I got this marathon in about 5 weeks. I have been slacking. So I went against all running rules and just up and did a 20 miler. Last week I had a total of 20 miles. This was 1 day after getting 4 inches of snow. The roads were a mess. So I ran anyways. I swear there is no respect for runners, but I dared the traffic to hit me. After about 10 miles out, I was like "What in the world am I doing... I'm 10 miles from home..." There was no calling for a ride back, my feet was soaked and frozen, got a blister on the bottom. I had to run like 7 miles down a highway called Telegraph Road, and with no sidewalks, that was "interesting". Surprised the cops didnt stop me. It took 3 hours to complete... I was beat!! I was going like 9 minute miles... I never ran that slow before. I was sore for 4 days.
I did a easy 6.5 miler 2 days ago. I felt that I was getting some of my strength back. That 20 did a number on me. Do I really feel like I'm going to be ready for this marathon?? It was at a leasure 51:00. So I get up today and when I dropped my son off at school it was actually WARM!! I read another runner's blog, and this person inspired me to get in some speedwork. So I raced back home to get in some intervals. Got my shorts on and compression shirt... get outside... the temp dropped like 10 degrees!!! So back indoors for my "winter gear" again. I did 5x1200 at about 6:55 pace each, which was about 5:15 each 1200 meters. I felt kinda "clunky" running it. My form sucks. I could run a mile faster than that back in high school. But it just felt like it was getting colder and colder and there was a 30mph wind in my face on the last 600's. I could have gone for more but it just got too cold. Plus I do have to go to work.
As I type this, I'm not sure if I'll do a recovery run after work, or just stick to my planned 10-12 miler tomorrow. Its "supposed" to get up to 40 degrees by afternoon which is GREAT this time of year and good running weather. I'll see, and I run on...
Friday, February 27, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
No Garmin... No Way!!
The weather has been just fabulous the past week. We were in the 50's!!! The only thing is that it was raining all the while. And it still gets dark around 5pm... just after work. So I signed up for a 5k yesterday. I was SOOOO ready to beat my previous mark. Went to sleep around 11pm. Woke up around 7am and to my surprise... 3 inches of snow fell on us!!! It just cant get any worse than that. Since I paid for it, there was no way I was not going to run it... besides, everybody else will be running the same race under the same conditions. This was a pretty low-key race. It was a couples race... your teammate had to be of the opposite sex, then they added your times together. I checked the times last year, and there was a shot at getting first. When I got to the start... I saw some familiar faces... and I thought to myself "Oh crap... there is no way I'm going to beat these people". It seems that now even the low key races are being invaded by the fleetfeet!! I guess all in the name of bragging rights or collecting winner awards.
There was a female runner, that was Michigan Runner of the Year. My goal was to have her pace me for the first mile, then hold on for dear life. Given the weather, I didnt do a sufficient warmup. At mile 1, I was probably 15 seconds behind her. I guessed as such, because I FORGOT MY GARMIN. After that, my lungs cramped up, lactic acid built up in my legs, and it was a wrap!! I had my Fastwitch 3 shoes. They have vent holes in the bottom, so my feet was soaked and numb by mile 1. This was a very slushy run. (I should have learned my lesson from my previous 5k). No matter how I tried to speed up, all I did was slip and slide. This would have been the perfect race for my Yaktrax!! I finished a dismal 21:54... I swear, my first mile felt like it was probably 6 minutes flat. I felt bad the entire race. Time for more endurance... I just gotta hold on. That female finished in 18:16.
My race of the year is going to be my 25k run in May. I hope to build a speed base by doing 5k's and an endurance base by training for my marathon in April. I'm signed up for the Clydesdale division (185lbs and up). Last year, the winner for my age group got 1hr 55min. I think I can beat that. I gotta average 7:40 pace. This is my year for PR's... no excuses... and I run on...
There was a female runner, that was Michigan Runner of the Year. My goal was to have her pace me for the first mile, then hold on for dear life. Given the weather, I didnt do a sufficient warmup. At mile 1, I was probably 15 seconds behind her. I guessed as such, because I FORGOT MY GARMIN. After that, my lungs cramped up, lactic acid built up in my legs, and it was a wrap!! I had my Fastwitch 3 shoes. They have vent holes in the bottom, so my feet was soaked and numb by mile 1. This was a very slushy run. (I should have learned my lesson from my previous 5k). No matter how I tried to speed up, all I did was slip and slide. This would have been the perfect race for my Yaktrax!! I finished a dismal 21:54... I swear, my first mile felt like it was probably 6 minutes flat. I felt bad the entire race. Time for more endurance... I just gotta hold on. That female finished in 18:16.
My race of the year is going to be my 25k run in May. I hope to build a speed base by doing 5k's and an endurance base by training for my marathon in April. I'm signed up for the Clydesdale division (185lbs and up). Last year, the winner for my age group got 1hr 55min. I think I can beat that. I gotta average 7:40 pace. This is my year for PR's... no excuses... and I run on...
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Same Stuff Different Day!!
So I finally got the opportunity to get back to the pavement. I had a 5k race/run on Superbowl Sunday. A perfect way to kick off the day my favorite team was to destroy the team that had no bizness in the Super Bowl anyways. I cant remember my last "fast" race. Really, this was to test my fitness, since I only been running like 20 miles / week MAX since my marathon in October. This winter has been HORRIBLE. Snow snow snow... cold cold cold. Havent gotten any true speed work. Gotta lose these 10lbs I gained. Trying to get down to 185 for my next marathon (yes I signed up for a April mary... I mean marathon).
There was probably close to 1000 runners. I made sure I got near the front. I heard some lady say "I think I'm going to run 24 minutes..." I was like WHAT???? Why was she near the front? All she was good for was to slow people down and get in the way. The temp was perfect... it was a heat wave that day... 35 degrees!! So the roads were wet and a little slick, but nothing extraordinary. The start was OK. There were a lot of turns to go thru. If you make too sharp a turn, then u slip on a snowbank... too wide and you slip on the paint on the pavement (its funny how slippery those things are when wet).
I felt soooo good for the first mile, it was like nothing at all. The second mile was easy also, but I had to put a little bit more effort. But that last mile!! We had to do a 360 turn, then it was net uphill. Seemed like the hill would never end. Thats what got me. I slowed to a tortoise pace. So at the top of the hill is the finish in like .2 miles. It usually takes me like .3 - .5 miles to totally recover from such a hill, but it was just "gut it out" time. The finish came without incident. My time was 21:36... a 6:57 / mile average. I guess it was ok, for a first race. My splits were...
Mile 1 6:28
Mile 2 6:48
Mile 3 7:31
Last Part 7:16 pace... 48 seconds
Those were Garmin times. So it looks like I need to work on my endurance a lil more. But with another heat wave coming with temps in the 40's, I'm getting all the speedwork in that I can!!! And I run on...
There was probably close to 1000 runners. I made sure I got near the front. I heard some lady say "I think I'm going to run 24 minutes..." I was like WHAT???? Why was she near the front? All she was good for was to slow people down and get in the way. The temp was perfect... it was a heat wave that day... 35 degrees!! So the roads were wet and a little slick, but nothing extraordinary. The start was OK. There were a lot of turns to go thru. If you make too sharp a turn, then u slip on a snowbank... too wide and you slip on the paint on the pavement (its funny how slippery those things are when wet).
I felt soooo good for the first mile, it was like nothing at all. The second mile was easy also, but I had to put a little bit more effort. But that last mile!! We had to do a 360 turn, then it was net uphill. Seemed like the hill would never end. Thats what got me. I slowed to a tortoise pace. So at the top of the hill is the finish in like .2 miles. It usually takes me like .3 - .5 miles to totally recover from such a hill, but it was just "gut it out" time. The finish came without incident. My time was 21:36... a 6:57 / mile average. I guess it was ok, for a first race. My splits were...
Mile 1 6:28
Mile 2 6:48
Mile 3 7:31
Last Part 7:16 pace... 48 seconds
Those were Garmin times. So it looks like I need to work on my endurance a lil more. But with another heat wave coming with temps in the 40's, I'm getting all the speedwork in that I can!!! And I run on...
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