August 2008 Archives

Run: 4.1 miles - Pace: 9:46/mi - Week: 4.1 miles - Total: 578.23 miles

Yes, I'm switching to the half-marathon. After my last 5K, which went really well, my calves were giving me lots of trouble. It seemed like all the next week it hurt walking up and down the stairs. So, after two weeks off, I've decided I can only realistically shoot for the half marathon. I'm going to try using Higdon's Intermediate Plan, jumping in at the appropriate week. The biggest change will be that I'll be introducing some speed work. Thankfully, between what he writes and the McMillan calculator, I should be able to do it at a smarter pace and not kill myself in the process. I think that these races this season kind of hurt me because I wasn't training anywhere near that pace. To suddenly run two minutes per mile faster can be a bit hard on the body if you aren't ready for it, I imagine.

Anyway, I thought I'd try to go out and run four miles at a fairly good clip. That first mile felt really odd. It was like I completely forgot how to run. My legs felt weird, no other way to put it. I ran those first two miles right around a 9:30 pace, but that really, really dropped off in the last mile. I was getting a side stitch and my legs did not want to cooperate too much, so I just jogged it home. I'm confident in my capacity to do well in this half-marathon, though. The pace calculator puts me right at 1:50:00 for the 13.1 miles, which is an optimistic 8:24/mi pace. I think I'll shoot for just under 2 hours, which is a 9:09/mi pace. It's crazy to think that that's faster than I just ran 4 miles, but no worries, eh? The training program also tops out around 30 miles a week, which is right where I was when I ran my 13-mile training run. Actually, it's kind of funny to think that I've already done the distance, and now I'm just going to add a bit of speed. That's cool. It'll be fun to try another 5K or 10K again after this race.

Wish me luck!

Time: 23:47 - Pace: 7:39/mi - Overall: 42/211 - AG: 3/6

I'll update those stats once the race website updates.

Good race for me today. It was fun to have a larger cheering section this time around, and I ran with Brandon, Katie, and Becky. The weather was perfect, just a shade above 60°, and I ran a much smarter race this time around. My first mile split was right at 8:00, the next mile at 7:45 and the last 1.1 miles at a 7:18 pace. Whew. After the first half mile or so, only one guy passed me, and I stuck with him all the way to the end. I thought I might be able to catch him at the end, but my kick (which I did manage to have), wasn't quite enough. The most exciting thing, though, was that I got some hardware! I was 3rd in my age group, though I was announced as 2nd because the dude who won the whole thing (with a blazing 15:45 time) was in my AG and thus didn't count, I guess. Regardless, I actually managed a place, which is pretty exciting.

Run: 2.96 miles - Pace: 10:46/mi - Week: 8.03 miles - Total: 570.45 miles

Well, I think this is the first run I haven't been able to complete a run this training season, though I'm not entirely sure. I knew I wasn't feeling good when that first mile was pretty hard. After mile two, both ankles were getting to me, but specifically the right one. I cut of the run and just went home. The pain is more on the sides and just above the ankle. I'll try icing and resting. I don't know how this will affect the rest of the week, but I'll have to take it easy for the 5K this weekend. Thankfully, I won't have a long run until the 23rd, but that'll be 15 miles, so I'll need to be in top condition. If this little injury sets me back much at all, it'll be a half marathon in October (which would be just fine).

Run: 5.07 miles - Pace: 10:10/mi - Week: 5.07 miles - Total: 567.49 miles

Good run this morning. It's great to be back in KC weather-wise. My left calf still didn't feel fantastic, and I noticed some pain in my right heel. Otherwise, the run went well and didn't give me any trouble.

Run: 13.24 miles - Pace: 11:55/mi - Week: 27.65 miles - Total: 562.42

Boy, what a run. Trouble with the calves, mostly. I had two bottles of water (about 32 oz) and then 32 more ounces of gatorade when I got back. I'm trying to think of something to say other than that it was hard. Oh, the iPod chip wiggled out after mile 11 so I had to start a new run. I was somewhat disappointed as I wanted to see all 13+ miles as one large bar in my Nike+ website. Oh well.

A visor should make things better, as a hat was pretty hot. I didn't have sport beans, so I don't know if that would have or would not have helped. I hydrated well the night before but didn't have anything to eat before I left. I took two little salt packets when I got back, and that probably helped with the recovery. Well, I'm halfway anyway, even if it was really hot and humid.

Run: 4.02 miles - Pace: 9:58/mi - Week: 14.41 miles - Total: 549.17 miles

Hot run this morning in Houston. It was 78° when I got back, but the humidity was a whopping 92%. Brutal. I had some pain, or maybe more accurately an ache, in my left calf that was most noticeable during stretching. I don't know if its just tight or still sore or what. It didn't bother me too much today, but we'll see how the half marathon goes tomorrow.

Run: 6.18 miles - Pace: 10:18/mi - Week: 10.39 miles - Total: 545.15 miles

This heat is getting to me. It was 85° with 55% humidity. I managed to get through the run pretty well, though at about 4.5 miles I just wanted to stop. This heat just kind of saps the energy. Pacing was pretty good, but I think I'm running on my toes a bit too much as my calves are really tight when I get done with the run.

I went to Gary Gribble's yesterday to try out different shoes. I just kept hoping that I'd put something on that felt amazing, but it never happened. I think I'll end up getting the newer Nike Triax when the time comes. I'm around 275 miles on these shoes and don't seem to be having too much trouble, so maybe I'll be able to go until about 400 miles on these. We'll see.

Side note, Carrie mentioned that she might join me if we got her some good shoes and a cute outfit. :)

Run: 4.22 miles - Pace: 10:07/mi - Week: 4.22 miles - Total: 538.97 miles

Nice run today, though it is flippin' hot outside. It was 83° when I left with 60% humidity. Yuck. When I got home I was dripping. Good times. I have to run outside though if I'm gonna try for a long run of 13 miles in Houston. We'll see how this week goes.

My calves were a bit tight from the 5K, but otherwise didn't bother me too much. I tried to make sure they were really stretched out after the run, though.

Time: 24:10 - Pace: 7:47/mi - Overall: 43/180 - M25-29: 5/11

Before getting into the race, I should mention that I was running this for my nephew. The race benefited the KU's children's cancer ward and neonatal ICU. My nephew Jeremy (May 16, 2006 - September 21, 2006) spent quite a bit of time in an ICU, and after seeing what those doctor's and nurses do, as well as what parent's have to go through, I knew this would be a good cause. This was for you, Jeremy.

Well, this was quite a race. First of all, it was hot. Hot hot hot. It was 80 at start time, with matching humidity. That's not good. I was sweating pretty well just from warming up. I also am not sure why they waited to start until 8:00 am. An hour might have spared us some of that sun and heat, but probably not much.

Based on time in the previous two years, I actually had a good chance to get an age group medal. I hadn't run much in the last two weeks, though, and was more hoping for a good race. Based on my 10K race on July 4, I knew I could aim for just under an 8:00/mi pace, so I started out pretty hard.

At the end of the first mile, my time was 7:24. Not good. With the heat and lack of preparation, I knew those last 2+ miles would be fun. I was right.

About midway through the second mile I just wanted to slow down and/or walk. My breathing was still too hard and my second mile split came in at 15:20. Ouch. I was just barely under 8 minutes for that mile and wondered if I'd even be able to maintain that pace.

In the end, I was just barely able to maintain that pace and even give just a little bit of kick at the finish. Still, I wasn't able to catch the three guys not far in front of me--two of whom where in my age group. So while I was right in the middle of my AG, I wasn't more than about 10 seconds from a third place finish.

The race was well organized, and I even won a small stuffed cow from Chick-Fil-A. Unfortunately, a timing error meant that we don't have official times. I'm going off of seeing my time at the finish and subtracting the 2 seconds it took me to get to the start. I was sad not to get an AG medal, but I think I ran better than I deserved to. I know I can smoke 24:00 for the 5K now, and maybe I'll even get down to that 21:00 time I did in high school. We'll see. :)