half marathon

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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!!!

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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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My half marathon training plan

TJ has been helping me with a plan for our half marathon that is coming up on the 17th of next month.  Yesterday morning before work he came by to pick up something he had left the night before and we eat brownies for breakfast and talked running.  I finally put two and two together and now have a plan rather than just running 5-7 miles a day.  You can read my plan on the “Run Plan” tab above the top picture on this page.

Basically our plan is to run regular runs mixed with tempo (fast pace) and hill runs.  I really think this will be a good thing.  I’ve noticed that after I run a 5K, I generally run at a faster pace the following week.  I am sure there is a scientific way to explain this, but it seems that expending a lot of cardiovascular effort in a race helps me run my later runs easier.  Before this last 5K, I was running in the 9:00 pace.  I ran my 5K in a 7:08 pace and now, with general ease, I am running about an 8:30 to 8:40 average pace.

All that to say, adding a run that is at a fast pace (with warm up miles and cool down miles before and after) and running hill runs should make a big difference.  Just to make it clear, everyday is a hill run in our neighborhood.  However about a mile from home is a hill that is almost a mountain.  It goes straight up for what must be a quarter mile.  It is hard to run up, but harder to run down since it is so steep.

Today is my tempo run.  It should be interesting.  I don’t think I would have much issue with it, except that at 50 years old, my hips and back tend to hurt a lot after running.  If I remember to ice my lower back afterwards, it isn’t as bad, but I’ve been forgetting lately.

26 days and counting until our half marathon!  Now I’m not just running, I’m training.  Life is good!!!

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What a week

About 10 years ago an older man saw me rushing to meet someone for a meeting and told me, “sometimes the journey is the destination”. I found a shirt with a similar saying on it and have worn it in my last two 5Ks. That saying really helps me in running, especially running the same route in my neighborhood six days a week. For some reason, some days/weeks I go out to run and just dread the time. I am sore or tired from getting up at 3:00am. I usually run after work, somewhere around 2:00pm so it has already been a long day.

This was not one of those weeks…

Here are the personal records I broke in the past 7 days:

5K race – Time: 22:10 Pace: 7:09
10K run – Time: 52:17 Pace: 8:22
10 mile run – Time: 1:28:36 Pace 8:49

To steal a line from Apple, running this week “just felt right”. I really didn’t push it (other than my 5K). The journey was my destination and I felt great. I’ve decided to try and keep under a 9:00 pace for my half marathon next month. Being my first race over 3.1 miles I don’t know what to expect. I have heard from TJ that it is wise to begin slow and finish strong. I am really looking forward to it. Then after a couple of 5Ks this summer and our first marathon will happen in the fall. Who would have thought that less than a year ago I couldn’t run more than 2 miles. I am really enjoying the journey!!!

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5K and beyond…

TJ is my running partner. We don’t actually run together much, but he is my knowledge base for running. He does the research and I put into action the things that I can. RS is also a running partner, but has had some troubles with injuries lately so he is trying to get his feet under him again.

TJ and I just ran our 5th 5K together. It was a great day. It was in the 60’s and overcast at 7:15am when the gun went off. Just for the record, TJ is in his 20’s and I am in my early 50’s, but we have been running the same amount of time. TJ is a natural runner as far as I can tell. He ran his first 5K in “gorilla glued” work sneakers that had holes all through them. That was in April 2011. He finished in 22:45 and won his age group. Not bad for just running 3 weeks and not every day. I finished in 32 minutes and was just glad to survive.

Last Saturday we ran in the 5th 5K of our year. TJ finished 2nd overall in a photo finish with the 3rd place finisher. TJ was probably 20 yards behind the 3rd place runner and passed both the 3rd and the 2nd in the last 100 yards – WOW. I ran my best 5K thus far. I finished in 22:10 and got 3rd in my age group and 22nd overall. Oh, did I mention there were 690 people in the race? My goal was to finish under 22:00 and I came close. Actually I pushed it a bit too hard as I needed some attention from paramedics after I finished. I needed about 15 minutes to get my breath back and then I was fine.

RS came along to cheer us on as did my other kids and my lovely wife of 26 years. On the video that RS took of me at the finish I can hear my family cheering me on, but in the race I couldn’t hear anything because of the shape I was in.

Now we begin training for the our first half marathon on February 16th. This will be our first race over a 5K. I have no goal, but TJ wants to finish in 1:30:00. I will meet him at the finish line probably 30 minutes after he finishes.