Monthly Archives: November 2009
Turkey trotting
The greatest feeling in the world with running is beating a goal. Today all I wanted to do was run a couple of 8-minute miles and finish around 16 minutes in the 2-mile Turkey Trot in Warren, Ohio. Since I haven’t really done much speed work lately and the fact that I haven’t done all that much running since the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon, I didn’t know what my body would do beyond a mile if I pushed it. The other night my friend Travis and I ran a 7:33 mile as part of a 5-mile run, but I really wondered if I could sustain that for two miles.
Turns out, I can. Today I finished in 14:54.7, a 7:27 pace. In fact, I was actually about 20 seconds faster than that, but since this was not timed with a chip from the beginning, that little bit of extra effort wasn’t “official.” This race did use chips to record the finishers, but there was not a chip timing mat at the beginning. With 1,200 people, and many people starting at the front that shouldn’t have been, a chip mat at the beginning would have been nice to record the times more accurately. Not that I’m complaining — this was actually a very well organized race and all for a good cause. And the long-sleeved shirt is nice too.
Anyway, this short race felt great. It was a nice, cool, somewhat damp start to the day with temperatures in the low 40s. It was actually raining when I warmed up for a mile, making me want to just go into my car, drive back to my in-laws’ house and go to bed. And after yesterday’s awful car ride, I was just exhausted. But I did it, and I’m so happy with the results. In addition to being happy with my time, I was 127th out of more than 1,200 runners and walkers and finished 6th in my age group out of 34.
The real question I have now is can I sustain a pace like that for next week’s 5k? And can I sustain that pace and improve on it this winter to have good races next year? I certainly hope so.
Two weeks, two races
Earlier this year when I ran two races two weeks in a row, I walked away satisfied, but hurt. So now I’m doing it again, but it’s a far cry from a half marathon and a 10k back to back. Instead it’s a 2 miler and a 5k.
Next week I am heading to Ohio to visit the in-laws for Thanksgiving. It’s the second time I’ve been there for Thanksgiving and it will mark the second time that I’m doing the local turkey trot there. I’ve entered the 2-mile race to give myself a speed test. There is a 5-mile race too, but I don’t quite feel up to running 5 miles fast right now. I’m sure I could do OK, but it probably wouldn’t be a boost to my confidence. Four years ago I ran this race in 16:18 in some crazy pouring down snow and extreme cold. It was wild, but fun. This year it’s looking like it’ll be fairly cool in the low 40s with a chance of rain.
I’m pretty sure I can pump out two miles in about an 8-minute pace, so I’m aiming to break that “record” for that distance.
On Dec. 5 I am making the return to the Bedford Christmas Classic, a race I have done three times — two 5ks and a now defunct 10k — before my blogging days. The course is simple — Bedford, Va.’s loop. But it’s not easy. The first mile and a half isn’t bad — it’s mostly downhill. After that a big hill smacks you in your face and separates the field. Every year I’ve done this race it’s been cold — low to mid-30s — but I’ve had fun at each one. My 5k times were 24:51 when I first started running in 2004 and 26:51 the following year when I had let myself get out of shape a little bit. It was that race that kind of sparked me to get in better shape and run the Virginia Ten Miler the following year.
Right now, even though I know I’m not in the shape I’d like to be, I would love to go out and set a course record and PR for a 5k in my 30s (24:45). Now that I’ve been back in Bedford for almost a month and ran the loop several times, I think I can do it. I’ve been running faster by default with Duke and a couple of times with my friend Travis, so I think in race conditions I can step it up. I’ll see how next week goes with the 2-miler first. I need to pass that test before jumping too far ahead.
No matter what, though, it’s nice to be signed up for these community races. In an odd twist with my 5k experience, when I run the race on Dec. 5, that will be my first 5k since last October — more than 400 days. And in looking back at my post, that race was my first 5k in 420 days. I guarantee I’ll run another 5k before March 2011.
Taking a tumble
By special request after mentioning it on Facebook and Twitter, I am writing about falling while running last night. The short story is I fell and I’m OK. The long story is … I was running with Duke and my friend Travis. About a mile and a half into our run, we had to pass a few people on the sidewalk. We ran out into the street and then back onto the sidewalk. I thought I jumped high enough to get back on, but apparently due to the darkness and wet conditions, I didn’t jump high enough, or one foot didn’t go high enough … or something like that.
All I know is that all of a sudden I fell on the sidewalk … in front of other people. My first priority was making sure Duke stopped, which he had. He was just kind of looking at me with a concerned look. But I got up, made sure I could move OK and kept on with my run. When I dropped Duke off a little while later I realized I had blood running down my leg and had a few more scrapes than I first realized. But I was OK, and Travis and I continued our run.
We ended up running almost 6 miles, my longest run in quite some time. I think it was my first run beyond 4 miles since the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half in early September. That just shows how bad my running has been since that race. I’m actually a little sore today from both the fall and the run. My shoulder actually hurts a little bit too, so suprise, surprise, I’m putting off a day of 100 push-ups. But I’m not forcing it and will just start again next week. Actually, I’ll probably do another day of it this weekend and then just redo the same week next week.
So, about this fall. I know I’m not alone … I just can’t be. Take my poll below.
[polldaddy poll=2282922]
85 push-ups
Sometime before I begin training for my next marathon, I will do 100 consecutive push-ups. As I’ve already documented, the path to doing 100 push-ups hasn’t been easy, but I’ve stayed determined to get it done, eventually. In October, I fell off the wagon, but the work I did in the first several weeks paid off in making the beginnings of my move very easy. But if I want the rest of my moving to be “easy,” I have to pick back up this program.
A couple of weeks ago I did a “test” to see where I was so I would know where to resume — I did 33 push-ups. But then I had to sleep on a couch and ended up sleeping on my shoulder wrong. So I put it off for a week so I wouldn’t hurt myself. Then this past weekend I did another “test” — to my surprise I did 35. Lifting all those boxes around have kept my arms strong apparently. I felt great.
So tonight I FINALLY re-started. This time in a different column — level 3 — and I started on week 3. I did sets of 14, 18, 14, 14 and 25. This workout felt great. I’m certainly not where I was when I left off, but I’m surprisingly close. Continuing the program will not be the easiest thing as I still have things to do with moving, but I will completely this program sometime. Now that I know where I stand, I’m too far along to drop this.
362 days from now …
My second marathon will be where I did my first. In an odd twist of events this weekend, I signed up for the 2010 Richmond Marathon. Not running in anything yesterday motivated me to sign up.
I’ve been thinking about my second marathon since I did my first one two years ago. But injuries, a baby and an overall lack of motivation have prevented me from signing up for another one.
But it’s time … or at least a year from now it will be time. I’m not in a good situation right now to train for one this spring, but I really think next summer will bring some great things. This winter and spring will be all about building a base … and when it’s time to start training I’ll be in a good place to focus on the marathon.
If you’ve never read my blog post about my first marathon, click here or on my photo to check it out. Two years later, it’s still my favorite post since I started blogging. I like to read it occasionally and take a few minutes to be selfish knowing that I completed 26.2 miles. I can’t wait to do it again.
Oddly sad
Today was a big running day in Richmond - an 8k, a half marathon and a marathon. The same and only marathon that I ran two years ago. I was going to run the 8k, but as soon as I got my job offer I knew that I didn’t want to squeeze it in with the moving that had to be done.
Instead of running a race this weekend, I spent last night getting a workout in by climbing up and down a ladder and carrying boxes out of my attic in about an hour’s time. Today I’m feeling it — my feet and hips are sore from that up and down mess on the ladder, my elbows are bruised from hitting the sides of the attic entry and my knee hurts because I missed a step coming down one time, resulting in me banging my knee against the ladder.
But that wasn’t a PR in an 8k or a 4-hour marathon. It was life’s work. While I’m excited about my move and completely happy with my new job, it was sad not participating in a big race today with thousands of other people. But the great thing about running is there’s always next year. It’s so cliché, yet completely true. I’m actually tempted to sign up for next year’s marathon this weekend while there’s a discount rate.
I’ll give it a day, though, just to make sure I’m not going with my emotions right now. My body and I need to talk about this …
Recent Comments