Motive Half Marathon...Check!

Completed the Motive Half Marathon yesterday with a time of 2:04:53, which is a 9:32 pace. It felt pretty good, considering the serious hills involved in that race. This was my second half marathon. In February, I ran the Freescale half marathon in 2:21:02, which is a 10:45 pace. That race was pretty consistently down hill. So, overall, we're talking about a vast improvement.

Here's the Motionbased link to the race data.

Another big difference is how I felt after the races. I was totally beat up after the first half marathon, and about to freeze my butt off. I was an invalid all day and couldn't walk without limping for several weeks. Now, after all my training, running the half marathon yesterday really wasn't too bad. I took an ice bath when I got home, and felt just fine after that. In fact, I did housework all day. Training is a good thing.

News

This marathon class is going to be challenging but a lot of fun. Yesterday's quality workout was a 2-mile time trial to guage your current fitness level. I ran the first mile in 7:30 and finished in 15:19. My goal was to run it in 15 minutes, so I feel pretty good about it. Not sure where I got 15 minutes from, actually, but glad I'm about where I think I am, speed wise. Also, we can take our current 2-mile time and feed it into a running calculator to get a calculated marathon time and pace, which is pretty cool. My goal in my head has been to finish the marathon at a 10min/mile pace, but based on the calculator, I think that's too slow. I should be pushing for something closer to a 9 minute mile pace (given that my speed will improve by February). Very cool!


On another note, I've just signed up for the Austin Distance Challenge and am excited about the first race, the IBM Uptown Classic in two weeks. Last year's classic was the first 10K I ever ran on my journey out of couch potato land. I went back and looked up the results for last year's race and compared them to my projected time (based on the mcmillan calculator) for this year's race. Pretty dramatic difference a year makes...

Date Overall Time Mile Pace
10/2/2005 1:13:36 11:51
10/1/2006 51:43 8:18

Additionally, I was wiped out after last year's run, needing several weeks to recover. This year, I expect to take only a couple days off from my training, maybe starting back up on Tuesday or Wednesday. Well, we'll see about this last part.

Marathon Season is here

I started my new marathon class. The first run was last Saturday and it was super crowded on the trail. Everyone and their dog just started training for something. Anyway, the group I am running with in the class is called the Brew Runners, how cool is that? Karen, my coach sent us all some questions to answer about our running history. Thought I would post the answers...

1. How many marathons have you run? - The Austin Marathon will be my first
2. What is your PR (for marathon if you have run one before) and when did you run that - See above
3. What is your goal for this marathon- eg… time, % improvement, BQ, achievement, feeling …? - I guess I "should" just be trying to finish. However, I'd really like to get it done at a 10 minute mile pace
4. Why are you training for this marathon? (What is your commitment to..) - I feel driven to run the Austin Marathon and other marathons after that. Some day, I'd like to run ultras. Not sure why. Maybe because I'm turning 30 this coming January and I'm tired of being out of shape. Plus, running is cheaper than therapy!
5. Are you planning on doing all of the Distance challenge races? - Yes
6. When you get tired, frustrated or bummed out- is there anything that you do that helps you get out of the rut? - Long runs with the MP3 player on loud. A Grande Vanilla Latte and Cranberry Orange Scone work pretty well in some cases, too.
7. Do you have any current or past injuries that you are concerned with? - Not that I'm concerned with. When I first got back into running (August 05), I tried to do too much too fast and my knees weren't ready. In fact, I had to stop for a little while and start back more slowly. But, I've been running without the knee braces for the past 6 months or so and feeling pretty good. I've been doing the foot drills, core workouts, stretching, getting sleep, etc and it seems to make a difference.
8. Do you belong to a gym or have acess to alternative workout equipment? - I'm a member of the YMCA (try to do one spin class a week) and I have a stability ball at home for core workouts.
9. What do you do for a living, and do you travel for work? - I'm a software person. No travel.
10. What life issues do you think are going to cause you the most time conflict with training? - the biggest issue is that I have 3 kids under 6 and a wife that works full time too. My schedule is pretty tight. Thankfully, we've worked out our schedules to the degree that I'll be able to make all the workouts.

After my first aborted attempt to start running again, I started back slower and ran the last year's Turkey Trot and several more races before doing the Austin Half Marathon this February. My running buddy at the time was also a large person. I started up a running blog called irunwiththebigdogs.com which I still maintain. My buddy kinda dropped out while I signed up for the Summer Long Run course, which I really enjoyed, and which helped me feel better while running longer than I thought I would be at this point.

Ran a Summer Sunstroke 5K

Went up North Yesterday to Brushy Creek for the 11th of this summer's Sunstroke 5K's . Its a pretty nice way to have a race, I thought. Small group of folks running on a well groomed trail. Only 10 bucks to enter, but you're chip-timed on a certified course. Worked out well for my training too, since I'm counting this as my mid-week quality workout. I think I'll do it again next week, since they alternate locations and its on the hike and bike.

As far as results go, I did ok for me. I'm still waiting on the chip results, but my overall time was right around 26:30, which would put the pace at about 8:30/mile. The goal was 9 minute miles, so I'm happy about that. I still think I could do better as I didn't really get into a kick because I didn't have a good feel for how much farther there was to go in the race. If I do these again next year, I'll definitely run a lot more of the races so that I can get more familiar with the course.

Speed Breakthrough

Justin couldn't make it the other morning so I decided to go ahead and run balls out to see how fast I could go. Well, I went pretty fast. 4 miles in a little under 36 minutes. 8:51 minute miles.

The training is working. I'm getting faster. You'll see that if you look in my motionbased digest. I'm knocking significant time off of my pace, even over long distances.

On the 4th, I'm going to run a 12K as part of the marathon relay. I'm going to skip the Saturday long run, so that I'll have plenty of energy for the Tuesday race. My goal will be a 10-minute mile pace for the 7.4 miles, although maybe I'm being too easy on myself. After all, I just kept that pace on a 9.5-mile run. We'll see how it goes.

an old friend returns

I got my garmin forerunner 201 synching data again. Had to order a new cable for it. So, now there are some new runs on my motionbased site including the Texas Roundup 10K. I ran it slower than the half marathon for a couple of reasons...

1. I was pushing Jillian in the jogging stroller
2. It was HILLY. Started out at the capitol and went south to Oltorf. It was pretty much all up hill for the first couple of miles. Then, when we got back into downtown, it was more hills. By contrast, the half marathon was a very subtle, but steady downward grade the whole way.
   

I'm stoked about getting the garmin working again. I want to see how much all the extra running and spin classes and core classes have paid in terms of increased speed. Its just in time for the 8 mile run I'm doing for the Rogue class tomorrow morning. I'll post the results tomorrow when I get home.

Other than that, I'm constantly sore. In addition to the extra classes, Justin and I have started doing a full body circuit halfway through our 4 mile runs. Pushups, pullups (kinda), step ups on a bench, leg lifts, and some starfish jumps (kind of a retarded looking jumping jack). Oh, and I almost forgot that we changed our splits to 8 minutes run/1 minute rest instead of 5/1. So, all in all, I'm training a lot harder than I have up to this point. If I could just get my diet a little more under control, things would really be groovin.

That's all for now. Like I said, more data tomorrow.

Cool front rolls in and life is good

This has been the first week of the stepped up training required by my new class.

Monday - Spin class at lunch (this is tougher than it sounds)

- HOT HOT MUGGY WEATHER -

Tuesday - 4 mile run (sweating gallons)

Wednesday - 3 mile run in AM (sweating gallons...felt like 6 miles), Core Class at Runtex in PM
- COOL FRONT BLOWS IN....YEAH!!!! -

Thursday - being really really sore, but eating lunch outside :-)

Friday - 4 mile run that felt a lot better. Actually helped with the soreness since the muscles got stretched

Tomorrow at 6AM is the second meeting of the class, but the first long run. 7 miles on Town Lake trail followed by a pot luck breakfast and talk on Periodization. Looking forward to getting to know some of the folks in the class. Hopefully, there will be some slow-asses like me, although most people in that class look scarily fit.

My Week 1 workouts

Week	Week 1
Program	Rogue Summer Long Run Program 06
Group	Summer long run, all levels
Date	Monday, May 08, 2006
Workout	XT (XT = crosstrain. Read essay for more details.)
Date	Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Workout	Easy 3- 6 mile run
Date	Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Workout	Easy 3 mile run
Date	Thursday, May 11, 2006
Workout	Off or XT
Date	Friday, May 12, 2006
Workout	Easy 3 - 6 mile run
Date	Saturday, May 13, 2006
Workout	Group run at RunTex Riverside annex at 6am: 7 miles on the Town Lake trail Afterwards: potluck breakfast in the annex and seminar by Steve on Periodization
Date	Sunday, May 14, 2006
Workout	Off

Not bad. I'm definitely going to have to get my Z's. The 7 mile run on Saturday is longer than I would have run otherwise, but its good to be challenged.... right?

I went to my first class last Saturday, but the run was called off due to the lightning storm. Everyone in that group looked pretty damn fit. It was a little intimidating. That said, a lot of the folks in the group were in this other class that's training for a marathon in the near future, so I don't feel too bad. I was already up on a Saturday morning at 6AM, so I wanted to get a workout in. The YMCA was closed until 8 so I headed back home. By the time I got up North, it looked a littel clearer so I decided to head over to the running trail at Riata. I invented a little workout for myself -

• Jog around the track (about 1/3 mile), then running the last 200 feet at about 80% max speed
• 15 leg lifts
• 10 incline pushups on the bar

I did that cycle 4 times in the light-to-moderate rain and I was pretty worn out. This fitness thing is tough. Not sure its good for you. :-)

Texas Roundup 10K, and the future

Took Jillian to the Texas Roundup 10K last Saturday. It was a lot of fun but it kicked my butt. Starts at the capitol and goes south along congress all the way to Oltorf (pretty much all up hill after you get over the bridge), then turns and comes back north on 1st street to 15th and back around to the capitol. It started out cool, but got pretty steamy once the sun came up. Results are here. I did an 11:09 mile pace which ain't too bad considering I was pushing around a five year old up and down hills. During the race, I wish I had had a camera with me. Gonna have to get a camera phone one day. Anyway, I got one more bib for my cube wall at work. Only 4 of them now, but its growing.

What's next, you ask? Well, I bit the bullet and just registered for a running course to keep me motivated through the summer. Here it is. I'm looking forward to it, as I think it will help make sure I'm ready to do the Austin Distance Challenge this winter. Crazy to have goals like that, but I do.

Word.

Notes from the Capitol 10K

The race was a lot of fun. So much different from the half marathon in terms of convenience. For one thing, Justin and I arrived about 15 minutes prior to the start, so there was no waiting around. Secondly, the weather was absolutely beautiful. We kept a decent pace throughout the race and just enjoyed the experience. Bands played music at various spots along the course. There was plenty to see, since the course took us through some cool spots in downtown. Actually, I remember thinking it would have been a great race to run if you had grown up in Austin but had moved out of town. We had a great view of the Capitol, House Park, and Austin High. Almost like a high school homecoming tour. We also saw some crazy costumes. One guy was running in a UT Tower costume, complete with a little sniper action figure. Another lady wore a flesh tone body stocking, pasties, a fig leaf, and black masking tape strategically arranged to form a butt crack. Nice.

Anyway, Justin and I are still running. We're trying to figure out our next race. We're open to suggestions. :-) Later.

Been a while, on the Cap 10K

Justin and I have been training (albeit somewhat sporadically ) for the Capitol 10K, which is this weekend. Here's a good article I saw on running the race.

13.1

Well, there was some bitter and some sweet. First the bitter. It was cold as balls....colder than balls, really. I woke up at 4:15, got to the finish line at 5, rode the bus to the starting line at 6, then found out that the race was postponed until 7:30. I sat in the Freescale careteria for over an hour before waiting 15 minutes in line for the porta potty. That's not even the good part. At about 8.75 miles, we were crossing Mopac on a bridge. I had a pebble in my shoe so I thought it would be a good idea to jump onto the sidewalk and get the pebble out. However, the sidewalk was completely iced over, so I slipped and fell. I fell mostly on my ass, but managed to pull something in my knee, which initially hurt really really bad.

OK, now on the good part. When I fell, I was totally kicking ass (for me) on my pace. I didn't want to give that up so I gritted my teeth and kept on running. The fact that I could still run was also a good thing. I passed the 10 mile mark at 1:48, beating my 10 mile run by 8 minutes! I ended up finishing in 2:20, which was a 10:41/Mile pace, almost a minute faster than my 10 mile run. Overall, I'm very pleased.

When I got home, I still felt ok, until I took a shower. When I got out, I was cold, way cold, and I couldn't get warm. I think I just didn't have enough blood sugar left to warm myself. It was pretty intense. So, I'm sitting here in multiple layers of clothes and a blanket, with the heater on, a roaring fire, and a heating pad. I ate an orange, drank a cup of coffee, and then had a Sonic double cheeseburger, fries (no guilt, I assure you) and am finally getting warm. The knee hurts, but less after 3 ibuprofen. The kids are asleep, I'm watching copland, life is good.

Now, after a short (hopefully with the knee) rest, I'm going to start working on my speed, starting with the Cap 10K.

getting ready to freeze my patooties off

I've been enjoying the nice weather in the last two weeks leading up to the half marathon. I've been taking it easy, not even wearing the GPS since I've been "rest" running. Yesterday's running weather was positively balmy. That's all about to change though, starting with tomorrow's run (40's). What's worse, its probably going to be in the 40's and raining on the morning of the race..... Suckage.

Looking like a solo race for me as I haven't been in touch with Reagan regarding running the race together. Although the race ends up at Northcross mall (right by my mom's house), I think the weather is going to work against having anyone cheering for me. That's ok though. Some of my best runs have been solo, and I'll still have somewhere to dry off and change clothes right after the race. I'm planning on parking at the mall (at 5AM...ugh) and then riding the shuttle to the starting line. That way, after I'm done, I'll have the car right there.

One other thing I'm kind of excited/amused by is the fact that they have a special clydesdale division for men over 190 lbs. You have to get yourself weighed at when you go pick up your packet. I think they should have a "big dog" division for men over 250, but that's just me. I'm going to try and get myself entered in that group for fun.

10 miles yesterday

Yesterday morning's run started and ended at Barton Springs. When I got there, I already knew that Justin and John were going to be out, but waited a little while for Reagan since he had said he was going to show. Reagan didn't show. So, at the first, I was a little disappointed at having to run by myself. However, I have to say that doing the run solo was a lot of fun. Very peaceful. I didn't even take the mp3 player, just listened to the morning sounds of the hike and bike trail. It was a pleasant surprise how good it felt, too. I was taking my sips of gatorade every 15 minutes per the plan, and running pretty fast (about 11:35/mile). I ran the whole 10 miles and then took off my shoes and soaked in barton springs for about 10 minutes. Man, did that feel good! I think that that's going to have to be a regular deal on the long runs.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided that I deserved to feel this good not only because I had put in the training, but also because I had been really careful about my diet and about getting my rest the day before. I think I'm a believer in the whole diet thing now.

Anyway, this was the peak for the training prior to the half marathon itself in two weeks. I'm excited, I think its going to be fun.

P.S. I feel pretty good today too. The ankles held up better than I was expecting. Woo hoo!

Everything Hurts

Today was tough running, although it was only 3 miles. My ankles and shins are noticing what I'm doing to them these days. John had some aches and pains as well. I think I'm hitting a wall of what my body will put up with if I don't accompany the exercise with changes in diet and getting a lot more sleep. I've also found out that I don't have the time, energy, and youth to exercise enough to make up for my diet. I saw some early results just from exercise, but I'm going to have to change the diet and the sleep to keep making progress. Sunday's 10-mile looms. I'm hoping its not going to kill me and knock me out of training. Going to have to be good to myself tonight and tomorrow.

8 Miles Yesterday. Hard to believe.

Justin and I ran 8 yesterday! It was a good run. Chilly at first, but it warmed up. We kept a good pace, 12:18, which was even a bit faster than a 4 mile we ran on January 5th. I was pretty tired during the day yesterday (even took a nap, although I shouldn't say that because Justin had to go work all day after. He's tougher than I am), but feel surprisingly good today. I discussed this with Justin, but I think your body gets used to not only the running, but to healing from the wear and tear that running puts your body through. Let's just hope we can hold up for the 10-miler we have scheduled for Sunday!

Tsk Tsk

John and Travis,

 

Unexcused absences today, dudes.  Very troubling. J  I ran anyway.  I guess that means everyone is going to be loaded with energy for our 8-Mile run on Sunday.  Maybe we should get ready for the run by listening to Eminem.  You know, Eminem….  8-Mile…..Sorry, had to.

 

--Matt

 

Getting a little faster...

Here's a speed vs distance vs time pic of our runs. Thought it was pretty cool. Check the pink line. We're getting gradually faster.

Proud of the Big Dogs today

Today was our makeup run for yesterday. We ran the lamar loop twice, going for 6 miles. Well, according to the GPS (click here and go to the run called "6 miles") we actually ran just under 6 and a half miles, which makes that the longest distance I've ever run at a stretch. We kep a pretty good pace too, even with pushing the stroller. That's almost exactly half of the half marathon distance we're working towards. Good stuff.

NOW THIS IS A RACE

I am so down for this it's not even funny...well it kinda is. follow this link
http://i-run.com/2006/01/18/krispy-kreme-challenge/ On a side note we did'nt run because of the rain. John ran, but he is insane. I get to live longer now. Thank you Jebus!

WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME

So I've been doing the running thing pretty diligently for a while now. I've been taking my vitamins, I don't drink anymore and I rarely stay awake past ten o'clock. This I thought would be a good thing. Every time I go out running now, it gets harder and harder, almost like I'm doing more harm than good. I feel like I am going to die on some of the running segments. We're running six miles tomorrow. Six miles. Further than I've ever gone before. Matt seems very cheery about this. Am I wrong to think he's f*cking nuts? This is why I hate this blog. Accountability...oh lament...oh mimsy....oh Meriwether. So I will post about how this goes. (or not if I die) On another topic I would like to address those folks who holler out words of encouragement to us runners alike. Let me give some examples..."come on...you can do it"..."Almost there...Keep pushing"..."You got it...You're almost there". I hope you all choke on your sunny disposition and here's why...How do you know I'm not doing my best. I may be pushing as hard as I can and you look up from your evian (backwards that spells naive) and see me chugging along looking as though I've been dragged behind a truck and you feel the need to uplift my spirit, motivation whatever. I like most other fat people am going as fast as I can. We can't go as fast as you...you know why...CAUSE WERE FAT THAT'S WHY. That is why were running, to not be fat and you stand there, height weight proportionate and think that I don't try as hard as I can. Must be nice in those 34" waist jeans. Gee, if my waist were that slim, I MIGHT NOT LOOK AS RIDICULOUS AS I DO WHEN I DO RUN. So, in closing, keep your comments to yourself and talk about the fat guy you saw on the trail behind my back like a descent human being. Thanking you in advance, Justin.

Doh!

Met John to run today and kept a pretty good pace. I really wanted to share it with you, but I realized as we were in the last half mile that I had forgotten to start the timer on my GPS. Doh! Just wanted to share. :-)

We're going 6 miles this Sunday as we prepare for the Freescale Half Marathon. This should be interesting...

I freaking rock!!!

I forgot that Justin starts school today and that we go on an alternate schedule this week, so I showed up at the trail at the normal time. Since I was solo, I decided to push myself and see how fast I could go. I still did the same 4mins/90secs intervals, but really picked up the speed during the running periods. Check out my run by clicking here , then selecting "Fast 4 Miles" from today. My previous fastest overall pace (granted I had Jillian in the stroller that time) was 11:00/Mile, but today, I did it in 9:40/Mile. It was cold as hell (44 degrees) and super windy (12-15 mph Northwest). It was especially windy during the last three quarters of a mile as I was running North East along the North shore of the lake. If I accomplish nothing more today, at least I've had a good run.

Wonder if this will work

Doing something that won't help my run tomorrow. Checking out a band called Chili Coldblood at the poodle dog lounge. These guys sound fresh. Three piece, guitar, drums, and lap steel. Very blues/groove oriented, but not shuffles. A lot like RL Burnside. I never knew a lap steel could sound so heavy, but I guess there are some low strings. Almost sounds like drop D with a slide or seomthing. Anyway, it was surprising how long they could keep rehashing a groove withouth it getting boring. Really like the sound, the bass wasn't missed at all. Makes me wanna dust off the old axe and play. I recommend these guys. Got their CD.

Dorking out on the trail

So, my lovely wife Cassie got me the Garmin Forerunner 201
for Christmas this year. I didn't really get into it at first until I discovered what you can do with the data. Check the link on the right and you'll see my uploads to MotionBased, a software company whose service really adds value to your GPS data. The Forerunner 301 includes heart monitoring too, but I already had that, because I had bought myself the Nike Triax C8 right before the Turkey Trot. Now, I've really gotten into having all of the telemetry right there. On the watch, I'll track the run/rest intervals that we're doing as part of the Galloway method along with my pulse. Then, on my other wrist, I'm tracking pace, distance, and total time. This, of course, means that I am the dorkiest person on the trail at any given time. Oh well.

Check here for information on the next generation of forerunner that has several improvements over my model.

WAY TO GO MATT

SO I START RUNNING WITH MY LONGTIME PAL MATT. THIS STARTED ROUND ABOUT...OH, LAST OCTOBER NOVEMBER SOMETIME. I LIKE RUNNING WITH MATT BECAUSE LIKE MYSELF, HE IS A LARGE INDIVIDUAL. I DON'T LOOK SO LARGE STANDING NEXT TO HIM. I HOPE HE FEELS THE SAME WAY. ANYHOO HE SAYS TO ME..."JUSTIN HOW ABOUT RUNNING IN THAT TURKEY TROT THING ON THANKSGIVING". OR MAYBE I ASKED HIM. I DON'T REMEMBER. THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT WE DID IT AND WE DIDN'T FINISH DEAD LAST. I SEEM TO REMEMBER SOME OCTOGENARIAN AHEAD OF US FOR AN UNCOMFORTABLE AMOUNT OF TIME. SO WE CONTINUED RUNNING AFTER THAT ON A REGULAR BASIS. THEN MATT DROPS THE BOMB. "I'M STARTING A WEBSITE CALLED IRUNWITHTHEBIGDOGS.COM TO TRACK OUR PROGRESS". MATT IS A BUSY GUY. SURLY HE WOULDN'T HAVE TIME TO DO THIS WITH THE THREE KIDS, THE JOB ET CETERA. I HOPED HE WOULDN'T HAVE TIME. IF YOU'RE READING THIS YOU MIGHT BE SAYING TO YOURSELF..."SELF, WHY WOULD JUSTIN SAY THAT. THEY HAVE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR A LONG TIME AND JUST WHY WOULD HE JUST SAY A THING LIKE THAT. IT MAKES ME UNCOMFORTABLE". WELL I'LL TELLS YOU WHY. NOW I HAVE TO DO THIS. NOW IF I WANT CASUALLY DWINDLE DOWN MY RUNNING TIME TO SAY...I DON'T KNOW NEGATIVE TWO MILES A WEEK...I CAN NOT. NOW PROGRESS IS BEING RECORDED. GREAT, ACCOUNTABILITY. MY ARCH NEMESIS. WITH A PICTURE OF ME BEING ALL FAT AND RUNNING. SO I HAVE TO PUT A PICTURE OF ME UP THAT'S NOT SO PUDGY. THAT MEANS I HAVE TO RUN AND RUN AND RUN AND RUN...YOU GET THE IDEA. SO HERE'S TO YOU MATT. LET'S RUN THE RACES AND MAKE THE FACES AND CHART THE PLACES. LETS DO THIS. I'M COOL WITH IT. I HOWEVER CAST MY DOUBTS ON A HALF MARTHON BY FEBUARY. WE'LL SEE.

Hello?.....This thing on?.....

Seriously, though. Hello, and welcome to my initial post.

Here's a photo of Justin and I running the Thundercloud Turkey Trot. It was five miles and it took us just over an hour. The clock showed 1:06, but we spent about 5 minutes from the gun waiting to crose the starting line.

That was back in November and Justin and I have been running a couple of times a week since then. We're making steady progress, although Justin might not admit it.

I used to run pretty fast in High School, but that was 12 years, 3 kids, and 80 pounds ago. I want to keep the kids, don't have a choice about the years, but I'm ready to lose the pounds, or at least a good chunk of them. So, I plan to talk a little bit about my journey of getting faster, including losing some weight.

Justin and I are currently training for the Freescale Half Marathon
and will run in association with Team Justin . We've been running 4 miles at a stretch, so we'll need to up our distance over the next 5 weeks. Over the next 5 Sundays, we'll run 5, 6, 8, 10, and 5 miles. Should be fun.