Have I mentioned this before? If not, I do. I guess I am a social runner since more times than not, if I don't have someone willing to get out and suffer with me, I will just not run.
Today I ended up waking up a few hours before my alarm. So after having a quick bite to eat I decided to head out and put in a few miles before I headed to work. The first mile was a relatively slow 8.28. As I began mile two heading into a head wind and uphill, I began to think that I might just turn back and head to the house. I didn't. But that was about the time I started to pick up speed. I am not sure why or how this happens. I guess it just takes about a mile to get my body on board with running. The miles after that were a lot closer to the 8 minute mark. No that is not fast to some runners, but to me that is damn near killing it!
I ended up putting in 5.42 miles in 43:09.29, which ends up being a 7.58 average. That may very well be my best average to date. This is more than likely my last run for April. I will end up finishing the month with 122.8 miles. With getting ready to start training for a fall marathon, I can only see the monthly mileage increasing from here on out. So my goal of 1000 miles for 2010 should be no problem.
Chris and I are working on something that could be awesome. I will keep you posted when I know more.
Later
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
2010 Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon
Yesterday I ran my 3rd official half marathon. And in doing so, I beat my 14 year old PR for that distance. My previous best was set way back in 1996 and was a 1:58:54. Yesterday I pulled off a 1:52:19 with Chris right by my side. I am not sure if setting a new PR, or seeing him accomplish what we set out to do was more fulfilling. Either way, we rocked this one!
The day started off pretty early for me. For what ever reason I ended up waking up around 3 am. Not really that out of the ordinary for a 3rd shifter, but not what I wanted to happen on race day. I tried to get back to sleep with no luck, so I just said screw it and got up about 30 minutes earlier than I had planned. After getting some breakfast and just relaxing for a bit it was time to suit up. Before I knew it Chris was in front of the house and we were on our way.
The group of runners that we train with had planned on meeting at the Y around 5:30 am. We drove through the parking lot about 5:20 and no one was there, so we went ahead and made our way to Chris's wifes parking garage she uses for work, which was about 5 block from the finish. I would say we made it there just before 6.
The weather forecast leading up to race day was all over the place. There was a 30 - 80% chance of rain, depending on where your info came from. Tom had told us the day before to make sure and bring garbage bags to cover up with while waiting for the race to start. A great tip from a marathoner. I would have never thought of that. So once we got parked and garbaged bagged up, it was off to the shuttle to the starting line. Lucky for us, there was a bus just getting ready to leave when we got on. I would say it took about 20 minutes to make it to the starting area.
Once we made it to the starting area we found shelter from the rain under a bank awning. We hung out there with plenty of other runners before deciding to look for our friends. We made our way towards the bus drop off area and porta potties. No luck in locating anyone. We decided to make a quick bathroom pit stop and then head to the starting corral.
We made it to the starting corral about 15 minutes before race time. We looked through the entire corral and could not find anyone we knew. Just before the race was about to begin, we saw Garry, Shawna, Jen, and Jeff walking along the outside of the corral. We yelled to them with no luck.
Not long after that we were on our way! We had about a mile before hitting Iroquois Park and 3 miles of hills. As we ran, we were looking for anyone we knew. I seriously think this made the park and those hills fly by. They didn't seem to be that big of a deal at all. At probably 2 1/2 miles in we saw Jeff up ahead. And of course he had already taken his shirt off! We managed to catch up to him fairly easy. He told us that Tom was only about 50 yards ahead. So we bid him farewell and headed after Tom. As we came upon the next Powerade/water stop, I saw Tom standing on the side of the road. We stopped for just a moment and talked with him. He was waiting on his friend Carol to catch up. After finding Tom we settled into a pretty nice pace.
Last year I hated running through Churchill Downs. Mainly because of the tunnels you have to use that go under the track. To me they suck! It is a steep downhill followed by a steep uphill. This is about 7 miles in. They weren't as bad this year. On the final tunnel Chris pushed ahead and was flying. I just fell in behind and followed suit. Before I knew it, we were out of Churchill and back on flat streets.
We had set a goal of running this thing in under 2 hours. That meant that a time of 1:59:59 would have done the trick. I knew with 4 miles to go that we had this thing in the bag. We would have run 10 minute miles from that point and still hit a 1:56! Chris was a trooper. I could tell that he was tired, but he never complained. Not one time! The only time he actually said it out loud was when I asked how he was doing. His response was: "Fine, just tired."
I was all over the place with telling him how we could finish. I had told him at mile 5 that when I saw the finish I was gone. Then later I changed my mind and said that we started this together, let's finish it together. That ended up being the one we went with. I am damn glad we did! Finishing the race in under 2 hours with Chris by my side just put the icing on this one.
After getting through the finish area we headed for the free beer. Then it was to the car for a much needed change of clothes. I don't think dry clothes have ever felt so good. Chris had packed a couple of post race Leinenkugel's for us to celebrate with, which we did in true Yeti fashion. We then headed to where the marathoners head across the bridge to Indiana to watch for our friends. We found Jeff and Tom waiting in that area as well. Within a half hour our friend made it to our location. They stopped for just a moment to pick up Tom, who had planned to run the last part of the run with them. After they departed, we bid Jeff farewell for a second time and headed home.
What an awesome race. Up next for Chris and I will be the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon.
Later
The day started off pretty early for me. For what ever reason I ended up waking up around 3 am. Not really that out of the ordinary for a 3rd shifter, but not what I wanted to happen on race day. I tried to get back to sleep with no luck, so I just said screw it and got up about 30 minutes earlier than I had planned. After getting some breakfast and just relaxing for a bit it was time to suit up. Before I knew it Chris was in front of the house and we were on our way.
The group of runners that we train with had planned on meeting at the Y around 5:30 am. We drove through the parking lot about 5:20 and no one was there, so we went ahead and made our way to Chris's wifes parking garage she uses for work, which was about 5 block from the finish. I would say we made it there just before 6.
The weather forecast leading up to race day was all over the place. There was a 30 - 80% chance of rain, depending on where your info came from. Tom had told us the day before to make sure and bring garbage bags to cover up with while waiting for the race to start. A great tip from a marathoner. I would have never thought of that. So once we got parked and garbaged bagged up, it was off to the shuttle to the starting line. Lucky for us, there was a bus just getting ready to leave when we got on. I would say it took about 20 minutes to make it to the starting area.
Once we made it to the starting area we found shelter from the rain under a bank awning. We hung out there with plenty of other runners before deciding to look for our friends. We made our way towards the bus drop off area and porta potties. No luck in locating anyone. We decided to make a quick bathroom pit stop and then head to the starting corral.
We made it to the starting corral about 15 minutes before race time. We looked through the entire corral and could not find anyone we knew. Just before the race was about to begin, we saw Garry, Shawna, Jen, and Jeff walking along the outside of the corral. We yelled to them with no luck.
Not long after that we were on our way! We had about a mile before hitting Iroquois Park and 3 miles of hills. As we ran, we were looking for anyone we knew. I seriously think this made the park and those hills fly by. They didn't seem to be that big of a deal at all. At probably 2 1/2 miles in we saw Jeff up ahead. And of course he had already taken his shirt off! We managed to catch up to him fairly easy. He told us that Tom was only about 50 yards ahead. So we bid him farewell and headed after Tom. As we came upon the next Powerade/water stop, I saw Tom standing on the side of the road. We stopped for just a moment and talked with him. He was waiting on his friend Carol to catch up. After finding Tom we settled into a pretty nice pace.
Last year I hated running through Churchill Downs. Mainly because of the tunnels you have to use that go under the track. To me they suck! It is a steep downhill followed by a steep uphill. This is about 7 miles in. They weren't as bad this year. On the final tunnel Chris pushed ahead and was flying. I just fell in behind and followed suit. Before I knew it, we were out of Churchill and back on flat streets.
We had set a goal of running this thing in under 2 hours. That meant that a time of 1:59:59 would have done the trick. I knew with 4 miles to go that we had this thing in the bag. We would have run 10 minute miles from that point and still hit a 1:56! Chris was a trooper. I could tell that he was tired, but he never complained. Not one time! The only time he actually said it out loud was when I asked how he was doing. His response was: "Fine, just tired."
I was all over the place with telling him how we could finish. I had told him at mile 5 that when I saw the finish I was gone. Then later I changed my mind and said that we started this together, let's finish it together. That ended up being the one we went with. I am damn glad we did! Finishing the race in under 2 hours with Chris by my side just put the icing on this one.
After getting through the finish area we headed for the free beer. Then it was to the car for a much needed change of clothes. I don't think dry clothes have ever felt so good. Chris had packed a couple of post race Leinenkugel's for us to celebrate with, which we did in true Yeti fashion. We then headed to where the marathoners head across the bridge to Indiana to watch for our friends. We found Jeff and Tom waiting in that area as well. Within a half hour our friend made it to our location. They stopped for just a moment to pick up Tom, who had planned to run the last part of the run with them. After they departed, we bid Jeff farewell for a second time and headed home.
What an awesome race. Up next for Chris and I will be the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon.
Later
Friday, April 23, 2010
Tomorrow is the Day
Tomorrow I will be running in my 3rd official Mini Marathon. I feel like I am ready. Now, if the weather will cooperate things will be fine. As of right now there is a 30 - 70% chance of thunderstorms, depending on where you get your info, for the morning.
Today we did packet pick up at the expo. We met Shawna, Jen, Gary, and Tom at the Y before heading over. It was a pretty good expo. Picked up lots of free stuff, including an extra tech shirt! After that it was off to Olive Garden for lunch. All in all it was a good time.
So wish me luck and do an anti rain dance. I will post a race report this weekend.
Later
Today we did packet pick up at the expo. We met Shawna, Jen, Gary, and Tom at the Y before heading over. It was a pretty good expo. Picked up lots of free stuff, including an extra tech shirt! After that it was off to Olive Garden for lunch. All in all it was a good time.
So wish me luck and do an anti rain dance. I will post a race report this weekend.
Later
Monday, April 19, 2010
5 Days until the Mini
We are in the home stretch here people! There are only 5 days until I will be running in my 3rd official Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon. The first one I ran is my PR of 1:58:54 set way back in 1996. Last year I was not able to meet my goal of running under 2 hours.
This year on the other hand should be different. The training is in, the shoes are new, and my favorite running partner will be by my side. I don't see anything working against me this year. Yes, I know that anything can happen on race day. But, I feel that I have done everything correct to meet and exceed my goal. All I can do now is show up and run my race.
This week Chris and I will take it easy. More than likely we will do the majority of our running at lunch at work. These runs are easy 2 - 2.5 milers that we knock out in about 20 minutes. That still gives us time to cool off and grab a bite to eat before getting back to making money.
Today I received my new Garmin Forerunner 205 just in time to charge it up before meeting Shawna for an afternoon run. We put in a relatively easy 4.97 miler. She has been having some issues with her stomach, so we weren't killing it. Our time was 41:53 with an 8:26 pace. I had mapped the route before using Runningahead.com and came up with the exact same distance as the Garmin. So, I guess it is pretty accurate.
That's about all I have for now. I do want to give kudos to Chris for putting in a 15 miles on our Saturday morning run. That was his farthest distance to date, and he kicked ass! Way to go Yeti!
Later
This year on the other hand should be different. The training is in, the shoes are new, and my favorite running partner will be by my side. I don't see anything working against me this year. Yes, I know that anything can happen on race day. But, I feel that I have done everything correct to meet and exceed my goal. All I can do now is show up and run my race.
This week Chris and I will take it easy. More than likely we will do the majority of our running at lunch at work. These runs are easy 2 - 2.5 milers that we knock out in about 20 minutes. That still gives us time to cool off and grab a bite to eat before getting back to making money.
That's about all I have for now. I do want to give kudos to Chris for putting in a 15 miles on our Saturday morning run. That was his farthest distance to date, and he kicked ass! Way to go Yeti!
Later
Saturday, April 10, 2010
19 Miles
Today I managed to go farther than I have ever run in my life. Like I said yesterday, I was planning on attempting to do a 3rd loop with my Saturday running group. As crazy as that sounds, I set out on loop number 3 feeling pretty good.
At about the 15 1/2 mile mark my calves felt like they were going to explode! So I knew it was time to walk. It was at that time that I had my first GU. Now that I look back on it, I probably should have had one before setting out on loop 3. I am not sure that taking it after the pain had set in was going to do very much.
After a few seconds we were on our way. Luckily for me I had Chris and Shawna at my side to help push me. I don't think that I would have made it without them. I ended up walking about 4 more times before finishing up the loop. I call it a success. There was a time when I thought that walking was a failure. Not any more. I think with more miles comes more of a chance that you will have to walk.
It will be a couple of weeks before I attempt to put in 3 loops again. There are only 2 weeks until the Mini and I don't want to jeopardize that by doing something stupid and getting injured. So 3 loops will have to wait.
Now I am just hanging out at home enjoying this wonderful day looking forward to when I don't think 3 loops are that big of a deal. I know it will come, it might just be awhile.
Happy Running.
Later
Friday, April 9, 2010
April Update
So far April is shaping up quite nicely. Chris and I ran the Papa John's 10 Miler last weekend and we both set new PR's for that distance! The weather for the race started out pretty descent that morning but turned colder with a bit of rain at about the 8 mile mark. The rain actually felt good at that exact moment, but after the race as we stood around waiting for the rest of our friends to finish it got kinda cool with the wind. All in all it was a great race. You can check out a more detailed run report by checking out Chris's blog. He is much more timely about posting than me.
The weather has also gotten nice enough for us to run almost every night at lunch, which is awesome. We were able to get out 3 of the 4 nights that I worked this week. I had to take one night off since my wife had to head out of town for a conference.
Last Tuesday I bought myself and early birthday present. Here is a pic:
I have been holding off on getting something new for some time. I had been going back and forth on whether or not to get a car payment or just pay cash for something. In the end I decided it was time for us to get a newer car since the van has about 130,000 miles and my daughter drives my old Jeep. So I bit the bullet and got a payment. We had gone 2 years without one since paying off the van, so I guess it's not that bad. I am very happy with my purchase.
Today, since my wife was gone, I was able to get out with Shawna, Jen, and Norma for a Friday afternoon run. We ended up putting in a very slow and leisurely 5 miles. I was cool with that since I plan on attempting 19 miles in the morning. Yeah, you read that right. I said 19! We will see how it goes. I just feel like I want to push myself and see what happens. Wish me luck. If I don't end up sleeping all day after the run I will try and post an update.
So that is how my month is shaping up.
Later
Thursday, April 1, 2010
March in review
Last month was by far my biggest mileage month ever. I managed to drag myself away from life and put in 21 hours running in which I covered a total of 139.6 miles! When we started this running thing back in 2008, I had no idea that this is where I would be heading. I will say that I am happy with the path that I am on at this time. The biggest challenge over the next couple of months will be keeping the motivation after the Mini to do the training for a full in the fall.
March was full of great running moments for me. Here are just a few.
I will keep you posted.
Later
March was full of great running moments for me. Here are just a few.
- There was the Shamrock 2 miler that both of my kids joined me on. This was there first official race. They both did amazing in my eyes, but how could they not?
- Chris's feet seemed to stop working against him, and allowed him to up his mileage.
- I did my first "official" hill run.
- The weather has warmed up enough for us to resume our OYSTR (Overnight Yeti Seasonal Training Runs) runs. Thanks Chris for coming up with that!
I will keep you posted.
Later
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