First, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope you had a great one with friends, family, happy children and love all around. Christmas is a very special time of year.
Now for the disaster. On Wednesday Dec. 24th I went out to 8 miles and the run was nothing short of perfect. Sure, you are saying to yourself, "disaster???? this isn't a disaster???" Wait, it's coming. So, on this 8 mile jaunt I glided up a 2 mile hill and flew down the backside of the mountain to finish my run at a very fast pace. I had the wings of an eagle on my shoulders. I finished the run and thought, "oh yeah, I'm ready for the marathon. I just finished a GREAT 20, I recovered well, and I just blazed through a great run."
Rule 1 of marathoning: don't mock the marathon gods. They don't like that.
The night of Christmas, from midnight to about 5:30 am. I got a vicious case of stomach flu. After selling Buicks in the bathroom no less that 6 times (this can be corroborated by my father-in-law, sister and brother-in-law, and my wife...I'm not a quiet sick person), I knew that my training for the week was in trouble. I think that I pulled something in my rib cage. I feels like a broken rib when I take a deep breath, which is not a feeling you want at anytime in your life and least of all when you need to go on a long run.
Today, I tried to go for a 13 mile run with Brice, but I only made it 5 before I pulled off and stopped the run. It felt like I had the lungs of a Chihuahua. If I tried to take a real breath, it hurt. You know your run is in trouble when you keep checking back with your GPS watch ever tenth of a mile: 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1... uh oh.
Then comes the decision as you keep asking yourself, "do I puss out on the run or do I gut it out?" I relied on experience. I usually gut it out if I'm just having an "off day"; however, the last time I pushed when I was not feeling physically well, bad things happened. So, I fought all my natural instinct and...pussed out. I'm going to give the ribs another day to heal and I'll see what happens on Tuesday. I pray that the dawn is just around the corner.
Now get back to work...
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
30 Minutes on the rack
I hate to say this, but the stair-stepper-elliptical-thingy that I use on non-running days really hits the parts of my legs that are weakest on long runs. I believe it's helping me have better runs. I find when I get to mile 16 or so that the outsides of my quads start to fatigue, and they are the most uncomfortable part of my body after long runs. The rack hit's em hard. Kudos to the rack, but I still hate the thing.
Today I hit the rack because both Shannon, who we've taken to calling "little Cindy Lou Who, who was just about two" because of her striking resemblance that character from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", and Reese both got up at a ridiculous our today. Anyway, there I was huffing and puffing and wheezing away on that infernal machine and in walked Shannon. She watched me for a minute and said, "Go faster Daddy." Then she turned around and walked out. Ahhhh the inspirational words our children give us.
Now get back to wrapping gifts for Christmas...
Today I hit the rack because both Shannon, who we've taken to calling "little Cindy Lou Who, who was just about two" because of her striking resemblance that character from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas", and Reese both got up at a ridiculous our today. Anyway, there I was huffing and puffing and wheezing away on that infernal machine and in walked Shannon. She watched me for a minute and said, "Go faster Daddy." Then she turned around and walked out. Ahhhh the inspirational words our children give us.
Now get back to wrapping gifts for Christmas...
Monday, December 22, 2008
20.55 Pemberton Trail
So here's the good, the bad, and the ugly of the 20 on Pemberton Trail:
The Good:
- Pemberton Trail and the McDowell Mountain Park are amazing. Kudos to Arizona for operating a place like that. The trail is well marked, well groomed and a pleasure to run on...for the most part. There were a few spots with mid-sized, loose rocks, but the trail is 15.4 miles long, so I can't complain.
- I'm made for trails. I'm slow, but I have a lot of power and I cruised through this run. Sure, it didn't hurt that I had the right mix of fluids and fuels to accompany me on the run, but trails are great!!!
- Damien the dog. About halfway into the run, Brice and I found ourselves being followed and then passed by a beautiful Alaskan Malamute with blue eyes and he was probably about 3 years old. He ran with us for about 8 miles with an effortless gate gait that could have supported him for about 30 more miles without trouble. I watched him run (because he was in front the entire time) and I did my best to mimic his running style...as best I could on two feet.
- One more long run and then the Marathon. I think that my motivation for running is coming back.
- From what I can see Mountain Bikers are a heck of a lot cooler than Road Cyclists. We all shared the trails well, they were quick to say hello, and they seemed to be happier than their asphalt riding cousins.
The Bad:
- Brice, who is arguably the better runner of the two of us, had a nasty run. I'm guessing that it was a combination of things: he's getting over a cold; he only had on a short sleeve shirt and it was probably 38 degrees at the start of our run; and I'm not sold that the gatorade/water combo for a 20 mile run is ideal. We have one more 20 to do and we'll see how it works out.
The Ugly:
- I had a blister issue after the run. I'm guessing that the change in terrain caused hot spots on my feet. I didn't feel them at all during the run, but when I took my shoes and socks off I had one on my heel and another on my middle toe. They are nasty, and ugly too. I took a photo with the thought that I'd post it, but it really is nasty. So I'll pass on the photos this time.
Less than a month to the marathon. OMG!! Panic, shortness of breath, shudder.
Now get back to work...
The Good:
- Pemberton Trail and the McDowell Mountain Park are amazing. Kudos to Arizona for operating a place like that. The trail is well marked, well groomed and a pleasure to run on...for the most part. There were a few spots with mid-sized, loose rocks, but the trail is 15.4 miles long, so I can't complain.
- I'm made for trails. I'm slow, but I have a lot of power and I cruised through this run. Sure, it didn't hurt that I had the right mix of fluids and fuels to accompany me on the run, but trails are great!!!
- Damien the dog. About halfway into the run, Brice and I found ourselves being followed and then passed by a beautiful Alaskan Malamute with blue eyes and he was probably about 3 years old. He ran with us for about 8 miles with an effortless gate gait that could have supported him for about 30 more miles without trouble. I watched him run (because he was in front the entire time) and I did my best to mimic his running style...as best I could on two feet.
- One more long run and then the Marathon. I think that my motivation for running is coming back.
- From what I can see Mountain Bikers are a heck of a lot cooler than Road Cyclists. We all shared the trails well, they were quick to say hello, and they seemed to be happier than their asphalt riding cousins.
The Bad:
- Brice, who is arguably the better runner of the two of us, had a nasty run. I'm guessing that it was a combination of things: he's getting over a cold; he only had on a short sleeve shirt and it was probably 38 degrees at the start of our run; and I'm not sold that the gatorade/water combo for a 20 mile run is ideal. We have one more 20 to do and we'll see how it works out.
The Ugly:
- I had a blister issue after the run. I'm guessing that the change in terrain caused hot spots on my feet. I didn't feel them at all during the run, but when I took my shoes and socks off I had one on my heel and another on my middle toe. They are nasty, and ugly too. I took a photo with the thought that I'd post it, but it really is nasty. So I'll pass on the photos this time.
Less than a month to the marathon. OMG!! Panic, shortness of breath, shudder.
Now get back to work...
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
8...in the rain
Distance: 8
Time: 1:20 exactly
I need to start this blog entry by saying to the rain karma gods that I was in now way, shape, or form making fun of them in my previous blog entry. I meant no harm and did not need them to remind me that they can rain whenever they want to. As such, I can assure them that no further "rain punishment" needs to be handed out to me...at least for this week.
I had a feeling after yesterdays "run between the rain burst" entry that I'd get nailed today, and I did. Actually, the run started off ok. The rain had recently stopped and the temperature was nice, and I was greeted by that awesome "wet desert" smell; however, when I hit mile 5 it started to mist, then light sprinkle, then shower, then rain (I was spared the downpour). I had a jacket with me, tied around my waiste, but by the time I noticed that I was getting pretty wet, the damage was done. So I kept the jacket on my hips and kept on running.
When I got home Shannon ran up to daddy and pleaded for me to carry her. So I obliged (insert evil laugh here). Within seconds she realized that daddy was soaked and she started to do her best Fay Wray impersonation. Sometimes it is very fun being daddy. :-)
On a different note, I've been having some motivation issues for about the last 10 days. I'm finding that waking up is hard and the first mile of each run feels like a death march. I have about a month to go, so this is where is guess I'll have to gut it out. To help with motivation, Brice and I are talking about doing a lap on the Pemberton Trail this weekend. It's a trail in the McDowell Mountain Park (conveniently located about 3 miles from my house) that climbs 650 feet over the first 5 miles, then it goes up and down for about 6 miles, and then it finishes with a steady downhill run for about 5 more miles. It's supposed to be ideal for bikes and runners. I'm looking forward to it. I wonder if Mountain Bikers are any better behaved than their street riding counterparts? I would suspect yes.
Now get back to work.
Time: 1:20 exactly
I need to start this blog entry by saying to the rain karma gods that I was in now way, shape, or form making fun of them in my previous blog entry. I meant no harm and did not need them to remind me that they can rain whenever they want to. As such, I can assure them that no further "rain punishment" needs to be handed out to me...at least for this week.
I had a feeling after yesterdays "run between the rain burst" entry that I'd get nailed today, and I did. Actually, the run started off ok. The rain had recently stopped and the temperature was nice, and I was greeted by that awesome "wet desert" smell; however, when I hit mile 5 it started to mist, then light sprinkle, then shower, then rain (I was spared the downpour). I had a jacket with me, tied around my waiste, but by the time I noticed that I was getting pretty wet, the damage was done. So I kept the jacket on my hips and kept on running.
When I got home Shannon ran up to daddy and pleaded for me to carry her. So I obliged (insert evil laugh here). Within seconds she realized that daddy was soaked and she started to do her best Fay Wray impersonation. Sometimes it is very fun being daddy. :-)
On a different note, I've been having some motivation issues for about the last 10 days. I'm finding that waking up is hard and the first mile of each run feels like a death march. I have about a month to go, so this is where is guess I'll have to gut it out. To help with motivation, Brice and I are talking about doing a lap on the Pemberton Trail this weekend. It's a trail in the McDowell Mountain Park (conveniently located about 3 miles from my house) that climbs 650 feet over the first 5 miles, then it goes up and down for about 6 miles, and then it finishes with a steady downhill run for about 5 more miles. It's supposed to be ideal for bikes and runners. I'm looking forward to it. I wonder if Mountain Bikers are any better behaved than their street riding counterparts? I would suspect yes.
Now get back to work.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
7 in between rain drops
Distance 7
Time 65:07
I went a little faster than usual today, partially because I feel I need to get some tempo runs in before the marathon and partially because I was running in between waves of rain.
Yesterday my dad asked me, "how do you run in the rain." At first I was thinking, "the same way I run in the sun, or under the stars, or in wind: 87 strides per minute and very slow." But then I started to think about his question and it's not a bad question. It's been my experience that, more often than not, rain traditionally comes in waves. Usually, a band of storms will blow through and then there will be a gap before the next one hits and I'll attempt to get my run in between those gaps. If the rain is very hard, I'll stay inside and use Mary's clothes line to exercise.
Sometimes I'm more successful than others at timing my run, and today I was very lucky (especially since weather.com predicted a 70% chance of steady rain at 5am when I prepped for the run last night). It was obvious when I started my run that the rain had recently stopped. I cranked out my run and shortly after I stopped, it started to rain again. So, even though it will rain for most of the day, I stayed dry during my run. I also realize that, now that I've put this down on "paper," it's going to be very wet for the next 5 weeks. Actually, let me amend that statement a little, it will be very wet until I drop a few hundred bucks on rain gear and then we'll get sun and unseasonably high temperatures. Such is life.
Now get back to work...
Time 65:07
I went a little faster than usual today, partially because I feel I need to get some tempo runs in before the marathon and partially because I was running in between waves of rain.
Yesterday my dad asked me, "how do you run in the rain." At first I was thinking, "the same way I run in the sun, or under the stars, or in wind: 87 strides per minute and very slow." But then I started to think about his question and it's not a bad question. It's been my experience that, more often than not, rain traditionally comes in waves. Usually, a band of storms will blow through and then there will be a gap before the next one hits and I'll attempt to get my run in between those gaps. If the rain is very hard, I'll stay inside and use Mary's clothes line to exercise.
Sometimes I'm more successful than others at timing my run, and today I was very lucky (especially since weather.com predicted a 70% chance of steady rain at 5am when I prepped for the run last night). It was obvious when I started my run that the rain had recently stopped. I cranked out my run and shortly after I stopped, it started to rain again. So, even though it will rain for most of the day, I stayed dry during my run. I also realize that, now that I've put this down on "paper," it's going to be very wet for the next 5 weeks. Actually, let me amend that statement a little, it will be very wet until I drop a few hundred bucks on rain gear and then we'll get sun and unseasonably high temperatures. Such is life.
Now get back to work...
18 to Rio Verde and Back
Distance 18
Time: 46 hours (Reese played with my watch when I got home)
The run was slow, but good. I'm in love with Hammer Nutrition. I'm like the guy in "Green Eggs and Ham" after he tries them:
And I will drink it on a boat and I will drink it with a goat,
and I will drink it while I run and I will drink it just for fun,
and I will drink it in the dark and I will drink in in a park,
and I will drink it here and there, I will drink it anywhere.
But really, their stuff helped me to have a noticeably better outing. There's a big difference in a slow 18 where you are not firing on all cylinders vs. having the GI tract, muscles, and mind all happy when you finish. I thought about tacking on some more miles at the end, but then I decided to stick with the plan. So it's 20 next weekend with Brice.
Speaking of Brice, he did the Scottsdale Half Marathon last weekend and was very, very, very close to breaking 2 hours in the race. I think he did 2:00:57. It's amazing how these races seem to come down to a few seconds. Crazy. Great race Brice!
Observations from the run:
- Running in the desert with nothing around you is really cool (actually, it was down right cold and I should have had my gloves with me, but that's another story). The smells of the desert, the cacti, the guns being fired on the Indian reservation. It's all pretty cool, well the guns weren't cool, but the rest of it was.
- While there are some friendly people who ride bikes, most of them are not on the road between Fountain Hills and Rio Verde. Guys, would it kill you to say "good morning" or to at least not make it so obvious that you hate cars, runners, fuzzy bunnies, and Santa Claus. Get over yourself.
Now get back to work...
Time: 46 hours (Reese played with my watch when I got home)
The run was slow, but good. I'm in love with Hammer Nutrition. I'm like the guy in "Green Eggs and Ham" after he tries them:
And I will drink it on a boat and I will drink it with a goat,
and I will drink it while I run and I will drink it just for fun,
and I will drink it in the dark and I will drink in in a park,
and I will drink it here and there, I will drink it anywhere.
But really, their stuff helped me to have a noticeably better outing. There's a big difference in a slow 18 where you are not firing on all cylinders vs. having the GI tract, muscles, and mind all happy when you finish. I thought about tacking on some more miles at the end, but then I decided to stick with the plan. So it's 20 next weekend with Brice.
Speaking of Brice, he did the Scottsdale Half Marathon last weekend and was very, very, very close to breaking 2 hours in the race. I think he did 2:00:57. It's amazing how these races seem to come down to a few seconds. Crazy. Great race Brice!
Observations from the run:
- Running in the desert with nothing around you is really cool (actually, it was down right cold and I should have had my gloves with me, but that's another story). The smells of the desert, the cacti, the guns being fired on the Indian reservation. It's all pretty cool, well the guns weren't cool, but the rest of it was.
- While there are some friendly people who ride bikes, most of them are not on the road between Fountain Hills and Rio Verde. Guys, would it kill you to say "good morning" or to at least not make it so obvious that you hate cars, runners, fuzzy bunnies, and Santa Claus. Get over yourself.
Now get back to work...
Thursday, December 11, 2008
5.5 weeks to go
Distance: 8
Time: 1:26
I like running with other people, not just for the company, but also for the exchange of ideas. For example: Brice noticed that we had 6 weeks to go after last weekend and he told me that his strategy is to go through 3-4 weeks of hell (tons of miles) and then taper for the marathon. I liked the idea and I'm going to follow suit.
So, in sticking with the above play, I ran 8 miles for the second day in a row today, which is something I usually try to avoid (by the way, I don't remember marathon training being so hard 10 years ago). It was slow, but I'm feeling pretty good. I will ice the knee today, as it is being a little cranky, but nothing more than normal.
Of note, after yesterday's run I had no post-run electrolyte drink and, worse yet, no coffee. Are caffeine and electrolytes important after a longer run? Well I ran into a door at Shannon's daycare because I couldn't time the knob turning and pushing of the door to work together. Don't worry, only three mothers were there when I did that. Then I made a beeline for S-bucks to get myself a venti coffee in hopes of getting myself back on track. Seems simple enough, save for the fact that all three baristas behind the counter kept thinking I was saying "baby coffee". One said I was slurring. Great... So today I offed the HEED lemon lime nectar-of-the-gods (this stuff should replace methadone for heroine addicts) and a big cup of coffee. No problems today. I think I'll add the coffee and HEED to my post weekday running routine.
Now get back to work...
Time: 1:26
I like running with other people, not just for the company, but also for the exchange of ideas. For example: Brice noticed that we had 6 weeks to go after last weekend and he told me that his strategy is to go through 3-4 weeks of hell (tons of miles) and then taper for the marathon. I liked the idea and I'm going to follow suit.
So, in sticking with the above play, I ran 8 miles for the second day in a row today, which is something I usually try to avoid (by the way, I don't remember marathon training being so hard 10 years ago). It was slow, but I'm feeling pretty good. I will ice the knee today, as it is being a little cranky, but nothing more than normal.
Of note, after yesterday's run I had no post-run electrolyte drink and, worse yet, no coffee. Are caffeine and electrolytes important after a longer run? Well I ran into a door at Shannon's daycare because I couldn't time the knob turning and pushing of the door to work together. Don't worry, only three mothers were there when I did that. Then I made a beeline for S-bucks to get myself a venti coffee in hopes of getting myself back on track. Seems simple enough, save for the fact that all three baristas behind the counter kept thinking I was saying "baby coffee". One said I was slurring. Great... So today I offed the HEED lemon lime nectar-of-the-gods (this stuff should replace methadone for heroine addicts) and a big cup of coffee. No problems today. I think I'll add the coffee and HEED to my post weekday running routine.
Now get back to work...
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