Monthly Archives: June 2011
Looking ahead and staying focused
It’s been an awesome first half of the year – in addition to getting back on my feet for the best consistency in a long time, I’ve set a PR in a 10k, done a trail 10k, had an awesome 5k, took part in another Relay for Life and ran a total of 412.3 miles, which includes 89 this month. I’ve also done more core work than ever, which has definitely helped get my running back on track.
That’s my half year recap. I don’t have anything else I want to say. Instead, it’s time to focus on July and beyond.
In just a couple of days I will be hitting double digits in a training run for the first time in 259 days. Not that I’m counting.
With being faster lately, and coming off a great 8 miles this past weekend, I fully intend to run this in a 9-minute mile (or slightly less) pace. I’ll be at my in-law’s house in Ohio, which will be very flat. As long as I don’t pass out from boredom, I should be able to get this done.
Two days later I have a 5k, and as long as I recover from the 10-miler OK, I fully intend to hit it hard. Two weeks later in a 5-mile race I am hoping to beat last year’s time.
With my marathon training, I’ve actually become a little more detailed in my non-plan planning and written down long-run goals for each week, as well as more specific mileage for each week. I will stay flexible as usual, but by the end of July I want to be at 16 miles for a long run with weekly mileage that week at 34 miles.
As I look beyond the immediate month, I really want to get to a 40-mile week for the first time ever. It’s going to take more focus than ever, but I have tentatively slated 40 (or more) mile weeks for the end of August and twice in September. I have the highest mileage plan that I ever have. And every day is seems my non-plan plan is becoming more concrete.
While it makes me a bit anxious, I feel like I have to put these things down to keep my focus now. If I do this right, it won’t seem like a big deal when it gets here.
This year I made my goal to finish 2011 stronger than I begin it. I’ve set the bar surprisingly high for myself in the first six months of the year, but I’m determined to make the second half even better. More PRs, stronger runs, more miles — smarter, stronger, faster.
Week 1: A sign of the times
One of the first roads I ran yesterday was Baltimore Avenue in Bedford. It was completely unintentional, I promise. All I was trying to do was start off the run with Duke on a slightly different route. It was the first time I’ve been on that road in several months. It just turned out to be very fitting as the first “official” long run for the Baltimore Marathon.
As I already mentioned, my first long run of this training session went well. In fact, the entire week was great. It included a fairly speedy 5k on a lunch run on Friday in 25:06, a time faster than several 5k races I’ve done. All of my runs just seemed to fall into place despite some intense heat the first half of the week. I also squeezed in a short watchless run with Duke on Thursday evening.
It was one of the best first weeks of training that I remember having. Perhaps it’s from being more focused this time around and talking about it more than usual. I have had “official” kickoffs before, but this time just seems so different.
Here’s a look at yesterday’s long run around Bedford, as well as the elevation chart:
Rehearsals begin
That's me on the left in "Moon Over Buffalo" in 2006.
I’m pretty sure I’ve never mentioned on here that my minor in college was theater. I was in and directed a few one-act plays, had a small role in “Diary of Anne Frank” as Mr. Kraler and make a small “return” to theater five years ago in “Moon Over Buffalo” as Howard.
So what does this have to do with running? That answer is easy — running is exactly like putting on a play. You go to rehearsal after rehearsal (run after run) to get to opening night (race day). Today was my first “official” long run for the Baltimore Marathon and it kind of felt like going off book for the first time in rehearsals. The ones where you have to stop and say “line” because you can’t quite remember what you’re supposed to do.
Pushing myself to 8 miles wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but whenever I felt like I was slowing way down or getting sluggish, I had to think about what’s worked in the past 6 months. I called “line” and got back on track.
It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it was a much better long run than I remember from last year. Great weather with lower humidity helped too. Overall, my run was under a 9-minute pace, easily 10-15 seconds faster per mile than these types of runs a year ago. I’m really like my new “slow” and “easy” feeling pace.
I have a lot more rehearsals to keep getting better. Next week will be a flat 10 miles in Ohio for my long run. Come opening night on Oct. 15, it should be second nature to go out and have a great marathon.
33
Today is my 33rd birthday and I’ve had a variety of blog posts in my mind this week on marking this occasion. My birthday, though, is not something I tout too much. I’ve even taken my birth date off Facebook because I HATE to see Walls filled up with generic “Happy Birthday” posts.
So to mark today, which is just another day closer to a new age bracket in races, I thought I’d share 33 random thoughts about running – from lessons learned, to favorite moments, to pieces of advice, to some very random things, I feel like this is a good way to mark the beginning of a new year in my life.
1. If I ever stop calling running fun, I’m quitting. From sights and sounds, to pushing myself, to a new level, to running with my dog, there’s an element of fun in even bad runs.
2. I want to break 1:40 in the half marathon. Part of me doesn’t want to train for another marathon and instead focus on that distance.
3. With No. 2 being said, I want to run a marathon and not be injured afterward. Thus the reason for my drive and desire to run the Baltimore Marathon in October.
4. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I once ran 5:45 in the mile in high school, good enough for next to last place – the only track meet in which I wasn’t last in the mile.
5. For no real reason, Guns ‘n’ Roses “November Rain” is my favorite song to run to, on the rare occasion I listen to music.
6. When hydrating for a race, you shouldn’t really do anything different than you did while training.
7. When doing a long-distance race, see what type of gels they’ll hand out. Don’t be surprised. Try it out on a couple of long runs to see if it settles well with you; otherwise bring your own. And don’t complain if you don’t like them.
8. If you need to stop to walk in a race or slow down, MOVE OUT OF THE WAY. Or you may get a slight elbow from me.
9. A year and a half later, I still look at an adventure I took in the mountains as a game-changer.
10. Don’t wear the event shirt until you earn it.
11. Injinji socks are the best. And if anyone gives me birthday money, I’m buying more to wear every day.
12. Wear sunscreen if you’re going to be running in the sun for a while.
13. While I’ve been blogging for four years about running, there’s about 3½ years worth of stories before the blog that I’ve only mentioned a few times. I’ve thought about doing retroactive race reports, but I don’t know how much I remember about those early races.
14. This photo from last summer is my most favorite picture that I’ve taken on a run:
15. And this photo is my most favorite from after a run:
16. And, quite sadly, I don’t have a favorite race photo.
17. Fitz at Strength Running has a great post this week about seven things that changed his running forever. I suggest checking it out HERE.
18. My 5k next weekend in Ohio is just my third out-of-Virginia race. The other two were also in Ohio and were two-mile Turkey Trots.
19. I’ll have a separate blog post on this, but I did buy the Brooks Ghost 3 that I wrote about a month ago. I’ve had four good runs in them so far.
20. I think there are a lot people out there who get caught up in thinking/saying “my favorite weather is now,” but I will forever say “bring on the cold.” Perfect conditions for me would be in the low 40s and cloudy. Still warm enough for shorts. I can certainly handle colder. BRING IT.
21. I’ve never publicly questioned the 10 percent rule – in fact I have embraced it many times – but this old article confirms what I’ve said many times: different things work for different people. Here’s an even newer article on the topic. It’s another subject for another blog post.
March 2003
22. Whenever someone asks me why I run, I talk about how I needed to lose weight. I do have a “before” photo of me on my About Me page, but the inset photo tells an even better story.
23. The next #runchat is this Sunday on Twitter. Head over to iRunnerBlog to read about this week’s great giveaway.
24. My post after my first marathon is still my favorite post ever. I am a marathoner and no one can ever take that title away from me.
25. My Stung in the eye post still picks up a lot of page views. People enjoy it when other people suffer.
26. I never knew how the Yasso 800s worked until recently. Now I just need easier access to a track to do them.
27. If someone tells you their product is “scientifically proven,” that doesn’t mean it will actually work for you.
28. If you’re looking for an alternative to ice, use a bag of frozen peas.
29. I really want to have a 40-mile week this summer. That’s a distance that still eludes me.
30. The best thing I’ve ever done to help my running: buying all non-cotton gear.
31. My son wore his race medal for nearly an hour after his race the other day. That makes me proud in many ways:
32. I want to run an ultramarathon one day. In particular, one of these.
33. Did I mention to make sure you have fun? No matter how far you go, or how fast your are … HAVE FUN!
Wordless Wednesday
Hard to believe that he'll turn 6 next week.
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