Christmas lights run

Tonight had to be one of the funnest times I've had since the last time the Striders got together. I don't know what the record is for the annual Christmas Lights run but we had a lot of people turn out. And it seems like a lot of newcomers as well. I think I met 3 or 4 brand new Striders tonight. AWESOME!!!

Our run took us a little over 4 miles through beautiful Tanglewood, between San Felipe and Woodway. Of course the theme tonight was Christmas. Many were adorned with festive items like Santa hats, lighted reindeer antlers, bells and blinkers. John Yoder wore what looked to be an entire string of lights. Not sure where the power pack was. He was a running Christmas tree. Many homes were lighted and decorated. We just ran through the neighborhood, enjoying the decorations and the fellowship. It was an absolute beautiful night. Afterwards, we hung out and talked trash, laughed a lot, and were generally very, very merry!!!

The pace was a little quick for me for my first recovery run after the 30K. Barb, our pacer, punished me pretty well. Actually, I kind of got in a good groove there at the end and felt pretty darn good. And it was just 4 miles so I'm sure no harm done.

Splits - 13:17 / 13:30 / 13:14 / 12:37!!!
Total time - ~53 minutes

I got to talk to coach a little about the rest of the week's training. He stressed that the most important thing right now for me is to stay healthy. The next big run for me is the 23 miler in 10 days. Everything between now and then is secondary. So, for now, I'm supposed to concentrate on recovering from the 30K. I know how to do that. I'll run a little longer tomorrow but not more than 5 or 6. Then, depending on how that goes and depending on which day I'd like to do my long run, I'll either run on Friday or skip it. We'll see.

On the nutrition front, Catherine wants me diligently logging all intake until the first of the year. We're really gonna knuckle down and eat right these last weeks before the marathon.

ok, what's the deal?

Is anyone else having problems with blogger? I'm trying to post commentson some blogs and I keep getting this "Could not log you in. Double check your password or try again later" error. This is only on Joe's, Erin's, Steve's, and a few others' blogs. What is the deal? Is it me or are others having probs? It must be everyone because none of those posts and ANY comments? Anyone know what's up?

What a pleasure

I had the fine pleasure today of visiting the greatest little barber shop in Houston, Bellaire's Original Barber Shop. Master barber and masters runner, Matt Wright, is the proprietor of this fine establishment. Matt's not as cute as Blanca, the girl at Visible Changes that usually does my hair, but he ain't chopped liver either. LOL!!! Seriously, Matt's shop is awesome. Great atmosphere and top quality barberin'. Oh, and this is a REAL barber shop. I mean warm lather neck shave, the whole 9 yards. Just like when my grandpa use to take me to the barber when I was a kid. Why I even had the hair in my ears trimmed. Only a real barber pays that kind of attention to detail. I would highly recommend visiting Matt's shop. It's reasonable, there's great service. Besides, where else you gonna go get a haircut and talk running at the same time?

The soreness from Sunday's 30K is subsiding. I decided to take Monday and Tuesday off. Well, my thighs and hammys kind of made that decision for me. Actually, this evening, I swam some easy laps at the athletic center so put me down for some cross training. I'm looking at doing my full schedule this week starting tomorrow with a very casually paced Christmas Lights run through Tanglewood with the Striders. Then, I'll either run Thursday/Friday/Sunday or Thursday/Saturday. I'll see how it goes. For now, feeling friskier and probably ready to run by tomorrow.

It IS official

I found my official time for the 30K posted this morning and turns out the Garmin was just about correct.

4:19:14!!!

Thanks to the race director for keeping the mat and computers turned on for a few extra minutes. You know, I was pretty much resigned last night to the fact that I may not be scored officially. Actually, I would have been ok with that. I was reminded lately that if I'm doing this just to get my name on a web site next to some numbers, then I'm doing this for the wrong reasons. I should be doing this as part of a healthy lifestyle with running as a key component. I want to live and live better. I want to be a better husband, a better father, a better employee, and a better follower of Christ.

Besides, this will be the last year I'll have to worry about time limits. (I hope!)

30K in the bag

Put me down for another first today. My first 30K race. This morning, I completed the Methodist Sugarland 30K. The weather was cool, the course was flat, but the concrete was HARD!!! I'm hurting pretty good right about now.

I've been proud of my accomplishments to this point but this one was really special. The funny thing is, going into this race, my expectations were not high and I was frankly a little ho-hum about the distance. I was more excited about seeing Steve B nail his race than I was about my own. But this one turned out in the end to be a race that I'll look back on and say that I really performed to my best potential. I know there will be better races in my future and I hope that I continue to get faster but for now, THIS WAS THE ONE!! The one where it really came together.

I got up around 4 am and had my breakfast, and started drinking water. On the way to the race, I stopped at my Starbuck's and got a coffee to enjoy en route. As I was coming out of the store, a guy pulled beside me. He had just gone through the drive-thru. I guess he saw my bib because he said, "I'm going there, too!!!" That was pretty cool.

I arrived in plenty time to talk trash with the Striders under the Strider tent. All the usual suspects, Bill, Steve, Santos, Stacy, Amber, Hillary, Barry, Lee, Miriam, Chip, Jennie, Andrew, and many more. It was a lot of fun and the energy was definitely there. After making my way over to the Marriott to "take care of some business", I did some stretching and started to make my way over to the start. After a beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner and a quick prayer, the horn sounded.

The course took us out about 3.5 miles to a loop in residential Sugar Land, then 3 times around, and about 2 miles back to First Colony mall and Town Square. To me, the 4.2 mile loop added a lot of energy to the race. There were so many runners and friends. Some were passing from behind, some were running the opposite direction on the other side of the median. AND, best of all, the Striders sponsored and manned the most awesome water station at the west end of the loop. It was great to see Jen, June, Erica, Matt, who place 14th overall in yesterday's Sunmart 25K, Barb, oh, who else was there? I can't remember. It was just the best to get to see my friends and the waterstop, and THREE times at that. Thanks for cheering us on Striders.

My goal for this race was to finish. Plain and simple. There was this little thing about at 4:15 time limit which averages out to a 13:40 pace over 18.6 miles. So, with trusty Garmin buckled on my wrist, I just set out to keep that pace. I don't know what the deal was on miles 2 and 3. I was pacing with the Garmin right at 13:40 but when I hit the mile marker, it was 13:56 and 13:50 respectively. The Garmin show 1.02 for both these miles. I suspect that I took the long way (the outside "lane") on some of the long curves through the neighborhood, basically running over by the cones in the middle of the street. So, my bad on the extra .04 there. No worries though.

Mile 1 - 13:39
Mile 2 - 13:56
Mile 3 - 13:50

By mile 4, I was "warmed up" and feeling really good. One new tactic that I employed was walking through the water stops. This is really a no-brainer and I should have been doing this all along. It really turned out well, I did not lose that much time and I left each stop knowing that I had completly drank all my water and feeling refreshed. The short 30 second or so walk really does me good. So, mile 4 was a little quicker AND included a potty break and a water stop. But like I said, I left that water stop feeling quite frisky and the next 4 miles show that.

Mile 4 - 13:59
Mile 5 - 13:27
Mile 6 - 13:38
Mile 7 - 13:39
Mile 8 - 13:24

At this point, I remember saying to myself, "Ok, just an easy 10-miler left, and some change." I'll admit I was tired but not so much that I had to let up at all. I was still running as well as I can run, strong and confident but still patient. About this time, I start playing this little game in my head. One side of me feels good and wants to knock out a couple of 13:10's or maybe a 13 minute mile. The other part of me respects the remaining distance and says, "Easy, big fella!" Good thing my rational side won that debate because I could have really blew it right there at about the halfway point.

Mile 9 - 13:53
15K (Halfway there) - 2:07:52, right on pace
Mile 10 - 13:35

I just beat my 10-mile race PR by about 6 minutes

At this point, I'm patient at the water stops. Each walk break leaves me feeling a little rejuvenated. So, I walk through a stop, resulting in ~14:00+ mile, then the next mile is in the mid-13's.

Mile 11 - 14:00
Mile 12 - 13:35
Mile 13 - 13:53
Mile 14 - 13:52
Mile 15 - 14:18

Somewhere in here, I bettered my 25K race PR. I don't know by exaclty how much because I didn't take a split at the 25K marker. Oh, well.

Mile 16 - 13:40
Mile 17 - 14:16

About a mile and a half to go but I'm hurtin'. Also, it's gotten really lonely out there. No more water stops. No more shout-outs, no more exciting loops with friends passing. At this point, it's just me on that last busy stretch of road. The runners had the right lane as the cars zoomed by. The good thing was that the Town Square was in sight, towering over the mall. I couldn't see the finish but I could see the buildings by the finish. My first and last moment of weakness came as I walked a good 1 minute and 15 seconds. Then, I just decided that I was goign to finish this thing running, even if it was 14:45.

Mile 18 - 15:35 (with the extended walk break)

After turning left into the mall complex, and making a right with just about .2 to go, I'm surprised to see my whole family, screaming and cheering for me there at the end. This is the first race my family has ever seen me finish and it was a total shocker. Fortunately, the course was cleared out so the little one and my oldest ran along with me out in the street and then on the sidewalk. A few seconds after spotting the fam, Coach Steeeve appears on the left side of the street to bring me in with some awesome words of encouragement. Steve said, "There's your fan club!" And sure enough, many friends waited around for me to finish and were hootin' and hollerin'. Bessie's smile shined through the whole group. Steve B was cheering. My bud, June cheered me on at the end of yet another race. James, Matt, Barb, Jess, Erica, it was just AWESOME!!!

Last .6 or so - 9:06

I hobbled over to shirt pickup, hung around a bit talking trash, loved on the fam, and made my way over to the pizza. Then, we went over to Baker Street pub for some lunch.

I don't know yet if my official time will be posted. I came in a few minutes over the 4:15 time limit. They were taking the structure of the finish line down when I crossed but the mats and computers were still on. Thanks to whoever made that happen. You know who you are and I appreciate it. Still, I don't see my time on the results so I'm not sure if it got uploaded to the results page in time. And, in all the excitement, I failed to hit stop at the finish. How about that. I diligently recorded ever single mile split and even hit the lap at the 15K mark but I didn't get the finish. As near as I can tell, after deleting all the points where I wondered around after finishing, my finishing time was 4:19:15!!! I'm very happy with that. Of all the warmup series races so far, that's the closest I've come to getting in under the cutoff.

Thanks and congrats to all the Striders who raced today and volunteered. Special congrats to 2006 Strider Most Improved Runner, Steve B who averaged an incredible 7:27 over the 30K race. Also, my hat's off to Bill who despite some back and hip problems and a lot of pain, turned in a gutsy 3:18:13 and Jessica, that was a distance and race PR for you, right? You were smokin' out there, girl. Nice race. I know there are many other notables and I will not try to name them all. Of course our own Brett Riley took overall winner today in what I believe is his first warmup series appearance. It looks like the Striders brought home some serious hardware.

So much to say!!

This blog often presents me with a dilemma. Do I ramble on and on with all my thoughts and goals and milestones and roadblocks for the day or week or do I organize my thoughts into separate, well-organized, well thought out posts, each with it's own theme or idea? I mean just the fact that I'm thinking about this may merit it's own separate post. Actually, that I'm thinking about this at all probably means I have too much time on my hands (or mind). I know that can't be the case as this is the first time I've sat still all week. Anyway, let the rambling begin!!!

I have mixed feelings and a few fears about this week. A lot of these fears could very easily be allayed with a good 30K race tomorrow. Nevertheless, I can't help this morning wondering what this week has meant to my marathon training. My head and my coach say not to worry but my heart says that I must have lost a step or two. On Monday evening, I felt a decent head cold coming on. By Tuesday morning, my nose was rotting off my face and my body felt weak. At that point, I had to make a decision. The decision was to not run until I felt better, not wanting to aggravate my condition and prolong it any longer than need be.

Three days later (Thursday), almost fully recovered and starting to feel frisky again, I finally got out and ran 2 easy miles around the neighborhood. The easy effort turned into a 5K effort after a quarter mile and I finished with an average 12:20 pace. It felt good to get the cobwebs out. I felt like I could go another loop at that effort but stopped there as I planned on getting up on Friday and doing 3-5 easy. I got up at 4:00 but got paged a couple of times while I was getting ready. By that time, I needed to get into the office. So, here I sit, with a whopping 2 miles logged this week after an easy and fun 11 mile trail run last Saturday.

However, here I also sit, rested, well fed, hydrated, and feelin' pretty darn frisky. Not a bad place to be less than a day before a 30K race. None of my long races to date have been on the heels of any kind of significant rest or anything like a taper. I know. I know. This week isn't exactly what you would call a taper and with my first full marathon staring me in the face just 32 days from now, it's not the time to take a week off. But I just can't see myself in my mind looking back to this week and saying, "if I'd just not been sick that week, I would have done better." I'm CERTAINLY not going to start looking for excuses before I even toe the line on January 14.

For what it's worth, I know that some of you more experienced runners out there may be worrying about this noob trying to make up for missing some miles this week. Well, just don't worry your pretty little heads. I ain't stupid!!! Where I am today is where I am today. Ain't no makeups!!! I'll pick back up where I left off on Tuesday and finish this thing strong.

Lastly, the scale's reading 293 now, well below the 300 mark and I ain't going back. (that's the 3rd use of the "ain't" word in this post. Sorry, Erica!) I predict my marathon weight will be around 285-289. I believe that's just about all the help I'm getting from physics. Now, Lord, please plan on good running weather in Houston on that Sunday. Please! Please!

I'm in love...

...with trail running!

Well, 2006 continues to be a year of firsts for me. As Steeeve says, "I got my first trail run ticket punched" yesterday at Huntsville with the Striders. We could not have asked for more beautiful weather to run at what must be one of the area's most pristine state parks. Huntsville State Park is the site of the Sunmart 50K/50mile ultra trail race coming up this weekend and the trails were in great shape.

My first inkling was to arrive early, ahead of the group and get a head start so that I would finish with the other faster runners. That idea was quickly squelched and for good reason. Even though our planned run looked simple on the map, there were several opportunities where a wrong turn could turn a 12 mile run into a 24 mile run. Fortunately, I was with some experienced runners, several of whom know Huntsville and the Sunmart route like the back of their hand. Special thanks to master trail runner, Barb, who hung back and guided me to a successful, enjoyable completion to my first trail run.

It was a welcomed escape from a tough month of training in November and I enjoyed not worrying about time and splits and pace and miles and distance. I just enjoyed running and romping through the woods, taking in the sounds and scenery and enjoying His creation.

When we met up for instructions, Steeeve started describing our route. He said stuff about this part being "technical" and that part being "just jeep trail" and some parts being "less technical." What in the world is "technical?" I'm not sure I know yet but I think it means a section of the trail where you need to navigate and plan each step carefully, thoughtfully executing your path down the trail. It really requires some concentration as I was constantly looking down, planning my next move. It's not at all like the thoughtless groove you get into when running in town at the Memorial Park loop. It really takes a lot more out of you than running on the road. Coach predicted that of the 20 or so of us, 4 would take a fall yesterday. Guess how many fell. Exactly 4. No harm done as the ground is for the most part pretty soft.

I may not know what "technical" means but I do know what hills are and I must say that the route took us over some pretty hilly terrain. Not the short, steep kind but the long, gradual kind. Of course, what goes up, must come down and each downhill section was a welcomed sight. I did end up walking a lot of the hills but maintained a good effort.

So, the 10.5 miles left me feeling pretty good. It's nice to cut back and not feel like I've totally destroyed myself. Still, it was a good workout. This morning, I feel it in places I don't normally feel soreness, like in the glutes and lower legs. I think the cutback this week on the long run is setting me up nicely for a good 30K next Sunday. I can't wait.

God Bless!

Ramping up!!!

Another month of fairly consistent training was brought to a close this morning with what was supposed to be a 5 mile run. I DID end up giving back 2 miles to Hal. That was the 2 miles I 'borrowed' this last Saturday to complete the full Tour de Memorial. I was nearing the end of the Memorial park loop this morning when I ran into an old friend (not literally) and we just had to stop and catch up a little. Oh how I look forward to the day when I can actually RUN WITH FRIENDS!!! at a pace where I can actually keep up. Patience!!! This was the same friend that kept me from cheering on June at the Turkey Trot 10K finish. We haven't seen each other in 14 years and now we've accidently run into each other twice in less than a week (not literally). Anyway, we talked for 15 minutes and by that time, I didn't feel like doing the last 2 miles so I cut it short after 3.

Now, I can finally post November's totals. Drum roll please!!! This month, I passed the century mark for the first time with 117 miles. I almost got there last month but was 6 short. Here are my monthly totals since July when I started using this log:

If all goes as planned, I should peak in December at around 145-150. Makes for a nice little graph if you ask me.

There may be something wrong with my Garmin. Lord, I hope not!!! It was very disconcerting running without it this morning. I had it on the charger all day yesterday but when I turned it on this morning before my run, the batteries were still dead. I hope I just need to wipe off the contacts on the cradle or something. I'm not too worried about it because I know Garmin will stand behind their product but to go without it is kind of annoying. I've really gotten addicted to it. On the other hand, it was kind of freeing to run this morning without it. I had no idea how "well" I ran but you know what? It really doesn't matter what the pace was. If it makes you breathe hard, it must be good for you.

Lastly, I'm having a hard time getting my "calculated" weight that my spreadsheet figures out to catch up with my acutal daily weight, measured on the scale. My measured weight this morning was 293 but the spreadsheet says 297. Who cares I guess. I'm still headed in the right direction and seem to be well past the 300-305 plateau that I was at for the better part of October. I don't want my energy and nutrition to suffer between now and January 14th but I'd like to lose at least another 10 lbs by then. So, I'll continue to walk that tightrope between taking in the right amount and kind of calories to lose weight and eating enough that my running doesn't suffer.

Quick post

Ran 8 miles.

Venue - Memorial Park
Total distance - 8.0 miles
Total time - 1:49:30
Mile 1 - 13:47
Mile 2 - 13:50
Mile 3 - 13:44
Mile 4 - 13:45
Mile 5 - 13:45
Mile 6 - 13:29
Mile 7 - 13:41
Mile 8 - 13:26
Avg pace - 13:41

Saw Amalia, Felix

It was humid but cool

How do I feel? Like I just ran 8 miles.:o)

46 DAYS!!!

Giving Back ... NOT!!!

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I would like the opportunity to give back to the running community. Well, that's not what I refer to when I say...NOT!!!

This morning, I seriously thought about giving back a mile to Hal who gave me 4 to do. But, at this point in the game, I ain't giving back ANY miles. So, 4 it was. Nice and easy. I seem to be recovering faster after these killer long runs. I remember after the half, I was toast for pretty much the whole week. Now, yes, I still feel like I'm in recovery mode from Saturday's 18-miler but I'm not sore and I felt pretty good this morning during the run. Here are the stats:

Venue - Memorial Park
Total distance - 4.0 miles
Total time - 54:50
Mile 1 - 13:53
Mile 2 - 14:05
Mile 3 - 13:40
Mile 4 - 13:10
Average pace - 13:42

God Bless!!!

TdM

Well, I have officially entered into the world of overtraining according to Coach Steeeve. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Today was the Houston Striders Tour de Memorial, a training event, with runs of varying distances through West Houston. Runners choose from:

The Lad and Lassie Stroll - 3 miles,
The Brawny Rumble - 8 miles,
The Awesome Studly Run - 14 miles,
or the full Tour de Memorial - 18.4 miles

The highlight of the Tour was the water station contest, where various club members compete for the best water station along the course. The 18.4 mile course was planned to pass by each of these homes with opportunities for shortcuts back to the start along the way for the shorter runs. Then, we all ended up back at the start for fun and frivolity and a little trash talking.

This was a tough week for me to run a new distance PR following last Sunday's 25K race. Hal called for 16 not even knowing that I RACED last week's 15+. With the 30K race in 2 weeks, I'm running the risk today of overtraining a bit. Because of this, I took it very easy today. Not that it matters...18 miles is 18 miles, no matter how easy you take it. But I took my time at the water stops and visited with the peeps. Also, you had to be careful and follow the map or risk getting lost. So, there were frequent, short walks for mapreading.

I didn't even time this run or keep my mile splits like I usually do. I basically used my Garmin just to monitor my pace. It's really easy for me to slip up over 15 - 15:30 min/mile pace so I just used the Garmin for a check. For the most part, when I was running, it was running around 14:00 - 14:45. At around mile 14, Bill caught up with me and I ran a 12:25 minute mile with him to the next water stop. So, one tempo mile, done. If you're sharp, you're wondering "How in the world was BILL catching up to VIC?" Well, to finish with the rest of the runners, I had a 3 mile head start. I started about 45 minutes before everyone else which worked out really well. I ended up finishing just behind June by about 5 minutes. As I came around the last corner, I see Bessie waiting there, clapping her hands and sporting that beautiful smile. Then I hear the cheers of my fellow runners as I come up the sidewalk. I know I've been accused of being a finish line snob and not recognizing cheers from friends there at the end. I wanted to do away with that reputation today so I actually ran hand-in-hand for some yards with Bessie, like Jack and Jill but with no hill. Then I acknowledged the rest of the awesome group by waving my fist in the air and finishing with really cool handshakes for everyone. I hope that was better.

I can't stop thinking about how lucky I am to be a part of the Houston Striders. These people in this club have meant the world to me. My blogger friends as well, some of whom are members of the Striders, have become such a wonderful part of my life. Thank you all for your friendship and your encouragement and your inspiration. Anyhow, let me save the rest of this speech for January 14th. :o) Thanks Striders for such an awesome event.

I think so...

I think I saw Erin out there. In a flash, I saw a very colorful shirt fly by me. Erin, was that you. Sorry we couldn't stop to chat! We MUST catch up and talk some time. After meeting Christy, I think you're the LAST of the awesome blogger-types I haven't had the pleasure of meeting personally. :o)

Thousands take wrong turn!!! or It's nice to be a Mid pack 5K'er!

Ok, I have no idea what the correct turnaround for the TXU Turkey Trot 5K was but I know it wasn't Fountainview, where thousands of 5K'ers turned around today. That made the 5K 3.59 miles. I didn't believe my Garmin but when I got home, I mapped it on MapMyRun and it was exacly what the Garmin said, 3.59. What's even more interesting is that the course "map" on the web site says the turnaround is at Bering. Well, that would have made the course ~2.9, way short. MapMyRun puts the most accurate turnaround a few feet before Augusta. Augusta would have made it a close 3.13 or 3.14.

Someone told me once before that sometimes it's fun to just stay at the finish and look at all the people that come in behind you. :o) Well, normally that's not a problem as I am often the LAST person to finish a race but today, I became a middle of the pack 5K'er. There may have been a couple thousand runners finishing after me. LOL!!! I can go on kidding myself but the fact is that this was not a competitive 5K race and was billed as a walk/run/fun run. So, it was a lot of fun dodging and weaving, with people getting in my way as well as trying to get out of the way myself. At one point I got caught in a bit of a groove, just settling into a pace and I hear a SHOUT from behind, "OVER TO THE RIGHT, VIC!!!" It was Steve Schroeder so rightly getting me to move my big arse over for the fast 10K runners to get through. Hey, Steve, seriously. Thanks for the reminder. I really want to be courteous and have good etiquette. Sorry I missed you after the race. Oh, and by the way, the coverlets bandaids work well. Thanks, bud.

Well, I'm dead set on having a full tank going into Saturday's 18-miler, Tour de Memorial so I decided against the 10K and went with the fun, easy 5K training run. It's been a good week as I continue to recover from Sunday's 25K. I felt pretty good this morning after yesterday's 8 mile run. Hal had 4 on the schedule today. I wanted to get a mile warmup in before the 5K began to round out the 4. I ended up running along the boulevard until I got to the feeder. I didn't want to journey down the feeder road so I just headed back to the starting line. This ended up being about .6 miles. Then, as fate would have it, the 5K was long, making it a little over 4 miles. Yipee!!! A full weeks training according to plan. Here's the run:

Total distance - 4.2 miles
Warmup - .63 miles - 8:21 (13:15 pace)
"5K" - 3.58 miles - 43:42 (12:12 pace)
Average pace for total 4.2 - 12:24

Now, looking at that pace, I'm inclined to slap myself on the wrist for pushing a "training run" too hard. How am I supposed to have anything left in the tank? BUT, I really didn't feel like I was hammering this run. It was a little harder effort, sort of like that tempo effort where I'm breathing hard but not gasping for air, but if I ran any harder, I would be gasping. So, the fastest I've ever run a 5K was average 11:51 back pre-ankle surgery and about 35 degrees. I have no doubt that record is gonna fall the next 5K I get to run, probably some time in February.

This was a huge race. I think they ran out of water. I guess if I were really racing, I'd have had a bit higher expectations but my goal this morning was just to have fun and get in a good workout. Mission accomplished!!

Great to meet Marianne and Christine. Also got to chat again with Christy. Manny, I hear you're running faster than Cassie. How can that be? Wow, Manny, all I can say is I'm impressed. And June...what kind of friend am I? After all those times of June cheering me on at the finish, waiting around for hours for me to finish...I finally get a chance to be there at the finish to cheer her on and I blow it. While waiting for June and Erica and company to finish, I see a long lost friend of mine that I haven't seen in 15 years. I leave my post and chase my friend to the finish to say hi. I was surreal seeing my friend after all these years and I got lost for a few minutes talking about another time and place. By the time we said goodbye (again) and I made my way over to the finish, there was June taking her chip off. Trouble!!! Let me just say in front of God and everyone, I'M SORRY!!! I'm such a bad friend. I owe you one...or two.

Late from 8!

These long(er) mid-week runs are getting longer and longer, putting me later and later getting to work. Guess I'll just have to run them faster and faster. No, bad idea.

8 miles at Memorial Park on tap this morning. My legs are still sore from Sunday's race. The pain was subsiding but is back after this morning's run. It's not a bad kind of sore. It just feels like I ran 15.5 miles on Sunday and 8 miles this morning, which I have! So, it's a normal kind of crappy feeling, right? I must be crazy.

Speaking of pain, I did my 3 miles yesterday. Back in the day (what? a month ago?), I would have just skipped the first run after a race like the 25K, but I wanted to get out and just get a little blood flowing. I played it smart and I'm proud of that. Not that I COULD have run any faster. I just jogged very nice and easy and did 3 instead of the 4 that Hal scheduled. I don't think he knew about the 25K or he probably would have given me the day off completely. Here are the stats:

Total distance - 3.0 miles
Venue - Memorial Park
Mile 1 - 14:36
Mile 2 - 14:49
Mile 3 - 14:42
Total time - 44:08
Average pace - 14:43

Mission accomplished on those 3. It may seem strange but I'm quite proud of those 3. My thinking in the past was if I'm sore, I'm not running. But there comes a time when you're going to have to run sore. I'm in the final push of marathon training and it's going to be tough, so I have to be. I still must be smart to meet my primary goal of getting to the starting line, injury-free. But, I don' think a little soreness is justification to skip a workout. If I'm sore, I'll just run easy.

If sore, run easy? Well, that went out the door this morning. This morning's 8 miler was wonderful and just slightly uncomfortable. This may sound strange but one of the things I wanted to work on this morning was water breaks. I didn't really increase the frequency of my breaks but when I did stop, I drank plenty of water, probably the equivalent of one and a half cups at a regular water station. I've mentioned before that I've gotten in the habit in races of getting a cup, taking a sip or 2 and then pouring the rest on my head to cool off. So, I'm concentrating on drinking plenty when I stop. Must've worked because I was sweating considerably by the end of the run. It was sure a beautiful morning. Just PERFECT!!! Here's the run:

Venue - Memorial Park
Total distance - 8.0 miles
Mile 1 - 14:06
Mile 2 - 14:02
Mile 3 - 13:37
Mile 4 - 13:18
Mile 5 - 13:21
Mile 6 - 13:13
Mile 7 - 13:22
Mile 8 - 13:10
Total time - 1:48:12
Average pace - 13:32

For fun, I went back to the last time I ran 8 miles, August 21, and looked at my splits. The run that week was my long run. Here are the splits.

Mile 1 - 15:55
Mile 2 - 15:55
Mile 3 - 16:48
Mile 4 - 16:44
Mile 5 - 15:55
Mile 6 - 16:45
Mile 7 - 17:18
Mile 8 - 15:00

I posted "finished strong" for that last mile. Wow!!! What a difference God and physics have made lately.

Anyway, I know one thing. These tired, sore legs ain't hammerin' out no 10K tomorrow, that's for sure. When I went to packet pickup yesterday for the Turkey Trot, I stood there for a while trying to decide if I was going to do the 10K or the 5K. If I did the 10K, was I going to "really" race it or just mosey? If I chose the 5K, I was definitely going to hammer it. But the 5K isn't timed officially so why waste a PR on a FunRun? So, I took the 10K bib. Now, this morning, after careful thought and waddling back and forth to the coffee pot, FORGET THAT!!! I'm going over to Luke's at lunch to switch to the 5K. And I'm gonna jog it too. Besides, it will be fun to cheer June and Erica on at the finish for a change. I'm open to cheering more friends on (Pony, Jon, Miriam, Chip, David, Andrew, Jennie, or whoever else is going to be there) but the fact is that most will finish 6.2 before I even finish my 5K. It should be fun, though!

Lastly, I was just thinking about something. I've been consistenly averaging 20+ miles per week for the last 6 weeks or so. Now would be a good time to start marathon training. :o)

25K lap splits

I was looking at the results for the 25K and checking out my splits. Assuming the laps were equidistant, the first two thirds were only 5 seconds difference. On the last loop (when my cramps started), I lost about 45 seconds per mile. Here are the splits:

1st loop (~8.3K) - 1:11:34 (13:49 pace)
2nd loop (~8.3K) - 1:11:39 (13:50 pace)
3rd loop (~8.3K) - 1:15:02 (14:33 pace)

I subtracted my chip diff from the time posted for my first lap.

So, I'm not unhappy with that but I'm not thrilled either. I am using the warmup series races to get some inkling about my progress towards a sub-6 hour marathon in January. It's well-known although not often worried about by others but Houston has a 6 hour time limit. That's a 13:45 average pace.

With a 13:45 average pace for the Half marathon and a 14:03 average pace for the 25K, the jury is still out and time is of the essence. To pull off this miracle, I'm going to need help from God and physics (like those two things are different!). I'm going to need God to provide some pretty near perfect weather conditions for the race and I'm going to need to drop 10 or 15 more lbs. before January 14th to get a little help from the Laws of Physics. IF they keep the finish open for 2 or 3 minutes after the 6 hour time limit, and IF I can get across the start in 3 or 4 minutes, that just leaves me with having to make up 2-4 mintues at sub-13:45 pace to even score an official time for the marathon.

Time will tell. 56 days to be exact.

Not nailed but done!!

Well, another long race under my belt and it was a tough one. 25K! Did I just run 15.5 miles? I think I did. How is that possible? I don't know but I did it.

The sub-13:30 miles were in short supply for me today. Not to make any excuses but near the end of the 2nd loop, I started experiencing a pretty wicked cramp in my right calf. I think I got a little dehydrated. I'm going to have to start walking through the water stops and actualy drinking the water. I have been running throught the stop and grabbing a cup. Then I take a swig and pour the rest on my head to cool me off. I've got to get that water IN me I think to avoid what happened today.

The plan was to start out around 13:45 for a few miles, ease on down to 13:30 over the next miles and then see how I felt on the last lap. For the most part, the early part of the race went according to plan:

Mile 1 - 13:44
Mile 2 - 13:42
Mile 3 - 13:35
Mile 4 - 13:36
Mile 5 - 13:42
Mile 6 - 13:27
Mile 7 - 13:39
Mile 8 - 13:35
Mile 9 - 13:46

I was still running pretty well at this point but was starting to feel the twinge every once in a while in the right calf. I walked through that water stop and then made a pit stop at the potty right after. I lost a little over a minute there.

Mile 10 - 14:21
Mile 11 - 13:49

Guess here is where it kind of got bad with the cramping and having to walk. I even stopped completely once for about a half mintue to do some stretching.

Mile 12 - 13:59
Mile 13 - 14:47
Mile 14 - 14:52
Mile 15 - 14:59
Last .5 - 7:06

My finishing time was 3:38:11. If you look at my splits, that doesn't quite add up. Anyway, I had my Garmin set to auto lap at 1 mile and I was consistently short of the acutal mile markers. So, whatever! I'm sure I was all over the street and not running along the tangents where the course was actually measured. Next time, I'm going to turn the auto lap off and do the splits manually. Huh!!! Next time. I don't even want to think about next time today. :o).

Great day for the Striders. I had a great time talking trash with Bill and Steve and others before the race. I think a group of us is thinking about another hobby next year. Perhaps chess or quilting. Bowling may be good but that's pretty stenuous. We'll have to see. Had the awesome privalege of seeing Barbara and talking to her before the race. Great to see you, B, and GREAT LEGS!!!

Lot's of fun out on the course as well. Loop course plus running slow equals seeing friends multiple times. Chatted with my first coach, Andrea, right before the start but when the gun sounded, she was off like a flash. Lisa and Jack were at Waugh Dr. cheering all of us on. I got a glimple of Christy with here precious kiddo on the opposite side of the street. Don's ask me what mile I was on. David, Andrey, Chip, Jennie, Miriam, Lee, Steve, Edwin,.... it seems like they all lapped me 2 or 3 times. Guess that's not possible since it was a 3 loop course. I don't know why I remember this so vividly but David M FLEW past me. He was running fast. I think he won! Then Jennie, David's much better half, FLEW past me. I think she acutally caught David and beat him by a nose. And the amazing Steve B, who ran an amazing, risky, gutsy race and turned in an awesome PR performance. Congrats to good friend and first timer Rebellious Bill who ran a great race. Thanks, June for coming out to cheer us on. June ran her 15 yesterday and despite a very late night out, came to cheer us on. Great to see Lisa F and Felix and Jon and sooooo many others. Sarah, Jessica, Edwin, and Joe, thanks for not only sticking around but running with me the last quarter mile up that bridge and down to the finish. Hugs and kisses to Joe who had water and banana wating for me at the chip return area. Really, Joe, you deserve a hug. I still owe Keith one, too.

I must say, I felt like crap when I got home. I had a bath and went straight to bed. Even now I have a really bad headace. But my legs and feet are feeling better. Drink, drink, drink!!!

Readers...

Thanks for stopping by. I'll be in bed until Wednesday or Thursday. Later. :o)

p.s. - stop back by this evening.

Recovery, Schmecovery

Here are Hal's instructions for today: Four easy miles. Make this an even easier workout than usual. While I sometimes suggest that runners move a bit further on some of the easy days, today is not one of those days. Consider the fact that you have a 15-miler coming at you this weekend. That's a lot of running. By running easy today and resting tomorrow, you are loading the gun so you are assured of running well on the weekend.

Just reading this right now, I realized something. My run this morning was supposed to be 4 miles. I really did not realize he was upping my Thursday miles. Oh, well, it's all good. Besides, my pager went off at around the 2.85 mark and I would not have been able to do 4 anyway. On-call really interferes with my running. But life happens for all of us, right? I did 3 this morning instead. However, rest and recovery were not the themes of this morning's workout. The weather was beautiful and made me a bit feisty. So, I started out easy for mile 1, picked it up a bit on 2 (unintentional), and tempo'd 3 (on purpose). Here are the stats:

Total distance - 3.0 miles
Venue- Memorial Park
Total time - 38:32
Mile 1 - 13:35
Mile 2 - 12:54
Mile 3 - 12:02
Average pace - 12:51

Now some restin' and some hydratin' and some more restin', preparing for Sunday's BIG 25K!!! LET'S GET IT ON!!!

7, the easy way

Great morning, great night, great week! Last night brought the The Houston Striders monthly meeting. Pizza, beverages, fun, and frivolity were had by all the record 120+ attendees. The highlight of the evening for me had to be seeing all the Striders. What a great bunch of people. Our incredibly resourceful president booked extreme athlete and ultrarunner, Marshall Ulrich. Marshall spent a little over an hour talking about his adventures, climbing the tallest peaks on each continent, running Badwater WITHOUT SUPPORT, his Quad Badwater, where he ran 4 legs of the brutal 135 mile ultramarathon fron Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Portals trough 130+ degree heat. What an incredible athlete. I never knew how much was involved in climbing Mt. Everest. Climbers spend weeks and weeks climbing up a few thousand feet, then climbing back down to recover, then up a little higher, then back down. Then they finally get to to point where they can almost make it and they go all the way back down for a few days before starting all over. The purpose of all these weeks of "ups and downs" is simply to acclimate your body to prepare it to make it to the summit. Unbelieveable!! Oh, one more thing. Marsahll is such an extreme athlete and ultra runner that instead of constantly struggling with feet problems, ingrown toenails, busted toenails, he just had all his toenails surgically removed. Anyway, great meeting, Steve!!! Thanks for a great time.

This morning Hal prescribed a mid-week, mid-long run of 7 miles. I must say that this week, I've been feeling really good. The weight is staying below 300 and I think I made it over the 300-305 plateau that I was on for about 4 weeks. My daily weight has been below 300 since 3 Nov. I did peek over 300 for one day on the 9th but it must have just been from digestive contents and hydration because I was back down under the next day.

Anyway, back to the run. I ran pretty good for 3 miles and my pace was right around 14 minutes per mile. After 3 miles, I didn't really stop or rest or get a drink but my average pace just kept getting better and better with the same, easy, converstional effort. I think the temperature dropped a few degrees since arriving at the park. Anyway, my next mile was down around 13:30 and mile 5 came in about 13:00. Well, since I was feeling good with that nice, easy effort, I just tried to maintain it, wondering when the pace was going to catch up with me. It never did. I ran into the Ulrich pod with Steeeve, Bill, James, and extreme athlete, Marshall Ulrich. Coach stopped me (we were going opposite directions) and introduced me to Marshall. We talked for a few minutes and then I ran about a half mile with the pod. Well, all but Bill were out of eyesight and over the horizon in about 1 minute. Hero Bill slowed downa to run with me and we got to chat a bit and that's always a good thing. We ran back to the swimming pool parking lot, chatted a bit more, got some photos (here's one of Marshall and me),

and I was on my way to finish up. After standing around for a few minutes, I'd think I would start to get stiff and start to cool off but when I took off, I was really feeling my oats. I ended up posting sub-13 miles for 6 and 7. Here are the stats:

Total distance - 7.0 miles
Venue - Memorial Park loop
Total time - 1:33:56
Mile 1 - 14:00
Mile 2 - 13:56
Mile 3 - 13:55
Mile 4 - 13:29
Mile 5 - 13:03
Mile 6 - 12:40
Mile 7 - 12:51
Average pace - 13:25

Ok, the gloves are coming off!!

June and I are weather hounds. We check the weather 5, 7, even 10 days before a race or a long run. Sometimes I check the weather 5, 10 times per day. And that's not just today's weather. I mean I'm checking the 10-day forecast sometimes on the hour, every hour while I'm at work.

As obsessed as we both are with the weather, we're always arguing about it online. A typical IM session goes something like this:

Vic: Well, it looks like great weather for the race on Sunday.

June [types a SMILING emoticon]: Yeah, sunny and 40 degrees.

Vic: It's going to be sunny alright but the temps say mid-60's

June [perturbed]: I'm looking at the forecast right now and it says 40 degrees.

Vic [gleefully and cheerfully]: Well, I'm looking at the forecast right now too and it says mid 60's. Where do you see 40 degrees?

June [types an ANGRY emoticon]: Click2Houston.com!!!

Vic [types a BIG GRIN emoticon]: Oh, I'm on weather.com and it says mid-60's for the low on Sunday.

June [types a ROLLING EYES emoticon]: Well, I don't use weather.com. Anyway, it's going to be 40 degrees. [June closes the conversation window and logs off]

[Vic cheerfully and gleefully goes back to work because he's such a nice guy]

You see who the good guy and the bad girl are in these conversations. Anyway, I had to get to the bottom of this to save our friendship. How can we be looking at the forecast for the same day and be so off? How can I see 60 for the low on Sunday and June sees 40? I mean, I know one thing FOR SURE. June is ALWAYS right!!! So, what's so screwed up about weather.com? What exactly is the difference between Click2 and weather.com? So, I conducted my own little investigation.

First, I called meteorologist Anthony Yanez at Channel 2. Nice guy, by the way. He told me that the low and the high for any give day are forecast for a 24-hour period from midnight to midnight. That means given a forecast low on Wednesday of 50 and a high of 80, the low will most likely fall before dawn on Wednesday morning and the high of 80 will occur later that afternoon. So, it's from midnight to midnight which is good. That's how June was interpreting it. She was right. Then what gives with weather.com? Why is it different?

To find out, I e-mailed the help desk at weather.com and here is the prompt reply that I received:

Each day of the 10-day forecast is divided into two forecast periods: 7am - 7pm and 7pm - 7am. The high temperature shown for any given day is the highest expected temperature for that day between 7am and 7pm. The low temperature is the lowest expected temperature later that night, between 7pm and 7am.

For example, if the high/low values shown for a Monday is 80/62, the forecast high temperature during the 7am-7pm period on Monday is 80, and the forecast low temperature for Monday night/Tuesday morning from 7pm-7am is 62.

The Weather Channel Interactive
Brittany

So, it appears that I was right too. So, if you are reading weather.com, to find the low for Sunday morning, you have to look at the forecast low for Saturday, which covers the 12-hour 7pm to 7 am period, Saturday night, early Sunday morning.

The lesson here...not all forecasts are created equal!

[Vic types a HUGS emoticon for June]

3 hot, humid, sweaty, EASY miles

Quick post here. Guess it wasn't hot but it was humid this morning and the air was still. 3 recover miles on tap. Here's how they went:

Total distance - 3.0 miles
Venue - Memorial Park
Total time - 40:35
Mile 1 - 13:41
Mile 2 - 13:27
Mile 3 - 13:27
Average pace - 13:35

That's it. Got a mini-long run tomorrow morning. 7 miles. Then try to find time to do 3 easy on Thursday, while I'm on call...Grrrrr!. Then rest for the 25K.

Ho-Hum Loop-dee-Loop or 10-mile best SHATTERED!!! or Oops, I did it again!

I was reminded this weekend of a funny story by an old Navy buddy of mine who was here in Houston on a business trip. We got together on Saturday night and were reminiscing about old times. Matt said, "Remember the time you came back from visiting home [Houston] and you were bragging about the 36 ounce ribeye you ate at that restaraunt [Taste of Texas] that finally put you over 300 lbs.?" As I recall, I had been married for a couple of years. We had our first child and I had begun to put on quite a bit of weight. I remember trying to be funny about putting on the extra weight, joking about being up to a good challenge and shooting for 300+, all the while feeling ashamed inside at it spinning out of control.

It's embarassing to say but my weight got so out of control that I was involuntarily separated from the service, after being given several chances to get my weight under control. Involuntary Separation. It wasn't as bad as it sounds. I mean I still received an honorable discharge. It was not a disciplinary action. It was just a matter of not meeting the minimum weight standards. Even though it worked out for the best, I still would have preferred to exit under my own terms instead of being forced out. I'm proud of my service in the Navy but embarassed at how it ended.

So, that was about 12 years ago when I went over 300 lbs and I've been 300+ ever since...until now. I have consistently weighed below 300 lbs for about a week now and it feels great. My weight chart that calculates sort of a moving average has not showed sub-300 yet but the calculated weight will soon be sub-300 and it feels great. I'll tell you one thing. I spent ~12 years that side of 300 and God willing, I'll never spend another day there again. Even though I don't like to look back at the past with regrets, beating myself up for wasted years, part of me wonders how much better the last 12 years would have been. Would I have been a better father, a better husband? Would I have been better able to serve my God or be a better employee? How much life have I missed? How much life have my children missed by not having a father who was active, who could run and jump and play with them? How much time have I wasted in front of the boob tube instead of living life to the fullest? Runners have to play a lot of mind games to get through workouts, to run when it hurts, to just do what a runner is supposed to do. I'm trying to tell myself that what is in the past is over and that I can make up for lost time. I've got to forgive myself for the heavy years and promise myself that I'm never going back there. I have a long way to go but I am determined to never, ever allow myself to lapse into slothfulness and gluttony. I want to serve my God, my family, my friends, my employer. I want to live!

Here are a few photos I took today that shows a little of my progress:

This morning's run was a lot of fun. A cutback week, 10 miles was scheduled. It's really amazing how the weather affects my running, well, everybody's I guess. Our friends that were visiting from Minnesota kept us up late (voluntarily) and I did not get to bed until around 11:45. I was very worried that my rest would be lacking and that my run would be screwed up. I even considered sleeping in and trying to run in the afternoon but I got up around 5:30 and gave it a whirl. Oh, and unavoidable mistake #2 was eating so late. We ate around 9 pm. This caused a little problem at around mile 9 this morning. I am like a clock. But the biggest mistake of the morning and the source of a big Homer Simpson "DOH!" on my part was my forgetting the band-aids. You know, the ones that prevent my nipples from being rubbed raw, ruining my new long sleeved tech shirt from the USA 10-miler. Yeah, those!! By the end of my run, I looked like I had been shot...TWICE!!!

Enough about what went wrong. So much more went right. Miles 1, 2, and 3 felt a bit stiff. I never felt good early, kind of like I wasn't quite warmed up. Little pains here and there, a little heavy, just not quite in the groove. After a quick gel/water stop at the tennis center and about 10-15 seconds of stretching, I started out again and almost immediately felt like the kinks were finally gone. Ok, I was warmed up.

Finished mile 3 and was in the middle of mile 4 when I came up on Rose Ennis who was walking with a friend. We spoke a few words as I passed. It was great to see Rose who is just one of the most energetic, sweet people I've ever met.

I no sooner say see-ya-later to Rose when here comes Steve Schroeder and running bud, Jacob. High 5's were in order. Steve, an awesome runner, has been a great encouragement to me. He's got some great pointers and is always encouraging and teaching me. One time, he brought me some peppermint Altoids before a race and told me it would help me to breathe better. IT DID!!! Anyway, that's the kind of guy Steve is.

Then I face forward and who do I see at long last? It'sTXRUNNERGIRL!!! Christy!!! We recognized each other immediately. It was so awesome to finally meet Christy. I feel like we've been friends forever but we've never met in person. Christy is awesome and it made my morning to see her. What a smile!!!

I said goodbye to Christy and caught back up with Rose who had walked past me and Christy while we were talking. Rose ran the next mile and a half with me to the golf course parking lot. We talked about marathons and PIM and running and mental games runners must play. It was just a great time. Oh, and I looked down at my watch and I had picked up the pace quite a bit without recognizing any increase in effort at all.

After dropping Rose off, I maintained my pace with ease through another quick water/gel/Tennis Center stop and made my way to my 3rd loop. At around 7.2 miles, I ran into Steve again who was running his last 2 of a 20 mile run. Steve turned around and ran with me for about a mile and a half. Must be tough for Steve to do those 13-minute miles. But, like I said, that's the kind of guy he is. We chatted a while, almost broke our necks a couple of times, and then Steve peeled out for his last mile leaving me running strong and conversational going into the home stretch.

I finished the loop and then went out and back to complete mile 10. Here's where the late supper started talking to me. I purposely eased off a little after a fast(er) mile 9, to coold down going home. I think my bowels got the signal and almost immediately started demanding I stop somewhere. I HAD to finish soon!!! Talk about affecting your gait...there's nothing worse than trying to run when you gotta go. I've never experienced that before and hope to never experience it again.

I finished up "just in time", did my business and was off. Here are the stats:

Total distance - 10 miles
Total time - 2:14:25
Mile 1 - 13:48
Mile 2 - 13:58
Mile 3 - 13:49
Mile 4 - 13:38
Mile 5 - 13:12
Mile 6 - 13:08
Mile 7 - 13:03
Mile 8 - 13:02
Mile 9 - 13:01
Mile 10 - 13:44
Average pace - 13:27

My 10 mile best of 2:22:57 from the USA 10-miler was shattered this morning by about 8.5 minutes. Pretty good for an easy, conversational training run versus the I'm-almost-dead-but-I'm-gonna-finish-this-race performance at the USA. What a difference 30 degrees makes.

Summer Hoppin'

I finally got out last night to TH Park to Hop with the SMARTie's. Summer continues to rear it's ugly head but no matter. Sweat is a good thing. Lee and Chris (proud father) led us through the workout with much skill and ease. Well, light on the ease part.

I was able to arrive early and got a good 15-20 minutes of stretching in. That did me some good as my calves and hips have been feeling tight. I took off a little early on my warmup to time my return with the rest of the group. Standing still, there was a bit of a nice breeze but it mysteriously disappeared as soon as I started running. Still, I can't quite complain about the temps and humidity with July and August still fresh in my mind.

One complaint, though...the TUNES! I don't know if it was the sound track to Dirty Dancing or what but I almost fell asleep. NOT conducive to getting this former couch potato's feet moving. Still, I managed to get a little burn and am sure feeling it this morning.

Workout - SMARTie Hop with warmup and cooldown
Warmup - 1.52 miles (13:26 average pace)
the Hop (included .2 miles Greyhounds)
Cooldown - 2 miles (14:38 pace)
Total miles - 3.7 miles

The rest of the group did 4 miles cooldown at a pretty decent effort. Personally, I was spent after the Hop. My legs were almost mush. BUT, I felt a lot better than I did post-Hop back in mid-September. Here's a recollection on that cooldown from a previous blog entry:

"1.5 mile cooldown - 24:30 (~15:40 pace) - my legs and ankles were spent."

The workout tonight did expose a significant difference in stregth between my right and left leg/ankles. While my left leg feels really strong and stable, I still have a lot of instability in my right leg. I mentioned it to Steeeve and he said not to worry about it. He said balance and strength would come and I need to continue to concentrate on CV fitness and weight loss. Will do!!!

Great time last night. Thanks Striders. See you out there! Oh, by the way, great to Joe Carey out there at TH park. He ran by me and disappeared like a ghost.

Recovery, check!

Barbara, my recovery from this past Sunday's 13 was pretty quick, especially compared to the 4 or 5 day period after the half. Actually, after a good breakfast, a warm epsom salts whirlpool bath, and a 30 minute nap, I was good to go. I was still feeling it but I wasn't limping around looking for a place to slowly sit down. In fact, I got out and mowed the grass which is more activity than I've ever been able to tolerate post-long-run.

Don't remember where I heard this but "marathon training is a marathon." I'm finding this to be true. The training itself is a race and the finish line is the starting line of the Chevron Houston Marathon. Right now, I feel like I'm at about mile 15. But when I look at the next 7 weeks, it looks more like mile 5. Over the next 7 weeks, Hal and company have me going from 25 to 41 miles per week and from 13 to 21 miles for my long runs. So, as they say, now is when the rubber meets the road, the moment of truth. Now is where I need to get out there and walk that tight rope between optimal conditioning and injury. Now is not the time to be skipping workouts. Now is not the time to doubt. Now is not the time to slack off. BUT, now is also not the time to be proving anything. Now is not the time to get stupid. It's tempting as my running improves to want to do my easy runs faster, to run extra miles, to add a running day, to skip my cutback (recovery) weeks, to skip my warmup and cooldown because I'm feeling frisky. DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID, VIC!!! I really feel like I'm right there. I finally feel like I may possibly be able to do this thing that I started. 6 hours? I don't really know. Frankly, I don't really care anymore. Well, it's not that I don't care. It's just that I'm not thinking about that right now. All I can think about right now is tomorrow's 7-miler. That's my next step. That's the next mile in this marathon. When I get through that mile, I'll think about the next one. I'm psyched!!!

This morning's 3 mile run was good. I felt quick(er), feisty even. The plan for this run is the same as it always is the first run of the week for me. Get some blood flowing. Take it easy. Stay conversational. Finish strong. I did not eat before the run which may have been a small mistake but it ended up not being a big factor, IMO. I did have a couple of glasses of water so I was well hydrated. After some stretching (getting more cobwebs out) I set out, feeling good. Early in the run I ran into Bessie. What a great smile to see so early in the morning. I missed seeing my bud, Amalia. Guess she was resting this morning. I really wasn't trying to do a tempo run or 10K effort or anything like that but I also didn't feel like shuffling (jogging) either. The temps had me feeling good so I picked it up just a little. I'd call it my "easy" effort, a notch above my "recovery jog" effort. I finished strong, mission accomplished. Here are some stats:

Total distance - 3.0 miles
Total time - 38:33
Mile 1 - 13:02
Mile 2 - 12:48
Mile 3 - 12:42
Average pace - 12:51
Temperature - 58 degrees
Humidity - 91% (it WAS muggy)

After the run, I stopped and introduced myself to a fellow big runner, Carl, who had just finished 4 miles. Ex-football player in college, got married, had kids, got sedentary, gained a bunch of weight, started running, lost a bunch of weight... Sound familiar? Anyway, good to meet a new friend. I'm really glad I stopped to talk to him.

God bless all!!! Seeya out there!

A bit sore but in good shape

As was indicated on Friday's 6-miler, I continue to recover nicely from last Sunday's half marathon. Sunday's 13-mile training run went off as planned and was for the most part a blast.

It wasn't your typical "group" run. Well, I guess for me it wasn't a group run at all. Still, the plan was for June, Sarah, Erica, and me to run 13 miles from the tennis center to the George R. Brown Convention center. Well, actually, June and I were going to run 13 and Erica and Sarah were going to do 10. And since I run slower, June and I weren't really going to run togehter, I was going to leave early and we would finish together. Oh, and Cassie joined us too. So, as it turned out. Cassie and June did their run together, Erica and Sarah did their thing and finished a little before Cassied and June and I brought up the rear, meeting them at the tennis center. So, our 5-member running group still needs to get it together. :o) Just kidding!! Seriously, it's very, very hard to find people with your pace and your distance and your goals to train with. I think the way we do it is the next best thing. We all just kind of do our own thing and plan to meet up at or near the end for trash talking and eats!!!

If I'm learning anything at all, I think I'm getting better at planning my training runs and I'm able to take more and more things into account, setting realistic expectations while still pushing and staying motivated. I did this distance last week at the Koala/Luke's Half Marathon at 13:45 pace with temps in the upper 50's to upper 60's and no noticeable humidity. So, I figured with yesterday's conditions and it being a training run, not a race, I would shoot for 45-60 seconds slower than my race pace. As much good as it would have done to do some of the hills along the asphalt portion of Allen Parkway along the bayou, I pretty much stayed "up top" and avoided the hills. I don't care too much for the terrain, though, up top. The trail is uneven and rough. It almost felt like a trail run at times.

At about mile 5 or a little past, I could see all the way to the east side of downtown to the GRB Convention Center. I unintentionally got a little psyched up and did an unusually quick 13:05 mile 6 down Rusk to what will be the finish line for the Houston Marathon. I stopped there briefly for a Gu and some water and then was off. I don't want to sound narcissistic but sometimes people (not runners) look at me. :o) I think they're just waiting on me to keel over dead at any moment. Either that or they're in disbelief that someone as big as me is out there at all. Well, I caught the eye of a couple of ladies going to a convention or something, crossing the street at the corner or GRB. They had that look as they passed by me. I just took a swig from my water bottle and said, "Well, back to Memorial Park," nonchalantly. That must have really got them wondering about the whole "what's someone going to do when they find this large man passed out in the street over on Bagby?" thing. I just smiled and went on my merry way

Thanks to that miracle 13:05 mile, I averaged 14:35 for the 13 miles. Here are the stats:

Total distance - 13.0 miles
Total time - 3:09:32
Mile 1 - 14:40
Mile 2 - 14:45
Mile 3 - 14:50
Mile 4 - 14:34
Mile 5 - 14:52
Mile 6 - 13:05
Mile 7 - 14:20
Mile 8 - 14:36
Mile 9 - 14:34
Mile 10 - 14:54
Mile 11 - 14:38
Mile 12 - 15:04
Mile 13 - 14:34
Average pace - 14:34
Temperature - 67 degrees
Humididty - 89%

So, overall, I'm pleased with the run. I did not crash. I had to be patient at the beginning and tough at the end. Seems to be a recurring theme here.

Congrats to all the Striders who kicked it up a notch at the Run with the Saints 5K on Saturday. Lotsa hardware and a smashing PR for Steve B, a PR and hardware for Pony, and a first in age group award for COACH STEEEVE!!! Some Strider-pippin' going on as well but it's all good

God Bless!!!

299.6

Not much else to say!!! The picture speaks for itself!!! Party!!!

Now, that's better

Well, it took me until Friday to begin to feel just a little better after Sunday's half marathon. Actully, I started to feel feisty again on Thursday afternoon after a massage but put off getting back to running until Friday morning.

Hal's plan for Friday (originally Wednesday) - 6 easy miles. Vic's plan for Friday - 3 easy, 2 somewhere between easy and 10K effort, and 1 easy (cooldown). I wanted to run just a couple of miles at a little faster pace, hopefully to shake out any remaining cobwebs. The stats for the run:

Total distance - 6.0 miles Total time - 1:21:37
Mile 1 - 13:56
Mile 2 - 13:47
Mile 3 - 13:48
Mile 4 - 13:10
Mile 5 - 12:59
Mile 6 - 13:54
Average pace - 13:36
Temperature - 47 degrees
Humidity - 63%

The weather was so nice. Very cool and crisp. Running is never boring, is it? This morning I was reminded that when the temps drop, it takes a lot longer to warm up. In my opinion, that makes the warmup and cool down even more important.

So, I'm feeling pretty good. Although I mised a 3-mile run this week, I'm not fretting. I could do it today, no problem, but I want to be fresh for tomorrow's 13-miler. I'm concentrating today on eating properly and resting. Besides, our family has a soccer tournament (at least 2 games), another soccer game for the little one, and 2 basketball games (1 for the youngest and middle child). Fun-filled day!!!

Blech!!!

That's the most succint way to describe tonight's easy 3 miles that were anything but easy. I have some thoughts on this but first, I want to describe how I've been feeling since Sunday's Half marathon.

Intuitively (not speaking from experience), there are two ways to run a long distance race. For one, you can treat it like a training run, taking the opportunity to practice your pre-race routine, experience the race environment, but not running as hard as you would were it your target race. Or, your can run it like a "real race", going for it, leaving nothing on the course. Sunday, for me, was more like the latter. Even though I am training for the full marathon in Janurary, I still ran the half on Sunday like it was a target race. I gave it all I had.

Now, before atta-boy's are handed out, let me just say that Sunday's race took a lot out of me. It was the furthest distance I have ever run before and at an average pace at least 1 minute faster than ANY 8+ mile training run I have done to date. I'm very proud of my effort but it has left me feeling very flat and sore for 3 days now. AND HUNGRY!!! Catherine would not be happy with how I've eaten since Sunday at 10:05 am, about the time I made it over to the post race food table.

I was supposed to start back runnning on Tuesday but did not feel like it at all. By tonight (Wednesday) night, I thought I'd better get back out there and resume training so I started out for 3 easy miles. Man, did I feel like you-know-what!!! It was not a fun run. My thigh hurt, I was tired, sluggish, could not get it going at all. Here are the stats:

Total distance - 3.12 miles
Total time - 45:10
Mile 1 - 14:21
Mile 2 - 14:50
Mile 3 - 14:11
da change (.12) - 1:46
Avg pace - 14:28
Temperature - 63.2
Humidity - 66.6

Well, looking at those splits, not too bad, all things considered. However, I really struggled on this run. I wonder if the way I ran my half is going to put me out of commission for an entire week or two, even. I don't know. I just know I'm tired. I'm getting a massage tomorrow. My next scheduled run on Hal's training program is 6 miles. I don't think I'll do that tomorrow. I think I'll rest tomorrow, let Mary Lee get some of the cobwebs out, and do 6 on Friday morning.

Faithfull readers, is this how I'm supposed to feel? Should I repeat this effort, treating each race like a "real race", for the 25K and the 30K or is that going to DESTROY me before I even toe the line in January? Running easier for these races at a training run pace would put me in well beyond the time limit. Also, should I just continue my training and run feeling the way I do or listen to my body and just wait until I can run comfortably?

Did you hear about this?

Marine Corps Marathon satellite race.

Mission Im Possible

Today, I completed my first half marathon. Can I just say that again? Today, I completed my first half marathon. I guess it's still sinking in a bit. Last night, late, on my way to bed, I e-mailed coach Steeeve soliciting any last-minute advice on today's half. I did not check my e-mail again until after the race but when I got home, Steeve had responded. His response...

HAVE FUN!!!

Guess I knew Steeeve would give that advice 'cause that's exactly what I did. I HAD A BLAST!!! Now, don't get me wrong. It was the hardest thing physically I've ever done but thanks to some great friends, an awesome running club, and my wonderful family cheering me on from home, this day gets filed way up at the top with some of the funnest days of my life.

I cannot say enough about how well this race was organized and run. I am so proud of my club, The Houston Striders, the organizers of the event. Barb, you put on a great show. Attention was paid to the smallest detail. Every mile marker had time keepers not only shouting out the clock time but also the pace. There were 2 time keepers at each mile marker. One would shout out the time, the other would shout out the pace. The person shouting out pace would read from a chart after her partner would shout out the time. So, you hear a resounding, "Forty-five, thirty. thirteen, twenty pace." Then 6 seconds later, "forty-five, thirty-six. Thirteen, twenty one pace..." Now, I'm not a very experienced racer but I don't think you get that at many races. There were well-managed water stops every one and a half miles with both gatorade and water, with energy gels at the stops around 8 miles. From the pre-race food to the post-race food to the band, and free massages from Koala Health and Wellness, packet pickup, chip pickup and drop off, results posting at the race, results acually online by midafternoon on race day... The whole thing was remarkable and made for a great experience. I'm so glad that this was my first half marathon. Aramco, you've got your work cut out for you. :) I know that behind the scenes, it must have been a logistical nighmare but Barb and the Striders made it all seamless to us runners. Great job, Striders!!!

I woke up before the alarm this morning, had a decent breakfast, and was out the door. I arrived in plenty time to mill around and visit with friends and talk strategy. It was like everywhere I turned, I saw a familiar face. I won't even attempt to name all the folks because this is going to be long enough. I met June in the parking lot and we picked up our chips. Pit stop and then back over to chip pickup area to meet one of my running partners, JoAnne. JoAnne and I have been doing long runs together. For the race, we agreed we wanted to start together and run a couple of miles together. Jo is an experienced runner and she knew that racing is individual so there was no pressure on either of our parts to stay together the whole race. Jo's normally faster than me so she worked her way up but I kept her in site and we were able to encourage each other at the turn around. Jo really finished strong which was her goal after crashing big time of dehydration on her previous half marathon. Jo ran so smart and patient and tough this morning and my hat is off to her. Way to go, Jo!!!

For the most part, Houston is flat. It hosts one of the fastest full marathons in the country. You really have to know where to go to get in any kind of hill work here in H-town. HOWEVER!!! Allen Parkway is a different story. The trails along Allen Parkway have a few gentle hills along Buffalo Bayou, but for the most part, running on the running trails is pretty easy and flat. But Allen Parkway, the street, has two underpasses between downtown and Shepherd that were killer. And given the fact that the course was 3 loops up and down Allen Parkway (well the first loop was just out Allen Parway and then it diverted south to complete), we encountered one of these underpasses 9 times. WOW!!! Is that right. Yep, one for lap one, then 4 for lap 2 and 4 for lap 3. This couse is not a walk in the park by any stretch, at least for this noobee!!!

My goal was to finish below 3 hours. That's right at 13:44 pace. A few minutes over 3 hours and I would have been ok. 2:50 and I would have retired. :) Glad to have the Garmin with me. Unfortunately, at the halfway point, I wanted to record my lap split but ended up pressing the STOP button. It was some time, maybe 2 or 3 minutes until I realized that I had stopped the clock. So the rest of my splits were off. Still, I continued to use the Garmin to pace myself, even though my miles were off. No matter. Like I said, the course was well marked.

The weather was very nice. Of couse, I'd rather it be in the 30's or 40's but I settled on dry and in the 50's at start. By the end of the race, it was closer to 70 but no humidity to speak of. I started out patiently. My first few miles were:

Mile 1 - 13:42
Mile 2 - 13:42
Mile 3 - 13:44
Mile 4 - 13:44

That was pretty consistent. I was feeling pretty good at this point and came to a place where a lot of people were passing on the other side of Allen Parkway. It was so awesome hearing my name and everybody encouraging each other out there. I swear, if someone wasn't shouting "looking good, Vic" from across the street, then someone was coming from behind (on their 3rd lap) saying "keep it up, Vic." Then, Steve was on the loud speaker around the halfway point and I hear, "...and here comes Vic Kaiser, right on pace for his sub-3 hour half marathon debut." One guy by the name of Dusty, I think, came up beside me and said, "are you Vic? Hello, I'm Dusty. Nice to meet you." It made me wonder if maybe he knew me from reading my blog or from reading an article in our club's newsletter and if just maybe he had ever been encouraged by something he read. I know one thing. It was meant a lot TO ME to meet Dusty and to get some words of encouragement from him. Thanks, Dusty. Anyway, for me this race really wasn't about my effort because I know if it weren't for the encouragement of runners and friends and my familiy, no way would I have been able to finish like I did.

Ok, on to the finish. Like I said, after mile 4, I was feeling pretty good. My next few miles were:

Mile 5 - 13:29
Mile 6 - 13:31

About here is where I screwed up the Garmin. It still recorded some miles they just weren't lined up with the course miles. I recorded a 13:26 and 13:40 next and then a 13:22. About here is where I started into my last loop and hit the first underpass. At this point, I started to feel something that kind of concerned me. My legs were feeling heavy. Now, I've run before with tired legs and with sore legs but never with HEAVY legs. It wasn't too bad but I was starting to feel it, especially after coming up from the underpass. Recorded a 13:59 which was good. I started replaying in my mind the thoughts I've had this week about being tough. To this point, I think I was patient but now was time to get tough

With about 5K left, I felt like the remaining distance would be familiar and manageable in my mind. 3 miles and some change. How many times have I done that? I can do 3 miles and some change. But I must admit, this was the toughest 3 miles I've every done. My legs were really starting to get heavy. I think if it weren't for the Garmin and knowin my actual pace, I would have thought that the effort I was putting forth was cerainly around 13:45 or so. I mean to me, I was picking it up a little and on my way to nailing these last 3 miles and change. But I looked down at my Garmin and it said I was cruising at around 14:05. Then at one time, I walked up the last half of the last underpass and my average pace for that lap jumped up to 14:20. I was realy losing it. So, once I leveled out of that last underpass, with about 1.5 miles to go, I started to concentrate, zone out even. I was running into the sun and it was taking it's toll. My legs reminded me of draggin big trash bags full of wet grass across the yard on a wed summer morning. Somewhere, though, I found a way to stay on pace, even pick it up a little. At about the 13 mile marker, things were a little vague. I heard some voices yelling my name but I did not look up. I don't know who they were but I think they were Striders and June and some of her friends. It's really kind of wierd thinking back on it now. I really don't remember much of that last .1 or .2 miles. I think June came out and ran a few yards with me. I'm not really sure. Some time before, Jon peeled away. He so kindly had run a mile or 2 with me down the home stretch. I don't really remember when he peeled off and let me run on to the finish. I do remember one thing, THAT BROWN MAT!!! It's just silly. I know I was just 100 yards from it but it seemed like it was 500 yards. I just looked at that mat and tried to pick up the garbage bags to make a b-line to the mat. As out of it as I was, I do remember looking down at the Garmin once in that last stretch to see my average pace. It was 13:38. I crossed the mat and everything came back into focus. Then I realized how heavy my legs really were. I made my way over to Lisa who so kindly untied my shoe and took my chip. Then she tied it back. I don't know if all this service was for me or if she was just scared I was going to fall over on top of her. LOL!!! Anyway, Lisa, ur a peach!!! Thanks for helping me out there.

Since my Garmin was so screwed up, I really didn't have a clue as to what my time was. I know the clock said 3:01:something but I didn't know my chip time. After 4 bottles of water, a banana, and a massage, my results were finally posted. Chip time, 2:59:56.3!!!. Can I say that again? Chip time, 2:59:56.3!!! Now, I would not have been down on myself at all for 3:02:00 or 3:05:00 but the 4-second, sub-3 hour half was SWEET!!!

Of course, I've heard others say this same thing. That was so hard and it was just half of a full marathon. How in the world would I possibly be able to do a full in January? Impossible!!! Well, if you asked me back in March if running a half marathon in 13:45 pace was in my future, I'd say you were crazy. Now, I'm starting to feel like a lot of things I never dreamed of may just be possible.

A little tough

Well, if Wednesday's 6-mile run was mostly about patience, Thursday's 3-miler was definitely about toughness. As much as a 3 mile run can test one's toughness, anyway. Summer's trying to die but Thursday afternoon found me running in the mid-80's with about 85% humidity and rain. This very much reminded me of last Wednesday when I totally crashed mentally under the heavy morning air. Well, not today.

Yes, it was only 3 miles but I was determined not to slog through these miles like a half-drowned rat. I stretched pretty good and felt well at the start. The plan for today, 3 easy miles. I stayed conversational through the workout and felt good. Around the 2 mile mark, I did start to feel that familiar just-walk-for-a-little-bit voice. I remembered the lesson from last week. That voice wasn't coming from my legs, they weren't tired. It wasn't coming from my lungs, I wasn't breathing that hard. This voice was coming from my mind and heart. So, I ignored it. I maintained my pace and kept running and finished strong. How tough would I have been with additional miles at this pace/effort, I don't know. But for those 3, I was happy.

Stats:
Total miles - 3.0
Total time - 40:48
Mile 1 - 13:35
Mile 2 - 13:41
Mile 3 - 13:31
Average pace - 13:36

Now, off to Strider volunteer duties.

Be patient and tough

BE PREPARED TO FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE

That’s right…it’s a marathon…be prepared to feel some discomfort at some point during the race. This is why we train. Training prepares our body to physically handle the miles at a given pace. Training also helps to mentally prepare us to stick things out when we might not feel like it. Be tough. -Kim Hager

Thinking about this morning's 6 mile training run, I wanted to concentrate on patience and toughness. Since I started doing mid-week long runs, it has not been a good experience until today. I did not get a chance to test my toughness this morning as patience won out big time. I knew that this 71 degree training run wasn't going to yield 6 sub-13 minute miles like the race conditions on Sunday did. I really felt like I needed to "remember" that very easy, long run training effort that I haven't executed in the past couple of weeks, racing 10 miles and 10K the last 2 weeks instead of long training runs. So, the theme this morning was patience. The only test of toughness was getting out of bed at 4:15 to make it to the park early enough to run and still get to work on time. I only snoozed once (8 minutes).

Here are the stats:
Total miles - 6.0
Total time - 1:23:21
Mile 1 - 14:10
Mile 2 - 14:12
Mile 3 - 14:01 (total for first 3 miles - 42:23 [14:08 pace])
Mile 4 - 13:50
Mile 5 - 13:41
Mile 6 - 13:28 (total for last 3 miles - 41:00 [13:40 pace])
Average pace - 13:54

I was very pleased with this morning's workout. I was patient with the pace and finished strong. I also had to take into account that I just ran 3 miles last night (about 9 hours before) so I'm good with the workout. 3 tomorrow and then off until the Half. If life allows, I'll meet the Striders tomorrow night for SMARTie Hop

3 easy and a familar face

3 easy miles on the schedule today. I failed to get up with my alarm this morning so I had to do it this evening. This kind of puts me in a jam because the 6 on tap for tomorrow will have to be done early in the morning. So, I really took these 3 easy, knowing 6 more were coming within the next 10 hours or so.

Here are the stats:
Total distance - 3 miles
Total time - 41:05
Mile 1 - 13:38
Mile 2 - 13:40
Mile 3 - 13:47
Average pace - 13:41 (target pace for the Half on Sunday)
Temperature - 70.7 degrees
Humidity - 56.8

I felt really good at that pace. I think I may be able to hand around there for 13.1 miles, provided the temps are good. It's looking like it's going to be a little cooler than it was this evening for the half so I'm feeling pretty good about the possibility of going sub-3. We'll see.

Oh, and who came up behind me, flying by at the speed of sound? None other than Pasadena's own Keith. What an honor to see this legend as he goes for a personal record 70 mile week this week. I found Keith at Memorial Park tonight during his 9 mile jaunt, his second workout of the day. Go Keith!!!

Anyone for pasta on Friday night?

I'm working late registration at Luke's on Friday night and will probably try to get out after that and get some pasta somewhere. Anyone want to join me? We can make it a "get-together". Maybe some trash talkin', some good eats, and of course a brew for Jamoosh or whoever else chooses to partake in such belt-bustin' beverages (not me!). :)

Post here and we'll start a list, then decide where to go. Or, if no one responds, I may just fly solo. No matter. It's all good.

First 10K or Still Green

Well, I am continuing to gain experience, running my first 10K race this morning at the Bear Creek 10K. I may be gaining experience but it's apparent that I'm still very green. After I finished, Miriam extended her fist for a "cool runner's handshake" and a well done. I looked at her with a puzzled look and then down at my shirt thinking I had something on my shirt or something. Graciously, Miriam explained that no, she's not pointing at my shirt, she' offering one of those "cool runner's handshakes" where you basically just knock fists. I'm so stupid. Still, it was funny and worth mentioning.

This race was put on by my running club, The Houston Striders, and was FREE to anyone who wanted to race. One of the main reasons the Striders put on this race is because so many of our members are not able to race the Luke's/Koala Half Marathon next weekend because of volunteering duties. So, the Striders provide this FREE race as an alternative to running the half marathon or the half marathon relay next weekend. It' pretty cool that our local club can put on such a great event that is so well supported. We had water stops every 2 miles. There were mile markers every mile and an official time on a certified course. I may be wrong on the course certification but I know our club has run out here for many years and I'd take their word on the distance over any satellite or computer mapping any day.

I couldn't have asked for better conditions for my debut at the 10K distance. Unusually, the temps actually dropped after the start and through the finish. According to the weather at Hull Field, the temp at start was 59 and was 54 at the finish. The overcast skies gave no hint of rain and only helped keep us very cool and comfortable.

No pressure today since I was guaranteed a PR as a first timer. The plan was to just go out stong till I got warmed up, then try to hold that tempo effort as long as I could. It's the effort where I'm breathing hard but not gasping for air but if I ran any faster, I would be. I still don't know if that's how you're supposed to run a 10K. I just knew I wasn't going to RTYP!!! I knew going in that this a hilly course. Nothing major, not long steep hills. Just rolling hills. Up and down. My plan on the hills was to maintain an even effort going up the hills and then roll down the other side, parallel perpendicular to the ground.

So, the execution was pretty much as planned and my splits were pretty even. I picked it up a bit for the last .5 miles, to finish strong. I really liked the out and back course as I got to see everybody heading back and looking good. Here are the splits:

Total distance - 10K
Total time - 1:18:35
Mile 1 - 12:48
Mile 2 - 12:32
Mile 3 - 12:40
Mile 4 - 12:55
Mile 5 - 12:45
Mile 6 - 12:44
.2 miles - 0:2:07 (11:25 pace)

The predictors for my half marathon time, based on today's 1:18:35 10K finish, say that I should be able to finish the half marathon in 2:55:00, provided the temps are comparable and all other things are equal. Of course, anything can go wrong or right in any race so the 2:55:00 really serves no purpose to me other than the encouragement that it may be possible to break 3 hours. Funny thing, base on last weekend's, 10 mile race, the same predictor said I would run today's 10K in 1:25:19 and I blew that out of the water. What a difference no rain and 25 degrees makes. Overall, I'm please with my first 10K time. Look out, TXU Energy Turkey Trot 10K, I'm coming to get ya.

God Bless!!!

This is our time!!!

Runners, this is our time!!! Woohoo!!! I felt frisky this morning, sportin' my new USA 10-miler shirt and turning in 3 very easy miles at 13:20 avg. pace. What a difference a couple of days and 30 degrees make. Did I say WOOHOO!!!!! I think I did. Sorry.

Here are the stats:
Total distance - 3 miles (easy)
Total time - 40:00 even
Mile 1 - 13:30
Mile 2 - 13:24
Mile 3 - 13:05
Average pace - 13:20
Temperature - 54.2
Humidity - 78.6

I can't wait to hear all the good reports today. By the way, look here in the coming days for an important announcement. Well, important to me!

God Bless!!!

Wish it was 5 miles tomorrow or I'm positive!

Well, I would gladly trade today's 5 miles with tomorrow's 3. Even better would have been skipping today altogether and moving everyghing to Thursday and Friday. This morning's run reminded me so much of my first attempt at 12 miles back on October 1st. I started out too fast and the weather, especially the humidity, started to really press down on me. The only difference this morning was that my legs really felt pretty well. I think this morning's crash, after 3 miles was more mental and digestive than anything to do with the distance or my energy.

I've written this paragraph 4 times now, trying to put down on this blog WHAT WENT WRONG!!!. But you know what? I can't think of anything valid. I just did not have the mental fortitude to finish strong. I've been running pretty well lately and did not take into account the high temps this morning and the opressive humidity. I got nauseated and just fell apart mentally. I wasn't tough this morning. I wasn't disciplined and did not call on what I should have already learned by now, to slow down and be patient, pace myself, taking into account the weather. No excuse!!!

If it sounds like I'm beating myself up, maybe I am just a little. Just a little. I normally would not but this morning could have gone better with a just a little thought and toughness. I did finish the 5 miles and I did run the last ~.6 pretty strong but still conversational. Miles 1-3 were pretty good. But going into mile 4, I stopped to walk some. I walked again toward the end of mile 4 and again at the beginning of mile 5. Then, I sucked it up and ran the last ~.6 or so pretty well.

Funny thing, when I got back to the car, a gentleman that was parked next to me was stretching after his run. We started talking and turns out his run was almost the exact thing that I had just gone through. He said he had been getting used to running in a bit cooler temps and went out too fast at the beginning of his run. Then nausea set in and he struggled big time to just finish. I felt better after hearing that story.

I should have heeded Matt's admonition when I ran into him at the 0 mile marker. His exact words were, "It's hot!!!" Anyway, great to see Matt who I just met on Sunday at the 10-miler. Cool guy. Also saw Amalia for the second day in a row. Always great to see smiling faces out there when I'm running.

Here are the stats. They speak for themselves:
Total distance - 5.0 miles
Total time - 1:14:12
Mile 1 - 14:14
Mile 2 - 14:11 (so far, so good!)
Mile 3 - 14:21
Mile 4 - 15:59
Mile 5 - 15:25
Average pace - 14:51 (still acceptable for a training run)

Since I'm not running on Saturday because of the Bear Creek 10K on Sunday, I may rest tomorrow or swim and do Thursday's 3 on Friday morning (in the low 50s). We'll see.

God Bless