Sunday, February 24, 2008
Damn Fine Day in Austin
Man, the weather was nice today! Ran about 6 and half miles on the trail ...
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=16172&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=5040395
Just beautiful! Per my new training principal, kept my pulse between 130 and 140 bpm, which means I was running sloooooooooow. That's ok though, I fet great, had great form, and took in the scenery... flora and fauna ;-) . The hope is that keeping the long runs slow means I'll be able to increase the overall weekly miles and feel less beat up at the same time. I also hope to be able to increase the speed at which I can run and still maintain an optimum heart rate.
Got home and weighed 142. Woo hoo! Now, hopefully I didn't ruin that with my lunch trip to Phil's Ice House where I had beer, cheeseburger, and ice cream. Oh well.
I was thinking on the way down to the trail that I can't wait to get back in to a group training environment. Brew runners rock. Will need to consider my options over the summer to run with those guys if I can swing it.
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/invitation/email/accept.mb?senderPk.pkValue=16172&unitSystemPkValue=2&episodePk.pkValue=5040395
Just beautiful! Per my new training principal, kept my pulse between 130 and 140 bpm, which means I was running sloooooooooow. That's ok though, I fet great, had great form, and took in the scenery... flora and fauna ;-) . The hope is that keeping the long runs slow means I'll be able to increase the overall weekly miles and feel less beat up at the same time. I also hope to be able to increase the speed at which I can run and still maintain an optimum heart rate.
Got home and weighed 142. Woo hoo! Now, hopefully I didn't ruin that with my lunch trip to Phil's Ice House where I had beer, cheeseburger, and ice cream. Oh well.
I was thinking on the way down to the trail that I can't wait to get back in to a group training environment. Brew runners rock. Will need to consider my options over the summer to run with those guys if I can swing it.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
AT&T race report
Good:
Goals for Big Sur
- Parking at my building for free, warming up in my gym, and popping out of my building 5 minutes before the gun went off
- Finding friends at the start and running the first few miles with them
- Meeting Lindy for miles 14-20
- Chad's tailgate at mile 18 or so - next year, I'm definitely stopping for a mimosa
- Running the last couple of blocks with Jillian
- Post race canneloni - Cassie made it from scratch
- I feel better after this marathon than I did after last year's
- after getting home and having eaten, the scale said 243. Haven't seen 243 in over 5 years.
- 7 minutes slower than last year. This sucks the big one because I trained way harder this year.
- slow death over time....started out great, but got slower and slower and slower
- headache starting at mile 15
- survival shuffle from mile 20 on
- seeing the 4:15 group pass by, then the 4:30 group....shit, almost got passed by 4:45
- Eat more the last two weeks before the race. Don't try to lose weight.
- Get real about what pace you can actually hold for 26 miles. I don't think its in the 9's even on a good day.
- It was a tough day for a lot of folks.
Goals for Big Sur
- Run the last 10K faster than the previous 20 miles
Friday, February 01, 2008
3M recap and diet discovery
Wanted to quickly recap the 3M Marathon. In short, it went really well. We came in at 1:56:03 (Lindy and I) and put together a strong, disciplined race that was a PR by about a minute. I think I probably could have run it faster, but I'm glad I didn't as my real focus is the marathon.
I've been reading this book called Body, Mind and Sport - by John Douillard and one of the suggestions in the book is to eat your largest mean mid-day and de-emphasize breakfast and dinner. I decided to try it this week. I've been eating a pretty light breakfast except when I'm hungry after a run and need a breakfast taco. I eat huge lunches (Hoovers one day and Roaring Fork another day..mmmmmm) and then just a protein shake for lunch. I'm also trying to get to bed by 9, which helps because I start to get hungry :-) . I feel pretty good this week, but the crazy thing is how the pounds are dropping off. I was 244.9 on the scale this morning. I haven't seen that side of 245 in a LONG time. I didn't start this to lose weight, but its definitely having that effect. The weird thing is that its not accompanied by a lot of effort. I'm more going with the natural flow of what my body wants. That this would be so effective flies in the face of a lot of modern 'wisdom' on diet (like 6 meals a day for instance), but that conventional wisdom has never brought me much in the way of results. It has me thinking about next year's marathon and being 30-40 pounds lighter. Can you say eight-minute miles?
The one down side is that I'm a little worried that the weight loss might be killing my glycogen reserves. I'm not hungry during the day and I feel good. I guess we'll see how tomorrow's long run goes. That's usually when you can really tell if you screwed up your diet.
I've been reading this book called Body, Mind and Sport - by John Douillard and one of the suggestions in the book is to eat your largest mean mid-day and de-emphasize breakfast and dinner. I decided to try it this week. I've been eating a pretty light breakfast except when I'm hungry after a run and need a breakfast taco. I eat huge lunches (Hoovers one day and Roaring Fork another day..mmmmmm) and then just a protein shake for lunch. I'm also trying to get to bed by 9, which helps because I start to get hungry :-) . I feel pretty good this week, but the crazy thing is how the pounds are dropping off. I was 244.9 on the scale this morning. I haven't seen that side of 245 in a LONG time. I didn't start this to lose weight, but its definitely having that effect. The weird thing is that its not accompanied by a lot of effort. I'm more going with the natural flow of what my body wants. That this would be so effective flies in the face of a lot of modern 'wisdom' on diet (like 6 meals a day for instance), but that conventional wisdom has never brought me much in the way of results. It has me thinking about next year's marathon and being 30-40 pounds lighter. Can you say eight-minute miles?
The one down side is that I'm a little worried that the weight loss might be killing my glycogen reserves. I'm not hungry during the day and I feel good. I guess we'll see how tomorrow's long run goes. That's usually when you can really tell if you screwed up your diet.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
The night before the 3M half
Everything's pretty much ready to go. Kids are in bed, my gear is all laid out or already in the car. I've read my coach's race advice/plan. Coach Karen always writes up a good plan for us. It really helped me for this race last year. About 6 hours from now, I'll wake up and fix myself some coffee and some malt o' meal (really works well for a pre race meal....for me anyway). I'll probably watch a little sportscenter as I eat and dress, then I'll load some really sleepy kids in the car and drive to my mom's place, stopping at Taco Cabana on the way for their breakfast. After the kids are safely ensconced with their Grandma, I'll head over to pick up Lindy (it's her first ever half....awesome!) and we'll get to the race starting area in time to join my Rogue peeps for a warmup. Weather should be in the 40's. Easily gonna be shorts and long sleeve shirt weather by the time its all said and done.
Running is a good time. Well, actually, there are times during a run that are at least temporarily miserable. But overall, I'm pretty much addicted. I'm going to run until my body won't let me any more. It's not just the running, but its the whole ritual of getting ready the night before, feeling a little nervous, getting up early when the rest of the world is asleep, and then going to battle. The modern world doesn't have a lot of physical challenges. Most of us are sheltered, warm, and well fed. We lack for no physical comforts. We also lose out on a lot of beauty of the world when you're exposed to the elements and your own lack of invincibility. Running gives you a little taste of that back.
Another reason I run is the community. There's nothing like it. No community out there is both so stratified (you are constantly reminded who is faster or slower and how much) yet so collegiate. As a runner, you feel just as much a part of the day as the fastest person out there. Runners delight in sharing the love of running with other runners no matter what their relative speed and skill level are. It's enough to be doing it.
I have some pretty specific goals for tomorrow and I feel like my training and preparation is going to get me there. But, regardless of my race time, I'm going to have a really fun time tomorrow sharing the joy of running a half marathon with Lindy and everyone else out there. I look forward to what the day will bring, even those rollers on Burnet road.
Running is a good time. Well, actually, there are times during a run that are at least temporarily miserable. But overall, I'm pretty much addicted. I'm going to run until my body won't let me any more. It's not just the running, but its the whole ritual of getting ready the night before, feeling a little nervous, getting up early when the rest of the world is asleep, and then going to battle. The modern world doesn't have a lot of physical challenges. Most of us are sheltered, warm, and well fed. We lack for no physical comforts. We also lose out on a lot of beauty of the world when you're exposed to the elements and your own lack of invincibility. Running gives you a little taste of that back.
Another reason I run is the community. There's nothing like it. No community out there is both so stratified (you are constantly reminded who is faster or slower and how much) yet so collegiate. As a runner, you feel just as much a part of the day as the fastest person out there. Runners delight in sharing the love of running with other runners no matter what their relative speed and skill level are. It's enough to be doing it.
I have some pretty specific goals for tomorrow and I feel like my training and preparation is going to get me there. But, regardless of my race time, I'm going to have a really fun time tomorrow sharing the joy of running a half marathon with Lindy and everyone else out there. I look forward to what the day will bring, even those rollers on Burnet road.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Longest training run of the season....check
Just got it uploaded.
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=4822890
Was a really good run. I got a late start and so didn't see anyone I normally run with for a good while. Starting at the corner of LAB and Enfield, I got going on MGP. Finally caught up with Brian at about the 8 mile mark and we ran the rest of the way together. I was happy to be able to consistently keep a 9:20 pace all the way to campus, about the 18 mile mark. Oddly enough, although it was the longest run of the season so far, it wasn't the worst. It was nice, especially after the sun came up. I feel a lot more confident now about the Marathon.
Next week is 3M. I'm going to have to run pretty fast to beat my last year's time of 1:57:09. But, I'm confident that I can do it.
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=4822890
Was a really good run. I got a late start and so didn't see anyone I normally run with for a good while. Starting at the corner of LAB and Enfield, I got going on MGP. Finally caught up with Brian at about the 8 mile mark and we ran the rest of the way together. I was happy to be able to consistently keep a 9:20 pace all the way to campus, about the 18 mile mark. Oddly enough, although it was the longest run of the season so far, it wasn't the worst. It was nice, especially after the sun came up. I feel a lot more confident now about the Marathon.
Next week is 3M. I'm going to have to run pretty fast to beat my last year's time of 1:57:09. But, I'm confident that I can do it.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
craziness....pure craziness
was going back and reading some of my first posts on this thing. I was really impressed with a 6 mile run at a 12-minute pace. This morning, I did 6.5 at pretty close to a 9-minute pace. That was actually a really easy Thursday workout. Saturday will be the last long training run for the Austin Marathon. It will be 24 miles, which will only be the second time I've run that far, ever. I've done three 20 mile runs and one Marathon before.
One could say things have changed quite a bit since late 2005. I've changed jobs twice, the kids have gotten a lot older, and I've run a Marathon and am about to run another one.
Not only that, but it doesn't seem to be changing, rather increasing. I've just registered for the Big Sur Marathon on April 27th. I'm really looking forward to that one. Should be a fun time with my Dad, and also (it appears) my sister and her boyfriend.
One could say things have changed quite a bit since late 2005. I've changed jobs twice, the kids have gotten a lot older, and I've run a Marathon and am about to run another one.
Not only that, but it doesn't seem to be changing, rather increasing. I've just registered for the Big Sur Marathon on April 27th. I'm really looking forward to that one. Should be a fun time with my Dad, and also (it appears) my sister and her boyfriend.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Jillian gets a spin from Dad
Yeah, I know. Not a lot of running stuff lately. I promise that I am running....a lot. 10 miles tomorrow AM and then 16 on Saturday in fact. This was just worth sharing.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Went a little crazy on the tree this year
Not sure what we were thinking. My usual flter wasn't in place. It is magnificent though and a steal at $24!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Friday, October 12, 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Adopting a Running Lifestyle
I read recently that to do really well in running, one needs to adopt a runner's lifestyle. Duh, but bear with me. One needs to get enough sleep, do quality recovery, have the right diet, in addition to putting in quality training. Up until now, I really haven't been doing that. I've increased my training, but my diet stayed the same and I didn't pay enough attention to sleep. Well, I'm working on changing that. This season, I'm going to make a conscious effort to get more sleep. My diet needs some changes too, and I'm going to work on slowly bringing my diet around to where it needs to be. Less to no booze. Much better pre-run and post run meals, in addition to trying to generally upgrade my diet so I'll lose some weight. The good news is that there's a lot of room for improvement and all of it will make me faster. Will provide updates on how it goes.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
New pics on flickr
There was a block party on my street on Tuesday to kick off the neighborhood watch. Some firefighters came by in the truck and let the kiddos climb up inside. More pics here
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Bath time
Sure, you get bags under your eyes, your body, free time, and disposable income go to pot.....but they're pretty cute sometimes.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Moonlight Margarita Madness
Fun race! 5K, started right at 8:24 when the sun was setting. Good crowd. Ran from the north end of the Mopac foot bridge up Stephen F Austin drive, around by the Pound, before turning around right before Lavaca. It was muggy but not too hot. Ran about a 25:20, definitely not a PR. Still, it was a good one. These two guys wearing Zen (the restaurant) shirts pulled a third in a rickshaw. I *barely* beat them. They were in good shape.
After the run, there was a party with Maudie's fajitas and margaritas. Folks in front of Travis and me gave us their drink tickets. Score! I had an awesome time, but I'm dragging ass today. Gonna have to get my sleep because tomorrow morning is the 'Run from Hell'. That's literally what they call it.
After the run, there was a party with Maudie's fajitas and margaritas. Folks in front of Travis and me gave us their drink tickets. Score! I had an awesome time, but I'm dragging ass today. Gonna have to get my sleep because tomorrow morning is the 'Run from Hell'. That's literally what they call it.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 30, 2007
Cute pic
Testing out some new flickr->blogger functionality. Wish it would just post straight to the blog. Will have to work on that one....
Long silence
Well, its not like I haven't been busy. I didn't stop running. In fact, I've become a runner. I finished the marathon in February per plan (4:37 was my time...not bad for the first time, but I'm going to get a lot faster). I then took a 10K PR class where I did exactly that. I took three weeks off but could already feel myself gaining weight, so I got back on the horse and am in the middle of the summer long run again. Just signed up for Marathon training again, but this time, I'm upping the ante and doing a performance project. It has three coached sessions per week instead of two. The idea is more gains, more focus, harder work. We'll see if it can get me to my goal of a sub 4-hour marathon.
Gosh, what else has happened? I've got a new job as of four weeks ago. Its going great and is downtown. I actually ran during lunch today. Hot as hell but still cool that I could make it work. Trying to upload the data to Motionbased now so I can show off. :-)
That's all for now.
Gosh, what else has happened? I've got a new job as of four weeks ago. Its going great and is downtown. I actually ran during lunch today. Hot as hell but still cool that I could make it work. Trying to upload the data to Motionbased now so I can show off. :-)
That's all for now.
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