Bad Run Turned Good, Easy Run Turned Hard

So, on Sunday my plan was to do a long slow run of about 9 miles. I wanted to keep the pace around 11:30-12:00 per mile and just get the distance in preperation for Broad Street. I went up to Cooper River to do about two and a half loops.

The first mile was okay, but I felt really bad. I could not loosen up and my pace was up and down. Same with the second mile, but now I couldn't keep my pace slow enough. I just felt all out of whack and could not get into a groove.

I finished one loop of the river and was thinking that I should just give it up. I stopped at my car and got some water. I paced a bit and talked myself into doing another loop. This time I would take it extremely slow. I sucked down a GU and went off as slow as I could.

This lap felt better, but I was still going too fast. I decided just to go with it and keep my pace steady. I could definitely feel the effects of the GU because I was feeling much more energized than my first loop. I felt very loose and relaxed. I finished that second loop feeling good and decided to stop there. Shorter and faster than I was intending, but feeling really good.

A couple days later I went out for an easy recovery run. I was planning to keep it around 11:00 miles for 3 miles, but it just seemed so slow. Mile first mile was 10:32 and I felt incredibly good. I kept going, and noticed that I was easily going faster.

I was in a zone, and mentally I was flying. I do not think I was even really aware of anything more than five feet away from me.

My second mile split was 9:15. The fastest mile split I have ever ran. I stopped at a water fountain for about thirty seconds and quickly got back into the run.

By the time I reached the 2.5 mile mark I was feeling worn out. I told myself I would run to the next traffic light and then I could quit. I got there and my Garmin read 2.88 miles. Only .12 left to make it an even three so why not.

I dug deep and pushed it out. Third mile split was 9:43

Total run was 3 miles in 29:31. My hardest workout yet, and my best avg pace at 9:51 minutes per mile. I walked for about twenty minutes so that I would stay loose and cool down properly. I felt very good for the rest of the night.

I compared this workout to the first one I ever did with a heart rate monitor. This was back in January and was also three miles. I did an average pace of 11:04 and had an average HR of 172. I also tried to run one full mile at sub 10:00 pace and could only hold that for .6 miles, and it was extremely hard to do that.

I think this is great improvement in such a short time! Watching these improvements and comparing workouts really keeps me motivated to run.

DNS

Well, today was my first DNS, but for good reason.

A few posts ago I talked about a 5k that I signed up for with the intent of a new PR and possibly going sub 30 minutes for the first time. A few days after that I realized something was significant about the date.

My son's first t-ball game.

So it was obvious which I would go to.

It was fun watching the kids play t-ball. They all had these great bog looks of excitement on their faces and were having such a great time.

And I saw a runner in my son this week. At his t-ball practice the kids got in line and ran around the bases. My son, being the shy one, ended up being the last one in line. He loves to run and I could see it in him. He wanted to sprint ahead of everyone. He had to hold himself back not to pass the others and he had a look of determination on his face.

I can see in him, that primal desire to run. There is an animal in him that just wants to run free.

I need to feed that animal.

Ryan Hall - Boston - Ole'

I have watched this video three times in the last hour. I love watching Ryan Hall run, and hope he does well in Boston.

Improved Heart Rate

I get very excited at each improvement I see as I continue my journey into running.

This morning I woke early to go for a quick run, but it was down pouring pretty hard. Usually I do not mind running in the rain, but the forecast called for it to clear up so I decided to stay dry this time. Not a waste though.

I put on my heart rate monitor and sat in my recliner for about twenty minutes. I wanted to gauge my resting heart rate. Last time I did it was a couple months ago and it was around 60 beats per minute.

The first time I did it was when I first began running... I took my pulse and watched the second hand on my watch. During that time it ranged anywhere from 70 to 85 beats per minute.

Today my heart rate was 55 beats per minute. It makes me feel good and more motivated to improve my health and my life.

I love telling people about it, because I think it can motivate others to get in shape as well. If I can do it anyone can. You just have to get out of your comfort zone, work a little bit, and in doing so create a new comfort zone.

I also went down a pant size. I needed a couple new pairs for work, and instead of getting 42 waist, and fit a 40 waist... just a matter of time before I look more like a runner.

eewww... Who Fartleked?

Sorry. I can never resist a fart(lek) joke.

So today was the first time I ever really did fartleks. I turned the auto lap off on my Garmin and split the laps after each recovery and interval. I am pretty impressed with how fast I was running and I hope that doing this every once in a while will help with my speed.

One thing I will do next time is not have so many splits... maybe just sprinkle in a few bursts of speed rather than have so many intervals. Just look at them all...


note: I tried formatting this so it would be easier to read, but it is not going right. You can check out my log over at runnersworld for the full workout if you want.

................Distance............Time.................Pace.............avg HR
Recovery.........0.64 Mi ...........6:58.96..........10:55.........154 warm up
Interval ..........103 Yd .............0:27.25............7:46........... 172
Recovery ........0.12 Mi............ 1:14.83............10:24 ..........170
Interval ...........89 Yd.............. 0:25.23............8:19............ 170
Recovery .........0.12 Mi........... 1:18.02............10:51 ..........173
Interval ...........102 Yd ............0:28.58 ............8:14........... 171
Recovery .........111 Yd .............0:41.4 ..............10:57..........171
Interval ............123 Yd ...........0:35.81 .............8:33 ...........173
Recovery ..........155 Yd ...........0:56.29 ...........10:40...........174
Interval .............134 Yd ..........0:33.42 .............7:19 ............174
Recovery .........141 Yd ...........1:07.83 ............14:07.........168 walk break
Interval .............101 Yd ............0:26.75 ............7:47............168
Recovery ...........0.13 Mi ...........1:32.97 .............11:56.........169
Interval ...............109 Yd ...........0:32.13 ............8:39 ..........169
Recovery .............125 Yd ...........0:47.52 ...........11:10 ..........170
Interval ...............103 Yd ............0:31.8 ..............9:04 ..........174
Recovery ..............143 Yd ...........0:53.98 ...........11:05 .........172
Interval ................108 Yd ...........0:31.61 ............8:36 ...........173
Recovery ..............0.33 Mi ...........3:53.26 ...........11:47 .........168

One thing I noticed is that my heart rate is pretty steady. I am not an expert but I think that can be good. I also think the workout might be better if I get my heart rate higher during the faster intervals. Perhaps I did not go hard enough?

This was fun, and I felt really good afterward. My goal is really distance and endurance over speed, but I would like to get faster than the crawl I am at right now. I am sure this will help.

Whoa -- This Can't Be Right

Okay... so I am doing an easy three on Tuesday afternoon and it is going real nice and easy. I feel that I am running a good pace between 10:30 and 11:00. To confirm this I look at my watch...

9:45???

This can not be right. I keep my pace as steady as possible and the pace only slows by about 5 seconds. I turn my attention back to my run. It felt too easy, there was no way I was running under 10 minutes per mile.

The day was clear and sunny. As I was coming up to a park I decided to stop at one of it's water fountains and get a sip. I also thought it might be a good idea to check my Forerunner. According to the navigation it had clear view of a number of satellites and good reception from those satellites as well.

Am I really getting faster?

I finished my three mile run at an avg 10:19 pace. This is not incredibly fast, but it is the fastest avg pace I have ran in a long time.... actually I think the fastest ever. hmmm.

So here comes Friday morning. I run before work, but this time is a little different than my other pre-work runs. Since I do not have to be in until late, I decide to take my time and actually jog a half mile as a warm up before I start my run.

The warm up felt nice and I got to the spot where I wanted to start my run. Hit the start button on my Forerunner and get going at a nice easy pace.

It was raining, so my jacket was covering my watch. I barely heard the beep when I reached my first mile split. Whenever I hear that beep I can not help but look at my split time, so I did...

9:52???

My mile split was actually less than 10 minutes? I can not believe this, it is my fastest mile time ever. So I decide to finish this short run fast. I was only doing two miles so I continued strong, and decided not to look at my watch at all the rest of the run.

I finished hard and out of breath, but not exhausted. I ended 2.02 miles in 20:08. A 9:59 pace. The fastest avg pace I have ever done during any run ever.

I am getting faster!?

For the rest of the day I felt like I was on top of the world. What does one do when they have such a huge milestone and breakthrough in performance? Find a race.

There is a 5k outside the Philadelphia Art Museum on April 18th. I have decided to sign up and go for a new PR. My current one is 32:14. Not really that fast by some standards, but that race was a milestone for me and gave me a huge boost in my confidence.

So if all things fall into place I will have a new PR in a couple of weeks. But if all things fall into place, and the stars and planets align correctly, and I warm up properly (something I do not always do), I think I will break 30 minutes.

If that happens, I will have a runners high for the entire weekend.

Long Run, Big Blister

Five weeks. That is how long it has been since my last LSD. The runs in that time have been few, and none more than three miles. I felt really good after my last run and figured yesterday morning was time for a good long run. I decided on 6 miles, which is the longest I have ever done.

I woke to find that it was raining outside. Not a down pouring rain, but a slow steady rain, and a dreary overcast sky. I headed out and started slow. I walked for a short warm up and then took it around a 12:30 pace.

I knew that the same old routes would probably bore me a bit, especially on a dark a dreary day like this, so I went a new way, running through Riverwinds Community Center and then back toward my house. I actually pounded out 6.5 miles, my longest run yet, and it felt great.

I felt strong the entire run, and although minor cramps and annoyances came up, I ran through them and they quickly went away. I then walked for twenty minutes to cool down, and that worked well because my legs felt good all day long.

I did have a weird sensation on my toe and pretty much figured it would be a blister. Sure enough... I took off my socks and there it was. A small one at first, but it has ballooned up pretty good. Not the biggest I have seen, but the biggest I have had in quite some time.

One thing I was reminded about on this run was this... looking at your watch too much can spoil a run. My Forerunner was covered by my rain jacket, so it took some effort to look at it. For the first four miles I looked at it only once, to see my pace, and ignored the other numbers. When I got near mile 5 I wanted to see how long I had been running and caught the distance. I was still running strong, but now I had too many numbers in my head and all of a sudden my side was cramping and I felt like taking a walk break. It took me a few minutes to get my mind off it and just get back into the run.

So that is it... 6.5 miles in 1:19:47 for a 12:16 pace. HR avg-160, max-180. I feel really good about this run and I am looking forward to a strong April.

Just a little over a month until Broad Street, and I am getting excited about it.

On a side note... I got the Wii Fit yesterday. It is pretty cool so far, but I have not used it enough to give a full review. I see some things I like and some I don't, but I will be exploring it some this week and we shall see how much I like it.

Life Can Get In The Way

So my trip to Nashville was cut short because my wife was sick. The race there would be my last run in over a week, because my wife was getting worse and needed to go to the hospital. She finally got home today, after a week in there. I am not going into the details here, but she is better than she was when she got admitted.

I have two sons. One is 5 and the other is 2. That makes it incredibly hard to run when you are the only parent around.

So my mileage has been horrible this month.

My original goal for The Broad Street run was 1:45... a 10:30 pace. Now I am just hoping to finish it.

I ran for the first time in over a week on Monday and it killed me. It felt like I was a complete beginner again. I had a 3 mile run today that felt really good... I mean almost perfect. Hopefully I can carry that through the next month and into Broad St.

My goal now is to build my mileage and do a few days of speed work, maybe just fartleks, and then do Broad Street as best as I can.

I know I can finish it, but how well is another question.

Tom King 5k Race Report

This weekend we took a road trip to Nashville, TN for my brother in law's wedding. The only part of the trip that actually went as planned was my running in the Tom King 5k. There was actually a 5k and a half marathon that day, but obviously I could not run the half. Although, I may have tried if not for the flu the week before.

The race seems cool at first glance. You start at LP Field, where the Tennessee Titans play, and end the run in the stadium with a half lap around the field.

The race was Saturday morning with packet pick ups Friday night. Since I arrived in town Friday afternoon I decided to go over, get my stuff and check things out. There was nothing special. Tables to sign up, and tables to pick up your packet if you pre-registered.

I looked at the list for my bib number, and received an envelope with my bib and timing chip. The lady also handed me an empty bag, or so I thought it was empty. I looked inside and saw one postcard sized flyer advertising a running group for the Country Music Marathon. Big whoop, I put my envelope inside there and went over to get my t-shirt. It is pretty decent, short sleeved tee... the half marathon runners got a long sleeve tech tee. You think for a $30 5K we would have got a tech tee also.

So nothing to check out, I left and went back to my hotel. I was only staying about two miles from the stadium, so I was actually planning to walk to the race as warm up and then walk back for a cool down. The only problem... it was down pouring when I woke up to get going. I also had a wicked cough lingering from the flu last week. I almost talked myself out of going, but got moving and drove over to the stadium.

The 5k started at 7:30 and the half started at 8:30. There was a good crowd forming when I got there and everyone was kind of hiding in the stadium to get out of the rain. I did some stretching, and knew that I should run a bit to warm up, but actually skipped it.

This was the biggest start to a 5k I have ever seen... (although I have only seen three including this one.) It took me 40 seconds to get across the start line and I had to keep my pace slow as the crowd gently thinned out. The course took us around the stadium once and then an out and back to the stadium. You can see from the map that when we entered the stadium my Garmin lost reception and kind of skitzed out for a second. It got back on track once I entered the field.


The run was nice around the stadium and near the river, but the straight part of the out and back was mostly industrial lots and construction scenes. Not too attractive. There was a water stop right before the turn around point, and it was very well organized with lots of water ready. They did a good job there.

It was real cool running into the stadium and around the field. They had the jumbotrons going and you could watch yourself running across the finish line.

It rained the whole time, and I felt like crap. I was seriously thinking about walking a little near the end, but I fell in pace with this older gentleman who started talking to me. He was very nice and inspiring and we chatted while we ran toward the finish. He apologized for slowing me down and said that I was helping him finish his run. I assured him that he was not slowing me down, and in fact helped me get through the last mile without walking.

All in all it was a fun race. I coughed a lung up after crossing the finish line, and was soaking wet, but made it. My chip time was 34:06 which translates to an exactly 11:00 per mile pace. I finished 310 overall and there were about 500 finishers according to the website.

So not my best, but not my worst. As far as the race goes... I think it was a little expensive since you really got no extras besides the t-shirt and and empty bag. I did like running in Nashville... some of the route was very nice.

Down For The Count

This has been the nicest weekend of the year, and it just so happens it is the weekend that I get the flu. Well the weekend that the whole family gets the flu.

It came on Thursday and lasted all weekend. I still have a touch of it today, but I am hoping that I can get a little bit of a run in tomorrow.

It sucks, because I was looking forward to the weekend weather, thinking that I would be able to do a lot outside. Now I feel like four days have just been deleted.

So that puts a dent in my training plan. I am hoping just to get up to the proper mileage now and finish with a respectable time. We are going to have to see how it goes from here on out. It may be easier for me to get runs in now that the clocks were turned ahead an hour.

Thursday I drive to Tennessee for my brother in law's wedding. The first thing I did was look up any races that weekend and lucky me... there is a 5k and half marathon Saturday morning. I am obviously not up for a half, but I am seriously considering the 5k. It is the Tom King Classic, runs in downtown Nashville, finishing in the stadium that the Titans play in. It looks like fun, and has a breakfast buffet after!

So I have a lot of blogs to catch up on... a lot of writing to do.. and a lot of family to take care of.