The Austin Marathon is coming up soon. What have I done since then?
Run for the Water was a week after my relay. My legs and body were not ready for the 10 mile race. Also I was still trying to catch up on sleep. It was rainy when I was parking the car. I met up with some people at work and ended up getting to the starting line a little bit late. I was stuck in the back which was not necessarily a bad thing. It prevented me from going out to fast. I did not think it would have matter though. I just could not turn it on this day. The rain stopped but the humidity stuck around. My official time ended up being 01:15:51. I was little disappointed in not getting a PR, but I knew it was probably not in the cards.
Decker Challenge Half-Marathon was next on the list. I am starting to become pretty careless about what I do around race day now. I have stopped worrying about the amount of sleep and what I eat or drink. We went to Houston the Thursday before to see Justin Timberlake in concert, and it was awesome. We ate a lot of barbecue and sushi and also had a few drinks on that trip. We drove back Saturday because my work had a Christmas party that night. I ate a bunch of junk food and had some Shiner Cheer on draft that night at the party. This was the first time I ever drank before a race. I ended up getting six hours of sleep that night. I left the house 45 minutes before the start of the race and got there with five minutes to spare. It was below freezing this morning, and I saw snow and ice on the drive to the race. I have never ran Decker, but I knew it was going to be hilly. I wore tights for the first time for a race. I kept a nice pace with a lot of strong effort on the uphills. Someone along the course called me an "uphill beast." I will take that as a compliment. Around mile 10, there was a king of the hill challenge. I sprinted up that hill and felt great. I finished the race strong and ended up with an acceptable time of 1:38:45.
Rogue 30K was a lot sooner than I expected. Last year, it was after the 3M Half-Marathon, but the 30K was two weeks before this time. I have not been running as much. I have been hovering around 30 miles a week, and the week before the race I ran 14 miles. I thought that I can make the jump to 18.6 miles easily. Boy, I ended up being wrong. My goal was to stick with the 8:00 minute a mile pace group. My easy pace is normally around 8:30 so I thought that was doable. When I left the house the temperature was around 55 degrees. When I got to the start line, it was 37 degrees so I was underdressed. I should have had on an extra layer that I could have shed and an ear band. It was definitely cold at times with the stiff wind. The race itself was pretty eventful the first 13 miles or so. My legs were starting to tighten up all over. I started to fall of the pace. Around mile 17 or so, I could not fight my legs any longer and had to walk. I was devastated because I have never walked during a race before. I alternated running and walking till I crossed the finish line. My finishing time was 2:39:22 which was about 12 minutes slower than last year. Sometimes I think having bad races make you a better runner in the long run.
3M Half-Marathon was the fifth race in the Austin Distance Challenge. 3M is a faster race because the course is mostly downhill. They also changed the course this year to not include such an uphill finish. I knew I was not going to get a personal record (PR) because I have not been running as much or as fast. The weather was perfect for a half-marathon. It was nice and cool, but you could still wear a short sleeve shirt and shorts. I got to the start time with two minutes to spare. I have been cutting it close lately in getting to races. Around mile three, my claves were tightening, and I was getting shin splints. I was like crap, not this again. I fought them for most of the race. I never get shin splints. It might have been the shoes I was wearing. I had my own personal cheering section following me around the course. My wife, +Amber McGee, is pretty awesome and I guess Amanda, Eileen, and Scott are too. I kept a pretty consistent pace throughout the race. I finished the race strong and was happy with that. I should have turned it up more with three miles left. Oh well. My official time was 1:37:49. The goal coming into the race was to finish it faster than Decker. Goal met!
What is next? The Austin Marathon is four weeks away. I am a little scared/worried about it. We shall see.
Until next time, happy running...
I am going to try to close the gap with this post. I ran the Austin Marathon back in February. Three months have gone by since then. After every marathon I have run, I get/feel depressed. I am on this high after the race that I do not want to come back down from. I love the feeling of racing and accomplishment. I wish I could bottle up that feeling. I always have an itch to run another marathon right away. Also after each marathon, I tend to put on a little bit of weight because I stop running as much.
For the month of March, I set a goal to run ten miles every day to avoid weight gain. On the second day of the month, the goal was put to the test. I heard a 5K was being put on in BCK (Big City Kyle, that's what +Amber McGee refers to our town). I looked up the results from last year and thought to myself that I could actually win this race. I am not a big fan of 5K's and 10K's because I am so used to running the longer distances, I do not know how to pace myself in the shorter races. I also do not think I am as fast in the shorter distances. Thinking I had a chance, I signed up for it. This was going to my second 5K race ever. At the beginning of the race, I thought I needed to hang with the leading pack and lay down the hammer at the end to win. When the race started, I had to avoid running over the kids who were also participating. They sprinted as far as they can and then ran out of gas. Right off the bat, there was a guy in front of me. I was like crap, I am going to have to work for this victory. I finally passed him around mile 2, and the only thing between me and the finish was a slight hill at the end. I love inclines and powered through it without any issues. I crossed the line first without any other runners in sight. I WON! I actually f-ing won a race with a time of 21:05. It was a pretty cool feeling. In between the finish of the race and the awards ceremony, I actually ran another seven miles to get my ten in for the day.
Waking up every day to run ten miles was tough. Some mornings I just wanted to stay in bed. One Saturday, I had to wake up at 5:30 am to get the run in because we had early SXSW plans. Because I won the 5K, I won a free month to Camp Gladiator. Camp Gladiator is an outdoor boot camp. So with that, running, and my usual pickup basketball games, my legs held up pretty well throughout the month. My IT band was a little bothersome in the beginning, but it got stronger as the days past. I finally made it to the end of the month without any major hiccups. I ended up running more miles than what Amber put on her car for the month of March.
In the month of April, I ran two more 5K's. I finished second in one of them and first in the other. I was a little bit disappointed on the second place finish because I was hoping I would win three races. After winning the second 5K, I was not that excited. It was cool that I won, but that was about it. I was not a fan of that race because a part of it was through a park on trails. Running on trails just eats up your energy. I think I am going to stick to running the longer races from now on.
After those races, I thought my racing season was over. I was wrong. One of my friends wanted to run a ten miler because she had just turned 30. She had actually run a half marathon before I did. Well on her last long run, she fell and hurt herself. I felt bad for her, but I was able to run for free under her bib (Thanks, Eileen). In the first part of April, I did not log that many miles. I guess my body was little bit tired from my mileage in March. I was not ready to race a longer distance. The race was Austin 10/20, and this was its' second year. The race is pretty flat and is held in the Domain area. Going into the race, I knew I could not set a personal record. I just went out and ran the entire race at a comfortable pace. It was overcast that day and a little humid, but other than that, it was good racing weather especially for April. I ended up running a respectable time of 1:13. You got a free beer at the end of the race which was pretty cool. I started a running group on Facebook with members all over the world last August. After the race, I met a few of them who lived in Texas.
What's next? Is my racing season officially over? I told you I was going to try to bridge the gap...
Until next time, happy running.
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.
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.
Three years ago I was at my heaviest. I have been eating whatever I want with reckless abandon. When I started college, I gained the dreaded freshman 15. At the time, I would eat everything I could see in the dorm and drink as much as I could. The only exercise I got was weight training once a week and playing basketball 5 days a week for an hour or 2 my first year of college. My weight would fluctuate over the next few years. I would eat out all the time and never exercised.
My girlfriend at the time wanted to do weight watchers. I wanted to be supportive and did the program with her. I have done it in the past with another girlfriend so I was familiar with it. This time, I decided to add some time at the gym as well. I thought running would be a great cardio workout. It was tough. The farthest I had ever run was half a mile at that point. That took place many moons ago back in high school in physical education. They would make us run a mile so I would sprint the first 2 laps and walked the last 2. When I think about it, I am ashamed of myself.
It took a long time for me to build my distance. My knees did not like me trying to push myself. It took at least 5 months to get up to running 3 miles straight without stopping. It took a long time because I kept adding elliptical workouts because I would be sore all over from running. I was not stretching at all. With a change in diet and a workout regime, I dropped 30 pounds. With this new change in lifestyle, it has tremendously helped my heart. I used to have rapid heartbeats periodically where I would get exhausted by just doing laundry. It seems like it runs in my family, but cardiologists have never pinned it on anything, but stress. But with all of the cardio workout I do now, I do not get any of the heart racing episodes anymore.
One day when I was at the gym on the treadmill, I ran 7 miles. That was the farthest I have ever run up to that point and that was about a year and a half ago. I was hooked when I left the gym. I was on this high that I could not explain. It felt great. I told myself that day I was going to be running a half marathon very soon. I decided to run the 3M because it was a great beginner’s half to race. I made up a training plan and bumped up the mileage every week. I trained with a buddy who also had no previous racing experience. We somehow made it through uninjured. After finishing under 2 hours, I thought I would never run a marathon. Somewhere along the way I changed my mind and threw my name into the Houston marathon lottery.
I wanted to do Houston because it was flatter than Austin. I would think the hills would eat up my energy in the later miles. My wife thought it would be best if I trained with a running group so I would not get injured, plus there would be a structured plan to help me reach my goal. I heard great things about Rogue and gave it a try. My training did not start out great at all. I got strep throat within the first 2 weeks. The last time I was really sick was probably 7 years ago. It was terrible because I still wanted to run, but I could not. I tried a few times, but my body was weak. I lost 2 weeks of training, but I am up to speed now. I will write more about my training in a few weeks…
Until next time, happy running.
