Monthly Archives: September 2010
Q3 2010
And I've also started another beard, my second ever.
Back in June, I wrote “It’s safe to say that the first six months of 2010 has been the best stretch of running for me since I started this journey back in 2004.” Well, these past three months have been even better.
Here are some highlights of the latest quarter in running:
- 6:15 mile race, my fastest mile since high school.
- Three straight months of 100-plus miles each month. It’s the first time I’ve done that since August-October 2007.
- 124.7 miles in September is my second highest mileage month EVER.
- Finishing a half marathon with my son.
- My daily average on June 30 was 2.82, on pace for 1,028.5 miles for the year; as of today my daily average is 3.06, on pace for 1,117.2 miles.
- I ran the Virginia 10 Miler, my fourth double-digit race this year.
- I’ve ran distances I haven’t seen in 3 years. My double digit runs since July have been: 10, 11, 12, 12.4, 13.8, 14, 16, 12.2, 18 and 10.9.
- After very bad eating over the July 4th weekend, my weight was 187.6 the week of July 11; this week it’s 183.2. That’s 14 pounds lost for the year and just a few pounds away from my “wedding weight.” Overall I’m down 36.8 pounds from my all-time high at the beginning of 2004.
As I look ahead to the final quarter of the year, my goals are simple: the Richmond Marathon in less than 4 hours (43 days to go) and hitting 1,000 running miles for the year (“only” 164.4 to go).
Run, run, run … and run some more
“If you want to be a better runner, you’ve got to run more. It’s as simple as that.”
- Tom Fleming, running coach
The above quote came through in a daily email from Runner’s World a month ago. Usually those quotes quickly get deleted in my inbox, but I hung onto this one. It stuck with me. It made me think a lot about my running streak in April and how great it felt.
So in the past few days I’ve been thinking about that quote, the streak and how great I feel this month — a month in which I’m now over 120 miles, one of my highest mileage months ever. After the Virginia 10 Miler on Saturday, I’ve done what I’ve done a few times this year after a race — I’ve just kept going. 2.2 miles Sunday; 4.1 miles Monday; and 4.4 miles today. The old me certainly wouldn’t have done that.
I think runners don’t take enough time to appreciate when things are going so well, but I’m not taking these moments for granted. Marathon training this time around has me more focused than ever and I can’t wait to see what these final 45 days bring.
Non-recap recap for a non-race race
It’s tough to put into perspective what it’s like to run a race that I’m not really training for. Today’s Virginia 10 Miler was great — 1:23 and change. I was about 40 seconds off my time from four years ago, but I really blame the weather for that. The last couple of miles in the direct sunlight in fairly warm conditions were tough considering how cool the weather has been for my long runs recently.
I know I could have ran harder, but I certainly won’t beat myself up. My big goal for this year is the Richmond Marathon and this race is just a stepping stone toward those 26.2 miles and reaching my 4-hour goal. I wanted to do the Virginia 10 Miler to push myself harder. I’ve been lacking speed in many of my runs, so this is something I felt I actually needed to do. I didn’t want to give it 100 percent — there’s too much injury risk involved in that. So I’ll take 95 percent effort, a good time, some of the craziest hills around on a long-distance road race and put marathon training back on the front burner.
Today’s race did get me thinking about 2011 already. If I put training effort specially toward this race like I did before my blogging days and run the hills on this course more, I know I can break 1:20. It’s a great goal to have for this race, but I think it takes the dedication to train specifically for it. Like I experienced today, running 18 miles for a long run the week before isn’t the best way to prepare for the 10-miler.
***
This particular event is a very special one for me — six years ago, I ran the 4 miler that is part of this event. That was my first road race ever and first racing of any kind since my junior year in high school in 1995. I ran 34 minutes exactly in that race and have been hooked ever since.
This is the fourth time I’ve taken part in this event — I ran the 4-miler again in 2005 and then the 10 miler in ’06. It was nice to be back on the course today and see how much it’s grown in the past few years.
It’s worth noting that back in 2006 after the 10 miler I didn’t run for about two weeks after dealing with knee issues. It’s a good feeling to know that this time around I’ll keep running and will very likely double today’s effort next weekend.
***
Lastly, today’s run puts me just shy of 110 miles for the month — this highest monthly total this year. I’m now just less than 180 miles to 1,000 for the year.
More than a race number
In the past six months or so, I’ve read several other blogs that talk about their race number. Until recently, I never really thought anything about it. To me, it was just a number on a piece of paper that usually annoyed me at some point during the race.
Now, though, my thoughts are shifting. There’s always something behind a number.
When I picked my race number up for tomorrow’s Virginia 10 Miler, I thought there was something cool behind the number 501. It just looks different. To me, 501 is a curvy road through the mountains to get to the Parkway from Lynchburg. It’s a road I’ve traveled often.
So what else is there behind the number 501?
- Levi’s jeans, of course
- A tax-exempt organization
- An area code in Arkansas. So you could say I’m running for the people of Bauxite, Ark., or some other nearby city.
Here’s to hoping 501 is a lucky number for me and can get my tired legs through this race.
No. 555
* I often forget to blog about #runchat that now officially happens the second and fourth Sunday of the month. It’s an awesome event that me and Scott from iRunnerblog started earlier this summer to have conversations about anything and everything related to running. We’re happy to announce that this weekend’s #runchat will have an event giveaway thanks to the kind people at Brooks. Visit Scott’s site to find out more about the contest, and be sure to log onto to Twitter at 8 p.m. ET Sunday to join in on the conversation. Be there … or be out running.
* It’s fall … but don’t tell the 90 degree temperatures that. I have a feeling that sometime in the next few weeks we’re going to snap our fingers and have that feeling of going straight from summer to early winter. I just hope it’s nice and cool for the marathon. The weather for this weekend’s Virginia 10 Miler isn’t looking too bad with temperatures probably close to 70 at the start.
* My legs are really tired this week. Thankfully it was a built-in recovery week anyway. Not sure how this will impact what I do Saturday; I’m just glad that I’m cutting the miles back this week. Last week I did fine pushing through it, but there’s no way I have that willpower this week, except come race day.
* The summer heat and extra sweat seems to be taking a toll on my shoes much more than I’d like. They still have some decent mileage left in them, and alternating between two pairs helps, but I am going to need to buy a pair for the Richmond Marathon. Not that I’m complaining. Who doesn’t love new shoes? It’s just rough on the wallet.
* I reached the final hole in one of my belts this week. It was on the third hole at the beginning of the year. I have to make sure that I don’t use that as an excuse to go eat like mad for the next week.
One week special
For just a short time, I’m not focused on the Richmond Marathon. This week it’s all about the Virginia 10 Miler. I have no idea how this race will go or how I’ll approach it. In a way, it’s a relief. I want to go out there, have some fun and see what happens.
That’s all.
Recent Comments