The Last Six Miles

Hanging in there

2011-08-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

Over three years ago on this blog I mentioned my side was hurting after long runs. It was around this same time that I realized that ever so slowly, it was getting harder and harder to run. I have tried many times push back at what my body was telling me, thinking that maybe it was all in my head. I even went to the Dr multiple time, and though some tests were wacky, I never got an answer. Progressively though, I have felt my body winding down.where once I could run a marathon, I now experience extreme fatigue if I run more than a few times in a week.and soon, I think I may finally get an answer.

Run fatboy run

2011-02-13T13:11:00.001-08:00

The first few weeks of running after taking a break for awhile can sure be humiliating. Here I am, huffing and puffing along and I pass old ladies with walkers, and I am moving slowly enough that we can have a short conversation.

Now, I don’t really think I’m fat… but I am certainly not in shape right now. A few months ago there was a sports talk radio guy in Portland complaining about all the fat people running. “You are not fooling anyone!” he said, and indicated that only people that are in shape should be running. Let me get this right… the people who really don’t need to run… are the ones that should run?

It is the mentality of some of the meat market gyms I suppose… that exercising is just a way to show off your goods. I have at times pondered why some people I see at the gym are even there… 90 pounds and not a once of fat… bouncing up and down on the dreadmill like they are on the moon and gravity does not apply to them. Two miles like that burns what… 5 calories? I just want to tell then to go home and eat something. Of course, that would be just as hypocritical as saying fat people shouldn’t run.

It is... time

2011-02-10T12:10:00.001-08:00

Time to start running again.

I am not the energizer bunny

2010-06-28T08:29:00.000-07:00

Some of my tests coming back whacko, and others completely fine. My Dr will repeat tests again in a month and if they are still strange, will send me to a specialist. Since whatever is wrong with me seems to be come and go on a cycle, I think I can predict in advance what my results will be based on how I am feeling on a particular week.

Right now instead of running I am playing soccer, ultimate frisbie and volleyball. I would like to wave a magic wand and start running again. I am waving the wand at least... now I just need a shot of magic.

Results

2010-06-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

Not race results of course... I wish. ;) After being poked and prodded and poked and prodded, I have been told that I need to be poked and prodded some more. I really don't like going to the Dr. I guess most people don't, but I think guys in particular have a hard time admitting or talking to someone about something being wrong unless there is distinct evidence of it... broken bone...nail sticking out of the head... that kind of stuff.

Anyway... good news that they may be on to something... hopefully it is minor and I can get back on the roads soon.

Between the lines

2010-06-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

I am not well. Exactly why, I still don’t know… but I have guesses. It is interesting to me to look back through this blog and see a few things I said here and there that may be pieces to the puzzle… but it is a puzzle that is not complete yet.

Running? There were days last week I have barely had the strength to struggle through a day moving like a snail. Running? Hah.

A pain in the head

2010-04-05T07:16:00.001-07:00

So a few weeks ago I started getting the most intense headaches I have ever had. Kidney stone level of pain. Shoot me level of pain. And now over two weeks later... I am still getting them. They appear to be cluster headaches... Cluster Headaches

I had one at the end of my last run... and trust me... the pain is enough I was afraid to run. They do not appear to be related to running at all... or related to anything I can avoid, but I have no idea what I would do if I had a bad one while miles from home.

Running from danger

2010-03-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

I have daydreamed at times someone trying to mug me for my wallet or something like that... and I take off running and they run after me... and I just settle in and start laughing to myself. Hope you can run marathon buddy I'd sniker to myself... waiting for the moment they'd stop to puke their guts out about mile 2.

I found a nike add that is a similar theme.It is kind of creepy and didn't air in US I think

Nike add... running from danger

I may have the marathon bug again

2010-03-16T16:34:00.000-07:00

I thought I was over it. I thought... enough is enough. I was wrong.

You triumph over the adversity, that is what the marathon is all about, and therefore you know that there isn't anything in life the you can not triump over --- Kathrine Switzer

Another near miss

2010-03-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

I have lost track of how many times I have almost been hit while running. Most of the time it is at an intersection where cars are turning. A few of the intersections I have to cross of turning lights that for some bizarre reason turn green at the same time the cross light comes on. Cars see the green light and they will go regardless of whether there happens to be a human body in the way… even if they are legally crossing during the cross light. Now… I do blame them… but ever more so… who the heck programmed the cross light and the turn light to come on at the SAME time? What were they thinking? Seriously… the only way they could put pedestrians in more danger is to have them cross when the perpendicular traffic had a green light. In all seriousness… I could cross more safely just ignoring the light and crossing when it was safe!

And then there was Saturday. My house is on a dead end cul-de-sac next to a school… and many of my runs start out across the school yard to a street in front of the school. On Saturday the school was having a book faire, and when coming back from my run I cut through the parking lot. As I am running through the lot... in a bright yellow light running jacket… a truck pulls by me along side of me and proceeds to take a left turn right at me. I dodge around them… but for the life of me I don’t understand how someone can be that dumb. I reasoned it was some passive aggressive thing and they were only trying to make me think they were going to hit me… because I can’t fathom how they wouldn’t have seen me… unless they are giving blind people licenses these days. I was going to turn around and have a conversation with the driver… but I was taking the kids to the book faire later... =)

Time to go run... it is 65 degrees out!

Picking flowers revisited

2010-03-09T08:08:00.000-08:00

There is a quote I read somewhere… from Joan Benoit Samuelson about when she started running:

“When I first started running, I was so embarrassed I'd walk when cars passed me. I'd pretend I was looking at the flowers!"

http://agoodgroup.com/running/quotes.html

When I first read that… I assumed she was embarrassed because she was slow. I know the feeling… there are times when I have been out running and I wished I could pretend I was doing something else because I am so slow.

Of course, Joan Benoit Samuelson went on to win the first women’s Olympic Marathon. To me, there was some comfort to thinking that even someone as great of a runner as she… was once slow. Well… now I am not so sure. Now I read in this forum… that she may have been embarrassed alright, but not because she was slow, but because she was a women.

http://forums.usms.org/archive/index.php/t-3151.html

That seems crazy from today’s perspective… so crazy that I didn’t even consider it when I read that quote. It seems there are more women runners than men now… so it is hard to imagine a time when they didn’t rule the roads.

To me… it just adds to her legend in my mind. She wasn't following the crowd or anyones footsteps, she was blazing a new trail.

There is no road to nowhere

2010-03-08T08:57:00.000-08:00

Someone I work with told me that they didn’t like running last week. They explained that it was torture and excruciatingly boring. It took me a few seconds to understand that they were talking about running on a *treadmill*. I explained that running outside was a completely different experience.

It got me thinking about how many people never start running outside because the experience on the dreadmill just sucked the life out of them. If they only knew how different running outside is. Running is not torture. Sure… there is some discomfort… sometimes… maybe for a few weeks when you start, or on a really long run, but for the most part it is pleasant and time flies. The hum that vibrates through your body after you stop running is heavenly... every muscle thanking you for playing with them like a childhood toy.

And yes… there is something very basic and simple about running that even kids understand. My son told me last week that he likes running… and when he meets someone new at school they measure each other up by a sprint across the school yard. That funny thing is… I remember just that… we moved and on my first day at my new school… first recess a classmate comes up and asks… ‘Hi my name is David… do you want to race?’ And off we went like wild horses.

Running is that basic and simple. It doesn’t take a PhD to put one foot in front of the other. Yes we may not need to run for transportation anymore… but a runners heart looks at the hill way over yonder and thinks… ‘I could run there.’

I don’t have any particular running goals right now. That may change tomorrow… I may be heading somewhere I just don’t understand yet. There is a quote from the movie Made in Heaven that goes something like, ‘if you don’t know where you are going, it don’t matter what road you take.’ I’m on that road right now.

Running is as easy as 1..2..3… 4…5

2010-02-16T11:25:00.001-08:00

I haven’t been running a lot lately but I miss it. Now that basketball league is over for now… I am looking at running again. I have been active… just not running… so I decided to run every day last week… starting with one mile… through 5 miles.

Now… every sport comes with its own distinct set of aches and pains… and I don’t recommend running every day if you haven’t done it for awhile… but 1 through 5 was easy enough for me. I was a little fatigued on Thursday and Friday… but nothing too bad.

I am looking forward to setting a schedule that keeps me running regularly.

Running to basketball

2009-12-29T09:10:00.001-08:00

OK… so I am not running much lately… but I am still active. That is why we run anyway isn’t it? So we can do the things we want to? I admit, that I do miss running… and I will make time for it soon… but right now I am just enjoying going to the gym with the family and playing in a basketball league for the first time in decades.

I love running… sure… but basketball was definitely my first love. Unfortunately I was neither tall are very athletically gifted… so my basketball career peeked at JV #2 for one year in high school. Ouch. I could always shoot though. I can remember shooting socks into a hamper in the hallway while listening to Blazer games on the radio. Then one Christmas I got one of those stand up basketball hoops for inside the house. Boy was that heaven. I shot and shot and shot and shot. Before practice in my JV #2 days I hit 50 free throws in a row. Shooting… I could do… the rest of the game… not so much.

When I was a kid I dreamed of having my own private indoor gym where I could shoot all day long. I remember when my grade school had open gym on Saturdays… I would go and play my heart out. The sound of sneakers squeaking… echoing of the gym walls… with wide open indoor space with huge ceilings… I just loved it… and dreamed of having a gym where I could play and shoot and listen to the Blazers on the radio.

Flash forward to 43… the skinny body is gone, but the kid is still in there somewhere and likes to go to the gym and shoot. It is obvious that my mid life crisis is to try all the old sports I used to play. I played on an adult baseball team, softball, racquetball, soccer, and now basketball. Of course I fit a marathon or three in there too.

There are a lot of 40+ year olds that just don’t have the bodies to be able to get out there actively anymore. I don’t want to be one of those people. Running certainly helps me in that department… and each year it gets harder and harder to be active without getting hurt.

I can remember when all the professional athletes were older than me. It seemed like they always would be. Now the 3rd oldest player in the NBA is 36. Thirty six is OLD? Now… I remember when 15 was old 20 was old… 21 was prefect… 30 was old… and 40 was ancient and another older was just inconceivable. I am in that range now… and though my body is certainly feeling the weight of the years… inside I am still the same kid that fell in love with sports. There is no reason to let that die. As long as I am blessed with a body that can move and stay in one piece… I will try my best to enjoy the gift.

I ran!

2009-09-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

I ran! Three times even. It’s a start.

I had more Dr’s appointments in the last few months than I have had in the last 30 years. It is perhaps a little ironic that my first race after taking up running was the Livestrong Challenge. I can remember the excitement of the race blended with admiration for all the cancer survivors. No, I don’t have cancer… and I would like that fact to remain the same throughout my life… but I can say that I am lucky I had some tests done. Very.

I remember one visit at OHSU when I walked through the lobby and there were cancer patients waiting for appointments. Some had no hair and I remember thinking to myself… me? Here? Why? I am healthy… I run marathons… I am not even middle aged yet! I have a great deal of respect for those who have battled or are battling cancer. I can only imagine what a personal strength it must take. But I kept thinking to myself that I was the square that didn’t belong on Sesame Street... and there was no way no how I would ever be in that picture. Hell… I was pretty sure I was going to live forever.

And now I know that isn’t the case… and even in perfect health, the end is most likely closer than the beginning for me. Heck… since life seems to speed up the older you get, I am probably at least ¾ of the way down the track.
And yet I have a 1 year old I desperately want to see grow up. Now, I can’t help it if I have bad genes… or if nature flips a bit on one of my cells when dividing. Those things… are out of my control. But what I can control is trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle to give me the best shot I have to watch my baby girl grow up.
And thus… is born… my health manifesto. What am I going to do? As Oogie Boogie would say, “I’m gonna do the best I can!”

My Health Manifesto

More water
Less fried foods
Less greasy foods
Eat variety
Less sugar
More variety of exercise
Less (white flour, refined sugar, and white rice)
More(whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables)
Less salt
No coffee
Less beer

Goals
Weight goal: 175
Running goal: Boston
Pushup goal: 100
Situp goal: TBD

Still not running

2009-08-17T22:02:00.001-07:00

Not much to say about running right now… except I am not doing it. =) Soon I hope… soon.

Running on hold

2009-07-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

I am not running at all right now... but hopefully in a few weeks I will start again. Waiting for some test results to verify I am in tip top shape. Still playing basketball, soccer and softball though. Had a few more dreams about running including last night... so I know it is time. Oh yes... it is time.

The roadside vigils

2009-06-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

Anyone who runs much... well... or drives for that matter... has seen roadside vigils. Maybe they are not everywhere... but in Oregon it is hard to go a mile without seeing one. I don't want to insensitive... but seriously... sometimes it is like running through a graveyard. Crosses and flowers... crosses and flowers. Some I actually remember the accidents... but wasn't there a time when the rememberences were left in graveyards? It is a new fad... when I was younger no one ever did that... but recently I read about a family who was upset because there roadside vigil was defaced. Now... again... I don't want to be insensitive... (OK I am a guy... it is in my nature) but I wish I could run a few blocks without the constent reminders that my mortality was chasing me... and that regardless of how long or far I run... it will win.

Have I lost my mind?

2009-06-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

So after the Newport Marathon last weekend I asked my wife to shoot me or do whatever was necessary to keep my from running another marathon. But then this:

From: A Runner a my company
Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 3:46 PM
To: Runners at my company

Hi Everyone,

We’re currently in the process with HR right now to get a XXX corporate sponsorship for employees who are participating in the 2009 Portland Marathon. You’re on this mailing list because you signed up for the Sportsfest running days. I’ve been given the task to tally up the number of people who would be participating in the marathon. This is also opened to those who would like to walk the marathon instead of running it. Talks of sponsorship include a company logo running singlet and maybe even the $90 entry fee waived for each participants. We are also trying to tie in some sort of charity sponsorship for each runner/walker so employees and anyone else can part take by donating to the charity of their choice with XXX matching each donation.

If a marathon is out of your reach for this year, we are also looking to get at least 12 people together to form the XXX Hood to Coast relay team for 2010. If you’re interested, please let us know.

Of course all of this is pending approval from above, so we need to get the number of participants to come up with an estimated overall cost that we can submit. As soon as we get the details worked out, I will update everyone that replied to me with a confirmation.

---

From: Me
To: My Wife
Sent: Wednesday, June 03
Subject: FW: 2009 Portland Marathon and 2010 Hood to Coast

Can I change my mind yet? ;)

---

From: My wife
To: Me
Sent: Wednesday, June 03
Subject: FW: 2009 Portland Marathon and 2010 Hood to Coast

Have you lost your mind?

Newport Marathon race report

2009-06-02T08:28:00.001-07:00

The weather for the Newport Marathon was spectacular. Little foggy at the start… but seeing the bridge jutting from the fog… not to mention the boats with their masts fading into the distance over the bay made for a wonderful start.

Because of the limited number of entrants, it was easy to get near the start. My wife dropped my off about 15 minutes before the start of the race and I managed to get through the porta potty line once before the start. There was hardly a breeze… about 50 degrees… just a perfect morning. Would it be a perfect finish?

I really didn’t have a particular pace in mind. I told my wife best case 4 hours… most probably 4 hours 15 minutes… bad day 4 hours 30 minutes… and if I don’t show up by 4 hours and 45 minutes to start looking for my dead body on the course. I started out with what was conformable… about 8:50 per mile.

I bought 3 GU packs at the package pickup. I usually eat something on a long run… but never GU. I known… never change anything for the race… but I did it anyway.
The first part of the marathon flew by. Actually… the race pretty much did until about mile 17… when I started getting stomach cramps. Now… I have NEVER had stomach cramps in all my running… so this was something very new to me. I tried slowing… but it didn’t help. I think the GU was getting me.

My pace stayed a bit slow through about mile 20… when it dropped another minute per mile. By mile 21 I decided that marathons were ridiculous and tried to come up with a plan how I could keep myself from trying another. I considered gnawing a message into my arm and then rubbing the last of my strawberry GU into the wound… in the hopes of creating some type of tattoo… but alas the last of my GU was turning my insides into knots.

Now… I wasn’t hitting the wall like in Portland… I hydrated well… I was just suffering the repercussions of weak training. Three weeks prior to the marathon I got a nasty cold that caused me to skip a few runs… and I think I just didn’t train hard enough or have enough miles to allow me to keep pace the last 6 miles, and I was getting passed left and right. Bummer. Sigh.

I crossed the finish line at 4:14… marathon 3 under my belt. Will it be my last? Maybe. I have said that before though. =) I still want to run… I like it… I enjoy it… but oh those last six miles…

The Starting Line

2009-05-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

"What distinguishes those of us at the starting line from those of us on the couch is that we learn through running to take what the days gives us, what our body will allow us, and what our will can tolerate."
- John Bingham

I have made it to the starting line of another marathon. What an awkward place… caged like a race horse in the starting gate… err… well maybe an old horse that just happens to be running on the same course as the other race horses… waiting… fidgeting… stretching… checking my watch… “I’m cold”… “will I be too hot?”… “wind is nasty”… “did I drink enough?”… “oh God please let my bladder be empty”… “are my shoes too tight?”… “look, there’s the ground”… check my watch… “will this race ever start?”… “wow there is at least one runner fatter than me”… “does my leg hurt?”… “I should have checked Hercules”… check my watch… check my watch… then…

"The gun goes off and everything changes... the world changes... and nothing else really matters." --Patti Sue Plummer

There are things you just can’t explain to a 5 year old… like why I will run 26.2 miles to reach a finish line that is 1 mile from the starting line.

My goal for Newport is to run between 9:00 and 9:30 miles. Wide range I know… but I am not sure I put in enough miles to keep the same pace throughout. My stretch goal would be to break 4 hours, but again… I am not sure I have the miles or put enough work into speed to do that. I did train hard enough to finish… that I know… and that in itself is an accomplishment.

Not too many toe the starting line of a marathon… and for those there with my Saturday… the race is but the tip of the iceberg… a trip paid for by hundreds and hundreds of miles of training. Marathoners may be mentally ill… there could certainly be an argument for that… like people who cut themselves or don’t eat or whatever, but as far as illnesses go… there are not too many that make you healthier.

See you in 26.2.

It’s the Climb

2009-05-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

Next week... the Newport Marathon. Now… I hate to quote teenage Disney pop songs… but don’t the lyrics to The Climb by Miley Cirus look like it was written about a marathon? I have pondered time and again just why I am running another marathon. I know I will not qualify for Boston. No PR. Why the training? Why the 3 ½ hour runs. Why do I try my wife’s patience as I hobble home like a wounded soldier… from my self-inflicted war against a sedentary life?

The climb. That is why. Nothing is waiting for me at the finish line. I already collected my victory in that I made it to the starting line.

The Climb by Miley Cirus

I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there’s a voice inside my head saying
“You’ll never read it”
Every step I’m taking
Every move I makes feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I got keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high
There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose

Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting o the other side
It’s the Climb
The struggles I’m facing
The chances I’m taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I’m not breaking

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I’m gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Kepp the faith
It’s all about, it’s all about the climb

22 Miles and ready for Newport

2009-05-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

Finished my last 20+ mile run before Newport (22 miles). Not full taper time… but long run taper. I ran the same route I did a few weeks ago, so it was pretty uneventful. Just added an extra half mile to an out and back part to get from 21 to 22.

Last Sunday was the Eugene marathon… and though I didn’t run it… I did consider a last minute entry. Lisa gave me the stinkeye at that suggestion though… so I decided to forget it. Running does take a lot of time from the family… and I do appreciate all the support I get, but it is best not to push it.

After Newport Marathon I will focus on speed and shorter distances for a bit. Maybe I can PR a 10K and Half marathon this year. I won’t come anywhere close to a PR at Newport… but if I can avoid hitting the wall I should be able to beat my Portland marathon time.

Another destination run

2009-05-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

A week ago was my second to last really long run before the Newport marathon. Runs over 2 ½ hours take a lot out of me. They take planning… and preparation… and if you do it wrong… they can be a disaster. I have learned that from experience. Really… anything over 1 hour and you need to be careful… and I have bonked completely on a 7 miler before.

For me the ritual involves getting mentally focused on the task at hand. I start this a few days prior when I figure out my course and decide what time I am going to run. I have to stay focused because there will never be a day that I wake up thinking… yeah… I want to spend 3 ½ hours running today. It is a necessary part of the marathon training process though.

My last few long runs I have made ‘destination’ runs… runs where I am running to somewhere to meet my family… preferably where the is food. Besides me being stinky when I get there, it seems to work pretty good. I have done a lot of running around the Hillsboro airport in loops… and the bad thing about that (besides the repetition) is that each loop presents an opportunity to abort the mission, which I have done before. I haven’t aborted a destination run before though.

Last Sat I planned my course to end at McMenamin’s Lighthouse brewpub. http://www.mcmenamins.com/index.php?loc=23 Something about running to bear seems to motivate me. =) I drove to the halfway point and placed some food and water on the course, then drove back and headed out.

The weather was OK. Bit blustery… some rain… but not a bad day to run. The first 4.5 miles were north on 101… but then I headed off onto the Siletz River Highway… which was much more enjoyable. I ditched my Ipod and just listened to the peace and quiet. Nothing like running along the edge of a wildlife refuge.

The halfway point was a checkin point… but my cell didn’t have any signal so I had to wait until I got closer to 101. When I did… I stopped to make the call and noticed a seal was watching me from about 15 feet away… head just peaking up out of the water trying to figure out why on earth I was there… and me vice versa. I made a sound and he disappeared.

So one more long run and then Newport. Not going for speed… just trying to finish peacefully and in one piece.

The run to the brewery

2009-04-21T08:05:00.001-07:00

The Oregon coast can be a thing of beauty, and there have been many pinch-me moments looking out over the Pacific Ocean… listening to the crashing thunder of waves riding the sunset up the shore. Last Saturday, was not one of those days.

Heading into the 18 mile run up the coast I hoped for two things… little wind and no rain. Strike two. The wind was coming from the south… which just happened to be the direction I was heading for the next three hours… and soon after I started the rain began to fall.

I thought to myself… this is just a character builder. Any sane person would just call it a day… but in this world you have to be crazy to be sane. Running on highway 101 isn’t exactly ideal… there is a lot of traffic and when semi trucks pass feet away at 55 mph it can blow your hat off. Not to mention the rain they would pick up off the road to mix with dirt and toss back in my face.

Another thing about the road along the coast… it isn’t exactly flat. You hardly notice in a car… but the trek up to Cape Foulweather. Ah yes… and like Captain James Cook who made landfall in the Oregon wonderland in 1778 at the same spot… I proclaimed ‘this weather sucks’. The crest was the worst of the 1700 elevation change on the run.

I drove 9 miles into the course and hid some fluids and a snack earlier, and by the time I reached the halfway point I was cold and soaked. I checked in with my wife… and headed back out… after all… there was a beer at the end of the run.

The rest of the run was uneventful… but it did take quite a bit to get through all the lights in Newport. At the end of a long run trying to start after stopping is like trying to get a freight train moving. When I finally started crossing the bride in Newport… I could see my wife and kids waiting in the parking lot of the brewery below. I doubt any marathon finish could match that.

We were supposed to meet friends at the brewery… but apparently there is another Rough Alehouse in Newport that they confused the brewery with… so we relocated there.

All in all the run was fine… but they wind and hills did take a lot out of my legs. I hobbled through this week running… but somehow have to recover enough for 21 miler this weekend. Fun fun fun.

Shooting for 40

2009-04-08T08:39:00.001-07:00

Been awhile since I have covered 40 miles in one week, but that is what is on the schedule (with 18 mile long run). Last two weeks of 36 & 38 have left my legs a bit tired… especially after an unexpected hill run on what was supposed to be junk mile day. The weather was fantastic for this past weekend’s long run, so much so that heat is beginning to be a factor. I will take a little heat over rain any day. Just have to move my runs a little earlier in the morning.

This week will involve some coast running to. I am thinking of moving my long run from Sunday to Saturday… then running from the beach house to Newport where I’d meet the family for lunch at… hmmm... let’s see what is exactly 18 miles from the beach house… could it be… YEP… Rogue brewing. ;)

Don’t believe me… check out the map. Exactly… 18 miles.

So a word of warning… stay a few tables away from the stinky guy at rogue on Sat.

Back in a grove

2009-03-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

"I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs."

- Jesse Owens

Thirty four miles last week... should be 38 this week... I guess I am officially marathon training again. A friend visiting over the weekend reminded me that I said I wasn't going to do marathons anymore because of the time factor. So I lied. If I want to get up at 5:30 AM so I can finish work early enough in the afternoon to run... that is on me. Thankfully it works with my family schedule too.

The fact is... I will have an itch in me until I can qualify for Boston. If I can't ever qualify... well I am pretty stubborn... so it could be awhile before I give up.

While reading April fools jokes... I stumbled across the interesting story of a marathoner who disappeared during the 1912 Olympics. Japanese runner Kanikuri vanished in the middle of the race... and was never heard from. Fifty years later... he did surface alive and well and told the story of how he stopped for a drink... then felt embarrassed because of his lack of discipline... and decided to bail on the race. I don't know if the story is true... but it sure sounds better than if he bailed on the race because he couldn't hack it. ;)

http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/history/story/2008/05/05/f-olympics-history-1912.html

Nice weather

2009-03-26T16:10:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days... nice weather days... that make running very enjoyable. It also must have given me a brain cramp... because I can't think of anything else to say.

Mia Crawls

2009-03-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

She is off to the races. Last night she crawled to the edge of the computer room... then squeaked with delight as she realized... it is very cool to have an open road in front of you and endless possibilities.

Shamrock Run Race Results

2009-03-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

"I am sure it is a great mistake always to know enough to go in when it rains. One may keep snug and dry by such knowledge, but one misses a world of loveliness." ~Adeline Knapp

This race was all about the weather. I looked at the temp before heading out... 42... not bad at all... should warm up a bit by the race... so I did not my extra cold running gear. I should have looked outside. As soon as I left the garage I was greeted by pelting rain. On 217 driving downtown to the race my Jeep was having trouble staying in its lane because of the blowing wind. This was the kind of eather I vowed not to train in... but race? If they are going to do it... so am I.

I have never checked my clothing at a race before... usually I just leave the layers in the car... but it was very windy and cold... and oh yeah... rainy. I was pretty much soaked an hour before the race. I kept my sweats on as long as I could... then checked them. Looking around I could tell I was one of the less dressed runners... and I paid for it before the race started.

Once the race did start though... all was fine. I didn't checked the course map... but I thought it would be a lot like the Portland marathon... little bit up hill for 3-4 miles then little downhill home. Stupid me.

I wanted to have a shot at better than 8 minutes per mile... but after miles of 8:05, 8:49, 8:42, 8:44 and 8:49... I knew that wasn't happening. This was a BIG race... 20,000 people between all the races I believe... though a little less than 3,000 for the 15K... but even with all those people... there was almost no chatter from the runners. I think the weather just shocked everyone and we were quietly just trying to hold on in our own ways. I literally saw someone get blown 2-3 feet sideways by one gust. It really didn't even help trying to run behind someone... because the air was so unstable it was just coming from everywhere it seemed.

And in the middle of all of it... I see... no... it can't be... someone running... BAREFOOT. Good lord. The streets were still lined in gravel from the winter... I can't imagine how someone would run like that. I still cringe thinking about it.

Around mile 6 we finally started downhill and I started to speed up for 8:05 mile 6 and 7:58 mile 7. Somewhere in between those two miles I felt a pain in the back of my leg. Very unusual spot... like maybe a hamstring? I slowed and briefly considered stopping... but seriously... with the weather what it was I'd die of exposure before getting back.

After mile 8 at 8:04... which was down hill so I was coasting... I sped up a bit for the last mile... 7:38 and then 7:36 for the last .3 to finish at 1:19:17... in 982nd place of 2742.... at ~8:30 pace. Considering the hills and weather... I am fine with that. Afterwards... after getting warm and dry and looking back at the storm I ran through... the unexpected hills... I felt good that I showed up and did my best. The weather will just make it that more memorable.

And of the barefoot runner? Well... he finished in front of me... the last half mile I saw the blood on the white stripe of the road... you could tell he was trying to run on it because it was smoother than the pavement.

Now it is time to begin training for Newport. Thirty miles on schedule for this week.

Back to the beginning

2009-03-11T12:39:00.001-07:00

In March of 2005 I ran one of my first races of my adult life… the Shamrock 8K. I don’t remember why I ran it. I think I was doing more mountain biking at the time… and a friend at work might have wanted me to run it with him (and then backed out after I signed up).

Anyway… my pace for that run was 8:43. About two years later I ran my first marathon at a faster pace per mile. This weekend I will visit Shamrock land again… but this time I will run the 15K. My legs are still a little tired from Lincoln City… and I haven’t had any great workouts yet, but hopefully I will do OK.

Back then… I hadn’t even started dreaming of running a marathon. Are you kidding me? Five miles was a stretch. Not long before that one mile was something to brag about. Not long before that running from the parking lot to the grocery store door made me winded. Marathon? Crazy talk.

Just finished my training schedule through Newport marathon. I’m using a beginner schedule I just sorta made up. Hey… last year I ran 0 marathons. Weekly totals with long run are 30-10, 36-12, 38-14, 40-18, 22-7, 43-21, 38-14, 24-8, 45-22, 30-14.

I want a PR

2009-03-06T07:39:00.001-08:00

I want a PR. Any distance will do. The easiest way of course… is to run a distance I haven’t before. Guaranteed PR right there. But seriously… why can’t I run faster? In two weeks I can run a 5, 8 or 15K. My 8K PR is really slow since it was really my first race in about 30 years. Seriously.

So 8K would be a PR for sure… I just ran ½ marathon at faster per mile. 5K might be hard to PR on two weeks’ notice since that was pretty fast for me. 15K is intriguing. Just under 8 minutes. Hmm. It is possible… but not probable. I won’t be able to do much speed work this week… and the week of the race doesn’t do me much good… but still I might be able to do it.

Lincoln City Half Marathon Race report

2009-03-03T17:08:00.000-08:00

About time I raced again. Except... I really wasn't training for a race. I couldn't resist a half marathon near my home beach town though.

The weather report for Sunday was 50-55 and raining with some wind. Not too bad... though running wet is never too fun. It was raining as I drove to the race and there was enough wind that I thought in the back of my head... this could be interesting. I've raced in the rain and wind before though... much worse that it was looking.

Since I really haven't timed myself much lately... I did not know what to do with my pace. My PR for the half marathon is 1:41:39, a 7:45 pace... but I knew I'd be no where close to that. My plan was to go out at 9 minute miles... then see how I felt after the halfway mark. Seriously... the times I have time myself I was running 9:30 to 10:30 miles. UGH.

First mile was a little fast... they always are... 8:36 but I dropped right onto pace with 9:01, 9:00, 8:57, 8:59, 9:09 and 9:05. Miles 6 & 7 were a bit uphill but I knew that it was generally downhill (because duh... it was an out and back) thereafter.

I felt pretty good when we turned around and that was when some other runners started to struggle a bit... so I started to speed up. Mile 8 was 8:36 and I still felt good. And low and behold... as I was passing people at this point (no one passed me after 1/2 way point) when I came up to another runner that just refused to let me pass. He wasn't blocking me at all... but I could tell... he just didn't take kindly to being passed. I figured no one else would be like me... taking it easy the first half.. then harder the second... so I would be able to pass anyone. But everytime I sped up... he sped up.

Mile 9 was 8:16, mile 10 was 8:10. It was around the 9 mile mark when I finally passed he who would not be passed, because he walked at a water stop and I ran right on by. It was the only water stopped I ran by. My nameless competitor didn't take kindly to that, and I only led him for about 1/2 mile before he took the lead back. (Cool how I can talk about the 'lead' when I am a middle of the pack runner) =) Hey... I can create my own little universe... and I can tell you on this day... there was an epic battle going on.

Through mile 11, 8:35 and mile 12 I was right on his heels, I would fall back a bit on the flats... then catch him on the hills. With about a quarter of a mile to go I almost caught him... but burned my legs on a hill and by the time we crested... I knew I wouldn't catch him. He finished a good 1/10th of a mile in front of me. Mile 12 was 8:48 and mile 13... 8:12.

But wait... there's more... because of the hills... my watch told me I still had over 1/2 mile to run after I crossed the finish line... which means... either the course was grossly wrong... or my watch was and I really had been running faster than I though... fast enough for 8:17 per mile average. I will take that damnit. I haven't ran a mile that fast all year... and to average it for a 1/2... I will take it.

After the race I got some food and drank some gatoraid like I was supposed to... but I still got very sick. It was a good 3 hours after the race before I was stable. Was the race short? My watch off? I don't know. I doubt there will even be official race results posted anywhere... and that is all fine and good with me... because it will never tell the story of the little race within the race... where some unknown runner and I pushed each other to run a bitfaster than we planned... and it was great fun.

Ramblings

2009-02-10T08:11:00.000-08:00

I think a half marathon registration should be ½ the cost of a full marathon. Right? We pay near full price for half the running enjoyment. That’s just not right.

There was a time when I was running and I turned a corner and completely forgot where I was. It was like my brain rebooted. I kept running but I had no idea from my surroundings were I was. After a few seconds I remembered. I think I invented sleep running.

When I run next to the Hillsboro Airport, every once in awhile there will be a bird sitting on the fence next to the airport. When it sees me coming… if flies another 50 feet down the fence. And yet… there I am again. Another 50 feet down the fence. “This guy is stalking me!!!” Another 50 feet down the fence. And so on and so forth. I guess that’s why them bird brained.

Even though I have told my wife I was done with long runs… I keep finding myself drawn back to marathons. I’m like a bug to a bug zapper.

"Marathoning... you dip into the pain so gradually that the damage is done before you are aware of it. Unfortunately, when the awareness comes, it is excruciating." - John Farrington, Australian marathoner

I like that quote. A lot of my friends think long distance running would be just horrible… and well… it is… but not in the way you’d think. Horrible like a dead battery. Yeah. Horrible like being trapped in your car underwater? No. Oh… I forgot to mention the battery acid dripping on your legs.

I’m fat

2009-02-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

When I went to register for the Newport Marathon… on the registration form there was a checkbox for Hercules Division. What the? OH I GET IT! Nice way to say fat people’s group. To qualify… regardless of your height… you have to be over 190 pounds. I weigh just over 190 right now. (Too much good stuff over the Holiday’s)

So there it is. I’m ‘Herculean’... but not hercu-lean I guess. Now… I had a bit of a complex when my when I looked at the insurance charts for proper weight and noticed I am above the large frame recommendation. No… have no idea what size frame I have… I am not a picture… but I do know that for my height I am over the max for large frame.

So there it is… by Newport Marathon standards… and by insurance charts… I am overweight. Now for running… weight does sure matter. I figure my ideal marathon weight is 175… but I’d be happy to be just under 180. So yeah… I have some weight to lose. Anyone want it?

Funny that when I was younger I was doing everything I could to gain weight and I couldn’t gain an ounce. Drank those body builder concoctions… ate like a pig… never could gain. Then one day… seemingly overnight… I went from skin and bones to being able to pinch a little flab on my stomach. Eck… where did that come from. There was never a point I was the right weight… it was like a line I tried to reach… but I jumped right over. You spend all your life climbing up or down the mountain… but where is the vacation on the top? It is like a point so mathematically small that it might as well not exist.

The nice part about running is the more you weight… the more calories you burn. The not so nice part is that running makes you very hungry. Sometimes I want to eat my own arm. (Except I guess it not lean enough right now)

So did I check that box on the registration? HELL NO! I’m afraid I’d lose a few pounds before the race and accidentally win the division only to have so other herculean runners attack me. I guess it is comforting to know I could out run them though.

Yet another dream about running

2009-02-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

I skipped a few runs because I was sick… and then I had another dream about running a marathon. I am not sure where or why… but there I was. The trick was they handed out the post marathon trinket before the race… and in this case it happened to be a light post. It was like were all carrying crosses… well… except they were light posts. Mine was in my left arm… which was obviously very tired.

When the lamp post disappeared… there was torrential rain and I can remember thinking my feat would be a mess. I also remember that I was running very slow. I can remember thinking it would take me 5 hours to finish.

Because I missed the long run on Sunday… ( and then two more) I think Yakima River Canyon is scratched off my list. Next opportunity would be Eugene. Then Newport. Maybe I should just set my sites on Newport.

Minus a pair of gloves

2009-01-28T09:24:00.000-08:00

Runners not only battle the force of nature, but we also have to battle the force of our nature. Specifically biologically. Runs of longer than 1 hour… especially after making sure we have a good load of fluids… can be a recipe for a restroom stop. Except… there are not many restrooms on the best running spots.

No… I am not a stranger to the woods. Eight years in the Army and there were many weeks when I never had the luxury of a toilet. The one time some genius decided to bring one of those fold up toilet seats with us on a field exercise in Alaska (it wasn’t my idea by the way) and the thing collapsed on me after doing my business in 30 below temp.

Now… if that sounds like a mess… you are right… it was. But add to that that it is 30 below and I only have a precious few minutes with my fingers outside gloves before I lost the ability to close my fingers. Sure enough… before I was properly clean… I couldn’t clench, but I pretty much exhausted anything I could clean myself with at that point. All that was left was some clean white snow… and yes… I did use some hastily constructed snowballs as the equivalent of toilet paper.

As I said… I am no stranger to the woods.

I will admit that I have used the woods a few times during my runs (not *when* I had the runs thankfully). Leaves work much better than snowballs for toilet paper in a pinch. Monday on my run in the hills at the coast… when it became clear I would have to turn back or find a spot in the woods… I chose the woods. Unfortunately… the leaves were all frozen and using something frozen for toilet paper… is not something I need to experience twice in a lifetime.

So my running gloves were sacrificed and I ran home with cold hands. And that is all I have to say about that.

A crystal clear run

2009-01-28T07:38:00.000-08:00

During one of my runs on the weekend on in the hills at the beach, I noticed a cool rock in the road. It was off on a spur where they are just put new rock down for a logging road. The rocks were not small… this wasn’t a Sunday drive for a sedan type road… but something the logging equipment could use to get in and out.

The rock was clear and had small crystals in it. I spend a lot of time picking up rocks when we are on the beach… so we already have a collection of interesting ones. These were much larger though. Looking around through the new road I found the best ones I could carry and ran the rest of the way home with them.

They appear to be quartz… very common, but the clear ones are cool. The next day the family hiked back up and we all collected the best ones we could find. I will try to snap some pictures when I get a chance.

Too many shoes

2009-01-22T13:44:00.000-08:00

I have never been a shoe guy... but it just occurred to me… I have too many shoes. Just a few pairs is all I used to have. But now that I am running… I have found myself with a mountain of shoes. Perfectly natural for a runner I suppose… we go through a lot of shoes… but now I have 4 pairs of active shoes that I am running in.

I have my road shoes at home… and then an identical pair for road running at the beach. Then at the beach I also have a pair of shoes I run on the beach with… and a pair of trail running shoes for the hills. But those are just for running.
Then I have two pairs of work shows (of course) a pair of old running shoes I use on walks to the beach… a pair of old running shoes I mow the lawn in… I have soccer and softball cleats, I have a pair of indoor basketball shoes, and a pair of outdoor ones. I also have a pair of court shoes (for like racquetball). Then I have a couple of pairs of dress shoes… snow boots and I haven’t even started on the shoes I just wear around on a typical day!

How did this happen? Whatever happened to the days when a pair of converse was all you needed?

Beach run

2009-01-17T17:31:00.000-08:00

Not a bad backdrop for a run aye? Yeah... running on the sand is a bit harder than the pavement... but you can't beat the view.

Just a short five miler down the beach today. Running on the sand isn't too bad if you find the right line where the sand is hard. Too wet and it is mushy... to dry and it is very hard to run in... but there is a line that is nice.

It is nice to be able to choose from the beach or the hills for my weekend runs. Really there is nowhere I could run that the scenary wouldn't be amazing. I'm supposed to run 12 miles tomorrow but I may bump it Monday because I am golfing 18 holes.

Thoughts on the Mtn God

2009-01-12T12:49:00.000-08:00

There was a nice article in Runner’s World this week called ‘Twilight of the Mountain God’ about Rick Trujillo. I highly recommend you read it. Trujillo is an amazingly gifted runner and offers insight into trail running that I doubt anyone will ever match. Oh heck… I guess it is mountain running… not trail running… since what I consider a trail is probably an 8 lane freeway to him.

While I really enjoyed the article, especially since I am doing some trail running now… and I admire Trujillo and his accomplishments… the one part that rubs me the wrong way is the assertion once again that ‘if you don’t run my way… you run the wrong way.’ I saw it before in Gabriel Sherman’s article ‘Running With Slowpokes: How Sluggish newbies ruined the marathon’.

I just don’t buy that someone can define what makes and appropriate running experience and don’t believe anyone should poo-poo how someone else runs. There is a big contrast between Sherman’s ‘you have to run fast or it doesn’t count’ attitude and Trujillo’s ‘you have to run up the mountain because it is there and if you do it for any other reason you are wrong attitude’ is interesting, but they both take a jab at anyone who does it different. I guess runners in Kansas are screwed because they don’t have any mountains to run up. =)

BTW… my apologies for mentioning Trujillo and Sherman in the same post… they are alike only in the sense that they have particular views in defining what a real runner is, and not in ability. I would like to see Sherman try to follow Trujillo up a mountain… It just might make him realize how silly it is to try to define what Marathon’s are about.

While I know we have athletic competitions to see who is the best or fastest, to truly know the greatest achievement you have to know who did the most with what they were born to work with. You can’t find that in a time or medal or on a mountain and even then… I am not sure how relevant it is. Speed is only one aspect.

Trujillo more than anyone I have read about… seems to get that. It’s not about medals, or money or time. He does talk about *his* time and records in the article… but it is more from the point of how he is grading himself… not about how someone else should measure in comparison.

Back to marathon's... are they just races? No... I don't think so... I think they are experiences that just happen to contain a race... and internally each individual defines the power of that experience.

Merry Christmas and a run

2008-12-28T20:18:00.001-08:00

The snow has finally melted and I was able to get out and run... on boy was it nice. After two solid weeks of snow covered ground... I finally got out to run again. I missed it. I didn't plan on running 6 miles... but it was so nice I did anyway.

Going to the beach over New Years... so I will be able to do some more running there. Here is wishing everyone a wonderful 2009.

A tip of the hat

2008-12-08T22:55:00.001-08:00

When I was walking with my family after running to the park last week, someone saw my Portland marathon t-shirt and asked if I really ran a marathon. Now, he wasn't trying to be mean, just making conversation. When I said yes, he replied, "I tip my hat to you," and then continued on.

I didn't run this past weekend. Again. It was Christmas tree time. The whole family out to Helvetia and cut us down a tree.

I have fond memories of the roads out there. I ran the Helvetia half marathon out there. That was one very nice race. I hope to run it again.

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Another trip into Fall

2008-12-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

I tripped over a tree root today during my run and took a tumble. I survived ok but I am sure that I will be sore. I was rinning on a trail and the ground was pretty soft. All things considered, I am happy to not be hurt.

This is the offending root
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Run with pics

2008-12-02T20:16:00.001-08:00

There have been many times during my runs where I have wished I had a camera. Since I have one in my phone, I think I will start taking it with me on my runs to snap pictured when something strikes me. Hopefully I can stay focused on running, but the places I run have a lot to do with my enjoyment of it, so I think some visual aides to my running world is a good thing.

Today was another lunch time run. Most of the fall leaves are gone, but Fall is still a wonderful time for a camera.

Here is a nature area near where I work:

And here, a lake near the corporate park. In the summer we play soccer and basketball near here:

I am very blessed to work somewhere I can run at lunch and play sports. Work hard play hard.

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Nightime run

2008-12-01T21:56:00.001-08:00

When I went to run today at lunch, I founf I left my shoes at home, so I ended up running in the dark. It wasn't bad. I ran on a path around a park, which was very dark. It was downright creepy.

I have to keep finding a way to run even when things get crazy or things do not go exactly as planned. Life is like that. Nothing ever goes exactly as planned. I have found though, that many great things can happen even when life is throwing curveballs.

This year has not been a steller running year for me. I hardly ran any races, and a grand total of 0 marathons. But still, I run.
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Dreaming about running

2008-12-01T14:35:00.001-08:00

I had another dream about running. It is if something senses I am not running enough... And then I dream about it.

I was running a marathon... Of all crazy things... In my jeans of all things. Yes... It did occur to me that would hurt, but I didn't want to stop. The dream lasted a long time- as marathons do.

Yesterday I ran to a park and met my family there. It was nice. We went for a walk afterwards.

I weighed myself yesterday and I have gained 5 pounds from where I should be. I am going to try to lose it by christmas.
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Seven straight

2008-11-10T12:23:00.000-08:00

I ran every day last week. First time maybe ever that I have done that. Granted… the weekday runs were short and at lunch at work… but hey… it is better than nothing.
The weekend runs were much more interesting than the lunch time ones. Saturday we were at the coast so I decided to run *one the beach* for the first time. For the most part Oregon beaches are pretty nice to run on. Long relatively level beaches leave and nice wet shoreline to run on. If you run too close to the water it gets mushy… and too much in the dry sand and you can’t get pushoff… but there is a nice line you can run on that is quite comfortable.

Usually the is wind blowing one way or another. Saturday is was blowing straight north along the beach… which is where I headed out. The wind pushing at my back… plus the beautiful pacific ocean made it very pleasant. At one point down the beach a full rainbow rose from the ocean and connected with the shore. Yes… the coast is a pot of gold.

When I turned around the wind was right in my face… and the dry sand was blowing hard enough to sting my legs. The roar of the wind (and it was a roar) and the fact it was blowing the water right out of my eyes made it a tough go. There was a particularly large amount of foam on the beach… and the wind was so strong it was bombarding me as I ran. Every once in awhile a large chunk of foam was too heavy to take flight and just skimmed down the beach like a white hovercraft. It was a wonderful run… but I don’t like running into the wind much.

Sunday I headed up the my running heaven. For the first time I was determined to run all the way up the hill at the start… and I did. I zig-zagged up it to make the incline less. .. and even run down without breaking out of a jog.

My legs are a bit tired today… but overall it was a great running week.

Fall is my soul

2008-10-31T16:30:00.001-07:00

Fall is a beautiful time to run. The temperature is ideal and the scenery is picturesque. There is such a quite beauty lurking I the cool air. In a way… it is a firework exploding in color after the journey up through summer… quickly fading and tumbling from glory.

When running in Fall… runners become smokers with their breath trailing behind. When you stop… the perspiration wafts up like someone who just walked out of a fire. I am amazed at how good I can feel even when the temperature is low. Wind or rain can ruin the parade… but bring on the cold.

There are a million of excuses to keep you from running… and I have been through a lot of them. Let me list the ones I’ve used recently.

• Forgot running shorts.
• Forgot socks.
• Rainy.
• Too busy at work.
• Need to spend time with family.
• Disappointed I am no longer training for marathon.
• Too tired to get up early enough.
• Too dark.
• Don’t have gym membership.

And then of course… the run I almost missed because I dropped my shoe in the toilet. (Twice actually… I grabbed it once and there was so much water in the heal I dropped it right back) There are probably others. Give me a day… I will come up with something new. When I do get out and run… I very much enjoy it. I feel better and it takes care of stress. Time to get out there and enjoy the weather.

My running went into the toilet

2008-10-17T14:50:00.001-07:00

Literally. I went to change in the restroom last week for a lunchtime run and one of my running shoes fell into the toilet. It was a bad omen. It was the first of many snafus that seem to be keeping my from running lately. Oh… I just ran with a wet shoe that day… but more complicated matters arose.

First… I agreed with my wife that I’d keep my runs to one hour or less. That means… no Seattle marathon. =( Now… that definitely made my motivation take a hit… but I am still running. Sat and Sunday runs in my running heaven… and a run to work and home on Tuesday. Parent teacher conferences conflicted with yesterday’s planned runs… they I tried again today… but I couldn’t run to work because I had to pick up a baby sitter… then I planned on running at lunch… but I left my shoes at home. Hopefully not in the toilet.

I will run both days this weekend though... and it should be beautiful in the fall weather.

One thing I can work on now since I am not running long… is speed. Yeah… it seems as if I am bouncing between the two and getting nowhere… but it is a nice wish anyway.

------------------
Just saw Run Fatboy Run. It was OK... not really much about running in there.

Gordon: Go on then, run!
Dennis: Isn't there some kind of like... special technique?
Gordon: Well... yeah... you put one leg in front of the other over and over again really really fast.

Dennis: He runs marathons...
Gordon: Why?
Dennis: Exactly!

What am I trying to prove?

2008-10-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

My wife asked me what I was trying to prove last weekend. It wasn’t in a mean way… just matter of factly. She also asked about how our last conversation where I discussed that I pondered whether running over an hour at a time had any health benefits and that I may not run marathons anymore… turned into me deciding to run the Seattle marathon next month.

That is a damn good question… and one I don’t have a good answer too. I really don’t know when I made that decision. It kinda made itself. I think I am the kind of person that needs something circled o the calendar to help me keep to a schedule… so I just circled something on the calendar.

As to what am I trying to prove… to everyone else… nothing. Nothing at all. To myself… I think there maybe something there. I know how hard it is to run a marathon. I know about being so tired you don’t have the energy for emotions. I don’t know how anyone… let along myself, can run a marathon… but they do… and I will again.

What does it prove? Nothing and everything.

A pain in the… side

It seems as though after a long run of 15+ miles, I usually have a pain in my right side… perhaps my right kidney, or some other organ that doesn’t like the jostling. I even asked the Dr about it once since I have a history of kidney stones. Since I took months off running this summer… I know this pain does indeed go away when I am not running… and come back when I run 15+ miles.

Any ideas? Does anyone else have non-muscle related pains like this after running 15+ mile long runs? Maybe I just have a stone in there that bangs around during my long run and hurts for a few weeks thereafter. I don’t really know.

Edit: I'm evaluating my supplements now... it could be the multi-vitamin, magnesium or glucosamine.

Searching for the magic combination

2008-10-03T10:18:00.000-07:00

There are only a few times that the peanut butter and butter in a sandwich mix at just the right combination to create a heavenly flavor. Likewise… there is a buzz that you can get after 1 or 2 beers that can put you on cloud nine… but it doesn’t happen very often.

When running, there are times when my legs are just humming along and I feel they are responsive and a finely tuned engine that will take me wherever I want to go. They feel good… like a wild stallion that just wants to take off running. That feeling doesn’t happen very often though. Most of the time it seems like a lot of aches… pains… and just holding on.

This training cycle I am forcing myself to run a lot slower during my long runs and my recovery runs. The theory being… I want to find that awesome feeling in my legs where I can really push it. I need that more often to be able to improve I think. It is a strange balance… a catch 22 almost (which is a great book by the way).

I think I will just try to focus on what the purpose of each run is. Is it a long run? No rush then. Recovery? Very easy. Tempo? Giddy up. Really I need to try to get that great feeling on my tempo/cruise intervals, and strides. If I am running too hard on the other things… I mess up being able to fly when I need to.

An interesting note is that I ran a lot slower when training for Eugene than Portland, but my time for the Eugene marathon was like 25 minutes FASTER. Some of that is obviously from hitting the wall in Portland (after a mental breakdown earlier), or perhaps not enough miles put in… but I think another part is that I just wore my legs out. I’m really not experienced enough to know.

Honestly I didn’t buy that running slower could actually help you improve. I drank the ‘long slow runs makes long slow runners’ Kool-Aid. I am still not sure… but I am going to finish my training for Seattle with slower long runs… and make another evaluation then.

Easy week

2008-10-02T17:11:00.001-07:00

This week is a recovery week. I liked how my first marathon training schedule had 3 weeks and then a rest week. I am still running… just at reduced mileage.

Fall is here. When I was walking under a tree today the wind picked up and tiny leaves spilled to the ground like a shower turned on. The air is starting to get cool and crisp. Perfect for running. I haven’t seen the fog from my breath yet… but it will be there soon.

This weekend it is supposed to be windy at the beach where I have two runs planned. Gusts up to 55 mph. Bring it on… that is all I can say. I may regret that… but some windy rainy runs can help build character.

I am currently running on my last pair of shoes. Given a marathon is coming up in November; I need to get some more like real quick. I am currently running on Nike Air Max 360s. They have been pretty good to me so far… and I think I am on my 4th pair. No real hot spots at all and my knees ankles etc… feel pretty good. BUT… they are expensive… and with the money we just spent on the beach house… I know the look I will get from my wife when I tell her I need to buy more shoes (like 4 pair). =(

I do have friends that work at Nike (comes from living next to Nike work headquarters) so maybe they can help me out. If I don’t switch models I don’t have a problem with buying multiple pairs. If I go with something new… I will just buy one pair. I see the Saucany Pro Grid 5 has some good reviews.

The gates of running heaven

2008-09-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

Sure enough… it was a beach weekend… and as my brother-in-law says… ‘if you are lucky enough to be at the beach… you are lucky enough.’ So true.

Saturday I was itching to explore my new running grounds and decided to head out through Fogerty Park and up to the roads I could see on my running maps. A ran into the park… but where were the roads? Na-da… nothing.

I was beginning to lose faith, when across the park I saw a gate. When I approached, it was clear that this was “the place”, these were the gates to my beach running area.

The initial few hundred yards were quite step… barely runnable in my current shape, but after I popped out on top it flattened out and I was on small double track under thick canopy of trees. No cars... no people... just nature and a middle aged runner-wanna-be trudging along through the forest. It was if the road had been built just for me… and I almost felt a tear well up… because it was clear I was in my own running heaven.

Now… the roads of my running heaven are not flat… but they were not so bad that I couldn’t run them. It is definitely more trail-type running that I am used to. The 5 mile run I did on Saturday had my legs burning from the hills. I will get used to it though.

I will also need to pay close attention to where I am. There are no roads signs… no street names, and usually the forest is so thick I can’t tell which way is east, and which way is west. I can use Google maps to plan the run though… 2.1 miles then left at the branch… 3.4 miles then right… etc… My wife wants me to start running with a cell phone though… and I admit if I twisted an ankle up there… it was be difficult to get back down.

Sunday I had a 16 miler on the schedule… but my legs were still tired. I decided to stay on the flats and headed down 101 to the sign for drift creek falls and kept running until I hit 8 miles… then turned around. I was a hard run because of the state of my legs… but I made it. The country road out toward drift creek falls was also amazingly peaceful. It was clear the people/dogs/cows etc… around there were not used to seeing runners.

Overall the first weekend at our beach house exceeded my expectations. I even found a huge agate on the beach! Running wise… I have found my running nirvana… out past the gates of running heaven.

Look at Mills! LOOK AT MILLS!

2008-09-25T12:13:00.001-07:00

I’ve mentioned before that American’s haven’t been then cream of the crop in long distance running, and that was also the case in the 1964 Olympics when Billy Mills was representing the United States. A virtual unknown and 2nd place qualifier for the US, Mills would need to PR in the 10K by about a full *minute* to have any chance in the race. For world class runners… those kinds of PRs don’t just hang on trees.

Amazingly… Mills hung in the race, but appear to fade out of contention before the final turn... in part because he gets hockey checked into the 3rd lane by the leader as if to say 'get out of here... you don't belong here!'

When the leaders ran into a crowd of runners being lapped… Miles closed a little, and then made one of the most amazing surges I have ever seen in long distance running. You have to see it to believe it, and you can tell from the announcer’s voice, it was unbelievable. It has to be one of the most memorable calls in broadcasting history. (How many times have you heard a man squeal like a combination between a pig and a giddy schoolgirl… out of pure Joy? As my son would say… ‘awkward’)

How Mills managed that burst of speed at the end almost defies explanation. It was like he transcended the laws of physics… like some unseen force from the heavens just put their finger on his back plinked him forward. Of course… the reality is that he mustered that burst from somewhere within himself… unlocked it like a joyous smile busting from a 3 month old (and I have seen the joy of plenty of those lately) and for one moment in time… he was superhuman… passing mere mortals like there were standing still.

Falling into Fall

2008-09-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

Literally.

Which reminds me of the Mad TV ‘Literally skits’ like this one:

.

Yes… I finally fell. I have had a few weeble-wobble moments in my training before… but I don’t think I have ever fallen. That ended this morning.

I was running next to the chain link fence around the Hillsboro airport and my shoe caught one of the spikes on the bottom of the fence somehow. My left foot stopped… while the rest of me continued forward… well… and downward. I probably didn’t look graceful… but considering one of my feet caught and planted me into the pavement, I think I am out OK. Wrists will be sore… elbow and hip too… but the important parts… my knees, ankles and legs… are unscathed. At least I hope so. After a roll like that sometimes the next day is when you really known what is hurt… but for now I am grateful. It did cut my 8 mile run in half though. =(

It appears as though I may be doing my first long run from camp Beach House this upcoming weekend. Wow. How blessed am I? I will confess that I don’t feel like I deserve my life. Someone on high must really like my wife, or my kids have something special in store for them… or thousands of years ago someone in my line did something wonderful earning generations of blessings on down to me. I could want nothing more. Well, except for qualifying for Boston. ;)

It felt like old times last Sunday running loops around Hillsboro airport on a long run. It went relatively well. I am taking my easy and long runs really slow right now to hopefully avoid injury. I ramped up my miles pretty fast without a really good base. Should hit 40 this week. I also noticed that based on my 10K time my training runs (according to the online calculators) should be slower. I guess the key is being able to recover enough to do the speedwork to improve. There is a strange Catch-22 in there I think.

Right now I am just enjoying running again.

Why I blog

2008-09-23T11:15:00.001-07:00

Why do I spend time writing a writing blog that virtually no one reads? Two reasons really. Firstly, I like to write so it is an outlet there. Secondly, I need an outlet for my thoughts on running. Face it… non runners generally do *not* like to hear about running. If they see you coming back from a run and ask you ‘how was it’ they don’t want to know anymore than someone who asks you how you are in the hallway at work.

Just say ‘good’ and leave it at that. If you do actually start to tell them, expect glassy eyes before you get to the part the raw skin in some unmentionable body place hurting because you forgot your body glide.

If you are lucky enough to have running friends… well then there is your outlet. Unfortunately, none of my friends run… and in fact… some have said they can’t run. ‘Really?’ Like if you started to trot your legs would fall off?

You ask a group of 5 year old kids and every single one of them will raise their hands and tell you they can run. They can run… they can draw… they can sing goofy songs at the top of their lungs… but adults seem to pretend they have lost these abilities. What I think is happening is their greater sense of vastness of the world has made aware that others may sing better… or draw better… or run better… and they feel those things are only left to the best of the best… so they give up something once so joyously natural and let it die until they when you ask them if they run… they simply say… ‘I can’t run.’

How sad is that? What in insult to the people who really *can’t* run. What they really mean is ‘I don’t want to start running.’ Which is fine. I’ve had a couple of people at work tell me they will only run if a bear is chasing them. I laugh. Of course a bear might already be chasing them… just not the kind they are thinking of.

Feel the power, experience the pain

2008-09-19T12:40:00.001-07:00

Most active sporting type people have tried at least one Powerbar. How could you not? It is the bar of POWER! Power of the bar… activate!!! Get me through this last 10 miles. Please. Pretty please?

Of course, before the power can touch your lips, you have to get the thing out of the wrapper… and this my friends… is where the Powerbar… becomes a powerful pain in the butt. Trying to open one is like trying to open a CD… and when… if… you manage to actually get it open… it will undoubtedly be stuck to the wrapper if the temperature is above 50 degrees.

Sometimes I run with a Powerbar in my water belt… bonk protection… but I view it more as emergency food ration in case I fall down a cliff, break my legs and can’t move. Then… maybe after a week of hunger… I’d try to get it out of the wrapper. Fifty fifty odds I die of starvation first though.

Can you imagine trying to open a Powerbar while say… running a marathon? You’d have to add a footnote to your time to explain the extra 15 minutes. Portland marathon 3:45* was on pace for 3:30 until I had to open Powerbar.

Odwalla bars, while obviously not as powerfull, are a nice alternative to Powerbars because you can actually remove the wrapper. They even look a little more like food compared to my peanut butter Powerbars that looks much like something that exited my babies behind.

My legs were pretty tired after yesterday’s lunchtime 6 miler. I must say it is quite nice to get all stressed and pissed off at work to burst out and run 6 miles at lunch. By the time I was back… I was too tired to upset at anything. The magical stress relief of running.

I killed Santa

2008-09-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

It was bound to happen someday, but yesterday I killed Santa Clause. For my oldest son… it was time... and he had been trying to find time to talk to us about Santa for a few days. His friends have told him at school there is no Santa and I am sure that if he spent any time pondering the logistics of Santa’s tasks, he would at the very least have some suspicions. Last year he asked about Santa and our reply was yes there is one… but not exactly how you think. We left it at that.

It is a very delicate thing to kill Santa… especially when we have two other little ones still to be caught up in the magic... and I was not really prepared for the conversation. Last year his nephew, unbeknownst to Kenny, was told by his teacher in school that there was no Santa. Can you believe it? In school? Anyway… when his parents finally confirmed the information he was upset that he may have grown to adulthood, had kids and NOT known that he was supposed fill Santa’s shoes so to speak. He was worried his kids wouldn’t get to experience the joy of Christmas morning. Talk about selfless… I have no doubt… he will make a VERY good Santa.

Kenny said that he felt ‘funny’ after we broke the news to him… and though I have long since forgot the feeling, perhaps it was the twinges of innocence dying. Burdened with his new knowledge… we quickly pointed out that he now carried a very important gauntlet. His task, should he choose to accept it… and we made very clear he had to accept it… was to go along with the gig and make sure the two younger ones did not have any of the magic spoiled.

I ran six miles this morning. Good thing I did it early… it is going to be hot and humid today… though we do get hot sometimes in the summer… rarely is it humid. During the week I have done a lot of run to work and home runs… 4.4 miles each way… but I need to push to longer runs. The marathon is not a short race.

Running in a Postcard

2008-09-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

I have never seen the sun rise over the ocean, and I probably never will. Being a west coaster, I get sunsets… not rises. I think I like it that way. Spring or fall… take your pick… sunrise… sunset… I am a melancholy sunsetter that loves fall.

It looks like I may be seeing a lot more sunsets over the ocean… because it appears the beach house dream might become a reality. Barring some very strange happenings… we should have our little beach getaway in October.

Of course… I have already been scouting for running routes… and it appears as though someone went ahead and provide plenty for me… packed with hills, green trees, the sea-fresh air and of course… the beach. If I want… I can run right down to the sand and up or down the beach as far as my legs will carry. Well… actually I’d bump into bays both North and South… but I can run for awhile.

To the north is Siletz Bay… then further south is Depot Bay… and a little further is Newport. Did I mention they went ahead and arranged a marathon for me there in Newport? =) Yep… you can bet the Newport marathon is on my running map for next year… nothing like running a marathon so close to our home away from home. Talk about a dream come true. Any direction I choose and I am running in a postcard.

Oktoberfest 2008

2008-09-15T10:14:00.001-07:00

I ran the Oktoberfest 10K on Saturday. The original plan was for the whole family to come with me to the race and attend the fest afterwards… but the night before I decided that wasn’t really fair for the family. It is hard to get 2 kids and a baby moving at 6 AM. I had already paid for the run though… said I headed off for the hour drive alone.

A few days ago I predicted 7:59 was a reasonable goal. Though I have been running regularly for a bit again, I have only done one speed workout… and that was last Tuesday. About a month ago my 10K time in a race was 8:36.

I started off the first mile at about 7:35… and everything felt great. Of course… it was a little down hill and the first mile is always easy. Miles 2 though 4 were a wakeup call though. Mile two dropped to about 8 minutes a mile… right on pace… but mile 3 was about 8:30 and I really didn’t feel like I was letting up at all. Yes… it was into the wind… but my thoughts of 7:59 were pretty much gone at that point. I tucked in behind someone else and just held on.

Having someone block the wind for about a mile gave my legs new life… and when we finally turned away from the wind… I sprang by my blocker and sped off. Unfortunately… that is where the hills were. I focused on attacking the hills. I just read an article in Runner’s World about how to run hills… and I focused on what I remembered. Hands relaxed… arms 90 degree angle swinging directly forward and back… head up, focused on powering over the top, saving enough energy at the bottom to make sure I didn’t burn out before the top.

Right before the start of the hill there was a group of runners that were catching me… but as we hit the bottom of the hill I just motored away. I kept powering up the hills faster than I was running into the wind and soon I notice I was back running under 8 minutes per mile. Up hill.

When I hit the top I kept the pressure on and was soon going 7:30… which is about what I ran for mile 6. My final pace… exactly 7:59. Talk about self actualized.
While I am not too concerned about speed right now… I will try to work more speedwork into my routine… strides and whatnot. I don’t think I will be racing again for about a month at the Blue Lake 9 miler. Last time I ran it in 7:59... (there is that number again). I hope to do a little better this year.

Different types of runners

2008-09-12T11:49:00.000-07:00

Bouncy runners
These runners seem to defy gravity with their springy bounce while running. Usually these are thing framed women sporting a pony tail in the backs that whips back and forth like a horses tail. They seemed to float off the ground during their strides, as if they were running on a trampoline.

Gadget runners
These runners have Ipods, transmitters in their shoes and GPS watches. I usually run with two gadgets… so I might fit in this classification.

Secret service runners
These runners have dark sunglasses and seem to trudge along with no noticeable facial gestures. They may have at least one gadget going to their ears, be it music player cell phone, or secret communicator that allows them to report back to race headquarters when they see someone throwing their gu wrapper in the middle of the road or peeing behind a tree. I am most creeped out when I go to pass one of these runners and I see them peeking at me out of the corner of their eyes while their head remains directly ahead.

No shirt runners
Always guys of course. Whether going for a tan, trying too cool off, or just trying to impress the ladies… these manly men like to run shirtless. Negative points if they have hair like a grizzly.

Boxing runners
These runners are usually draped in full body sweats, even in 80+ degree heat, and appear to be trying to lose weight for a weigh in. Using the hood of their sweat shirts covers their head so you are not sure if there is a real person in there… or a Sith Lord.

Wheezing runners
These are runners that appear to be having some sort of respiratory problem or are running faster than their air intake will allow. They tend to men who spit a lot… and were possibly just dragged into running by their significant other thinking… if a woman can do it… I must be able to.

Flailing runners
Flailing runners have a running style so awkward it is amazing how they proceed forward. While they legs may be moving in a normal motion, their arms may be swinging in circles like a windmill, or they appear to be beating themselves up. Regardless… it appears as though they will never last a mile… yet somehow they do.

I ran a marathon

2008-09-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

For some weird reason my son and I were discussing death yesterday. I think the conversation arose after talking about the autistic kid who survived 14 some hours treading water in the ocean… helped by what his father said was a lack of fear of death. I told him the worse part of death might be the fear of dying… and he asked whether I would want a quick death… or a slow death. I said a slow death… because it may give me time to say goodbye and make sure my family was well taken care of. He responded with, “what is it was really slow and painful?” I smiled… laughed… and said “Kenny… I ran a marathon.”

Frisbee run

2008-09-10T15:56:00.001-07:00

Another week… and my mojo is still with me. Sundays 14 mile run turned into just 7 though… as I made the mistake of thinking I could run and out and back to my house at 7 miles total… and then run it again. I did it that way because my son was riding his bike with me… and more than 7 miles would test his patience. My legs convinced me they were tired… and my brain just didn’t have the willpower to argue… and I just stopped at 7 miles.

To punish myself I ran my Tuesday morning run hard. (Ran to work) But then someone set up an Ultimate Frisbee game after work… that just happened to be at a field right by where I was running home… so I ran there and then played. My legs were pretty tired afterwards… and I didn’t drink enough water. I am feeling a little sluggish today.

Saturday I am running the Oktoberfest 10K. I don’t think I will be able to PR… which is kind of sad… but I haven’t been doing enough speedwork. I think 7:59 per mile might be about right. If my legs are feeling greet… maybe better… but they are pretty tired now. A 38 second per mile improvement over my recent 10K isn’t too bad though.

Return of the Mojo

2008-09-02T11:54:00.001-07:00

Knock on wood… I think my running mojo is back. I finished a 30+ mile week, capped with a 12 miler yesterday along the Oregon Coast. We are thinking about buying a beach house… so I figured I best check out the running possibilities. =) The winter weather at the Oregon Coast is hardly ideal. It is rainy windy blustery weather… the kind that takes a very hardy soul to run in. But on a nice day… like yesterday… it is like running in heaven. From the beginning of November to Spring it can be gloomy though.

While my run was wonderful… the bonk afterwards wasn’t. I ran without fuel or sports drink (just 12 ounces of water) and didn’t eat soon enough after I was back. After about an hour I was off to bonk land… mad at everyone and everything, unable to think straight or even make a decision about what to eat. Too many more episodes like that and my wife isn’t going to let me run anymore.

I was supposed to run a 10k this past weekend but we went to the coast instead. It worked out better for me though because I really needed a long run… not a 10k. Yeah… it was slow… but I have increased my mileage pretty fast that I need to compromise on speed for now. My body is feeling pretty good except for my left ankle which was kicked during a soccer game a few months ago and never quite healed right. I really doesn’t bother me at all while running, but it does afterwards… and I fear my foot may be tracking slightly differently which will cause problems elsewhere later. Hopefully not.

My current goal is the Seattle marathon in November. I don’t plan to PR or anything… just want to get another marathon under my belt without injuries or hitting the wall. Hopefully the time will be somewhere between my Eugene and Portland times… but I am not going to get too caught up in that.

I’m just happy my mojo is back.

Paula Radcliffe finally loses one

2008-08-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

Prior to this year’s Olympics Paula Radcliffe had won every marathon she has ever finished… but she did not finish 4 years ago in the Olympics. This year she had a stress fracture 3-4 months ago and it did not appear she would even be able to run in the Olympics. She did everything she could to train… without running. Then after only about 6 runs… she ran in the Olympic marathon.

I don’t know what to feel about that. She is almost super-human enough to pull it off… she DID finish… albeit a few minutes off the winning time, but I would have thought she would have known that it would not end well. Perhaps she felt pressure to finish because she dropped out in the preceding Olympics… I don’t know… but I do know that what she tried was a bit beyond human limits. Heck… she did finish!!! And that alone is amazing. Finished well in fact… but not ‘Paula’ well. There is no doubt that with any type of training and injury free she would have won.

Part of me feels that was amazingly gutsy to try. Part of me feels she didn’t have as much respect for the marathon as she should have… but she is after all… the greatest marathoner on the planet… so I guess she has earned the right to make that call. It still boggles my mind how well she did with so little training. AMAZING. As if popping out a baby and winning a marathon shortly thereafter wasn’t enough. =)

Ice bath in the Pacific Ocean

2008-08-27T09:55:00.001-07:00

I love living less than an hour from the beach. In fact… I am blessed to be 1 hour from skiing on Mt. Hood, 1 hour from the beach, 1 hour from many lakes… about 4 hours from the high desert area… lakes… rivers… mountains… beach… and even an active volcano (Mt. St. Helens). What a wonderful place to live and run.

This weekend we were at the beach... and I headed out down the sand for an 8 mile run. I’m counting it as 10 though. =) In part because it can be hard to run in the sand… and also because I ran into the D River and didn’t want to get my running shoes wet so I had to veer up to highway 101 and head south from there. Unfortunately south from there is up for a few miles. I haven’t ran any hills lately… and it was painful. I made it though… and rested at the top with a wonderful view of the ocean.

After I got back my wife suggested we run into the ocean… which seemed like a fine way to cool my legs. The ocean lining Oregon is cold… very cold… and a perfect substitute for an ice bath. After freezing the legs… we headed up to the beach house and the hot tub. Heaven.

Total miles for the week… 25. I am almost ready to declare myself ‘back’ but I have to run over 10 miles first. That will be this weekend… at the beach again. =) No hills this time.

Because we are heading to the beach again I won’t be running the Wildwood 10K in Forest Park. Probably for the best because I really need a run longer than 10k. The Oktoberfest 10K will be my only chance at a PR this year it appears… which happens to be where I set my PR in 96 at 47:45 (7:42 pace). I will have to work some speed work in between now and then if I want any chance to PR.

30 miles schedule this week. Did I mention I *have* a schedule? Yep… through April of next year.

A kid, a pumpkin and a dream

2008-08-21T15:24:00.000-07:00

In a few days Ryan Hall will represent the US in the marathon in Beijing. Runner’s world had wonderful article on Ryan Hall Runner's World Ryan Hall American’s haven’t exactly led the world in competitive distance running lately. It is as if many of our long distance dreams died along with Prefontaine. Hall could change all of that with a decent showing at the Olympics. Honestly… he may have already changed it… but maybe the average Joe will take notice.

The most fascinating piece of the story to me… which I don’t believe you can see in the online version, is a picture of Ryan with a Halloween pumpkin he carved when he was a teen. The pumpkin had the Olympic rings carved into it… and above them… the date… 2008. Now… when I was a teen the only big dates I could think about were when I turned 16 so I could drive… and 21 so I could drink. (Actually I could drink when I was 19 and in the Army in Texas)

It amazes me that even as a teen he had circled a goal on his calendar that would take him about a decade to achieve. How did he know? Was it wishful thinking? Destiny? Did he answer a call from God as he says? Whatever the reason… seeing that kid in a photo standing next to the symbol of his dreams with a beaming smile, and then to know this Sunday Aug 24th… years and thousands upon thousands of miles later… he will make it… just makes me feel all good inside.

Hall seems the polar opposite of Prefontaine personality wise. Pre was bold and cocky and Hall seems cautious and meek. Perhaps that is why we haven’t heard more of Hall. Now… I doubt winning a medal is in the cards for Hall… but I can assure you that I will be watching Sunday… watching… cheering… and cherishing his amazing accomplishment. Just a kid, a pumpkin and a dream... run strong Ryan.

Ad hoc 10K race

2008-08-18T11:21:00.001-07:00

8/15
I think I will run 10k race tomorrow. No… I haven’t trained for it… and yes… I will probably be hurting afterwards… but it has just been too long since I have raced. My PR for a 10K is 7:42… but I haven’t ran one in a long time and my ½ marathon pace is only a few seconds slower. Still… I haven’t been running enough lately to try to break a PR right now. Between 8:15 – 8:30 is probably about right… who knows… maybe even slower. I am just not in shape yet. In about a month I think there is another 10K that I will try to PR in.

After race 8/18

That was nice and humbling. I trotted along at a meager 8:36… just two seconds faster than I ran a whole marathon. =) Since I haven’t run with a watch on in months… I haven’t really known what pace I was running… but I knew it was slow. With my lack of being in shape and the heat (it was near 80 even though the race was at 8:15 AM) I didn’t plan to push myself. I just wanted to get out there and start again… and that I did.

I also exceeded 20 miles running in a week for the first time since I stopped training for Eugene. This week should be about the same… but since I am not on a set schedule yet… I don’t really know. Which reminds me… I need to make a schedule.

In two weeks there is the ORRC Wildwood Trail run… another 10K that I think I will also run… hopefully around 8 minutes per mile by then… and the on Sep 13 is the Oktoberfest 10K. (Why do they have Octoberfest in September?) If I haven’t PR’d at 10K I will try to here. Then on October 11th is a 15K at Blue Lake. Then it is heads down training for Seattle if I want to be able to run it.

I can't think of a title for this post

2008-08-13T17:20:00.000-07:00

After heading out into the morning sun for a run yesterday, I felt like I was reconnecting with a long lost soul mate. I can’t understand exactly why I like running now… when I once regarding it with disdain or something I would do only if a bear was chasing me. Maybe it is the runner’s high. I definitely have felt that at times during runs and afterwards.

Once I thought that I would find meaning through my running… like I’d one day run up on a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, of have a great revelation that changed my life. The truth is much more subtle… and you’d have to view a much wider expanse of my life to see it.

If I could glance and the pre-running me at 50… and the post running me at 50, the difference I am sure, will be striking. Long distance running can be that way. It unfolds at a leisurely pace. Hills that seem frozen in the distance turn into hills sliding away behind you, and all the while you can hardly tell you are moving.
It is not much harder to run 20 miles than 1 if you are in shape for the journey. (Well… assuming you are NOT in shape to run that 1 mile) I can remember a time when running 1 mile was a big deal for me. I’d tell a friend and they were in awe (as we drank our 10th beer of the night).

I don’t know how long I will keep running. I am still not even back into my grove. I did learn one thing though… by trying the 22 or whatever week training plan… is that it is certainly possible to get burned out. I maintained focus on that schedule for months… and then just LOST it. One day complete dedication… the next I fumbled it away. It took me a few weeks to realize it… and by then… I just couldn’t muster the energy to restart.

Pain is good

2008-08-12T12:22:00.000-07:00

Pain is good… or so they say. Sign of progress. No pain… no gain… and all that stuff. When I was younger and much lighter… I could run all day with relatively no pain. I didn’t even know what sore was really. I can remember running the Seaside half marathon and suffering pretty much no pains.

But that was then. Now… and pretty much from age 30 on… sports and activities hurt. With running… I feel I am in a constant state of pain and recovery. If I am feeling good… I am not pushing it enough. I have to play Sherlock Holmes to decipher exactly what my pain is saying. I have to sort out for instance… if it is saying ‘you ran too far… or too fast’, or ‘Houston, we have a problem.’

So far I have been just about injury free with running. All those horror stories about ruining knees etc… seem to be just stories. But pain free? Yeah right. I am to the point where I can feel pain after regular day-to-day activities. Pull a few weeds… and the back hurts. Paint a room… arm does.

I suppose I should be grateful at least my parts are functioning enough to be yelling at me. Oh… I try to take care of them the best I can… a few supplements, aspirin, a lot of water and a massage here and there if my sweetie has time. But I have to wonder if young people really understand what is in store for them. I remember older people telling me… but really… I thought they were just out of shape. I had no idea that being *in* shape could be the cause of so much pain.

SportsFest is just about over. Soccer and basketball are done… so just softball now, which (knock on wood) is one of the few sports that doesn’t seem to bring me much pain.

I realized yesterday that I probably missed my chance to run the Portland marathon this year. My measly mileage this summer is not enough of a base for me to hit training full steam. I will have to set me sites on something later like Seattle.

Mia is sleeping enough now that I may be able to continue running in the morning… that is if I can garner the motivation. If I just circle something on the calendar I think I will do it. Just haven’t grabbed a pen yet.

Run to work

2008-07-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

Running a marathon seems so trivial compared to the power of a newborns first smile. I do still dream of running the Boston Marathon someday, but it will be something I have to figure out how to fit into my life without interfering with my other responsibilities.

My latest idea is running to work. I work about 4.5 miles from home… so running in is a good little workout, and we have showers at work. As long as I can get my work cloths there ahead of me someone… it works fine. I ran in this morning. Once I get my endurance up a bit… I can run home too. I know two 4.5 mile runs don’t equal a 9 miler… but it may be the best I can do for now.

My running at lunch stopped when Sportsfest started. Sportsfest is where a group of companies here compete in various sports at lunchtime or in the evening. Right now I am playing basketball and soccer… so 3-4 days a week I am already busy at lunch. The other two days I am nursing wounds. =) Softball is starting up next week too… and between basketball, soccer, softball and running… I have to watch shin splints and other nagging overuse injuries like that.

I have to admit I had no idea how life changing a newborn would be. I am so used to being able to stick to a schedule or doing whatever I wanted on an ad hoc basis, but now I am tied to Mia’s schedule… and it is a whopper. It isn’t unusual to not even find the time to be able to make coffee and drink a cup before it gets cold in the morning. There just isn’t time between the diaper changes, crying, feeding, burping, and changing cloths after spitups. But when she smiles… all of it is replaced by pure joy that no finish line could ever match.

Miles for Mia

2008-06-10T13:57:00.001-07:00

I ran 6 miles yesterday… thinking that was one for each of her days… but alas… she was really only 5 days old. The last one was for good luck I guess. It’s been awhile since I ran more than 4 miles… in fact most of my runs the past few months have been the two mile variety.

Because my wife will be staying at home now, in theory it might be easier to fit some runs in. Previously I dropped the youngest off at daycare in the morning and picked him and his older brother up each day. Of course… Mia tends to require a lot more time… especially for the next few weeks.

I have a one… yes ONE mile race for work coming up next week I think. I am not going to try to do much… I am just not ready for it… but I will run the best I can. There are 3 and 5 mile runs coming up in a moth or so too. I hope to be a bit more ready for them.

Right now I am just content that the family is complete… healthy and happy. The cold summer so far makes for good running weather… and I plan to start taking advantage of that.

Mia is here!

2008-06-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

Emilia Rose (Mia) arrived on 6-4 and 2:46. 2-4-6 6-4-8... sounds like cheer! =) I actually ran 4 times the week before she arrived... but all my time now is spent taking care of her mother and staring at her.

The starting line

2008-05-14T17:25:00.000-07:00

I haven’t been running much lately… at least not with a set schedule or goal in mind… but I do run every once in awhile. I think I am someone who needs a pretty set schedule. Mostly… the soon to arrive baby (less than 30 days now) is consuming my thoughts.

We went to a birthing class last weekend, and I was surprised at how many similarities there are between training and running a marathon and having a baby. There are breathing techniques that are useful in both. Relaxation techniques… pain management, visualization, and counting tricks I am pretty sure all marathon runners pick up.

I fear I will bawl when Mia is born. During my marathon training I felt similar when I thought about finally reaching my goal. There is certainly no energy for tears at a marathon finish line though… and most likely I will be able to remain focused and swallow my feelings and bury them deep in my core as men are supposed to. =)

It seemed like the start of my first marathon would never arrive. Even standing in the starting chute it seemed like forever away… but then one moment bowed to the next, and my dream started to become reality. It is a good thing the times of sand keep carrying us forward… through rough times and good times… through training… marathons, labor and everything in between.

In a few weeks I will get to see Mia line up at the starting line of her life… and the mojo from that moment might propel me for the rest of my days.

Where did my mojo go go?

2008-02-27T14:34:00.000-08:00

We have had some great weather around these parts. Time to get out in your yard and start getting it cleaned up for Spring weather. Of course, that kind of weather is good for running too. =)

I haven’t been running much lately. 3-4 times a week at just 2.5 miles per run. Most of the time I run at lunch at work. Every run for the past month has been faster than the previous, but I am still slow. My mojo must have bleed out.

My goal at this point… is to run my 2.4 mile loop in under 7 minutes per mile. Goal #2, is to run one mile in under 6 minutes. By the end of the summer I want to PR a 5K and a 10k. Those seem like reasonable goals for now.
Soon I will be able to run Iinthe morning once again. Oh who am I kidding… I could do that now if my mojo wasn’t gone.

Lunchtime run

2008-02-05T17:15:00.001-08:00

After stretching my legs for a short run Sunday… I did my first lunchtime run today. Just a short 2.6 miler at about 8:30 miles. It felt very good to get back out there again, even though it was windy and I am not in very good shape. My run barely took over 20 minutes giving me plenty of time to shower and get back to work. I just ate some food from home at my desk.

Once the sun is out again and it warms up I will probably switch to running in the morning most day. Who knows though… I am just winging it at this point. There are a few runners where I work, including one who BQ’d. She gave me some advice and told me to not give up… that people don’t usually BQ in their first few marathons.
And so… it begins… again.

Dreaming about running

2008-02-01T12:28:00.000-08:00

Recently I have been dreaming about running… you know… a glorious run through Springtime air, spotlit by golden rays or sunshine… not a care in the world… on autopilot… just one finely tuned human machine fast forwarding through the world on the wings of a gentle breeze. Then I wake up however, to the reality that I have not ran a step in over two weeks. Yuck.

No… I am not injured… I just was very busy, lost some motivation and one missed run turned to two… then three… then two weeks. I did at some point make a mental shift and decide that family is more important than running… and running during dinner 3 nights a week in the cold rain was more than I was willing to tolerate. I do miss running though, and am scheming about ways to get it back in my life.

Plan #1, I find a golden stopwatch to freeze time. Ok, plan #2, for my weekday runs… I run… AT LUNCH. Ok Ok… so there is a bit of a problem about how to fit consuming some food AND a 1.5 hour run into just one hour, but it is a start. We have a shower at work here. I could come in early too, thus avoiding running in the dark. This plan has some legs! Now I just need to get my legs… back out there and on the street.

Never enough time

2008-01-15T16:12:00.001-08:00

Last Thursday’s 10 mile run was much like the story of my running to date. It started off nice enough, though my legs were tired. On most mornings I wake up think ‘how am I going to run tonight?’, but by the time I have to run… they are OK. Last night… not so OK. The weather was nice though… 50 and not raining (dark of course), and I started out at a nice clip. Sweet I thought… maybe I was just running slow because the weather was always around 35 and raining.

About the 5 mile mark my legs started to burn and I got that shaky week feeling that my body was running low on energy. Figures… since I had to skip a proper dinner the previous two days in order to run. The second 5 miles were into the wind and about the time I turned around, it started raining. Just a drizzle at first, but the fine misty kind that can cover you whole body in minutes… and render my glasses useless.

The rain continued to come down… and the mist turned into small drops… that turned into bigger drops… that turned into a downpour. At one point my glasses were so covered with water and the glare from oncoming cars was so bad I ran into a tree branch that was sticking over the sidewalk. While I didn’t poke my eye out… the jarring reaction my body made in response, was even worse than the branch. I don’t remember what swear word I invented… but it was something creative.

My cloths started soaking up the rain and I became heavier and my pace slowed to sloth-like. Because it was so dark and my view was so limited, it was like the rest of the world didn’t exist. Just me, the 5 feet of my path I could see, and the rain and wind. After stepping into a few water puddles soaking my feet… but sad state was complete, and the only thing that would improve my situation was finishing the next 3 miles.

It was there in the dark downpour, highlighted by the headlights where the passing drivers where probably wondering… ‘what the!’ or ‘idiot!’ that I too pondered just what I was doing out there… just where I was going. I seem to be running slower than I was at this time last year, despite having two marathons under my belt since then. My beautiful (inside and out) pregnant wife was at home without my help. Perhaps it is time to do some re-evaluating. As much as I’d like time to stand still until I finish my running… it does not, and if there is one thing marathon training requires a lot of… is time.

The Streak is Broken

2008-01-09T17:27:00.000-08:00

After over 5 straight weeks without missing a run… I missed 3 in one week. (Including the long run) OUCH! I actually was prepared for the long run… I dressed and drove to my running spot… but a quick calculation of the time and I realized there was no way I could finish my 2.5 hour run in time to meet a friend for the Blazer game. I gave up and headed home. The other two runs? I have no excuse for them. =) Just lost my mental grove I think.

This week I am back on track through. Good thing too… 46 miles on the schedule. Hopefully the weather will be a little more cooperative. Last winter the weather seemed pretty darn conducive to running… but no so this year. There have been a lot of nasty days. It was raining again last night so I hit the gym for my 9 miler.

My boss at work commented that if I don’t qualify for Boston… all my running would be a waste. I don’t think of it that way… but it did get me to pondering… specifically just why am I running? I don’t really have a textbook answer at this point. While qualifying for Boston is not out of the realm of possibilities for me… it would be extremely difficult at this point. I am not running fast at all now. This is in part because they weather has been so nasty… I feel I am just trying to hang on, and I suppose the other part must be lack of effort. All I can say in that regards is that it was certainly easier to run faster when I was running less miles.

On my long run Sunday I planned on 2 loops… one 8 miles and one 7. My GPS watch battery was dead when I headed out… but I already mapped my route (or so I though). The problem was… the route I mapped had a road that didn’t actually connect to another road. I was faced with heading back… or continuing on roaming the countryside until I could find a road that did connect. Well… my 8 mile loop turned into a 13 mile loop by the time I got back to the car. That is just too long for me to run without fuel or water. I bagged it at 13 miles. It was kind of fun exploring a new route where I didn’t really know where I was going.

I am really looking forward to some nicer weather and not running in the dark though.

Christmas Run With Snow

2007-12-26T11:27:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-17T20:00:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-12T09:05:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-11T15:46:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-03T11:48:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-01T12:42:00.001-08:00

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

2007-11-26T11:32:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-21T15:32:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

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…

2007-11-12T14:54:00.001-08:00

• 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

2007-10-19T14:27:00.001-07:00

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

2007-10-10T07:36:00.001-07:00

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...

2007-10-09T19:57:00.001-07:00

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

2007-10-03T10:17:00.001-07:00

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...

2007-09-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

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'

2007-09-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-12T17:26:00.001-07:00

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

2007-08-09T20:29:00.001-07:00

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.