are these my legs

One of the things about living in North Carolina is the winters are just crazy. One week you are running in two pairs of socks, winter tights, three layers on top, gloves and a hat, the next shorts and a t shirt. Today was a shorts and t-shirt day. It was 50 something degrees when I headed out and it felt hot. I had a 5 mile run with the last two miles at 9 min pace, ending at the track, and then doing 6x strides. About a mile into my run I was thinking about how easy this felt and that I must be going at a slow pace, but then I passed the 2 mile mark and saw I was right at 10 min pace. I tried to slow down in anticipation of the long uphill to come, but it just felt too good. I realized I was experiencing the elusive runner's high. It's been a while so I wasn't as quick to recognize it, but once I did I intended to enjoy it. When I got to the hill and started up, I got into a good rhythm and noticed I was still feeling good, half way up the hill was the mile 3 mark and the start of my 9 min pace. When I got there I checked and had done my 3 miles in 30:16 and it felt awesome. I had a third of a mile more up to go, then a nice downhill before the final rolling mile. I picked up the pace up the hill, then really started going on the downhill and did mile 4 in 8:30, when I hit the short and steep hill I pushed up and all I could think was, are these my legs? But I'm not one to look a gift great run in the mouth and just kept going, finished off the last mile in 8:45 and hit the track for some speed. Best run I've had this year.

Not much going here...

So it's been three weeks now since I've started my training for the year. I have yet to be inspired with anything to write about. I have been updating the mileage chart on the blog almost daily and the amounts are starting to climb. I have a whole complicated spreadsheet setup to calculate all kinds of things and am looking forward to the numbers coming in. It is the base mileage time and that usually means boring slow build up of the miles so the body can handle the intensity later. I've also updated my race list with my final list of races for the year. Yeah right, I'll believe that when I see it... but as long as I make the last one that's all that matters. I am getting excited for my first race in March. I have a love/hate relationship with the 10k and haven't done one in a couple years and with my new found running speed last year am looking forward to a new PR. My last 10k was the inside out classic hill-a-thon on Weston highway in March of 08, but my PR is 55:51 back in 2004. Based on my 8k time from November, I should be able to do around 52, so I'm hoping for the best.

and so it begins...

318 days until the beach to battleship iron distance event. The fact that it's not called an ironman is one of the reasons I am doing the event. It's not a branded event, and thus I don't have to commit to it a year in advance, it won't sell out in 1 day, won't cost an arm and a leg, and won't be filled with 2000 people. I won't go into all the details about how much I dislike what is going on with the leadership at usa tri and how they are trying to get triathlon to be a more mainstream sport and ruin it like the NFL ruined football by making it more about the money and less about the sport. The owners of the ironman brand have been doing a great job of that for a while now and I don't see an end with their events selling out so fast even though the fees are going up and the quality going down people are still flocking to it. That at least is a good thing.
With my daughter turning 7 next year I suspect this will be my last chance for the next 10 or so years that I will be able to selfishly put in the hours to train for an ironman so it's now or wait and since you really never know what is going to happen I am going to do it now. I'll be tracking all my training miles on the blog and hope to update it regularly. Even though my training for this really started over 10 years ago, this years training started today with an easy 1 mile swim.

2009 Recap

I started off the year with a goal to complete the national marathon in March. I had been training since November, doing long runs in the cold, rain, snow, cold rain, you name it I ran it in over the winter. I had logged a couple runs ~20 when I started my taper and my right hip started acting up. Well it had been acting up for some time, but now it was affecting my running and a quick trip to the ortho yielded a cortisone shot and 4 weeks no running. So there went the marathon and first half of the year...

After recovering from the hip problem, I had an awesome sprint tri at white lake in May, I was in third for master Clydesdales until getting passed by 2 guys in the final quarter mile. I stayed with the second guy that passed me and he just got me at the line. After that I knew it was time to work on run speed. At the end of may I decided to do the woodlake sprint tri again. I had a great race there last year and was looking forward to an even better race this year. The race was going great until the run when the dreaded stomach issues hit, but at least I finished...

Well at least the 2nd half of the year was amazing.

July 4th I did a 5k in Virginia and got a new PR on a tough hilly course.
September came and I got 2 new PR's. Did a 1 mile run in 7:06 and a 10 mile run in 1:28:07. Never had done either of those distances, so the PR is not as important, but still very good times for me.
In October I had two more 5k's and got two new PR's. The first 5k was a bit of a let down as I really wanted to break 25 at this race, but fell a bit short. But the 2nd one the weather was very friendly and I blew away the 25 mark by 20 seconds.
Next up the Thanksgiving day 8k. I've done this race the past 3 years and each year have taken 2 minutes off my time. This year was no different and a new 8k PR was born.
I decided that since I was running so well I should do a half marathon and go for a PR in that too. On to December and the Mistletoe half marathon. 30 degree temps and rain. Broke 2 hours for the first time ever and a 12 minute PR.
that just leaves my 10k PR waiting to be broken, Looks like it will have to wait until March. For now it's time to relax till January and just have fun.
So while the first half of the was not looking good, a little goal adjustment and some consistency saved the year.

Entitled

I just have to get this off my chest. I want to write up my year recap, but this is really buggin me so it has to come first so I can move on with my life. Last Saturday 12/5/09 I did the mistletoe half marathon in Winston-Salem NC. After the race I got an email from active.com asking me to go rate the event, I waited a few days and decided to go out and write some comments. I followed the link to here http://www.active.com/running/winston-salem-nc/mistletoe-5k-and-half-marathon-2009 and read some of the comments. Most were positive, but I was surprised with the number of people wanting the race to be chip timed. The half marathon had about 800 finishers and the 5k had about 900. I was surprised at the turnout considering how bad the weather was, but also impressed that so many would show up even in those conditions. The chip time is not used for rankings or for official times but in larger races where it takes a long time to get to the start it is a nice benefit. I started mid pack of the half and it took me 2 seconds to get over the start line. We were able to use the whole road since we didn't have to be crammed into a start corral to make sure we went over a mat to start our chip time. I'm not sure of the actual dollar amount, but chip time also increases the cost to run a race. While that bothered me slightly it wasn't really what set me off. After I left my comments another runner 'lady Runner 1959' left hers and that is what got me down this path. She gave the race 2 stars out of 5 and complained about everything. The post race party, the music was too loud, the food was too spread out. She said the course was too difficult, the weather was terrible, she criticized the volunteers "They may not have wanted to be in the cold wet weather but they volunteered to work like we paid to run". She says we should have gotten an award for finishing, they were handing out ribbons, but I guess she finished too late or just didn't see them handing them out. Then she says "We should have gotten what we paid for."

You paid between 25 - 35 dollars for this race depending on if you were a YMCA member and how early you signed up. I looked up the Rock n Roll half in Virginia beach and it costs between 85 and 125. This race offered use of the YMCA locker rooms and showers before and after the race, the Rock n Roll offers port a johns. This race donates proceeds to local children's charities, I could not find anywhere that Rock n Roll donates any of it's entry fees. This race had on site child care if you called ahead, Rock n Roll has nothing like it. The course was well marked, there were arrows on the ground at every turn. They had the course maps available on the web so you could see the elevation gains before signing up to determine if it might be too hard for you. They had maps at sign in that you could have taken with you so you wouldn't get lost. They had better food and drinks after than most races in this price range which only offer bananas and water.

What do you think your $30 pays for? An escort in a golf cart that you can sit in when you get tired. It's a race, it's up to you to know the course and prepare yourself. All those things you are asking for, chip timing, finishers medals, more "workers" giving directions on course, they all cost money. If you want all that, pay your $110 and go race in Virginia beach with 10,000 other runners.

For $30 this race far exceeded any expectations I had for it.

The only thing you are entitled to is a big kick in the ASS!

Mistletoe Half Marathon Race Report

So before I begin let me say this race is well run. the YMCA does a great jog, the volunteers were awesome, they had someone at every mile yelling out the splits, there were even people out on the streets cheering us on in the cold rain. The course is not easy, but it is rolling and there is really only one tough climb mixed in with all the rest. You run through some nice neighborhoods, and Wake Forest University, but the best part is the last 5k is mostly downhill and then when you get back there are a ton of people to cheer you home. The Y also allows you to shower after and provides towels. This is the 26th year for this race and the community really supports it. I would definitely recommend it.

I wanted to get that out before my race report as it might appear that I had a bad race, but really I had one of the best races of my life, only it sucked. The reason why it was one of the best is because it sucked so bad and I still hung on to break my 2 hour goal by 1:12, and broke my old half marathon PR by 12 minutes. It gives me confidence to know I can overcome all that sucking and still perform. In better conditions I'm sure my time could have been 1 or 2 minutes faster, but I don't think that would be as satisfying in the end. ( at least that's what I keep telling myself ).

So without further adieu, on to the action.
Woke up early and had my normal Grape nuts and raisin breakfast at the Greensboro Sheraton. I had a 30 minute drive ahead of me so I decided to leave at 6:45 to arrive around 7:15 for the 8:15 race. When I got up it wasn't raining yet, but after watching the radar on the weather channel I knew it was only a matter of time. So waited for the normal bathroom activities and headed out. Arrived right on time and the rain started. Got my race packet, noticed it wasn't in the 20's like they kept saying all week, but in the upper 30's, so I changed out of my running pants and into shorts. Good idea. I left my jacket on with my long sleeve shirt, bad idea, but I was cold. I kept feeling like I needed to go to the bathroom again, but every time I tried, nothing, not a good sign as I would find out on mile 4. At 8 I headed out for a quick warm up then lined up for the start. I will try to look back at the plan I did at the beginning of last week to see how I did. But I can tell you that pre race plan I did saved my ass on this one.

splits:
mile 1: 9:07 - plan says hold back at the start and ease into the race ~9 min pace. Worked out perfectly, but I noticed I was too hot and starting to sweat. So off came the jacket and I found a spot on the return route by a tree where I could pick it up on the way back.

mile 2: 9:30 - 18:37 - this looked to be one of the hardest miles on the route and it probably was. The people were still going by me so it was hard to hold back, but I wanted to do btwn 9:15 - 9:30. Felt like I was doing 9:15, but ended up with a 9:30. But still I felt confident as I was on plan and running well now that the jacket was off.

mile 3: 8:52 - 27:30 - I wanted to do an 8:50 and then keep that till the end, so I was really happy with this mile and didn't freak out. Passed some nice houses and realized that the turn around was not at the end of this road as it appears on the map, but at a traffic control circle instead which explains the mileage discrepancies.

mile 4: 8:54 - 36:24 - Wanted to stay sub 9 and I did but my stomach was now starting to grumble and groan like I really needed to find a porta john. But we were in the middle of a subdivision and I didn't spot any, in fact I wouldn't see any until the finish. I was hoping the stomach would settle down if I slowed a bit.

mile 5: 9:07 - 45:31 - Went back to 2 hour pace in hopes of releasing some stress off the GI issues, but no luck. I was happy to see all the people coming out of their houses and cheering on the runners, but not happy about having to use a lot of energy holding in something that really wanted out.

mile 6: 8:54 - 54:26 - We cross over coliseum blvd here and the path flattens out and ends with a long downhill, didn't really pick up the pace, just the downhill allowed a quicker time. I was really just trying to keep it close to 9 min pace and not blow up. We ran on a nice trail here, it was all paved, but a not too wide so when the leaders ran by on the way back I could reach out and trip them. Did some cheerleading here for the leaders and that took my mind off the problem for a bit, but then mile 7...

mile 7: 9:42 - 1:04:09 - Worst mile for me, it started with an uphill coming off the trail and then a water stop. I decided to get some water and walk a bit hoping it would help. but once again, no luck. And when I started running again it just felt horrible. I remembered my prerace plan was to be under 64 minutes here, so I was only off by 9 seconds here, so I knew I still had a chance to break two hours if I would just keep it close and hang on and hope the pain would go away. Mean while the rain had finally stopped, but that meant it was going to get colder from here on in. I was soaked from the first hour and the wind started picking up and now to go along with the stomach, I was freezing and my jacket was all the way back at mile 1. This mile was the low point for me. I really wanted to stop and walk the whole way back. the only thing that kept me going was listening to the other people and watching everyone else struggle to keep pace. I kept repeating now over and over to myself, just keep it close.

mile 8: 9:13 - 1:13:22 - backed off from the sub 9 pace and it seemed to workout. Of course now we are on wake forest campus and on the flatter section of the course. I knew I was supposed to go for an 8:40 here, but really this was the best I could do. I tried to latch on to some other runners here, but I was unable to find a steady runner, it was always pass them going up the hill and they would pass me going down, or I would never see them again. I got some inspiration from an older guy, 70 something I think still out there running and he was talking to a friend and said they last time it rained during this race was in 96, and that was his first year doing it. 9:13 was close so it kept me going into mile 9.

mile 9: 9:11 - 1:22:34 Now when the stomach cramps would leave me I would pick up the pace and try to make up some time, unfortunately, they always came back and I knew the next mile was going to be tough. I was hoping to get a gel, but I knew that would just be suicide, so it was just water at the aid stations. my core muscles were tired now from constant activation but I dared not let them out. I did back off a bit at the end of this mile because I knew mile 10 would be tough and I needed to keep it low 9's if I wanted to get my goal.

mile 10: 9:11 - 1:31:46 - no holding back on this one, started off going down to the trail back, but then a long uphill, I knew it was make or break on this one and I needed to get down under 1:33. If I could leave myself with a 27 minute 5k, I knew with the downhill finish that I would have a chance. The last half of this mile was uphill, with the steepest hill, IMO, on the course. I passed a ton of people on that hill which fueled my confidence. My legs were not feeling bad and my stomach issues seemed to be subsiding. At the top of the hill I felt the best I had the whole race so far. I made it at 1:31:46, so I knew a 28 minute 5k was all I needed. I thought I can do that no problem, I just ran a 24:40 5k a month ago so 28 is a piece of cake.

mile 11: 8:51 - 1:40:37 - my whole attitude changed here, I started talking to people again, cheering them on, saying weird things that people say to each other after running 10 miles. It became fun again. the stomach problem came back only 1 more time on this mile, but after that it was gone forever. 8:51, fastest split so far, and now with 2.1 miles remaining I only had to do 9 minute pace and I was in.

mile 12: 8:33 - 1:49:10 - This mile is just about all downhill. I was now passing people left and right, I knew most of them at this point were all trying to break 2 hours. I would encourage as many as possible and had some tag along with me for a while, but my legs were starting to respond. I actually had to hold back. I had nothing to eat since 6 am and we were going on 10 now so I didn't want to bonk at the end after having my goal in the bag. At the end of this mile came upon my jacket. I told myself to leave it if the goal was too close, but with 1.1 miles and 10:50 seconds I thought no problem. I bent down to get the jacket and my hamstrings were this close to cramping up. That was a close one, next time leave it.

mile 13: 8:40 - 1:57:51 - This was actually a tough mile for me. I wanted to ease up to a 9 minute pace, but I was too nervous and the Adrenalin was kicking in. I could hear the cheers from a half mile away, but I was seriously on the verge of bonking. I was getting light headed, started having the numb feeling in my legs, but I was not going to let this slip away from me so I keep my pace steady, kept picking off runners, but let others go by. I did not need to chase, just finish my race.

mile 13.1: 0:56 - 1:58:47 - Now it was definitely in the bag, I wanted to pick it up here, but realized it was as up as it was going to get and cruised across the line. Walked a bit to cool down, then went to the car to get some dry clothes to change into. I was really frozen and felt like I was going to die. The guy next to me in the locker room must have agreed with me since at one point he looked at me and said "Are you ok?" I said sure, he said "You're not going to get sick are you?", I laughed at him and said, "oh no, I've been much worse than this, but this has to be the coldest and most miserable I can remember being". He says "so you didn't have a good race then?" and I replied, "I think it was on of my best". I think it was then that he knew I was nuts...

Total Time: Watch - 1:58:47 / Official - 1:58:48

Mistletoe Half Marathon race plan

So I was running with Cindy on Saturday and telling her that she should map out her half marathon on the usatf map site( http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/ ) or another that allows you to see the elevation and do it mile by mile so you can get a sense of the elevation changes. I also told her I used to write out a plan for each mile and review it each day leading up to the race so mentally I knew what was coming on each mile. I haven't done the writing it out part in a while because I've gotten better at the visualization so I now can just map out the route and save it and just go back and view it each day. I've decided that I would write out again and do it as blog post so I can go back and look at it after the race and compare the plan to what I actually did to see if/how it helped. I just noticed the Hybrid functionality will allow you to see the satellite image and street names at the same time, making the visualization even better. Note, while mapping this, the mile markers on the mapping site do not line up with the markers on the race map, but here goes...

Mile 1: Looks fairly flat, starts outside the YMCA bldg. Remember to hold back a bit and not get caught up in the adrenaline of the start. Want to do a 9:00 minute pace here to make sure I'm warmed up before getting to any bigger hills. Elevation goes up about 70 feet with a small bump at the .5 mile mark.

Mile 2: This mile is mostly uphill, about a 125 feet of elevation change up with only two small downs to recover. Looks like we will be running by some nice houses to help distract from the climb. Want to remember to not push too hard this early in the race on the hills, so a 9:15 - 9:30 would be good here.

Mile 3: Is a rolling out and back so after recovering a bit, need to get into race pace. If I can hold an 8:50 for this mile I should be able to keep that up the rest of the way, if not I need to remember to be more conservative. Remember the goal is to break 2:00 for the half and that takes a 9:08 +- a second or two so if you're not feeling it, don't push it.

Mile 4: Another rolling mile, but not a lot of elevation change. Should be able to hold a sub 9 here. Looks like a hill is starting at the end of this mile as we approach the turn onto Forest Drive. Warwick and Arbor would be a good place to drop any extra clothes so I can pick it up on the way back.

Mile 5: Oaklawn is a very long straight road for the first .75 of this mile, looks fairly flat with a false flat up, then a quick down up down over the last half mile. Might be a good place for a gel if they have a water stop somewhere on this mile.

Mile 6: Looks like we are entering Wake Forest University here. If I didn't get my gel on mile 5, definitely do it here as this mile so far appears to be the easiest of the bunch, a slight up, followed by a long gradual down. Should be on sub 9 mile pace now if feeling good, otw, stay at 9 - 9:05.

Mile 7: This appears to start off on a trail similar to the umstead fire roads before reconnecting to streets on the other side of WFU. Starts with a long climb then a short down and finally flat. Stay strong on this hill as the downhill after will allow plenty of time to recover. Do a time check here, should be less than 64 minutes, if not, time to pick it up. Also looks like we will be crossing with the leaders who will be on their way back at this point so remember to cheer them on.

Mile 8: This is an out and back on Faculty Rd. the out is gradual up, the back is gradual down. Good time to gauge how I am feeling and try an 8:40 if feeling good or if just holding on, stay with a 9 to save it for the end.

Mile 9: Heading into the meat of the university, take some time and look around to distract from the pain that will start any time now. Once again this mile starts with a hard uphill, but followed by a long gradual down, if stomach allows take a gel here, stay strong on the first part, try to pass some people if possible.

Mile 10: This is an important mile, really pay attention to how the body is feeling during this mile. It starts with a nice downhill, then ends with a long uphill. We are now back on the trail and the return trip to the start. If you see the trailing runners keep cheering them on. At the end of this mile do another time check to see what kind of 5k is needed to get your goal.

Mile 11: at the start of this mile we have a 5k to go. Anything under 1:33 minutes is good, meaning we have a 27 minute 5k to break 2 hours. If I'm feeling good, pick up the pace, if bad, just keep it steady and hang on. After the long uphill end to mile ten we have an easy downhill to recover once again. Then we leave WFU and head back into the city.

Mile 12: This mile looks nice. a couple climbs, but mostly downhill. Time to pick up the pace. Near the end of this mile keep an eye out for the sweatshirt I dropped at mile 4. If time looks tight, don't stop for it, just keep going. With two miles to go should be able to keep at least an 8:45 pace.

Mile 13: Last mile before the finish, adrenaline should be kicking in now, but don't start to sprint yet, control the pace, pick it up, but don't over do it, there is still a mile to go. This mile is mostly downhill, so an 8:30 or better is in order. That is, if the legs are feeling good still of course.

Mile 13.1: Looks like there is a little bit of a hill before the end, push up this hill, make it a goal to pass some people here then when you see the finish line give it all you got.

When I mapped it out, http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=338503, it came out to 13.4 miles and the mile markers didn't quite line up with what was on the event websites map, so I'm a bit nervous about that part, but it is registered as an official half marathon on usatf site, so I'm hoping the mapping software is just off.


The McMillan running calculator, ( http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm ) says that based on my 5k and 8k times I should be able to break 1:55, but my original goal was 2 hours so that is still my goal. I will adjust my race, before and during based on weather and race day events but since I have a 5 minute cushion I feel very confident that I will break 2 hours finally for the half marathon and should beat it by even more.

Current half marathon PR = 2:10:16, back in 2007 so I'm psyched to get yet another PR broken this year.