first half marathon

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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”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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Preparing for our first half marathon

TJ, RS and myself are going to run in our first half marathon in a couple of weeks.  It is really exciting to be preparing for something longer than a 5K.  I asked TJ, my running partner and coach, about what he was doing to prepare and he sent me this link:

http://m.runnersworld.com/workouts/workouts-your-better-half-marathon

TJ really knows what he is doing when it comes to training.  I am a little less methodical.  My prep until now has been running between 35-45 miles a week.  I run 6 days a week and take Monday off.  Sunday is my long day.  So overall I run 5-6 miles a day and 10 on Sunday.  I created an app for my iPhone using FileMaker Go that helps me prepare my week and for the most part I keep to my plan.

Now, I need something more than just running my run.  I want to run my first half marathon under a 9 minute pace.  The fastest I have run 13 miles is 9:20 pace. So now I need a plan for the next few weeks.  I can run the mileage, but I also want to run the time.

Today is my off day so tomorrow starts the plan.  Lord willing it will be a great race.