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.

July 4

I had a really good run this morning.  I may not have run my fastest but I felt good in so many different ways when we were done.  Running with a partner always helps make the run go better and sometimes can even be therapeutic.  After I was done I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and had some clarity on where to go with something that has been a major cause of stress in my life.

Something else that helped make this run even more special was that I hit, in my opinion, a major milestone.  Two miles into my run I hit the 1,000 mile mark since I started running about two years ago.

LiveWire Run Club 6/28

I promise I haven't forgotten this blog but I was out of town the past two weekends and so I didn't get any chances to run.

With that in mind, I was a little worried about how this morning's long run was going to go.  I ran an average pace of 10:09/mi which is faster than what it felt like.  My feet felt heavy for much of the run.  The weather was cloudy but it was very humid with temps in the high 70s.  I force myself to run slower because I am very concerned about overheating since I don't always handle the heat well.

With the summer heat I like to focus less on my speed and try to work more on my form and whatnot.  This morning we ran some hill repeats and so I worked on trying to bound up the hill with good form.  Going uphill you should run up on the balls of your feet, which actually puts more spring in your step.  Going downhill you should lean forward, shorten your stride a little, increase your cadence some, and let the hill pull you down the road/trail/sidewalk.

For more regular terrain I just try to focus on my stride, strike, and cadence.  I want to really maintain a steady cadence and shorten/lengthen my stride as needed.  The thing about lengthening my stride too much is I need to increase my turnover otherwise my cadence has to slow down.  Thankfully in my LiveWire Adrenaline class that is one of things were we focused on this week.

Finally, I set a goal for the year several weeks ago to run 500 miles this year.  As of this blog entry I have logged 345 out of 500 miles, which puts me at 69% complete.  I feel this is very doable especially since I have half marathon races in August, September, October, November, and December which means, barring injury or illness, I have about 66 more guaranteed miles which would put me at around 410 miles.

I'm going to try to run on the 4th since I won't have a chance to run the next two weekends.

LiveWire Run Club 6/7

Today was (what I consider) my first real run since my marathon.  I've run smaller distances like 3 or 4 miles but today was my first "long" run I've done in several weeks.  It felt great, especially since I got to run with people.  It sounds weird but during much of my marathon training I was running solo.  The group I ran with all run at about my pace so they helped push me and I helped them push the pace.

Now that I am finished training for my marathon I want to change gears towards finishing a half marathon in under 2 hours.  To do that, I figure I need to average better than 9:15/mile.  This morning I ran a 9:28/mile average and that was even with our group running slower to allow for someone to catch up.

It was warm this morning but the heat didn't bother me too much since I've been doing cross training in the evenings where the temps have been in the 90s lately.  Running in this heat should help me with the Hottest Half in August.  Last year I really seemed to struggle and I'd like to see if I can do better this time around.

I'm excited about my slate of races coming up.  I have a race in the months of August, September, October, November, and December.  I've been training in a speed class lately called Adrenaline offered by LiveWire Fitness.  I've learned some cool techniques like bounding on hills which I feel is helping me become a better runner.  Here's a good article that gives five different techniques to make you a better runner, especially when trying to conquer a hill.

I am going to work on my account of the Mountains2Beach Marathon this weekend.  I've been extremely busy since I ran the race and haven't had time to sit down and write down everything about the race.  I'll try my best to get it done tomorrow morning.