So the 2nd of the fall/winter holidays has come and gone. I spent Thanksgiving with my family, the first time I've seen them in 11 months. Gas at 1.49 a gallon made the drive a little easier to swallow in my pickup as compared to last year. We closed early at work on Wednesday, at 1 pm and Jaz and I loaded up and made the trip. I arrived, had dinner with my brother and his g/f and her kid, and my mom even came down and joined us. Back to his place, sat in the hot tub and drank beer till all hours of the night, then off to bed. I got up the next morning and did my 6 miles that I scheduled with Jaz. The bike path that runs from Aspen to Glenwood was pretty much deserted that morning, so Jaz got to run free with no leash, that was very cool. I went back, worked on my brothers computer, started on some beer, and had dinner with my family. I lost a cool $100 on the Cardinals in the late game that night, somehow changing my mind from betting the over in the NFL game to thinking that the Cards could somehow beat the Eagles.
We got up the next morning, and headed to Delta for some pheasant hunting. It snowed overnight and all the way over McClure Pass. We had 5 guys/guns and 6 dogs. Jaz, Alex, Haley, and 3 others I didn't know. 4 labs and one pointer. We got a message from the guy who ran the bird ranch that it had rained over there all night and that the cover was really wet. We still hunted, finding 11 birds, with Jaz finding 5 and retrieving 4. Did I mention that she only hunted for less than an hour because of her bad hip? She was the rock star she has always been. We rode back to Carbondale, then I loaded up and headed back to Ft. Fun in a blizzard. I reached home safely and headed to work the next day.
On Dec 7th I made a return trip to run the Colder Boulder for the 2nd year in a row. Cool beanie, same crappy results. I was actually a minute faster than last year, but still got out too fast. I was in the 5:30's for parts of the first mile and flamed out again, I ran a 20:40. As tough as the course treats me, Neelia ran another PR on it. Strange.
This last weekend I ran the Christmas Classic 4 miler here in Ft. Collins. It snowed the night before and was below zero at the start. I suited up with 79 others and tackled the tough course, lots of uphills in this one, plus my lungs hurt from the cold. Steve Cathcart, who owns Runners Roost, and is a 16 something 5k dude and has BQ'd more times than I've raced only finished less than a minute ahead of me. Not that I am fast, it just shows how tough the course was, along with the conditions that we ran in. 25:18 was the winning time, hell I ran a 26:something last year in a 4 mile. I raced, won a pair of free socks for kicking Santa's ass, but got done, changed socks and shoes, and drove my truck, that was warmed up when I finished, to a place across town for breakfast, and still couldn't feel my toes. It was almost 40 minutes after the race that they finally felt normal again. A good tune up run for the Resolution Run that takes place on the 31st at 7pm. :-)
On a personal note, I am through feeling responsible for online relationships/freindships. With the exception of 2 people in my life, one being my brother, they are the only people that I am in contact with every day of my life. The people I work with are an exception as well. I don't talk to my mom every day, not even the lesbians that I live with. I care about a lot of people in my life, and with 11 hour work days and life the way that it is, I cannot text/pm/myspace/facebook/IM/E-mail every day. If the weekend gets by and we don't catch up, sorry, but life gets busy. I would hope that a message from me might not be the most importaint thing that happens in your day. I'm not trying to be a dick, but my life needs to involve more than that.
Merry Christmas all.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Chicago Aftermath
"Why are you still going to go and torture yourself?"
I was asked that a handfull of times as I prepared for my trip to Chicago for the marathon this year. Knowing I couldn't run the whole thing , I still went. For starters, a few of my favorite people in the world were going to be there. Chris, Squirrel, Larua, the Bills, Chooch. Plus I made new friends this year, Erin, Joel, Reid, Eddy, Kristen, Vera and the like. I ate too much, drank too much, slept too little, and had the most fun I've had in a long time.
I got to spend a few hours with Squirrel before the FE, definatly had fun with everyone there at Trader Todds. Millers Pub was very cool both days we were there for sure. I think I may have scared Erin off of Sprite forever, and eating a huge breakfast including sausage, eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns is probably not the best thing before a 6 mile run for sure. I loved riding the El, more taxi adventures for sure, and generally just a good time. I spent 10 minutes at the expo and very little time with anything to do with the marathon.
What came out of all this was me being re enegrgized about running again. Last year, I went, saw the race, came home and ran a half mary in Denver the next weekend after running about 5 miles in a month. The wave carried me all the way to Arizona and Colorado before injuries and I think just exhaustion took it's toll on me. After my knee injury, I took a little time off, and when I returned to running, it still wasn't working for me.
One thing that I have thought a lot about here lately is that all I've done is marathon train for almost a year. I'm not any faster than I was last year when I do things such as 5k's. A change is in order for me I think. I have tentivly targeted Colorado again in May as my next marathon, although I'm not 100% sure. I won't run another one with some things in my life the way they sit right now. If things seem t get squared away, then I'll be mentally prepared. Something someone said to me a few weeks ago about balance and such. The Colder Boulder invite 5k is the next targeted race for me. Instead of a "marathon" training schedule that includes a 5k the first week of December, the next 5 or so weeks will be dedicated to getting faster for that 3.1 miles. Which means a lot of speedwork, lots of hard, short runs. At my worst in June, I was 20:30 for a 5k, to shave those 31 seconds should happen if I'll concentrate on it. I figure my half marathon times will come down when I really buckle down for marathon training again. But this is something I can do without throwing myself full bore into a training program again that requires 70 miles per week.
Enjoy the rest of your October if I don't write again, it's supposed to snow here tonight :-o
I was asked that a handfull of times as I prepared for my trip to Chicago for the marathon this year. Knowing I couldn't run the whole thing , I still went. For starters, a few of my favorite people in the world were going to be there. Chris, Squirrel, Larua, the Bills, Chooch. Plus I made new friends this year, Erin, Joel, Reid, Eddy, Kristen, Vera and the like. I ate too much, drank too much, slept too little, and had the most fun I've had in a long time.
I got to spend a few hours with Squirrel before the FE, definatly had fun with everyone there at Trader Todds. Millers Pub was very cool both days we were there for sure. I think I may have scared Erin off of Sprite forever, and eating a huge breakfast including sausage, eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns is probably not the best thing before a 6 mile run for sure. I loved riding the El, more taxi adventures for sure, and generally just a good time. I spent 10 minutes at the expo and very little time with anything to do with the marathon.
What came out of all this was me being re enegrgized about running again. Last year, I went, saw the race, came home and ran a half mary in Denver the next weekend after running about 5 miles in a month. The wave carried me all the way to Arizona and Colorado before injuries and I think just exhaustion took it's toll on me. After my knee injury, I took a little time off, and when I returned to running, it still wasn't working for me.
One thing that I have thought a lot about here lately is that all I've done is marathon train for almost a year. I'm not any faster than I was last year when I do things such as 5k's. A change is in order for me I think. I have tentivly targeted Colorado again in May as my next marathon, although I'm not 100% sure. I won't run another one with some things in my life the way they sit right now. If things seem t get squared away, then I'll be mentally prepared. Something someone said to me a few weeks ago about balance and such. The Colder Boulder invite 5k is the next targeted race for me. Instead of a "marathon" training schedule that includes a 5k the first week of December, the next 5 or so weeks will be dedicated to getting faster for that 3.1 miles. Which means a lot of speedwork, lots of hard, short runs. At my worst in June, I was 20:30 for a 5k, to shave those 31 seconds should happen if I'll concentrate on it. I figure my half marathon times will come down when I really buckle down for marathon training again. But this is something I can do without throwing myself full bore into a training program again that requires 70 miles per week.
Enjoy the rest of your October if I don't write again, it's supposed to snow here tonight :-o
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
A new month
Sorry I haven't been keeping up everyone, but life has been busy and really haven't felt like sharing a lot of what's been going on with everything in my life. As the kalendar turns to a new month, hopefully better things are on the horizon and the month closed pretty well for me all things considered. I ran less miles in September than I had since I started running. I took almost 3 of the 4 weeks off completely. My weight has jumped up to almost 180 pounds, a combonation of too much junk food/beer and no running. It actually probably isn't that bad, I just never changed my diet after I stopped training for Chicago. I have been struggling with pain in my abdomen for the last 3 weeks or so and the sad truth is that I finally after all this time may have found out what keeps bothering it. I wear a uniform that is supplied to me at work. All of the pants have a 32 inch waist. I remember when I first got them, I had a pair or two of them that were a little snug...over the last month, they have all become that way as my waist has grown a little. Bottom line is I spend 12 hours wearing pants that are too tight in the waist and its pushing on my midsection, causing pain in my ab. I went out and bought a couple pairs of "dress pants" last night to wear for a couple weeks till my weight comes back down.
From a family standpoint, I have been trying to keep up with my family on the Western Slope a little bit more here lately, but that hasn't gone great. I called my mom on Sunday and she was a mess so I kind of let her cry a little, did what I could, but in the end we just said goodbye and left it at a 5 minute conversation or so.
Mustache week was a success for a local establishment and I could not help but take part. The deal was that Road 34, which is a combo bike shop/bar/deli that always has Original Coors on tap for $1 a pint would give you 1-10 free Coors every day, depending on the quality of your mustache. I walked in Monday night and the dude behind the bar promplty handed me a free beer. My mustache was worth only one free beer each day. By the time it was all said and done, I grew a crappy looking mustache to get 4 free Coors that would have cost me 4 dollars had I just bought them...totally worth it. It was a little late in the evening when they drew for the motorized cooler, so no new wheels for me.
Sorry everyone, no pics of mine, I must have forgotten, but it was still a good time for everyone involved and in retrospect, a great promotion for the bar. Thursdays in their dollar beer night and that was the big night for it. Lots of fun. :-)I also returned to running yesterday, with 2 miles in just under 16 minutes, nothing too stellar, but I need to get some miles in before Chicago, partially to see if I can get my weight under control. Plus I need to see if the change in my pants solves the ab pain because it does get to hurting when I run. I plan to push to 2.5 tonight and see how I feel. I'm kind of getting excited about running again, if I can feel good and do it. The plan right now is for me to begin to get healthy, build some miles, and kick full training in again 18 weeks out of the Colorado Marathon and retry that one again.
Jaz is doing great, she's down almost 4 pounds since they put her on thyroid medcation and she is far and away faster than she used to be. Plus she's got a lot more "spirit". Very cool.
That's all for now.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
September
It's been a long stretch, but life goes on. I have returned to running, and have been pounding out a consistant 5-6 miles per day again, with a couple on the TM on Saturday morning. My legs seem ok and knees seem healthy, hopefully it will all stay that way. Although Chicago is still out of the picture, I think the Crossroads Half, the Denver Half, the HCOTR Half, and the PF Chang Half are all still in sight. I'm really going to try to be attentive to my weight during this stretch, but all the while I need to probably start thinking about a spring marathon, or at least if I have it in me to run another one in the spring. I think more and more that I may stick with shorter stuff for now. I am really struggling with my concentration it seems. I'll let everyone know when I make that decision.
Jaz has been steadily improving, but a trip to the vet on Friday revealed that her weight has not moved since her surgery. She looks so much better, but after a quick blood test and and couple hours, we have found her to be hypo thyroid. Basically they said that I could feed her so little to the point that she might starve and still exercise her, and she probably wouldn't lose weight. 13 dollars worth of pills later, and they say it's quite possible that she'll be 10 pounds lighter in a month. She just has to take 2 a day for the rest of her life. Her coat feels so much better already. :-)
Tour De Fat was Saturday here in Ft. Collins, although I didn't get to participate because of work, I did get to spend some time in Old Town afterwards having a beer and talking to the people around
You can see how people are dressed and how busy it was down at the Trailhead. I actually spent the day before over at New Belgium Brewery, taking the tour, sampling some beers, just hanging out with Jaz in tow. The staff was already dressed up, getting in the spirit. One guy was wearing a lime green suit, but in the pocket were a turkey feather and a claw. He reached down to pet Jaz and she grabbed the feather out of his pocket and turned to me to give it like she had just retrieved a bird. Everyone thought it was the funniest thing. 
There she is guarding the door of one of our watering holes.
With fall coming came the growing of the beard. This happens every year around this time. I think it's the long weekend for Labor Day that I don't have to shave over. I made it 11 days this time before the itching took it's toll. I was inspired by Tyler Foos, winner of the Horsetooth Half last year and bartender at New Belgium's Tap Room. I was thinking that his speed came from his beard, plus Squirrel has one too, but turns out that's not the case, as I am still slow. The beard is gone and that gets rid of my once a year urge to grow one. Plus I think they suck to run in anyways.
That's all for now.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Stormy Weather
So as I wrote previous, my knee had been giving me some trouble after my long runs and I decided to give it some time off, and see what it would do with some rest. Last weekends post long run knee pain was pretty bad, so I basically took the entire week as unscheduled rest, with the exception of Wednesday, which I ran just 3 miles. I figured at this point that if I took a week off and the knee was ok, I could pick back up my MP run yesterday and my 19 miler today and not really have it effect my Chicago marathon training. But if it was still problematic at that point, chances are that I would not be able to recover in time to run the Chicago Marathon anyways. At least not run in the way that I want to.
Thursday brought crazy weather to Colorado, with temps in the 50's and low 60's for the weekend and a constant barrage of rain. I don't normally mind rain, but as cold as it was made for a real pain in the ass day at work and just general miserable conditions. As I left work on Thursday night, this was the scene from under a gas station awning.
Thursday brought crazy weather to Colorado, with temps in the 50's and low 60's for the weekend and a constant barrage of rain. I don't normally mind rain, but as cold as it was made for a real pain in the ass day at work and just general miserable conditions. As I left work on Thursday night, this was the scene from under a gas station awning.
I had dinner in Old Town on Friday night in advance of my run on Saturday, then actually slept in and waited to do the run after I was fully awake and aware. It was still raining pretty good, but I knew I couldn't wait any longer, nor could I skip the run. I told myself that after almost 5 full days off that I was going to set my MP for the run around 7:15, instead of the normal 7:00 that I usually do. I took off and was able to hold the pace pretty good for about the first 5 miles. I felt my knee start to ache a little and so I slowed, not wanting to push it. Within the next mile though, I had to stop and walk, feeling as much pain, if not more from it than I did the previous 2 weeks. Also, both times before, it didn't hurt till after the run was over, this one hurt while I was running. I alternated walking and painful jogging the rest of the way home...
The only decision that I have made right now is that I will not be running the Chicago Marathon. I refuse to do it just to do it, and with the amount of time off that I will probably have to take to get healthy, there is no way that I can run the BQ that I want.
Part of me is thinking about a month off, then re starting the 18 week program, and trying R&R AZ again in January. Another part of me is thinking maybe Colorado again in May, after some signifigant recovery time. Not just from the knee, but also from the fact that I was trying to run a third marathon this year before this happened, and that might be a little much for me. From a dicipline standpoint as well as a health one. I'm just not sure right now. I still fully intend to make the trip to Chicago in Oct. It just looks like for the 2nd year in a row, I'll do it as a spectator.
And when I stopped at one place, this was the scene I saw...
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Where do we go from here?
Where to start...A recap from last weekend had me with a bum knee that hurt after my LR. I took Monday off, skipping a short 3 mile recovery run, then tried to hit my 6x800 intervals the next day. I got through 2 before the skies opened up and the lightning started, when I tried to return to the run, I got through one more before I started to tighten up. I ran only 2 on Wednesday, did my tempo run on Thursday, which went fine, and took Friday off. I ran the Fort Collins Human Race on Saturday in Old Town. This is where things begin to turn for me. I ran a 44:45 for the 10k. My knee and leg started to ache after about 3 miles or so. I was on pace for a PR, then just had to cruise in, hoping not to push the leg too much. I went out for my LR this morning and started to feel it around my 6, but same as last weekend, I finished fine, but about 30-45 minutes after the run, I could hardly walk on it. I could barely shift the clutch in my pickup after Jaz and I left breakfast this morning. It feels better after some time has passed and a trip to the hot tub, but I know if I pick things back up tomorrow, I'll be right back in the same boat next weekend, and next weekend is the hardest stretch of my training cycle. 9 @ MP on Saturday, followed by an 18 miler that comes on Sunday. I really have only missed one or two workouts for this training plan, but at this point I am planning on taking Monday and Tuesday off. I will be missing a recovery run tomorrow, but on Tuesday I have hill intervals scheduled, and I hate to miss the speedwork, especially after not getting all my miles in last Tuesday because of the same problem.
So now I am faced with a tough week ahead. Bottom line is that if I only miss a couple days, even into Wednesday, I can pick up my tempo run on Thursday, take Friday off and hit my workouts over the weekend. If my leg is ok, then I probably don't miss a beat and am still on schedule for Chicago. BUT, if I don't bounce back on Wednesday and wind up being out of action for any significant length of time, what do I do? I know that if I took a week or two off because of this, that I could pick up my plan, go to Chicago and run. I could do the 26.2 miles tomorrow if healthy, the problem is, how fast could I do them? Could I BQ...Probably not. Could I run a 3:30 marathon or so. Most likely. So, do I go and hope that maybe I catch lightning in a bottle, that the drop in altitude, the crowds, and the people I know who will be there to cheer me on, thinking that they might give me the 15 minutes I need to run the 3:15:59. Or do I close up shop, let myself get healthy and once again look at Phoenix. That would give me almost a month to heal and then resume from square one.
I've been sick to my stomach all day long with this turn of events. To think that I may not be able to see this through, that I may go run Chicago just to say I've run it. It fucking sucks. I'll know more in the next couple days...
So now I am faced with a tough week ahead. Bottom line is that if I only miss a couple days, even into Wednesday, I can pick up my tempo run on Thursday, take Friday off and hit my workouts over the weekend. If my leg is ok, then I probably don't miss a beat and am still on schedule for Chicago. BUT, if I don't bounce back on Wednesday and wind up being out of action for any significant length of time, what do I do? I know that if I took a week or two off because of this, that I could pick up my plan, go to Chicago and run. I could do the 26.2 miles tomorrow if healthy, the problem is, how fast could I do them? Could I BQ...Probably not. Could I run a 3:30 marathon or so. Most likely. So, do I go and hope that maybe I catch lightning in a bottle, that the drop in altitude, the crowds, and the people I know who will be there to cheer me on, thinking that they might give me the 15 minutes I need to run the 3:15:59. Or do I close up shop, let myself get healthy and once again look at Phoenix. That would give me almost a month to heal and then resume from square one.
I've been sick to my stomach all day long with this turn of events. To think that I may not be able to see this through, that I may go run Chicago just to say I've run it. It fucking sucks. I'll know more in the next couple days...
Friday, August 8, 2008
Return to Racing
It's Friday, which is a SRD for me every day going into Chicago except for the Friday before the race. It's my toughest day of the week though. It's hard for me not to want to run, bike, swim, anything athletic that helps take the edge off. Amd with my two hardest workouts being Saturday and Sunday every week, I can't spend the day eating poorly or drinking beer or anything like that. Without work to kill the time today, I get to do laundry, play with the dog, and just try and keep myself busy.
So, the hamstring issue from last week turned out to be cramps it looks like. My body has responded ok to returning to running. It's been a goofy week though. I skipped Mondays 3 miles because of the hamstring pain I had. Tueday was interval day, and I tried to do them in the evening after work and wound up getting dumped on by the rain. That's ok, except for it started to lightning so I had to stop after 2 of the 6 to let the weather pass, and when I tried to restart again, I could feel tightness in my hamstring, so I bagged it. Wednesday I cut the run short in the morning because I took Jaz to City Park so she could run with me on the grass. So I was nervous about yesterdays 40 minute tempo run, feeling like I hadn't really run good forever, but it turned out fine, and the leg is ok. :-)
I was scheduled for 9 at MP tomorrow morning, but have decided to run the Fort Collins Human Race 10k tomorrow in Old Town. I commited earlier on in the month that I would run a sub 42 10k, and this is my first attempt. It's also a good way for me to gauge how my Chicago training is coming. I usually don't race on Saturdays because of work, but made arrangments for this one. I like that it's right off a day off for me, plus I get a cut back LR this weekend of 12 miles on Sunday. This will be my first race in about a month and a half, so we shall see.
I also changed shoes finally this week. I went to the Nike Dart VI. No frills, nothing too special. More neutral than stability shoe. Probably not something I plan to stay in long term, but the Triaxs that I've worn for about a year now are really heavy and thought I might try something different to see if I can get out of having to wear one specific shoe. If it doesn't work out, I can always dive into the closet for another set of Triax 10's. But we shall see on that too.
Time to change the laundry...have a great weekend everyone. Race report to come this weekend.
So, the hamstring issue from last week turned out to be cramps it looks like. My body has responded ok to returning to running. It's been a goofy week though. I skipped Mondays 3 miles because of the hamstring pain I had. Tueday was interval day, and I tried to do them in the evening after work and wound up getting dumped on by the rain. That's ok, except for it started to lightning so I had to stop after 2 of the 6 to let the weather pass, and when I tried to restart again, I could feel tightness in my hamstring, so I bagged it. Wednesday I cut the run short in the morning because I took Jaz to City Park so she could run with me on the grass. So I was nervous about yesterdays 40 minute tempo run, feeling like I hadn't really run good forever, but it turned out fine, and the leg is ok. :-)
I was scheduled for 9 at MP tomorrow morning, but have decided to run the Fort Collins Human Race 10k tomorrow in Old Town. I commited earlier on in the month that I would run a sub 42 10k, and this is my first attempt. It's also a good way for me to gauge how my Chicago training is coming. I usually don't race on Saturdays because of work, but made arrangments for this one. I like that it's right off a day off for me, plus I get a cut back LR this weekend of 12 miles on Sunday. This will be my first race in about a month and a half, so we shall see.
I also changed shoes finally this week. I went to the Nike Dart VI. No frills, nothing too special. More neutral than stability shoe. Probably not something I plan to stay in long term, but the Triaxs that I've worn for about a year now are really heavy and thought I might try something different to see if I can get out of having to wear one specific shoe. If it doesn't work out, I can always dive into the closet for another set of Triax 10's. But we shall see on that too.
Time to change the laundry...have a great weekend everyone. Race report to come this weekend.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Trouble...Maybe
So I've been writing a little about how my workouts for my Chicago training have been getting better and better. So as the weekend arrived, I knew I had some longer workouts, but nothing that would be too taxing from a speed standpoint. After just 4 on Wednesday at about 8:15 per mile, I had just 3 @ MP on Thursday morning. After work I went to Tony's with a couple guys and had a couple beers, but wound up leaving and going with Jaz to the Trailhead for another and just sitting on the deck and letting people pet her while I relaxed a little. I got up and nailed my Thursday workout, then took Friday as my SRD. Saturdays run was 8, but at MP +90 seconds, which put me at around 8:30 per mile. I did that and then off to work, after work, I had dinner. I got to bed late, but felt good getting up for yesterdays run. I ran the mile to the park where the bike trail begins up near my house and then another 7.5 down and the 8.5 back. I stuck the 8:30 pace that I wanted to pretty much the whole way. I finished the run feeling good and took a shower and headed out to breakfast. Jaz and I usually go to Gibs NY Bagels here in town on my days off to grab something to eat on the 2 days a week that I don't work. I eat a bagel sandwich and have coffee there on my days off from work. Fridays are usually pretty easy because it's my rest day, but Sundays we go after my Long Run and chill out. After my 17 though, I decided to head downtown to a little place here on Mountain Ave, right up from where I work and the Trailhead and all and actually sit and have breakfast. They have a dog-friendly patio out back and the food is pretty good. So I climbed out of the truck to go let Jaz out and make my way to their patio, and my left hamstring felt a little funny, plus I was limping a little. I had remembered looking at my Garmin when I finished the run, and it had said that I had burned 2300 calories on my work out, so I figured I had a free pass within reason for breakfast. Steak, eggs, hashbrowns, toast, and a huge ass pancake, with SF syrup, lol. I drove Jaz down to the river and let her swim for a while, and during the walk, my leg actually felt worse. After I got back to the house, I tried to relax it and it just hurt worse and worse as the day went on. After I sat down over dinner last night, I decided to take the day off today from running, (it was just 3 recovery miles) and we'll see how it looks tomorrow. I was just talking on Saturday about replacing my shoes, since I've been in them for a long time. Hopefully I didn't wait a day too long.
I have a speed workout tomorrow, and we'll see how it reacts in the morning, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see...
I have a speed workout tomorrow, and we'll see how it reacts in the morning, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see...
Saturday, July 26, 2008
July Come and Gone...almost
It's almost the end of the month of July, and as we get ready to head into August, I start to think about how the summer is almost gone. We'll have a couple more months of good warm weather here, but with the end of August starts the college football season, the Broncos reported to camp yesterday, meaning the first exhibition game of the season isn't too far behind, these mean the ushering in of fall.
Work has been busy this summer. We are having the biggest month we have had since I rejoined my company, I am happy to say that Jaz's surgery about 10 days ago was a success and that she is doing well, she will return to swimming tomorrow, and has really started to slim down. Her mammory glands have started to shrink just a little, I really need to get her weighed, I may do that one night this week if I can sneak off to the vets at some point. She's a little less obidient right now as she has began to feel better for the first time in months, and I couldn't be happier with her progress.
Marathon training has been a little up and down, a lot of that is my fault, as I think I had been over cross training a little, thus leaving my legs a little tired to really give everything I can to my Chicago workouts. As I have really quieted the other stuff besides running down, the last two really hard workouts for me have gone very well. My 40 minute tempo run on Thursday, and my 8 miles at MP (the MP workouts have been the toughest on me so far) today were both the best workouts I've had so far. I remember preparing for the Flying Pig...er Colorado Marathon, that when I had a LR on Sunday, I used to go easy on Saturdays. This plan has me doing that MP run today, then backing it up with a 16 miler tomorrow. Plus afterwards I get to help my roommate move a bunch of stuff. Fun filled day for me tomorrow. I'm fried right now and I have to get up and pound out 16 in less than 9 hours. LR's never bother me though, probably because they are slower pace, I've always joked that I could run 8 minute miles all day long, it's when they need to be in the 7's and 6's...
Besides that stuff, life is the same as always. Biggest change for me right now is that I put the camper shell back on my truck today, it'll be better for Jaz when she needs to be in the pickup for any stretch of time.
Work has been busy this summer. We are having the biggest month we have had since I rejoined my company, I am happy to say that Jaz's surgery about 10 days ago was a success and that she is doing well, she will return to swimming tomorrow, and has really started to slim down. Her mammory glands have started to shrink just a little, I really need to get her weighed, I may do that one night this week if I can sneak off to the vets at some point. She's a little less obidient right now as she has began to feel better for the first time in months, and I couldn't be happier with her progress.
Marathon training has been a little up and down, a lot of that is my fault, as I think I had been over cross training a little, thus leaving my legs a little tired to really give everything I can to my Chicago workouts. As I have really quieted the other stuff besides running down, the last two really hard workouts for me have gone very well. My 40 minute tempo run on Thursday, and my 8 miles at MP (the MP workouts have been the toughest on me so far) today were both the best workouts I've had so far. I remember preparing for the Flying Pig...er Colorado Marathon, that when I had a LR on Sunday, I used to go easy on Saturdays. This plan has me doing that MP run today, then backing it up with a 16 miler tomorrow. Plus afterwards I get to help my roommate move a bunch of stuff. Fun filled day for me tomorrow. I'm fried right now and I have to get up and pound out 16 in less than 9 hours. LR's never bother me though, probably because they are slower pace, I've always joked that I could run 8 minute miles all day long, it's when they need to be in the 7's and 6's...
Besides that stuff, life is the same as always. Biggest change for me right now is that I put the camper shell back on my truck today, it'll be better for Jaz when she needs to be in the pickup for any stretch of time.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Small Miracles
So the 4th of July has come and gone. It is my favorite holiday by far of all of them. It's always warm because its right in the middle of summer, work is closed, and the 4th is more about friends than family. Don't get me wrong, if your married and spend the day with your SO and kids and stuff, that's cool. But holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving are where you spend time with your parents and aunts and uncles and shit. The 4th is about being with people you WANT to be with, not people you HAVE to be with. New Years Day is a close 2nd to the 4th. Notice I say New Years Day, and not New Years Eve. New Years Eve sucks. Sucks bad. New Years Day is great because of football and beer and relaxing and all that. Something about the 4th makes it the best though. I had 2 seperate wedding receptions to attend over the weekend, one for a buddy of mine from Iowa, one for my bosses brother. I also enjoyed an awesome dinner with my friend Ryan and his SO down in Denver. As a whole I had a great 4th weekend. Best weekend I've had in months actually.
On Wednesday this week, after about a month of unsuccesfully trying to rid Jaz of this psudopregnancy that she is in, I contacted the vet and made an appointment to have her spayed. This is what they say will take care of it, and truth be told its been way too long coming. They freaked when I told them the length of time that Jaz had been false pregnant and so we made the appointment to have her looked at and blood tested to make sure she could go through the surgery at 6 years old. Thank god, she passed with flying colors. All in her blood work was ok, except being a little anemic, from the false pregnancy, everything else was great. I was so afraid they might find something wrong with her. They also said that some of the weird things with her, the balding tail, her bald nose, and the dryness on the edges of her ears, should all clear up after the surgery. Her body never rid itself of it's last heat cycle, so she's been in heat for almost half a year. Jaz is the most mellow dog you will ever meet when it's not time for hunting, or hunt training. They said that a little of the piss and vinigar that she used to have in her should return. So I'm very excited, plus it should remove about a 6th of her body weight from not carrying milk in her mammory glands anymore. Her quality of life should be greatly improved. I am saddened that she will not carry on her lineage, but there are others who can from her litter and others by her parents. She is just such a cool, unique dog.
The dog in the grass is Jaz's mother Max, and the one on the right is her father Jax. Both are over 9 years old now, so they probably will not be having anymore litters, but Jaz got very cool traits from these dogs. A couple of the best dogs I've ever hunted with.
I'll keep everyone updated on Jaz's surgery next week.
On Wednesday this week, after about a month of unsuccesfully trying to rid Jaz of this psudopregnancy that she is in, I contacted the vet and made an appointment to have her spayed. This is what they say will take care of it, and truth be told its been way too long coming. They freaked when I told them the length of time that Jaz had been false pregnant and so we made the appointment to have her looked at and blood tested to make sure she could go through the surgery at 6 years old. Thank god, she passed with flying colors. All in her blood work was ok, except being a little anemic, from the false pregnancy, everything else was great. I was so afraid they might find something wrong with her. They also said that some of the weird things with her, the balding tail, her bald nose, and the dryness on the edges of her ears, should all clear up after the surgery. Her body never rid itself of it's last heat cycle, so she's been in heat for almost half a year. Jaz is the most mellow dog you will ever meet when it's not time for hunting, or hunt training. They said that a little of the piss and vinigar that she used to have in her should return. So I'm very excited, plus it should remove about a 6th of her body weight from not carrying milk in her mammory glands anymore. Her quality of life should be greatly improved. I am saddened that she will not carry on her lineage, but there are others who can from her litter and others by her parents. She is just such a cool, unique dog.
The dog in the grass is Jaz's mother Max, and the one on the right is her father Jax. Both are over 9 years old now, so they probably will not be having anymore litters, but Jaz got very cool traits from these dogs. A couple of the best dogs I've ever hunted with.
I'll keep everyone updated on Jaz's surgery next week.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Marathon Pace/Brewfest/Josh Turner
So this morning's workout called for 6 mile at MP. This is my 3rd MP workout since I started this training program, and the first 2 did not go well. I warmed up for a half mile or so, then let it rip for 6 miles @ 6:55 per. The run went really well this morning actually, and looking back, the fact that I had the flu really hampered my 2 previous MP runs. Todays was a great workout, and I actually was a little faster than I was supposed to be some of the time. I'm having trouble knowing my speed right not, but it started to come to me near the end of the run today, so hopefully it will continue on into next weeks workouts. Cutback long run this weekend of just 8 miles on Sunday. I wasn't feeling good about my training plan the first couple weeks, thinking maybe it wasn't going to push me enough to improve me, but I am really feeling better about it now. Next week starts to get a lot tougher.
Today and tommorow are the annual Brewfest weekend here in Old Town Fort Collins. God I love summers down here.
http://downtownfortcollins.com/festivals.php/brewfest
With all of our breweries here in town and the brew pubs, this is one of the more popular events each summer. Work will probably be pretty slow today though. People either come down to get their drink on, or they avoid Old Town all together. I usually do the latter after my day is done. I remember last year, Mica and I were going to come down after I got done with work and hang out downtown, thinking it would be a cool party night. We walked into one bar, turned around and left. It gets pretty messy when people spend all day drinking like that. We went bowling instead. Lol
After I get off tonight, I will run the 3 miles with Jaz that we are trying to do everynight but Fridays, then I'm off to Greeley to see the Josh Turner concert at the Greeley Stampede. I really wanted to see Tim McGraw who is playing tomorrow night, but ponying up 90 bucks to stand in a rodeo arena is a little more than I wanted to pay, and the tickets for tonight are free. :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eapjR5QfVB4 Soulmate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLn6maxATvQ Your Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLn6maxATvQ Would You Go With Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPPXHiaiKqs Firecracker. Perfect for the 4th of July, lol.
Should be a good time anyways. Plus there's a Del Taco in Greeley...
Today and tommorow are the annual Brewfest weekend here in Old Town Fort Collins. God I love summers down here.
http://downtownfortcollins.com/festivals.php/brewfest
With all of our breweries here in town and the brew pubs, this is one of the more popular events each summer. Work will probably be pretty slow today though. People either come down to get their drink on, or they avoid Old Town all together. I usually do the latter after my day is done. I remember last year, Mica and I were going to come down after I got done with work and hang out downtown, thinking it would be a cool party night. We walked into one bar, turned around and left. It gets pretty messy when people spend all day drinking like that. We went bowling instead. Lol
After I get off tonight, I will run the 3 miles with Jaz that we are trying to do everynight but Fridays, then I'm off to Greeley to see the Josh Turner concert at the Greeley Stampede. I really wanted to see Tim McGraw who is playing tomorrow night, but ponying up 90 bucks to stand in a rodeo arena is a little more than I wanted to pay, and the tickets for tonight are free. :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eapjR5QfVB4 Soulmate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLn6maxATvQ Your Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLn6maxATvQ Would You Go With Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPPXHiaiKqs Firecracker. Perfect for the 4th of July, lol.
Should be a good time anyways. Plus there's a Del Taco in Greeley...
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tempo, Tempo, Tempo
I'm trying to keep up with this folks, I really am. Life has been a little crazy lately with the new training starting and with me gettin sick a couple weeks ago. Work has been so busy lately too, I hardly find time to keep up with it all. Since getting over the flu, I have been a morning run person each day, and have started to pick up about 3 miles at night on top of any lifting or cross training. Those are mostly for the dog to get exercise since she sleeps most of the day. I figure bumper sessions in the morning, at lunch, then 3 miles at night is a good regiment for anyone.
Found myself about a minute short of my 10 minutes at 10k pace this morning on my run, hopefully attributed to the fact that I did 6 with my running group last night and really brought the speed the last two miles. Me and Paublo probably erased a 1/3 of a mile deficit to a couple pretty good runners in about a mile or so, then he faded on the last hill, and me and another guy finished neck and neck. Don't get me wrong, I'm not there to race, but after being sick last week and really not looking very fit in front of my new running friends, I wanted to show that I do have some skill. The key word being "some".
Off day tomorrow. Enjoy.
Found myself about a minute short of my 10 minutes at 10k pace this morning on my run, hopefully attributed to the fact that I did 6 with my running group last night and really brought the speed the last two miles. Me and Paublo probably erased a 1/3 of a mile deficit to a couple pretty good runners in about a mile or so, then he faded on the last hill, and me and another guy finished neck and neck. Don't get me wrong, I'm not there to race, but after being sick last week and really not looking very fit in front of my new running friends, I wanted to show that I do have some skill. The key word being "some".
Off day tomorrow. Enjoy.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Fathers Day Weekend
I'm a little late writing all this, but Fathers Day Weekend is a neat one here in Old Town Fort Collins. It starts on the Saturday morning before with the Old Town Car Show, Sunday morning is the Fathers Day 5k, and all weekend long was the Taste of Ft. Collins. We had beautiful weather for the whole weekend.
A little back story on the place I work, it was owned by the same person for over 2 decades, then while I was out in Chicago last Oct on vacation, it was sold while I was gone. Our new owner is a good guy, an active Mormon in his church, and generally a nice boss. In years past we have always been business as usual on days that Old Town would be shut down for these kinds of things. The ex store manager, "The Old Man" made sure of it. But this year we embraced the atmoshpere, the new owner came down and greeted people, spent the day saying hi and petting Jaz. Some pics...
So I got up Sunday morning to run the Fathers Day 5k. I had dropped a hint a couple times to my new friend and running pal Doug that he should come out and run it. He also was looking for the magical sub 20, although he was one week out from the Mt. Evans ascent. He decided to and we ran the race together. A little backdrop on Doug. He and I have run 6 races together now, and in the first 4 I was anywhere from 2-9 minutes behind me, depending on the distance, but the last 2, Boulder and now this 5k, he has finished faster than me in both races. He's really getting quick and becoming a terrific runner. I woke up with my stomach not feeling right. I spent over 2 hours nursing it, trying to get it ready to race. When the gun went off, I felt ok. Doug and I ran the first half of the race together, but around then, I started to fall off a little. Around 2.5 I knew I wasn't going to get in under 20, but Doug was still going strong and was able to get in at 19:43. I came across 20:30. I didn't think much about it at the time and chalked it up to stomach problems, but by noon that day I had a 101 degree fever and my stomach was really hurting. Looks like I had the flu. My fever broke the next day, and this morning finally I ran without stomach issues again for the first time. I still feel weak, but at least I can really get going again.
Hey, the 4th is coming up. My favorite holiday...
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
6/11/08 5 Easy
Nothing really to report from this mornings run. 5 miles, about 7:50 per average. My legs were a little tired near the end, but didn't really wear me out too much. My change in the time I am getting to work this morning really worked to my advantage this morning. I ran, showered, went to the park, played with Jaz, stopped at the supermarket to buy food for work, and was still was far enough ahead in my day to stop by another park and play with the dog for another 15 minutes or so.
I look forward to tomorrows tempo run, as I am starting to grow fond of them. The Higdon training site says that at the end of them you should feel refreshed, not drained. And that's the way the couple I have done have worked out. I am a little nervous with the weekends workouts though. 5 miles at marathon pace on Saturday, followed by 10 on Sunday. Plus before the 10, I am racing a 5k here in old town hoping once again for the magical sub 20.
And it was Subway for dinner last night John, but I might try your suggestion tonight...
I look forward to tomorrows tempo run, as I am starting to grow fond of them. The Higdon training site says that at the end of them you should feel refreshed, not drained. And that's the way the couple I have done have worked out. I am a little nervous with the weekends workouts though. 5 miles at marathon pace on Saturday, followed by 10 on Sunday. Plus before the 10, I am racing a 5k here in old town hoping once again for the magical sub 20.
And it was Subway for dinner last night John, but I might try your suggestion tonight...
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
6/10/08 3xHills
I got up and out around 4:30 this morning. The weather was perfect for a morning run, and I am getting to the point where I actually look forward to rolling out of bed and going again. I'm sure it hast to do with the low miles that the workouts are right now, but whatever gets me up and out of bed.
I made my way to Hughes Stadium, parked in the lot and started down the trail. A little over a mile in, there is a hill that stretches about a 1/4 mile from the bottom to the top and back to the bottom again on the other side. The elevation gain is 356 feet in the 1/8th mile to the top and then the same back down the other 1/8th. So I did 12 repeats up and down with what is known as a 3/1 as well. Meaning every third time I went up, instead of jogging the downhill, I still ran as hard as I could on the way down. I got to just over 4 miles and turned home. 5 total for the day.
Breakfast consisted of a wheat mini bagel and a bowl of rice chex. Lunch will probably be soft shell tacos - cheese.
Not sure about dinner.
I made my way to Hughes Stadium, parked in the lot and started down the trail. A little over a mile in, there is a hill that stretches about a 1/4 mile from the bottom to the top and back to the bottom again on the other side. The elevation gain is 356 feet in the 1/8th mile to the top and then the same back down the other 1/8th. So I did 12 repeats up and down with what is known as a 3/1 as well. Meaning every third time I went up, instead of jogging the downhill, I still ran as hard as I could on the way down. I got to just over 4 miles and turned home. 5 total for the day.
Breakfast consisted of a wheat mini bagel and a bowl of rice chex. Lunch will probably be soft shell tacos - cheese.
Not sure about dinner.
Monday, June 9, 2008
3 Easy Miles 06/09/08
I got up around 4:30 this morning and hit the trails next to the house with Jaz for my 3 mile scheduled workout. Today starts it all. Plus with Jaz not being able to go to work with me anymore, I am going to start biking the 5 or so miles to work everyday. I'll return home on my bike at night, then head for the gym, play with her, or whatever I do that evening. Since I moved in her, I pretty much haven't gone anywhere where she's not attached to my hip. It'll be quite the change.
As far as the run goes, not to much to report, my side did cramp a little, but I'm sure that's more dehydration than anything else. Really got to work on this bottle thing.
As far as the run goes, not to much to report, my side did cramp a little, but I'm sure that's more dehydration than anything else. Really got to work on this bottle thing.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Sweet Home Chicago
So the 4th of June came and ended and they drew the lottery for the ING NYC Marathon that day. As many of you know, I got the big, bold NO next to my name in the accepted column. I really wanted to run this race this year, and that feeling of grew over the course of the day, after I found out my friend Chooch was accepted earlier in the day. To be able to run the same race as him and the world famous Squirrel would have been very cool. I am not in the same league as either of these guys as far as speed right now, although in my first two marathons, my performances haven't been that far away from what they did in their first two. So there's still hope for me I guess.
So I was really bummed for a couple days, but then I really got to thinking about this trip as a whole. First and formost, I really wanted to run with Squirrel, but in reality, I had my chance to do that in May in Cinci, and bypassed it to stay here and run the marathon in my hometown instead. So I can't feel bad about that. Chooch and I have never run the same race, but I know we'll get that chance soon. A trip to Chciago will cost me a fraction of what a trip to NY will, I think right now, RT airline tickets are right in the 160-175 range. And I'll stay a little different this year than I did last year. Probably closer to Midway, to downtown, and closer to the El, because cab fare just kills you. And really I am way more a Chicago guy than a New York guy anyways. I love the Cubs, although not a big fan of the rest of the sports teams. It really is my kind of city. I've traveled a lot the last year or so, and it's the one I enjoyed the most from a city standpoint. Chooch was a great Chicago host, while TJ was awesome in Phoenix when I was there, and I did love LA and all that went with it. The Blues Brothers is one of my favorite movies, and I've been called Clark Griswold a time or two while decorating the house for Christmas, lol. It's my kind of feel, my kind of town. Plus I really wanted to run the one there last year, so thank GOD I registered when I did. I can't seem to get my corral status fixed with them, but hopefully we'll work it out.
So my training program starts on Monday, so today I am sitting over a couple (the word couple used very loosly) beers, will probably head to the Trailhead for lunch or something, and enjoy my last day before I start a very serious training cycle. I will start updating in this blog pretty much every day the workouts that have been done, how I feel, and how I think things are coming along. It will really be a Daily paper at that time. Some updates may be short, but I'll try and check in every day.
The clock is ticking...
Friday, May 30, 2008
The Mojo Returnith
So Boulder brought me back to the world of runners again. And just in time I would say. In a phone call on Memorial Day, I was reminded by Chooch that the Chicago Marathon, which is the next one I am scheduled to run, is 18 weeks out as of June 9th. Meaning that's the day that I have to start my training. I have selected the Hal Higdon Advanced II marathon training program for use in Chicago. I will not try to write my own stuff and decided on this one, more so than the Daniels or the Pfitz plans becuase of the marathon I am running. Hal and Chicago go together like a hot shower and a cold beer :-p. It is a proven plan that works for this marathon. I will probably run a few more miles than what is in the plan, but the workouts are what have drawn me to this particular one. Where it fits for me is that I have Fridays and Sundays off from work. Every Friday in this plan is a scheduled rest day, which means I can give my body the full day off. No work, no running, just playing with the dog and enjoying the sunshine. I will just have to resist the urge to spend the day drinking beer while I'm at it. Although I pretty much planning on going booze free for the summer as I head to Chicago. The other part of the plan I like is the back to back hard workouts that take place on the weekends. Thus the Friday off before hand. For example in week 10, after doing hills on Tuesday, that Saturday I am to run 9 miles at "pace" , (meaning marathon pace), which is quite the workout in intself, but then the next day, I have a 19 mile run to do the next day. Sounds fun, huh? Actually to me it does. I talked a little a couple blogs ago about how I felt like my mid week stuff, my non LR or speedwork runs were not very good as I trained for Colorado. I mixed long runs and pace runs together, thinking it would make me stronger, but it just cut the corner and allowed my mid week runs to just be miles instead of anything beneificial.
As we enter the month of June, I am embarking on the North v. South Challenge on RW as well as many others from the forums. The first 3 weeks of this plan, my miles will be a little higher than what's scheduled, as I will be logging quite a few miles for the North team. I am beginning the month tomorrow with my longest run since my marathon at the begining of last month, and if all goes well, will surpass the 100 mile mark at least once during the month, although I am hoping for twice, but I'm not going to risk my marathon over it. I figure around 350 for the month for me. And that still leaves me where my long runs for my plan are 13, 14, and 10 as we enter the first 3 weeks of July. I talked about being very business like when I ran Boulder at the beginning of this last week, well, that's the way this training is going to be.
I am still trying to get back into the routine of getting up early in the morning again. I so want to be an early morning runner, but am not there yet. By the 9th of June, I hope to be doing my running in the morning, then after work, I can head to the gym for 2 nights a week of light weight lifting, 2 nights a week of core work, 2 nights a week of swimming, and then still making Friday go to the gym and sit in the hot tub and resting day. It's hard to believe that it's almost time for me to start training again, yet here we go.
I plan to run the Bakers Dozen trail half marathon next Sunday and have a 5k scheduled the week after that. I will probably keep racing throughout the summer, just to keep me moving and motivated, while working it in with my training.
Happy last day of May folks...
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Bolder Boulder
So I got back in action today for the first time since running the Colorado Marathon on May 4th and ran the Bolder Boulder for the 2nd consecutive year today. I've talked with a few people on this site in PM's and over email and phone calls, but I've been in a funk since the marathon went south for me earlier this month. I haven't been running much, I haven't been rising at 4 to go to the gym, I usually get up around 5:30 to play with the dog and make sure she gets exercise, then shower and off to work. I stepped foot in my gym for the first time in a week on Sunday, and then I just sat in the hot tub and relaxed. I needed a kick in the a/s/s and started by signing up for a trail half marathon in two weeks, but was hoping a good race today would go a long ways to getting me going again. I've never run a good race in Boulder. Last years BB 10k I ran a 46:32, and at the Colder Boulder invite in December, I ran a 21:56 for a 5k. This is was actually only my 3rd ever 10k, and my PR of 44:57 has stood for almost a year.One thing I can say about today is that I really like the 10k distance. I will probably try and do more of these.I think about 53000 people ran Boulder this year. It was a cooler day than last year, and rained for a lot of the morning before the race. I started in the AB wave for the 2nd straight year as well. Last year I showed up in Boulder with no IPOD because they are prohibited, and saw 90% of the people running wearing one. I didn't bring one again this year, it's only 10k and there's a buttload of entertainment on the course. I set my Garmin for 42:59 as the target finish time. 6:59 per mile is what it said I needed to run. And something in the 42:'s was what I was shooting for. As the waves moved forward and were being released, I stood back and waited for everyone in mine to go before I took off. I was hoping that the people would thin a little and I wouldn't get stuck behind people or hung up.
Mile 1. 6:39. A little quick, but didn't think too much about it knowing I could slow up a little and had lots of race to run.
Mile 2. 6:50. Settled in at a good pace, passed a kid I blogged about once who worked out at my old gym, he was struggling already and I offered some words of encouragement as I passed.
Mile 3. 6:58. I was pretty much right on the money with this mile. A couple things that took place during this mile. #1 I started to really struggle during this part last year, and recognized the stretch that I actually walked during this mile last year, but held tough today. #2. The guys with the slip and slide who were drinking beer at 7:30 in the morning, wearing straw cowboy hats and asking if we wanted to stop and party...If I had felt at this point in the race like I did last year, game on boys, but not today. It was kinda cool though.
Mile 4. 7:01. I was starting to feel it a little in my legs, as when you hit the mile 4 marker, its a pretty good uphill. I was watching my Forerunner, but instead of trying to run at 6:59 pace up the hill, I ran at 6:59 exertion, and picked the time up on the way back down the other side. As this mile ended, you start to enter the business districts again and know your getting close.
Mile 5. 6:52. Another good mile for me, was really starting to feel a little fatigue, but the coolest part was that instead of backing off, I pushed ahead, never really getting off pace. This was another section last year where I stopped and walked.Mile 6. 7:05.
Mile 6 is decieving in it's time because of the finish of the race. You hang the right onto Folsom Street, which begins to lead you to Folsom Field. It's a slight uphill that ends with a pretty good climb as you run the last 1000 meters or so. The part I really don't like is at 8.8 they start hanging banners that tell you your KM run. When I saw the first one from a distance, I remember last year seeing a 9k one, so I thought that was it and I was in great shape. Come to find out I was .2km off. So I picked up the pace a little, climbed the hill to the stadium, and crossed the finish line at 42:58:84, less than one second faster than my target I set on my Garmin. 1:59 seconds ahead of my 10k PR.I didn't run a really fast race today. I set a goal and acheived it. I refound a little dicipline today, and was almost scientific in the way I tried to hit my mile times. With the exception of getting out a little quick, I was pretty much right where I wanted to be for most of my miles. I was tired at the end, but wasn't hanging on for dear life. Like I said, I set a goal, and I acheived it.
I have talked recently about my lack of motivation, my not really wanting to run, or work out, or do much of anything except hide from life it seems. I got up this morning and ran. I wasn't hung over because I didn't go out and party after the race. I feel like I might be ready to return to normal, to fight on like I used to be able to. I think I'm ready to put all the outside distractions behind me and try to get back to what I enjoy doing. Running
Mile 1. 6:39. A little quick, but didn't think too much about it knowing I could slow up a little and had lots of race to run.
Mile 2. 6:50. Settled in at a good pace, passed a kid I blogged about once who worked out at my old gym, he was struggling already and I offered some words of encouragement as I passed.
Mile 3. 6:58. I was pretty much right on the money with this mile. A couple things that took place during this mile. #1 I started to really struggle during this part last year, and recognized the stretch that I actually walked during this mile last year, but held tough today. #2. The guys with the slip and slide who were drinking beer at 7:30 in the morning, wearing straw cowboy hats and asking if we wanted to stop and party...If I had felt at this point in the race like I did last year, game on boys, but not today. It was kinda cool though.
Mile 4. 7:01. I was starting to feel it a little in my legs, as when you hit the mile 4 marker, its a pretty good uphill. I was watching my Forerunner, but instead of trying to run at 6:59 pace up the hill, I ran at 6:59 exertion, and picked the time up on the way back down the other side. As this mile ended, you start to enter the business districts again and know your getting close.
Mile 5. 6:52. Another good mile for me, was really starting to feel a little fatigue, but the coolest part was that instead of backing off, I pushed ahead, never really getting off pace. This was another section last year where I stopped and walked.Mile 6. 7:05.
Mile 6 is decieving in it's time because of the finish of the race. You hang the right onto Folsom Street, which begins to lead you to Folsom Field. It's a slight uphill that ends with a pretty good climb as you run the last 1000 meters or so. The part I really don't like is at 8.8 they start hanging banners that tell you your KM run. When I saw the first one from a distance, I remember last year seeing a 9k one, so I thought that was it and I was in great shape. Come to find out I was .2km off. So I picked up the pace a little, climbed the hill to the stadium, and crossed the finish line at 42:58:84, less than one second faster than my target I set on my Garmin. 1:59 seconds ahead of my 10k PR.I didn't run a really fast race today. I set a goal and acheived it. I refound a little dicipline today, and was almost scientific in the way I tried to hit my mile times. With the exception of getting out a little quick, I was pretty much right where I wanted to be for most of my miles. I was tired at the end, but wasn't hanging on for dear life. Like I said, I set a goal, and I acheived it.
I have talked recently about my lack of motivation, my not really wanting to run, or work out, or do much of anything except hide from life it seems. I got up this morning and ran. I wasn't hung over because I didn't go out and party after the race. I feel like I might be ready to return to normal, to fight on like I used to be able to. I think I'm ready to put all the outside distractions behind me and try to get back to what I enjoy doing. Running
Sunday, May 25, 2008
A Year Gone By
Today is the Sunday before Memorial Day. That day last year was a biggie for me. Tomorrow morning I will get up and make my way down to Boulder to run the 10k down there for the 2nd year in a row. I think about all the racing I've done since last years race and how excited I am for this years. Boulder is the biggest event, at least by number of people, that I have ever done. I race a buttload, and most of the stuff is very small though. I did PF Chang in AZ and that was big, watched Chicago last year, and ran the half at the Denver Marathon, and those where the places I saw the most people. Last year 50,816 people laced it up to run the Bolder Boulder. This is its 30th year and I imagine it will be more like 52,000 this year. Luckily I get to start in the AB wave, which is like the 4th wave out so 99% of those people will start and finish behind me. It's just a 10k and when it's all said and done, probably not worth the 30 bucks in gas I'll spend to drive there, fight the traffic to find a parking space, and wait in the port o potty lines for half an hour before the race to run for 40 some minutes. The town is very cool though, a lot like Ft. Collins, although a little less laid back and a lot more political. I'm not huge into politics and a person can be as laid back as they want to be, so that stuff has no effect on me. I will probably take my camera tomorrow and get some pics, as it is a beautiful town.
This is a huge reflection weekend for me, as my life has changed a lot since Memorial Day last year. And it will be a day or two full of reflection for me. How things have changes, how some have stayed the same. How the decisions I've made in the last year have really affected my life. It's almost an anniversery of some kind. A time to look back and look forward. It's been a big weekend so far, with more to come.
Race report to come tomorrow...
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Answers Found On The Road
It's been 2 weeks since the Colorado Marathon, and I was thinking about another one in Steamboat before cooler heads prevailed and I opted to just run the Bolder Boulder, and do some local 5 and 10K stuff as I headed into the summer and get ready for my next marathon training session to begin twords the middle July. One thing that was said to me when I thought about running Steamboat was that if I was serious about it, I needed to figure out what went wrong in Colorado, and while out for a 5 mile run yesterday, I found out just that.
I did all the miles necessary to run a complete marathon, probably more than needed, where I fell short was in the intensity of those workouts. As I tried to get ready for that first marathon, I lived by the motto that I only ran fast on the days I was supposed to. I felt like it kept me healthy, got me to the starting line in one piece. My speed workouts were always good, but the longer stuff, and even the non speed days were very easy. After having very good success with that at PF Chang, I went the same route for the Colorado Marathon, although at this point I believe that what I came up with was 1 speed workout per week, (or hills), one long run per week, and 4 days of junk miles. Just miles is all they were. I never really pushed myself as hard as I could, for fear of injury. And my body adjusted to the mileage, and only really got taxed for a couple workouts a week. Thus explaining how I could run borderline 70 miles per week average and show almost no signs of weight loss, my body physically not changing, ect. My diet was almost identical to the training I did for Phoenix, but obviously with much different results. My body was ready to run 26.2 miles. It just was not ready to run it at the pace I set out to do. The shitty part of that is, that I still probably could have run a 3:25 marathon, if I had run 7:20 miles instead of 7:00 minute ones instead. It wasn't the distance that got me, it was the speed in which I was trying to cover that distance in that cooked my goose. I recall the early days of my running last summer, where it seemed i couldn't get healthy, and a big part of that was that I would run as fast as I could on a daily basis, and my body wouldn't hold up to it. This round, I was hardly running fast at all, so there has to be some middle ground somewhere for me to find. Which I will I think during my down time over the next couple months.
The other thing that came to me on that run was about race goals. I mentioned that I would like to race Boulder in around 42:something. I did it in 46:something last year, but it was one of my worst races. That goal is probably one of the more realistic ones I've set in recent memory. I think about my 2 marathons, although I think that BQ'ing in Co was not that far of a stretch when I set it, when I was thinking BQ in AZ, since it was my first one, that may have been over the top a little. To PR the Horsetooth Half in April, which I missed by 29 seconds on one of the hardest couses I've ever done, may have been a stretch as well, due to the elevatiojn changes of the race. Anyways I got to thinking. How many times have I ever walked from a race and done what I set out to do. I ran my first 5k and finished it, that's one. I ran my second and finished faster than my first. That's two. I ran my third and was faster than my second, that's three, but also that got me in the 20:something range and every other 5k since except when I placed in my age group at the Cinco Cinco 5k and got a plaque for it, has been the sub 20 quest which I havent obtained. But we'll say 4 times on 5k's have I done what I wanted. Finishing races after my exprience in Boulder last year is no longer an accomplishment. I had no doubts that at the begining of any of my halfs, or even my two fulls that I would cross the finish line. For me that is not even something that crosses my mind. Although happy with my time at my first Horsetooth Half last year, I didn't make the time I wanted. Hell I didn't make the time I wanted last year, this year. Under 1:35 was last years goal, to PR was this years, and neither came true. The day in November last year when I did set my half PR, I did accomplish what I set out to do that day. So that's five times. And really that's it. I went through the 5k mark at the Turkey Trot in Denver in under 20 minutes, but they didn't do a 5k split, and I ran that in about 26 minutes, which for me was smoking fast, but I had no real goal. So there we go. I have raced 21 times since Super Bowl Sunday in 2007, and 5 times I have crossed the finish line not acheiving what I was looking for, and 3 of those were not even very specific. I'm left with a half marathon PR, and a plaque for a race that I coveted, although I think it only ranks #5 in my fastest 5k's.
So the question becomes: Does this drive me to race faster than I ever have, or does it begin to break me down? I have a little bit of a history when racing that I would run well for a race, then not so good the next one. Like I might over enjoy my sucesses until a failure knocked me on my ass again. A little taste of success in Boulder may be just what the doctor ordered.
But did I set a realistic goal time, lol...
Happy start to the week everyone.
I did all the miles necessary to run a complete marathon, probably more than needed, where I fell short was in the intensity of those workouts. As I tried to get ready for that first marathon, I lived by the motto that I only ran fast on the days I was supposed to. I felt like it kept me healthy, got me to the starting line in one piece. My speed workouts were always good, but the longer stuff, and even the non speed days were very easy. After having very good success with that at PF Chang, I went the same route for the Colorado Marathon, although at this point I believe that what I came up with was 1 speed workout per week, (or hills), one long run per week, and 4 days of junk miles. Just miles is all they were. I never really pushed myself as hard as I could, for fear of injury. And my body adjusted to the mileage, and only really got taxed for a couple workouts a week. Thus explaining how I could run borderline 70 miles per week average and show almost no signs of weight loss, my body physically not changing, ect. My diet was almost identical to the training I did for Phoenix, but obviously with much different results. My body was ready to run 26.2 miles. It just was not ready to run it at the pace I set out to do. The shitty part of that is, that I still probably could have run a 3:25 marathon, if I had run 7:20 miles instead of 7:00 minute ones instead. It wasn't the distance that got me, it was the speed in which I was trying to cover that distance in that cooked my goose. I recall the early days of my running last summer, where it seemed i couldn't get healthy, and a big part of that was that I would run as fast as I could on a daily basis, and my body wouldn't hold up to it. This round, I was hardly running fast at all, so there has to be some middle ground somewhere for me to find. Which I will I think during my down time over the next couple months.
The other thing that came to me on that run was about race goals. I mentioned that I would like to race Boulder in around 42:something. I did it in 46:something last year, but it was one of my worst races. That goal is probably one of the more realistic ones I've set in recent memory. I think about my 2 marathons, although I think that BQ'ing in Co was not that far of a stretch when I set it, when I was thinking BQ in AZ, since it was my first one, that may have been over the top a little. To PR the Horsetooth Half in April, which I missed by 29 seconds on one of the hardest couses I've ever done, may have been a stretch as well, due to the elevatiojn changes of the race. Anyways I got to thinking. How many times have I ever walked from a race and done what I set out to do. I ran my first 5k and finished it, that's one. I ran my second and finished faster than my first. That's two. I ran my third and was faster than my second, that's three, but also that got me in the 20:something range and every other 5k since except when I placed in my age group at the Cinco Cinco 5k and got a plaque for it, has been the sub 20 quest which I havent obtained. But we'll say 4 times on 5k's have I done what I wanted. Finishing races after my exprience in Boulder last year is no longer an accomplishment. I had no doubts that at the begining of any of my halfs, or even my two fulls that I would cross the finish line. For me that is not even something that crosses my mind. Although happy with my time at my first Horsetooth Half last year, I didn't make the time I wanted. Hell I didn't make the time I wanted last year, this year. Under 1:35 was last years goal, to PR was this years, and neither came true. The day in November last year when I did set my half PR, I did accomplish what I set out to do that day. So that's five times. And really that's it. I went through the 5k mark at the Turkey Trot in Denver in under 20 minutes, but they didn't do a 5k split, and I ran that in about 26 minutes, which for me was smoking fast, but I had no real goal. So there we go. I have raced 21 times since Super Bowl Sunday in 2007, and 5 times I have crossed the finish line not acheiving what I was looking for, and 3 of those were not even very specific. I'm left with a half marathon PR, and a plaque for a race that I coveted, although I think it only ranks #5 in my fastest 5k's.
So the question becomes: Does this drive me to race faster than I ever have, or does it begin to break me down? I have a little bit of a history when racing that I would run well for a race, then not so good the next one. Like I might over enjoy my sucesses until a failure knocked me on my ass again. A little taste of success in Boulder may be just what the doctor ordered.
But did I set a realistic goal time, lol...
Happy start to the week everyone.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Change of Heart
So, I sit here with a lot on my mind. I was thinking of doing another marathon on June 1 in Steamboat Springs after the disaster that was the Colorado Marathon here in Fort Collins. After discussing it with the 2 people who's opinions I think the most of when it comes to running and the RW forums, I have decided to forgo this marathon. It was further confirmed when today, after work, I attempted my second hard workout in a row for the first time since the marathon. After 5 miles on the hills of Horsetooth yesterday, I attempted 5 miles at 10k pace and crashed after 4 miles. Even with 2 weeks rest, the conclusion is that my body is not ready to run another marathon. And I was asked today, that if I couldn't BQ or PR the race, why run it. With the exception of a 5k I did on Fathers Day weekend last year, I have run every race ever to PR, and that one I didn't because I had finished a 10k for the same event just about 20 minutes before it started. Is going up and running a 3:20 or so going to make it all better? No. It might make me feel a little better, but I am probably better off using the fuel in my training for Chicago or NY. Also, I ran back to back hard workouts this weekend and at the end of the 2nd, I really struggled. My body won't be ready for another marathon in just 2+ weeks.
I plan to run the Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day, probably start to hit the abundance of 5k's here untill about the 4th of July, then I should know if its a October or November marathon for me, then I can start training accordingly. I have yet to run a good race at Boulder. I ran last years Bolder Boulder in 46:32. That's 23:16 per 5k. And I remember the run vividly, how lousy it went. I reappeared in Boulder for the Colder Boulder Invite in December, about a month before the PF Chang marathon in Phoenix. It's a 5k and I ran a blistering 21:56. I remember that race too. I led it for about a mile and half before I started to come apart. My PR for a 10k is 44:57, which was 3 weeks after the Bolder Boulder last year. I've only run two of them, but I expect my PR should fall on Memorial Day. I'm looking for something in the 42's. I think that would be ok. 21:30 per 5k should be doable. With that being said, I do love the Bolder Boulder. I get to start in the 3rd wave, so the 50000 people behind me are not a problem. I might have trouble liking this race if I had to start in the middle, or run the Open race. It should be fun, and hopefully the weather is nice.
Happy Friday all...
I plan to run the Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day, probably start to hit the abundance of 5k's here untill about the 4th of July, then I should know if its a October or November marathon for me, then I can start training accordingly. I have yet to run a good race at Boulder. I ran last years Bolder Boulder in 46:32. That's 23:16 per 5k. And I remember the run vividly, how lousy it went. I reappeared in Boulder for the Colder Boulder Invite in December, about a month before the PF Chang marathon in Phoenix. It's a 5k and I ran a blistering 21:56. I remember that race too. I led it for about a mile and half before I started to come apart. My PR for a 10k is 44:57, which was 3 weeks after the Bolder Boulder last year. I've only run two of them, but I expect my PR should fall on Memorial Day. I'm looking for something in the 42's. I think that would be ok. 21:30 per 5k should be doable. With that being said, I do love the Bolder Boulder. I get to start in the 3rd wave, so the 50000 people behind me are not a problem. I might have trouble liking this race if I had to start in the middle, or run the Open race. It should be fun, and hopefully the weather is nice.
Happy Friday all...
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Change In Venue
So we are one week removed from the Colorado Marathon, and life has been very busy for me. I have started running again and feel very good actually, I think I should be near a regular running schedule again by Monday of next week. At the completion of last weekend, when all was said and done, I felt I had to make a change. I've been told that I never do anything half assed, and this was no exception. From time to time I mention Jasmine, my chocolate lab, who I love very much, but have been seperated from for quite a while now. I decided that on Tuesday of last week that I wasn't going to live this way anymore. I posted a quick listing on Craigslist that basically said that I was ready to move, I am almost never home, and have a dog that is coming with me. I got over a dozen responses that first day, and by the end of the night, I had a key to a new place, the price is awesome, and now some of that emptiness that I've had is filled. Plus, Jaz needs to be taken care of, and now she can be.
Fort Collins backs up against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. I-25 runs north out of Denver and as you make your way twords the Wyoming border, Fort Collins sits on the west side between the foothills and the interstate. My new place is right off Overland Trail Road. The last, most western major street in town. When I walk outside my front door, this is what I see...
There is open space, all around. The road right across the way leads up to Horsetooth Resivior, and the start of the Horsetooth Half Marathon course is right there as well. (I guess I have no excuse to run anything under a 1:30 at the one next year) The drive in is only about a 1/4 mile away too. It's about 5 miles from where I work, so I may do some days where I run to work and back after Jaz gets settled in at the new place, but at the very least some bike to work days will be in order.
I was thinking last night after Jaz and I returned from a short run, that I almost feel like I've moved into a training facility. All the tools are here for me to have a summer that should make me into a much better runner as I prepare for my fall marathon. I have hills, miles of open space, trails, all good for running or biking. My gym has a pool, hot tub, and all the weights I need. This could be one of the best things I could have done for myself. From a personal standpoint without a doubt, but also from an athletic standpoint as wel
l. 
l. 
In the wake of last Sunday's marathon disaster, this may be exactly what I needed to kick start my running and my life.
Up next: Bolder Boulder 10k 5/26/08
Steamboat Springs Marathon 6/01/08
Chicago or NYC Marathon TBD
Plus lots of little races in between.
Monday, May 5, 2008
When Good Marathons Go Bad. My Race Report
I want to start this blog by saying a couple things. #1 is that I know that I finished above the top 25% of people in the matathon. I know a lot of people have said things along the lines that they would be happy with a 3:40 marathon, or "that's a great time", and things of that nature. And to that I say, with no disrespect intended to people, that you are way off base when you look at it that way. I would be happy with a 3:40 marathon, if I had been training for a 3:40 or a 3:45 or something in that time frame. But I had trained and expected a 3:05-3:08. Those who run 4 hour marathons, imagine going out and posting a 4:40 and tell me that you wouldn't be disappointed. #2 is that at this very moment, I still have no clue as to why this happened. Overtraining, under nourishment, distractions? None of those seem to be any better or worse than the marathon I did in Phoenix. I felt better and stronger throughout my training. 3 weeks ago, I ran a harder than hell half marathon that I came within 29 seconds of a PR. Logically, I have no reason as to why I could lose that much over that little amount of time. I'll think about it over the next few days, but right now, it's a mystery.
The race kicked off at 6:15 am. It was about 32 degrees at the start and the sun was coming up. I actaully was walking from the port a potty when the gun went off, but it was chip timed, so no biggie. Probably about 90% of the race participants started before I got to the starting line. The downhills on the first couple miles changed my starting pace some, but it actually felt very easy with the hills. I carried my own water and gels, and had recruited some help at mile 17 to take my water bottle and give me a G2 and another gel pack, so I was hoping not to have to mess with stations and just be able to run. By mile 7, I knew I was in trouble though. In my first marathon, the pace was easy to keep, untill about mile 20. This time, I was feeling it and having to work to try and keep the mile times around where I needed them. By mile 10, I was doing the math in my head. I figured that if I could hold the pace until I popped out of the canyon at 17.5 then I only had less than 9 miles to go. And I could let my mile times creep upwards of 8:20 because of the time I saved during the first couple of miles and the wiggle room I had given myself at the end. I knew I would be hurting and that the times would go up, but I never could have expected what came. Right before I came out of the canyon, my stomach cramped for a minute, it didn't stay, but it was long enough to break my rhythm. After getting my G2, and I'll say I put on a great show in front of my friend, even though I was dying, I straightened up and found the strength to at least not look like a train wreck in progress, I walked through the subsequent water station and drank all 20 ounces of it. Right around 19.5, my calves started to cramp up really bad, and that was it. It shut me down almost instantly. I stopped dead in my tracks and I still had a long ways to go. At this point it became a walk/run to the finish. With me having to stop and walk every 1/4 mile or so. I could hold a 9:30 pace or so while running, I just couldn't run very long. The course is designed so that I essentaly had to finish, or else I would have probably walked. If I had different people waiting for me at the finish line too. But for a couple of them, it was their first time to watch me race, and when the time clock said 3:10:59, they were going to be worried enough without me walking all the way in, or not showing up for a while.
I came across the finish line at 3:40:55, a far cry from the 3:07 I was looking for.
The mile times:
1. 7:53
2. 7:28
3. 7:20
4. 7:23
5: 6:55
6. 6:58
7. 7:03
8. 6:59
9. 7:04
10. 6:55
11. 7:11
12. 7:08
13. 7:14
14. 7:12
15. 7:19
16. 7:26
17. 7:36 Exit of the canyon and end of most of the downhill stuff
18. 7:44
19. 8:35
20. 9:03
21. 10:08
22. 11:20
23. 12:28
24. 10:22
25. 10:50
26. 11:45
.23 2:22
As I was coming in, I was pretty much alone, and the crowd support was very thin through most of the race, but the last .4 or so people were everywhere, and the entry to Old Town rivaled PF Chang in PHX with the number of people that lined the finish gates though. They announced my name and everything, and people cheered, but I felt disgust for what had happened and just wanted to get across the finish line and put this mess behind me.
So, I have been thinking today that I might recover from this for a few days, start with some light running later in the week and just try to maintain myself and stay fit. On Memorial Day, run the Bolder Boulder, then turn around the next weekend and run the Steamboat Marathon that is about an hour and a half drive away from me. I'm not 100% sold on that yet, but it's in my thought process.
Thanks for all the good thoughts and support people, I know it didn't go the way I wanted it to, but there's always another day.
The race kicked off at 6:15 am. It was about 32 degrees at the start and the sun was coming up. I actaully was walking from the port a potty when the gun went off, but it was chip timed, so no biggie. Probably about 90% of the race participants started before I got to the starting line. The downhills on the first couple miles changed my starting pace some, but it actually felt very easy with the hills. I carried my own water and gels, and had recruited some help at mile 17 to take my water bottle and give me a G2 and another gel pack, so I was hoping not to have to mess with stations and just be able to run. By mile 7, I knew I was in trouble though. In my first marathon, the pace was easy to keep, untill about mile 20. This time, I was feeling it and having to work to try and keep the mile times around where I needed them. By mile 10, I was doing the math in my head. I figured that if I could hold the pace until I popped out of the canyon at 17.5 then I only had less than 9 miles to go. And I could let my mile times creep upwards of 8:20 because of the time I saved during the first couple of miles and the wiggle room I had given myself at the end. I knew I would be hurting and that the times would go up, but I never could have expected what came. Right before I came out of the canyon, my stomach cramped for a minute, it didn't stay, but it was long enough to break my rhythm. After getting my G2, and I'll say I put on a great show in front of my friend, even though I was dying, I straightened up and found the strength to at least not look like a train wreck in progress, I walked through the subsequent water station and drank all 20 ounces of it. Right around 19.5, my calves started to cramp up really bad, and that was it. It shut me down almost instantly. I stopped dead in my tracks and I still had a long ways to go. At this point it became a walk/run to the finish. With me having to stop and walk every 1/4 mile or so. I could hold a 9:30 pace or so while running, I just couldn't run very long. The course is designed so that I essentaly had to finish, or else I would have probably walked. If I had different people waiting for me at the finish line too. But for a couple of them, it was their first time to watch me race, and when the time clock said 3:10:59, they were going to be worried enough without me walking all the way in, or not showing up for a while.
I came across the finish line at 3:40:55, a far cry from the 3:07 I was looking for.
The mile times:
1. 7:53
2. 7:28
3. 7:20
4. 7:23
5: 6:55
6. 6:58
7. 7:03
8. 6:59
9. 7:04
10. 6:55
11. 7:11
12. 7:08
13. 7:14
14. 7:12
15. 7:19
16. 7:26
17. 7:36 Exit of the canyon and end of most of the downhill stuff
18. 7:44
19. 8:35
20. 9:03
21. 10:08
22. 11:20
23. 12:28
24. 10:22
25. 10:50
26. 11:45
.23 2:22
As I was coming in, I was pretty much alone, and the crowd support was very thin through most of the race, but the last .4 or so people were everywhere, and the entry to Old Town rivaled PF Chang in PHX with the number of people that lined the finish gates though. They announced my name and everything, and people cheered, but I felt disgust for what had happened and just wanted to get across the finish line and put this mess behind me.
So, I have been thinking today that I might recover from this for a few days, start with some light running later in the week and just try to maintain myself and stay fit. On Memorial Day, run the Bolder Boulder, then turn around the next weekend and run the Steamboat Marathon that is about an hour and a half drive away from me. I'm not 100% sold on that yet, but it's in my thought process.
Thanks for all the good thoughts and support people, I know it didn't go the way I wanted it to, but there's always another day.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
The Final Week
I'm posting what could be one of the last blogs I write between now and my marathon. I can feel the weirdness creeping in, my stress level has started to rise a little, and honestly, I'm making changes in my running schedule on the fly as I get within a week of the race. First off, I honestly looked at the running I was doing during my taper. The miles were low, but the number of days that I was running was not really going down. For the 2 weeks I was tapering, I was going to run 9 out of 14 days. I decided at the last minute yesterday to take the day off, and while sitting in the hot tub at my gym I sent a text message to Squirrel1.1 asking him how much he was running these 2 weeks, as him and I are running on the same day. Let's just say I think I had too many days in there. Tomorrows 10 miler will be replaced by some yoga and a half hour or so on the exercise bike. Then Monday will be 3 miles. Wednesday probably 4 or 5, then 3 on Friday to make sure all systems are go.
I think I am more nervous now than I was at my first marathon, the expectaions are up for me. Not from others, but from myself. I feel deep down that if I wanted to push this, I could do the Sub 3 hour marathon, but am going to stick to my pace chart and get my BQ hopefully. I'm posting it here for the first time. 3:06. That is the goal time. That is what I am looking to run. I'll try for something grand in Chicago or NY, knowing that if I blow up, I still have my BQ done. I am scared that when I hit mile 20 again that my body will do the same thing that it did to me in Phoenix. That the result could be the same as before, that I may do worse. That I may just not be able to do this. I saw better runners than me put up times in Boston that were higher than my goal time, and that's been a little bit of a reality check this week.
I've had a good weeks running, and can feel my body getting stronger, although I feel like a whale with the eating and not running as much as I'm used to. From a personal standpoint, it's been a tough week in spots, although I did have an awesome night sandwiched in the middle of it. Although a 1:30 bedtime may not be the best thing for someone who's supposed to be resting :-p. As the days tick off for this race, I imagine I'll just continue to get more and more nervous and these posts, if I have time, will get stranger and stranger.
Enjoy your weekend.
I think I am more nervous now than I was at my first marathon, the expectaions are up for me. Not from others, but from myself. I feel deep down that if I wanted to push this, I could do the Sub 3 hour marathon, but am going to stick to my pace chart and get my BQ hopefully. I'm posting it here for the first time. 3:06. That is the goal time. That is what I am looking to run. I'll try for something grand in Chicago or NY, knowing that if I blow up, I still have my BQ done. I am scared that when I hit mile 20 again that my body will do the same thing that it did to me in Phoenix. That the result could be the same as before, that I may do worse. That I may just not be able to do this. I saw better runners than me put up times in Boston that were higher than my goal time, and that's been a little bit of a reality check this week.
I've had a good weeks running, and can feel my body getting stronger, although I feel like a whale with the eating and not running as much as I'm used to. From a personal standpoint, it's been a tough week in spots, although I did have an awesome night sandwiched in the middle of it. Although a 1:30 bedtime may not be the best thing for someone who's supposed to be resting :-p. As the days tick off for this race, I imagine I'll just continue to get more and more nervous and these posts, if I have time, will get stranger and stranger.
Enjoy your weekend.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Purgatory
I once read a book called "On A Pale Horse". It was written by Piers Anthony, a famous Sci-Fi writer. The book was about a man, who attempted suicide, and his soul was so much in balance that death had to come for him personally to collect his soul. When I say death, I mean death the person, the Incarnation of Death. Well Zane, the main characters name, shot Death in the head instead of taking his own life, thus he was forced to assume the roll of Death. When a persons soul was so close in balance, they were sent to a place called Purgatory, there they would exist untill the balance of their soul shifted good or bad and they could move onto heaven or hell. With the exception of all the paperwork they were doing in the book, the actual description is very close to what the catholic religion, (mine) also believes.
It's a word that also means in limbo, to wait, to not move forward, or backwards even I guess. It's a word used to describe the after life, but sometimes we find ourselves living this way and not even knowing it. I look at myself sometimes for instance. The half marathon I just did on the 13th of this month was symbolic to me, things began to change for me in my life last year around that exact event. I look now at where I sit, just one year later in my life, and what has changed? I've run a marathon, getting ready to run another here in 9 days. I've traveled to a few cities I'd never been to, met some new people. I took the position in my company that I hold now on May 4th last year. That's coming up too. I make the same exact wage I did the day I took it. Granted, they pay me well for what I do, some work, post on RWOL, write blogs, fuck around on myspace, lol. Which is exactly what I was doing when I started this job about a year ago. Don't get me wrong, I work my ass off, but I also have some leeway in my job, because I do as good a job as I do.
I was told a story on Wednesday night, one that kind of mirrored my life in ways. And as we talked for a while, I began to realize that I have left myself in my own little Purgatory, drifting, happy to live for the day, but not addressing tomorrow.
I should really start addressing today, but I think I'll start tomorrow...
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
The Taper Begins
So on Sunday I did my last long run prior to my upcoming marathon. 22 miles. As I did before my last (and only) marathon, I used the first 5 miles of the run to simulate the pace that I plan to begin the first 5 miles of the race. I went 9:10, 8:30, 7:45, 7:20, then down to 6:55, where I hope to keep my pace for the last 21.2 miles. I know 2 things, 9:10 will not happen during the race, it didn't in AZ and it wont here. Probably more like 8:30, 8:30 for the first couple miles. The other is that 6:55 for 21.2 miles probably will not happen either. In AZ, I ran 15 straight miles @ 7:00 before I started to fall off. This time I'm hoping for around 17-18 miles at my target pace, anything on top of that is gravy. This said, even if my times begin to drop off after mile 22, I'll still get home in under 3:10. I may be way off base as well, I may be able to hold that pace for the entire last 21.2 of the race, but right now, 12 days out. I am being realistic with my goals.
My 22 mile run went very well, I was stronger at the end of it than I had been at any of my other previous 20+ mile runs in this training session, or the previous. I did have a bit of a "euraka" moment a day or so prior. While coming off the Horsetooth Half last weekend, I ran Monday (8 recovery), took Tuesday off, then on Wednesday I had 15 miles scheduled. Usually I break up that run into at least 2 runs, because of work. But this time I had to do all 15 in a row, after an 11 hour day at work. Thurday and Friday both had double digit mile runs, and I struggle through both. The 15 straight in the middle of the week really took it out of me. I do a lot of miles when I train, but probably don't get the benifit I should because I split my runs. I have decided that as I prepare for Chicago, (or NY, god willing), that I may still run more than once a day, but my target mileages and workouts for each day will be done as one run. With the summer upon us and the weather nice, if I need to run 15 that day, I will do all 15 before work, not just 3 in the morning, then 6 at lunch, then 6 after work. I feel like I'm letting my body off easy, instead of maybe getting everything I can out of each work out. Something different anyways for next time. But maybe a little early to start thinking about the next one, at least till we see how this one turns out.
Anyways. I took my camera with me as I ran the last 17 miles on Sunday and took some pics around Ft. Collins
Old Town Square right across from where I work.
The First National bank building and the Key bank building. The 2 tallest buildings in town, lol.
I love this house up the street from where I work.
City Park Lake. They run the Firekracker 5k around here on the 4th of July.
City Park gold course. My favorite course in town. 16$ for a nine hole loop on all our city courses, suckers. :-P
Moby Arena where the CSU basketball teams play, and a view of the mountains from the common area here at Colorado State.
The admin building on the oval at Colorado State University. I ran a 5k here last year.
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