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.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Portland on the horizon
Once again I find myself on the doorstep of a marathon, and it looks like an awful big step from here. I was at the beach this weekend so I delayed my last long run until Monday… this after skipping a run last week… and I got sick during the run and had to drop out after 6.5 miles. WONDERFUL.
So instead of sprinting to the starting line… I will be limping to it. I am still sick, but I need to try to get some kind of run in tonight. A few weeks ago just under 8 minutes per mile seemed like a possibility. Now even that has probably slipped away. Regardless… I will run another marathon. This will actually be the 3rd I have completed… there was an ugly stepchild marathon back in 2001 that I ran half and walked half. I was going to walk the whole thing… but I started in the wrong line and was too embarrassed to walk. I ran 13 miles without having ever run one for training. Good lord that was dumb. I damaged a nerve in my foot that didn’t fully recover for a year! Never again.
Anyway… flash forward to 2007. I have the Eugene marathon under my belt already, and was hoping to make a push for BQ at Portland. While I didn’t make that… I realize what an effort that would have been. I *could* have made it, but it would have taken a devotion that my work and family schedule just don’t support. I still trained long and hard. Got out on the track which was a first for me… sprinting! At first I hated it… then it was much better. Training for a marathon feels a bit like climbing a mountain. One small slip and you slide back down. The closer and steeper you get to the top, the more costly any kind of slip is.
My work schedule will make running a bit interesting over the winter. I work 8:30 to 5:30. Getting up early is fine in the summer… but it is cold and rainy (and dark) in the winter. I am not looking forward to that. I am thinking about running at lunch, but I am not sure yet. Somehow… someway.
I sure have enjoyed reading everyone’s blogs. As a rather solitary runner… I rely on them for tips and motivation, and really… I doubt I could have kept up with my training without feeling a bit like I was on a train with other dedicated runners out there. Everyone seems to have a different reason to run (or race walk). Mine is not different… no more special. Every step I take is on a trail that has been blazed before, but in their own way, each marathon is a gem… full of pain, sweat, tears, and joy. In just over a week… I get to make another memory.
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.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Last 20 mile run before Portland
Sunday was my last 20 mile run before the Portland Marathon. As such, I was not about to accept any excuses from my body. My goal, smooth 8:30 miles, with no drop off at the end. Around mile 16 in my delirium I decided that mile 20 also had to be my fastest mile. Obviously at that point I was overcome by some runners high… or runner’s insanity, but that is what I decided.
Following the FIRST training plan, I have experienced some endurance issues late in my long runs. The schedule has picked up the mileage a bit now though… and anyway… it is so close to the marathon that I needed to prove to myself that I can sustain pace through a 20 mile training run.
For the most part the run was uneventful, well… except for me losing my mind around mile 16. Around mile 17 I started to hurt… but drove on. Mile 19 came faster than I thought, and I gave it all I got. Would it be enough? No idea… I didn’t know what my fastest previous mile was… =) but I usually keep a pretty consistent pace. I felt like I was sprinting, but I was only moving at 8:15 pace, and I could feel the energy draining out of me fast. I held on and finished the last mile at 8:20. When I got home, I found my previous fastest mile was 8:21. =) WHEW! Success.
So I can run another marathon after all. Final pace was 8:29. Now how does that translate to what I will run in Portland? I am not too worried about that. I think I might reserve that decision to game time. If there is one thing I have learned about running, is that knowing exactly how your body will run on a given day, is hard to predict. I know the signs are there… and I know more experienced runners can probably read them much better than I… but my body just seems a bit unpredictable.
I am looking forward to Portland though. I am getting the butterflies at times… which is damn good. Everyone needs things in their life that gives them butterflies… regardless of what that may be. (Good butterflies… not evil mutant radioactive ones) If stamping a marathon date on my calendar can give me some butterflies… I am all for it.
I can remember sitting on my porch at about 8 year old, waiting for my mom to come home to take me to my little league baseball game. I had those butterflies back then… nervous, anxious, excitement, longing… for Christ sake… I worried that my mom might get in an accident that could cause me to miss the game… yet not for a second about my mom getting hurt! At times I feel my marathon quests now are too self serving… there is so much time spend training… and then hobbling around afterward. It seems to be worth it… but I am lucky I have a wonderful wife that supports me.
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.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Trying to get back to 'for the run of it'
Exactly one month from today… I will be running the Portland Marathon. (Well… not anymore but when I started writing this) I have been training now for over 3 months, and it is almost time to see what I can do. Now, I have already come to the realization that my ultimate marathon goal, qualifying and then running the Boston marathon, will not happen in Portland. I am a realist, and I *really* know that I can’t run 7:39 miles 26.2 times. On a perfect day… maybe 8.00. A great goal would be 8:15 minutes per mile.
Did I fail with FIRST? NO! In fact… I think I will PR by over 10 minutes. I am now much faster at shorter distances, and I was able to add the speed training without hurting myself. I think that if I would have tried to add the speed work with increased miles, that I would have injured myself. So for me… I think FIRST was an awesome training plan for my second marathon. Will I use it for my next? No… but only because I have my speed now where I can cruise at under 7 minute miles without a problem. (For a few miles) A few months ago, I think 6:59 was my fastest mile. I think I am quite a bit faster than that now. In fact… I finished a 5 mile race awhile back in 34:35 (though I think the course was short) which is 6:55 per mile. And… I can tell you I was completely spent after that one mile at 6:59.
So despite me not nearing Boston qualifying time yet… I have added much needed speed. It is the distance thing that will give me the problem. =) And whoopsie… that is what a marathon is about. I am a bit down on myself because I have been trying to run my long runs at a full minute faster per mile than the only time I have proven I can run a marathon at. Some runs I could… most I failed near the end. Some I failed near the beginning. =) I just don’t have the endurance to run that fast of pace of 26 miles yet.
This morning I was supposed to run intervals… but my GPS battery was dead so I bagged it and ran them tonight. It was much hotter for sure… but not too bad. It is that time of year where you can catch some wonderful cool breezes in the evening. I was supposed to run 10x400 at 6:33 per mile. My pace times were
6:10
6:17
6:37
6:12
6:10
6:36
6:18
6:16
6:32
5:54
Much better that I had to run… but alas, intervals and low miles will not get me to Boston. (As Sub pointed out long ago) They are however, part of the equation (I think). I want to keep interval Tuesday and tempo Thursday, but I want to get my mileage up too. I am eying the Pfitz 55 mile 24 week plan… to get me ready for the Eugene marathon in Spring.
Now… this Boston thing… I don’t necessarily recommend it. Running fast has taken a lot of the fun out of running for me… and I definitely want to get back to running for the fun of it. Or fun for the run of it?
Jennifa put it so well with her post on returning to running “I feel it though. That momentum. The drive and desire that I had 9 months ago. It is there buried deep inside and is slowly igniting. I didn't realize how much I need running. It is like food, or drink or air to me. I need it.”
In the right zone… a good run is painless and virtually effortless… perpetual motion… like floating down a river and a hot summer day without a care in the world but you actually feel like you are accomplishing something. There may be some joints or muscles complaining, but in the same breath they are thanking you. You can flip the radio stations in your mind and think about anything. Most of the time I think about very little when I am running. In fact the time goes by very fast. Sometimes I daydream… imagine myself crossing the finish line at Boston… or winning a race (THAT will never happen), but most of the time it is silent bliss. I want to get back to THAT zone in my running. Pronto.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)