Half marathon

by

I chose not to run

Yes, I borrowed the (altered)  title of this post from my favorite episode of Seinfeld, “The Race”.  The funny thing is that the episode is all about running and it was my favorite long before I started running.

So my run plan was to run 6 miles yesterday.  As I’ve said here, I try to always run my plan.  In fact there have only been a few planned days where I haven’t run in the past year and 2 were from in injury and a couple because of extenuating circumstances where time just wasn’t available.

Yesterday was neither.

Yes, for the first time yesterday, I chose not to run and had no good reason.  I guess I’m not as obsessive about running as I thought!

I got up early 4:00 am (and not on a work day – ugh).  I did some things around the house and then my lovely wife, RS and I went to Starbucks and to run errands.  My plan was to run in the afternoon as I do during the week.  But while sitting in Starbucks, drinking my grande blond roast coffee, I realized that perhaps I needed a day off.  Monday is usually my day off, but I ran 3 miles since I had taken the Friday before off due to a painful knee.  So it had been a while since a day off and the next day (today) was my long day.  Soooo, I made the radical decision to just play hookie from running and have a day with my lovely wife and kids.  I’m glad I did.

Now…  T minus 7 days until our half marathon.  This week will be our prep week.  If my long run today goes well, I’ll take off next Saturday also.  TJ doesn’t like to take the day off right before a race as he tends to feel a bit stiff.  I usually run better on my day back, so I’ll test that theory today.

It is so exciting to be so close to our first half marathon.  If we can all stay healthy this week, next sunday at 7:03 (don’t ask my why they picked that time) in the morning, all the work will pay off.

I love running!!!

For your entertainment, here is a clip from “The Race”

by

A new workout to prepare for my first half marathon

Okay, 11 days left until our half marathon and things are getting exciting.  We are working hard at our workouts along with tapering them somewhat so we are fresh for the race.  No hill runs until after the big race (yay), but I had a new experience in my running yesterday.  TJ and I ran together and I did a steady state run.  Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t anything new, but it was new to me.

We started with a warmup mile and then we proceeded to run 4 miles at an average of 7:50 a mile.  This is TJ’s normal pace, but for me it was hard.  By the time I made the 5th mile, I told him that I thought I should stop.  He that I could try one more mile at a cool down rate and then see if I could pick it up after a half mile.  Well, I decided to go with his advice and ran the last mile at an 8:57 pace.  Overall we ran 8:06 which got me a PR for my 10K.

RS got hurt again while running.  He says his foot felt swollen and wisely walked home rather than trying to run on it.  We need to figure out how to keep him healthy so he can continue to run.

Thanks TJ for the help.

I love running.

by

Back in the saddle

Or, back in running shoes!

We had our practice run for the Mercedes half marathon yesterday.  Running 9 miles through the streets of Birmingham at 6:30 am.  I felt great.  TJ and RS ran also and we ran together for the most part.  It was a lot of fun and makes me look forward the the race that much more.

Taking a day off from running was really difficult for me.  I have taken time off in the past, and one day leads to another and the next thing you know, the “habit” of running is gone.  I know, one day won’t kill a habit, but it really was hard.

It was worth it.

My knee is a little sore, but no pain while running yesterday and I feel even better today.  I really think the hill runs are messing with me some.  I didn’t have such problems – or not as many – as I have had while running up mountains.  On the other hand, my speed and endurance has gotten a lot better.  I cut 30 seconds off my pace between December and January!

This week we begin to taper some to prepare for our race.  TJ and I are going to run together one day so I can get in a steady state run.  He has a great feel for pace and it will be helpful to run a longer run and faster pace with him.

That’s it for now.  On to another day.

I love running… again.

by

I didn’t run…

I didn’t run yesterday.

Let me say that again, I didn’t run yesterday.

I decided it would be best not to run since I was in pain from the day before. It was the first day in a long time that I didn’t run my plan. Sometimes wisdom is more important than running the plan.

This morning is our practice run for our half marathon. TJ, RS and I will all run at 6:30 this morning.

I love running?

🙂

by

Ouch, that run hurt

I learned something yesterday…  Don’t run hard the day after a hill run!

I over did it and it started with a warning.  I was less than a quarter mile into my run when I had such a horrible knee pain that it stopped me in my tracks.  I stood there for a minute thinking about hobbling home, but then thought I would try running slowly and see if it still hurt.  I was fine.  In fact after about another half mile I picked up my pace and had a decent run.

Then I finished.

It hurt.

My knee was not in good shape.  I have been running for 10 months, only missing a day or two because of injury, and now 15 days before my first half marathon I am hurting.  My knee, my legs and my hip.  So I went home after my run and put ice on my knee immediately.  After about 20 minutes, I did what all runners do after such a horrible run. I went to Dominos and got 4 pizzas for the kids and me while my lovely wife was sleeping off a migraine.

This morning, things aren’t much better.  I may miss my run today, just to play it safe.  I definitely don’t want to miss this race.  I will wait until this afternoon to make up my mind.

Tomorrow is a practice run for the marathon/half marathon.  It starts at 6:30 – ugh.  The bad thing is that those of us running the half marathon only run an 8.6 mile course and my goal tomorrow is 12 miles and TJ I am sure wants to run 20.  We will see how it goes.  We may just continue to run afterwards.

One last mention.  RS is back on track.  He ran 5 miles yesterday in an 8:30 pace. He was been out with sickness, wisdom teeth extraction and a knee injury, so it was rough getting back into the game. He’s back and I am so excited for him.

I love running.

by

Tempo run #2 – Half marathon training

I am working on my speed lately and doing different types of training to get my speed and endurance up for our half marathon in 18 days.  Yesterday was tempo run day.  It was very interesting to run.  This was my second tempo run as I ran one last week also, but I approached this one differently to see if I could get a better result.

First, I ran it my first day back to running this week.  TJ, RS and I take Monday’s off to rest, but it all starts again Tuesday.  TJ likes to run a regular run on Tuesday, and that is what I did last week, but as I mentioned yesterday, I think I need more time between my hill run and my long run, so running my tempo run on Tuesday will make my hill run on Thursday and I’ll have 2 days before my long run on Sunday.

So how did it go?  Well, I decided to run 2 miles before increasing my pace to the ~7:00 mark.  I felt good and think it was beneficial to run 2 miles before rather than last week when I only ran one.  The tempo part (starting mile 3) seemed easier than last week.  In fact it seemed much easier for the first 1.5 miles even though I was running the same route.  Then the last half mile was a killer.  I end my second mile going up an incline, not large, but it does hit hard after running that fast.  By the time I got the second mile completed, I was spent – just like last week.  I decided rather than going down hill to my home, that I would continue straight and see if I could make 3 miles – nope.  I got about a 10th of a mile further and had to slow down.  So I just ran mile 5 at a slower recovery pace.

My goal is to make 3 miles at my tempo pace, but just doing this for 2 weeks I know it will take more time.  So here is the interesting part – I ran my first two miles at a medium fast regular pace and my tempo miles slower than last week but still under 7:30 pace.  In the end, I finished the 5 miles two seconds slower that last week.  Two seconds.  Here is the breakdown for anyone who is interested (or for me to look back on to compare):

Mile 1 – 8:46
Mile 2 – 8:34
Mile 3 – 7:19
Mile 4 – 7:21
Mile 5 – 8:52

I ran all five miles in 41:08 this week and in 41:06 last week.  So I guess my tweaking didn’t make much of a difference, except the fact I felt better during the tempo part for a longer time, but I also ran it a bit slower.

That is it. Another run down

I love running.

by

“Running head games” or “The psychology of running”

On a quick note… I changed my run plan around for this week.  TJ likes to run his first day back for the week as a normal run and then on Wednesday do a tempo run.  I did this last week, but found that by doing this, my hill run was on Friday and then I only had one day before my long run.  I wonder if that was my issue on Sunday with my hip and legs hurting so much during my long run. So, I’m trying my tempo run this afternoon and see how it goes.  I think having 2 regular days before my long run should help.

I am sure many people have written about the psychology of running, but the more I run, the more I am convinced that 50% of running is in my head.  What I mean is that my mind will tell me to stop, tell me to slow down, tell me my legs are tired, etc.  My mind will tell me, “don’t run today it is too cold, it’s raining, it’s snowing, it’s hot and so on”.  I think the psychology of running is as much of telling your mind to shut up as anything else.  There are times to listen though.  If I am running and my hamstring starts to pull, or my knee hurts, I’ll tell my body to relax and slow down a bit until the pain goes away.  But for the most part, running is a mental activity in which I run best when I do the opposite of what my head is telling me to do.

This is the reason I get home from work and immediately get on my running clothes and go out for my run.  I say hi to my lovely wife and pat the dog and wave at the kids and I’m off.  If anything interrupts that schedule, my chances of making my run for the day goes down dramatically.  Habit is as important in my running as anything else.  In the summer when it is 107 degrees and 90% humidity, I have to run anyway.  In the winter when it is 22 degrees and 20 mph wind, I have to run anyway.  6 days a week 52 weeks a year, on vacation or during a holiday, I cannot give my head an excuse not to run.  If I do it once, then I’ll do it again and before I know it, I’ve stopped running.  Then the momentum is gone and it is twice as hard to get going again.

These are my thoughts on the head games I play with myself to make myself do something I’ve not done in 49 years.  Run.  I’m up to 40 miles a week now.  The half marathon is in less than 3 weeks.  My body has to contol my mind, not the other way around.  I guess what I am talking about is discipline.  Also wisdom to know when to stop or when to ignore what I am feeling.

I love running.

by

13.1 miles yesterday, but it was not fun

Sunday was our long run day.  My goal was to do 13.1 miles in under a 9 minute mile.  I did it.

It was tough!

I ran 13.14 miles in an 8.58 pace.  I don’t know how, but it was a personal best for me.  TJ ran 18 miles at a 7:18 pace – how does he do that??? I am totally amazed what he can do.

Now to a question.  Why is it so hard for me to run in the morning?  I guess it is because I run in the afternoon 5 days a week and only run in the morning on weekends.  But this is crazy.  At mile 3 of my long run, I felt like I’d been hit by a truck.  My legs hurt, my hip hurt and I just wanted to stop.  This was mile 3!!!  I have been running 5-6 miles a day for a long time now and don’t have much of a problem doing that.  I don’t know if it is the thought of going 13 miles that is my problem or if it is the fact I get up and eat some eggs and grits and then go out, but I have to figure this one out.  Most races are in the morning and I don’t want to get into the middle of my half marathon and feel like I can’t go on.  To be honest it was a miracle that I made the mileage yesterday.  Most Sundays I try to run about 10 miles, but with the race coming up in 3 weeks I figured it would be a good day to give the full mileage a try.

It was a victory to finish under a 9 minute pace.  And once again, TJ continues to amaze me.  We’ve only been running about 10 months and he is burning it up on long run days.

Today is our off day.  I am thankful for that.  Then Tuesday it all starts over again.

I love running, but I don’t know why some days.

by

My first hill run

Okay.  It was not as fun as I thought it would be – Actually I really didn’t think it would be fun, but this was a rough hill.  TJ says it is about an eighth of a mile, but I think it might be further.  It goes straight up for a long time and then levels out a bit and then up more but at a slower incline.  TJ ran it 6 times.  Not me.  I ran it once and then ran other areas of the same neighborhood that were hilly and then I ran it again.  So all in all I ran it twice and then another few miles to make 5 miles for the day.  It was crazy though.  After running the hill/mountain twice, I could barely keep a 10 minute pace.  My legs were shot.  So I guess it did what it was supposed to do.  Hill runs are supposed to help your speed similar to 800m intervals but since you don’t have to run as fast or as hard, it isn’t as hard on your body.

As TJ and I were going to get the pizza for dinner we talked the half marathon.  He really wants to run it in 90 minutes. I told him I want to beat a 9 minute pace.  He said if I can make it in an 8:23 pace and we do the Chicago Marathon, I’ll be about to be in the first 14,000 runners.  Hmmm.

I think I may be in over my head.

I run my first 13.1 miles tomorrow since October. I’ve been doing about 10 miles on my long day, but with the race close at hand, I figure I need to get another one under my belt.  I’m going to try to run it at the same pace I would like to do the half marathon in, so we’ll see how it goes.

I love to run!!!

by

Best fall marathon? TJ wants to qualify for Boston!!!

First, yesterday was a great run. I mentioned in an earlier post that I tend to run faster after exerting myself in a 5K race. I started doing tempo runs this week with the input of TJ and it made a huge difference. I had a record 10K run yesterday in 50:55 total time. It really wasn’t much effort, except at the end when I was trying to get my 10K in under 51:00. I know it was the tempo run from Wednesday that made the difference.

The training continues for our half marathon. Today is a hill day (ugh) – my first. TJ says it helps a lot, but I’m not looking forward to it.

After our half marathon in February, we look for a marathon in the fall. TJ mentioned finding a fast marathon as he wants to qualify for Boston. He also wants me to qualify, but at this time I don’t see that happening.

Right now we are looking at Chicago or Jacksonville. Both are considered fast marathons. The advantage to Jacksonville is that I have a friend there we could stay with. The advantage to Chicago is that we also have friends there and we love to go to Ballydoyle’s Irish pub and also get some Giordano’s pizza. Another option that would mean a lot to me is the Marine Corp Marathon. The main reason for that is that this is the marathon my Dad and siblings always ran. It would be great to make my first marathon the same one my dad ran in years ago – also since <a href=”https://runat49.wordpress.com/why-i-run/&#8221; he is the inspiration for my running.

I don’t know if anyone has any suggestions. It is still early, but I know that April is when sign up begins for the Marine Corps Marathon and last year they filled up quickly.

by

Half marathon prep – 24 days and counting

Yesterday was hard…

To begin with, I did an incredibly dumb thing and reduced that amount of Ibuprofen my physician told me to take.  My thought was that since I was feeling better and taking some really good fish oil, maybe I could reduce the amount of Ibuprofen I take.  Bad thought.  My back hurt so much yesterday, I wasn’t sure I could run after work as has been my habit.  The good news is I didn’t let that stop me.  I have learned over the past 10 months that if I want something or someone to talk me out of running, then I won’t run.  With all that I have, I want to finish a full marathon (planned for this fall) and be able to add my name to my siblings as having completed such a feat.  Of course it will be about 20 years later than they, but better late than never.

Okay, onto the prep.  According to the run plan that TJ helped me develop, yesterday was a tempo run.  My plan was to run 3 miles between 7:23 and 7:29.  I must say I was a bit worried with the way my back felt, but after work I got on my running clothes and shoes (Saucony Type A5 – great racing flats) and started my mile warm up run.  At the end of the mile, I kicked into my tempo run.  Here are the splits from my run:

Mile 1  – 8:87
Mile 2 – 7:05
Mile 3 – 7:06
Mile 4 – 8:31
Mile 5 – 9:14

My plan was to run 3 miles in the mid 7 minute pace.  I made it 2 miles and had to slow down.  I try to always keep my goals I set, but as TJ said, I ran my miles too fast and much faster than my plan.  It was really hard to do 2 miles, but three… not gonna happen.

I did get my 5 miles in and did an overall pace of 8:11 which is good for me.  Also I ran a 5K based on the middle 3 miles in 23:34 which is my second fastest time and that without anyone around me for motivation.  Overall I’m happy and now my goal is to get to 3 miles next week.  It gives me something for which to prepare.

Today is a regular run for 6 miles and then tomorrow, hill runs.  Why do I punish my body this way!  I guess it is because the pain of the run is long forgotten after the results come in.  I want this half marathon to be my best.  Of course being my first one it will be, but still I don’t want to look back and say, I could have done more.