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 8/2

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.

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.

Week 20 - 8 Miles

So today was my last training run before the Mountains2Beach Marathon.  This morning was an easy 8 miles.  The weather was very nice -- not too hot and not too cool.  Hopefully this is the last time I have to wake up for a 5:30 run on a Saturday for a while.

I felt great the entire run.  Didn't have hardly any trouble with my legs warming up.  No cramps or anything else that would slow me down.  Just the road/sidewalk, my music, and me.  I haven't had a chance to have a great run like this in a long time because the distance has taken a lot of the enjoyment out it.

I'm have two goals with my first marathon.  First and foremost I want to finish.  That is what is most important to me.  Second, I'd like to finish in under 5 hours.  I'm not sure this is doable but if I do finish within that time, I'll be very happy.

I also tried the Garmin Connect mobile app where I link my watch to my phone.  It worked for the most part but my watch or phone kept losing the connection and so there are gaps on the route.  I'm going to try to go on another training run Monday evening and see if switch arms my phone is on helps any.  I don't like wearing things on my left arm but the distance from the watch to the phone will be much smaller, so maybe that will help with the disconnects.

I feel excited and a little nervous about this race.  I feel like I am as ready as I can be.  I've been hitting my cross training really hard the past couple months and my long runs have been challenging yet I've been able to handle them for the most part.  The only thing I am worried about is my endurance. My physical ability really drops off after 13 miles so it will be interesting to see how I do for a full 26 miles.  The best key to a good run will be to not start out too fast.  I've been running between 10:30/mile and 11:00 for the most part so if I stick to that pace I think I will do fine.

Week 17 - 20 Miles

This week was a much, much better run.  I didn't have any stomach problems since I didn't use the same stuff that upset my stomach the past two weekends.  I still have to walk some after the 13 mile mark as I very much have the endurance to run a half marathon.  Past that and the distance becomes a lot more cumbersome and taxing.  It might be good for me in training runs to run past 13 miles so that I can stretch my endurance to longer distances.  That might help make marathon training be less of a beat down, both mentally and physically.

My marathon is just a little more than 4 weeks away.  I'm both excited yet terrified.  I am very certain I will be able to finish it but I still get freaked out by the distance.

We're at the point in the training runs where we start tapering.  Next week we are scheduled to run 10 miles!  I am running in a 5k and so while I want to try to be my previous best of 27:15, I really think it might be best to just run at a pace that is comfortable for me that doesn't put too much stress on my body.  If I were to run a 9:30/mile pace I'd be very happy.  After the race I think we will be finishing the route with a 7 mile run in the area.

Well, I am starving after burning 1,800 calories this morning and so I am going to sign off to raid the fridge.

Week 13 - 16 Miles

I had a really good run today.  I ran with a new pair of Brooks Ghosts and I did not have any trouble with my Achilles tendon, so I think I found what was causing the problem.  Glad I seem to have that behind me but I will stay play it safe in the mean time.  As soon as I post this I'm going to ice my ankle and roll my legs.

I ran my longest distance ever - 15.83 miles.  I also ran my fastest 13.1 at 2:14.  Very good day indeed.  If I could run with that kind of effort next weekend at the Big D Half Marathon I'll PR for sure however the weather isn't looking good (rain).

I really couldn't ask for better conditions for running.  It was a nice, brisk 48 degrees this morning with a relatively light wind.  It's a little cold starting out and so long as the wind isn't blowing too hard, I felt great temperature wise.  It was nice watching the world wake up while I was running through the neighborhoods of Plano.

It's runs like this that makes me think running this marathon in May is doable.  I hurt and am tired but I feel like I can do it.

Fueling

I tried some new fuel sources and they seemed to work out well for me.  Before I left the house, I had a bottle of the chocolate Generation UCAN protein drink.  It didn't give me any stomach issues and I felt like I had good energy throughout my run.  I'm going to go back to my local Luke's Locker and pick up some more packets for future runs.  If this works out I'll get the canister.

I mixed the packet with about 16 oz of water the night before and put it in the fridge so that it would be nice and cold.  I guess I need to do a better job of mixing it right before drinking as it was a little grainy as I finished it off.  I struggle sometimes even eating early, early in the morning so it was nice being able to drink this and not experience a gag reflex.

I also brought several Larabars in my fuel belt that I snacked on while I ran to help keep my energy reserves up.  So far my favorite flavor is Apple.  190 calories with some really good ingredients -- nuts (almonds & walnuts), apples, cinnamon, dates, & raisins.

Dealing With an Injury -- Achilles Tendinitis

So it appears I have become injured and have come down with I believe is Achilles Tendinitis.  I have pain, especially when trying to run, in the tendon right above my ankle.  This is your Achilles tendon.  I am able to walk normally and there is really no pain when I am not do anything non-exerting, so it currently it not severe -- yet.

I suspect it occurred due to a combination of overuse and perhaps inadequate support from my shoes.  My current shoes are getting older and I just bought a new pair of Brooks Ghost 6, but I have't had a chance to phase in the new pair and phase out the old pair.

I need to sit down and think about how to approach this.  I need to continue to work on getting my mileage in for my long runs but I might see about limiting the amount of running I do during the week to in order to give my Achilles tendon as much rest between long runs.  I may eliminate almost all running in my cross training (Boot Camp) and substitute some additional leg stretches.

I found this blog about dealing with Achilles Tendinitis, which gives a personal account to one person's dilemma and what he did to overcome the injury and still run his marathon.  I hope this blog provides some decent advice on what to do to treat and continue to train for my upcoming marathon.

Here are some good articles on LiveStrong about dealing with Achilles Tendinitis:

• Achilles Tendon Warmup Exercises
• Can I Run With Achilles Tendonitis?
• A Sore Achilles Tendon After Running

I don't believe this is the end of my hopes to run a marathon right now but it certainly is a hurdle I will have to somehow overcome.  I have had injuries in the past and have overcome them but this one has happened with a short time before my marathon, which is a little more than two months away.  I just don't want this to be the reason I can't complete a marathon.

Most importantly I need to stay positive and not let this get me too far down.  I came out stronger from my last injury and will come out stronger from this injury as well.

Week 10 - 14 Miles

Today I ran the furthest I have ever run.  Started out with shin splints in my right leg and stiff muscles in the my left leg.  I ran through it but it must have taken like 5 or 6 miles before the pain completely went away.  I've given up trying to keep up with the main group as they run slightly faster than what I can maintain and still finish fairly strong.  I am trying to keep my mile time between 10:00 and 10:30.  If I could average 10:30/mile I would finish my marathon with what I feel is a respectable time of about 4 hours and 30 minutes.

Perhaps what is most interesting is that even though I was hurting pretty bad I still felt like I could run several more miles.  My hips had started hurting around mile 11 or 12 but stopped around mile 13.  At that point my legs were pretty sore but it felt like they still had some go in them.  I feel this bodes well for me in my future longer runs and in the marathon race itself.

Overall I feel pretty good about the run.  Despite the muscle pain early in the run it really didn't slow me down that much.  Perhaps the one thing I lack the most right now is the mental strength to push through hills on some of my training runs.  That is something that will just take time and might not be something I develop before my race in May but could eventually get much better at later on.  I have only been running for almost two years now, so I feel it still makes me pretty green.  I think my marathon will teach me a lot about myself that I do not know right now.

Week 8 - Cowtown Half Marathon

So I am late getting to this post due to various other things in life but here it is.

I ran the Cowtown Half Marathon today.  The course is mostly flat but there are several hills to note.

I started off doing pretty good running a 10:00/mile pace.  I wanted to start off slower in order to save myself for the end.  It was right around the 6 mile marker that I started to have problems where I started walking.  Just after the 8 mile marker I started to walk almost exclusively.  When I got towards the finish line I started running again even though my legs were completely dead and I was hurting pretty bad.

Right around the 4 mile mark there is a small hill with an elevation gain of about 45 feet or so. The largest and most challenging hill was just after the 9 mile marker and it is a pretty big hill.  You go from an elevation of about 515 feet to about 620 feet in about a tenth of a mile.  There was a another small hill right before the 11 mile mark with an elevation gain of about 25 feet.  You wouldn't know it but as you run across the Lancaster bridge you are running a gentle downhill and after you come across you start another gentle uphill.

This wasn't my best race as I finished with a time of 2:41:20.  I ran the day before the race and with the way I run, which is towards the top of my capabilities and it killed my legs.  I just couldn't keep them moving later on in the race.  I also fault the fact that I didn't have any time to eat something to give me that extra boost of energy that I have started to depend on.  Another thing I wasn't ready for was the warmer temps.  I had been training with temps in the 30s to 40s and it was something like 55 at 7 AM.

After looking at my time, it is actually only four minutes slower than my first ever half marathon which really speaks to how having a bad race only puts me four minutes behind my first ever race.

It's always discouraging to have a race like this but I wasn't going to drop out. Even if I feel somewhat defeated when I have to walk it is way better than quitting.  Maybe it's a good thing to have a bad race which helps make you appreciate the good races you do have.

Week 5 - Texas Half Marathon

So this morning I ran the Texas Half Marathon.  Temps were in the mid to low 30s, winds in excess of 10 mph.  Chance of rain.  Not ideal conditions for a run if you ask me.  Add in that I am currently fighting off a cold.  I still finished the race, all 12.6 miles.  If you're scratching your head wondering what happened to that last half mile, I'm wondering the same thing.

The course is relatively flat with only a few hills where you are running on the streets on the front half of the race.  Once I got close to the 6 mile marker we got onto the Champions Trail which is very flat.  The last time I ran on that trail was for the Wounded Warrior Half Marathon where it was raining, which resulted in portions of the trail being flooded.  Thankfully this wasn't the case this time around as I wanted to keep as much of me as possible dry so I don't get any worse off on dealing with this cold.  Before I got to mile 11 we got back onto neighborhood streets and finished the course.

There were parts of the course that were not a lot of fun to run as there was a bitter cold wind blowing into your face.  Running on the trail was nice as it seemed to be more protected and so you weren't always dealing with a stiff wind.

I can't say it's a bad course because of the weather and is a race I'd consider running again in the future.  The weather (namely the cold wind blowing in my face) is what made the race one of my less memorable races I have run.

I didn't finish with a time that I am the most happiest with (2:26:05) as I really wanted to finish with a time under 2:10.  I did still finish even with my cold slowing me down since I didn't want to get winded and then suffer a cough attack while on the course.  I am hopeful that I will eventually get over this cold and maybe can do much better when I have another race in a couple weeks -- The Cowtown Half Marathon.

For this race I tried out my new Garmin Forerunner 620.  It's a pretty sweet watch that tracks way more data points than my Garmin Forerunner 110 did.  Two things I really like about it was that it vibrates when you hit a lap and even with it having a touch screen you can swipe to other screens even while wearing gloves.  I'm working on a product review blog entry but I need a few more run before I can give a decent review.

Why I Run

I got the inspiration to write this post from the LiveWire Fitness blog, so I wanted to share why I started running which is different from why I still run today.

Let me start off by saying that I never thought I would be one of "those people" you see running early in the morning or in the evening.  I thought running was pointless unless it was for some type of sport like football or basketball.  My mind would eventually be changed and now I start looking forward to my weekend runs midway through the week.

I first started running around June of 2012 to improve on my cardiovascular fitness and it morphed into something more.  I had been doing boot-camp type exercises for several months and was looking for a way to further my fitness journey.

Today, I run in part as a get away from the stress of life and I guess now you can consider me an addict as I ran 6 half marathons (should have been 7!) in 2013 and am planning to run a similar number of half marathons plus a full marathon this spring!

I love the challenge that comes with running.  I am always out to try beat my best time/pace.  I get excited and motivated when I run a great pace.  It makes it that much easier to put on my running gear and go out for another run a few days later.

I also run for the fun of it.  Despite the pain I might feel after a long run, I really do enjoy it even if it's not always a good run for me.  The best part might be the runners high that I experience when finishing a run.

I'm already signed up for 4 halfs and will likely run at least 3 to 4 more in the fall/winter in addition to my first marathon in May.  I have a page with all the races I have run, races I am currently signed up for, and races I want to run at some point in the future.

Right now I do not participate in triathlons but I won't rule that out in the future.  The biggest barrier would be that I do not own a bike.  I also would need to find a gym where I could do some work on my swimming.  I have a gym in mind but I need to see what the cost might be.

First Post - Week 1 - 7.2 Miles

I am starting my training to run a full marathon, the Clif Bar Mountains2Beach Marathon,  in May 2014.  I have created this blog to document my experiences leading up to my race.  I plan to share both the good and bad experiences.

To start this blog off right, I ran yesterday for 7.2 miles.  I did fine running at a nice pace that will help me PR at my next half.  I need to run a 10:00/mi or better pace if I am going to get to 2:10.  However after a water stop around the 3.5 mark, I suddenly got the heaves after I drank some water.  After that I fell apart and had trouble running.  I suspect it had to do with running to hard (I was around a 9:15 pace) in the cold and then perhaps drank too much water.

Here's hoping next week is better.