Well this week of training rounded out nicely. I had a great 3x1200m interval session, which was run in the heat of the afternoon, at just under 5:28 pace per mile. I also knocked out an 11 mile jaunt as the temperatures were getting to be over 80 degrees, and all in all hit my goal mileage for the week, 40 miles.
This will be the least amount of running I will do over the next six months. Next week the mileage goal increases by 5 miles and will remain that way for the next three weeks. This is still a base building phase, so we will see how it progresses.
The reason I was running those intervals at that pace was in preparation for my next race, The Harbor Town 5k. Run in Memphis' up scale riverfront community, it is kind of the kick off to the summer 5k events. It is more a less a party afterwords with free food and beer, a live band, and just a good time. The course has over 23 turns in it, so it is very exciting. I want to break 17:00 minutes there, as I feel this would be a great start. It has been many years since I went that low, but I have to be able to run quite a few 5k's in under that time if I want to be more than a spectator in Houston in 2012.
Today I also looked at where I was at last year as far as weekly mileage and I am almost 15 miles ahead of where I was. Truth be told, I will be averaging 5 more miles per week when I "start" my actually training for the New York Marathon. How this will fit with a 55 hour a week job, I have no clue, but it must at least be attempted. Blogging at times other than 1 am might help, but alas, gotta have a pay check :). Tomorrow is a day off, and then a good long steady run Memorial Day morning to work off all the calories from all the brat eating in the afternoon!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Spring Showers Bring...
...messy runners.
So the relatively sunny day we had up until about 11 am, turned into an afternoon of flash flooding rains. Way to go weather guys. Two thumbs up!
Anyway, due to being absolutely done over by my boss this past weekend, I missed my runs on Saturday and Sunday, something that, well, really annoys me, as last week had been a good week of running.
Today was my one day off of work for the week, and just to let everyone know, I will be working until midnight at the earliest for the rest of the week. So when the kids went down for a nap, the rain had slacked off somewhat, and I decided to head to my favorite trails in town to put in 10 miles. The temp had dropped from 90 to 70 because of the rain, so it was a perfect time.
These particular trails, affectionately called the Stanky Creek trails, are named so due to the deep creek that the trail meanders back and forth over. I say deep, it is not so much deep because it is really more like a really steep ditch, that generally has at most a foot of water in it and is about 5 feet wide, well today, it was about 30 feet wide and probably about 10 feet deep. Luckily, most of trails have bridges over the creek. That however, does not keep the trails dry, or the rain from falling. No worries though, I still sloshed and slogged through all ten miles.
But I love these runs.
Its getting off of my tail and getting wet and sweaty while the thunder booms overhead that reminds me that I am dedicated to this venture. That I still love to run. Running has become a fad, marathoning for that matter too. When I hear people telling me they went for a run and it is followed by, on the treadmill, then I know they are missing out.
Running is about being out in nature, about breathing air, about having no control over the elements around you. It is about the rolling hills, the stifling heat, and the blinding blizzards that you have to push yourself through just to know you can.
I know there will be many many more runs in the rain between now, and well, whenever I cannot run another step, but today was great, and makes me even more excited to be a runner.
Friday, May 21, 2010
So Absurd
So, what do you do when you get off work at 12:00 am, having just finished off a coffee with two shots of espresso added to it for extra kick at about 10:45? You go for a 9.3 mile run of course. My thinking was, either stay up and watch a movie eat chips and salsa, have a beer, and do nothing beneficial, or run. I chose the later. It was also going to be hard to get a run in on Friday anyway, so I figured I could knock it out, and I did, at 6:50 pace, which if you stacked on 26 of them, equals a sub 3 hour marathon. That is kind of my thing now, always run at least at sub 3 pace, unless on trails, and then you just get what you get.
This whole venture is absurd truthfully. The trials used to not be SO impossible to get to. There was even a time when the qualifying standard was 2:30. Yet, the USATF, United States of America Track and Field, decided that the event should more closely mimic they Olympic "A" qualifying standard, to keep from having an event where, sure you had three guys take the first three places at the trails, but no one get to go because everyone was simply too slow. So the time was lowered several times over the decades, and then eventually, after the last trials, it was lowered from 2:21/2:22, to 2:19. Some argue that this is too stringent, making it more difficult, for the really good, yet not elite to have their own Olympic experience. However, that is why the Olympics are the Olympics, you are either good enough or you aren't. This is not little league everyone gets a trophy even if you whiffed at every pitch and booted every fly ball. Its big boy competition. The loser is just that. However, I am sure there are great participant medals ;), if you can get there that is.
These times should, and it is their desire to do so, limit the field to no more than 150 runners, tops. This would be a good number, and of course if more people hit the qualifying time, they would be more than willing to accommodate, just anticipate an even lower time the next time around.
Already this field is stacked with at least 10-20 guys who can both win, and make the Olympic standard. Guys like Ryan Hall and Meb Keflezghi, who have both dipped under 2:10 will be there. Hall went to the Beijing Olympics, and has one of the fastest times ever for an American marathoner. Keflezghi, is the last American to medal in the Olympics since Frank Shorter, and the last American to win the New York City marathon since 1982, winning it in 2009. Then there is a host of guys who have run between 2:10 and 2:15. Dathan Ritzenhein, Abdi Abdirahmman, Jason Luehkelme, and others. The fact of the matter is, this race is for them, and to see which one gets to where the red, white, and blue in London. I do however hope to be eating there dust in 2012 in Houston, but that is the reality.
It could be worse. I could be Kenyan. They have runners who consistently tinker with world records and win marathons in times that hover around 2:05, almost weekly. Seriously, they have about 10-15 runners that can run a sub 2:08 marathon. This does not include the next phenom that shows up to obliterate the field at whichever marathon. Because of their great international success, and the publicity it brings them, Kenya does not have a marathon trial. Instead, opting for their runners to bring revenue back to the country, and glory to its people by running world class marathons everywhere but their own country, their Olympic committee decides who they are going to send. Often times an arbitrary process that leaves out great runners. One guy may be faster by a few seconds, but another guy may have more experience against heavily elite fields, or even Olympic experience. This could explain why Kenya waited until Beijing to finally win an Olympic gold in the marathon.
No matter how you look at it, it is intriguing. However completely absurd that people can run this fast, and to think that I can join them at the trials. Here's hoping! Too absurdity!
This whole venture is absurd truthfully. The trials used to not be SO impossible to get to. There was even a time when the qualifying standard was 2:30. Yet, the USATF, United States of America Track and Field, decided that the event should more closely mimic they Olympic "A" qualifying standard, to keep from having an event where, sure you had three guys take the first three places at the trails, but no one get to go because everyone was simply too slow. So the time was lowered several times over the decades, and then eventually, after the last trials, it was lowered from 2:21/2:22, to 2:19. Some argue that this is too stringent, making it more difficult, for the really good, yet not elite to have their own Olympic experience. However, that is why the Olympics are the Olympics, you are either good enough or you aren't. This is not little league everyone gets a trophy even if you whiffed at every pitch and booted every fly ball. Its big boy competition. The loser is just that. However, I am sure there are great participant medals ;), if you can get there that is.
These times should, and it is their desire to do so, limit the field to no more than 150 runners, tops. This would be a good number, and of course if more people hit the qualifying time, they would be more than willing to accommodate, just anticipate an even lower time the next time around.
Already this field is stacked with at least 10-20 guys who can both win, and make the Olympic standard. Guys like Ryan Hall and Meb Keflezghi, who have both dipped under 2:10 will be there. Hall went to the Beijing Olympics, and has one of the fastest times ever for an American marathoner. Keflezghi, is the last American to medal in the Olympics since Frank Shorter, and the last American to win the New York City marathon since 1982, winning it in 2009. Then there is a host of guys who have run between 2:10 and 2:15. Dathan Ritzenhein, Abdi Abdirahmman, Jason Luehkelme, and others. The fact of the matter is, this race is for them, and to see which one gets to where the red, white, and blue in London. I do however hope to be eating there dust in 2012 in Houston, but that is the reality.
It could be worse. I could be Kenyan. They have runners who consistently tinker with world records and win marathons in times that hover around 2:05, almost weekly. Seriously, they have about 10-15 runners that can run a sub 2:08 marathon. This does not include the next phenom that shows up to obliterate the field at whichever marathon. Because of their great international success, and the publicity it brings them, Kenya does not have a marathon trial. Instead, opting for their runners to bring revenue back to the country, and glory to its people by running world class marathons everywhere but their own country, their Olympic committee decides who they are going to send. Often times an arbitrary process that leaves out great runners. One guy may be faster by a few seconds, but another guy may have more experience against heavily elite fields, or even Olympic experience. This could explain why Kenya waited until Beijing to finally win an Olympic gold in the marathon.
No matter how you look at it, it is intriguing. However completely absurd that people can run this fast, and to think that I can join them at the trials. Here's hoping! Too absurdity!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The Long Road Ahead
Well 26.2 miles, or 42 k, for all of you European types.
In 2 hours and 19 minutes or less. That's 5:19 miles, a bunch of em.
By sometime mid next year, 2011, or in the early fall.
My current marathon PR, 2:54:47.
I know, I must be out of my mind and probably should shake off the backyard football winning super bowl play mentality. Who cares. In a world where goals are trivial, and personal ambition is frowned upon,unless it is for the almighty dollar, this is one thing that I am going to try harder than I ever have to achieve. I will give you this healthy tidbit, first marathon 3:25, second marathon five and a half months later, 2:57:41. That PR of mine came with no increased training, and was in the 2:45 range until mile 23...so yes, I know how to learn and improve.
Currently it is almost two years until the date, but there is a lot of work to be done, and every day brings my fitness level one step closer. My base is where I want it to be, and I should top out at 90 miles prior to my fall marathon, the ING New York City Marathon. This is by no means the race that I plan on attaining my goal at, however, it will be a great litmus test. If I can dip into the 2:30's in NYC, then I believe I can take a legitimate poke at 2:19 in the spring, or early summer, either in Albany, GA, or at Grandma's marathon in Minnesota.
I plan to share every great workout, and every bad one, including all races in between, as well as life in general.
We live in a nation where generally the privileged excel at this event. Those that competed throughout college, have personal coaches, and great contracts. Dont get me wrong, I would love all of this, however, it is not where I am at right now.
What kind of other things would the average person dream and chase after if a 26 year old, almost 27, with three kids and a 55 hour a week job could qualify for the Olympic trials, and then, from there, who knows?
I hope this blog inspires and is worth following to all of you who love to run, or to those who wish to run, and to those who refuse to give up a dream.
In 2 hours and 19 minutes or less. That's 5:19 miles, a bunch of em.
By sometime mid next year, 2011, or in the early fall.
My current marathon PR, 2:54:47.
I know, I must be out of my mind and probably should shake off the backyard football winning super bowl play mentality. Who cares. In a world where goals are trivial, and personal ambition is frowned upon,unless it is for the almighty dollar, this is one thing that I am going to try harder than I ever have to achieve. I will give you this healthy tidbit, first marathon 3:25, second marathon five and a half months later, 2:57:41. That PR of mine came with no increased training, and was in the 2:45 range until mile 23...so yes, I know how to learn and improve.
Currently it is almost two years until the date, but there is a lot of work to be done, and every day brings my fitness level one step closer. My base is where I want it to be, and I should top out at 90 miles prior to my fall marathon, the ING New York City Marathon. This is by no means the race that I plan on attaining my goal at, however, it will be a great litmus test. If I can dip into the 2:30's in NYC, then I believe I can take a legitimate poke at 2:19 in the spring, or early summer, either in Albany, GA, or at Grandma's marathon in Minnesota.
I plan to share every great workout, and every bad one, including all races in between, as well as life in general.
We live in a nation where generally the privileged excel at this event. Those that competed throughout college, have personal coaches, and great contracts. Dont get me wrong, I would love all of this, however, it is not where I am at right now.
What kind of other things would the average person dream and chase after if a 26 year old, almost 27, with three kids and a 55 hour a week job could qualify for the Olympic trials, and then, from there, who knows?
I hope this blog inspires and is worth following to all of you who love to run, or to those who wish to run, and to those who refuse to give up a dream.