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.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
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.
Monday, November 13, 2006
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
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.
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.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
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.
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.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
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.
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.
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