When faster is not enough...

No one ever said this would be easy. Running my first marathon is the easiest thing I have done at this point. I was about to run my second marathon, with a a different goal the second go around. My goal for my first was to finish under four hours and not walk any of it, and I ran a 3:35. My ultimate goal is to qualify for the Boston marathon, which at my age is a 3:05. Going into my second race, I thought could reduce the gap in half; anything less would be unacceptable.

I wanted to do the Panhandle Marathon in Lubbock because my wife’s family lives there, so it was killing two birds with one stone. I found out about the race at the end of April during the middle of my soccer season. I started to train at the end of May when soccer was over. My first time with Rogue I ran at a beginner level, and this time, I ran at an advanced level, cramming 800 miles into a four months period. Running 50 miles a week is definitely tougher than running 40; it is obviously a bigger time commitment. During training, I stayed relatively injury free. I had some inside knee pain on both legs. Icing them down helped a lot. I also developed this weird pain in my right foot that felt like I had jammed my pinkie toe. In August, we went on a no alcohol, white starches/breads, dessert, and cheese diet, and it definitely helped with training. I felt great. The only bad run I had during training was the 24 miler, but other than that, I had a lot of confidence going into the race.

We got to Lubbock on Thursday. When you are out of town, it is hard to eat healthy. I had lived in the Lubbock for a little bit so we ate at some of the familiar places. Lubbock has so many restaurants, and most of them are chains. On Friday, I was anxious to get the iPhone 5 that I had preordered and shipped to Lubbock. I was hoping I would not miss the UPS guy because if I had, the phones probably would have been reshipped to Austin. It finally came at 6pm after I waited around all day. I tried to keep Saturday low-key. I picked up my packet with our friend, Ginger. I am actually proud of her. She had never run further than a 5k, and I convinced her to run the half marathon. I can only imagine training for it with two kids when you are not a runner in the first place would be tough, but she did it. My wife and I then hung out with her mom, grilled out, and watched football. I actually took a nap during the visit. For some reason, I never napped after my long runs on Saturdays. I was always doing something. We went to check in at the hotel and met up with the Beef Team (a great group of people who love running and beef) for our pre race meal, then went to bed around 9:30.

Sleeping Saturday night was a struggle. It took a while to fall asleep, and I kept waking up. I got out about at 6am before the alarm would go off. I had a bagel, and Mother Nature was right on cue. The hotel was a mile away from the start line, so I walked there. I actually need the “warm-up” because my right hamstring was sore from kicking a football with Ginger’s kid, Hunter. The race started at 7:30 which I thought was kind of late. It was the inaugural race, and there were about 150 marathon runners. When the field took off, it spread out thin fast. There were a lot of turns within the first three miles, and right about then, I was running by myself. I had no music with me, so it was just the sound of my shoes hitting the pavement. It was a brisk morning, and I felt great in the beginning. I signed up thinking the race would be flat because Lubbock is so flat that if you stood on a penny, you could see Dallas or at least that is what they say.

Around mile eight, I made a quick pit stop and lost about forty seconds. In the first ten miles, the race included every hill in Lubbock. I did not even know these hills had existed. Thank goodness I train in Austin and attacked them with ease. For some reason during training, every time I see a hill, I always sped up it. It is speed work in disguise. When I finished the first half of the race, I was sitting at 1:35. I knew I was making good time. When I started the race, I had two packets of chews and three packets of gel. I tried Accel Gel for the first time, and I really liked it. The first 18 miles were pretty uneventful. The course took us through Mackenzie Park, Texas Tech, and Greek circle. Things started to go downhill at that point when my legs started to cramp. I had the same issues with cramping at the Houston marathon around the same mileage. However in Houston, I was able to turn it on the last six miles while I was trying to chase down Cassundra. This time I had no Cassundra, it was getting hotter, and I was starting to slow down. I feel like the sun is my kryptonite.

Around mile 21, I saw my wife. I had seen her a few times along the course, and it was good to see her out there supporting me. At this point, I thought about walking, but I did not want to let her I know I was hurting. The cramping and heat was getting to me. I almost cried thinking about how much work I put into the training, and I was blowing it on race day. The last five miles I kept thinking I could turn it on any second, but as the miles past, I was going slower. At mile 24, two people actually passed me. Normally I am the one passing people at the end. I finally crossed the line pissed off at 3:31. I told myself anything short of a ten minute PR would be disappointing. I somehow ended up finishing seventh, but I knew I could have done so much better. If I ran the race I had in mind, I could have finished fourth or fifth. Ginger finished her half before I finished. We were supposed to celebrate at brunch, so we went to Blue Mesa where I had a few mimosas. Later, we celebrated with some friends by shot-gunning beers in the front yard. Classy.

I have been mad at myself for the last week or so, but I am over it now. During the race, I thought about never running a marathon again, but I am ready to run another marathon. So what is next? I am planning to do the Run for the Water 10 miler for my birthday. I will probably run the 3M half with a 1:30 in mind, and have a little fun running the Austin marathon. All of us have goals in mind, but at the end of the day, running is supposed to be fun, healthy, and something we enjoy. So just go out there and run and do not worry about anything else.

Until next time, happy running.

Back for more!

Oh man, it has been a while. This post I promise will be not a novel, merely an update about my next chapter in my running “career.” Last time, I had recapped about the Austin half marathon, and since then I have only run one race, the Statesman Cap 10k, at a respectable 46:07. This was my first 10k race. It was very hot that day, and I also ran it without a running partner. My weekly mileage has also dropped off ever since the Houston marathon. I felt like I had lost some of my fitness level. At times during the race, I actually felt like stopping. Did I lose my passion for running?

After the race, I took a “break” from running. I was still running, but without a true purpose. I felt sort of lost. My goal for 2012 was to run 1k miles, but I was nowhere on pace. I was only running a few times a week to stay in shape. In January I ran 105 miles, 80 in February, 65 in March, and only 30 in April. It was a disturbing downward spiral. Amber and I did a lot of traveling in April, and most of my runs were in different cities. I was in Cleveland for work and ran in 40 degrees weather which felt awesome. I was able to sneak a couple of runs in Vegas. One run was colder and the other was warmer. The run in Baltimore felt like a nice brisk morning.

After the Houston marathon, I started doing a lot of weight training. I started putting on muscle weight and ended up 10 pounds heavier; I’m pretty sure my terrible diet plus my lack of running did not help. I also joined a soccer league. I have never played organized soccer, but I loved it. Sure I was not the best player, but on the field, I can run all day and could get to balls faster than most people. I stopped had playing basketball a month before the marathon to avoid getting injured, buyI have been playing basketball about 4 times a week as well.

When the Philly group was announced, I was slightly interested. It would be cool to train with familiar faces again and with Ruth as the coach. After my crazy travel month in April, I did not think we would able to swing a trip to Philadelphia. If we were going to go, we would have to make a vacation out of it. I thought about San Antonio, but considering what happened with the weather last year, I was not going to take my chances. Somehow I found out about the inaugural Panhandle Marathon in Lubbock, a place that I survived for three years and where my wife’s family still lives. As it’s something of a home away from home, it was a good pick.

The soccer season was not going to be over till Memorial Day weekend so I could not start with Ruth’s group until June. I had to build the mileage quickly. I went from running 4 miles the second week of May to 28 miles the following week. I am surprised my IT band was not bothering me as much. When I started marathon training last time, it was always sore. So going into the first week with Rogue this time, I ran 35 miles the previous week with the farthest long run of 10 miles.

My goal time coming into training is somewhere between a 3:35 (what I ran my only marathon at) and a BQ. We will see how training goes…

Until next time, happy running.

From Houston to Austin to…

I promise this entry will not be a novel this time. After my first marathon, I was on a running high. I wanted to run the Austin full marathon. My coach, Ruth, advised against. I figured with all of my training that I have done, I would be easy to keep up the mileage and run Austin with a simple goal of finishing under 4 hours. My partners in crime, Cassundra and Manny, were doing the half. So with a little of hesitation, I signed up for the half marathon. I knew with running half, I did not need to keep a 40+ miles running week. I scaled everything back and was running about 20 miles over 4 days a week. Some of the runners from Team Veggie joined the advanced 10k group, but I was not interested in running as much after the marathon. I know it builds speed, but I will find a way to improve my speed in the future. It could be me being stubborn thinking I can do it on my own, but we will see.

The last month of marathon training I had scaled back extracurricular activities. I normally play basketball at work during lunch. I stopped that just in case I got hurt for some reason. With the race over, I started playing basketball again. The running definitely has helped with my speed and stamina. My game was off when I got back so it has been frustrating. When marathon training started, I only had time to lift weights once a week for about 30 minutes. Without the strict schedule or the time constraint, I am now able to lift weights twice a week for an hour each time. I have always wanted to be jacked, but as a runner, is that possible?

The time between the Houston marathon and the Austin half marathon felt like forever. I guess I like the feeling of racing because you get a sense of ccomplishment. Good thing I did not thoose to run the full. I started to lose interest in running just a little bit before the race. Going into the race, my only half time was 3M in 2011 where I ran a 1:58. I knew that I could beat that easily. I wanted to run a 1:30, but I figured I was out of my mind. I met Cassundra, Manny, and another Rogue, Becky at Rogue at 6 am. We warmed up by running to the start line. I got a pace band from Ruth to run it under 1:45, but I knew I was going to leave the throttle wide open. It was a cooler morning so it was great race weather. I was once again sporting my Beef Team shirt. One of these races I will finally wear a Rogue shirt.

We started off running an 8 minute pace. It felt fast, but great on my legs. It was definitely crowded even though we started out in the 3:20 pace group. I saw my wife at mile 2. It is awesome that she shows up to the race to support me although I tell her she does not have to. I do not recall that Congress Avenue is a gradual incline. I started to pick up the pace and left my running buddies around mile 4. I was thinking uh oh. I am on my own at this point. Cassundra caught up with me around mile 7. She is a great partner although I secretly think she is faster. We always have a good pace going when we run together. We passed through the Beef Team cheering section around mile 8 which was cool. I saw my wife again with our friend, Lauren, at the turn in front of city hall. The Livestrong section
along Cesar Chavez was awesome. I love it when the crowd provides energy to the race. We made a quit pit stop shortly after. After that, there was a steady climb towards Mopac. I was not a big fan of that. I was starting to feel sluggish. I was thinking to myself, was I out of shape?

Along the feeder of Mopac, I was like this sucks. It was a little hilly, and I was starting to doubt myself of my time. Cassundra started to pull away somewhere along Enfield. I ran by a supporter who said in a very monotone voice, “Make this race your bitch.” I laughed out loud and heeded her advice. The “big” hill at Lamar was not big at all. I raced past everyone up the hill and even passed Cassundra. At the top, I was like I should be able to coast to the
big finish along San Jacinto. It was nothing like that. You had to deal with a few more hills before San Jac. At that point, my claves started to tighten up. I was like this is the worst timing.

Cassundra and I were side by side when I decided to sprint with 800 meters left. With about 400 meters left, my calves tighten up even more, and I laid off the gas just enough for her to finish a second ahead. One of these days I will get her. My time was 1:39:44. It was an 18 minute personal record, not bad at the end of the day. I also learned that I am pretty decent hill runner. I, however, was disappointed with the crowd support. It was thinned out and not very loud. Houston’s crowd was absolutely incredible. I fed off the energy.

I have one more race before I am done running races for the season. I did not plan to do the Capitol 10K because it is so crowded, but my half marathon time was good enough to qualify for an earlier wave so I went ahead and registered. I am starting to replace my Saturday long runs with soccer. I figured with all the running I do, it can help me with my stamina, and I think soccer can help with my speed a little bit. What’s after that? I know I will run a marathon in the fall or winter. Where is the question? I like Ruth a lot as a coach so I might end up with whatever group she will be with. At the start of this whole running process, I never thought I would say this- I want to qualify for Boston. It is probably going to take either a few more races or for me to get older to jump into the next age group. I might have to get to Cassundra to try to run a 3:10 one of these days. LOL. I think it would be an awesome experience to run Boston.

Until next time, happy running.

The first time

I waited two weeks before the big day to find a good pair of running shorts. I have plenty of pairs, but they either have mesh pockets or a back pocket that holds barely anything. The mesh ones do not work well because one time I ran with some Honey Stingers in them, and the bag rubbed my leg raw. I searched all over town and even called the manufacturers directly. I needed one to hold everything I was planning to carry. I found one online, and it was delivered just on time, and it was even on sale. It was funny because during the race someone thought I was wearing basketball shorts. They are a longer pair with compression shorts built in. My other issue was to balance my eating that week before so my digestive system will be on a routine. I cut down the junk food and sugary stuff. Everything worked out, and I did not have a “crappy” race.

My wife and I left for Houston early Saturday morning. I missed the trials because I thought for some reason they were going to be in the afternoon. I guess they were televised in the afternoon so that is what probably threw me off. When we got there, I ran my 20 minutes shake out and then ate Vietnamese food with my parents in Chinatown. There are so many bad drivers in that area. I do not know if it is the stereotype or what, but it gave me a little bit of anxiety. I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible and headed to our hotel to check in. We stayed at the Double Tree downtown. For some reason, I thought it was going to be a little bit closer to the expo/starting line, but it was over a mile away.

We drove to the expo and picked up my packet. I was assigned to the open corral. There were two corrals, A and open. When I registered for the lottery, I put down that I was going to run a 4:30 race. Training went well, and I was going to beat that time easily. I was a little nervous that I was going to run into slow runners when the race started. Ruth told us to avoid spending a lot of time at the expo. We were supposed to relax and get off our feet. I heeded her words and spent some time picking up the free stuff and not shop for any running gear. We stopped by HEB closest to downtown and picked up some waters and milk/cereal for my breakfast. We went ahead and went to dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse at around 5. I avoided beef all week, but ended up eating lasagna with meat sauce with chicken parm. I was stuffed, and we headed back to the hotel room. We caught the end of the Saints/49ers game which had a crazy ending, and then the first half of the Patriots/Broncos game. I hate Tim Tebow with a passion and was glad the Broncos were now out of the playoffs.

I went to bed just before nine. I slept terrible the night before. I woke up every hour. This night was no different. It took me at least an hour to fall asleep, and I kept waking up. I did get to a point where I was able to sleep three hours straight. On the Saturday long runs, I normally get about 5 hours of sleep so it was not that much different. The alarm was supposed to go off at 4:50, but I was up before than because of Mother Nature. I was off to a good start already. I ate my usual bowl of cereal, and also a granola bar for a little bit more fuel. I left the hotel and headed for the convention center. I gave myself about 25 minutes to walk that mile. It was a cooler morning so I had some throwaway gloves I got at the expo and some arm warmers. I met up with another Rogue in my training group, Cassundra and headed to the starting line. Mother Nature called again, and I was hoping this was not going to be reoccurring theme. Was it nerves or something I ate the night before? I had a GU while we were waiting. I had the strawberry banana one. Is there a GU out there that tastes good? Every time I have one, I feel like I am going to puke.

After 30 minutes or so, there were some cheering, and we were off. For some reason I did not recall hearing a gun. It was packed the first few miles. There were a lot of slow runners in the left lane. I even saw some walkers in the marathon lane. I guess some of the half marathoners crossed the median and were on our side. I was zigzagging around slower runners and bursting through creases like a running back. I probably did it more than I should. I ran with a water bottle the first 9 miles or so of the race so I did not have to deal with crowded water stops. I started eating energy blocks every mile starting around mile 6, something I learned and mentioned in my previous post. I did finish all of my water right around where the half marathoners turned back. That is also the point where both of us could not hold our bladder any longer, so we had to make our only pit stop the entire race. I normally stop 2-3 times during our long run. Ruth gave us a pace band before the race, and we were on pace or slightly ahead at every split. After the half marathoners split off, crowd support was not as thick and the energy of the race dropped a level.

I ran without any music. This was my first marathon, and I wanted to take in the whole experience. I saw plenty of funny signs that brought laughter or a smile to my face. Some were “Run a better race than Perry” and “You trained for this race longer than Kim Kardashian was married.” The crowd was amazing. I was wearing a Team Beef shirt, and people were yelling beef or my name. The crowd was very supportive especially when I needed it in the end. Our pace band had us running negative splits to make sure we do not go out too hard. We crossed the half point at 1:51:19 which meant I PR’ed the first 13.1. Starting in the back is not always a bad thing. We passed everyone and no one was passing us. It was a confidence booster. We saw Ruth and Steve around the Rice Campus so that was a pleasant surprise, also perfect for me to unload unnecessary items. Right around mile 14 we had to run up a bridge over some train tracks. I thought Houston was supposed to be flat? Thank god we train in Austin.

Around mile 19, my legs started to cramp. Oh no! Holding on to the water bottle was a bad idea. I probably needed to drink more water in the beginning, but I wanted to avoid the bathroom, a catch-22. I could have made up time if I had to make an extra pit stop. We only lost 30 seconds when we went, so it was probably better than losing 20 seconds or so every mile. The zigzagging was also finally catching up to me. Next time I will seed myself higher so I can be in the first corral.

Our splits were still consistent, but I could see Cassundra was starting to give a little bit of gas. She would get a few strides ahead. I felt like I was holding her so I told her to go. She hesitated and said we were running the pace she wanted to, but a few moments later, she was gone. Her leaving me in her dust was probably good thing as much as I wanted to keep up. I sped up a little and tried to keep her in sight, but once I got to Memorial park, my attempt was futile. The park was hard because there were hardly any spectators, and other runners were slowing down or walking. It was mentally challenging. I also saw people stopping and getting beer- interesting. I sucked down a Power Bar energy gel- it was a little bit better, not as thick and had a little caffeine. That gave me a little boost. After the park, it was a lot smoother.

The crowd picked up as I left the park. The smallest things can push you along. I saw Ruth and Steve again around mile 22, and they said I was on pace still. Whoever put the two Allen Parkway underpasses on the course sucks at life. It almost got me. You had to run down and back up around mile 24 and 25. Running into downtown was neat, but a little bit of windy. My legs were finally getting tired and sore, so I eased off a little. I was still passing people, and the crowd was still cheering along the route. It was such an incredible feeling and view. Am I about to join .1 percent? I got emotional towards the end and started to cry. With about half a mile left, I started to sprint which meant I had more in the tank- I just do not know how much. I was surprised to see my wife right before the finish. We were supposed to meet inside afterwards. I waved at her, turned the corner, and dead sprinted for the finish line. When I crossed the line, I looked at my watch. 3:35 and some change? WTF? That cannot be right. I started this journey 6 months ago and logged over 800 miles. I missed only 2 weeks of running at the beginning of training because I had strep. I was running beginner’s mileage and was trying to run my first under 4 hours. I guess everything Rogue made me do, paid off. Ruth gave me a pace band of 3:40 before the race, and I sort of laughed at that. There is no way I could run that. I think the best way I can sum it up would be- it was an awesome accomplishment. I am a pessimist so I keep thinking about things I could have done better. I just need to accept what I did and move on to the next race. All in all, it did feel like a normal Saturday run with a little bit of pace. That’s a testament to what Rogue does.

I picked up my finishing medal, grabbed a little bit of food which was not best considering HEB provided it, and then got my beer mug and finishing shirt. I met my wife and headed back to the hotel. I avoided doing ice baths the whole time during training. I felt like today would be the perfect time to try. I think that might have been the hardest thing I had to do all day, sit in ice for 15 minutes. We checked out of the hotel and went to Goode Company BBQ to load up on beef. That place used to be awesome when I was growing up in Houston. I would say it was borderline terrible. I guess we are spoiled by living in the Hill Country with all of the awesome BBQ around us. We grabbed some beignets, went shopping at Katy Mills Mall, and got some Mexican food with my parents and then headed home. When we got home, we celebrated with a glass of champagne. 

This is the perfect section to do this. Also I am sorry if this race report is like a novel, but hey it is my first marathon, so I took in everything I could. I would like to thank my wife, Amber. Without her support and understanding, I probably would have never run the marathon and would be divorced right now. Next up would be my Rogue coach, Ruth. She busted my butt and made run like I have never run before. I got to where I am today as a runner because of her. I like to give a shout out to my winter marathon group (Team Veggie) for being Awesome. I would also like to thank my Rogue running buddies, Manny and Cassundra. They got me through the long runs and the workouts. I feel like I was taken under their wings. I especially would like to thank Cassundra. She rocked the marathon. 45 seconds faster than I was at every mile, over the last 7 miles? Wow! Without her in the first 19 miles, I have no idea what the results would have been like. I am also thankful for the Rogue family. What a great supportive group! Running the marathon was the 2nd best thing I have ever done. It was an amazing experience. I would recommend everyone try to run one if you can.

What’s next? Find out in a few weeks…

Until next time, happy running.

Preparing for the first one

I won the lottery!

Actually I won the Houston marathon lottery, and this is going to be my first marathon. I grew up in Houston, and the course is relatively flat, so it made sense for me to run it. I joined Rogue so I would not get injured, plus there would be a structured plan to help me reach my goal. I decided on training at Rogue twice a week, which includes the long Saturday runs and the group workouts on Tuesday. I can handle the medium runs by myself. I had never run in a group before. The support and comradery is unbelievable. Everyone is so friendly and excited for you, and we are all ultimately reaching for the same goal, run faster and farther than before.

The first run of the winter marathon training was the Rogue to Rogue run. It was in Cedar Park which is a long drive for me because I live in Kyle. I woke up pretty early that morning just to get there. I decided to run the advanced mileage that day, and I ran the 7 miles without any hitches. My marathon goal was to finish under 4 hours. Why that goal? I have had friends who have run it slower and because I am a competitive person, naturally I wanted to beat their times.

My plan was to do run the long runs at the advanced level, but the other days to run at a beginning level. I was not used to the mileage I was about to do. It was a hot time of the year, especially to start training. I was supposed to have the group workouts on Wednesday, but it ended up being Tuesday which has worked out great. Those Tuesday night runs were not pretty. The heat just wears you down.

When I started Rogue, I was winding down from p90x and was also playing basketball during my lunch break at work 4 days a week. We had some friends with kids who came in town one weekend, and we went to Austin Park & Pizza. I will probably never step my foot in that place again. Because I drove go karts all day around a bunch of kids and their germs, I came down with strep. With all of the activities I was doing, my body never had a chance to recover and/or rest. It was absolutely terrible. The last time I was sick was when I had the flu my junior year of college. I was bed ridden at least one week and lost out on 2 weeks of training. I tried to do a group workout while I was sick, and I could only last 1.5 miles of the 6 that we were supposed to do. Once I got better, I only did weight training once or twice and also played basketball once or twice a week.

Also on Saturdays, I only ran the beginner distance. With all of the mileage I was doing, I was getting pains everywhere. The first thing that was hurting was my IT band, which I think is normal. Trigger Point is awesome. I know it is only a temporary solution, but it allows me to run with relatively little pain. As I got stronger, the IT band issue went away, but my soleus started to hurt more and more. After every run, they were so tender. Who came to the rescue? Trigger Point! My soleus for the most part has gotten better and better, but lately my feet are starting to hurt. I broke my left foot sliding into 2nd base when I was playing softball back in college. I never let it heal properly, and was still playing basketball and doing other physical activity while wearing a boot.

I do not know if it is the shoes that I am wearing or maybe the cold catching up with this old man. With strep and all of these pains slowly going away, I am starting to think that I can do this. As the weeks progress, I am running distances that I have never run before. It can be mentally challenging and physically demanding to run the longer distances and spending so much time to do so. There are a few runs that I do remember during training. We finally did our time trials when it got cooler. I have never had a reason to run as fast as I can for 2 miles. I ran the time trial in 13:30. Holy smokes, I did not even know that I could move that fast. I was starting to get confident. Maybe I can run the race under 3:45.

The Run from Hell is just that. I had to work that day so I only ran 16 miles, but the additional miles would have been flat. Ladera Norte, you are my enemy. I did not walk up at all, but at the top of it, I thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest. It made Mount Bonnell look like a wimpy kid.

The run a few weeks ago with the Austin marathon pacers was tough. We had to run 16 miles at MGP. I do not know if it was the pace or the fact I had to run 24 miles, I was totally out of gas. I ate a bowl of cereal when I woke up that morning and only had a bag of chews during the run. I have learned my lesson: pack some GU and an extra bag of chews/chomps on the longer distances.

After my run a few weeks ago, I am starting to evaluate my race plan. Running my first marathon under 4 hours should be an easy goal, but how much faster is the question. I started to run the advanced distances with my group so that has helped. With all of this work, I hope I do not let myself down by running a time that I deemed is too slow. We will find out soon. We are only two weeks away from race day. I will write more about the race in a few weeks…

Until next time, happy running.