It was beautiful here this evening (mid 60s), so after putting the oldest to bed, I ran outside for the first time since the Pig (even before that, it had been awhile since I've run outside). I strapped on my new Saucony's and set out for a 5 miler.
I felt really good, and started out a little too quickly, but then settled into a nice pace. The shoes felt really good, it was nice to be running in shorts and a short sleeve shirt. Just really nice.
The results: I think it's the fastest 5 miles I've ever run. According to Garmin I ran 5 miles in 47:38 (9:31/mile), and Nike+ had it clocked in at 5.15 miles in 47:40 (9:14/mile). Either way I'm WAY happy with the run, though I suspect the Garmin numbers are more accurate.
Maybe all this running IS getting me in better shape. Who knew! ;-)
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Last Night's Workout...
Just a quick post for those of you interested in my training. Both (?) of you. Last night I ran some intervals on the treadmill. The workout was as follows:
1 mile warmup at 10:00/mile pace
5X .25 mile at 7mph (8:34/mile), each followed by .25 mile at 5.5 mph (10:54/mile).
It felt really good, and the 8:34 pace is getting easier, though I definitely feel the burn a little bit. It will be interesting when I start increasing the intervals from .25 mile to .5 mile. But that will be a little while. :-)
I've also taken to drinking a Myoplex Lite shake post-run. Hoping that the protein will help with recovery.
Anyway, that's it for now.
1 mile warmup at 10:00/mile pace
5X .25 mile at 7mph (8:34/mile), each followed by .25 mile at 5.5 mph (10:54/mile).
It felt really good, and the 8:34 pace is getting easier, though I definitely feel the burn a little bit. It will be interesting when I start increasing the intervals from .25 mile to .5 mile. But that will be a little while. :-)
I've also taken to drinking a Myoplex Lite shake post-run. Hoping that the protein will help with recovery.
Anyway, that's it for now.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Out with the old...
Well, it was finally time to kick my good 'ol Asics Gel 1120's to the curb. Get it?? Shoes...kick. Ah, well. Anyway, they had a good 300 miles or so on them, and I decided it was time to upgrade. I had initially bought the Asics because they seemed like a decent started shoe, and I wasn't really sure if I was going to stick with the whole running thing.
After 300+ miles, with a 5k and half marathon under my belt, and several more "races" on the horizon, I guess I'm sticking with it. :-)
So I went to the local running store to see what they had as far as Motion Control shoes . I figured me being a bigger runner with flat arches, Motion Control would be the way to go. I ended up getting the Saucony ProGrid Omni Ultimate 6. They feel really light, the support seems good (don't even have to use my PowerStep inserts), and my initial opinion is pretty positive. (BTW the lady at the shoe store noted that I was just fitting into the shoes I had, so she moved me up in size to a 12). I wore them on the 5 mile treadmill run the other night, and they seem like they're going to work out well.
I've completed 2 runs since the Flying Pig. One was a 3 mile "recovery" run the Wednesday after, and the other was a steady 10 minute 5 miler. So far things are going well.
The next race on the radar is the Steamboat Classic in Peoria. It's a 15k run coming up in about a month. I know I can make the distance, so that's not an issue. I haven't set a goal time or pace for myself, but I'm thinking a little faster than FP pace would be appropriate. To that end, I think I'll do a bit more speedwork/interval training (probably mostly on the treadmill, as I find it a bit easier to maintain a pace on there right now).
On other fronts...
I'm eagerly awaiting several movies this summer:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man (still haven't seen it)
The Dark Knight
Chronicles of Narnia
And last, but certainly not least....The Clone Wars. The trailer looks awesome, and I can't wait to go see it with my 4 year old daughter.
What I'm Reading: The Charnel Prince by Greg Keyes. The second book in a four book fantasy series. Great stuff, and since all the books are out, I can read them all straight through. AWESOME!
What I'm Playing: Grand Theft Auto IV. Not very far in, but lots of fun so far.
What I'm Listening To: PODCASTS! (In no particular order)
1. Star Wars Action News: Fantastic Star Wars collecting podcast. Marjorie and Arnie are lots of fun to listen to.
2. Running With the Pack: Running podcast, fairly new. Initially I started listening because the hosts also ran the Pig (full).
3. The ForceCast: Star Wars goodness with Jason, Pete and the gang. Always fun.
4. SmodCast: Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier talk about, well, whatever.
That's it for now. Except to mention that this post is brought to you by the office in which I work, where I wrote this whole entry the old fashioned way (by hand) while I waited for the copy machine to make the LITERALLY thousands of copies I made this morning.
After 300+ miles, with a 5k and half marathon under my belt, and several more "races" on the horizon, I guess I'm sticking with it. :-)
So I went to the local running store to see what they had as far as Motion Control shoes . I figured me being a bigger runner with flat arches, Motion Control would be the way to go. I ended up getting the Saucony ProGrid Omni Ultimate 6. They feel really light, the support seems good (don't even have to use my PowerStep inserts), and my initial opinion is pretty positive. (BTW the lady at the shoe store noted that I was just fitting into the shoes I had, so she moved me up in size to a 12). I wore them on the 5 mile treadmill run the other night, and they seem like they're going to work out well.
I've completed 2 runs since the Flying Pig. One was a 3 mile "recovery" run the Wednesday after, and the other was a steady 10 minute 5 miler. So far things are going well.
The next race on the radar is the Steamboat Classic in Peoria. It's a 15k run coming up in about a month. I know I can make the distance, so that's not an issue. I haven't set a goal time or pace for myself, but I'm thinking a little faster than FP pace would be appropriate. To that end, I think I'll do a bit more speedwork/interval training (probably mostly on the treadmill, as I find it a bit easier to maintain a pace on there right now).
On other fronts...
I'm eagerly awaiting several movies this summer:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man (still haven't seen it)
The Dark Knight
Chronicles of Narnia
And last, but certainly not least....The Clone Wars. The trailer looks awesome, and I can't wait to go see it with my 4 year old daughter.
What I'm Reading: The Charnel Prince by Greg Keyes. The second book in a four book fantasy series. Great stuff, and since all the books are out, I can read them all straight through. AWESOME!
What I'm Playing: Grand Theft Auto IV. Not very far in, but lots of fun so far.
What I'm Listening To: PODCASTS! (In no particular order)
1. Star Wars Action News: Fantastic Star Wars collecting podcast. Marjorie and Arnie are lots of fun to listen to.
2. Running With the Pack: Running podcast, fairly new. Initially I started listening because the hosts also ran the Pig (full).
3. The ForceCast: Star Wars goodness with Jason, Pete and the gang. Always fun.
4. SmodCast: Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier talk about, well, whatever.
That's it for now. Except to mention that this post is brought to you by the office in which I work, where I wrote this whole entry the old fashioned way (by hand) while I waited for the copy machine to make the LITERALLY thousands of copies I made this morning.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Look, Ma...Pigs Really CAN Fly!!
Well, I did it. More accurately I should say that we did it, because I don't know if I could have done it without my sister there with me stride for stride (we literally have the same finishing time).
The Flying Pig Half Marathon is in the books, folks.
Never having been in such a big race, I was a little unsure as to what to expect ( was also nervous as I had been fighting a cough and some lung congestion for the few days leading up to the race), but my trusty sis was there to guide me through. We started out early, walked from the hotel, and got corralled up just a few minutes before the race was scheduled to start. What we didn't realize (and couldn't hear because we were so far from the front) was that the race had to be delayed 15 minutes due to a major fire along the marathon route, and they were having to plan a reroute on the fly. Eventually the gun(?) sounded and we were off.
With so many people it was kinda hard to get into a rhythm/pace at the start. We actually didn't cross the starting line until nearly six minutes after the race officially started. After about the first mile or so we headed across the first of the bridges that took us into Kentucky. On the bridge we stepped around a massacred pigeon and joked that we didn't know there would be free snacks, particularly so early on. (This must have been something akin to gallows humor.) We headed through the first water stop (quite an adventure for a first timer) without taking water (I carried my own) and shortly after we heard the first of a couple bands, this one playing "Brown Eyed Girl". There was much singing along by the runners, and the feeling of camraderie was cool. The second band came up a bit later (though still while in Kentucky) and we heard the smooth sounds of "Summer of '69". Shortly after this it was back over a bridge and back into Ohio.
I was feeling pretty good so far, and the chest congestion/cough wasn't affecting me, which was great. I have to mention that along with my sister and myself, my brother in law was running along with us, as the lead leg on a relay team. He hung right there with us, and it was about the time we crossed back into Ohio that he mentioned he was almost half way done. (Needless to say, I think we were like 3.5 miles in, and my sister had a ways to go, but it was all good.) It felt good to be running along with people I knew, and I was still in a distance I knew I could do.
A couple miles later we were running through downtown Cinci when I knew to be one the lookout for my wife and little girl (who I must say TORE UP the 4&5 year olds race the day prior). We knew pretty closely where they would be, just not which side of the street. Kris looked one way, and I looked the other, and as we dodged water cups my sister saw them just ahead of where we were. My daughter was a bit surprised to see us (I think because there had been a lot of waiting, and then all of a sudden there we were), but I said Hi and after we passed, she shouted "Run, Daddy, Run". This got lots of chuckles from the spectators around her.
After this, it was on to the hill. I had seen the elevation chart, and heard all about the hilly portion of the race prior to running it, and was a bit intimidated, as I had done exactly ZERO hill training. Overall, I have to say I think it wasn't as bad as I had expected, and we powered on through miles 6,7, and 8. At the 6.8 mile mark, my brother in law finished his leg of the race, and we wouldn't see him again until later. His knees had given him lots of trouble the last couple miles of his relay leg, but he gutted it out.
To be honest, I don't remember a lot between miles 8 and 10. I know that it was at that point that the half course split from the full, so things thinned out a bit. I was pretty much in my zone, just plodding it out.
I DO remember that at the 10 mile mark on of the volunteers made the comment that it really was all downhill from that point, and he was right. We powered into the unknown (for me at least; I had never run further than 10 miles in all my training) and continued on.
It was right around the 12 mile mark that Kris mentioned that if we ran a 9 minute mile she would PR. I asked her if she wanted to go for it, and she said no. I told her if she needed to leave me, to go ahead. She neglected to do that and stuck right with me. If she had said that she wanted to go for the 9 minute mile, I would have honestly tried to do it for her. Not sure if I could have done it or not, but I would have given it everything.
I have to mention here that my sister's hip had been giving her problems (perhaps too much training, but I'm not sure ;-) ). Every time I asked her how her hip was doing, she said it was fine. Not that she would have told me any different had it been killing her. Remember, pain is just weakness leaving the body and all.
Somewhere between mile 12 and 13 we saw Jeff walking (he had somehow missed the bus back to the starting area) and he urged us on. All along I knew in my head that we were going to make it, to finish, but it was somewhere between 12 and 13 that I really FELT it.
We came into the home stretch, and I must say that seeing the finish line was a relief. We powered on through the finish. Ok, little story. There was a point, REALLY close to the finish, where I picked out a guy (in this case an older gent in a red shirt), and decided that there was no way in HELL this guy was crossing the finish line before me. So I dug deep, sister right there with me stride for stride, and we sprinted across the finish.
Net finish time 2:23:10
Chip time : 2:17:40
I had it in my mind going in that I wanted to finish under 2:24, which would have been an 11 min/mile pace. Goal :Achieved. Oh, and I'm still undefeated against the third, silent, member of our little race, the Garmin virtual trainer.
We got our medals (VERY COOL) and made our way through the finish area, clearly picking the wrong side to pick our snacks from. On our side there were chips, bananas, bagels, and bottles of water. Apparently on the other side there were orange slices, ice cream, cheesecake, and people just handing out cash. Ok, ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but we clearly picked the wrong side.
As we made our way to the family meeting area, I saw my little girl, and almost started crying. I was really tired, and having just finished, it was a very emotional moment for me. Anyway, we hung out for a little bit and then went back to the hotel to shower.
Overall, I had a great time. It was a lot of fun, and I can honestly say that I'm proud of having finished and achieving my goal. I have a feeling there will be more half marathons in my future. Oh, and they're organizing a marathon here for next April. It's going to be the first, so what better time to start a streak (??). I'm sure there will be some kinks, but not having to travel will be nice, and I can come home to recover, which would be good. So I'm thinking next April will be my first full marathon. Now, the question is, how hard do I want to push, and how fast do I want to try and run??
Keep on running.
Later.
The Flying Pig Half Marathon is in the books, folks.
Never having been in such a big race, I was a little unsure as to what to expect ( was also nervous as I had been fighting a cough and some lung congestion for the few days leading up to the race), but my trusty sis was there to guide me through. We started out early, walked from the hotel, and got corralled up just a few minutes before the race was scheduled to start. What we didn't realize (and couldn't hear because we were so far from the front) was that the race had to be delayed 15 minutes due to a major fire along the marathon route, and they were having to plan a reroute on the fly. Eventually the gun(?) sounded and we were off.
With so many people it was kinda hard to get into a rhythm/pace at the start. We actually didn't cross the starting line until nearly six minutes after the race officially started. After about the first mile or so we headed across the first of the bridges that took us into Kentucky. On the bridge we stepped around a massacred pigeon and joked that we didn't know there would be free snacks, particularly so early on. (This must have been something akin to gallows humor.) We headed through the first water stop (quite an adventure for a first timer) without taking water (I carried my own) and shortly after we heard the first of a couple bands, this one playing "Brown Eyed Girl". There was much singing along by the runners, and the feeling of camraderie was cool. The second band came up a bit later (though still while in Kentucky) and we heard the smooth sounds of "Summer of '69". Shortly after this it was back over a bridge and back into Ohio.
I was feeling pretty good so far, and the chest congestion/cough wasn't affecting me, which was great. I have to mention that along with my sister and myself, my brother in law was running along with us, as the lead leg on a relay team. He hung right there with us, and it was about the time we crossed back into Ohio that he mentioned he was almost half way done. (Needless to say, I think we were like 3.5 miles in, and my sister had a ways to go, but it was all good.) It felt good to be running along with people I knew, and I was still in a distance I knew I could do.
A couple miles later we were running through downtown Cinci when I knew to be one the lookout for my wife and little girl (who I must say TORE UP the 4&5 year olds race the day prior). We knew pretty closely where they would be, just not which side of the street. Kris looked one way, and I looked the other, and as we dodged water cups my sister saw them just ahead of where we were. My daughter was a bit surprised to see us (I think because there had been a lot of waiting, and then all of a sudden there we were), but I said Hi and after we passed, she shouted "Run, Daddy, Run". This got lots of chuckles from the spectators around her.
After this, it was on to the hill. I had seen the elevation chart, and heard all about the hilly portion of the race prior to running it, and was a bit intimidated, as I had done exactly ZERO hill training. Overall, I have to say I think it wasn't as bad as I had expected, and we powered on through miles 6,7, and 8. At the 6.8 mile mark, my brother in law finished his leg of the race, and we wouldn't see him again until later. His knees had given him lots of trouble the last couple miles of his relay leg, but he gutted it out.
To be honest, I don't remember a lot between miles 8 and 10. I know that it was at that point that the half course split from the full, so things thinned out a bit. I was pretty much in my zone, just plodding it out.
I DO remember that at the 10 mile mark on of the volunteers made the comment that it really was all downhill from that point, and he was right. We powered into the unknown (for me at least; I had never run further than 10 miles in all my training) and continued on.
It was right around the 12 mile mark that Kris mentioned that if we ran a 9 minute mile she would PR. I asked her if she wanted to go for it, and she said no. I told her if she needed to leave me, to go ahead. She neglected to do that and stuck right with me. If she had said that she wanted to go for the 9 minute mile, I would have honestly tried to do it for her. Not sure if I could have done it or not, but I would have given it everything.
I have to mention here that my sister's hip had been giving her problems (perhaps too much training, but I'm not sure ;-) ). Every time I asked her how her hip was doing, she said it was fine. Not that she would have told me any different had it been killing her. Remember, pain is just weakness leaving the body and all.
Somewhere between mile 12 and 13 we saw Jeff walking (he had somehow missed the bus back to the starting area) and he urged us on. All along I knew in my head that we were going to make it, to finish, but it was somewhere between 12 and 13 that I really FELT it.
We came into the home stretch, and I must say that seeing the finish line was a relief. We powered on through the finish. Ok, little story. There was a point, REALLY close to the finish, where I picked out a guy (in this case an older gent in a red shirt), and decided that there was no way in HELL this guy was crossing the finish line before me. So I dug deep, sister right there with me stride for stride, and we sprinted across the finish.
Net finish time 2:23:10
Chip time : 2:17:40
I had it in my mind going in that I wanted to finish under 2:24, which would have been an 11 min/mile pace. Goal :Achieved. Oh, and I'm still undefeated against the third, silent, member of our little race, the Garmin virtual trainer.
We got our medals (VERY COOL) and made our way through the finish area, clearly picking the wrong side to pick our snacks from. On our side there were chips, bananas, bagels, and bottles of water. Apparently on the other side there were orange slices, ice cream, cheesecake, and people just handing out cash. Ok, ok, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but we clearly picked the wrong side.
As we made our way to the family meeting area, I saw my little girl, and almost started crying. I was really tired, and having just finished, it was a very emotional moment for me. Anyway, we hung out for a little bit and then went back to the hotel to shower.
Overall, I had a great time. It was a lot of fun, and I can honestly say that I'm proud of having finished and achieving my goal. I have a feeling there will be more half marathons in my future. Oh, and they're organizing a marathon here for next April. It's going to be the first, so what better time to start a streak (??). I'm sure there will be some kinks, but not having to travel will be nice, and I can come home to recover, which would be good. So I'm thinking next April will be my first full marathon. Now, the question is, how hard do I want to push, and how fast do I want to try and run??
Keep on running.
Later.
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