Running …

… because I can … because it's fun … because it's healthy … just BECAUSE.

Tag Archives: Shamrock Half

Sham Rocked VII

I went for a PR, had that pace going for 6 miles, but I just couldn’t quite hold it together to get there for my 7th Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach.

And I’m perfectly OK with that.

A year removed from my personal worst Shamrock, I rebounded to improve my time by 6 minutes from 2013 and also came less than 3 minutes from a PR, set in 2012.

After nearly a year and a half of races that left me feeling underwhelmed, I’m excited to finish today in 1:43:10, my 3rd fastest half out of 20 since 2007.

I did very little speedwork this winter, I missed a few runs because of snow and I’ve certainly had much less sleep in the past several months with a baby who still won’t sleep through the night.

I was pleasantly surprised that I could hold my PR pace for so long today — after the turn back toward the finish and hitting some wind, my legs just didn’t have enough to keep that pace. I knew heading in that even getting close to a PR would be difficult, and now I’m leaving my favorite race with a renewed sense of confidence and the knowledge of what I need to do to get closer to breaking 1:40 in a half.

All previous six Shamrocks have set the tone for the year, both good and bad. Now is a great time for that tradition to continue and do some great things in 2014 …

February 2014: By the Numbers

As I become less public about what’s going on with my running, I’m finding myself to be happier about what’s going on. I have no problem not posting here for the past month; as always I know something could trigger me to write every day.

For now, though, don’t expect that.

Taking a little bit of time to reflect at the end of a month is good enough for me right now. I hesitate to call February “great,” but it was far better than any month last year. I’m coming away from this month knowing that if it didn’t snow for a couple of days and if the month was just one more day long, I’d have 100 running miles.

I’m also keeping my Shamrock PR goal in mind, although this winter has been tough. I’m not stressing myself out about the race and will determine a race plan in another week or so.

Saw this near my house on a run early in the month.

So with all this said, here are some numbers from the past month:

  • 85 running miles. 165 for the year. A very nice start to the year.
  • 1.5 pounds lost. At one point I was at a little more, but lost some control mid-month. I’ve quickly turned that around though. I’m at 6.2 pounds lost for the year.
  • 12 biking miles. I question whether this was a little longer or a little shorter since they happened at 2 different gyms. I was hoping for a little more, but the weather prevented at least one gym trip.
  • 4 different types of weather. Clouds only; rain and snow; rain only; snow; sunny. I could say the same about the temperatures, ranging from mid-teens to nearly 70 (and everything else in between).
  • 5+ months old (23 weeks as of tomorrow). How is it that nearly a half year has passed since my second son was born? To put it in a running perspective, that’s longer than a marathon training plan and that seems to take forever.

The start of something …

Two things happen when I don’t blog so much — either something terribly wrong or something going totally right. I don’t go silent for anything in between.

Training this month has been tough … it’s been insanely tough with the continued arctic plunges and polar vortex nonsense. In the first few weeks of the year, though, there’s been a constant — I’ve continued to run. I’ve also dropped a few pounds. I’ve eaten a ton better.

Things are going so well with my training that I don’t want to talk about them too much. So I won’t.

Not yet.

Thinking ahead

Blue Ridge MarathonWith moving this summer and a new baby on the way, I feel like I’m on fast forward with life. Yet things with running and what I want to do as year 10 begins on Jan. 1, things are becoming clear.

I’m closing out this year with two races (Richmond Half and the Surf ‘n’ Santa 10 Miler) that should help set the tone for a more dedicated winter training cycle. I love the colder weather, but I struggled this past winter after catching the flu.

By not training for a fall marathon, I won’t end the year run down; instead I’ll begin headed toward a new peak. Figuratively and literally.

I’m once again signed up for the Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon in Roanoke, Va. This year I’ve learned that I want to experience new challenges. While I want to get faster, I setting PRs aren’t at the top of my priority list. As I look ahead to how I want to celebrate 10 years of running, conquering this marathon simply tops my list.

I haven’t run it yet because 1) I’ve been unprepared; 2) One year I was coming off injury; and 3) I’ve been scared.

I’ve been so focused on Shamrock every year that a marathon a month later never felt right. Next year, though, I feel more confident that I can approach Shamrock as a training race and turn my focus to Blue Ridge.

August goals update

  • 1,000 total push-ups: Currently at 649
  • More biking miles than running miles: Currently 41.3 biking, 40.1 running
  • Increase long run to 10 miles: 8.2; going for 10 this weekend

Preparing for “different”

Late winter/early spring half marathon. Marathon training. Fall marathon.

Repeat.

With the exception of early 2011, I’ve been in a pattern that I’m ready to break.

I haven’t talked much about it because I wasn’t sure I was sure, but I’m starting to feel really good about my decision to not run a marathon this calendar year.

trail running, Duke

Duke and I on a trail by the James River on Saturday. More trail runs are definitely in store for us this year.

I don’t have that itch anymore. It’s gone.

I thought running the Shamrock Half Marathon might strike up some desire to do 26.2 again later this spring or early fall.

But nope. It’s just not there.

I’m pretty excited about the next few weeks of running — the Monument Avenue 10k is going to be a pure fun event with my sister. I can’t even begin to hint at what is going to happen that day because it may cause me to break out the word “epic.”

A week after that I’ll be tackling Mill Mountain in the Blue Ridge Half Marathon. Many of my runs in the next two weeks will be focused on hills.

Hills, hills and more hills. Except for the complete flatness in Ohio this weekend.

It may be some of that “too little too late” type of training — similar to the speedwork I did for Shamrock — but I’m excited about this challenging event. I’m approaching it with more focus than a year ago, but not enough that I’m taking it too seriously.

After that I have a nice huge gap on my race calendar. Nothing is even on my radar from mid-April to mid-November. That will change, but I like not having this self pressure to turn my focus on “what’s next” with training.

This past weekend I realized how much I’ll enjoy doing some different things this spring and summer. I did a short trail run on Saturday with Duke and a 40-minute bike ride on Sunday. It was such a nice change from a 5:30 a.m. wake-up call to go run for 90-120 minutes.

A year from now I could very well be focused on a marathon again, but I’m not peeking into my crystal ball to worry about that. For now I’m happy with what’s ahead and it’s been a while since I have felt that way.