Dallas Marathon & A Look Back on 2014

Dallas Marathon

December 14th was a pretty good day to run a race.  Temps were in the high 50s and into the 60s with complete cloud coverage.  We had high humidity and a slight breeze with occasional gusts, which helped me stay cool throughout the race.  There was an increasing chance for rain after 12:00 PM however I finished well ahead of the rain.

This was my second time to Dallas Marathon, so this race had some redemption value to me.  In 2012 I finished with a time of 3:11:00 due to fairly severe pain in my knee that didn't allow me to continue running.  I was really looking forward to running the race again in 2013 but mother nature was not going to make it so and so the race was canceled due to a freak ice storm that hit the Dallas/Fort Worth region several days before the race.

Right before the race began I decided that I wasn't going to push myself to PR and just run the race at a pace I could feel really good at.  After the race started I settled in at a pace between 10:00 and 10:20 per mile.  This is a pace I am very durable at and had run when I was in the middle of my marathon training, so I knew I could easily not bonk out at any point during the race.  The only really challenge I had was that I got blisters which made it painful to run at the end of the race.  I've had trouble with blisters for several weeks now so I need to see what I can do to fix that.

I will say that I really enjoyed the route this year compared to what the route was back in 2012.  I would love to see the route used again in the future as I got to see some parts of Dallas I have never seen before, especially along Greenville Avenue.  There also was some great crowd support along much of the half marathon course.  Another stark contrast between the 2014 route and 2012 route is that at the end of the 2014 route you run downhill to the finish line for about the last .1 to .15 miles.  The 2012 half marathon route had you running uphill, past the finish line and then make "U"-turn back down towards the finish line.

This year the race felt like it was very well run.  2012 was well run as well but I think this year was better than before.  I guess we were lucky but this time the family reunion area was located outdoors.  While that's not an issue it would not have been fun to be sitting in the rain waiting for a family member to come out of the finish area.  In 2012 that area was indoors in the convention center.  To be fair there was some remodeling construction taking place so I wonder if that forced the marathon planners to move that outside?

The Dallas Marathon returns next year on December 13th, 2015.

Two Races in Eight Days

I think I just attempted the second hardest thing I've ever done next to running/training for my marathon.  I ran two half marathons in eight days.

On October 25th, I ran the Michelob Ultra Half Marathon.  The course is relatively flat with a portion of the route on the Katy Trail.  I started out where I wanted with my pace just below 9:00/mi. I was running with another runner who I had been training with the last several weeks.  I started having trouble with my left foot falling asleep.  I was concerned with not being able to "feel" things and so I pulled back a little but was still maintaining a pace I felt could get me under two hours.

About the time I reached the end of the Katy Trail my right shoulder was really hurting.  It forced me to walk for stretches in order to stretch it out.  I don't know if I was tensed up for some reason or if I over-worked my arms in one of my cross-training boot-camps.  I finished with a time of 2:01:28.  Rats, I just missed my goal time of finishing under two hours.  I felt pretty disappointed and felt I had a "bad race" despite blowing away my previous best time of 2:18:38.  However I knew I had a chance at redemption as I was running the DRC Half Marathon in a week.

So I rested.  I slept in all week while I skipped my speed classes.  I was trying to rest my legs as much as possible so that I could push hard in a race I know the course.

I love running the DRC Half Marathon.  It is the first half marathon I ever ran.  It's my Super Bowl.  The course is beautiful and relatively flat.  The weather the past two years has been very nice with temps in the 50s.

I started out with the 2:00 pace group but after just a mile or two I decided to pull ahead so that I give myself some buffer in case I run out of juice towards the end of the race.  I am running my best race ever with a consistent sub-9:00/mile pace until I get to around mile 8.5.  I develop this nasty cramp in my abs/stomache and it causes me to not be able to draw in a full breath (plus it hurt pretty bad).  I started to slow down.

Somewhere past mile 10 the 2:00 pace group passed by me and my hopes for finishing within my goal time was dashed.  At this point my legs were really achy and sore.  I flashed back to how I felt in my marathon training as this was the type of fatigue pain after running 13 miles.  I generally felt like this somewhere around mile 15 or 16.  I continued to press on though and would walk when I felt like I needed a small break.

I finished with a time of 2:06:40.  In the grand scheme of things, I took 12 minutes off my time from the last time I ran the same race.  I also have never ran races in back to back weekends like that.  I might do a couple things differently the next I try something like this.

This next week I am taking a week long training course to become certified Personal Trainer.  I will go from being the motivated to being the motivator.  What will be interesting is how I can tie getting certified as a coach with next year's goals.  I'll wait and see how the class goes and think about what I want to accomplish for 2015.

I'm also keeping an eye on the RRCA website for upcoming Running Coach certification classes.  I want running to be my focus for my Personal Training experience.

Speaking of 2015, I have updated my races page with races I am planning to run or have already signed up to run.  I am going to run fewer races next year but more of them will be out of town races.  I may still sign up for the Fayetteville Half Marathon in December 2015 in Fayetteville, AR rather than run in the Dallas Marathon.  I haven't made up my mind on that yet.

Long Time, No Post

I haven't forgotten this blog.  I'm still running and I even have a race coming up in a week and a half that I hope to PR in.  Now that I am no longer training for a marathon I don't have near the motivation to write down everything that happens to me along a journey that I'm not taking.

Since I am already so close to my 500 mile goal (484 out of 500 as of 9/11) I decided to modify the goal to 600 miles for the calendar year.  Barring an injury I don't see why I won't hit that goal either.  650 miles might be a much hard distance to reach but I think it would be still doable.

Speed training has been fun and I hope to see some positive results this fall in the races I have coming up.  Cross training (Boot Camp) has been going good as well.

I've taken the plunge and signed up for a week long class in November to become a fitness Personal Trainer.  I am taking the required CPR class this weekend.  I also want to become a running coach and get certified in that as well.  The 2014 schedule is already complete and most all the classes are full for the remainder of the year so I will just have to keep an eye out for 2015.  Hopefully I can get in a class when they schedule a session in Dallas.

Perhaps I will move my blog in the direction of overall fitness and not just running.  Running will still be a major part of the blog but not the sole subject.

I Love to Run

A while ago, I wrote an article on why I run.  Well, this article pretty much builds on that.

I love to run.  I mean that ... I love to run.

I love that I can call myself an athlete.  This is perhaps the one sport I feel I am really any "good" at.

I love that I earned every drop of sweat from every step I took on that long, hot run this past Saturday.

I love that no one can take away my accomplishments -- Crossing that finish line or my Personal Records (PRs).

I love that "runner's high" I sometimes get from a really good run.  The feeling is hard to put into words but you sometimes get one after a good, hard run.

While I don't love the pain I sometimes experience after a long run, I love that is represents me getting better, stronger, and faster.

I love that while I might run the same race year after year, it never really is quite the same race because factors like the weather are never the same.

I love that when I do run races, I'm not racing the person in front of me or beside me, I am racing against myself.  I'm racing against my best time which is currently 2:18:38 on 11/3/2013 as of the time I posted this article.

I love that I feel that running has made a better person.  I know with determination I can accomplish anything, no matter how hard it might be.

I love that the running community is a tight knit group, many of whom are supportive of each other, pushing each other to run past their abilities.

I love that when you do run races, you have random people cheering you on.  The funny signs might be the best things I look forward to other than crossing the finish line.

Here is one of my favorite slogans that definitely applies to running:

Courage to start.  Strength to endure.  Resolve to finish.

LiveWire Run Club 8/9

Summer runs can be brutal, especially in August in Texas.  Today was no exception.  I started out slow for my first mile for my warm up and then kicked it up to my goal race pace for mile two but started to ease up after mile three and four.  I was trying to keep up with some of the faster runners in our run club and did fine until I started struggling with regulating my body temperature.  I then settled into a comfortable pace of around 10:00/mile for the remainder of my run.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:21:08.9	8.40	9:40
1	9:27.8	1.00	9:28
2	8:54.3	1.00	8:54
3	9:14.7	1.00	9:15
4	9:32.7	1.00	9:33
5	10:00.1	1.00	10:00
6	10:01.1	1.00	10:01
7	10:07.2	1.00	10:07
8	10:00.0	1.00	10:00
9	3:51.1	0.40	9:38

I have a race in two weeks and I think I will be able to handle a 10:00/mile pace and finish with a time I can be very satisfied with.  Last year when I ran this same race I finished with a time of 2:48.  I had trouble keeping cool and ended up walking some.  This year the race has a completely new course and my biggest concern is shade.

In terms of my 2014 Miles Goal I am at 427 of 500 (85%).  I have 5 half marathons coming up which will give me about 65.5 miles putting me around 492.5 without any additional running between now and the end of the year.  I really think I am going to revise this goal to 600 miles.  I am running between 15 and 20 miles a week thanks to my speed class that I have twice a week.

LiveWire Run Club 8/2

I couldn't have asked for better running weather this morning.  It started out around 68 degrees.  In August.  In Texas.  After the sun came up, there was a nice light breeze to help keep things cool.  When it is nice and cool like that I try to run my hardest since I have a goal to run a half marathon in under 2 hours.  I ran within my "goal per mile times" which is between 8:45 and 9:00 per mile.  It's not a lot but I also ran a negative split this morning and did a hill repeat (at the end of my run!) while keeping my pace about the same.

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:19:25.6	8.94	8:53
1	9:09.4	1.00	9:09
2	8:48.4	1.00	8:48
3	9:03.1	1.00	9:03
4	8:40.4	1.00	8:40
5	8:52.4	1.00	8:52
6	8:45.4	1.00	8:45
7	8:54.2	1.00	8:54
8	8:48.6	1.00	8:49
9	8:23.6	0.94	8:55

All this week I have been hitting the speed training and cross training hard, so I was a little worried about how my legs might feel.  I think it is safe to say my legs were fine.

I absolutely love runs like this.  It helps keep me motivated during the summer when good runs like today are hard to come by cause it gets so hot forcing me to slow down.  I'm really enjoying my speed class as well.  I've learned some good running techniques that are helping me with my form and speed.

I can't wait to run my fall half marathons.  I am aiming to finish under 2 hours in either my October (Michelob Ultra Half Marathon) or November (DRC Half Marathon) races.

LiveWire Run Club 7/19

This week we've had some freaky weather resulting in some below average temperatures.  This made for very ideal running conditions in the middle of July here in Texas.  This morning we had temps in the upper 60s with cloudy skies.  Due to the great conditions, I was able to keep my pace under 10:00/mile and even got under 9:00/mile.

Today's goal while running was to run a Negative Split, which I feel I did a good job of executing.  I ran the first two miles by myself and then from there I ran with a group of people who help push me a little.  About halfway through the run I was feeling great and so I pushed ahead of the group and to my surprise I was running under a 9:00/mile pace!

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:05:14.1	7.02	9:17
1	9:58.7	1.00	9:59
2	9:55.8	1.00	9:56
3	9:37.2	1.00	9:37
4	8:57.0	1.00	8:57
5	9:06.3	1.00	9:06
6	8:50.1	1.00	8:50
7	8:36.7	1.00	8:37
8	:12.1	0.02	8:31

I have a goal to run a Half Marathon this year and finish in under 2 hours.  If I can maintain a pace around 9:00/mile I'll have a little wiggle room should I end up running a mile or two off my goal pace. I need to try to start out around 9:20 to 9:30/mile for the first couple miles and then speed up to 9:00/mile further into my run.  The good thing is I have some races in September and October to practice a negative split strategy and to see whether I can maintain a sub-9:00/mile pace.

I think the speed training I've been doing the past couple weeks has really helped me.  I ran a 6:53 for my mile assessment this Thursday evening in Boot Camp.  I haven't ran a sub 7:00 mile in something like a year or more.  This just inspires me even more to try to train harder to keep getting faster, even if I'm one of the more "slower" people in the class.

In closing, I'm going to post this link to a Top 75 list someone created.  It's pretty funny and I have thought some of the things on the list before.