1/2 Marathon. Done.

Not bad. I had a good time and have already paid my fee for the next one in September. I ran it in 2:08. I was trying to get a sub-2:00 but from early on I figured that it was not going to happen.
I arrived at the start about an hour and a half early- I was afraid of sleeping in and not being able to get there because they close the bridge about 45 minutes before the start. It was a cold and very windy morning and race. The temps started in the high 30's and might have made it to the mid 40's.
I've taken off 3 days after the race, but plan on going out for an easy run tomorrow. Legs a still just a bit sore, but not bad.

Next race: River to Ridge; May 14th. 5 miler

Spring.

It didn't get up to the 60's during the past few weeks. I think around 45'F was the highest that I've seen. I haven't been able to run in the sun yet- but I have had a couple of nice night runs in. I still end up wearing my tights because of the wind- and I'm cold blooded. I think that my cold-bloodedness will work out well for running this summer, we'll see.
Really not much news. I have about 40 days until my first 1/2 marathon. I'm not following any sort of training program. I would, if I had a work schedule that was even half-way consistent. I'm sure that I'm going to find out that it was a big mistake not having a better plan. I've ran 13.1 before and I'm only running to finish, so I don't think it will be that bad.
Any tips?

On the Road Again

I'm glad February is over; it was a bad month for running. I only got out a total of 10 times. Part of it was from laziness, then there was the flu, a cold that wouldn't go away and a sore left arch.
March has been much better. I'm still hating going out when it's really cold and can't wait until it warms up, but at least I'm heading out. I seem to be in a little rut lately. I've been trying to take it nice and easy and I still end up with sore muscles and the need for a nap. I'm not running to hare- I sometimes talk out loud to myself just to make sure. My mileage has been on the light side. Maybe I'm just at a low tide in my running.
I heard a rumor that it might get up to 60 in the next few days. I better be off work so I can get a long run in.

A Break from Running

How many days off from running makes you a non-runner?
I had a 5k race on Feb. 12th. I woke up late and had to rush to the starting line. I didn't really think about the little sore spot in my throat.
I tried to go at a slower starting pace then I usually run (like everyone else I almost sprint off the line). It seemed to pay off, thought tired, I was able to kick past 2 runners in the last tenth. I finished with a PR (only 1 sec. faster, but Hey).
Later that day, the cold hit. Very sore throat, stuffy head, slight fever, achy. I moped around the rest of the weekend and went out for a light run on Monday- trying to burn it off. It didn't work.
Now it's a week and a day later and I still have this cold. Today the cold left my chest, so it's now all in my head. It would have been easy to stay inside another day, but it's already been a week without running. So the shoes go on and the handkerchief in tow- a light 3 miler.
I'm back, still sick, but still a runner.

Shoes

By luck, my first pair of shoes were a good match for me. They are a pair of Nike Vomero 4s. I bought them at a store in the mall that specializes in more dress shoes and they just happened to have this pair, on sale, and in my size. They felt good, so I bought them. I just have about run them out. They have about 520 miles on them so I should probably call it quits soon. I already have a replacement pair of Saucony Progrid Ride 3s. I bought them in December when I was visiting family- there's an actual running store there!
I have them in the box and haven't taken them out yet.
A couple of days ago I decided that i needed a pair of trail shoes, so I bought some New Balance 621's. I figured that I should give them a run. It turned out to be a 10 miler where about 2-3 miles were on a snow-shoe track (about a foot or so of snow). At about the 8.5 mile mark I realized that these shoes don't have the arch support that the Nike's do. I had to modify my gate the last mile and a half so that I wouldn't put too much pressure on my arch. Hobbled home and averaged about an 11'20 mile- but it was tough!
today I went back to the shoe store and picked up a pair of insoles. I'll give them a try later today.
i wish that running shoes came with a coupon for a pair of insoles, so that when you bought a pair, you'd match them with the insole of your choice. I'd rather pay $130 for a pair of shoes that are good to go, then to pay $90-$100 and then buy insoles- just the idea of it.
Well, however it is, I'm going to make sure that my shoes are not the cause of an injury.

10 Mile Week

I had Monday off so I went out on a nice slow 10 mile run. It took me to the top of the bluffs, so I got in some nice hill work in. Tuesday and Wednesday passed without a run- work, dogs, life. After work on Thursday I was going to go out, but started to feel bad. Well, I had the flu. Thursday night, throwing up; Friday sweating and hallucinating; today, just achy. I could possibly go out but I would only do it so I'd get the mileage in which probably isn't a good idea so I'll just sit at home and read the RW magazine that came in the mail.

Winter Running

Today I was dressing for my run- it was going to be my long run because it's my only day off until Saturday. Well, I was putting on my socks and kinda watching the T.V. at the same time and see that there is a winter weather advisory for the area. Gotta run. I ended up driving to my wife's work and dropping off the car so I wouldn't have to turn around to pick her up if I was still out. I headed through the frozen marsh with a slight snow fall. When I was about 3/4 of the way through I saw a bald eagle in a tree. I slowed down for a moment to admire it. Beautiful.
Then on to more practical matters. I needed a restroom. I would have just went off trail, but the snow was high enough that it would have been quite cold on my exposed ankles so I held on for another mile until I hit Riverside Park. Bathrooms are closed!. I ended up running another 2 miles or so until I went past an iceskating rink where I could finally 'rest'.
Ended up with a 9 mile run and a 52 min 10k. My best so far. Part of that was through fresh powder. BTW: I'm sure that it's probably a little more thrilling to ski in powder then to run in it.

Hood to Coast Movie

Last night instead of going out for a run I went to see the movie Hood to Coast. There are very few movies out there about running, or with running in them, so you've got to catch them when you can. The move was set up as a one night event with a live interview at the end of the documentary. I'm not much for events.
If you don't know anything about Hood to Coast (HTC), look it up. In short, it's a 12 person relay race over a 197 mile course. It starts at Mt. Hood and finished in Seaside, OR. Please don't think that this is a review. I'm not one to review movies. I have not been to a movie in the theaters since around 2004 I think. The reason then was because I was living overseas and I wanted to watch something in English. Ok- I will give it a thumbs up.
My guess is that this will be available for rental in a couple of months, so you may just have to keep an eye out for it. If I happen to remember to look, I'll post something when I see it.

Training

I've decided to start doing some sort of actual training. Up until now I've pretty much have just gone out and ran. I'm not going to work a whole lot on intervals or fartleks, but just get down a good hard/easy running program. I'm using the Heart Rate Monitor Training for the Complete Idiot and a Sportline 1010 Monitor. I've got my HR numbers:
Resting= 50
Max= 185
70%= 145

BTW, my actual HRmax is exactly what the book estimated it would be. 205-(.5 age)= 185. Cool. I took my HR as I crossed the finish line during the last 5K. I was able to check it between the almost throw-ups.
So the other day I went out for an easy run using the books program of staying at or below my 70% max (145 bpm). It's pretty difficult to do. I'd be fine for a bit, and then it seems like it would jump up to 180 or so and I'd have to walk. It was also difficult because of the terrain. It's mostly flat around here, but there are some areas on my runs that haven't been plowed, so I'm running through a foot of snow. When my HR rose above 145 I slowed down, but that just made it harder to move. I ended up just standing there for a minute so that I could run in the zone. Most of my energy was used just looking at my monitor. I guess I don't have any sort of pace down.
I made it home and checked my miles and time. It was 4.3 at around a 11'11 pase. Wow was that slow! But it didn't feel like much of a run at all. Well see how this goes.
I''m suppose to do a hard run next, but my legs are still a little sore from Saturday's race and life is really trying to get in the way this week, so I might take another easy day next. We'll see.

Reading

I've said it before. When I do something, I'm all in. Since I've started running, here are some of the books that I've read. I won't put in each issue of magazines. This is also not any form or review or recomendation, just a list (and in no real order).


The Complete Book of Running- James F. Fixx
Second Book of Runnind- James F. Fixx
No Need for Speed- John Bingham
Heart monitor Training for the Complete Idiot- John l. Parker, JR
The Runner's Diet- Madelyn H. Fernstrom
The New Competitive Runner's Handbook- Bob Glover & Pete Schuder
Running Anatomy- Joe Puleo & Patrick Milroy
Marathon & Half Marathon: The Beginner's Guide- Marnie Caron
Run Fast- Hal Higdon
Ultramarathon Man- Dean Karnazes
Galloway's Book on Running- Jeff Galloway
First Marathons- Gail Waesche Kisievitz

Runner's World
Running Times
Trail Runner
Marathon & Beyond


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Saturday's Race

I had to get up extra early so that I could drop my wife off at the airport before I headed off to the 5k. (She's in Florida, and I'm in 7'F weather.)

The whole time since I woke up I just was not up for the race. My legs felt heave and slow and the rest of my body was not much better.

Race time. I started at the front of the middle section. Within the first quarter to half mile I realized that I was going way too fast- at around a 7 min. I quickly slowed down and kept a more comfortable pace. That turned out to be around an 8 m/m- still fast for me. At the 2 mile mark I was ready to walk, but I figured that I did it to myself and I was not going to walk until I had to throw-up. I somehow made it to the finish without the upchuck and was even able to sprint the last tenth.

I forgot. During the entire run, I only passed 1 person and had around 20 pass me. I ended up with a time of 25'51- which is my new PR.

2010 Stats

Here are my numbers for 2010 (Starting Aug. 22nd).

Days of my running year: 132
Days ran: 78
Days off: 54
Miles ran: 326.34
Average run (miles): 4.18
5k ran: 3
Best 5K time: 26'21
Longest run (miles): 13.3