2009 Philadelphia Distance Run Race Report

I am not going to lie to you. I am writing this post a week late. You did not miss it the day after the PDR, I am just predating it in an attempt to hide the fact that I am a major procrastinator. Especially when I have a head cold.

One of my favorite things about major races, is the race expo. The atmosphere at the expo can be exhilarating. The large number of runners, all bustling about in a cloud of nervousness and excitement. You can find some great deals on running gear, as well as some great freebies. And if it is free, it is for me.

I went to this expo on Friday afternoon, so it was not as crowded as they usually are on Saturdays. My highlight of the expo, and probably of the week to that point, was meeting Ryan Hall. I actually walked by him while he was talking to some people. I was not sure if it would be rude to interrupt, but I went over and said hello. We talked for a minute, but I kept it short because he was getting ready to talk to the crowd that was gathering in the runners lounge.

Here are some of the elites talking to the crowd. In the blue Asics jacket is Ryan Hall. In the red is Constantina Dita, winner of the 2008 Olympic Marathon in Beijing. And on the right is Catherine Ndereba of Kenya.

Ryan Hall ended up winning the PDR in 1:01:52 and Catherine Ndereba won the women's in 1:09:43.

One of the great things about running is that the professional athletes in the field are so accessible. See how close they are to the crowd. They talk directly to the spectator and back of the pack runners as well as to the other elites and pros. You can just walk up and say hi and on race day you are all running the same streets... although I was running way behind them. They were finished before I was even at the halfway point.

So then came race day. Going to the expo on Friday rather than Saturday was a mistake, because the excitement builds at the expo and then you have to wait an extra day for the run. Not too much of a problem, but I think I will go to expos on Saturdays from now on.

The morning was great. I rode my bike over to the art museum from the University of Penn Hospital. That was a nice start to my warm up. I met my brother and cousins and we hung out while we waited for the start.

We were in line for the bathroom when the race started, but our corrals were in the back so we were fine. I was in corral 16 and the rest of my group was in 18. I decided to just hop in 18 with them.

It took 30 minutes to get across the start line, but since I was so far back I was able to control my pace a little better. That lasted for only about a half mile and as I started passing people I started picking up the pace. It was nice to seem fast, but I would pay for it later.

I have raced two major races in my short time as a runner. The Broad Street 10 Miler in May and this, the Philadelphia Distance Run. The one thing I learned in these two races is that I cannot keep my pace slow enough in the beginning to run efficiently in the end. I always plan to start slow and negative split, but I always get caught up in the crowd and start too fast and end up slowing down at the end.

I was doing good through mile 7 or 8, then I started walking through the water stations. As the run went on, the walks got a little slower.

Mile 10 was a good point for me, because until now that was the furthest I had ever ran. This gives you a mental boost because every step from then on is further than you have ever ran before. With only 5k to go I picked up my pace again, but the high did not last long. I quickly slowed down as I came to the next water station. My legs were telling me that I could not hold a fast pace for three more miles, and I allowed my mind to listen to them.

The final mile was pretty incredible. As I was winding my way toward the finish, I could not help but get a boost from the crowd. They were cheering and shouting words of support, which was much needed for the back of the pack runners such as myself.

As I rounded the final turn for the finish I noticed my fan support. My Mom and Dad brought my sons up, and my Uncle was there with two of my younger cousins. It was great to see them.

My legs were dead for the last couple of miles, but I tried to give it a good kick at the end. I was able to sprint for the last couple of hundred yards, but after crossing the finish line I though my legs would buckle.

The key was to keep moving, and they had the finish area set up very well for that. Maybe it was because I was so close to the last of the runners, but there was no waiting in line for your medal, or for much needed refreshments. And they had the path set up so you walked around and out and it was not a mass of people aiming for one tiny exit.

My chip time was 2:24:12. I picked up a pace bracelet at the expo for 2:15 not really expecting to be able to do it, but I think now I could have. I just needed to pace myself better at the beginning and run negative splits at the end.

All in all I am impressed with the run and the way it was organized. Next year the Rock and Roll brand takes over so it is going from the ING Philadelphia Distance Run to the Rock and Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon. Along with the name change is a price hike. Early registration this year was $55. Early registration for next year is $80. I paid $80 for the full marathon in November, so paying the same for a half marathon in the same city seems a little steep.

I am now halfway to 26.2. After this run I am feeling confident that the full marathon will be a good run. I am feeling good with my training and excited to give it a go for the full.

As I write this, I mentioned to my wife that the full marathon is 8 weeks away. She said "Are you sure you are ready for that?"

My only response was, "I will be in 8 weeks."

14 Weeks To Philly - Training Going Well

Today I finished my second week of training and it is now fourteen weeks to the Philadelphia Marathon. While on my run this morning I was thinking about my training plan, and decided I need to write about how it is going.... because it is going great!

Including this current plan, I have started three official training plans. The C25K program, The Broad Street Run training program and of course this Philadelphia Marathon training plan. Besides the one I am doing now for the marathon I have finished none.

Why could that be?

Well the C25K program was obviously my first, and was intended to get me started with running. It is a good program and I recommend it to everyone wanting to start. I did not stop the program for any reason related to the actual program, but reasons completely my fault.

I had bad running shoes which did not help my feet and legs, and I ran too fast which also did not help my feet and legs and breathing. I developed very bad shin splints and was discouraged pretty quickly. I stopped running altogether after almost three weeks of C25K.

Luckily I started running again a few months after that, because late last year I decided to run the Philadelphia Broad Street Run. I snagged a plan off of Runners World and started training for that. Life got in the way of that one and I abandoned the plan because my schedule was interfering with it. Luckily I was still able to run some and did finish the Broad Street Run, and ran it pretty well.

So I decided to develop my own training plan for the Philadelphia Marathon. I like the 16 week plans. Although I would like to run five or six days a week, my body can really only handle three days a week right now. I have also found that running by time rather than distance works better for me right now.

So I spent a couple nights tweaking a plan that looks good for me. All my runs, except for a few Yasso 800's, are scheduled by time. Even speed workouts. This is the first time creating a plan as well as the first time running a marathon, so I am nervous that I may not know what I am doing... but so far everything is going well. We will know for sure in fourteen more weeks.

I had a bad run the other day, because of a long day at work and the heat, but every other run has been great. I am feeling good. My legs feel great. I am learning what my body can do and how to avoid injury. I am looking forward to speed work, and the excitement of the marathon keeps building and building.

I am praying that it is God's will for me to run this marathon. I want to stay healthy and injury free and run a good run.

I am feeling good!

Awesome Run

It has been a week since my last run, and I was a little worried that it would have a bad effect on this morning's run. I wanted to do about 7 or 8 miles, my longest since Broad Street, and usually when I am running on stale legs it turns out to be pretty bad.

I have also had a problem with early morning motivation lately, but was able to get myself out of bed at six this morning. After slowly getting started I got outside. That is the hardest part and once outside I knew it was easy from there.

I started really slow and just tried to keep my pace steady. It was nice and cool out, and a bit overcast. It looked like it could rain at anytime, but I have ran in the rain so much this winter that I did not care. At least today would not be a cold rain.

The entire run felt great and when my Forerunner beeped for the third mile I noticed that I was steadily increasing my pace, and feeling good while doing it.

I passed mile seven and started feeling a little tired. There was a little more than a quarter mile to the intersection of my street, so I continued to the traffic light. I was a little fatigued and really had to push that last bit, but I finished strong.

Before starting I expected that I would need a couple walk breaks, but ended up not needing them at all and not even thinking about walking the entire time.

All in all I did 7.31 miles in 1:21:52 for a pace of 11:12
My splits were 12:06 - 11:44 - 11:28 - 11:17 - 11:11 - 10:37 - 10:23
and the final .31 mile was ran at a 9:55 pace.

I felt incredible after this run, and it really gave me a boost in motivation.

What Next

It has been a week and a half since finishing the Broad Street Run. Since the beginning of the year my sights have been set on running that 10 miles through the city of brotherly love, and while I had abandoned the structured training plan, I was still running with a specific purpose.

Now it is over.

My next big race will be the Philadelphia Distance Run, but I will not be training specifically for that one. It falls into my training for the Philadelphia Marathon, the race I have been looking forward to since last year.

It is never too early to begin preparation for a marathon, but it is too far out to start a training program. So what to do?

Outline my mileage for the next three months.

I want to gradually increase my mileage and improve my fitness so that I can train hard for the marathon. I have outline the number of miles I will be running each week, and even broke them down into individual runs. I will gradually increase the weekly mileage, with a cutback week every month.

This outline brings me up to the first full week in August, which will begin my training program for the marathon. By that time I will be running 20-30 miles per week, and hopefully doing so comfortably.

A week or two before I come up with a training program, I will find a 5k or hopefully a 10k race that I can use to gauge my running fitness. This will help me develop a 16-week training plan that I will be following.

I want my first marathon to be a strong one, and I think this plan will help a lot with that. I may waver from it a bit, but that is fine. If I follow the overall outline I should be able to improve and train hard for the marathon.

I am still excited to run.

Broad Street Run Race Report

Well, today's run did not go exactly as planned. I had trouble keeping my pace where I wanted and went out too fast to start. It is hard to not get caught up in the crowd and just run at their pace.

It took me twenty minutes to get across the start line. Once there, people were still packed pretty tight, but they all seemed to be trying to weave in and out to get further ahead. With so many people passing me at the start, I could not help but keep my pace fast.

I was feeling good for all of the first half. I knew I was running a little too fast, but nothing really hurt, and I felt good. At mile five I was still on pace to finish under 1:45, but when we got to City Hall I needed to talk a short walk break. Thirty seconds of fast walking and then I was back into it.

I walked through each water stop after that. My legs started screaming at me and with 5k to go I really had to dig down to keep moving forward.

Seeing the stadiums gave me a little added boost, but it was hard to speed up. My legs wouldn't really go, and the street was still crowded. Those last two miles seemed to crawl by.

With a mile to go I wanted to push the pace and try to do a nine minute mile, but my legs were like lead. To add to that, I had moved all the way to the left, in hopes of seeing my son on the sidelines, and I had run up behind an ambulance slowly creeping down the road. I tried to get around it, but everyone was just so cramped together. It took a quarter mile to finally get in front of the thing.

I ended up seeing my son and yelled for him. He was pretty close to the finish line, and if it was not raining so hard I would have probably lifted him over the fence and had him run with me. He may have been a little scared of the crowd though... maybe next year.

I crossed the finish line and raised my hands... partly in victory, but mainly in praise. It is a blessing to be able to do something like this. People take it for granted. Praise the Lord!

After the finish line, I saw volunteers handing out the medals. For the few short seconds, as I stared at the medal and walked closer to get mine, there was a sense of satisfaction that swept over me. A sense of accomplishment and another true sense of praise.

My body was really feeling it, but I finished!

Here were my splits from my Garmin:
10:33
09:57
10:00
10:14
10:28
10:44
11:07
11:18
10:55
11:00

My official chip time was 1:46:45. Just a minute forty five over my goal. I was so close and at the halfway point was still on pace to do it, but I am happy with my finish.

Congratulations to everyone that ran!

Time For Broad Street

It has been a while since I last blogged. I am going to have to blame Facebook for that. It is addicting, and I welcome anyone to request me as a friend.

It is now less than 12 and a half hours until the Broad Street Run. It seems like yesterday I was signing up and now it is upon us! My first major race and the excitement has been building all day.

I went to the expo this morning with my son and brother. We arrived at Lincoln Financial Field a little after 10 and the line was incredibly long to get in. It moved quickly though.

The expo was pretty cramped, and whoever planned the layout was pretty sneaky. When you got upstairs you had to go all the way to the right to the end and get your BIB. Then you had to turn around and go all the way to the other end to get your shirt and bag. In the meantime you had to pass every single vendor that was set up for the expo.

The only thing I bought was a t-shirt for each of my kids, and a case of GU. The GU was a great deal, only $22 and I was able to mix and match flavors. I got a few I like and some I have not tried yet.

So here is my plan for tomorrow... My goal is an incredibly slow 1:45. I will run the first two miles at 11:00 pace, then the next three miles at 10:30 pace, and the last five miles at 10:00 pace. That will give me a finish time of 1:43:30 and a 90 second margin of error to reach my goal!

I posted that plan on my Facebook page for all the world to see. I risk failing in front of all the Internet world, but if I pull it off I can look like a running scholar. lol

So, I am not as prepared as I thought I would be at this point, but I am very confident that I will have a good run.

Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

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.

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.

Registered!

Registration finally opened for the Broad Street Run today! I do not know if it is normal to feel this excited about just signing up for a race, but I never claimed to be normal.

I think it will hold true that once you sign up then you have more motivation to stick with your training plan. I am ready to tackle this and excited to train hard for what will be my first major race.

Yesterday's run went very well too. Even though it was a little less than expected I felt good for the entire run and it really makes me feel that I will do good in May if I stick with my plan.

Oh man I can not wait!

The Wait Is Killing Me

I started my training for the Broad Street Run this week, and although I have gotten off to a slow start I must say that the suspense is killing me.

Not the suspense of race day quickly creeping up on me... but the suspense of signing up for it.

The website says that registration begins in mid-February. They have updated the site for this year, but registration is not open yet. I keep checking almost every day because I am so anxious to sign up.

Hurry up people! It is mid February already!

What Have I Been Doing

I have not posted in almost a week. I also have not ran in almost a week.

Sunday night, after that incredible run I had in the morning, I started feeling some pain in my legs. I decided to rest for a couple of days and then do a real easy run Wednesday morning to see how they feel. I want to make sure that I am good to start my Broad Street training and stay injury free.

Well Wednesday morning brought 8 inches of snow in my area. South Jersey got anywhere from four inches and some people have told me areas got even more than eight. So my Wednesday morning was spent shoveling snow rather than running. The good thing is that my legs felt good even after shoveling for two hours, and there was really no pain in the legs all week.

Today I will do an easy three. I decided to wait until the afternoon since the weather is warming up today, and I have a feeling that this run will be pretty nice in 40+ degrees and a nice change from the teens we felt all week.

Other than that, I finally made a set in stone training plan for the Broad Street Run. I used Smart Coach at Runners World to give me two different training plans and then I mixed in elements of both to create a nice one that I am comfortable with. I start next week and hopefully end with the race on May 3rd.

So now it is time to catch up on blogs that I read. I am having running and blogging withdrawal so you will probably see another post from me this afternoon or evening.

Am I Ready?

I had a very humbling run yesterday. It was only two miles, but one of the worst I have had in a long time.

I went after work, and although it had been a while since I ate, I did have a couple of my wife's onion rings before heading out. I did not think that would be a big deal. During the run I was cramping in my side, could that be from only a couple of onion rings? I could not run properly and no matter what I did I could not get into a proper rhythm.

Next week starts my training for the Broad Street Run. After my run yesterday the plan I have seems a little too ambitious. Will I even be able to do some of the training runs that it has planned for me? Will I have a good run after the thirteen weeks of training? Will I even make it through the thirteen weeks of training?

I know that this is a mental block that a lot of runners get, but it is making me think. I have two more "free runs" before training starts next week. I am running an easy three tomorrow and a long four or five on Sunday. I think while running these runs I will be reviewing my training plan and maybe making some tweaks to it.

I do not want my training to be so easy that it does nothing for me and I have a bad run... but I also do not want it to be so advanced that I set myself up for injury and failure.

A Wasted Day

I got back from Florida very late last night. It was a very nice vacation. So relaxing and enjoyable. It actually got pretty cold in Orlando, but still fun. And I managed to get in two runs, one of which was my first time on a treadmill. More about them later.

I slept in today and had intentions to run a long run today. I started the day unpacking and cleaning up, but as the day grew older I found myself doing not much of anything. I am frustrated because the day slipped away from me and I feel like I have accomplished nothing at all. Even though I have one more day off, I am already feeling the stress of daily life creeping back and it is frustrating.

A good long run tomorrow morning will help me feel better. I do not usually run on Monday's, but I am going to cheat a little and use that as the run I missed today. Also tomorrow I will sit down and put in stone a training plan for the Broad Street run. I am excited to get this started and look forward to that run.

I will be posting a few more times tomorrow to tell you all about my running and vacation last week. I do not want to do it all in one post, since that would make it way too long and people would abandon ship as they got closer to boredom.

I also need to catch up on the blogs that I follow... so until tomorrow, I will see you around.

This Will Take Some Getting Used To

Today was my first run that I tried to stay within a target heart rate zone. It was an easy two miles so I wanted to stay within the aerobic zone, which for me is 134-153 beats per minute.

I set my Forerunner 305 to alert me if I went outside of the zone. I reached the proper range pretty quick, but soon found it hard to stay under 153 bpm. My heart rate would get too high and I would have to walk in order to get it back down.

I was frustrated at how slow I had to go in order to keep my heartbeat within that range. My average pace was 13:46 per mile. The last time I ran that slow it was rainy and icy. Before that it has been a long time. I knew that I could be running the whole thing, but I wanted to stay within range and get a good feel for what the range was like.

I am going to be running according to heart rate and allow that to dictate my pace rather than just running at a target pace. It is going to take some patience to run that slow, but I have read the benefits will be worth it. As my heart and lungs get stronger, I will be able to run at a faster pace while in that same heart rate zone.

After the run I felt like I could keep on running for hours. When I slowed to a walk in order to get my heart rate down I was not even out of breath. This run felt really good. I just hope that I can continue in the proper heart rate range while training over the next few months... and hopefully it will make me faster by the time the Broad Street Run comes around.

New Year, New Goals, New Age Group

Well, here we are. Another new year and a load of possibilities in front of us. Running has done a lot of things to me in 2008 and one of them is give me focus. Even if the focus is only in running and endurance sports, at least I have focus somewhere. This will be the first time, ever in my life, that I am setting measurable goals and laying out an overall plan for the year to come.

First, my overall plan for the year. Then my goals.

I am going to rest for the first week in January and make sure my leg is okay. Tomorrow I am getting fitted for shoes for the first time, so that might help. January is also bringing a vacation to Disney world in Orlando. A full week down there will bring good times with family and hopefully some good runs in the nice weather.

When I return from Disney it will be time to start my first official training program for the Broad Street Run on May 3. If no other 5k's come around until then, than this will be my third race. Not only that but it will be my longest and largest race yet. I am both excited and confident I can do it.

I will be using a training program from Smart Coach on runnersworld.com with a few customizations of my own to the program. My goal time as of right now is 1:45 but I will be happy if I break 2 hours.

After that I will continue to run and build my mileage through the summer. I will also be running as many 5k's and 10k's that I can find. My main goal through the spring and summer will be to build mileage and endurance.

August 2nd is exactly sixteen weeks until the Philadelphia Marathon. Philly is going to be my first marathon and this is when I will start my training program for it. I have not decided how I will make my training program since it is so far away, but I will probably customize another smart coach plan.

Leading up to Philly I will focus on training as hard as I can while still being safe and injury free. There are two major races that I want to run during that time. September 20th is the ING Philadelphia Distance Run. I will integrate this one into my training plan, and most likely just use it as a faster than normal training run rather than an all out race.

November 2nd is the Run The Bridge 10k. This seems to be a fantastic run, and it is a race I could have done last year, had I stuck with my running from the beginning. So this year I have to come with a vengeance.

When the marathon rolls around I hope to be well trained and in much better shape than I am now. It is my first marathon so just getting there and finishing it will be a great accomplishment, but my ideal dream time right now is under 4 hours. I think it is realistic to break 4 hours, and I will be training all year to do just that.

So that is my overall plan for the year. I will also be entering the two 5k's that I entered last year, and revisit my journey into running. I am also planning to incorporate a lot more cycling into my training programs and cross training. I went for my first ride since July today and it felt great!

Now here are my specific goals for 2009. I am sure there will be more to come as we get further into the year.

* Run 600 miles
* Cycle 1000 miles
* Run the Broad Street Run (goal 1:45)
* Run the Philadelphia Marathon (sub 4 hours)
* Run at least 12 races this year.
* Place in my age group in at least one 5k

Speaking of age groups, today is my birthday. I am thirty which means I am in a whole new age group!

Done For The Year

For the past few weeks my left leg has been bothering me. It does not hurt while running, nor does it hurt all the time, but after running on the weekends it hurts the most.

I do my long run on Sundays and it has been fine during the run, but hurts later that night and hurts the next couple of days. The pain never fully goes away, but it feels better by Thursday and I run again.

I want it to heal fully, and I definitely do not want it to get any worse. I am starting my first official training program in February, and I really want to go into it as healthy as possible so that I can run the Broad Street Run in May.

So I will take the next week off and hopefully I will feel better. Then it is back to building mileage in January and then training for Broad Street starting in February.

God Willing.

LSD and More Milestones

Today was a long run. In the past my long run pace was about the same as my easy run pace, which I do not think is a good thing to do. All week my plan was to do this long run at a much slower pace and to make it my longest distance yet. A couple of steps that I hope will build my endurance.

Four miles was the planned length. I was afraid that I would need to cut it short because my left leg has been bothering me for a couple days. I keep telling myself that it is just shin splints, and I think that I am correct because it did not hurt at all during the run, even though the leg has been sore the rest of the day. I plan on resting it for a couple days and if it does not feel better I will probably look for a doctor to check it out.

So the leg felt good during the run. I changed the display on my Garmin to show nothing but the pace so that I could focus on keeping it slow and steady, and not worry about the time or distance until I got closer to the end of the run. At first it felt weird going so slow, (which is doubly weird since a few months ago that was fast for me.) but I got in the groove and my legs coasted along the road.

I figured that I might need a walk break or two, since this was my longest run ever, but I did not feel like I needed one at all during the run. Even when I went through a park and passed the water fountain that I planned to stop at, I decided to keep going and not stop.

It felt so good to run for such a long distance. When I came to the end I slowed to a walk, and my legs felt like they wanted to keep moving faster.

So all in all I did 4.02 miles in 50:33 which comes out to a 12:35 pace. Just where I wanted to be.

So a few more milestones... I ran the longest distance I have ever run. I ran the longest time I have ever run. I needed no walk breaks at all. And I had my longest weekly mileage.

I am feeling very good about my running right now, and am so motivated to keep going and building my mileage. As long as my leg feels better and nothing is wrong, I should be able to build up my mileage over the next couple of months and start training for the Broad Street Run. God willing.

I have a lot more topics going through my head, so you will probably see multiple post over the next couple of days. And since I need to rest my leg and can not run, the only thing left to do is write about running!