Christmas Run With Snow

What could be better than a Christmas run with snow falling? Well, besides sitting warm inside the house with my family… but if you are going to have to run on Christmas… having it snow isn’t a bad deal. It sounded rather simple… 9 miles… no problem. I decided to run from the house… so that would leave me without and fuel or water (didn’t take my belt). Again… no problem… I do that a lot.

When I stepped out the door the weather was quite blustery. Bad sign. Wind… snow that would melt on contact with my face… for a minute I considered heading back inside. The gym was not an option (closed on Christmas I am sure) It was either brave it… or bag it. With Bill Bowerman’s quote “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just soft people” in the back of my mind… I headed out. Besides… I just finished 5 weeks on my training schedule and hit every single run on every day. No way I could break the streak just for some bad weather.

Bowerman was Oregon’s famous track coach… and if you know Oregon weather, you can understand why he had to have a nifty quote about the weather… because frankly… the weather sucks a lot here. If you can’t change the weather… I guess he had to change the opinion of it. Well… it worked for me… but I can say that Bowerman, in this particular case, was wrong. There is such a thing as bad weather.
My run called for 9 miles. Even in bad weather I can hold my body heat for 6 miles. Rain, snow… whatever… six miles and I am OK. After six miles is where it gets tricky. On long runs I can stop at the car on a loop and change my shirt or socks. But yesterday was an out and back… and when I started back… I was heading right into the wind… with a full gale of snow blowing right into my face. (And umm… other body parts)

I was dressed in my typical cold weather outfit. Runderwear shorts and tank top, long sleeve poly pro shirt, running shorts, a very light semi-waterproof jacket, light wool knitted runner gloves and a nice warm hat. Again… this is just about guaranteed to keep me comfortable for 6 miles. In heavy rain or snow I can start having trouble after that.

My face and ears were of course quite frozen with the wind and snow blowing. Expected… nothing different than a trip down the slopes while skiing. I was completely soaked however. Then… it started. At first I thought I was having friction pain. Nothing new there… happens a lot when a lot of water and running are involved. But the umm… location was quite new. As I meandered back into my neighborhood with about 1 mile left on the run… the pain grew quite extreme and the only thing I could think about was getting back home to get a sit rep on what the heck was wrong.

When I finally burst through the door… one quick check and it was obvious what my problem was. A particular body part that was quite useful in producing a baby girl (did I mention before it was a girl?) was quite frozen. If you’ve ever had your fingers or ears partially frozen… you know the pain when they start to defrost. Well, take that pain and multiply it… and you get an idea of what I was feeling. Ouch.

So… Bill Bowerman was definitely wrong on one particular subject. There is such a thing as bad running weather… and I am pretty sure I have experienced the worst it has to offer.

2007 Year in Review

The numbers
By the end of this year I will have ran over 1600 miles. That is quite a leap compared to my 625 miles the previous year. At my pace… that is probably over 250 hours of running… or just under two weeks of running every waking hour. My feet have hit the pavement in my running shoes over 3 million times this year.
Fastest mile: 6:35
Slowest mile: 13:21 (Last mile at Portland Marathon)
Longest run: 26.2 Miles
Longest training run: 23 miles
Shortest run: 1 mile (time trial)
Number of times I had to run into the bushes to relieve myself during a long run: 2
Races completed: 5
Marathon’s completed: 2
Major injuries: 0
Falls: 0
Near falls: 2
Number of times I was almost hit by a car: Too many to count.
Pairs of running shoes used: currently on 5th
Runs 15 miles and over in length: 18
Number of times I was honked at or yelled at while running: ~15

The marathons
Eugene
Portland

The future
After gazing into my crystal ball… I see… wha? I see…. Myself? I see myself staring at myself staring into a crystal ball? Oh wait… let me turn in on. Nope… still nothing. I can’t see my running future. I will try to keep on my current training schedule and run the Eugene marathon… though even that could be cancelled if baby decides to come early. I won’t be running Boston in 2008 (haven’t qualified). I will probably be too tied to home to get to prance off to any out of state marathons. I do plan to keep running though...it has become a part of me… but for the first time… I am not exactly sure where it will take me. It will be fun to find out though.

Runners make good employees

If I was the owner of a company, I’d stand at a marathon finish line to hire my employees. What more could you ask for in a workers? You know they’d be healthy, dedicated, in top shape, able to overcome adversity, not prone to excuses and highly motivated. Everything you could ask for in an employee. I really have high regards for the runners I have been lucky enough to meet, and those behind the Blogs I read. Runners are special people… and I don’t mean short bus kind of special.

I finally felt a little spring in my stride last night. My legs have been pretty dead lately… and my pace dismal. I know cold weather is part of it… the temperature is near freezing on most of my runs, but I am not sure what the other part is. I worry that may legs just may not have as many miles as I hope in them. A runner where I used to work told me that he just keeps getting slower and slower and slower. Well… age will do that to you… but at 41 and being a runner for less than two years… my legs should have thousands of miles left in them. I hope. (Said poking my legs)

I suppose it doesn’t help that I take hot baths after my cold nightly runs either. Hot baths are not good for my tired swollen legs… but it is just so damn relaxing. Wish I had a hot tub… now that would be nice. Well… maybe not so much after the hot summer runs.

I recently say the Christmas classic with the witch of the north that hounds Santa. There is a line in the movie that sums up what it takes to run a marathon... 'just put one... foot in front... of the other... and soon you'll be walking cross the floor-or-or!' That is all it takes... just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Dedication... imperceptable progress... day after day. Anyone can run a few feet. Then a few more... then the next thing you know... you are running a marathon.

The rhythm of life

Runners are quite familiar with rhythms, from the rhythm of thousands of strides, to the rhythm of breathing. Thursday I got to hear our baby’s heartbeat for the first time. It is pretty miraculous to hear a few beats or strides from an unborn child on the warm-up track for life. It makes my strides… my running… seem so irrelevant. Eighteen years from now I can imagine myself trying to convince my son or daughter that their old man used to run marathons. I’m sure it will seem like another fish story to them.

Popcorn is good stuff… but I learned this week that it isn’t really good fuel for running. Tuesday I did my 8 miler during dinner time, and when I got back I didn’t feel like cooking anything… so I had a bag of popcorn for dinner. Then Wednesday morning I got up and headed into the cold for another run. By the time I arrived back home my tank was empty. Mental note… choose a better fuel than popcorn in the future.

After my Thursday 8 miler I was pretty tired. I was tired, my legs were tired, and I was running sloooooow. Even Saturday for my recovery run I was still tired. I felt a little better Sunday… until… well… I got sick. Nothing like needing a bathroom in the middle of a 2 hour run. Argh. I was in so much discomfort that I hardly had time to enjoy the snow flurries. I did manage to finish the run however… mainly because it would be hazardous to my health to cut across the airport. The biggest benefit to running faster… is that your long runs end sooner. Despite the discomfort, I wasn’t slacking at the end of that run.

Runs for the week: 8 (with 4 fast)-4-8-4-13. Next week I am scheduled to hit 40 miles… which I have only done a few times before… and with much longer long runs. I hope I have the mental toughness to grind this thing out. I think my body can keep up. I have decided to try make the mileage no matter what… and just run slower if my legs are dead. Time will tell.

Shelter from the storm

About a year ago we had a large storm roll through, that I was brave enough to run in, but afterwards… vowed not to repeat the mistake again.

through the storm

Well… another storm rolled through yesterday, and I was faced with braving the weather again… or hitting the dreadmill for 12 miles. I choose the dreadmill. Unfortunately it was my long run day, which would only increase the agony. I have written before about how time seems to stand still when I run on a treadmill. I am pretty sure my belt is connected to father time’s watch, and the faster I run on a treadmill… the slower time in the world progresses. Those 12 miles took 3 maybe… 4 days to run (it seemed). I swear I can look at the distance… run for a few minutes… then look again and it doesn’t change! ARGH!

At one time I actually started to visualize where I would be on my regular outdoor course in order to distract my mind enough to not go crazy. And it didn’t help that someone with tourettes was working out too… and every time he shouted everyone in the gym jumped. There was also someone that couldn’t quite run on the treadmill right. I don’t really know what their dysfunction was… but they kept losing their balance and jumping on the side of the treadmill.

Anyway… somehow… someway… I survived my 12 miler to log 33 miles for the week. Two weeks down… perfect to my schedule so far. (8,9,4,12)

Running in a Dream

Yesterday morning my alarm went off at 5:45 I got up for my 8 mile run. I knew that it would be cold… but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I got dressed, but before I was headed out the door I heard the pouring rain on the skylights. 35 degrees and pouring rain? Forget it… even I am not that stupid (well… anymore). It wasn’t the cold that bothered me… I’ve ran in -35 degrees in Fairbanks Alaska for entire winters, but the cold combined with the rain is asking for trouble. I decided I would wait until after work and just go to the gym. We have a community center and even though I don’t have a membership I can go for $4 a pop. For the occasional run in crappy weather… that makes a lot more sense than buying a treadmill.

When I got home from work though… the rain had stopped, so instead of hitting the treadmill, I headed out into the darkness around 6:30 PM. It was still cold… 36 degrees maybe, but I was comfortable because the wind wasn’t blowing. It was strange running in the dark the entire time. I took a familiar route just to discover that some of it wasn’t lighted enough that I could see my feet. At times it was so dark, and my glasses so fogged up that I was in danger of running into something. More than once I flinched at something that wasn’t there.

At one point I run through a tunnel… which I now know is unlighted. When I was in the middle of the tunnel I could see nothing around me except… well… the light at the end of the tunnel. It was weird. Nothing but the echoing of my strides off the blackness… couldn’t see my arms or anything. Other times I ran through fog that reminded me a bit of ridding the chair lifts on the mountain when skiing. It was nice. It is one of those times when despite what seems to be forbidding weather, I looked around and thought…. AWESOME! Yeah, it was cold and dark, but it was also very peaceful… like running in a dream.

One down… 21 to go

Hit the 30 mile mark for the first week since the Portland marathon. Pretty happy since it was a Holiday week too… and those are easy weeks to skip runs. In general the weather was cold but very nice. Cold is OK… cold and windy… much less OK… and cold and rainy… I don’t like at all. It is around freezing each morning right now. Usually an increase in temperature comes with the clouds (which is why we get very little snow).

For cold runs I usually wear a typical long sleeve finishers shirt (non-cotton) and a very light water resistant jacket (the yellow kind a lot of bikers wear). That combo seems to work good. I also wear those cheep white gloves they hand out at running events sometimes. Most of the time I wear a hat… but if it there is some wind moving the cold around I might were a wool hat that I can pull over my ears. So far I have been pretty comfortable running, but Winter really hasn’t started.

Sunday complete my first week (of 22) in training for the Eugene marathon in the Spring (May 5th) If for some reason the baby decides to come early, or it looks like that is a possibility, I won’t be running Eugene. I am already thinking I just drive down there the morning of the marathon as opposed to staying down there. It would give me plenty of time to eat and hydrate… something I wouldn’t do as well if I stayed down there… because I would get up later.

I have found that the 30 mile mark is where I have to be very careful with my nutrition and hydration. I already bonked once last week. Hydration will be my most difficult tasks. I am drinking coffee again, which certainly doesn’t help. It will be interesting to see if I am manage without giving coffee up completely. I have some 55 mile weeks in this training cycle, I might need an IV drip line to keep hydrated.

Runs this week were: 7 (w 10x100), 8,4,11.

Running necessities

Everyone’s list of what they have to have for running is surely different… but here is the list of things I would have a hard time without.

1) Bodyglide. Oh I suppose you could use Vaseline, but I like bodyglide the best. Almost eliminated my blisters. If I make a mistake of heading out without it on say… a rainy day… ouch! Skin rubs raw.
2) Runderwear. Synthetic undies. And that is all I have to say about that.
3) Dryfit hat. I like to run in a hat because it keep the sweat out of my eyes a bit better. Yeah I know it also holds heat in… but in general the weather isn’t too hot where I live. The dryfit hats are great because they can go a lot longer between washes without smelling like a dead thing.
4) Good shoes. I started running on just a pair of old sneakers. They worked… but my knees etc… didn’t feel great. When I switched to a better pair of shoes a lot of the little aches and pains went away.
5) Synthetic shorts and shirts. I pretty much run in 100% synthetic stuff. Underwear… socks, shirts… shorts and hats. Cotton gets very heavy when sweaty and tends to rub the skin raw a lot faster.

Not necessities… but I really like

1) GPS watch. While I have most of my routes down distance wise… I like to know how fast I am running. I love my Garmin 305. It is also handy when running new routes.
2) Fluid belt. Very handy on long runs when I don’t have the loop option or other water options. I don’t use this very often… but if you are running longer than an hour… your really have to have some way to get fluids.
3) IPod. I don’t recommend running in high traffic areas, be the auto or pedestrian or bike or whatever, without being about to hear, but an IPod is very nice company on 3 hour runs when your mind can become your worst enemy. I have listened to audiobooks for a break from music. I recommend the smallest IPod… the shuffle for running. I have had too much trouble with the Nano’s dying from sweet or otherwise.
4) Gatorade powder. Very nice during and after runs… and much cheaper than bottles.

A miracle on the horizon

The inside scoop on the Portland Marathon

Part of the reason I wanted to run the Portland Marathon in the first place, is because I finished it before (1/2 running and ½ walking). Well… to be clearer, I finished it with my ex. While I certainly have put the past long behind me, I wanted a Portland Marathon that was mine and mine alone. So it was partially that thought that was in my mind when I started my whole marathon journey.

It will help to explain that my last marriage ended rather abruptly and without much explanation. Of course I figured there was probably another person that made that decision easier, but I was never given any explanation. There was also an anonymous letter that arrived in the mail before the divorce that stated she was having an affair with someone where she worked. We actually worked there together before I moved on to a better job, and I knew most of the people there. I spent a bit of time pondering who this person might have been… but then I just quickly moved on. And move on I did… finishing college and getting married to my perfect match… thus inheriting two wonderful stepsons.

Fast forward to the Portland Marathon this year

About mile 11 or 12 on a long stretch in the industrial area where the course loops back on itself so you run by marathoners further back than you, I saw… you know who… out of the corner of my eye. Not only that… but the person running next to her answered the question of who the mystery person was.

So there I was… running ‘my’ marathon… the culmination of a year and a half of training, and in one single step my mind drags me into a past long discarded and I feel as if ‘my’ marathon is tainted once again. Shit. Now… here is something funny, the mystery person… well… he was the person I hired to replace me when I left my old company. Feel free to laugh with me. You have to admit it is funny and sad at the same time.

A miracle on the horizon

While I have quite a bit of experience at being a step dad… I have never had kids of my own. Now, to me… my step kids are my kids… I really don’t treat them any other way. My youngest doesn’t even know yet that I am not his real father because his dad took off before he was old enough to know him. My wife and I have been trying to add another family member for awhile… and on many runs I have daydreamed about what it would be like to bring a child into this world. A three hour run can seem short in the company of such thoughts.

Well… my big news is… we will have a new family member this summer! (Early June) I am thrilled beyond words. There were times I wondered exactly why I was running… and I always had a feeling that would be defined at a later time. But perhaps my marathon training will give me the strength to be a wonderful father… through screaming and fighting… through bad dreams and oopsies… perhaps the training will help me make the sacrifice that all good parents must make.

Running for itself doesn’t seem very important right now. Oh I am still running, but it feels more selfish. I do know it can be part of a balanced and healthy lifestyle, but my new spin on it is ‘daddy training’. If I can make it through the wall and the last six miles… perhaps… just maybe… a nuclear poopie diaper will not do me in.

You might be a marathon runner if…

• You have looked off the ledge of a curb like it was the Grand Canyon.
• You put ice in your baths.
• You know what body glide is, and have experienced the pain of forgetting to use it.
• You have at least 3 sports caps that smell like dead things.
• You know what it is like to be too tired to cry.
• You have piles of running shoes that are worn out, but look to be in pretty good condition.
• You don’t have any cotton socks.
• You’ve had at least one blister in a blister in a blister.
• You arms get tired of you running.
• You can drive by someone at 45 miles per hour and know exactly what pace they are running at.
• You carry a water bottle with you at all times.
• You’ve paid $20 for a pair of underwear and thought it was well worth it.

Just finished a measly 20 mile week. 5-5-3-7. I am not officially training for anything yet… just keeping a minimal base up. This week will be 25… then the next a will start a monster 22 week cycle that starts at 30 miles per week and peaks at 55. Yep… the Pfitzinger 22-55 plan. I think 22 weeks is a bit long for a marathon training cycle (unless it includes the base building) but since I will be spanning the holiday season… I want the flexibility of skipping a run if I need to.
Grats to David H who just completed his first marathon!

Post Portland

Sunday was my first post-Portland Marathon run. Fall is a beautiful time to run… there is no doubt about it. The air is cool and crisp and the changing leaves provide a magical backdrop to any outdoor activity. The route for the 3 mile run was similar to the route I used when I first started running… long before my first Marathon. I mentally flashed back during the run… back to summer of 2006 when I was all out sprinting to try to run three miles in under 8 minutes per mile. At first I failed, but it wasn't from lack of effort. I can remember collapsing under the ceiling fan after those first early runs. I can also remember my first 5 mile run. I wasn't supposed to run 5 miles that day… but I was already over the 4 I was supposed to run so I decided to take an extra jaunt around the neighborhood to make it five. I can remember showing my wife my GPS watch. Five miles!!! Can you believe I ran 5 miles!!!

It is an amazing journey from there to here, but a journey that anyone can take. When you think about running 26.2 miles when you can only run 2, it seems rather overwhelming. But when you think about running 3… not so bad. Then next week… 4… then 5… in a few months you are running a half marathon. I can remember my first half marathon too. Again… it was rather spur of the moment. My training didn't have me running that far yet, but I just did it. The hardest part of the training is just keeping with a schedule… regardless of the weather… how you feel and whether there is a game on you want to watch. =) Consistency. Perseverance through nagging injuries. Determination. Stubbornness.

So now I am nearing the end of my first running week post Portland. I am not sure where I am running to this time, and I am not sure why, but I am running again, and it feels good.

Portland Marathon Race Report

In shocking contrast to my first marathon, the last six miles of the Portland Marathon destroyed me. Everything started out just fine. The 3:20, 3:30 and 3:40 pacers were all next to each other at the beginning of the race… and I was motoring along just fine. 7:32, 7:31, 7:58, 7:45, 7:28, 7:51, 7:41 and 7:55 miles to start, and I felt fine. One thing that worried me around the 8 mile mark, is that I was sticking with the 3:30 pacer and still clocking under 8 minute miles according to my watch. (Which means the watch I trained with showed me going 7 seconds per mile faster than I really was all that time)

They say you have a 2% fudge factor in a race. If you run more than 2% faster than what is in you… you will pay for it at the end. Just the watch difference alone was more than 2% for me. Around mile 10 I decided that I needed to drop back to 8:30 miles to finish without a problem. I ran a 20 miler at 8:30 per mile a few weeks prior… so no problemo I thought. Silly me.

There is a hill in the Portland marathon that is pretty nasty… about ½ mile or so and pretty steep… and it peaks about mile 18. I knew it was all easy sailing after the hill. As I started up it… my legs screamed. Not good I though. I kept running… and the hill just kept sucking the life out of my legs. By the time I crested the top of the St. John’s Bridge… instead of knowing I was home free… I knew I was in serious trouble. I was pressing down on the gas pedal, and nothing was happening.

My pace up the hill was 10:25, and I did manage 9:40 for the next mile, but by the time I took my first step into the last six miles, I knew I was done. I wanted to cry, but of course I’m in the middle of a marathon, there are people all around, and well… I’m dehydrated. All thoughts of finishing were a decent time were gone. I just wanted to finish… and the way I was slowing down… I wasn’t sure that was going to happen. I told my wife I’d meet her by 11:30 at Pioneer Courthouse Square, and if I wasn’t there by then something must have happened to me. That was a good HOUR after I hoped I would finished… but suddenly it didn’t seem like a good idea to have said that.

My running slowed to a jog, then a shuffle… then at one point I realized that walkers were going just as fast as I was. The only piece of dignity I had was that I would not walk in a marathon. I must have look pitiful moving just as slow as the walkers though. Mile 26’s pace was… get this… 13:21 per mile! The last few miles took an eternity, and I finally crossed the line at 4:08:26. Ugh. Just ugh.

I had to hobble over to my wife as quickly as possible. When I found her I had to disappear into a porta potty to dry heave for 20 minutes. I was sick… dizzy, and could hardly walk. Then I started to freeze. I didn’t bring sweats because I didn’t want the hassle of picking them up at the finish line… but that was a bad call. I was shaking the entire train ride home on the MAX.

SO now I am left deciphering the train wreck of a race. On one hand I am glad I got to experience the wall. I think it will make me a better runner… and certainly it has context for me now. I really wondered what the heck was wrong with all the people I was passing in Eugene at the end of that marathon. I know now… boy do I know.

The Portland Marathon...

The night before the marathon at dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse… when my son was crying over something that he had done wrong, I told him that no one was perfect, and what defined you was how you responded when you did something wrong. I explained that he could keep crying and feeling sorry for himself, or he could do everything he could to fix what had gone wrong.

The Portland Marathon… went very wrong for me.

All systems go

Did my 2nd to last run before the marathon Sunday. Just a mile at a pitiful 6:40 and another 400 meter sprint at 5:30 and some jogging. I was up before dawn and out into the cold wet darkness that is Oregon. Friday I will do another 3-4 miles at my projected marathon pace… which is… ??? Well now… that is the question isn’t it? =) I will decide based on how I feel Sunday… the weather... the alignment of the planets… all that good stuff. I actually have a pretty good idea of what kind of run is in me… my training tells me that… but I reserve the right to adjust up and down at my whim. If I decide to go slow I could recover in time for the Seattle marathon at the end of November. If not… well… the worst that could happen is I end up collapsed on the side of the road somewhere unable to finish.

I weighed myself this morning and I am about 5 pounds over my dream marathon weight… the weight at which I thought I’d need to get down to be able to qualify for Boston. I didn’t adjust me eating habits enough. I have a healthy breakfast, but lunch needs some work. Dinner is OK, though I eat too much pizza. (Every Friday at the minimum) There was also a football game last Sunday where I drank more than my share of beer. (Damn that fumble into the endzone rule). I imaging that *after* my marathon I will be at my weight… but that doesn’t count. =)

The weather Sunday is looking iffy, but you can pretty much say that for every day from now to Spring. For the most part even on a rainy day that odds are pretty good you can sneak a marathon in without too much rain. It was raining on my run last Sunday but not bad at all. Now for walkers or racewalkers (Steve) maintaining that body heat in the rain could be a bit more of a trick. For me, I am just hoping for no downpours that will rub skin raw… and that odds are pretty good against that regardless of what the weatherman says.

3 days, 20 hours, and 42 minutes to till go.

Running is...

Lia and others have pointed out that running is painful and a not altogether enjoyable experience. I both agree and disagree. It is definitely equal parts pain and elation, and most of the time I have my radio tuned in right between the two. If I wasn’t trying to qualify for Boston… I’d be tuning to the ‘runners high’ station more often.

After a run though… it is hard to not feel good. I mean… unless you are limping or cramping or dehydrated or have that powerful PANG you can feel in the pit of your stomach after a very long run. You know… the hunger so strong you are will to eat just about anything… including the stale crackers that have been in the back of the cupboard for 3 years. Of course… first you have to hobble yourself into the kitchen to get the food… and sometimes even that is too much of a chore.

But wait… after running it is great… and it is… there may be pain, but there is also a glow of accomplishment… a buzz sometimes… a general feeling of goodness. It may very well be the same feeling dying people go through as they ‘head toward the light’, brought on by a mixture of excessive exercise, nuclear radiation color sports drinks, lack or oxygen to the head and the collision of sound waves from the left and right IPod earbuds in the middle of the brain.

Ultimately, running is what you make of it. For me it is a bit of everything all rolled into one… for others… it may be something entirely different.
I managed to get another run in… albeit just six miles. I am supposed to be tapering now… and am… but I will run a bit more than scheduled to try to get my wind back.

Portland on the horizon

Once again I find myself on the doorstep of a marathon, and it looks like an awful big step from here. I was at the beach this weekend so I delayed my last long run until Monday… this after skipping a run last week… and I got sick during the run and had to drop out after 6.5 miles. WONDERFUL.
So instead of sprinting to the starting line… I will be limping to it. I am still sick, but I need to try to get some kind of run in tonight. A few weeks ago just under 8 minutes per mile seemed like a possibility. Now even that has probably slipped away. Regardless… I will run another marathon. This will actually be the 3rd I have completed… there was an ugly stepchild marathon back in 2001 that I ran half and walked half. I was going to walk the whole thing… but I started in the wrong line and was too embarrassed to walk. I ran 13 miles without having ever run one for training. Good lord that was dumb. I damaged a nerve in my foot that didn’t fully recover for a year! Never again.
Anyway… flash forward to 2007. I have the Eugene marathon under my belt already, and was hoping to make a push for BQ at Portland. While I didn’t make that… I realize what an effort that would have been. I *could* have made it, but it would have taken a devotion that my work and family schedule just don’t support. I still trained long and hard. Got out on the track which was a first for me… sprinting! At first I hated it… then it was much better. Training for a marathon feels a bit like climbing a mountain. One small slip and you slide back down. The closer and steeper you get to the top, the more costly any kind of slip is.
My work schedule will make running a bit interesting over the winter. I work 8:30 to 5:30. Getting up early is fine in the summer… but it is cold and rainy (and dark) in the winter. I am not looking forward to that. I am thinking about running at lunch, but I am not sure yet. Somehow… someway.
I sure have enjoyed reading everyone’s blogs. As a rather solitary runner… I rely on them for tips and motivation, and really… I doubt I could have kept up with my training without feeling a bit like I was on a train with other dedicated runners out there. Everyone seems to have a different reason to run (or race walk). Mine is not different… no more special. Every step I take is on a trail that has been blazed before, but in their own way, each marathon is a gem… full of pain, sweat, tears, and joy. In just over a week… I get to make another memory.

Last 20 mile run before Portland

Sunday was my last 20 mile run before the Portland Marathon. As such, I was not about to accept any excuses from my body. My goal, smooth 8:30 miles, with no drop off at the end. Around mile 16 in my delirium I decided that mile 20 also had to be my fastest mile. Obviously at that point I was overcome by some runners high… or runner’s insanity, but that is what I decided.

Following the FIRST training plan, I have experienced some endurance issues late in my long runs. The schedule has picked up the mileage a bit now though… and anyway… it is so close to the marathon that I needed to prove to myself that I can sustain pace through a 20 mile training run.

For the most part the run was uneventful, well… except for me losing my mind around mile 16. Around mile 17 I started to hurt… but drove on. Mile 19 came faster than I thought, and I gave it all I got. Would it be enough? No idea… I didn’t know what my fastest previous mile was… =) but I usually keep a pretty consistent pace. I felt like I was sprinting, but I was only moving at 8:15 pace, and I could feel the energy draining out of me fast. I held on and finished the last mile at 8:20. When I got home, I found my previous fastest mile was 8:21. =) WHEW! Success.

So I can run another marathon after all. Final pace was 8:29. Now how does that translate to what I will run in Portland? I am not too worried about that. I think I might reserve that decision to game time. If there is one thing I have learned about running, is that knowing exactly how your body will run on a given day, is hard to predict. I know the signs are there… and I know more experienced runners can probably read them much better than I… but my body just seems a bit unpredictable.
I am looking forward to Portland though. I am getting the butterflies at times… which is damn good. Everyone needs things in their life that gives them butterflies… regardless of what that may be. (Good butterflies… not evil mutant radioactive ones) If stamping a marathon date on my calendar can give me some butterflies… I am all for it.

I can remember sitting on my porch at about 8 year old, waiting for my mom to come home to take me to my little league baseball game. I had those butterflies back then… nervous, anxious, excitement, longing… for Christ sake… I worried that my mom might get in an accident that could cause me to miss the game… yet not for a second about my mom getting hurt! At times I feel my marathon quests now are too self serving… there is so much time spend training… and then hobbling around afterward. It seems to be worth it… but I am lucky I have a wonderful wife that supports me.

Trying to get back to 'for the run of it'

Exactly one month from today… I will be running the Portland Marathon. (Well… not anymore but when I started writing this) I have been training now for over 3 months, and it is almost time to see what I can do. Now, I have already come to the realization that my ultimate marathon goal, qualifying and then running the Boston marathon, will not happen in Portland. I am a realist, and I *really* know that I can’t run 7:39 miles 26.2 times. On a perfect day… maybe 8.00. A great goal would be 8:15 minutes per mile.

Did I fail with FIRST? NO! In fact… I think I will PR by over 10 minutes. I am now much faster at shorter distances, and I was able to add the speed training without hurting myself. I think that if I would have tried to add the speed work with increased miles, that I would have injured myself. So for me… I think FIRST was an awesome training plan for my second marathon. Will I use it for my next? No… but only because I have my speed now where I can cruise at under 7 minute miles without a problem. (For a few miles) A few months ago, I think 6:59 was my fastest mile. I think I am quite a bit faster than that now. In fact… I finished a 5 mile race awhile back in 34:35 (though I think the course was short) which is 6:55 per mile. And… I can tell you I was completely spent after that one mile at 6:59.
So despite me not nearing Boston qualifying time yet… I have added much needed speed. It is the distance thing that will give me the problem. =) And whoopsie… that is what a marathon is about. I am a bit down on myself because I have been trying to run my long runs at a full minute faster per mile than the only time I have proven I can run a marathon at. Some runs I could… most I failed near the end. Some I failed near the beginning. =) I just don’t have the endurance to run that fast of pace of 26 miles yet.
This morning I was supposed to run intervals… but my GPS battery was dead so I bagged it and ran them tonight. It was much hotter for sure… but not too bad. It is that time of year where you can catch some wonderful cool breezes in the evening. I was supposed to run 10x400 at 6:33 per mile. My pace times were
6:10
6:17
6:37
6:12
6:10
6:36
6:18
6:16
6:32
5:54

Much better that I had to run… but alas, intervals and low miles will not get me to Boston. (As Sub pointed out long ago) They are however, part of the equation (I think). I want to keep interval Tuesday and tempo Thursday, but I want to get my mileage up too. I am eying the Pfitz 55 mile 24 week plan… to get me ready for the Eugene marathon in Spring.

Now… this Boston thing… I don’t necessarily recommend it. Running fast has taken a lot of the fun out of running for me… and I definitely want to get back to running for the fun of it. Or fun for the run of it?

Jennifa put it so well with her post on returning to running “I feel it though. That momentum. The drive and desire that I had 9 months ago. It is there buried deep inside and is slowly igniting. I didn't realize how much I need running. It is like food, or drink or air to me. I need it.”

In the right zone… a good run is painless and virtually effortless… perpetual motion… like floating down a river and a hot summer day without a care in the world but you actually feel like you are accomplishing something. There may be some joints or muscles complaining, but in the same breath they are thanking you. You can flip the radio stations in your mind and think about anything. Most of the time I think about very little when I am running. In fact the time goes by very fast. Sometimes I daydream… imagine myself crossing the finish line at Boston… or winning a race (THAT will never happen), but most of the time it is silent bliss. I want to get back to THAT zone in my running. Pronto.

The mystery of the roadside shoes

One of the great mysteries I have encountered so far on my 1500+ miles on the road… is the mystery of the roadside shoe. While the roadside is littered with all sorts of various trash, the ratio of shoes seems too high for the law of averages. It is never a pair of shows either… just one. Do people drive by and just have the urge to chuck shoes out their window? Or do the aliens abducting our missing have distaste for them and hurtle them back to earth.

I my 8.5 mile loop today… I passed three shoes on the road (or one every 2.7 miles) There are over 4 million miles of roads in the US. If the ratio stands true… there are 1.5 million shoes out there on our roadsides! Personally, I have never tossed a shoe to the side of the road, and I am not sure in what state of mind I would need to be to feel the need to do that. Granted… I have felt so tired after a 20 mile run that perhaps… just maybe… I could crack and take my shoes off and throw them as far as arms would allow. But here’s the thing… they are not running shoes on the side of the road. Oh no… no runners. You would think with the speed at which runners can burn through shoes… there could potentially be a lot of running shoes out there.

Now… I am not the only one to ponder where these shoes are coming from… and if you are a runner… don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it at least once in your running journeys. Runners have a lot of time to look at the side of the road and think. Counting dead things is indeed a hobby every runner can use to keep their mind occupied on a long run.

Here is another take on the subject of the roadside shoes:
roadside shoes

No revelations however. The one thing I did read in my quest for the secret of the roadside shoes that does appear to make some sense… is the wedding car. Tying cans and olds shoes seems to be some sort of a tradition with marriages… and perhaps this would possible explain *some* of the shoes.

The next time you are running… and you see shoe… ponder its origin… and if you have any theories or breakthroughs… please… by all means let me know.

My miles times for today's run. Notice the meltdown again at the end. =(
8:14 149
8:11 142
8:17 144
8:18 142
8:17 145
8:18 145
8:17 145
8:17 145
8:16 144
8:15 145
8:20 145
8:18 144
8:27 146
8:17 149
8:20 151
8:33 150
8:59 146
10:03 139
10:30 136

A good week

Next week I have a race… at work of all places. The corporate park my company office is in has an annual event called the Sportsfest. They participate in all kinds of sports… softball, volleyball, golf, bowling etc… etc… and surprise surprise… they have 3 running races. I just joined the company… so I missed the 1 and 2 mile races… but next Thursday is a 5 mile race. Nice. I have to run 6 miles on Thursday already… so I guess I will just fit it in a work. =) I have no idea what to expect… I know the course won’t be roped off or anything, and I expect only 25 or so people will run. Who knows… maybe less. In other words… I might have a shot in this one. =) Last year I hear there was a intern that was on the local college track team that won all the races. Lets hope this year the interns are less athletic. Regardless… it will be fun to be able to do something run-related at work.

Tuesday I had 6x400 times 2 intervals. I don’t mind running ¼ mile ever… I mean.. for those short of distance no pain can do me in. I was supposed to run at 6:33 pace. My pace times were:
6:35
6:29
6:31
6:27
6:27
6:33
6:36
6:36
6:46
6:34
6:34
6:17
I felt very happy to have finished without falling apart because I started to get tired near the end of them. This morning I had a 6 mile short tempo run with 3 one mile laps of:
7:34
7:32
7:31

The pace I was supposed to run was 7:33. So overall this week, I am thrilled with all of my runs. My knee felt a little gimpy today after my run, but I think it is OK. Yesterday someone asked me why I was limping on my left leg… I didn’t think I was and shrugged it off. Then the next day my left leg really does hurt. LOL. They jinxed me. (Or saw an injury I didn’t feel?)

This weekend there is an airshow at the airport I normally run around. I am not sure I will be able to run my normal route. Last year a jet crashed into a home during the show. I attended the air show they day before… but was just turning for home after a visit to my sisters when I saw the smoke pour into the sky from the crash:

Air show crash

The first thought we had was… please… not our house… but it was actually more than a mile away from where our house is. Only the pilot was killed in the crash. People said he was a hero for not ejecting, which is a great feel good story… but civilian planes like that (even old military ones) are not supposed to have ejection systems. The pilot also took off into miles of farmland… then turned back to try to get back to the airport and crashed on just about the first house he could have. (Actually damaged 3 houses) Anyway… I am thinking a hero would have choose the field, but I realize things happen very quick in an emergency. Thank God no one on the ground was hurt.

Lucky 13

Today my long run was 13 miles. Such a nice break after 20, 18, 20… and really… I need it. The pace however, was supposed to be faster than my long tempo run. =) That would put me at under 1:45 for total time, and my fastest half marathon race time is 1:41:25. My mile times were:

7:59
7:59
8:01
7:57
7:57
7:56
7:54
8:00
8:02
7:59
7:53
7:53

Total time: 1:44:21 7:58 pace, just a tad over 10 seconds slower than my race time.

It helped that this week I did not lock my keys in my Jeep. Last week, after the first 6.5 mile lap of the airport, I stopped at the Jeep to drink water, only to find I ran with the car key instead. WONDERFUL. I had to run 2.5-3 miles home to get the Jeep key before I could drink any water. For me… while I can run 10-12 miles without water without too much of a problem, that is too far if I am going to continue running. Anyway, today I had water at the 6.5 mile mark like I was supposed to, and it was a better experience.

I am approaching the one year anniversary of this Blog. It all started back on August 6th… just a short year ago. (Though it seems like a long time now) On August 8th last year I tried to run 3 miles in under 8 minutes per mile, and couldn’t. Now I can run 10 miles first, and still run the last three in under 8. =) My what a difference a year makes.

Running is an endeavor that takes a lot of patience, which is perfect for me. Patience has always been one of my strong points. The progress I have made over a year is pretty big… but it is has come slowly, and with a lot of hard work. I do miss some of my more leisurely runs, and I think really that is the way things are supposed to be. I am just killing myself now for this BQ thing… but thereafter I think maybe I will slide back into run for the sheer joy of it. My wife has asked me many times if I enjoy running. I always say I do… but she looks at me kind of strange when she sees me hobbling after a hard run. There is something magical about running though. It keeps me young and makes me feel like an old man at the same time.

Here is my ‘motivation song of the day’. It is my powersong on my IPod. I love the song because it embodies my BQ journey… and the lingering doubts I have about whether I can prevail… and how I should listening to the other voice… the voice that says… I can… I can redefine my impossible.


Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns

Oh,what I would do
To have the kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown
Where Jesus is,
And he's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name
and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
time and time again
"Boy, you'll never win,
you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh, what I would do
to have the kind of strength it takes
To stand before a giant
with just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound
of a thousand warriors
shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out
my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
time and time again
"Boy you'll never win,
you'll never win."

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
the voice of truth says "do not be afraid!"
and the voice of truth says "this is for my glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

but the stone was just the right size
to put the giant on the ground
and the waves they don't seem so high
from on top of them looking down
i will soar with the wings of eagles
when i stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
singing over me

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says do not be afraid
And the voice of truth says this is for my glory
Out of all the voices calling out to me (calling out to me)
I will choose to listen and believe (I will choose to listen and believe)
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

I will listen and believe
I will listen and believe the voice of truth
I will listen and believe
'Causes Jesus you are the voice of truth
And I will listen to you.. oh you........

8 mile redemption

After laying such a goose egg on Sunday, I really wanted to bounce back and have a good run today. The batteries went dead in my GPS on Tuesday so I am not really sure how I did on my intervals. Today was an 8 mile long tempo run. The pace I was supposed to keep was 8:03. Besides my warmup and cooldown laps, my miles were:
8:02
8:02
8:01
8:01
8:00
7:57

Yes! I am back. I don’t know why or how the running Gods dish out good days and bad days, but I sure do like the good ones. Here again… is my quandary though. Because I want my marathon pace to be such a stretch from my last one, my 13 mile run on Sunday (yeah a short one!) is supposed to be at PMP + 15. My BQ is 7:39 + 15 = 7:54. ARGH! My long run is FASTER than my long temp run! May the powers of Pre help me.

No magic

As much as I’d like to believe it so… my body is telling me that no… it will not be ready to BQ in Portland. I just might make it try anyway… but it may not be in the cards. When I first realized this, I was upset. Then I realized, there is still time for me to change my path… to tweak my schedule… there is still a chance if I change my course a bit… then who knows.

Honestly… I can’t tell what is up with my body right now. The last three weeks had long runs of 20, 18 and 20. I bombed on the last two. The 18 I blamed on the altitude… but last Sunday… there is just no excuse for what happened. I was feeling great, after the first few miles when I can usually gauge my run, I thought… sweet… it will be a good day. The reality is, I fell apart as bad as I ever have on a run. At mile 17.5 I semi-collapsed into a steaming pile of goo. I can’t recall EVER stopping on one of my runs (except for a stop light or water). This time I was done, finished… kaput.

During the run there was a time when I realized that despite my efforts, I would not be able to keep pace (which by the way… was equal to my actual marathon pace) and for a few miles I thought… this can’t be happening. I was having a conversation with my body… I say go… you go… you don’t get to say no... but slowly, and things happen agonizingly slowly on a long run… like a train wreck in slow motion, I realized, I am not going to be able to finish at this pace. I coasted slower… and slower… and slower… and then there was some nice green grass and that is where I ended up. (With 2.5 miles to go) At this point I would have called a taxi had I had a cell phone. As it was… I sat where I fell watching the As much as I’d like to believe it so… my body is telling me that no… it will not be ready to BQ in Portland. I just might make it try anyway… but it may not be in the cards. When I first realizef this, I was upset. Then I realized, there is still time for me to change my path… to tweak my schedule… there is still a chance if I change my course a bit… then who knows.

I might still be there today had I not noticed someone out of the corner of my eye crossing a parking lot toward me, presumably to see if I was OK. Good Lord the humility. I stumbled up and off without so much as a glance in their direction… my pride and I were trying to take the next exit to nowhereville. The last 2.5 miles were no picnic either. Even given up my pace goal of 8:45 per mile… I kept slowing down like a car out of gas. It was nuts! I think at one point I was on the verge of going backwards. Then… at about 1.5 miles to go… it happened. I WAS PASSED! In my 1+ years of trainin runs, I think I have only been passed once. Double that now. And I think I was stumbling along at about 10:30 per mile about then. I can WALK faster than that. Everything just seemed to fall apart. I finished without walking. That was my only saving grace. My moral victory. Pitiful as it was. Afterwards I was in bad shape…. Very dehydrated. Took a day straight of drinking water before I could pee. What they heck happened to me?

Here is my official ‘Bad Day’ song. I listened to it a lot last Fall while running. I am a sucker for Fall… and I love the line “you kick up the leaves and the magic is lost.” It is exactly how I felt on my run on Sunday… when for the second long run in a row… I couldn’t find the magic.

Bad Day
by Daniel Powter

Where is the moment we needed the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to gray
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee you go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces every time
And I don't need no carryin' on

Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Will you need a blue sky holiday?
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carryin' on

You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day

(Oooh.. a holiday..)

Sometimes the system goes on the blink
And the whole thing turns out wrong
You might not make it back and you know
That you could be well oh that strong
And I'm not wrong

(yeah...)

So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
You've seen what you like
And how does it feel for one more time
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

18 in the woods

Running while camping is never that easy for me. I don’t seem to get as much rest, and usually wake up feeling a bit off kilter. The scenery though… is stellar. This past Sunday I headed out for 18 miles in Southern Oregon. The altitude was about 4500 feet above what I am use to, so I threw whatever pace I was supposed to run at out the window. I didn’t seem to be sucking wind as much as I thought… but my pace was definitely slow.

I was camping at a lake and when I arose fog was drifting off the water like it was dry ice. Camping these days (at major camp grounds) is hardly solitary, but if you get up before 7, the world is yours. I headed out and quickly ran past all kinds of wildlife. Deer, cows (in the middle of the road no less), all sort of assorted small furry animals, blue herons, bald eagles… you name it… it was there wondering what the heck I was doing.

What I was doing was stumbling my way through 18 miles. The first 13 or 14 were OK, but I fell off pretty fast thereafter. It seems as though I can only muster a good long run every other week. Possibly a byproduct of FIRST? I don’t know… maybe I am not cross training hard enough. It is difficult though when I am having trouble just walking, to cross train really hard. BTW… if I fail with FIRST… it shouldn’t be taken as a lack of endorsement for the training plan. I am having trouble following it to a T. I think I bit off more than I can chew and am running faster long runs than I really should be. I just really need to qualify for Boston now. I don’t know if there will be a tomorrow.

And so, I run

My wife knew that I was going to run the Portland Marathon in the Fall. She is fine with that and supports my running in every way. But there is one teensy detail about the marathon I didn’t share with her… it is the day before our anniversary. Doh! Now, I won’t say I am in the doghouse… but she certainly wasn’t happy about the timing.

“So what do you want to do for our anniversary honey?”

“Hobble around like an arthritic 80 year old?”

Now… I am not saying that crossing the finish line of a marathon isn’t a wonderful awe-inspiring experience, but shortly after that experience… let’s just say romance isn’t the first thing crossing my mind. The desire to crawl into a fetal position and sleep for a week is up there.

Good Lord. What other sport do you get in shape for half a year just to cripple yourself? And about this ‘in-shapness’. Half the time even during training I am nursing some body part that isn’t working just right and am forced to down Ibuprofen just to get through my day like an able bodied person. =) Oh to be young again… like in my 30’s. LOL.

It is in spite of all of this that the marathon is still a most worthy endeavor. It may be a bit like a mirage in the desert enticing me on and when I finally get there, what was driving me is gone. The vision though… has kept me alive, healthy and happy, for the most part, through the journey. The finish line pulls me alone like a long lost loved one. The reason it may seem like a mirage, is that what I get out of the accomplishment of a marathon, isn’t what I expected. When the mirage dries up, I am not left in the middle of desert, but the glow of an accomplishment that makes other things I thought impossible, doable. You can’t put that in a pill and sell it.

And so, I run.

Progress

I am beginning my second month of FIRST. My very first interval a month ago was 3 1600 meter sprints. It was hot…and I was not in great shape… and my times were 7:27, 8:14 and 10:10. (I gave up and jogged the last one because I was too tired to sprint) This morning, in slightly rainy by perfect temp weather, I ran 7:13, 7:08, 7:08. I’ll take that improvement. It still isn’t as fast as I am supposed to be running based on my 5K time (should be 6:58) but it is still a vast improvement over where I was a month ago. Now if I could just string another 23.2 miles of those together! LOL. Yikes.

Another thing… look at my heart rate… a month ago on my 3x1600 interval, 155,157,148 (jogged most of last one). Now look at my HR from this morning, 142,148,151. In fact, this mornings HR averaged LOWER than an 11 mile run a few weeks ago. What is up with that? It is possible the heat made quite a bit of difference, but I do know I felt a lot stronger in the 4th laps of my intervals this go around

Reality check

Qualifying for Boston at the Portland Marathon this Fall will be very very difficult for me. I am a realist for the most part. I always try my best but I don’t have pie in the sky expectations. My performance is usually very close to what I think it will be. Right now I am struggling trying to keep on my interval times, and of course the speedier long run. The reality is… I may be biting off more than I can chew right now. I do know that someday I WILL qualify, but will it be in Portland this Fall? I will give it my all. I will stay on pace until I can’t run anymore. Hopefully the finish line will come first.

A realistic goal for Portland is perhaps a 7:59 to 8:15 pace though. Reality sucks.

The perfect 20 miles

Twenty miles is a long way no matter how you slice it. Last week’s 17 miler was a bit of a letdown because I slipped off pace around mile 14. This week I was determined to stay on pace the entire 20 miles. My biggest concern regarding FIRST, is whether it will give me the endurance I need for a full marathon. Last week I was seriously wondering. Yesterday though, my pace was exactly on, and I was within 16 seconds of my planned pace. Not bad for a 3 hour run.

Now comes the trick… to recover enough to do 3 one mile sprint intervals tomorrow. Here is the quandary for me with FIRST, the key runs and interval runs are based on my 5K run time. Well… I know what that is… so the pace for those is set. The long runs however, are based on your projected marathon pace (PMP). Again… I know what that is for me… 8:38. BUT, if I want to qualify for Boston I have to hit 7:39. In other words, for a 20 mile long run like yesterday where I am supposed to use PMP +60 (9:38 per mile) I used 9 per mile. Right now I am adding an extra 20 seconds to my project time, because I think my body would fall apart if I tried to take the whole chunk at one. In two weeks after an 18 and another 20 mile long run, I think I will drop the long run pace a bit. And then about a month later… I will drop it to my final goal.

Next Sunday I will be camping, and shortly after my 18 mile run I will have to drive 6 hours back home. Actually… I think I will recruit my wife for the drive so I can take a snooze. Nothing like a nap after a long run.

I am a morning runner now. My work schedule has changed and I have time to run in the morning before work. That would have been tough before because I was already getting up at 4:50. =) Something about getting up at 3:15 to run did not appeal to me. Since it is summer right now… running in the AM is quite nice. It will be a different story this winter.

The unexpected 5K

I have never raced a 5K that I am aware of. Certainly not in this decade. The day before the 4th of July my wife mentioned her work was sponsoring a 5K walk / fun run. We decided that I would run the 5K, and she would walk with the boys. After I finished… I would run back to them and walk the rest with them. The route was on the Hillsboro 4th of July parade route.

I do not feel like I am in great shape right now. Many reasons. I just started a new job this week, so there was some chaos surrounding the transition, a few camping trips (that involved a lot of beer) and I am still adjusting to FIRST. BYW… I gained like 5 pounds in the first months on FIRST. I just don’t think the cross training burns enough calories so I have to adjust my eating habits a bit.

Anyway… so the 5K. I felt I could run one mile in 6:45, one at 7, and one at 7:15. That was my goal at least. FIRST is actually based on your 5K time, and since I haven’t ran any 5K, I just did my best to guess at what it would be. I guessed between 22:11 to 22:50. The reality was, 22:25. First mile was 6:45. Second was 7:15, and the last was 7:30. I think I went out too fast at first… as my watch was reading under 6 for the first ½ mile it seemed. Nuts. No way I could keep that up. The other thing to note is… there is no way I would have been able to hit that pace for even 5 seconds a month ago. That is a definite difference with FIRST.

I am a bit torn with weather FIRST is going to do me right. I thought about switching to a more conventional program, but I think it is too late… I am going to see this cycle through and see where it gets me. I think I will try to pick the cross training up a bit. But still, no matter how hard I push I just can’t burn the same amount of calories that way. I’d have to cross train for 3 hours to burn the same amount of calories as a 1 hour run I think.

I have a nice 17 mile run tomorrow. Yee-haw. It is hot now so I will have to get up pretty early.

Successful interval

My second week of FIRST started today with 4x800 meter intervals at a 6:54 pace. Last week I was not able to keep up with the 3x1600m 7:09 intervals, and was determined to get closer this week. My 800 meter time was supposed to be 3:27, and I logged 4 intervals at 3:30, 3:28, 3:30 and 3:29. Sweet! Maybe I can do this interval stuff after all. I think what really helped me is that I walked the 2 minute rest interval. Last week I jogged, and I just wasn’t able to regroup fast enough.

I am pretty beat though. I crossed trained pretty hard yesterday. (So there Lia =) )Right now I’d say cross training is harder on me than an 8 mile easy run. I am just so much more used to running. That will change I think, but right now the cross training isn’t a breeze.

The one thing I failed to notice about FIRST is that there are no easy weeks. Ever. My previous schedule built up for 3 weeks and then had an easy week. Not with FIRST. My long runs are 13, 15, 20, 18, 20, 13, 18, 20, 15, 20, 10 and then marathon. Yikes. No resting there. I will be camping on 3 or 4 of those long runs too, which will be interesting. The pacing varies on the long runs, but they will still not be a problem. The hardest is a 13 miler at PMP (Projected Marathon Pace) on 9/16 which will be just 5 seconds per mile faster than the half marathon I raced a few weeks ago.

I am really curious to see if this FIRST thing will work for me. Even if it does, with such a new runner like me it will be hard to know whether it was the training program… or me just becoming a better runner, which I may have on any program.

First week of FIRST

I just completed the first week of my Portland Marathon training schedule, following the FIRST training plan. Let me say right away that it is more difficult than I thought. You’d think just 25 miles in a week would be a breeze, but no… I can definitely say it was not. In fact, I couldn’t even do all that I was supposed to.

The first day was the worst. In Eighty plus degree heat, I was supposed to do 3 intervals of 1 miles sprint followed by 1 minute rest, with a 2 mile warm up and cool down. The pace for me was something like 7:12. Now, remember, the fastest I can run a mile right now is barely under 7… like 6:59.999. The first mile I was on pace until right near the end when I slacked off a bit. Still… not bad. The one minute rest was way too short. The next mile I faded and finished at a ridiculous 8:30. I started the 3rd interval and realized I was grimacing and flailing, but really wasn’t moving any faster than a jog, so I gave in and skipped the last rep. I was like a beat up Datsun with 5 people trying to speed up a hill. It just wasn’t happening.

Day 2 was 30 minutes of cycling at the gym. My butt wasn’t used to the seat so of course that is sore. New muscles getting used there too. Thursday I had better luck. Two miles easy, then two straight at 7:30, then two easy. I actually managed to complete it, but it was hard. I can’t believe I finished a half marathon at 7:45. Adrenalin must be some powerful stuff. By Friday I was sore… too sore to cross train. My knees and ankles were loose and I felt like I was held together by rubber bands that were too loose. My knees felt like they were separating and then being snapped by in place by the rubber bands. Ack. I also skipped the cross training on Friday and Saturday. I know I am not going to get far on the FIRST plan without that hard cross training… but I was coming apart at the wheels. The plan said I was only supposed to implement one of the speed runs at first… then another… then another… but I decided to jump right in, which might not have been a great idea. I will just do the best I can though.

Sunday was a 13 mile run at 8:30 pace. Long runs are no problem for me… as on my previous training I was running them faster than I should have already. I finished at 8:29 pace. At about mile 3 of my run it just poured rain… sideways big drops of ugly rain. I was soaked to the bone. I seriously considered stopping to wring out my socks… but I continued on.

So my first week of FIRST didn’t go so well… but I will be OK. I must say that I hate pushing my lactate threshold. I have tended to avoid it so far, but there is no getting around it with FIRST, and it is very uncomfortable for me. I feel it as a big hole in my stomach that makes me want to puke. (I have done that plenty after running… though not recently) Now I will be pushing this on at least two runs a week. Will it get me to Boston? Not sure. If not… I can always move to a more conventional approach and try to qualify in Eugene next Spring. I do believe this will help me push my speed though.

I told my son earlier that if the Oregon State Beavers win the NCAA College Baseball Championship, I would run the Boston marathon next year. It was improbable… they had a losing record in the Pac-10, they had just two returning starters, and they were the last of 64 teams to even make the tournament. (Not to mention last year when they won I told him that was the last time in my life I would see something like that happen) By all accounts they had no business thinking they could win. And yet… last night… they did. It wasn’t a divine miracle either cast down upon them from the heavens… they created the miracle by their belief in themselves, and conjured enough magic to get them across the finish line. I hope to do the same.

Helvetia Half Marathon race report

The are some days that are just meant for running. It is as if the world is a stage perfectly set for one specific purpose, to run. Overcast... not too warm... dry... it was a beautiful day this morning. The starting line for the race was just down the road from my typical running spot. I pass it every morning driving to work, but then again… I have a 45 minute commute, so I pass a LOT of places on the way.

The packet pickup was inside the Hillsboro stadium, which was very cool. I could see the finish line there too… inside the stadium. NICE! I wish the Eugene marathon would have ended in Autzen. The race was so well organized, I wanted to cry. Everything was perfect. The restroom lines were even manageable!

When I made my way over to the staring line and jogged a bit to warm up, I knew I was in for some pain. Both my skins still hurt from the excessive running the previous weekend. This was going to be… uh… interesting.

The pace I picked out that I wanted to average… was the pace I would need to qualify for Boston, which is 7:39.9 (that is including the extra 59 seconds they would grant me if I needed them) The pace my legs told me then wanted to run during warm-up, was 7:45.

I started out thinking I’d try to run 7:30, because I knew there was a monster hill around miles 5 that would slow me down. Mile 1 was 7:23. I was feeling fine. Mile 2, 7:25, and I am thinking to myself, no way I can average this for the whole race. For the first time I knew, the pace I wanted… not happening. I tried not to slow though, because I knew the hill was coming. Mile 3, 7:48. There were not really any hills yet, I just was having trouble keeping my pace. People are passing me here. I hate those idiots that go out too fast and then fall back early. Oh wait… that is me.

Mile 4: 8:04. The hills still really haven’t started, and I am not feeling good. I am worrying at this point whether the hill will burn me out so much I can’t finish. My stomach isn’t feeling great either, but I press on.

Mile 5 is the hill. I could see the long silent mass of runners struggling forward and upward. We reach the top of a hill and I can’t help but ask someone, “is that the last big hill?” “Yeah… I think so” was the reply. THANK GOD. Then, ‘Oh no… I think we wind around a few more up here.” My spirits sank, but I seemed to be holding my own on the hills. No one was passing me… and I was passing some others. Find pace for mile 5, 8:31.

Now I knew I was home free with regards to hills… but there were still plenty of small rolling ones… after all… it was country roads in the area surrounding Hillsboro… as in… the hills. Mile 6, 7:32. Almost back on pace. I am feeling better. I survived the hill and my legs are still moving! Not only that… but the rest of the rest was mostly down hill!

Miles 7, 8 & 9 are about on pace: 7:34, 7:28 & 7:30. By mile 10, I am out of the hills and back onto the flats, and the wind is blowing in my face. It starts to drizzle and I realize I can’t keep a 7:30 pace, but I try the best I can. Mile 10: 7:37, Mile 11: 7:38, Mile 12: 7:36. I’m staring to smell the finish line at this point… but I am still tired.

Mile 13: 7:42… just trying to hold on. The last point .1 miles (.26 according to my GPS) are at 6:47. (Hey… we ran into a stadium with people cheering, and that can motivate you)

Time according to my GPS: 1:41:42. (EDIT: Official time 1:41:39) Not sure what my official time is yet… but final pace averaged 7:40 according to GPS… but 7:45 according to McMillan’s running calculator. Dang… my legs were right on!!! (Always listen to your legs)

That pace is damn close to Boston qualifying for me. I wanted it pretty bad, but I am just not there yet. I already had the title to this post picked out… Halfway to Boston (you know… being a half marathon at Boston pace) but no… I didn’t quite make it.

I still feel very good about my race though. Post race was just as amazingly organized as pre-race. They provided a free hamburgers, drinks, and of course the typical assortment of post-race trinkets. It really was a wonderful race, and afterward I felt great, positive and energetic. I basked in the post race glow.

I was thinking if I could keep 7:30 pace, I’d break the top 100. Big deal… but there were 2,535 runners registered. For someone who a few years ago finished in the back 1/3rd, then was a middle of the packer for a long time, and now usually finish in the top 1/3rd… to try to break the top 100 out of 2,535 (top 4%) would be amazing. Of course, I didn’t do that… but I bet I finished in the top 150.

Maybe, just maybe… I really CAN qualify for Boston. Though I am running down that path, I have never been sure that it is something I am even capable of doing. Considering I haven’t even started my Portland marathon training cycle (that starts next week), I am cautiously optimistic. There are plenty of hard and grueling miles ahead, but maybe… just maybe…

Mile 1: 7:24 HR 150
Mile 2: 7:25 HR 160
Mile 3: 7:48 HR 160
Mile 4: 8:04 HR 161
Mile 5: 8:31 HR 163
Mile 6: 7:32 HR 161
Mile 7: 7:34 HR 160
Mile 8: 7:28 HR 161
Mile 9: 7:30 HR 161
Mile 10: 7:37 HR 162
Mile 11: 7:38 HR 163
Mile 12: 7:36 HR 162
Mile 13: 7:42 HR 164
Last .1 6:47 HR 166

EDIT:
Overall place 189 of 2338
Gender place 150 of 777
Division place 24 of 123

Ready or not, half marathon here I come

My next run will be the Helvetia half marathon this Saturday. My legs will not be as fresh as I would have liked them due to a mental goof on my part. I was at the coast on vacation this past weekend, and I thought my schedule for Friday and Saturday was 5 and 12 miles. For the five miles, I found a real nice hill… unlike the hills in Hillsboro =) so I thought, there is a hill… a MONSTER hill even, and well… here am I, so lets get acquainted for awhile. Now, I can recall from 2 years ago that I ran up the hill ONCE and was spent. This time I was determined to run up and down until I couldn’t run up it anymore. It was about ½ long, and at the top steep enough to slow me to a crawl. I made it 5 times, and learned the next day that I have muscles in my butt that I didn’t know, and they can become very sore where running hills.

Of course… the next day was a 12 miler. Great. Sore butt, 12 miles. Argh. I forgot my GPS watch, so I just drove six miles up highway 101 on the coast, marked a spot, then headed back to the beach house to start my run. Unfortunately there were some hills on the 12 miler too. JOY! And then the stupid part… I come home and look at my training schedule and I was supposed to run 5 miles… not 12. It was supposed to be the beginning of a rest week.

By my run Tuesday, the familiar signs of overuse were springing up. Sore knees, shin splints and the like. My legs were also like logs out of water. Peachy. Despite heavy doses of vitamin I, I don’t think I will be 100% by Saturday. No worries though… I will just adjust my expectations slightly. Ah who am I kidding, I won’t adjust them one bit, I will just hurt more after it is all over.

Eugene marathon untold story:

The night before the Eugene marathon I got ready to pin my bib to my shirt, and realized I didn’t pick up any safety pins. My wife amazingly pulled three honking ones from her purse, but I didn’t want those rubbing against me for 26.2 miles, so I headed out searching for a drug store or some place I could buy some. Eugene must have something against Walmart, Fred Meyer and the like, because I couldn’t find anything that looked like a store. I just roamed around, all the while my stress and frustration level grew. Finally, I found myself in front of the Hotel where I picked up my bib. I thought… worth a shot. I went in to the area where the pre-race stuff was set up… but it was all closed and gone. RATS!

I looked around and found one pin an a table that was still set up. Score! Just needed 3 more. I went to the table where I picked the bib up… nothing, nada. Then I looked around to see if anyone was watching and flipped up the table cloth to see if anyone dropped any and kicked them under the table. Score times 2! I was one pin away from my goal. =) I header over and checked out a few more tables and found pin #4. I was set, and ready for the marathon, though my stress level was pretty high over a stupid thing like safety pins.

I am especially embarrassed because, being my first marathon, I took great care to make sure I had everything in order, specifically so I could AVOID getting stressed out the night before. Next time… I buy some safety pins before the race. =)

PS Sub, don’t think I didn’t notice that you were injured BEFORE the Eugene marathon! =) I think if you get a good complete training cycle in without injury, you will shatter that 3:18 at Steamtown.

Jason/Steve I really do love the 305. I can get sat lock in my house before I even head out to run, and I run through a tunnel routinely and the darn thing doesn’t blink there either. The pace is also MUCH better. I can see current lap pace, overall pace, distance and elapsed time all on one screen. Sweet! Another major factor for me was the advanced interval runs and I program, since my new training schedule will have me running intervals once a week.

Lia, I think I am finally recovered now. Running a half marathon isn’t a smart way to start off really, but hey… you have to run them when they are in your backyard! =)

Recovery cont...

Two more weeks and I will be certifiably recovered from the Eugene marathon. =) I am amazed that others can bounce back so quick. I am sticking to the schedule made by someone much wiser than I. This week I hit 35 miles, and yesterday was my first double digit long run (10 miles) since the marathon. To start off my training for the Portland marathon I will be running the Helvetia Half Marathon on June 9th. I won't be as ready speed wise as I'd like to be, but hey... the race is very near to where I live and I can't pass it up. I haven't raced a half marathon yet... though I did a 20.07 K before. So... I guess that guarantees me a PR. Yahoo! I am not sure what I will shoot for yet, but I am ready to leave it all on the course for once. Under 8 minute miles for sure, and it would be amazing to finish it at Boston qualifying time. Not sure that is possible yet, but I think I can come within 10 seconds per mile.

I just got back from a 3 day camping vacation to the East side of Mt. Hood. It was a very nice break, but I found it was hard running at the increased altitude. Well that... and all the beer we were drinking. Then after the 10 miler yesterday I found that I had the pangs of dehydration. Serves me right. I didn't drink any water on the run it was a bit warmer (later afternoon) than when I usually run. Sometimes you just have to get out there and do it though. I think my pace was decent (8:25). Because I bumped my Sunday run to Monday, I now have to run the next 3 days too (6-8-6) I think tonight I will just take it easy and let my legs recover a bit. I haven't started my FIRST training, and am still
debating whether that is the route I want to go. I have added a few near sprint miles to my routine every now and again though.

The other big running news is that I got a Garmin Forerunner 305 for father's day. Yeah... I know it isn't father's day yet... but I guess I am very loved. =) So far I can say this about the 305... the reception is MUCH better than I was getting with my 201. I can get a signal in the house. In the basement. My 201 would drop only spares trees or almost in the open if the cloud cover was weird. I don't think that will be a problem with the 305, and I love the way I can see pace per lap and total on one screen. The heart rate monitor also offers another training tool to my bag, though I will have to do some analysis to see where the heck my heart rate should be. I think it averaged 140 on the run yesterday, and 160 on a mile where I was sprinting. (resting HR for me is about 54). I haven't calculated what my zones should be, but I will soon.

What next?

So Lia, who also just finished her first marathon… ask what is next? I will admit after an initial high after the marathon, I found myself a little down during the first post-marathon week. I wasn’t sure whether it was from physical exhaustion, lack of the endorphin fix or the obvious pain, but a least another piece of it was… what is next?

For 8 months I had a detailed plan to get me from sloth to marathon finisher… and it worked! In the week after the marathon… I had an amazing accomplishment, and no plan. Don’t get me wrong… I knew that I wanted to qualify for Boston. I just wasn’t sure how I would do that. Also, unlike the marathon goal, I am not sure I physically CAN qualify for Boston. I just don’t know if my engine has enough get-up-and-go for it.

One thing is obvious to me though, while my running speed has increased a bit, it doesn’t appear to me that it will magically increase enough for me to qualify for Boston if I continue to train the way I am. Thus began the search for the new and improved marathon plan… totally redesigned, fortified with 10 vitamins and minerals, a 3 in 1 formula (because we know any one formula is not good enough alone), Dr. recommended, wife approved plan that will get me from ‘what next’ to the starting line at Boston.

Two training plans jumped out at me. Actually 3… I considered getting a personalized training plan from McMillan running. I dropped McMillan because I was afraid they would look at my runs and say, no way… you can’t make it that soon. The two other programs I looked at where FIRST from the Furman Institute of running, and the more popular Pfitz 55 plan. The biggest difference I see between the two is that in the Pfitz plan you run 5-6 days a week… heavy miles, and the FIRST plan you run 3-4 days a week (with cross training on other days) but you run faster and with more intensity.

I know right away why Pfitz is more popular. Check out them miles! Bigger is better right? When someone asks you how many miles you ran in an a particular week… they never ask how fast. Runners compare the size of their miles… it is the bragging point, the brownie button. Miles are the big honkin’ Texas belt buckles of running. But here is the thing… I need to run far… and fast, and I am not sure if a lot of miles is going to get me there right now. I bet it would over years of training… but my timeline is a bit shorter than that. Maybe it is entirely unrealistic. I admit to wondering that myself. But given what I am going to try (cut off 1 minute of each mile pace for an entire marathon), I think the FIRST plan gives me the best shot. Why? Because it lets me push the speed limit more often, and offers rest between days to let my legs recover.

The biggest problem I see, is well… I can’t run as fast as I am supposed to for the plan yet. I did the calculations, and the first run I am supposed to run 3 mile and a quarter sprints at a 6:44 pace with rest in between. WHAT?! My Ipod says my fastest mile was 6:50… and I was sprinting! (And that was just for one mile… but repeat that effort 2 more times on the same day?!) Let’s just say… it will be interesting to see what happens with that.

So now I have a plan. I have my excel spreadsheet mapped out to October 7th when I will run the Portland marathon. Every day… every run… it is all there. All I have to do is execute it, and pray for the best on race day. I know my odds of injury will be greatly increased with the speed work. I don’t know if I can even succeed with it. Twenty five minute PRs don’t just grow on trees.

Eugene pictures and more

I ran yesterday for just the second time since the marathon. I took a complete week off, though I did some crosstraining. I am using the post marathon schedule for the same website I did all my training from. Once I finish it and am back up to speed... I will ponder my next training schedule.

Here are some pics of my first marathon:

Eugene Marathon Race Report

My marathon race day began about 5:30 AM. I woke without an alarm clock (I set 2 though). I have a knack for knowing what time it is, and I think a bit of that helps with running. I slept pretty well really. After getting up I quietly donned my race gear while eating a banana and a soy bar that was in our race packet. I drank a plenty of water too of course, but was careful to go overboard.

The starting line was within walking distance of where we stayed. As soon as I walked out the door, I saw runners gravitating toward the starting line and the adrenalin started to flow. The weather was stunning. It could not have been better. I wore a long sleeve shirt, but a short sleeve one would have been fine.

The starting line for the race was in front of Hayward Field and the University of Oregon was kind enough to open the track to public use. I took a warm-up lap around the hollowed track, where both Steve Prefontaine and Alberto Salazar ran and then stretched off to the side. It was very cool.

Next came the restroom lines, which I am sure that any runner it all too familiar with. I managed to wait through the lines twice before it was time to head to the starting line. I barely got to the starting line in time too. In fact, I couldn’t make it to the pace marker I wanted, because it was all the way up in the chute. I was a bit off to the side of the road too, so I knew it would be a squeeze trying to get past the starting line.

After setting my IPod and GPS watch I was definitely ready to go. I don’t hear very well… so I really didn’t hear a gun or anyone yell go or anything like that, but the mass of people started to move. There was all this pent up excitement and then we started slowly walking forward and I was grinning inside like a child taking his first steps. By the time I hit the starting line, we were jogging, and shortly thereafter I was on my pace.

I had vowed to stick to 8:30 miles for at least the first half of the race. If for some bizarre reason I felt good at this point, I would consider upping it a bit. The first few miles snaked around Eugene neighborhoods, and there were quite a few hills (easy ones though). The people were fantastic. One guy was standing in his yard clapping and telling everyone ‘thank you for coming to Eugene’. Now that is hospitality.

Mile 1 8:20
Mile 2 8:15
Mile 3 8:39 (trying to get back on pace)
Mile 4 8:26 (that’s more like it)
Mile 5 8:49 (hill?)

Between miles 5 and 6 my wife and two boys were at the side of the road. I was going to give my wife a kiss (which would have been the only time I planned to break stride for the entire race) but she had the camera up, so I just smiled and waved (and said something stupid) My youngest son (3) was yelling ‘Go Daddy!’ ‘Go Daddy!’ ‘Go Daddy!’ over and over. My eyes got misty and I filed that gem of encouragement for use throughout the race.

Mile 6 8:20
Mile 7 9:04 (woah GPS burp or I slowed up too much)
Mile 8 8:05 (didn’t run this fast so GPS burp) (ate some GU)

For miles 9-13 I was really in a grove. I was running very comfortable and relaxed. Somewhere along the way I noticed my GPS watch hitting mile markers before I actually did, which was a bit of a concern. Was I actually running slower than I though? It wasn’t by much, and since I can’t hear the beep from the watch when I hit a mile marker, it is dumb luck that I’d be looking at it to catch a mile pass.

Mile 9 8:28
Mile 10 8:30
Mile 11 8:28
Mile 12 8:23
Mile 13 8:27

Decision time. I was feeling very good at this point. I decided to give myself the green light to giddy up… knowing perfectly well that this decision could come back to haunt me later. Someone much wiser than I said ‘respect the marathon’. I did not know if I was making a mistake at this point. I had no idea what the dreaded last six miles would be. I worried that any increase in speed would just be given up at the end of the race, but I also thought that I had a secret weapon… ‘Go Daddy!’

Mile 14 8:15 (GUed)
Mile 15 8:47 (not exactly speeding up now am I?) =)
Mile 16 8:22

Somewhere around here I pass the 4:00 hour pace runner. 4:00??? How could that be? I was averaging about 8:30 per mile, how the heck was the 4:00 hour pace runner in front of me!!! At this point, I figured the pacer must plan on slowing down during the last six miles. I figured my watch couldn’t be off that far.

Mile 17 8:22
Mile 18 7:42 I am starting to feel it now
Mile 19 7:55
Mile 20 7:56 (GUed)

This is it. This is what it all comes down to, the last six miles. I put a bulls eye on this point when I named my blog. I knew it was the point where I would learn something about myself. I felt I put in the training to deal with whatever it would do to me, but would 3 straight sub 8 minute miles come back to haunt me?

Mile 21 8:02 Still feeling good. Amazing. But I was expending quite a bit more effort.
Mile 22 8:22 My right quad is cramping. I am starting to feel my energy drain.

At mile 22 I realized I was losing it. My whole body was becoming comfortably numb. Oh who am I kidding, it wasn’t comfortable at ALL, but I kept thinking ‘I like pain’ in my head. (Which is a lie, but maybe my body wouldn’t know that) Like a dying insect making its last flutter for life, my next mile was shocking.

Mile 23 7:25 My fastest mile in the race, and at mile 23 no less.

I am passing people left and right at this point. Many are stopping to walk or stretch. At this point have not broken stride once during the entire race… not even at the water stations. I grabbed the water, pinched the cup in half to minimize the splashing, and drank on the run. Whenever I felt really bad I just kept repeating over and over and over and over in my head, ‘Go daddy! Go Daddy! Go Daddy!’

Mile 24 8:56 I am losing it now. My body is screaming ‘STOP!’ but I am trying to distract my mind with ‘Go Daddy’ and the energy of the crowd.

Mile 25 8:37 Almost back on pace
Mile 26 8:27 Perfect!

GPS Mile 26.2. My clock beeps that my run is complete at about 3:37, which was my goal when speeding up. EXCEPT, I still have over a mile to run. Back to mile 25. This little piece of news could have broken me… but I drove on and finished strong, with a chip time of 3:44:25.

It wasn’t until I arrived home and check the marathon website for my times that I realized I ran the 2nd half faster than the 1st half, and I ran my last 10K faster than my first 10K. Wall, what wall?! I CRUSHED the last six miles. =)

The GPS screwup bothers me a little bit, but if that was what I was training too, then it would have been off during my training so it is a good thing that I did run by it, because I may have ran out of juice otherwise. I think a new GPS watch is in order. =)

Overall, even though my time may have been a bit slower than I thought when I was running it, I am thrilled with my race. I came out injury free, and wiser. I do a great deal of respect for the immense challenge a marathon is. It is more than a race… it is a journey of epic proportions. What I found on my journey is nothing I imagined when I started. I learned that even after 40, I can still do amazing things. My life isn’t almost over, and sometimes, the 2nd half can be better than the 1st. =)

I was part of a mass of people, each on their own individual journey, but at the same time together… connected… sharing pain and encouragement, flowing through the streets generating electricity to power one foot in front of the other… again and again and again. It was amazing, yet bittersweet, like the birth of a child… pain joy fear excitement… all blended together into a straight shot concoction of lightning in a bottle.

It was nothing, and yet it was the most amazing thing in the world.

To someone who has not run a marathon, reading this may not make sense. I lived 4 years in Fairbanks Alaska, and before arriving I had seen pictures of the northern lights in books and on TV (nothing special)… but when I experienced them up close, I was in awe at the green glowing lights dancing through the sky. There are some things that reading about and TV can’t do justice. Running a marathon is one of them.

During training, some friends at work kept telling me I was crazy… like a mesmerized bug floating toward the zapper in a back yard… some were yelling ‘don’t follow the light! don’t follow the light!’ I will be the first to admit that the marathon did zap me to the core. Pzzzzatttt! But the thing is… when the energy in my batteries started to recharge, I immediately started planning my flight back into light… next time maybe faster.

I ruined the Eugene marathon. Boston, you are still on the radar.

Eugene Marathon 2007 - Marathon
date: Apr 29th, 2007
location: Eugene, OR

Summary
number of finishers: 1496
number of females: 659
number of males: 835
average time: 04:21:33

Brad Stark
bib number: M1122
age: 41
gender: M
location: Hillsboro, OR
overall place: 438 out of 1496
division place: 55 out of 112
gender place: 342 out of 835
time: 3:44:25
pace: 8:34
10k: 53:54
half: 1:52:48
20mile: 2:50:58
last10k: 53:27

Eugene marathon or bust

What? Me post? No time... must... run... marathon.

Bib # 1122

I just noticed that my bib number is 1122. Nice and easy to remember. Tomorrow just 4 short miles. I will head to the local high school to run on the track, where I will calibrate my iPod for the marathon... and run in my new shoes that I broke in a few months back and then put away. I won’t run with the headphones on, but I have been using the Nike+ website to log my miles. Right now my iPod is off by at least 5% on long runs… which really isn’t that much unless you are running 15+ miles, which can be over a mile off! LOL… good thing I have the GPS watch too… which is what I use to gauge my pace. I have a pretty good tune in on my pace naturally, but the GPS is reassuring. I don’t run a slave to the GPS like I used to… instead I let my body run fast when it feels like it. Sometimes I push it… but not too much, as I focused almost solely on endurance for this first one.

3 days and 11 hours left, not that I am counting. =)

Tapering cont...

It just occurred to me after reading runliarun’s blog, that I also don’t have a re-fuel plan. I just sort of assumed they’d have some GU or something like that at the water stations. Stupid me… the website doesn’t say anything about any type of fuel other than some gleukos? ARGH! I know I am not supposed to change anything during the race… but I have never tried gleukos and not even sure what it is. Will it be enough to keep me going? Usually on a long run I will stop and eat part of an orange or a banana or a powerbar. I’m not sure if I need to buy a little pouch to carry something or what.

Sunday was my last long run (medium really) of 10 miles. I ran it at the marathon pace I am considering… 8:30. My splits were:
8:28
8:35
8:31
8:16
8:35
8:30
8:32
8:29
8:34
8:29

My legs didn’t feel as good as I hoped. I am considering running 8:35 or 8:40 instead, but I think I will wait and see how my legs feel. This is my first experience at tapering, so I am not really sure what to expect. I do think that last Sunday I would have struggled over 26 miles. I just wasn’t in a grove. Not a huge confidence builder to say the least. And honestly, though I know I am supposed to be in a 100% confidence grove, I still have some doubts. I don’t really know what those last six miles will do to me. I worry that I am losing my edge because of tapering. I wish I would have trained more on speed so I could run faster.

But then… just as quickly as the doubts came… I pushed them away. This is my first and only first marathon I will ever have… and I will be darned if I taint it by worrying. I have prepared the best I could… err… the best I ever will for my first marathon =). I am sure I will present myself with some ‘opportunities for improvement’ as they like to say where I work. Maybe even some big ones…. but they are just part of the journey… part of my training as I move forward. Now it is time to relax and enjoy the run.