Marathon training

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The most important run so far

15.7 miles.

Okay, really about 15.20 running and .50 walking.  That is what I ended up with yesterday.  There is some good and some not as good news from that run.

The good:

  • My goal was between 15 – 18 miles and I made it.
  • 13 miles were completed with a pace between 9:00 – 9:30.
  • I ran 5 mile loops for the first 10 miles and that seemed to work well for me to get some Gatorade Chews and water.
  • I can walk this morning without a limp, so my Chiropractor must be helping.

The not as good:

  • I really wanted to make 17 miles, but just couldn’t do it.
  • The Marathon is 6 weeks away and I don’t feel that I am close to 20 miles yet.
  • My hip hurt to the point that I feel it affected my run.
  • I crashed the last 1.5 miles.

Here are my thoughts:

I feel that the 5 mile loop was a key to me doing well.  I decided to run the last 7 miles at one time and just as I hit 15 miles I couldn’t do more.  I wonder if I had kept to the 5 mile loop if I would have been able to make it.

I am a little panicked about the marathon being so close and my mileage not being where I need it.  I know that when the race comes, I will be able to do more than I can just running in my neighborhood.  Also, my neighborhood is very hilly and the marathon isn’t.  Finally, it is hot and humid here, so that will be better up North in September.

Ultimately, sometimes you have to do what you don’t think you can do in order to get what you really want.  I am not worried about qualifying for Boston in this marathon.  Right now, I want to finish the race.  Who knows, it might be the perfect storm and I’ll fly through and do great.  Time will tell.

So it was a good run.  It was a PR in distance.  It was fairly easy until the last two miles.

I can’t complain.  It was a good run!  It was the most important run so far in my training.

I am thankful.

Pondering my Long run while Hangin’ with “The Dog”

The Dog

Just sitting here pondering my long run with “The Dog”.  She is happy to get some attention and I am happy to relax before I attempt my longest run.  Last year at this time my longest run was 6 miles.  Now I want to make between 15 – 18 miles.

I did take the good advice I got yesterday from Russ and others and took the day off of running.  We just did some shopping and I cut the hedges.  So I got a workout in anyway.

Today I plan on mixing up my route a bit.  I have a 7 mile route in our neighborhood that I run on long days.  Today however, I plan on running 2 five mile loops and then do the 7 mile route.  That will allow for me to come by the house and drink some water along the way.

Here is hoping for the “zone” that David mentioned.  I’m really going to try to make it a steady run and just see what happens.

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Dizzy update, Running update, Marathon update

So I went for my run yesterday; a little apprehensive after getting so dizzy on Thursday.

I took it slower and I ate more during the day yesterday (Okay, I had a donut at work).

I think I have decided that the socks didn’t cause my issues. I do think the 4 other items I listed were all part of the issue. Especially the fact it got 20 degrees hotter in 2 days. It has been so much cooler lately because of afternoon storms that it is almost like I have to get used to the heat all over again.

Starting out slowly yesterday really helped. I was able to get 6 miles in, and this after waking up at 1:30 AM and not being able to get back to sleep, working all day and taking myself and my Lovely Wife to the Chiropractor. After all that I ran 6 miles in a 9:22 pace. Not bad.

Today I am waffling about what to do. I should run, but I am sore from the week and I have my long run tomorrow. I know TJ would tell me that even 3 miles would help. I’ll see. I am going to take BZL to Steak N Shake for a birthday breakfast (can you believe I have a 26 year old son? I know I can’t). Then I’ll play it by ear.

I’m hoping to get somewhere between 15 – 18 miles Sunday. I really have to make that goal or rethink my marathon. 5 weeks left and all my injuries have really affected my progress. It is crazy that I went a year with no injuries and now 4 months filled with them.

Life is good.

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Did running in compression socks make me dizzy?

You might be able to tell from the title of this post that it was a rough run yesterday.  I was so excited to try out my new compression socks that I got from a local retailer and see how they would help my running.  Specifically I want to try and help my legs on long runs to have better endurance.  The sales guy from the local store said these socks are made for running and specifically long distance runs like a marathon.

Here is a list of several things that may have contributed to my difficult run:

  • Hottest day of the week.  Monday it was in the high 70s and Tuesday in the low 70s.  Yesterday it was back up in the high 80s.
  • I didn’t drink as much water as usual.  I drank 64 oz of water rather than my goal of 96 oz.
  • I had a bad night sleep.  I woke up at 1:00 AM and did manage to get back to sleep, but it was not a very restful sleep.
  • Low carb eating.  I was at my lowest weight ever (176 lbs) and have eaten very few carbs.  Usually if I get below 180, I have difficult runs.

That said, I have NEVER felt as I did yesterday.  I ran a bit fast in the beginning which was not good.  Then as I hit the 3 mile mark, I got light headed and felt really strange.  It was almost like I was in a dream as I ran.  I tried to keep going and did for another half mile, but I got weak and really tired, so I gave up on the run at that point.  After I got home and rested, I felt fine.

So it could be a coincidence that I got so dizzy in my new compression socks.  I know others who swear by them and several other bloggers have suggested I try them.  I will say that my legs felt more relaxed and it seemed to me that I didn’t need to put as much energy into my legs in order to run.  At least that was my impression.

So did my compression socks cause this problem or was it circumstantial?

I have a 7 mile run today and I plan to use them again, so I guess I’ll find out the answer… maybe.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Have a great weekend!

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Prep run for our 5K next week

Yesterday I was sent the Runners World article as it will appear in the book.  Pretty cool.  My part is about how to make running a habit and about consistency.  I was told the book will be out in January 2014, so I guess I’ll have to buy a copy.  🙂

Okay, on to running… Of course.

TJ and I ran the 5K course that my friend Neill (@bigbiggeek) picked out for us to run August 3rd.  This will be TJ and my last 5K before our marathon in September.  We figure it is a good way to keep some speed workouts going without impacting our marathon training much.

Anyhow…

This course was a killer for me.  I think some of my issue was that it was about 10 – 20 degrees hotter than it has been all week and it was sunny (it has rained all week also).  But it is in a really nice planned community.  Basically it is a run up and down the streets throughout the community.  It was a very pretty run and very interesting to see all the nice homes.  But to me, I felt like we were going up hill after hill after hill.  Actually it starts out flat-ish for a half mile, but then the hills kick in and continue through about mile 2.5.  At the end, it is mostly down hill which is really nice.

All in all it seems like it will be a good course.  We ran it the first time at an 8:19 pace and then a second time at 9:27.  I admit, I started out too fast and was dragging after the first time through.  The second time we ran it much slower, but I really didn’t have much left.  I did get in 6 miles for the day and was only planning on 5, so I am 1 mile ahead of my running plan for the week.

Also yesterday, Neill challenged me to a virtual 7 mile race on the Nike+ app.  It is a pretty cool new feature.  Of course this challenge starts Saturday and I was to run 7 miles on Friday.  I try to keep Saturdays low mileage in preparation for my Sunday long run.  I’ll see how it goes.  He set it up to go until September 1, so I have time to work on it.  Should be fun.

That is about all I have for today.  My Chiropractor worked on my achilles some yesterday and it did feel better during my run.  It has started acting up again this week, but I’m glad it is doing better.

Until next time (tomorrow) – Keep on running!!!

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Exciting news – and a good run!

I’m excited. No, not that I had a great run yesterday (although I did)! I am going to be used in a book being written by Runners World. You could just blow me away with a feather (although I would have to lose a few more pounds first). I saw an article saying that Runners World was going to do some articles and write a book about how running changed your life. So I decided to write my thoughts based on the questions they asked. Low and behold, I got a response back saying that some of what I wrote interested them and they want to use it!!

I really don’t know much other information right now, but I will be sure to write about it when I do. 🙂

Now on to my run yesterday… It was a 7 miler and the first 3 went well. I felt pretty good, but I was still sore from running my 5K and my workout on Monday. When I got to mile 4, my brain started to rebel. It was telling me to stop. It was telling me to walk or just give in. Mind you it was only 72 degrees out which is almost like winter in Alabama in July, so this was not heat related. I then decided to try something I have never tried before. I just blanked that thought from my mind. I refused to think about wanting to stop and I kept going. In the past when I would get those thoughts, I run anyway, but my running form would go down hill and it would end up being a difficult run. However, after I blanked that thought from my mind, I felt rejuvenated. My form came back and I suddenly had strength and power again in my legs.

This was an amazing thing for me to experience. I went from my run falling apart to having a really good run. Even my splits tell the story. Mile 1-3 were negative splits. Mile 4 was a much slower mile. Mile 5-7 were back in the same range as mile 2 and 3.

I don’t know if this was a one time event, or if perhaps, I have stumbled onto a key to my upcoming marathon. I am hoping for the second option here. If I can somehow stop the negative thoughts before they take over my run, that could change everything.

So all in all, yesterday was a great day. Hopefully today will be even better!

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From the Chiropractor to a 6 mile run

It was a good run yesterday. Actually, probably the best run I’ve had in the past couple months. I was surprised it went so well as I had been dealing with sore muscles since our 5K on Saturday and even as I started the run I could feel the pain of the 5K still affecting me.

The day began with getting up early for work, then after work I headed to the Chiropractor. He was running late and I ended up being there for 90 minutes or so. He is still adjusting my hip, which I think is almost fixed. I still notice it sometimes as I begin a run, but for the most part it seems to be on the mend.

I got home and went for my run. There were dark skies with storms looming and rather than running in my neighborhood as usual, I thought I would go down to the high school track and run so that wouldn’t be far from the car if a storm struck. In the end, the dark luminous clouds never amounted to anything, so I just ran in circles. I ran in circles. I ran in circles. Over and over and over.

It was great.

Here are my splits and a screenshot from my Nike app. Lots of green. That is a good sign!

Great run

Great run

Pretty cool looking

Pretty cool looking

The nice thing about my run yesterday was it was on a level track. My neighborhood is very hilly and the marathon we are going to run is very flat. In fact the website says that if you are used to running hills, it would be good to run flat areas to prepare. That makes sense since running on a flat area means you need to use your own energy to propel you and not rely on going down a hill. Yesterday it was all me and that is why I was so encouraged. I am still not where I need to be for the Lehigh Valley Marathon in 7 weeks, but I am a little encouraged.

If I can get up to 20 miles in a run, I’d feel much better. I have only a few weeks to get there before we begin to taper. Nothing like taking this down to the last minute. However if I do run the marathon and finish (hopefully in 3:30 – Boston qualifying time) I will know that I can really do anything I set my mind to do.

Honestly running has changed my life in just about every way. My confidence is up, my weight is down and after each run, I get to have the feeling of doing something and giving it my all.

I do love running.

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Retro Run 5K race recap

Wow, what a weekend.

To being with, our vow renewal went awesome Friday afternoon.  We had a great family time all of the day.

One thing I learned…

5 pieces of Pizza Hut pan pizza + 1 milk shake + hot weather + run immediately after = a really hard 4 mile run.  🙂

On to our 5K race yesterday.  I really had fun.  It was Birmingham in July at 6:00 in the evening and it was just under 80 degrees.  At the starting line it began to rain, which felt nice, but into the race a bit, it got very humid and hard to breath.

All in all I had a good race.  I didn’t know what to expect since I haven’t run much the past two weeks.  But I ended up coming in at 22:04 which is my second best 5K race time, so I am happy with that.

TJ, RS and my friends Neill (@bigBigGeek) and David (@David_Topping) all did really well.  Neill and David both set PR’s.  On a warm humid evening like yesterday, that is amazing.  TJ did incredible.  Just shy of his PR, but he has also run 360 miles in the past month.  I don’t know how he does it.  JR and HM both came to watch and cheer us on.  That is always a nice thing and really helps.  Thank you both!!  My Lovely Wife was home with her bad back, but she kept up with calls and texts.  I really missed her there, but I understand why she couldn’t sit there for 2 hours.

Today is normally my long day.  After averaging near a 7 minute mile for 5K just 14 hours ago, I may take today off or just go out for a short run later.  I haven’t run under an 8 minute mile since May and my legs are feeling it this morning.

Tomorrow starts a new week and hopefully I’ll be going back to my 45 – 55 mileage.  Marathon in 7 weeks.  Oh my!

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Long run lessons

It was a good run yesterday, for the most part.

I ran the first 11 miles at close to a 9:00 pace. I honestly didn’t feel like I was pushing it much, but I guess I was. I tired to keep with my app, but I kept going too fast by the end of each split.

So, 11 miles went great. Then I came to mile 12. I lost all strength. It hit me out of left field. I suddenly had very little strength left. I ended up walking some of the 12th and 13th mile. I decided that rather than pushing myself, I would be glad I had a good run and head home.

I realized a couple things after yesterday’s run.

First, I pushed it too hard for the first 11 miles. Even though my perceived effort was low and I felt great, it was more than my system could handle. I should not have crashed as I did. Had I tried to keep my pace a little slower, I could have finished the course. As it was I ran 13 out of the 15 miles planned.

Second, I need to work on keeping my energy level up by taking some type of energy gel during my run. I read an article the other day that said, if you wait until you feel tired before you take a gel or drink gatorade, it is too late. Made sense. It said to start taking a little gel about 30 minutes into your run and then take more ever 15 minutes. Obviously you wouldn’t want to take a full gel every 15 minutes, but about a quarter of one each 15 minuted will keep your energy up throughout the race.

Last, I hurt my hip yesterday. I knew it was aching during my run, but that has happened before and not been a problem. Yesterday though, I was in quite a lot of pain about an hour after my run. It still hurts today. Since today is my off day, I am going to see how it feels after a day of rest and go from there. Based on my research, it sounds like it is my hip flexor that is inflamed. I am sure it was caused several weeks ago when I tripped on the sidewalk running. I hope it will get better on its own, but if not, I’ll see some type of doctor this week. Not good timing as I was just getting back into running well again.

So the ups and downs of my long run. The encouraging thing to me was the fact I am getting back to my Spring pace and had an overall good run. I just hope my second wind isn’t too close to the marathon that I run out of time.

Saturday, the Retro Run in Birmingham. It is a fun 5K that we did last year. Hopefully I’ll be all better and ready to run! Going to see Neill (@bigbiggeek) there and about 5 other people I know (plus TJ and RS will run). Can’t wait.

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The Reinspired Runner

I have a goal for tomorrow that will change my run plan today.

I have to get to 15 miles tomorrow for my long run.

To be honest, a week ago I was thinking that I may never get back to a point where I could run 15, let alone 26 miles. But it has been a good week. I found out I had a sinus infection and got it taken care of. I ran 5 miles a day rather than my planned 7 miles a day. This was because of the heat and not wanting to feel overwhelmed each day since running had been difficult for a while. Finally, I ran negative splits every day this week. I started off slowly and each mile I ran faster than the previous mile.

Having our first marathon in 8 weeks (from tomorrow), I have to get the longer runs in and get up my confidence. I have gained great confidence from this week and now feel I can run 15 miles tomorrow and do it well.

Back to my opening sentence. I am taking today off from running to get me ready for tomorrow. My goal over the next 4-6 weeks is to get my long run up to 20+ miles and my hope is that I will feel good doing it. I now believe that is a possibility.

Confidence is huge and I lost my confidence over the past couple of months.

Now, however, you can call me the reinspired runner!

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Good runs + less pressure = more fun

I had another successful summer run yesterday.  Two great runs in a row.  Wow.

My app has really helped slow me down as it speaks to me, “Slower” when I run too fast for the preset pace.  This had enabled me to run like I used to before the summer heat hit.  I have cut my weekday runs to 5 miles for now and am working on rebooting my training for our marathon.

I am so encouraged by my runs this week.  Negative splits have changed my summer runs from dreadful to… maybe not exciting, but at least something to which I look forward.

As I ponder the Lehigh Valley Marathon in 8 weeks, I have come to realize (with TJ’s help) that the pressure of wanting to keep an 8:00 pace for 26.2 miles has really gotten to me.  It has made my running a burden and no longer fun.  So I have changed my attitude toward the marathon.  I would love to qualify for Boston in September and hope that I will, but I am no longer focusing on that as my primary objective.  It is an accomplishment in and of itself to finish my first marathon and I may surprise myself and run at my desired pace.  But I am going to relax, enjoy and make this an experience to remember.

So I feel that I am in a much better place now.  I have had a couple really good runs this week, even in the heat.  I have taken the pressure off of myself as to my expectations for the marathon.  I am more positive and enjoying the journey rather than obsessing about the destination.

Life is good!