Who can it be now?

Yes I am still alive. My running has been dead though. No good reasons, just one bad excuse after another: my back was hurting when I ran, so I backed off for a few days; then I got a nasty cough/head cold/flu/allergy thingy that still hasn't completely gone away; then we went on vacation and I didn't make time to run, and on and on and on.....

So, I am trying to work my way back into the groove. It is absolutely amazing and scary to me how easy it is to fall out of routine. For me, one day, became one week, then one month in a flash. I still have the desire/want/need to run, bike and get in shape. I'm just fighting the demons that seem to always keep me from doing those things.

Still reading everyones' posts though for inspiration. Keep up the good work. I hope to post some workout details from the weekend on Monday.

Happy Running!

Lite Week

One of these days I'm going to be able to throw up some really huge numbers, like the rest of you bloggers. But not for last week. Between weather, work and what have you I had another light week of running. Tuesday was an easy 3 miler. Thursday was a hard 3 miler, in that my lower back and side were killing me. Not in an injury sort of way. My lower back often hurst when I am on my feet for long lengths of time, and this was how it was hurting. My side hurt like I went out too fast and just tired myself from the get go. I had to take a couple of walking breaks, and still managed a 29:00 total for the three miles. That tells me the first half was way too fast for my conditioning level. We went to Disneyland this weekend, so I was only able to get in a real quick jog Saturday morning before we headed into the park. But the kiddos had a blast at the magic kingdom so it was OK to sacrafice some running time. I've got a ton of work to get done this week, between weeding all the flower beds, working on the family truckster, and tackling taxes. Hopefully I can squeeze a few runs in.

Happy Running

PEAK Valentines 10k Race Report

Well I did it! Got my "first" (last one I ran was ~ 1990) 10k under my belt.

Weather on Saturday morning was cool but clear. We received a nice break from all the rain, and by 9AM race time it was sunny and probably in the low 50's. By the end of the race I was getting a little warm even. I'm still working on developing my race day preparations, so this morning I tried a small glass of juice and a Hammer nutrition bar by 6AM. I was a little hungry by race time, but I downed a Hammer Gel 15 minutes before the race and I felt fine. There was a couple of hundred runners by my estimate, and I lined up in the middle of the pack.

After brief race instructions I couldn't hear we were off. As usual I tried to start off slow, but soon found myself running an 8:00 pace trying to get into a clear section. Shortly I was able to settle in to an open area and was holding a target 9:30 pace.

In the first half mile I came upon a friend of mine named Scott. Scott is a former world class skier, hiker, athlete. About a year and a half ago he was having severe pain in his left foot, to the point he couldn't wear his ski boots. Several doctors visits later and they determined that Scott had a very rare form of cancer in his foot. Although they had determined that the cancer seemed to be localized to his foot, because this form is so deadly they decided to not take any precautions, and after several rounds of chemotherapy they amputated his left foot. Now here he is competing in 5k's running with a prosthesis. His attitude is simply amazing, and makes you realize when you're struggling a little bit that you better be able to reach down and find a little strength. I have never once heard Scott complain about the disease that changed his life, nor does he sit around and mope. He still hikes, runs, and mountain climbs. Thanks Scott for showing me how we should all look at and enjoy life! Scott is still "learning how to run", but he posted an amazing 37:00 for his 5k. He tells me his goal is to get back down to the 25:00 times!

The first 5k of the race was pretty uneventful. We were doing a loop around the CSUB campus, and where the 5k'ers turned off for the finish, us 10k'ers were heading back out for another slightly different loop. I have to tell you, it is very hard to watch all those 5k runners peel off to the finish, people cheering, loud speakers blaring, and know you have to keep going for another 3 miles. But I kept my head going in the right direction and told myself I was going to finish this thing. Looking at G I did the first 5k in about 29:46.

The second loop was a lot tougher. Not because of the course. The loops were about as flat as you can get, but of the several hundred runners I would guess only about 40 or so did the 10k. So as slow as I was running I was virtually alone during the whole second loop. I had one runner about 50 yards in front on me, and three runners about 20 yards behind me. I tried hard to keep my 9:30 - 10:00 pace going, but around mile 4 I was starting to feel it a little in my lungs. This is the farthest I had run and I knew my aerobic threshold would be challenged. At each of the next three water breaks I slowed to a walk and gave myself 30 seconds to catch a little oxygen, get my water in, then resume walking. In total I walked about 1:30 of the race. Not quite my goal, but not horrible either at this stage of my training.

The last quarter mile I got the finish adrenaline and picked up the pace, finishing unofficially in 1:03:51 for 6.3 miles by G. Must have wasted and extra 0.1 miles weaving. Race results haven't been posted yet, so I am not sure of the official numbers. I do know the overall winner of the 10k ran in 35:00 minutes +/-. I know that's not world class by any means, but still, Wow!

This race gave me some good inspiration, and showed me that I can do anything I put my mind to it. I still want to eventually conquer a marathon, but I think I need to focus my training the next six months or so on improving my conditioning and speed. I need to get my race pace down into the 8:30's so I can feel like I am actually racing, and not just out for long slow jogs. While I don't really care about competing per se, I do want to be able to see myself improve, and not always be at the back of the pack in these races.

Unofficial results: 6.31 miles, 1:03:51, 10:06 pace.

Hope everyone had a great Valentines Day! We celebrated with a big post race lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant (I earned that Chile Verde!), lounging, and watching 'Zack and Miri' once the kiddos hit the sack. My sweetheart got me a new pair of headphones for my iPod, and some new running shirts!

Happy Running

Race Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the CSUB PEAK Valentines 10k run. I'm still going to attempt the 10k, but I am planning on treating it more like a training run than a race. I've set a goal to finish in one hour, so I am going to try and maintain a real nice slow 9:30 to 10:00 pace the first several miles. If I am feeling good around mile 4 I may try and slowly pick up the pace and get down to 8:30 for the last 1.5-2.0 miles. We'll see. My ultimate goal is to just be able to run the entire race without walking. Time is not really that important to me at this stage.

Hopefully I'll have a good race to report tomorrow. Good luck to everyone else racing this weekend, and those working on their working on their training. I know a lot of people have some nice long runs planned this weekend, hopefully the weather cooperates. We're supposed to have a window tomorrow morning, but I'm preparing to run in downpours if this morning was any indication.

Happy Running!

Tempo Attempt

We had a nice break from the rain today. Snow on the surrounding mountains was all the way down to the base of the foothills. Absolutely beautiful. I'm also digging the fact that it is staying lighter longer. After work I did a quick change into my gear and headed out in the fading daylight for an attempt at a three mile tempo run. I haven't gotten these down yet. I also haven't tried them much. Anyhow the plan was for about a one mile warmup, a one mile temp pace, and another mile to cool down. I was running through some orchards near the house (closest "trails" available) and wanted to get out of them before dusk, so I started the tempo at about 0.8 miles. Kept a good pace (felt liek it at least) until 2.0 miles, then tried to slow it down for the finish. You can see by my splits I didn't do a very good job of a defined tempo:

Mile 1 - 9:32
Mile 2 - 9:00
Mile 3 - 9:38

I definitely felt like I was running faster for the second mile, but I need to try this on a track where I can do some easily measured intervals and work on my pacing. It still felt good to get out there, and it was just getting completely dark as I finished so that was cool too.

Totals 3.0 miles, 28:13, 9:24 pace.

For now the 10k is still on for Saturday. Rain is forecast, could be interesting.

Happy Running

10k is On!

OK, so I'm feeling a little good right now. Amazing how a good run can lift your spirits. I was able to run with a friend of mine today, the first time I've run with someone else other than the 5k races. We were chatting away and before I knew it we had knocked off 1.5 miles. It might have helped that we were on a completely new route for me, but I'm convinced that the company makes the time and miles go by quicker. My buddy was hurting a little today, so we mixed in some walking with our slow jog pace, and in the end we knocked out 6.19 miles! I'm thrilled. Even though according to G we walked about 1.9 miles, I felt good the entire time, and probably could have run some more. This have given me new confidence for next weekend, and I am going to attempt the 10k. Even if I have to walk some of it, I know I can do it.

For the record, in total we did 6.19 miles in 1:19:20 total for a 12:48 pace.

On another front, I went by one of our mega sporting goods stores yesterday, mainly to see how a pair of Asics fit me so I could order them online. We do not have any speciality running stores here, and all the big mega stores carry everything at full retail price. I just have a very hard time giving $140 to a big box store for a pair of shoes that I may or may not like. Anyways, they had the Asics Gel Kayano-14 (last years model) on sale for $99.99. Not bad, but definitely cheaper online. I tried on a pair and the left shoe just didn't feel good. The manager was working the shoe department and asked me how they felt. I told him, and he suggested I try another pair, maybe this one had something wrong or something. Of course they didn't have another pair in my size, so he gives me the new Kayano-15's to try. They felt great. But I tell him I'm not looking to spend $140+tax for a new pair of shoes. He then offers to price match them down to the $99.99 since they don't have another of the 14's in my size. Holy discount! These run $129.99 at best I've found on the internet stores. So what else could I do, but today I took my new Kayano 15's for a their first test and they were great! I could have a new favorite shoe!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Happy Running!

Marathon!

Well, sort of. As of tonight's weak, quick run I have hit 26.9 miles for the year so far. Pathetic I know. I totally have the desire, I am just really struggling with finding the time to get out there. I have been staying up late a lot lately, and that is making it extra hard to try and get out of bed early in the AM. I know, excuses, excuses. I've been working quite a bit at home in the evenings on a little side project, and that is what's keeping me up. Even tonight when I went out right after work I felt guilty because I'm not at home with the family after being at work all day. I'm just going to have to really push myself to get up in the AM. I wish I had a training partner, that would force me to get out of bed. Oh well, I guess this all has to come in steps. I'm also thinking my 10k next weekend is going to get downgraded to a 5k. I just don't feel like I have the training in, and I don't want to walk the whole thing, or injure myself. We'll see how it goes until then.

Wed AM - 1.95 miles, 19:05, 9:46
Thur PM - 2.01 miles, 20:03, 9:58

I should mention that I did some speedwork in tonight's run. Just a couple of unplanned sprints followed by some walking in between. Not very organized or thought out, but it felt kind of good to push the pace up, although I think I went a little too fast. Guess I need to work on my training plans as well.

Happy Running