It is amazing how much easier it is to run when the humidity is not 7000 percent! I have had two good runs over the past couple of days that have made me very excited about my aerobic abilities.
Yesterday was great as I ran a negative split run in the dead heat of the afternoon. A negative split run means you run point to point, and you come back faster than you went out. Generally, especially when I race, I do the opposite. But my return 3.5 miles was roughly a minute faster than when I went out.
Then today, I got a quick 6 miles in at 10 am and it felt great. Even thought it was roughly 85 degrees outside, there was barely any humidity!
Coming up Saturday is the Firecracker 5k. This race has been a thorn in my side since the first time I ran it. I ran it for the first time, and placed in my age group, but the time was not impressive. Then I ran it the next year, and was terrible, did not even break 20 minutes. There was one other time in my life when I ran a 5k that slow, and it was my first when I was 12 years old, and even then I ran a 20:36. Last year was a breakthrough, I ran it in 17:37 and almost cracked the top ten, and managed to take home some age group hardware.
Not sure what to expect this weekend. My training has been okay, but I do not think my speed is where it needs to be. Generally, adrenaline will carry you through the first mile, but its the last two that you need to have some umph for, and the second mile of this one has a pretty significant hill.
I would love to go under 17, but as long as I beat my Harbortown time, I will be showing improvement. So I am trying to keep my spirits up and keep the expectations low, because anything positive is great during the searing summer training months.
Its a great race and it is for St Jude children's hospital, and a great way to start the July 4th weekend.
I will let everyone know how it goes Saturday night after the race. Come out and cheer on the runners if you are in the area, or join me and don a number and put in some miles to make way for a good time grilling out and some frosty cold beverages the next day!
Also, I am planning on writing an article on the state of current American distance running in the next few days, so be on the lookout for that as well, should be a good read and my take on things will be included in there as well. This includes from college to our pro guys, and all distances from 1500 to the marathon, and even a nod to the ultra guys..those loons :).
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Whew...Relief!
So it was a nerve racking two days of nursing my back. Some icing, lots of stretching, and most painful, no running.
Yesterday morning, I cashed in on an early birthday present from my parents and headed to Fleet Feet Sports, shameless plug, to ask if I was still in the right shoe, and to purchase a new pair. Turns out I AM in the correct shoe, so I purchased a pair, and prayed that my run last night would go smoothly.
Truthfully, there is nothing like sliding on a new pair of running shoes and breaking them in. So I slid on my Brooks Defyance 3's, the only shoe I have been in over the last two and a half years, three marathons, and 3000+ miles, I think they are great, and once again, another shameless plug, and set off on a 3.2 mile run, just over 5k, at a comfortable pace. Just over 20 minutes later I finished the run, with no pain, and quite excited that I had just put in 3 miles at under 6:30 per mile pace, after 9 hours of work, and after two days off. Woohoo!
I woke up this morning before heading to the trails to put in 6.5 miles wondering if the back would be sore. Luckily it was not, and the run was great! Most importantly it was all done in time for me to watch our boys beat Algeria in the World Cup, what a day!!
Tomorrow, going to try and go long in the morning as Friday will prove difficult to get a run in because of my hours and some commitments that evening. It looks like I will not run Davies Plantation as exciting as that run would be, but not wanting to spend, and with the Firecracker a week away, I am going to step aside from that one. Besides my mind will be on World Cup Action anyway.
FYI Another great commitment to the NYC Marathon this past week, Shalane Flanagan, Bronze Medalist in Beijing in the 10k, and US Half Marathon Champ, committed to the Marathon, and it will also be her debut. She joins, Meb Keflezghi, American defending Champ and Athens Silver Medalist in the marathon, Deena Kastor, US record holder and olympic bronze medalist in the marathon, and oh yeah THE world record in the marathon, Haille Gebrasselessi!
Yesterday morning, I cashed in on an early birthday present from my parents and headed to Fleet Feet Sports, shameless plug, to ask if I was still in the right shoe, and to purchase a new pair. Turns out I AM in the correct shoe, so I purchased a pair, and prayed that my run last night would go smoothly.
Truthfully, there is nothing like sliding on a new pair of running shoes and breaking them in. So I slid on my Brooks Defyance 3's, the only shoe I have been in over the last two and a half years, three marathons, and 3000+ miles, I think they are great, and once again, another shameless plug, and set off on a 3.2 mile run, just over 5k, at a comfortable pace. Just over 20 minutes later I finished the run, with no pain, and quite excited that I had just put in 3 miles at under 6:30 per mile pace, after 9 hours of work, and after two days off. Woohoo!
I woke up this morning before heading to the trails to put in 6.5 miles wondering if the back would be sore. Luckily it was not, and the run was great! Most importantly it was all done in time for me to watch our boys beat Algeria in the World Cup, what a day!!
Tomorrow, going to try and go long in the morning as Friday will prove difficult to get a run in because of my hours and some commitments that evening. It looks like I will not run Davies Plantation as exciting as that run would be, but not wanting to spend, and with the Firecracker a week away, I am going to step aside from that one. Besides my mind will be on World Cup Action anyway.
FYI Another great commitment to the NYC Marathon this past week, Shalane Flanagan, Bronze Medalist in Beijing in the 10k, and US Half Marathon Champ, committed to the Marathon, and it will also be her debut. She joins, Meb Keflezghi, American defending Champ and Athens Silver Medalist in the marathon, Deena Kastor, US record holder and olympic bronze medalist in the marathon, and oh yeah THE world record in the marathon, Haille Gebrasselessi!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Some Setbacks...
Already!!!
Sheesh, well one major one is the ridiculous weather. Even if I try to run at night, such as Saturday night, it is still upper 90's with the heat index in the 100's. At 9, at night! Are you kidding?!? I had planned on roughly 12 miles, but I had to end at 7, knowing that I was not doing my body any favors by pushing through the extreme heat. It eventually just becomes dangerous.
However, the weather is not the major problem. Its my back. Ahhh! I sound like my dad. Not really sure what the issue is, Thursday morning I woke up with pretty significant pain on the lower right side of my back, like I had rolled over onto a knife during my sleep. My run Friday morning felt fine, no problems. But Saturday night was torture.
I took yesterday, and am taking today off as well. I hate days off, and feel like they do not do anything for me.
As of right now, its any one of these things...scaitia, lumbar strain, or heck even a kidney stone.
My plan is an easy run tomorrow on the trails, and hopefully getting a new pair of kicks this week, and possibly even getting re-fit for shoes just to make sure that I am not my own worst enemy. This makes running in the 10k on Saturday pretty doubtful, but not out of the question, it just depends on a lot of things.
The goal is still to run the Firecracker 5k no matter what. I have a little over a month before the real training starts. Longer runs, faster runs, and more tempos, and tons of carbs!
Some funny things...I had a bird dive bomb me out of a tree a week or so ago...it literally was attacking my scalp, for roughly 50 meters...there was also some yahoo who decided to, after driving past me on my right on a night run, to inform me that I was a moron for running off the sidewalk (no traffic was not having to move for me, it was lit, and I was clearly visible). Now this apparent guardian of pedestrian well being, thought that driving into oncoming traffic, while looking and yelling at me was far safer than just going about his evening after initially driving by. Then, when he had informed me of all my mental deficiencies, he pulled a quick u-turn to head back towards wherever he was initially going, and almost clipped my back leg. Seriously, non runners, leave us alone when we are running. Most of us are not ignorant, and are just as interested in not getting hit as you guys are in not hitting us. Give us that little bit of credit please :).
I will post tomorrow and let everyone know how the test run goes! Thanks for reading!
Sheesh, well one major one is the ridiculous weather. Even if I try to run at night, such as Saturday night, it is still upper 90's with the heat index in the 100's. At 9, at night! Are you kidding?!? I had planned on roughly 12 miles, but I had to end at 7, knowing that I was not doing my body any favors by pushing through the extreme heat. It eventually just becomes dangerous.
However, the weather is not the major problem. Its my back. Ahhh! I sound like my dad. Not really sure what the issue is, Thursday morning I woke up with pretty significant pain on the lower right side of my back, like I had rolled over onto a knife during my sleep. My run Friday morning felt fine, no problems. But Saturday night was torture.
I took yesterday, and am taking today off as well. I hate days off, and feel like they do not do anything for me.
As of right now, its any one of these things...scaitia, lumbar strain, or heck even a kidney stone.
My plan is an easy run tomorrow on the trails, and hopefully getting a new pair of kicks this week, and possibly even getting re-fit for shoes just to make sure that I am not my own worst enemy. This makes running in the 10k on Saturday pretty doubtful, but not out of the question, it just depends on a lot of things.
The goal is still to run the Firecracker 5k no matter what. I have a little over a month before the real training starts. Longer runs, faster runs, and more tempos, and tons of carbs!
Some funny things...I had a bird dive bomb me out of a tree a week or so ago...it literally was attacking my scalp, for roughly 50 meters...there was also some yahoo who decided to, after driving past me on my right on a night run, to inform me that I was a moron for running off the sidewalk (no traffic was not having to move for me, it was lit, and I was clearly visible). Now this apparent guardian of pedestrian well being, thought that driving into oncoming traffic, while looking and yelling at me was far safer than just going about his evening after initially driving by. Then, when he had informed me of all my mental deficiencies, he pulled a quick u-turn to head back towards wherever he was initially going, and almost clipped my back leg. Seriously, non runners, leave us alone when we are running. Most of us are not ignorant, and are just as interested in not getting hit as you guys are in not hitting us. Give us that little bit of credit please :).
I will post tomorrow and let everyone know how the test run goes! Thanks for reading!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Harbortown
Woohoo! The race directors got the course right this year!
It was a fun race and a good test of fitness, though the results were not quite what I had hoped for.
My plan was to run a sub 17:00 5k. A barrier that I have simply not broken through since that freshman year at UTK. I went out slower than normal and hung with the guy who was leading the race. He was taller and a more muscular guy than you tend to see at the front, but it was obvious no one was wanting to lead out yet. I fell in behind him, and stayed that way until we turned into the Harbortown Neighborhood and away from the Mississippi River, not 100 yards to our left.
At this point, another young guy came up alongside me. He looked to be in his late teens. Ah I remember the days when I was that age and used to stick it to the older guys. In fact this kid ran, and ended up winning this race, much like the one overall road race victory I have to my credit, but that is for another time.
He and I, and the other guy when three wide as we looked for the best tangents in the zigzagging course, that was completely in the shade and amongst great looking town homes built right up against the street. Sadly this did not change the near 90 degree heat index.
Funny thing about this part of the run was that I felt a slight urge to put in a dig and go hard for about 15 seconds to see what would happen. I was not red lining, and in my training runs I do this and tend to recover quickly. However, not feeling it prudent, I stayed with the young guy who was now my only companion. We went through the first mile together in 5:18, ten seconds ahead of my goal pace.
Now this is where I simply do not have the 5k figured out. Push, or conserve, or dwindle. At this point, push was forced upon me, as another young guy, with great closing speed came alongside me and went by. Noticing him, the leader picked up his pace, and we began to work harder, or so it seemed. THey began to pull away, and I thought, well here is where I let the dream of winning go, and just hold to my plan of running my pace. Ha Ha, now that is a funny thought.
As we neared roughly the half way point, I ended up passing the guy who had charged up on us as he was beginning to fade. I found out after the race he is an 800 meter and mile guy in High School, to which I doubt he has any real competition. So I sat in second with first place probably about 30 meters ahead of me. At this point the heat was bothering me, and for whatever reason, holding the steady pace was hurting more than I thought it should, as I had been a good boy and not put in a dig. This however must be stated. There is true growth in how I start and that was noticed yesterday. Generally I would notice that the runners were not interested in going out fast, so I would then take that time to blitz the first mile, and probably would have gone through in 5:05, but I didnt, and so I was glad for that new found discipline, yet mad at myself for beginning to lose steam. Second disclaimer, not excuse mind you, disclaimer. I had just worked three 10 hour days in which I did not get home until close to 1 in the morning, on top of trying to carm in a 45 mile week.
I went through the second mile in 11:06, bummer, coming off the pace at this point, but I thought maybe I could put in a little extra and manage to still slide under the elusive 17 minute mark. I began to hear footsteps from behind and that is never good. I gave up second place not too far after the two mile mark, and this is where the hurt really began and tends to do so often. With less than half a mile to go, more footsteps and I slotted into my final finishing place, fourth. A final time of 17:37, for a 5:41 average.
So, what does this have to do with getting to the Olympic Trails? Racing is good. We learn from racing, we learn where we need to improve, and how we handle pressure. We learn how to respond the next time, and we tend to push the body harder than we would in workouts. The good news is, I feel this sets me up well for New York Training. I need to run at or around 6 minute miles in order to finish in the 2:30's. This pace was far faster than any mile I SHOULD run in New York. Remember, it is a build up to that pace and ability, one I intend very much to focus on.
-Funny tid bit. I told my 4 year old he could go with me to get my overall age group trophy. We were standing close to the stage as they were going through all the young uns, and Cade was asking alot of questions, and right before they hit my age group, and get ready to call my name, Cade looks at me and proclaims, "I have to go potty" and begins making all the appropriate gestures, and is really beginning to freak out. So we get my trophy and exit immediate right into the porta johns. Now that is how to accept an award!
Many thanks to my wife for bringing out the kids and enduring all of these races, and to my mom for her help in watching the boys! Thanks!
Next race up, pending funds, Davies Plantation 10k, and/or Firecracker 5k.
It was a fun race and a good test of fitness, though the results were not quite what I had hoped for.
My plan was to run a sub 17:00 5k. A barrier that I have simply not broken through since that freshman year at UTK. I went out slower than normal and hung with the guy who was leading the race. He was taller and a more muscular guy than you tend to see at the front, but it was obvious no one was wanting to lead out yet. I fell in behind him, and stayed that way until we turned into the Harbortown Neighborhood and away from the Mississippi River, not 100 yards to our left.
At this point, another young guy came up alongside me. He looked to be in his late teens. Ah I remember the days when I was that age and used to stick it to the older guys. In fact this kid ran, and ended up winning this race, much like the one overall road race victory I have to my credit, but that is for another time.
He and I, and the other guy when three wide as we looked for the best tangents in the zigzagging course, that was completely in the shade and amongst great looking town homes built right up against the street. Sadly this did not change the near 90 degree heat index.
Funny thing about this part of the run was that I felt a slight urge to put in a dig and go hard for about 15 seconds to see what would happen. I was not red lining, and in my training runs I do this and tend to recover quickly. However, not feeling it prudent, I stayed with the young guy who was now my only companion. We went through the first mile together in 5:18, ten seconds ahead of my goal pace.
Now this is where I simply do not have the 5k figured out. Push, or conserve, or dwindle. At this point, push was forced upon me, as another young guy, with great closing speed came alongside me and went by. Noticing him, the leader picked up his pace, and we began to work harder, or so it seemed. THey began to pull away, and I thought, well here is where I let the dream of winning go, and just hold to my plan of running my pace. Ha Ha, now that is a funny thought.
As we neared roughly the half way point, I ended up passing the guy who had charged up on us as he was beginning to fade. I found out after the race he is an 800 meter and mile guy in High School, to which I doubt he has any real competition. So I sat in second with first place probably about 30 meters ahead of me. At this point the heat was bothering me, and for whatever reason, holding the steady pace was hurting more than I thought it should, as I had been a good boy and not put in a dig. This however must be stated. There is true growth in how I start and that was noticed yesterday. Generally I would notice that the runners were not interested in going out fast, so I would then take that time to blitz the first mile, and probably would have gone through in 5:05, but I didnt, and so I was glad for that new found discipline, yet mad at myself for beginning to lose steam. Second disclaimer, not excuse mind you, disclaimer. I had just worked three 10 hour days in which I did not get home until close to 1 in the morning, on top of trying to carm in a 45 mile week.
I went through the second mile in 11:06, bummer, coming off the pace at this point, but I thought maybe I could put in a little extra and manage to still slide under the elusive 17 minute mark. I began to hear footsteps from behind and that is never good. I gave up second place not too far after the two mile mark, and this is where the hurt really began and tends to do so often. With less than half a mile to go, more footsteps and I slotted into my final finishing place, fourth. A final time of 17:37, for a 5:41 average.
So, what does this have to do with getting to the Olympic Trails? Racing is good. We learn from racing, we learn where we need to improve, and how we handle pressure. We learn how to respond the next time, and we tend to push the body harder than we would in workouts. The good news is, I feel this sets me up well for New York Training. I need to run at or around 6 minute miles in order to finish in the 2:30's. This pace was far faster than any mile I SHOULD run in New York. Remember, it is a build up to that pace and ability, one I intend very much to focus on.
-Funny tid bit. I told my 4 year old he could go with me to get my overall age group trophy. We were standing close to the stage as they were going through all the young uns, and Cade was asking alot of questions, and right before they hit my age group, and get ready to call my name, Cade looks at me and proclaims, "I have to go potty" and begins making all the appropriate gestures, and is really beginning to freak out. So we get my trophy and exit immediate right into the porta johns. Now that is how to accept an award!
Many thanks to my wife for bringing out the kids and enduring all of these races, and to my mom for her help in watching the boys! Thanks!
Next race up, pending funds, Davies Plantation 10k, and/or Firecracker 5k.