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.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, November 12, 2007
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!
• 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!
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