Long run today, 15 miles with Jack at 5:30am. Yesterday I did hills and I could feel it today, so it was a slow and easy pace. Followed the run with my usual shower at the YMCA, then Starbucks, then working at Below The Knee all day today.
2 things: 1, the shower I use at the YMCA is like a hot firehose of water, probably the best water pressure in town and this just voluminous cascade of hot water. Awesome. But 2, I did something really stupid lifting weights the last week in March and it still hurts. The next time I have a brilliant idea like that one, I'm going to attribute it to my Inner Dumbass and just dismiss it. What I did was bend over at the waist, holding 35-lb dumbells, and try to stretch out my hamstrings. What a f'ing idiot move. I immediately sensed that I had done something to my back and stopped, but I've had pain in my lower back ever since then. This morning it was as bad as ever... I thought last week that I had healed.
I will do some swimming this week and I bet that will fix it.
Some races are coming up: The Celebrity Classic 5k on April 19th, then the Midtown Classic on April 26th.
Also, Jeff Galloway is holding a clinic at Below The Knee on April 10th at 6:30PM.
All this information and details about ALL the upcoming local races are available on the Columbus Roadrunners website.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Tuesday
5.7 miles around the lake again, the first lap a little slower than the 2nd two laps. Each lap is 1.9 miles. I usually warm up for about the first half mile then fall into whatever pace I set.
My heartrate is getting back to normal now after the marathon. It was higher than normal for a couple of weeks.
I'm doing 3 things this spring that might make a difference in my 5K times. First, I'm sticking to a training plan and doing tempo runs and hills/intervals. Second, I'm trying to lose about 10 pounds. And third, I'm doing some supplemental strength training for my legs.
I don't like feeling scrawny but I weigh 182 now, and I'd like to be 172 or so through the spring and summer this year. So I'll pay a little more attention to how much I eat.
On Mondays, I'll run 5-7 miles but run part of it at a faster pace for as long as possible. I will have to track the speed and distance so I figure out if I'm making any progress.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be easy runs.
Thursdays will be either hills or intervals.
Friday will be a shorter, easy run.
Saturday is long run day, my favorite day of the week.
Sunday is either a very slow recovery run or crosstraining of some sort.
And I'll continue to do my strength circuits m-w-f and add leg strength exercises.
My heartrate is getting back to normal now after the marathon. It was higher than normal for a couple of weeks.
I'm doing 3 things this spring that might make a difference in my 5K times. First, I'm sticking to a training plan and doing tempo runs and hills/intervals. Second, I'm trying to lose about 10 pounds. And third, I'm doing some supplemental strength training for my legs.
I don't like feeling scrawny but I weigh 182 now, and I'd like to be 172 or so through the spring and summer this year. So I'll pay a little more attention to how much I eat.
On Mondays, I'll run 5-7 miles but run part of it at a faster pace for as long as possible. I will have to track the speed and distance so I figure out if I'm making any progress.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be easy runs.
Thursdays will be either hills or intervals.
Friday will be a shorter, easy run.
Saturday is long run day, my favorite day of the week.
Sunday is either a very slow recovery run or crosstraining of some sort.
And I'll continue to do my strength circuits m-w-f and add leg strength exercises.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Monday
Goal for the next 6 weeks: lose about 8 pounds. Right now I'm at 182 pounds but I really feel better at 175. So I'm going to increase my miles back up to 45-50 again and pay more attention to what I'm eating.
So today was 182.3, I'll keep track and post again next Monday with the results for this week.
Plan for today is weights at 5am, then run at lunch or after work or both. Weather this week looks pretty good:
Monday: Mostly Sunny 74°/53°
Tue: AM Clouds / PM Sun 77°/62°
Wed: T-Showers / Wind 65°/42°
Thu: Sunny 72°/44°
Fri: Sunny 73°/49°
Sat: Partly Cloudy 77°/52°
So today was 182.3, I'll keep track and post again next Monday with the results for this week.
Plan for today is weights at 5am, then run at lunch or after work or both. Weather this week looks pretty good:
Monday: Mostly Sunny 74°/53°
Tue: AM Clouds / PM Sun 77°/62°
Wed: T-Showers / Wind 65°/42°
Thu: Sunny 72°/44°
Fri: Sunny 73°/49°
Sat: Partly Cloudy 77°/52°
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Saturday
Got to the Riverwalk at 5:30am... ran 15 miles. Very humid, hard to tell if it was raining or not.
Will run a few miles on Sunday.
Will run a few miles on Sunday.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thursday
Pretty nice weather here. I ran 7.6 miles after work and it was probably 65 degrees, something like that. Very nice.
I'm running in the Asics Trail Attack shoes when I do laps around the lake. So far I like the shoe a lot, although my wife says that it's ugly, which is sort of an endorsement if you ask me. SpEVA midsole, light, there's a low key plate on the bottom, not good enough for some rockier terrain but enough for what I do, which is run slowly around a dirt path with the occasional mud puddles, rocks, sand and whatever.
Friday will be a short 5 mile run if possible, then a longer run planned for Saturday.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday (week later)
Sorry - computer problems.
Basically just been taking it easy on my runs. Some easy runs last week, some walking, going to the gym, etc. Ran 5.7 on Sunday, 2.1 on Monday then 5.7 again tonight, and I think my legs are feeling normal again. For a while they were very heavy and my left hamstring was very tight. Just needed to work through it.
Got a new pair of shoes. I'll be running mostly around Lake Heath for a month or so after work, so I picked up a pair of Asics Trail Attack 4 shoes, since I wanted a shoe to wear strictly off-road. These shoes are neutral and have the off-road sole, plus they use SpEVA for the midsole material. I am one of the runners who prefer Asics' SpEVA material over the newer SoLyte material, so I was happy when I saw these Trail Attacks in stock at Below The Knee and picked them up on Sunday while I was at work. I'll write a full review on them shortly.
Plan is to pick up some more miles this week and then run 12 very easy miles on Saturday morning. I'm loving the time change and the warmer weather.
Basically just been taking it easy on my runs. Some easy runs last week, some walking, going to the gym, etc. Ran 5.7 on Sunday, 2.1 on Monday then 5.7 again tonight, and I think my legs are feeling normal again. For a while they were very heavy and my left hamstring was very tight. Just needed to work through it.
Got a new pair of shoes. I'll be running mostly around Lake Heath for a month or so after work, so I picked up a pair of Asics Trail Attack 4 shoes, since I wanted a shoe to wear strictly off-road. These shoes are neutral and have the off-road sole, plus they use SpEVA for the midsole material. I am one of the runners who prefer Asics' SpEVA material over the newer SoLyte material, so I was happy when I saw these Trail Attacks in stock at Below The Knee and picked them up on Sunday while I was at work. I'll write a full review on them shortly.
Plan is to pick up some more miles this week and then run 12 very easy miles on Saturday morning. I'm loving the time change and the warmer weather.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Monday
I was pretty sore yesterday (Sunday) but feel a lot better today. I walked a couple of miles last night, and that seemed to help a bit.
Went to the gym and lifted weights this morning. I'll try to swim at lunch and then do an easy run or another walk tonight. Probably an easy run. The weather looks fantastic! 73° is the forecast for 7pm tonight.
Went to the gym and lifted weights this morning. I'll try to swim at lunch and then do an easy run or another walk tonight. Probably an easy run. The weather looks fantastic! 73° is the forecast for 7pm tonight.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Albany Marathon
The Snickers marathon was my 2nd marathon and my 1st 'real' marathon. I ran the Columbus Red Nose Marathon on January 5th pretty much by myself. I had finished lots of 20 mile runs before that and did the Red Nose in 4:23:23, which was about what I expected. My goal was to do the Red Nose as a marathon-length long, easy run. I just wanted a baseline marathon time at a comfortable pace.
I chose the Snickers Marathon because it was close and because it got some good reviews on Marathonguide.com. Having read the reviews and now having run the course, I'm extremely glad that I chose this marathon. It was just small enough (371 in the full, 386 for the half marathon)that I didn't feel crowded, but big enough so that I was never running by myself. Every intersection had volunteers, the aid stations were every 2 miles and well-stocked with both water and Gatorade, and there were lots of people cheering at nearly every intersection on the course. The race director did a great job. I will definitely do this race again next year!
So anyway, I had between January 6th and February 29 to train up for this one. I got in a 12 and 3 20-mile runs, then another 12 the Saturday before the race. I'm a slow, steady plodding runner and my average pace on long runs is about 9:20. On my last 20-mile run my pace was 9:11. So I got to thinking, after that run, why not try to break 4 hours since my long run pace, like a lot of beginners, is eerily similar to my marathon pace.
One of my goals was to lose some weight between the Red Nose Marathon and the Snickers Marathon. I swam, I lifted, I did my usual thing... didn't gain or lose a single pound. I stayed right at 180 lbs. A bit heavy.
A friend and I drove to Albany on Friday and picked up the race packets. Drove back home that night, ate some dinner and was asleep by 9. I woke up at 3, like usual, and ate a Power Bar and drank some water. Then it was a couple cups of coffee... and some more coffee at the Circle K for the road. I met John at Below The Knee at 4:45am, we headed out and got to the race about 6:15. Plenty of time to loosen up, use the porta potties, stretch, check things out, make last minute adjustments or whatever. It was 44° at the start and the forecast was 57° at 11am. I wore shorts, a sleeveless tech tshirt, throwaway gloves, and a cap. I also wore my fuel belt, so I had 4 10-oz bottles and a flask of Hammer gel.
The first 4 miles were a bit fast for me but I settled in pretty well. At about mile 4, I started to run beside a kid named Adam. We didn't talk or anything, but at mile 6 I noticed that he wasn't drinking when we passed the water stops. I told him to start drinking right away, otherwise it would catch up to him later. The first 8 miles or so were kind of boring, just long stretches along the major roads in Albany, but then it turned in to the residential areas. Very scenic and lots and lots of people cheering on the runners. The race support was fantastic- every single intersection had support for the runners. Adam and I just kept trucking along at about a 9 minute per mile pace. He started hydrating pretty good and looked like he was in good shape. I felt fine, just trying to stay at a 9:00 pace. I used the Hammer Gel every 30 minutes, just as I had done on dozens of 20 mile runs, drank the CeraSport from my bottles, listened to us and other runners' footsteps, and tried to stay on track.
To cut to the chase, at mile 25 we were still very much right on track and I told him to kick it in to the finish... he asked about me, and I said "dude, this is my sprint". So he took off and I see where he hit 3:59:00 almost exactly. Good run for him. I watched him take off, then glanced at my watch, freaked out, and started my other sprint pace, the one that was probably about an 8:40 pace... but to me it was a sprint...and crossed the finish line still looking at my watch. Dang if I was going to do all of that and then get a 4:00:01 or something.
I talked to Adam afterwards and told him thanks for keeping me motivated during the race.
mile 10 01:29:44 8:59
mile 13.1 01:58:03 9:01
mile 20 03:01:29 9:05
finish 03:59:41 9:10
Marathon website Results
So, I'm glad I hit the pace I was shooting for and ended up with a 3:59:41... the fuel belt, Hammer Gel etc definitely helped me a lot. I didn't bonk at all, and only experienced major pain when I tried to sprint in to the finish. I have a feeling that when the photos are available, my finish line photo will show me fiddling with my watch.
Right now my plan is to work off all my soreness and then figure out what's the next thing up... probably the Ft Benning Reverse Sprint Triathlon in May.
I chose the Snickers Marathon because it was close and because it got some good reviews on Marathonguide.com. Having read the reviews and now having run the course, I'm extremely glad that I chose this marathon. It was just small enough (371 in the full, 386 for the half marathon)that I didn't feel crowded, but big enough so that I was never running by myself. Every intersection had volunteers, the aid stations were every 2 miles and well-stocked with both water and Gatorade, and there were lots of people cheering at nearly every intersection on the course. The race director did a great job. I will definitely do this race again next year!
So anyway, I had between January 6th and February 29 to train up for this one. I got in a 12 and 3 20-mile runs, then another 12 the Saturday before the race. I'm a slow, steady plodding runner and my average pace on long runs is about 9:20. On my last 20-mile run my pace was 9:11. So I got to thinking, after that run, why not try to break 4 hours since my long run pace, like a lot of beginners, is eerily similar to my marathon pace.
One of my goals was to lose some weight between the Red Nose Marathon and the Snickers Marathon. I swam, I lifted, I did my usual thing... didn't gain or lose a single pound. I stayed right at 180 lbs. A bit heavy.
A friend and I drove to Albany on Friday and picked up the race packets. Drove back home that night, ate some dinner and was asleep by 9. I woke up at 3, like usual, and ate a Power Bar and drank some water. Then it was a couple cups of coffee... and some more coffee at the Circle K for the road. I met John at Below The Knee at 4:45am, we headed out and got to the race about 6:15. Plenty of time to loosen up, use the porta potties, stretch, check things out, make last minute adjustments or whatever. It was 44° at the start and the forecast was 57° at 11am. I wore shorts, a sleeveless tech tshirt, throwaway gloves, and a cap. I also wore my fuel belt, so I had 4 10-oz bottles and a flask of Hammer gel.
The first 4 miles were a bit fast for me but I settled in pretty well. At about mile 4, I started to run beside a kid named Adam. We didn't talk or anything, but at mile 6 I noticed that he wasn't drinking when we passed the water stops. I told him to start drinking right away, otherwise it would catch up to him later. The first 8 miles or so were kind of boring, just long stretches along the major roads in Albany, but then it turned in to the residential areas. Very scenic and lots and lots of people cheering on the runners. The race support was fantastic- every single intersection had support for the runners. Adam and I just kept trucking along at about a 9 minute per mile pace. He started hydrating pretty good and looked like he was in good shape. I felt fine, just trying to stay at a 9:00 pace. I used the Hammer Gel every 30 minutes, just as I had done on dozens of 20 mile runs, drank the CeraSport from my bottles, listened to us and other runners' footsteps, and tried to stay on track.
To cut to the chase, at mile 25 we were still very much right on track and I told him to kick it in to the finish... he asked about me, and I said "dude, this is my sprint". So he took off and I see where he hit 3:59:00 almost exactly. Good run for him. I watched him take off, then glanced at my watch, freaked out, and started my other sprint pace, the one that was probably about an 8:40 pace... but to me it was a sprint...and crossed the finish line still looking at my watch. Dang if I was going to do all of that and then get a 4:00:01 or something.
I talked to Adam afterwards and told him thanks for keeping me motivated during the race.
mile 10 01:29:44 8:59
mile 13.1 01:58:03 9:01
mile 20 03:01:29 9:05
finish 03:59:41 9:10
Marathon website Results
So, I'm glad I hit the pace I was shooting for and ended up with a 3:59:41... the fuel belt, Hammer Gel etc definitely helped me a lot. I didn't bonk at all, and only experienced major pain when I tried to sprint in to the finish. I have a feeling that when the photos are available, my finish line photo will show me fiddling with my watch.
Right now my plan is to work off all my soreness and then figure out what's the next thing up... probably the Ft Benning Reverse Sprint Triathlon in May.
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