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.

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.

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 6/7

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.

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.