Posts Tagged ‘2010’

I passed 960 miles for 2010 today — the most since I started logging my runs by mileage in 2007. I doubt that I ran more from 2004-2006 when I ran by time. So after 3.1 mostly pain-free miles today, I am at 961.8 miles for the year.

I should be jumping for joy — don’t get me wrong, I am happy about this — but with knee issues and being sick this week, my focus remains on getting things right for next week’s Richmond Marathon. (A week from now, things will be just under way!)

With all these things going on, I haven’t lost sight of 1,000 miles either, but I know it’s not going to get here as quickly as I thought it would. At one time, I thought I’d hit the mark around this week or even during the marathon, but it looks like it’ll come later this month. I’ll be patient about it and make sure I run it healthy.

Unlike mile 700 and mile 800, mile 900 had no signs. It was just me and my best running pal Duke.

And just like that, I have less than 100 miles to go to hit 1,000 miles for 2010. Unbelievable.

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).

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.

While on my 18-mile run this morning, I realized that I often compare my marathon training experience this year to what I did 3 years ago. The thing is, as of this run, there is nothing to compare it to.

On the last weekend of September 2007, I ran 18 miles. I’m not sure why, but I remember that run very well. My blog entry about it helps, but I clearly remember how awesome the weather was, how good I felt during the run and … wait for it … how flat that run was. While Richmond has some good hills, my southside neighborhood was pretty flat. In hindsight, those 18 miles were crazy easy. It is now impossible to compare any of those long runs to what I am doing now.

Today’s 18 miler around Bedford was just like any run around Bedford — hills, hills and more hills. According to data from my Garmin, the elevation gain was 1,180 feet. On an elevation map, a run like this looks so intense — while doing it though, I’m not really even thinking about it. I’m just running.

On another note, 15.3 miles into my run, I hit mile 800 for the year. When I hit 700 miles a few weeks ago, I found myself at an interesting spot — at a stop sign. Today I found myself in another interesting spot — at a railroad crossing.

It’s truly a sign of how my running has gone in all of 2010 and even more a sign of how marathon training has gone recently. While I admittedly struggled a bit in the last few miles, mainly due to running out of water, this run went so well.

Not once did I even think about cutting it short or try to run somewhere flatter. Today, sort of subconsciously, I challenged myself to hills that I hadn’t touched on my runs in Bedford yet. Going uphill to the National D-Day Memorial and then coming downhill on Burks Hill Road between miles 12-14 were grueling, but I know how much better moments like that are going to make the Richmond Marathon.

Now that I’ve taken on today, I feel like I’ve hit some kind of milestone. For a while now I’ve been trying to put some of my running-related past behind me, but I haven’t been able to very well.

Today, though, I have this feeling that I can move on and stop talking about what I did a few years ago. I’m defining myself as a runner this year and I can’t wait to see what the next couple of months (and years) hold.

An interesting thing happened this week on this great journey I’m having in 2010: my daily average hit 3 miles a day. On Thursday, the 251st day of the year, I ran 8 miles to get my yearly total to 753 miles, or averaging exactly 3 miles a day. Then I took Thursday and Friday off and completely messed up those perfect numbers, but after nearly 16 miles of running this weekend, my daily average is once again past 3 miles, at the very long-winded number I used for this blog post headline.

With this current pace, I am now on target for 1,100 miles for the year, well above my 1,000-mile goal. With just less than 9 weeks to go until the Richmond Marathon, and many more miles planned, the projected finish for the year will keep going up. I have no idea what will happen after the marathon, so it’s important that I just keep going and hit 1,000 miles whenever it happens.

Here is what I ran into at mile No. 700 for 2010:

Seriously … a stop sign. But there’s no stopping me now. I’m now less than 300 miles away from my 1,000-mile goal for this calendar year with more than four months to go. Despite still not feeling 100 percent today — I’d say I’m about 90 percent — hitting this milestone tonight feels awesome.

Less than two weeks ago, I surged past my running mileage from last year. On tonight’s 6.1-mile run, I passed my 2008 total and now stand at 644.8 running miles for 2010. I now have just a little more than 300 miles to pass my all-time total from 2007.

I’m now on pace for more than 1,050 miles for the year, with the mileage continuing to increase during marathon training. I have this …

“As I look ahead to the second half of 2010, I am ready to capitalize on what I’ve already done.”

Those are my words at the end of June. So far, so good. When July got under way, I just kind of gave myself a “whatever” approach to the month. What happened was one of the best months of running for the year.

Here are the top running highlights:

• A PR in the mile (minus whatever I did in high school).
• A good effort in the heat in a 5-miler.
• Passing my mileage from 2009.
• And to cap things off today, I ran 5.1 miles to get my July running miles past 100 miles for the year — 100.3 to be exact. That’s the second triple-digit month this year (April was the other month).
• For some of my non-running highlights from July, check out my post from yesterday, “The right direction.”

In a year in which so many things are going right, July just sets the tone for the last half of this year. As I look ahead to August, I plan to run later tomorrow to get to 30 miles for the week, my first 30-mile week since … well, I don’t really know (Sunday edit: I’m very tired today, so that 30-mile week is going to wait). I plan to continue to increase my mileage and my long runs as the Richmond Marathon gets closer. With the marathon 15 weeks from today, my non-plan plan will continue. I’m just going with what feels right, while loosely following some guidelines I’ve set for myself. From a mileage standpoint, I’d like to be between 110 and 120 miles.

In two weeks I am running the Lynchburg Half Marathon for the third time, but it will be more like a first-time event since the course has been completely altered from the last time I did the race. I’m not setting any goals for that since I want it to be more or less a long run a little faster than I’m used to. It’s a great opportunity to run with a large group and speed myself up a bit for a longer distance.

Other than that, I just want to continue this great 2010. So here’s to another months of great running!

I feel like I have been very fortunate this year to have so many things going right with my running. After what felt like so much up and down in the past two years, my confidence may be at an all-time high.

* With tonight’s 4.1-mile run, I now have more running miles than all of last year. I continue to be amazed at that number. Seven months into the year and I have passed my 2009 total. Now I’m just 35 miles away from my 2008 total. It will be a while before I hit my all-time high of 960 miles from 2007, but of course my main goal is that 1,000-mile mark.

* Awesome by August has been a great challenge to get me focused on eating better and doing something other than just running. At this point with starting to add more miles for training, I know that weight loss will be harder and harder. But I am happy to report this week that my weight is 184.2, the first time I have been on the other side of the 180s (under 185) in probably three years. So for the challenge, I’ve lost 3.4 pounds, or 1.8 percent in three weeks; this year I’m down a total of 13 pounds, or 6.6 percent; and I’m down 35.8 pounds, or 16.3 percent from my all-time high.

So during Awesome by August, I have restarted the 100 push-ups program and am now in the second week of it, and I have added sit-ups to my routine. It’s a nice addition to just running. I hope that I can do even more in the coming months.

* I have revamped my About Me page to detail my journey of weight loss and becoming a runner. As I have written before, I often shy away from discussing my weight, but if I had never lost weight, I never would have become a runner; I would not have become a runner if I didn’t need to lose weight. So in a roundabout way, this site is just as much about weight struggles as it is with what I do with running. I’ll continue to write about running more than anything else, but it’s crucial I keep reminding myself of what I don’t want to go back to.