I knew there would be setbacks in my quest to run a marathon. I knew I would not be able to keep to my schedule perfectly. This week, after having a marvelous week last week… including running my first half marathon, I was sick and missed 2 runs. I am talking missed work sick… the kind where you wake up in the stinky sick sweat.
After missing 2 runs… I felt I had to get back out there today regardless of how I felt, and I did. I have to say… I love Fall. There is something magical and melancholy about Fall. As I headed out on my run, I noticed some of the leaves had started to drop and they crunched under foot with my strides. It is sad on one hand… Fall that is. It is the ending of a cycle. What started with the joyous chorus of Spring, now ends.
My father was in ICU at the hospital recently. He took a nasty fall off a ladder that left him with a broken arm, shoulder, three ribs and a severe concusion. At times he had no idea of reality or who I was. He is in the fall of his life. Like the Fall leaves, I can see his dreams and accomplishments drying up, dieing and falling to the ground in a brilliant flash of colors, each one to become the soil for another dream, another Spring… another Summer… my Summer.
I feel very sad yet very alive each fall… and when I started out on my run this morning I was very weak and tired. My breathing was all messed up, and I could barely manage 9 minute miles. I was a sad reflection of myself a week prior. Funny how fast things can change… of one minute you are the brilliant leaf on the tree… and the next you are clogging the gutter. I knew that I had to start somewhere… that I had to at least get out there regardless of how bad I felt… and I did! It really was a sad sad run… but when I was done I could hear trumpets blaring and angels singing, and in the end… I stuck another leaf up on my tree, a present for my future Fall.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Doubt
I skipped a day I was supposed to run. So there you have it. I feel dirty, I feel like I have cheated myself, and there is a little voice on my shoulder that is whispering ‘you might never run again!’ As absurd as that sounded a few days ago, it is a tiny little fear.
For the first time ever I can see myself logically coming up with excuses why I can’t run… I have to build my fence before it starts raining… I should visit my father who just got out of the hospital… etc… What the heck happened to me? The bottom line is I could always rationalize a reason why I should be doing something else, but I just have to keep focused on my goal.
Was it the article I read on slate.com by Gabriel Sherman on how newbies are ruining marathons? http://www.slate.com/id/2149867/?GT1=8592 or perhaps the horrid run I had on Tuesday where for the first time I was so hot, so tired, and has such a stitch in my side that I considered stopping a mile from home. I have never once stopped in all my training so far. Well… I stop at intersections when I have to cross the street, but other than that I have motored on. It is important to me, because I am not sure if I stopped once if I would ever start again. Is that weird?
I did learn that I should probably be a little careful after running a half marathon. That was more miles than I was ready for, and even though I felt fine, my body had a serious case of the ass two days later on my next 5 mile run.
By the way… that Gabriel Sherman article was a joke. It might have been something that could go over at a private meeting of ‘elite-runners-R-US’, but I think Gabriel either miscalculated the actual audience of the piece, or is just an asshole. I find it hard that anyone could actually be that big of an asshole, so I will surmise it wasn’t intended for us ‘sluggish marathon ruining newbies.’ Oh, by the way Gabriel, your ego was blocking my view of Mt Hood this morning.
For the first time ever I can see myself logically coming up with excuses why I can’t run… I have to build my fence before it starts raining… I should visit my father who just got out of the hospital… etc… What the heck happened to me? The bottom line is I could always rationalize a reason why I should be doing something else, but I just have to keep focused on my goal.
Was it the article I read on slate.com by Gabriel Sherman on how newbies are ruining marathons? http://www.slate.com/id/2149867/?GT1=8592 or perhaps the horrid run I had on Tuesday where for the first time I was so hot, so tired, and has such a stitch in my side that I considered stopping a mile from home. I have never once stopped in all my training so far. Well… I stop at intersections when I have to cross the street, but other than that I have motored on. It is important to me, because I am not sure if I stopped once if I would ever start again. Is that weird?
I did learn that I should probably be a little careful after running a half marathon. That was more miles than I was ready for, and even though I felt fine, my body had a serious case of the ass two days later on my next 5 mile run.
By the way… that Gabriel Sherman article was a joke. It might have been something that could go over at a private meeting of ‘elite-runners-R-US’, but I think Gabriel either miscalculated the actual audience of the piece, or is just an asshole. I find it hard that anyone could actually be that big of an asshole, so I will surmise it wasn’t intended for us ‘sluggish marathon ruining newbies.’ Oh, by the way Gabriel, your ego was blocking my view of Mt Hood this morning.
Monday, September 25, 2006
The Two-hour Tour
Sometimes life throws you a curveball. As someone who has played a lot of baseball… including adult baseball… I know you just have to hang in there and hit it to the opposite field. I am not a flincher in a sporting sense, because that is exactly the sign of weakness a pitcher is looking for. I have taken fastballs to the shoulder thinking it was a curveball... but I was unwilling to flinch.
My training plan didn’t have me running half-marathon distance until around Thanksgiving, two months from now, but I missed some runs this week because of a family emergency, and found myself with 18 miles to cover for Saturday and Sunday. I considered two 9 mile runs, but then decided to split it to 5 and 13.1. That would give me a taste of the half-marathon. But would I like it?
Even though I am running 25-30 miles a week right now… my long runs are still short… 8 miles being the longest so far. I know people on programs only for a few months that are running much longer than that. I had a serious case of long-run envy. I already planned on running a half-marathon race on October 29th, but again, sometimes you get curveballs.
The family issues the past week put me prime in the mood for self-punishment. It is a bit ironic that I could use a 13 mile run to drive me to the same place I fought so hard to avoid the past week, emotional and physical exhaustion, but hey, if I am going to be exhausted it will be on my terms!
I guess I succeeded. The run was not really that difficult, but I am certainly tired. I ran at a very slow pace, 9 minute miles, and finished in 1:57:57. I think I could run quite a bit faster, but I wanted to be sure to not hurt myself. Now I know what a long run is. (At least for me) It was a bit more of a struggle in my head than on the road.
Within a mile of heading out I made the mistake of thinking that it was only two hours and I would be back. That led to two-hour tour (even though the theme song for Gilligan’s Island was really a 3-hour tour) and thus began the nightmare of the theme song that wouldn’t go away. For most of the run that stupid theme song was stuck in my head like a broken record. “The Minnow would be lost, THE MINNOW WOULD BE LOST.” Argh. Someone please veer off the road and run me over.
I had trouble getting into a comfortable rhythm during the run. Whether it was Gilligan’s Island, or the slow pace or something else, I just was never in ‘the zone’. Given the fact that I wasn’t really ready for a half marathon, I feel pretty good the day after. Everything seems to be working fine, and I think I will be able to continue on with my training without a hiccup.
There is a lot more I could write about that 13 mile run. It was its own little adventure in time… an aberration in my schedule… a curveball so to speak, but without flinching… I hung in there, and smacked a double to right field. I guess you could say I am half-way home.
My training plan didn’t have me running half-marathon distance until around Thanksgiving, two months from now, but I missed some runs this week because of a family emergency, and found myself with 18 miles to cover for Saturday and Sunday. I considered two 9 mile runs, but then decided to split it to 5 and 13.1. That would give me a taste of the half-marathon. But would I like it?
Even though I am running 25-30 miles a week right now… my long runs are still short… 8 miles being the longest so far. I know people on programs only for a few months that are running much longer than that. I had a serious case of long-run envy. I already planned on running a half-marathon race on October 29th, but again, sometimes you get curveballs.
The family issues the past week put me prime in the mood for self-punishment. It is a bit ironic that I could use a 13 mile run to drive me to the same place I fought so hard to avoid the past week, emotional and physical exhaustion, but hey, if I am going to be exhausted it will be on my terms!
I guess I succeeded. The run was not really that difficult, but I am certainly tired. I ran at a very slow pace, 9 minute miles, and finished in 1:57:57. I think I could run quite a bit faster, but I wanted to be sure to not hurt myself. Now I know what a long run is. (At least for me) It was a bit more of a struggle in my head than on the road.
Within a mile of heading out I made the mistake of thinking that it was only two hours and I would be back. That led to two-hour tour (even though the theme song for Gilligan’s Island was really a 3-hour tour) and thus began the nightmare of the theme song that wouldn’t go away. For most of the run that stupid theme song was stuck in my head like a broken record. “The Minnow would be lost, THE MINNOW WOULD BE LOST.” Argh. Someone please veer off the road and run me over.
I had trouble getting into a comfortable rhythm during the run. Whether it was Gilligan’s Island, or the slow pace or something else, I just was never in ‘the zone’. Given the fact that I wasn’t really ready for a half marathon, I feel pretty good the day after. Everything seems to be working fine, and I think I will be able to continue on with my training without a hiccup.
There is a lot more I could write about that 13 mile run. It was its own little adventure in time… an aberration in my schedule… a curveball so to speak, but without flinching… I hung in there, and smacked a double to right field. I guess you could say I am half-way home.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Easy run
Today was one of those runs that just felt effortless. One of the few. =) I was planning on an easy 8:45 pace, but instead ran the 5 miles at 8:30, and hardly broke a sweat. Either I am getting a bit more used to running, or I ate my Wheaties this morning.
My wife hinted I was obsessing a bit much about running. I don’t really agree… I have only run 3 10K’s all summer. I typically dive head first into most of my endeavors, so I wouldn’t imagine running would be any different. I have tried to ease her mind that 1) I am not crazy and 2) I do not want to be one of those extreme runners who run 100 miles in a day. She is still eyeing me suspiciously though.
Really… I am just at the very beginning of my running journey. I figure I will cover 1000 miles training for the Eugene marathon, of which I have only covered about 250 so far. I haven’t really lost any weight; though I am sure I leaned out a bit. I still eat like crap, but I am working on it slowly. I have a physical today so I will find out how my cholesterol and all that are doing. I feel as fit as a fiddle though.
My wife hinted I was obsessing a bit much about running. I don’t really agree… I have only run 3 10K’s all summer. I typically dive head first into most of my endeavors, so I wouldn’t imagine running would be any different. I have tried to ease her mind that 1) I am not crazy and 2) I do not want to be one of those extreme runners who run 100 miles in a day. She is still eyeing me suspiciously though.
Really… I am just at the very beginning of my running journey. I figure I will cover 1000 miles training for the Eugene marathon, of which I have only covered about 250 so far. I haven’t really lost any weight; though I am sure I leaned out a bit. I still eat like crap, but I am working on it slowly. I have a physical today so I will find out how my cholesterol and all that are doing. I feel as fit as a fiddle though.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Mt Angel Octoberfest 10K
Oh who am I fooling… I bet a run a few more 10Ks before the marathon. I finished the Mt Angel 10K in 47:45 or thereabouts. Official times are not posted yet. I was camping at Champoeg before the race, and headed over to Mt Angel in the morning for the run. In my rush, I forgot my GPS watch. As my wife said, “isn’t that your main piece of equipment?” Um… yeah… well… for running. ;) Anyway, I planned on setting my watch for a 7:50 pace. As it turned out… I think I ran around at 7:41 pace. Maybe forgetting the watch was a good thing. =) I picked the 7:50 pace because it was still faster than my previous best, but would still leave enough gas in my tank to run the 8 miles I ran this morning. I’ll take 7:41 though.
The 8 miles this morning was a bit tough to start. I am always a bit ookie (for lack of a better non-word) when I get up in the morning while camping. Heading out for a run I felt like I needed some WD-40 on my joints to get me going. Once I was warmed up it was OK. Not as fun as most of my runs though… maybe the 10K the day before had something to do with that… or the camping… or perhaps the monster coffee drink my wife made me by the campfire. Regardless… it was a long 8 miles. Very peaceful though… nothing but miles and miles of farmland. My legs feel pretty good today considering.
The 8 miles this morning was a bit tough to start. I am always a bit ookie (for lack of a better non-word) when I get up in the morning while camping. Heading out for a run I felt like I needed some WD-40 on my joints to get me going. Once I was warmed up it was OK. Not as fun as most of my runs though… maybe the 10K the day before had something to do with that… or the camping… or perhaps the monster coffee drink my wife made me by the campfire. Regardless… it was a long 8 miles. Very peaceful though… nothing but miles and miles of farmland. My legs feel pretty good today considering.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Last 10K before marathon?
Tomorrow I am running another 10K… probably my last in a while. I think there is a 15K I will run in a few weeks… but there are not many running events in Oregon in the winter. Too rainy I guess.
Speaking of rain, yesterday was the first day of the year I ran in the rain. In fact, there were some thunder to add a nice backdrop. It really wasn’t that miserable, but granted the temp is still in the 50’s, and the rain really wasn’t that bad. I can say I am still concerned about how I will make it through the winter and stay on track. It will take a lot of dedications. As the Gatorade commercials would say… ‘is it in me?’.
I also wonder what attire will work right for running in the winter here. I have plenty of experience running in cold weather… 4 years in the Army in Fairbanks Alaska where it was not unusual to set off into the ice fog in -30 degree weather for a 3-5 mile run. We ran in sweats and balis as we called them (balaclavas) … the things that look like criminal hats really. There isn’t much wind in Fairbanks so you could keep your heat for a bit. As long we didn’t have to wait in formation too long we were OK. Where it was nasty was when we had a Battalion run or something like there were it took so long to get formed up that we were on the verge of frostbite before we ever started. The worst of it was trying to stay upright on the ice. In general the traction was OK, but near intersections where cars may be spinning their wheels when starting it would be slick. Sometimes one person would fall and take half the company out.
Speaking of rain, yesterday was the first day of the year I ran in the rain. In fact, there were some thunder to add a nice backdrop. It really wasn’t that miserable, but granted the temp is still in the 50’s, and the rain really wasn’t that bad. I can say I am still concerned about how I will make it through the winter and stay on track. It will take a lot of dedications. As the Gatorade commercials would say… ‘is it in me?’.
I also wonder what attire will work right for running in the winter here. I have plenty of experience running in cold weather… 4 years in the Army in Fairbanks Alaska where it was not unusual to set off into the ice fog in -30 degree weather for a 3-5 mile run. We ran in sweats and balis as we called them (balaclavas) … the things that look like criminal hats really. There isn’t much wind in Fairbanks so you could keep your heat for a bit. As long we didn’t have to wait in formation too long we were OK. Where it was nasty was when we had a Battalion run or something like there were it took so long to get formed up that we were on the verge of frostbite before we ever started. The worst of it was trying to stay upright on the ice. In general the traction was OK, but near intersections where cars may be spinning their wheels when starting it would be slick. Sometimes one person would fall and take half the company out.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
So long 3 miles runs… I knew the well
I finished my last short run in my training schedule. All my runs from here on out are 4 or more. It’s actually been 3 weeks or so since I ran just 3 miles… but just for old times sake… ok… it was there on my ‘take it easy’ week one last time.
So do I just take a stole down memory lane and trot along at a comfortable clip? Well… about now that seems like it would have been a better choice, but nope… I ran just about as fast as I could… which ended up being 7:36 miles. Now before you laugh… these are MY miles… and this is MY pace… and you can’t really compare one to another. Well… you can… but it isn’t like apples and oranges. So if you are much faster than me… kudos to you! Really. And if not… whoop-te-do… so what. Your pace is the perfect pace for you, and mine… is well… too fast for me right now. =) There is age to take into account, training level/time, body type, weight, past injuries and heck, some people were just born to run.
Me on the other hand, I was born to take naps. I am a nap expert. If there were nap Olympics, I bet I might be able to qualify for the US team. No… I don’t get to take naps much anymore… very rarely in fact, but when I do! OH YEAH… I am a sacrifice at the alter of the Z-Monster.
I have another 10K this weekend. Octoberfest run… which of course means maybe some beer afterwards. =) That might be interesting. I better be careful.
Keep running.
So do I just take a stole down memory lane and trot along at a comfortable clip? Well… about now that seems like it would have been a better choice, but nope… I ran just about as fast as I could… which ended up being 7:36 miles. Now before you laugh… these are MY miles… and this is MY pace… and you can’t really compare one to another. Well… you can… but it isn’t like apples and oranges. So if you are much faster than me… kudos to you! Really. And if not… whoop-te-do… so what. Your pace is the perfect pace for you, and mine… is well… too fast for me right now. =) There is age to take into account, training level/time, body type, weight, past injuries and heck, some people were just born to run.
Me on the other hand, I was born to take naps. I am a nap expert. If there were nap Olympics, I bet I might be able to qualify for the US team. No… I don’t get to take naps much anymore… very rarely in fact, but when I do! OH YEAH… I am a sacrifice at the alter of the Z-Monster.
I have another 10K this weekend. Octoberfest run… which of course means maybe some beer afterwards. =) That might be interesting. I better be careful.
Keep running.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
I Hail from the land of Nike
I have always liked the Nike brand. Perhaps it is because it is a local company (I live right near the Nike campus), perhaps I just like the swoosh… or maybe it is the cool commercials… but there it is… I like Nike. I don’t buy super expensive shoes for my running right now… but I do buy Nikes and I have never had a problem with them. I did have a pair of court shoes for racquetball that fell apart, but the running shoes seem good to me. But what do I know. If any Nike executives would like to hire me as a programmer in gratitude for my free advertising… please feel free to stop me somewhere on the loop around the Hillsboro Airport any Sunday morning. (In theory, someone might read something in this Blog… in theory at least)
This morning as I set out on my 8 mile run, there was a full moon to the west and the sun was coming up over the Portland west hills to my East. The ground was wet… it actually rained for the first time in quite awhile, and it must have been about 50 degrees. I remember reading on another site, if you are comfortable when you start your run, you won’t be shortly… and I was definitely cold to start. My nose immediately started running and my eyes were watering. (At least I wasn’t dehydrated)
There are some very subtle things that happen when I am running that I like. I like how sometimes you can run through pockets of air that are significantly warmer or colder. I like to watch the water evaporating off the street as the sun begins to ride. I like the occasional peacefulness when I am running on a stretch with few cars. I like the zones I can get into where I am not even aware I am running at all… like I am standing on one of those moving belts in the airport. I admit… that doesn’t happen too often… but it does.
I passed just one runner today… going in the opposite direction. He was listening to an IPod. I don’t run with head phones on outside. I really don’t need the music to distract me. If I am on a treadmill I will use music… but on a run I think the music would be more annoying than pleasant. There seems to be a natural rhythm to everything sometimes when I am running, and I think music would just ruin that balance. Not to mention… I have had 2 Ipods die on me back to back… both after running. I think a cheap MP3 player would be a better bet.
The run was rather uneventful. I picked a very manageable pace as a target (8:50) and finished at 8:48. For an 8 miles run… I am pleased with that. I felt I had more in my legs both speed wise and distance… but didn’t want to push it. The last thing I need right now is an injury. I was only supposed to run 4 miles but I missed the 8 miler on Sunday because I ran a 10k… so I figured I needed another long run. Next week is my take it easy week. Though my goal is to run a marathon… I have yet to run 26.2 miles in a week! This week I topped out at 25.2, and I am tempted to run another mile tonight just to make it a marathon. =) Nah. All in good time.
I ran with my fuel belt on. I feel a bit dorky with it… but the liquids came in handy. I know they are not that necessary on runs less than 10 miles… but I didn’t have time to drink a lot before taking off. I filled two of the 4 containers with Gatorade Endurance. I hardly notice the belt when running. I won’t be taking in to marathons because they will have plenty of liquids along the way… but I think it will be handy for some of my longer runs… and at least eliminate most of the need to stash bottles on loops.
I think I am about 250 miles into the 1000 I plan to cover training for a marathon. I know a lot of programs are shorter than that… but I am trying to build up a good base, and I want to be completely ready come marathon time. Failure… is not an option.
I have been browsing some of the other online running Blogs lately. There are quite a few good ones… and I am learning a lot about running. It is nice to read some info that is not written by the extreme ultra athlete, as I am just a geek who is learning to run. Eventually I will get around to listing some of the Blogs in the links of this site. Still sorting through them right now.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Why are we doing this again?
Why are we doing this again? That question was posed by another runner as we were getting ready to start the Wildwood Trail Trial run. Good question indeed, and one that I am not entirely sure how to answer. The question seems irrelevant after the race though. Everyone knows the answer then, even if it is hard to put it into prose.
I finished the 10K in 7:58 pace, which for me seemed an unreachable goal a few months ago. It was a trail run, and I have not trained on a trail yet… so that was interesting. It was certainly beautiful scenery though. The run was on the Wildwood trail in Forest Part, which is one of the largest (if not the) part within a city limits in the US. About 7 years ago I used to ride my Mountain bike through the park, but many of the trails, including Wildwood are off limits to bikers.
There was another interesting quip from another runner in the race. I used to live near the park, and knew the last ½ mile was horrendous. It is something I could barely run up years ago when I wasn’t running much at all… and that was on about a 1.5 mile run tops. As we approached the start of it, I said something like ‘this is not going to be fun’. I realize I probably broke a few running rules right there. It is a negative thought and one I should have kept to myself. Another runner shot back, ‘yeah… tomorrow we get to go to work’. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but I think it was a nice way to make me realize that this WAS the fun… that tomorrow was the work.
Looking back, it was certainly fun. I ran better than I could have hoped. If it wasn’t for the ½ up hill at the end I would have shattered my pace even for a 4 mile run. But regardless of the numbers, it really was enjoyable. I am starting to like this running thing.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
I have a lot to learn about running
Boy do I have a lot to learn about running. It seems rather simple… just put ‘one foot in front of… the other…’ as the Christmas classic goes… but the reality is, it is a bit more complicated than that. I am a long way from considering myself a runner. I read running blogs and running articles and have no idea what some of the information is referring to. Part of the reason I am following the training schedule I am… is because it didn’t have any track related terms that I didn’t understand. Just running. That is all. For my first marathon, that is fine and dandy.
After my Skagway run I realized something… I like running because it is a bit of an escape. In that case… an escape from the crowded ship and annoying kids. Yes, I love them to death, but it does take a lot of energy to referee sometimes. Running gives me a chance to relieve stress and clear my mind. It does zap my energy for a short while, but I think in general my energy level is higher than when I wasn’t running. I am amazed everything is holding together and I haven’t had any injuries.
By the way… the training schedule I am following is from http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_mile.html Right now I am just on week 11 of the mileage build up. Not even to the marathon training schedule yet! =) I figure the long route might help me avoid injury… I want to make the 1st a good experience so who knows… maybe there will be a 2nd. I ran 24 miles last week. Funny… I am pretty worn out and that is less than a marathon! Do I really know what I am getting myself in to?
After my Skagway run I realized something… I like running because it is a bit of an escape. In that case… an escape from the crowded ship and annoying kids. Yes, I love them to death, but it does take a lot of energy to referee sometimes. Running gives me a chance to relieve stress and clear my mind. It does zap my energy for a short while, but I think in general my energy level is higher than when I wasn’t running. I am amazed everything is holding together and I haven’t had any injuries.
By the way… the training schedule I am following is from http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_mile.html Right now I am just on week 11 of the mileage build up. Not even to the marathon training schedule yet! =) I figure the long route might help me avoid injury… I want to make the 1st a good experience so who knows… maybe there will be a 2nd. I ran 24 miles last week. Funny… I am pretty worn out and that is less than a marathon! Do I really know what I am getting myself in to?
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