sneak on it. That's all I have. Later kids.

End of the Week Recap 5/16/10

2010-05-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! This week I ran 32.41 miles at an average pace of 8:05/mi. I did 1:27:00 mins of cardio/cross-training! However, I clocked in at 159.2 lbs this morning. I realize that I kinda dropped off the map this week with the updates, and I do not have any excuses. Well, actually I do have a few excuses, but none of them good. Well maybe a couple were good, but mostly I was just sleepy. Hey! I did a lot of cross-training this week! Give a guy a break! Sheesh. For instance, if you check out my workouts for the week (on the right sidebar), you'll see that I got in a little swimming this week. Just 5 laps at the Y, but I learned something interesting. I learned that apparently, I can't breathe for crap, because I was as tired as a...as a...well as a Filipino who can't swim so well (I've got nothing. Sigh.). I guess I could blame the remnants of my chest cold on my poor breathing, but I have mostly recovered from it (sniffle, sniffle). So as I built up my swimming skills, I can only hope that this will translate into better oxygen use for my muscles. We'll see.

Now for the hard numbers: I did a long run of 12.04 miles today at an average pace of 8:14/mi. I did miles 9 and 10 at 7:49/mi and 7:42/mi respectively, which is slightly slower than marathon pace. I'm fairly ashamed that I couldn't hit my marathon pace of 7:30/mi, but it was raining today and good part of those miles were uphill. In other words, not fun.

And here's a couple pics from my son's cub scout camping trip this weekend. Yes, I took him. Yes, it was raining. Yes, I did set up the tent. Yes, I did grill outdoors (Steaks and burgers. Hmmm). No, I did not let him play with any sharp instruments. No, I did not let him make a spear. Yes, I did take part in a scary story that scared some of the boys. Yes, we did make smores. Yes, I shamefully ate 2! And yes, we did have fun (despite the rain and the scary story).

Here is our tent. I did remember the inflatable mattress. Godsend. Don't leave home without it.

Here are the boys after a long night of camping.

And finally, (With thanks to my daughter and in honor of Psyche) a quick joke: What kind of call does a marathoner make? Long distance! That's it. Later kids!

The Comeback Spin

2010-05-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Just to prove that I'm growing, and not one dimensional, I did a spinning (the bike, not the rims) class today at the Downtown YMCA. My first actually, but not my last (dumbass). It was ~~agonizing~~ fun, and afterwards I felt ~~like a sweaty mess~~ invigorated. I ~~wrung my shirt~~ toweled off and headed for the street for a quick run in the ~~nasty drizzle~~ cool rain. It felt great to be out and stretching my legs again (I miss bacon), and tomorrow I'm hoping to get in some decent base miles (I miss pie). I got such a good workout (for my lazy ass and I still miss bacon) that I'm thinking of squeezing at least 1 spin class per week into my training schedule (because I hate myself).

Okay now for the hard numbers: 1 hour of spin class. A 4.15 mile tempo run at an average pace of 7:37/mi, and then to end the day, 3 sets of pull-ups (Thank you Iron Gym!) with reps of 11, 10, and 10. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 5/9/10

2010-05-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! This week was a truly unspectacular week as I only logged 9.47 miles at 8:14/mi. I did a 20 minutes of conditioning/cross-training, and weighed in at an ugly 163.4 this afternoon. I have 3 reasons for this downward turn that I hope to correct next week.

1. We had this ridiculous flood down here in Nashville and throughout Middle Tennessee. You may have read about it in the news, but I doubt it. So I didn't run.

2. I got a chest cold, so I didn't run.

3. I didn't run.

I could have thrown in that "I was sad because my dog died, so I didn't run," but that seemed like overkill. I also spent an awesome, relaxing, non-floody weekend with some wonderful family-friends this weekend at their lakehouse, and their new boat (woohoo!). As a Mothers Day gift, my wife decided that we all need bikes so that we can ride together as a family. I think that this is great idea, and it gives me another cross-training option.

Happy Mothers Day to all you deserving ladies (even you Psyche). Y'all should probably get a whole week at least. And most of all Happy Mothers Day to my lovely wife and mother of my wonderful children. Y'all continue to amaze and delight me every day!

All right. Next week, I jump back into marathon training as I rebuild my mileage base and kick up my speed work. Later kids!

The Flood Update pt. 2

2010-05-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody. Nashville, as a whole, is still recovering from the devastation of last weekend's flood. I ran yesterday, but honestly I feel guilty about having the time to run but not help out with so many people in need. Driving through town, you still see water being pumped out of buildings in downtown, and in the suburbs you see the roads lined with debris and people's stuff. If you're interested in making a donation, you can text "REDCROSS" to 90999 to make a $10 donation to the Nashville Flood Relief Fund. Also, here's a link to my wife's blog. It's a non-running blog (yeah, I don't understand it either), but it has good recap of what happened last weekend. Thanks to everyone for their concern and prayers!

The Flood Update

2010-05-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! To add to my weekend of my dog passing away, I was one of the Nashville flood victims. Albeit, I did not have it NEARLY as bad as other people. However I have not had power for 2 days. Today, the weather cleared enough that I was able to get gas with the generous help of some very good friends (Thanks Cserno's!) took me 50 miles outside of town to get some gas. Of course after we got back, Kroger opened their pumps and let other people fill up! Somebody cleared one of the roads leading to the interstate, and I've managed to get out and get some hot food. The waters are receding where I live but there are still a lot of homes underwater. Thankfully, like I said, I live on a hill so I didn't get it as bad as other people just 2 miles down the road. Plus my family and most of my neighbors that I know about are all okay. I want to give a big shoutout to Publix. They've stayed open during this entire emergency and have been bringing in supplies as soon as they could. They've even set up powerstrips outside the store for people to bring in their phone chargers and laptops to connect to the world. They have definitely cemented my customer loyalty! I've managed to run a few miles, but I haven't had a chance to sync up the data yet. Mostly it was running to check what streets were open, stores, etc. Here are some pics from today:

There are still a lot of people out there who need help and it's not getting any better soon enough. Please keep those people in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks.

End of the Week Recap 5/2/10

2010-05-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry no recap for the week. My dog passed away last night, so hopefully, I'll be in a better mood next week to catch everyone up.

End of the Week Recap 4/25/10

2010-04-25T20:51:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! This week I ran 40:46 miles this week at an average pace of 8:49/mi. I did 22:00 of cardio/cross-training. And as of today, I weighed in at a steady 156.4 lbs. For those of you keeping up with my blog, my mileage was 3.8 miles short due to the tornado warnings (or were they watches? I can never get that right), and my marathon getting cut short.

Despite my ~~piss-poor~~ disappointing marathon, I’m not done yet. As I have discussed with the Running Guru, I’ve rallied by signing up for another marathon! I’ve officially registered for the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon on 11/13/10. It has a small field of 700 marathoners and 800 half-marathoners. The course is a relatively flat, double loop through the historic Chickamauga Battlefield. Plus they start the race with a cannon blast!!!

And just to round out today’s post, here are some pics from the expo:

Me and Eddie George. You can't tell from the pic

but Eddie is still huge. The man is a beast. Julie told

me that she would leave me for him. I wouldn't blame her.

Me and Ryan Hall. A really nice guy.

I have no idea how he's already recovered from Boston.

Tara Stiles, Ryan Hall, and Eddie George on

the Nissan Masters Panel at the Expo.

And for you Biggest Loser fans out there:

Me and Melissa. She was much nicer in person

than they make her out to be on the show.

All right. That's it for now. Next week, I go into a recovery week as I ease back into training. Keep the faith. Later kids!

We Needed More Cowbell

2010-04-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

***This is a post from my sponsor, my lovely wife, who continues to support me despite my flights of insanity. We've talked about giving her some posting rights to talk about marathon/running support, but after yesterday's race, she decided it was time to jump into the fray. So everyone say hi, and be nice. After all, she has to put up with me.***

The first half of Joel's marathon was going really well. The text messages I read as he passed the 5k and 10K marks indicated that he was running amazingly fast mile times. The text I received when he crossed the 13.1 mark indicated that his pace had slowed but not so much that I was concerned. We had friends that were watching for him at Mile 18 and they were going to call me when they saw him go by. The kids I and were waiting at Mile 20. At some point while we were sitting at Mile 20 I saw the 3:30 pace group run by and I still had no news from mile 18 - that was my first indication that Joel’s marathon was not going well. I called my friends at 18 and got no answer. I waited a few more minutes and called again and they told me what I already knew – that he wasn’t doing well. So the kids and I continue to wait at Mile 20 watching all the other marathoners go by and slowly ticking off the minutes that we weren’t seeing Joel. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not good at math but there are two exceptions to that – I can calculate the sale price of anything very quickly (think “take an additional 20% off items already reduced 60%”) and I have become very adept at calculating mile splits to estimate a race finish time. The numbers I was calculating in my head were not good. How slow was he running out there? What was going on with him? And then we saw him. He was wearing an orange shirt and orange calf sleeves so he’d be easy to spot but honestly that’s not what I noticed first. What I noticed as he came into view was that he was swinging his right arm wildly (he later told me he was trying to work out a cramp) and he was struggling with every step. When he reached us he took out his ear buds and told me he’d started cramping up at Mile 11. I said something ridiculous like “Keep it up! I love you!” and watched him run down the hill and out of sight. What I wanted him to do was stop running – but that wasn’t my call. Because storm clouds were gathering and big fat raindrops were falling the kids and I headed back to the car to hang out for a while before we headed to the finish line. It turns out a tornado warning closed the marathon early so Joel was diverted at Mile 22-ish. We missed the finish but cheered wildly for Joel when he found us in the parking lot. He had finished every mile that they let him and he hadn’t quit and I was happy and relieved and proud all at the same time.

On the ride home I kept pestering Joel with questions about what happened out there? He gave me lots of answers about cramping and powering through and a bunch of other stuff that doesn’t matter now because as we drove into Bellevue he said something . . . something that made me irrationaly angry at him. He told me that he had taken a Zyrtec before he left for the race that morning. If you read Joel’s blog you may already know that he had a disasterous training run a few weeks ago after taking Zyrtec. When I asked him “What were you thinking taking Zyrtec this morning!?” he told me that he thought he had built up a tolerance since then. I think I said something like “REALLY!? Didn’t we have a whole conversation about how great it was that you figured that Zyrtec thing out before Marathon Day?!!” And then I’m pretty sure I called him a dumbass. And that’s what it’s like being married to me. I am in Joel’s corner 110% all the time. But I call him out on stuff all the time too. Some might call me harsh and maybe I am but he worked and trained so very hard to get ready for yesterday’s marathon and he cramped up at freakin’ mile 11 because he didn’t remember that he already knew that taking a Zyrtec before a long run leads to massive dehydration and less than optimal run results. Running a marathon is hard enough without handicapping yourself with a Zyrtec pill before you even leave the starting corrall. Today I am more sympathetic and we’ve been looking for races to run to help put this run behind him. As defeating as yesterday was I know that we’re going to keep marathoning because even though I’m not the one running the races this marathon stuff is addicting. Racing is in our blood now. I also know that I will never go to another race without taking my big orange cowbell because even Joel admitted that yesterday might have gone much better if there had been more cowbell out there on the course.

Country Music Marathon Race Report

2010-04-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! I’ve had a day to think about this race, which will now be known in my mind as the “The-Race-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named” and I have this to say…wait…did you hear that? That gigantic sucking sound! It must have been the sound of either the thunder and the police diverting the marathon mile 22 or my groans of pain as my body seized up into a giant cramp at mile 18.

First let’s say that I am glad for a couple of reasons that the race director decided to cut the marathon short as the storms rolled in. We were lucky in that we had pretty decent weather for the first 3 and half hours, but then the clouds came followed by rain, strong winds, thunder, lightening and then almost hail-like rain. There were tornado watches all over middle Tennessee later in the afternoon, so I think that the race director had no choice. The part of the course that was cut off ran along the river, through a park, around a small lake/large pond with trees lining the course. If that isn’t begging for a lightening strike, I don’t know what is. Did it suck not to finish? Yes, but the safety of runners, and myself particularly, have to take precedence.

The other reason that I was glad that they diverted us was that I just wasn’t sure if I would have been able to make it. Like I said, the day started off fairly well, weather-wise. A bit cloudy and warm, but still pleasant. Unknown to me, the race director decided to start the race 15 minutes early (I assume to get ahead of the weather), but I was already in my corral and ready to go. As I took off, I felt strong, and my pace seemed pretty easy. I did notice that at mile 2, I started to get hot. Really hot. I ended up grabbing some water the next stop and splashing myself more with water than drinking it. Despite the weather predictions, a fair crowd of supporters came out to cheer the runners on, and that was awesome. I high-fived kids, waved to bands, and said thanks to volunteers. I saw several friends along the course, and their cheers kept me going.

As I’ve said before, I was going out chasing that elusive BQ. While I knew it wasn’t realistic, I intended to chase it (And for the record, every time I line up in a certified marathon, I’m chasing that BQ until I get that damn thing). My pace for the first half was strong. I was just shy of a BQ qualifier by a few seconds until I stopped at mile 7 and 13 to “relieve” myself. At mile 11, I felt the grumblings of a cramp in my left calf, but I managed to run through it, though my pace did drop. Unfortunately for me, the cramps continued to nag me till mile 15 and I could no longer deny situation. Both my legs were cramping from thighs to my toes. I could barely walk. And when I saw the 3:30 pacer pass me, I was crushed. Crushed. I tried to stay with the group for half a mile, but I had to give up on that when my legs wouldn’t cooperate. At some point around mile 17, I was passed by guy juggling tennis balls. If I had the strength, I would have reached out and punched him in the back of the head. I still managed to feebly thank volunteers and high-five kids (they came out for us. Give them some props, after all). By mile 18, I saw a fellow running buddy pass by me. I said hey and we both belly-ached over how we had blown the race, but we were gonna finish it. Seeing that he still had more juice in him, I urged him on and continued in my pain. At mile 20, I saw my family and ran over to kiss and hug them. I told them I was hurting, but I was finishing the race. At mile 21, my friend, TK found me and started pacing me despite having just finished the half-marathon herself (2:09:23 PR! Awesome job!). Between seeing my family and her act of kindness, I managed to dig deep and keep moving. At mile 21.5, the police had blocked off the next 4 miles of the course and directed us to the finish. I was disappointed and relieved all at the same time. Many of the runners around me were complaining that they should have been allowed to finish, because they felt great. Had I the strength, I would have told them that they should have run faster if they felt so damn good and then they may not have been diverted! With less than a mile into the finish, I told TK that I was gonna burn it all and finish strong. She told me to go for it, and I “took” off. I crossed the finish line just in time to be caught in a downpour.

Final thoughts. I’m disappointed in my performance. I wasn’t tough/strong/fast enough, but I will be next time. Next time, I will be better prepared, and even if I don’t get that BQ, I won’t be writing another blog about my epic failure (and for those who were wondering, to quote The Blindside, it tastes like vinegar). I may not have finished the way I wanted, but I wasn’t quitting (even though I really wanted to quit especially when my legs seized up at a couple points). A special congratulations to my friends who raced the half or full: TK, Matty, Mia, Bill, Jeff, Julia, Stacey, and Jim. A heartfelt thanks to the city of Nashville, the volunteers and supporters who made the experience great despite my performance. A special thanks to my friends (practically family): the Barts, the Trocchis, the Lights, and the Knights/Demosses. Finally, I can’t thank my own family enough for coming out to support their insane father/husband who doesn’t know any better than to come out of the rain. Their love and support have kept me motivated when my own stubbornness has waivered. I could not have done any of this without their love and patience.

Okay now for the hard numbers: 7:34, 7:34, 7:49, 7:42, 7:48, 7:28, 8:07, 7:43, 7:34, 7:36, 7:40, 8:16, 8:27, 8:59, 9:32, 9:00, 10:23, 13:05, 16:18, 16:39, 12:42, 10:28, and 8:02/mile.

Some days, you beat the marathon. Some days, it beats you. Twice. Mercilessly. With a large, spiked club. And then spits on you. Later kids!

The Meteorlogical Illogic

2010-04-23T20:05:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! I was going to avoid posting again before the race, but I may as well mention this since this all we’re talking about today. Apparently “they” are predicting rain, thunderstorms, and possibly tornadoes tomorrow. The crazy part of this whole ~~pain in the ass~~ prediction is that the weather has been gorgeous all frakkin' week. Figures, huh? My current plan: When I hear the thunder, count the seconds until I see the lightening, and if I don’t make it past a 3-count, run like Chuck Norris chasing me. Nice plan, huh? Later kids. Wish me luck!

The Marathon Mojo

2010-04-22T21:52:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! I have 2 days until my marathon, and I’m having a blast. There is nothing like the anticipation of race day that gets me going. It’s like Christmas wrapped in big bow of pain, sweat, cursing, and grit (And if you have kids, that is exactly what Christmas is). That’s race mojo. That mix of anticipation, nervousness, and elation all rolled into a goal time that looms over you like a giant tree waiting to fall. Then there’s all the crazy things that you’ll put yourself through to eke out those extra seconds which could mean ultimate victory or agonizing defeat. The amount of crazy you will subject yourself to is of course proportional to the length of the race. For a 5k, some hard training will do, and maybe even with a weight vest. With a 10k, weekly interval sessions and cross-training. With a half, carbo-loading, numerous hill sessions, and careful diet management. With a marathon, all of the above but at 30-50 miles per week. Don’t let anyone tell you different. All the training we subject ourselves to for our sport is clearly insane. And then there’s the extra crazy, like the following:

I’ve got my Flash ring. I got this little baby from Rick’s Comic City when I bought the first issue of the The Flash. If this isn’t a sign I don’t know what is. So I’ve worn it everywhere to tap into whatever speed power I can steal from it. My friend TK saw it, and she demanded that I get her one for her (she’s running the half). I told Rick that he should open a booth at the expo, because he would sell a million of them.

I’ve got my Marathon theme. Theme, you ask? Why yes…I do have a theme. Originally, I was going to go with something fairly obvious in honor of the Country Music Marathon, like “Redneck Running,” but I have since changed my mind. Instead, I’m going with “Run Like an Outlaw.” I can’t take the credit for the idea, because I heard it in the song Wild, Wild West by Randy Houser. I’m sure Psyche will try to take credit for my theme, but don’t listen to her. I’ve even got my playlist loaded with every drinking, redneck, horse riding song that I could find. Yeehaw!

See what I mean. I’m generally otherwise rational person. However when faced with a marathon, I will wear a plastic ring with lightening bolt and search every country song for the right tempo and attitude. But hey, it’s fun too. This could be my last marathon ever, so I figure, I may as well take it to Nth degree and enjoy the hell out of it. This my friends is marathon mojo.

Tomorrow I’m spending most of the day at the expo. Ryan Hall and Eddie George are supposed to be there, so I’m hoping to score a couple of autographs on top of my expo swag. Like I said, I’m having a blast. If you’re in town for the race, come by the expo, I’ll be the Filipino idiot singing country songs and stuffing gels into my mouth. Awesome. No hard numbers today. It is taper week after all, but going into the race, I currently have 18 miles for the week. I may try to grab a couple miles tomorrow, just to shake the nerves out, but we’ll see.

The Marathon Support Acknowledgement

2010-04-19T20:38:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! As I mentioned yesterday, I owe a blog to my family, friends, and bloggy buddies for all your support and encouragement this past year and a half. As I the final days till my marathon tick off, I feel that I really have to thank everyone for bearing with me as I’ve made my way. Especially my wife and kids. No one has had to sacrifice as much as they have with my all my training, lack of patience and never-ending “Joel-ness.” I can’t express how much I truly appreciate how everyone has suffered me for this long and have continued to support me, despite myself. So as I get ready to race here in my hometown, among my people, my friends, and my family, I hope to honor you all with a race run well, performed to the best of my ability and courage, no matter how I finish. Thanks.

Now enough with with sappy stuff. Today was the 114th running of the Boston Marathon. Congratulations Robert Cheruiyot (KEN 2:05:52(CR)) and to Teyba Erkesso (ETH 2:26:11) and to all the finishers. It was an amazing race, and though I cheered for US favorites, Ryan Hall (2:08:39) and Meb Keflezighi (2:09:26), I can’t deny the strong kick at the end by Cheruiyot to take the men’s title. Likewise I thought Tatyana Pushkareva (RUS 2:26:14)(Also the women’s winner of the Country Music Marathon last year) had me cheering her on for an unlikely upset/comeback from behind, but Erkesso managed to hold her back. These competitors (all of them) are simply amazing to watch.

Now for the hard numbers: I got in my last long run before the race with a 10.25 mi run with 7 mi at marathon pace. My average pace ended up being 8:01/mi. I probably wouldn’t have run so hard if I hadn’t read an article in Running Times (I know, I know. I shouldn’t have even looked at the article, but I’m an asshat. Sue me.) that called for the workout to keep up your confidence and intensity going into your race. I have to admit I’m feeling pretty confident. Score! So just a couple more short, EASY (I swear) runs for the week, and then I should be good (i.e. ready for the race. I’m always good. Not in the sense of morally good, but more like awesome-good.) Okay, I’m out. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 4/18/10

2010-04-18T21:39:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Another week down and now 6 days until my marathon. This week I ran 30.68 mi at an average pace of 9:03/mi. I did 1:20:00 of conditioning, and weighed in a bit high at 157.6 lbs. Last night was the Spring Auction for my kids’ school and I’m afraid that I showed less restraint than I should have.

I got in 2 x 10 mi runs this week but my first 10 mi run, I did with a friend at a 10:36/pace. I did get in a track workout this morning. Nothing too strenuous, but it felt good to do a little speed work. I did 2 x 1600 m, 2 x 800 m and 1 x 400 m at an average pace of 7:42/mi with 400 m recoveries in between. It felt really good to be back on the track again. Probably because I hadn’t been on the track in awhile, I went out a bit harder than I should have, but I kept the workout short in honor of taper week.

As I’m rolling into my final week, taper madness has taken full hold on my sensibilities. I’m trying not to read too many magazines or training guides, because I don’t want to damage whatever fitness that I have left with some crazy training workout. My anxiousness is at an all time high as I stare at my course map and fly through the miles in my head. If I’m not doing that, then I’m checking the daily forecast for some hint of change in the weather (currently calling for highs of 81 with scattered showers) or reviewing my playlist for proper cadence and inspiration (by the way, we’re going full-on redneck running for the my hometown marathon. It seemed appropriate to stick with all country music for the Country Music Marathon after all).

This is the last week of taper. I’m still running nearly every day, but I’m keeping my mileage low and my intensity high. My thought is to not let my body slip into some non-running coma just as I’ve re-found my pace (about an 8 count-beat in my head), but by keeping the workouts short, I maximize my recovery. All right, that’s it. Next week I need to give props to my wife, family, and friends for marathon support. Clearly without their understanding, patience, and encouragement, I would not have made it this far. But, that as they say, is a topic for another evening (and another, and another). Later kids!

The Alternate Reality

2010-04-14T20:21:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Unlike a roundhouse kick from Chuck Norris, I’m giving you, my dear readers, fair warning that this post will contain spoilers (not a lot) from this season of Lost. I know, I know…what a presumptuous, self-important ass to think that I can compare my running to a Chuck Norris level show like Lost, but guess what? I AM a presumptuous, self-important ass that thinks he can compare his running to Lost (Duh…I blog to see what witty and insightful thing I have to say. It’s fascinating to see what comes out of my brain sometimes).

If you’ve been watching Lost (or just prefer to read spoiler synopsis instead), then you know that our favorite cast from Oceanic 815 are now existing in two (count ‘em: two!) realities! In one reality (for our purposes, let’s call it the Present), the passengers crashed on the Lost island, and in the other reality (let’s call it the Other), Oceanic Flight 815 never crashed and the passengers are living different lives. In the Present, the passengers are hunted by smoke monsters, die suddenly, and betray loved ones like they’re on an episode of The Real Housewives of Somewhere Lame. In the Other, the passengers are moving on with their lives blissfully unaware of the Lost island, and allegedly more the happy for it (with a few exceptions). Except now, the realities are starting to converge, and the passengers in the Other are starting to recall things that happened in the Present.

Likewise, with my running, I have two goals. One goal is to beat 3:30:00 in the marathon this year, and the other is to qualify for Boston. Now I haven’t talked too much about a possible BQ for this marathon as I was afraid of jinxing myself or enraging the running gods for my hubris. But after some thought, I said “Screw it. If I want it, I have to own it.” Ignoring the elephant in the room won’t make it loom any less on my horizon, or make it any less intimidating. When I adopted this idea, the concept of anything less than a BQ was like the idea of swinging a pissed off rattlesnake around your arm. Un-ac-cept-able. So I’ve trained hard (harder than I ever have before, but not as hard as I could) and I’ve oriented my mind towards catching that BQ. But like the Present in Lost, as the race gets closer, I have to admit that my first goal may be my actual reality/fate. Despite my wife’s argument to the contrary, the numbers just don’t lie. While I readily expect to PR this race (barring injury), I seriously doubt that I’ll make my goal for the year or catch that BQ at least with this race. To that end, my running guru, Frank Z., and I have discussed race alternatives for the fall/winter. I had originally considered running an ultra in the fall, but if I’m close to a BQ with this race, then my Running Guru says that I should be running another qualifying marathon instead. And you know what, he’s right. Does this mean that I don’t chase that BQ this time around? No, absolutely not. But like the Locke/smoke monster, the BQ is an intimidating force to be reckoned with, but it is a fight I relish and desire. It may not be this time, but I’m chasing you, BQ. Watch out.

Now for the hard numbers: I did a tempo run of 5.29 mi. at a pace of 8:11/mi. A little slow, but not totally unexpected with temps around 91 degrees. Ugh. And with that, cue the music! Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 4/11/10

2010-04-11T21:25:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! I did 37.25 miles this week at an average pace of 9:03/mi. I only spent 12 minutes on cross-training and conditioning, but my weight this morning was at 156.0 lbs. Not a huge week by any means and nothing truly notable. No long run over 10 mi this week due to some life issues that crept up. I’m trying not to let my lack of long mileage stress me out since I’m supposed to be tapering anyway. I officially have 13 days left till my marathon. I’ve decided to re-evaluate my fall/winter race schedule to accommodate more BQ races depending on how close I am at the Country Music. I’m probably done with the Yasso 800’s until after the race. I might try and squeeze in a short set of intervals next week just to keep my weight under control, but it's mostly base mileage, peppered with some tempo runs, until the marathon. I definitely need to do more cross-training, but for some reason, I lose interest as I do more miles.

Now for the hard numbers: Today was supposed to be a long run, but I got sidetracked. I did manage 13 x .15 mi hill repeats with .15 mi recoveries in my neighborhood though at an average pace of 9:36/mi. Per Garmin, I had an elevation change of 645 ft. Not huge numbers, but the repeats were fairly consistent, if not a bit slow. Later kids!

The Taper Madness Protocol

2010-04-09T22:00:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! As I sit here and massage my calves, I personally blame Psyche for my current state of being. If you’re reading this blog, you know that in 2 weeks I’m running the Country Music Marathon here in my hometown of Nashville (Yeehaw!). As I have 2 weeks left, I am in the throes of taper madness! Since I’ve started racing, I have been aware of the anxiety that I haven’t trained enough, the anticipation of busting out an awesome new PR, the fear of falling short of goal, and the exultation of visualizing racing among throngs of cheering crowds that comes with those last couple of weeks prior to your big race. For the uninitiated, we call those last few weeks of reduced workouts to save your legs for the big race tapering. The wild mood swings of dread and excitement, we would call the “jitters” down here. However, Psyche gave my jitters a name that I had not heard before, Taper Madness. And in naming, she gave those feelings bubbling through my head power. Power over me. Power that I cannot escape. Power that forces me to acknowledge it at every waking moment. Power, that if left unhindered, would surely TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!

At these times of vulnerability and weakness, I do what any obsessed runner does, I hit books! Or in this case, the internet. I review my online training log and feverishly copy down my past training times before my last races, so that I can statistically analyze the correlation of my training paces to game day performances. I scour other running blogs and websites to gleam the secrets of speed and nuggets of knowledge to raise my endurance. I ponder my diet and curse the 10-second-costing pound I gained from that harmless looking slider at lunch (hmmm…sliders…*slobber*). I seek out new gadgets, gear, tools, and accessories on every Chinese website that delivers overnight for the Holy Grail of racing that I can ingest, strap on, or doff that will create a magic bubble around me reducing wind resistance and pushing competitors unceremoniously out of my way. Then I pester anyone with any running experience with reviews of my training to draw out cheap praise for my hard work and assurances that I will, indeed, catch that damn BQ tiger by the tail this time and make him my beyotch. I bribe my children to pray to the Good Lord to bless me with speed as I’m not allowed to do so (I’m pretty sure that I sold my soul when I signed my admission papers to law school. If not, I’m sure I traded most of it for my last PR.). I even invoke the name of Chuck Norris to amuse and distract myself as I blog mindlessly about how I love to race. What would make an otherwise rational (don’t listen to my wife…if she truly thought I was crazy, she wouldn’t have procreated with me) ~~man~~ ~~adult~~ ~~mature~~ person to act in such a way? Taper Madness. CURSES!!!

Now for the hard numbers: The track was closed so that the track team could get their practice in. Inconsiderate bastiches. Can’t they see that I am a man in need? Anyway, I went to the park and my main workout was 10x.5 mi intervals with .25 mi recovery runs. They broke down: 03:25.5, 03:26.8, 03:35.4, 03:46.2, 03:32.1, 03:28.6, 03:33.8, 03:27.2, 03:23.7, and 03:30.3. This was an average pace of 3:31.0/mi. This was 12 seconds better than I did last week. A definite improvement, but still not quite where I was hoping to be. I definitely felt stronger/better today, but I was reasonably rested and the heat was not nearly as bad as last week. Okay time for me to organize my training log by training type. :P Later kids!

The Chuck Norris Paradigm

2010-04-08T20:56:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! If Chuck Norris were a calendar, every month would be named Chucktober, and every day he’d kick your ass! I don’t care who you are…that’s funny!

Still it got me thinking (WARNING: This is where the Taper Madness has set in, and I start spouting off. If you are a Penguin, a small child, or Chuck Norris, I apologize (Mr. Norris, please don’t roundhouse kick me)), I can’t just run a race for the fun of it. Like Chuck Norris, if you see me on race day, I’m there to kick your ass. That is to say that I’m there to RACE. Now I may not be racing against you in particular (because like Chuck Norris, you may end up kicking MY ass..a lot), but I am there to gut out a race. I may not feel great, I may not be in my top form, but I’m not there to run it for fun. A few months ago, my lovely wife and I were talking about some of the races that I was planning on running this year. When I suggested that I might run a few smaller races for fun and to train for my bigger ones, she squelched that idea so fast I thought Chuck Norris had kicked me (clearly he didn’t as I’m not dead). She told me in no uncertain terms that it’s impossible for me to run my races for fun as they post the results online and my ego would not stand for a less-than-Joel finish.

I’ve been rolling this thought around my head for awhile now, trying to decide if it was accurate, and like Chuck Norris’ beard, it’s inescapable. She is absolutely correct. As usual. For me, a race defines who I am as a person and a runner. When I race, I want to know that I gave everything I got…to be faster, stronger, and gutsier I was in my last race. Unlike Chuck Norris, I have something to prove. I need to prove that I’m not that bacon-loving-pie-eating asshat I was 2 years ago. Nope, today I’m a lean, strong, fast jackhole on a mission to BQ. Otherwise, why have I trained so hard for the last 2 years? If I’m not willing to lay it all out to win (i.e. reach whatever ridiculous goal that I’ve set this time), then I needn’t spend the $30-$100 to run the race. After all, I don’t need to run a race to get a shirt or chew on stale bagels. I’ve got plenty of money to buy as many shirts as I need, and plenty of month old bagels sitting in my pantry anytime I want one. Nope, when I go to race, I’m running fast, like a man dodging a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick (which, by the way, is impossible).

Now I’m not suggesting that I have to win. Not at all. I just want to be faster than I was the last time that I raced. And faster than that small kid with the ridiculously long stride (shouldn’t 12 year olds be at home watching cartoons or doing homework instead of trying to muscle past me in the chute). Oh, and faster than that women pushing her stroller or running with her dog (C’mon guys, that’s just plain dangerous!). And definitely faster than that frakkin’ guy in the tutu (I hate that guy). Everybody comes to a race for different reasons. Lots of people go to races to motivate them in their new healthy lifestyle (Waddle on my brothers!), and I give them full props for just getting out there and doing something. But some people go to races to prove they’ve got the guts, skill and luck to win. That’s me. And Chuck Norris.

And now for the hard numbers: I did 8.03 miles at an average pace of 8:07/mi. It was a good, fast run along part of the marathon course. Unlike a Chuck Norris punch to the face, it was not a perfect run, but it was still darn good. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 4/4/10

2010-04-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! In clearly a week that should have been a recovery week, I…wait for it…wait for it…over-did it. Awesome. Yes. Definitely worth the wait. After a strong (for me) half-marathon last week, I followed it up this week with 32.02 miles at an average of 9:29/mile. I managed 20 minutes of conditioning, but just barely. My weight has stayed around race weight at 156.8 this morning before my run. A little higher than I like, but I should be right around 152-154 by the marathon.

As for my training this week, I wish that I could say that my pace was a result of strategic recovery, but I really can’t. I tried to knock out some quality workouts this week, but I had nothing…NOTHING…in the tank. The only exception may have been my midweek run with my buddy Matt, but overall my kung fu was weak.

Case in point, my long run today should have been a decent workout, but it wasn’t…shocker. I had planned on a 14-15 mile run today, but due to the shaming I got from reading Adam and Psyche’s training plans, I decided to make today’s run a progression long run.

Let me preface, the rest of this story with the fact that I have terrible allergies, and on occasion, I will take Claritin to alleviate the symptoms. Today, I took Zyrtec. If you have allergies and need relief, Zyrtec is the bomb. If you need to run a 15 mile progression run, Zyrtec may not be the best idea.

Despite what my wife says, I’m not completely insane. I did bring my fuel belt with me today along with 2 bottles of G2, so I figured I had plenty of liquid for 15 miles. I was doing my run at PWP, so I purposely rested 2 days before to make sure that I could hack the all those damned-runner-hatin’-you-suck-dumbass hills (Oh yeah, Lent' is over. I get to swear again! Yay for me.) I started off slow to work into my easy pace, but for some reason, it took some effort to hit it. I chalked it up to being tired and plodded on. Eventually I made it to the park entrance and managed to start building up to marathon pace on the flats.

It was at this point in the middle of my run that I realized my predicament and the cause. As I said, I had been sipping on my G2 throughout my run, and the weather was hot, but not unbearable. However, I noticed that despite the profuse amounts of sweat coming from my forehead my hands were remarkably dry and chalky. Here in Tennessee, we see all sorts of weather and I’ve trained through most of it. I’m used to running in 100 degree heat and watching the sweat evaporate into salt. However (Why does this word keep coming up in my stories? Clearly I’m an idiot and I need an intervention. Hi, my name is Joel, and I’m an obsessed runner.), I’ve never actually sweat out salt before. Now I’m not a medical doctor, and this may not actually have been what was happening, but I really think it was. I quickly figured out that the Zyrtec was not only drying out my sinuses, but it was adding to my dehydration. Rapidly. My hands were so dry that I had to run them through my hair to keep them cool and wet. I found a water fountain, drank several greedy gulps and cooled off my face in the water. Despite all this, I had to admit that there was no way I could maintain any semblance of pace that I had been running without ride in an ambulance. So for once, I did the smart thing and pulled back. I decided to walk the uphills and jog/run the flats and downhills. This worked fairly well though I felt like a complete asshat for not having more fluid on me to re-hydrate, and eventually I made it back to my car and home. When I checked my post-run weight, I tipped the scales at 152.2. Yeah, that’s 4.6 lbs of weight loss due to dehydration. Not good. So, I’m a little tired now. To say the least. And I think that I’m gonna crash now. Hopefully next week will be better as it is my last week to get in some quality workout's before I start my taper. Later kids!

The Track Substitution

2010-04-01T23:18:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! It’s a good thing that I’m pretty because God didn’t bless me with a ton of brains. At least that’s what my lovely wife says. Case in point: Dumbass move number 1. Today was supposed to be an interval day on the track. My interval workout has been 885m intervals with 443m recoveries at the David Lipscomb track. According to my schedule, I’m supposed to have worked up to 10 by next week to make sure I’m ready for the marathon on the 24th. Of course, this meant I would do 10 today, because that’s just the way I roll. Schedules and rules are for the little people who are okay with being limited by society’s “rules” and “laws.”

Dumbass move number 2. When I got to the track, the gate was locked. This seriously bummed me out, and I considered bagging my run today in favor of finding a track tomorrow. However realizing that I had a fairly busy Friday, I decided to drive to work and do my interval workout around the outside of the stadium grounds at LP Field, Home of the Tennessee Titans. Intervals on nice cork track; a hard work out, but manageable due to the softness of the surface. Intervals on concrete in the blazing sun; clearly a level of hell that Dante forgot to mention. Maybe it’s level of hell, 5.75. The pounding to which I subjected my legs, left me shaking and exhausted after my run.

Dumbass move number 3. Did I mention that the temperature got up to 75 today? Well it did. Of course, this meant I had to wear one of my darkest and heaviest short sleeve sleeve technical shirts that I own. When I was done, I had rings of sweat and salt all over my clothes. Touching my fingers together was like petting salt.

It was a rough workout and I considered quitting my run short several times. Sadly the little voice in my head kept pushing me on, and like a dumbass, I kept listening. Alright here are the hard numbers: The total distance was 6.98mi at an average pace of 8:54. I did half mile intervals with 2:30 mins recovery laps My splits looked like this:

03:15.6

03:36.9

03:26.1

03:37.7

03:46.2

03:49.4

03:51.6

04:01.5

04:04.4

03:46.6

My average pace ended up being 3:43.6, which is nearly a BQ time for training. Not bad, considering that I nearly destroyed my legs to do this training. Pretty good, considering that I flirted with my puke threshold towards the end. And definitely stupid, considering that I had run a fast half-marathon just 5 days ago. All right. I can barely keep my eyes open, so I’m out. Later kids!

The Covenant Health Knoxville Expo Report

2010-03-31T20:58:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! As I said in my previous post, I was in Knoxville for the Covenant Health Knoxville Half-Marathon. I went up on Saturday to pick up my packet and spend the day at the expo checking out vendors and sponsors and schmoozing with the speakers as I was travelling by myself.Right off the bat, I have to say that I was really impressed with the number of vendors that showed up for what I consider a relatively “small” race (I don’t know…is 5500+ registered runners small? It’s no Rock & Roll Marathon).

One of the vendors, River Sports Outlets had your usual supply of running socks and apparel. Their cool, signature product was the Vibram Five Fingers shoes. They had several pair of various sizes for people to try. So of course, I had to try one on. Frankly, I was not impressed. The shoe, for obvious reasons, has to be tight, but it just didn’t seem comfortable to me. Also my toes are NOT that stubby. They just like they are in those shoes.

The expo had several speakers, including Mark Remy and Anthony Famiglietti. I had hoped to hear Mark Remy speak, but I didn’t leave Nashville early enough. He was kind enough to autograph my copy of The Runner’s Rule Book and he even let me have my picture taken with him. Unfortunately, a very kind gentleman was taking the picture with my phone and I gave him bad directions on how to use it, so the picture was less than stellar. To save myself further embarrassment, I have opted not to post the picture here. Sorry, but even I know better sometimes.

I did get to hear Anthony Famiglietti. He talked about how races give runners a chance to lay it all on the line to go for your goal. It was like he was talking to me. I found myself nodding along with him as he talked about being part of a sporting community that supported each other in our goals to be better, stronger, faster. That our community was stronger by the fact that we didn’t judge each other where we finished in a race but encouraged each other to race in the first place.

And I guess that’s when it hit me. Sure I enjoyed buying stuff (like socks, shirts, shoes, bottles, etc.) and checking out new products, but the thing that I love about races and expos is that I get to spend some time with my people. Whether they are slower or faster than me, we all share that desire to get up to the starting line and lay it all out to the finish. I love the St. Crispin’s Day speech from Henry V, and that’s why I love getting my friends to races with me. So that at the finish line, whenever we finish, “we happy few, we band of brothers” will know that crossed that line together. Later kids!

***Final Note: Needless to say, none of what I have accomplished or learned about myself could have been possible without the love and support of my wife and family. Whenever I faltered or questioned my resolve, they have been there to cheer me on and push me out the door to keep my feet on the ground and my chin in the air. Thanks guys.***

Covenant Health Knoxville Half-Marathon Race Report

2010-03-29T21:07:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! This past weekend, I went to Knoxville, home of my Alma Mater, the very-proud-stick-it-in-your-ear-I-don’t-care-that-it’s-a-rebuilding-year, University of Tennessee to run the half-marathon. Basically, when I learned that the finish was on the 50 yard line of Neyland Stadium, I knew that I would be running this race. I had considered doing the full marathon, but knowing that I would do the Country Music Marathon in April, it made more sense to do the half as part of my training.

The race was Sunday morning, and I had stayed at the Hilton Hotel downtown, which was about 3 minutes from the start line. This was nice for me, so I could take care of my “morning rituals” at my hotel instead of standing in line at the porta-potties. The weather was calling for temperatures in the 50’s to 60’s but rainy. Thinking that I was likely to get caught in a thunderstorm (they were calling for those too), I decided to layer-up with my windbreaker vest and some arm sleeves that I could take off if it got too hot. As it turned out, the weather stayed fairly mild but cloudy for me, though I did have to rip off my arm sleeves at mile 2.

I got to the starting line with 10 minutes before the gun went off and made my way to the first corral. My strategy earlier in the week was to run 8:00 miles, so that I wouldn’t burn out my legs for my training runs later in the week. When I got to the starting line, I knew that plan was out the window. I was there to RACE!!! Quickly re-calculating my pace, I thought that if I could run 7:50’s, then I would PR and put my year goal to bed. In my defense, it wasn’t totally my own stupidity or over-abundance of testosterone to blame. In fact, my decision may have been heavily influenced by a talk by Anthony Famiglietti at the expo the day before (I’ll actually talk about that tomorrow. The expo was great, and I have some good stuff).

Miles 1 (7:32) and 2 (7:39)started from just under the Sunsphere into the Fort and then cut left towards campus and along the river. To say Knoxville is hilly would be an understatement, and I got a taste of the rolling hills early on.

Miles 3 (7:35) and 4 (7:58) was mostly flat with a long uphill climb along Kingston Pike. Still I was able to keep my strides short and quick, so I wasn’t worried about my time. At the end of mile 4, I did take a little walking break to email my wife and kids where I was (I had drafted 3 emails and saved them on my Blackberry, so that I could send them updates quickly and then get back to the race).

Miles 5 (7:21) and 6 (7:30) were mostly downhill with some rolling hills through Cherokee Boulevard. Cherokee is where all the big houses in Knoxville are, and several people sat in their yards and cheered runners on. I tried to wave and say hi the best I could, but It was a little rough going on some of the uphills.

Miles 7 (7:34) and 8 (7:59) were brutal uphills, particularly at mile 7.5. I trudged up them as best as I could, trying to focus on moving my feet as fast as I could. Needless to say I got winded fast, but I didn’t quit till I got to the end of 8 and emailed the fam again.

Miles 9 (7:38), 10 (7:32), and 11 (7:44) had us going back towards campus on a mostly flat greenway. Despite my times, I could tell that I was starting to lose steam. Unfortunately for me, I was also doing the math in my head, and I figured that even if I could manage sub 9:00’s that I could finish my PR.

Miles 12 (8:33) and 13 (8:17) the wheels came off at least mentally. I had stopped at 12 to update my family, but I couldn’t get my pace back. Granted it felt like I was running with 5 lb bricks around my ankles, but I pulled it together enough to maintain my pride. The cathartic scream as I left the Fort and hit campus helped fortify me a bit as I dug in through the last bit of mileage.

Mile .1 (7:45/mi) was where I saw the runner’s entrance into the stadium. Calling everything that I had left, I sprinted into the stadium and as soon as I hit the field I was doused with sunlight and the spectacle of the Jumbotron showing the runners crossing the finish. I heard my name called out by the announcer as I got closer to the finish line and made my final kick. As I crossed the finish line, I threw my arms in the air and fist-pumped as I watched myself cross the finish on the Jumbotron. That. Was. Awesome!

By that time, I was shredding body heat, so I grabbed a blanket and headed up to the stands to drink some water and take some quick pics.

Then I headed over to Thompson Bowling Arena, where they had the post-race party. On the Jumbotron in the arena, they were showing the finishers cross the finish line and I was able to see the winner of the marathon cross. They had lots of food, the requisite band, and lots of post-race medical support to help administer first aid and help with stretching. Despite the difficulty of the course, this had to have been one of my favorite races. Maybe it was just my inner Volunteer enjoying a race on home turf, but man, I had a blast! Thanks Knoxville!

End of the Week Recap 3/28/10

2010-03-28T19:47:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! I realize that I owe you a race recap, but I’m afraid that it will have to wait till tomorrow. My stats for the week were: 33.57 miles total at an average pace of 8:05/mile, 17 minutes of conditioning, and a weight of 155.8. The major run this week would be my half-marathon, of course. I’ll give all the juicy details tomorrow, but here are some of the hard numbers. Official finishing time: 1:42:00.7, 7:47/mile. In my age group, I finished 11 out of 133; In men overall, I finished 86 out of 830; and overall, I finished 110 out of 1838 finishers. A not-so careful review of my PR’s will show that, yes, I did get another PR, and I also met my 2010 goal time for the half-marathon! To say that I’m happy with these results would be an understatement, and I think that this race sets me up well going into my full marathon in one month. Now all I need to do is ice my legs to do some intervals this week! No rest for those in training…or weary. Later kids!

The Knoxville Half-Marathon Countdown

2010-03-25T20:53:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! I have 3 more days until the Covenant Health Knoxville Half-Marathon. The Good: Temperatures in the mid 60's. Ends on the 50 yard line of Neyland Stadium (home of my beloved Tennessee Vols). Course goes through much of my old haunts from college. The Bad: 70% chance of rain. Way too many hills to get to the stadium. Much of the course was still under road construction last I saw.

I'm looking forward to returning to Knoxville to run their half. I love running races in places where I've lived. Not only does it make me feel connected to the city/race, but I often see parts of the city that I hadn't seen before. Still this will be one of my harder races of the year, because of the difficulty of the course. Considering that I'm running a full marathon a month later, I'm going into this race as a training run. Anything under 8:30/mile would be like playing with house money. It would be nice to bust out a 7:50/mile, but I don't want to hurt myself or backslide on my speed training. Of course, I say that I'll treat it as a training run, but I'm just as likely to break my fool neck going all out. There's something about knowing that my time will be posted for everyone to see that always pushes me to try a little harder than I should. I'm not sure what race support/spectator attendance will be like, but I imagine with the rain prediction, most students/spectators will be staying in bed (Of course, if UT makes it to the Elite 8, the city just may stay drunk all weekend). It would be nice if Derek Dooley was on the 50 with a couple of cheerleaders though. ;p

I'm hoping the expo will be strong. I'm planning on heading over to Knoxville early in the morning and spending all day (or as long as I can stand it) at the expo. I'm really looking forward to hearing Mark Remy speak. He's a writer for Runner's World and author of the The Runner's Rule Book, and he's really funny. Of course, I'll be buying my obligatory expo shirt/jacket/swag. I'm hoping to find a cool running jacket or vest with the marathon logo on it. Half my wardrobe is now running apparel, and a quarter of it, I got from races and expos. That isn't too much, is it?

No hard numbers today. C'mon...what do you expect?!? It's a taper week for goodness sake. I did manage to squeeze in 7 minutes of conditioning. Geek Violence: Ninja Assassin came out on DVD last week. If you love ninja movies (and let's face it, who doesn't), you must own this movie. The gore is over the top, but the action is INTENSE!!! This one might even be worth owning on Blu-ray. Okay, I'm off to bed and dreams of training run-PR's. Later kids!

The Interval Solution

2010-03-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Last Saturday, I had one of those days where the wheels fell off and I could barely get my act together to finish 6 miles. We all get a bad day once and awhile. That day that we can’t focus and we can barely move. Today was not that day. Today I had an awesome day! I went to the track at David Lipscomb University to knock out my 885m intervals. It was an beautiful sunny, 62 degrees, but it was a bit windy. Still, I was feeling strong. I did a mile warmup, and then worked into my intervals. I did 8 x 885m intervals with 442.5m recovery runs in between the intervals. I was jamming to my country tunes, getting my inner redneck on. Easier than you would believe for a a little brown man from the Philippines. All those years tooling around in my red, Chevy Tahoe in Tullahoma must have paid off. Anyway, my intervals went well. I felt strong working through them, but at the end, I was dead tired. After some gatorade and quick change of clothes at the office, I felt energized again. There is something about speed work that totally recharges the body and mind. I felt great pushing my body through the repeats and focusing on holding my pace kept all those negative thoughts from the other day out of my head. Like I said, I felt, and still feel, great. I’m pumped for my half-marathon on Sunday, but I’m trying to keep it in perspective. I’m approaching it as a training run for my full marathon in April, so if I can hold a 8:30 pace, I will be very happy. The ultimate goal is to finish strong, but not overly sore or injured, so I can maintain my training. Now that I’ve gotten my big workout for the week out of the way, I only have one more base mileage run left. I’ll probably rest tomorrow or do some light cross-training.

Okay now for the hard numbers: 8x885m intervals at respective times of 3:36.19, 3:40.22, 3:36.98, 3:35.88, 3:24.15, 3:32.21, 3:29.61 and 3:28.20. An average pace of 3:32/885m. Not as good as last week, but I’m glad that I’ve remained pretty consistent. Later kids!

End of the Week Recap 3/21/10

2010-03-21T20:11:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! This week I ran 26.73 miles at an average pace of 8:14/mile. I managed to get in 30 minutes of cross-training/conditioning and topped the scales at 159 lbs even this morning. Not exactly race weight but I can’t complain considering my less-than-spectacular mental crash on my long run yesterday. The only two things significant about this week: I did my first track workout and I couldn’t complete my long run. The track workout went well and showed some promise for my marathon. The long run was a complete disaster. Fortunately for me, I still managed 26 miles this week. So I’m chalking this week up to taper/rest/recovery, putting it behind me, and moving on to next week.

Next week is my official taper week for my 1/2 marathon in Knoxville. I still need to get in my track workout, but otherwise I’ll just get in some easy base mileage before my race on Sunday. I’ll be going up on Saturday, and I hope to catch a couple speakers at the expo. If anyone in Knoxville wants to get together for some carbo-loading dinner, let me know and we’ll try to hook up. All right that’s all I have, and if we don’t talk later, wish me luck! Later kids!

The Attitude Adjustment

2010-03-20T21:44:00.001-07:00

Hail my running brothers and sisters! Today was a beautiful morning to go for a nice long run…unless you’re me. I had one of THOSE days. The kind of day we runners share amongst ourselves, but never with the newbies, so we don’t scare them off or discourage them. It was that day when my legs feel like lead except for those times when every step feels like a pinch to my calves. It was that day that my allergies rolled over me like a flood so that every breath was a wet, raspy gasp for mother-loving oxygen. It was that day I knew that my sure pick for the winner of the tournament on my bracket would come crashing down all the while flashing their number 1 seed as it fell to the bottom (Thanks a f-ing lot, Kansas). It was that day that when every bit of work and personal guilt pushed its way to the front of my brain and shoved down any sense of discipline and determination. It was that day when every negative thought needled at my will till my only option was to turn around and call it a day. Yes, it was that day.

Now I’ve had bad runs before where all I wanted to do was quit, but I pushed on, hated myself, and finished. Days like today are rare for me. The aches, the pains, the soreness, and the allergies are all things that I have to suffer through on occasion for years of bad living, weak genes, and bad karma. The mental stuff is harder for me to handle. Thanks to the psych classes I had in college and the endless years of psycho-babble TV shows that I’ve watched, I usually have a pretty good handle on my mental state. Still, I’m subject to bouts of melancholy that can stop me dead in my tracks and turn me into a useless lump. My usual treatment is to turn up the angry music, watch some overly violent movies, and carpet bomb my melancholy with waves of anger and self-righteous Hollywood violence. Sometimes if my blahs are particularly strong, I’ll buffer the anger therapy with some dark, gritty comic violence. Under this prescription, I’ll roll out of my funk in a matter of days. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have that kind of time. I have a half-marathon to run in 1 week, and I need to finish my training strong for the race.

Before I go any further, I need to apologize to my friends and co-workers as they will suffer the most this week. I’m sure most of you reading this post so far are expecting from the title and the tone of the post that I will be trying a different tactic to screw my head back on to my shoulders, like positive reinforcement and self-reflection, religious fever, or even just being nice. Some of you expecting the upset, after a string of upsets this weekend (Thanks a darn lot, Vandy and Villanova), might consider that I would instead go the mental-flagellation route on the analogy that the junkyard dog that gets kicked comes back meaner and badder than ever (Also known as the Rocky Balboa training cycle…i.e. get beat up, train to some motivating music, come back and beat up Russians and guys with mohawks).

Instead I’m going with option C. Option C is a ego rebuilding tool of last resort due to the harm to me and those around me. It is a weapon when properly deployed leaves an impression of myself that people believe is the real me. I assure you, it is not (at least not at the level that I have to employ). In order to fix my head and get ready for my race, I must unleash Arrogant Joel. Now some of you who may know me are reading this and wondering…this isn’t Arrogant Joel already? Sadly no. One of things that I love about running is the confidence that it instills in me and the knowledge that if I train harder, I can still achieve better results. I try to be cool about it and self-deprecating, but my enthusiasm often bubbles over in somewhat un-humble tones. Seriously though, I was a slob, and running has made me better person physically and spiritually. I just want to pay it forward and help other people feel that way. Sadly, my frame of reference is me, and whenever I talk about how good I feel (trying to inspire, I swear), it sounds conceited. I’m not stupid, I know other people are faster than me, stronger than me, and other people have lost more weight than me (and some in a shorter time), but I’m still proud of what I’ve done.

Arrogant Joel is a whole other level. Think of Barney from How I Met Your Mother, and Reggie Miller playing the Knicks, and you get the idea. He is a gigantic A-hole, overly confident in his abilities (without much basis for thinking so), and completely willing to share his Awesomeness with those less-awesome (After all, if you can’t be awesome, at least you’ll know what it looks like. That’s right…me, baby. ;p) . He is a trash-talking, self-centered douchehat that will sacrifice any semblance of decorum and politeness (A gracious winner is a crying loser after I’m done with him). He will push himself to win at all costs, short of cheating, but his faith and over-estimation of his abilities leaves no other acceptable outcome than Flawless Victory (as if there were any other). The one exception to this rule is that he doesn’t get to come home. My patient, loving and beautiful wife has made it abundantly clear that Guy is not allowed or tolerated in this house. So he has to stay on the field…or at the office. So once again, my friends and staff, I’m sorry. I really am. But I have a race to run, and I need that gigantic A-hole to do it. Later kids!