Early Morning Dedication

The first week of marathon training is coming to a close and I am pleased with what I have done so far.

The two mid week runs were both done in the morning due to my work schedule. In order to get the runs done with enough time to shower and get ready for work I needed to wake at 5 am to run. Both runs felt great and gave a great start to the day.

When I woke Thursday morning and stepped outside I noticed it was raining. Not hard, but my first thought was go back to sleep and run after work. I stood on the porch and watched the rain for a few minutes trying to talk myself into running and at the same time trying to talk myself into going back to sleep.

I finally convinced myself to run. The rain was refreshing, and while I was running in the rain I thought about the upcoming training. Will I be able to stick to the plan and run my best?

If this first week is any indicator, than I think I will be doing fine. Lets see how my long steady distance goes tomorrow.

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.

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.

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.

Long Cold and Wet

Last night, when I checked this morning's weather report, I was excited to see that it called for snow early in the morning. It was supposed to turn to a wintry mix around the time I was scheduled to run, but the snow would accumulate to about an inch.

I was excited because it meant that first thing in the morning everything would be snowy, the sky would be overcast, and there would be a natural peace to the atmosphere. I was excited to run in such weather and even more excited that it would be my long run. I mentally amended my run to take me by some places that would look nice in the snow and I made sure I would have my camera on hand.

When I woke up and looked outside... nothing but rain. Heavy rain that was freezing all over everything. When I got outside the steps were slippery, the cars were iced over, and the roads were already slushy. The only good thing was that there was still a natural peace in the atmosphere since no one dared get out of bed yet.

I could barely stay stable on the icy steps and worried that the road would not be any better. My mind began thinking about making screw shoes, and wondered if I would be able to get through my run today. The road was better. Icy in parts, but bearable. I again amended my route, but this time to stay away from heavy traffic and take roads that would allow me to move back and forth in order to avoid ice.

It was not long before my jacket was dripping with water. There were multiple times in the first mile that I thought about cutting the run short. This weather was miserable. Shortly after the first mile I stepped in a puddle that was much larger than it appeared. Cold quickly went though my foot. I was going to use this as an excuse to stop, but decided to keep going.

A few walk breaks, and four puddles later, I decided to loop around this one block onto the main road and run back to the main intersection a few blocks from my house. Since my jacket was covering my Garmin I was not sure how far I had ran, but estimated it was almost three miles, and decided that would be enough for me.

When I got to the intersection I looked and my Garmin told me I had already gone over three and a half miles! I did not even realize it. I decided to finish the entire four miles and immediately felt better about the run.

While finishing that last half mile I thought about running. This is one of the reasons why I run. To test my limits and my endurance. To run no matter what is thrown at me, and to keep going.

Most people run because it is fashionable to run a mile every day or spend thirty minutes on the treadmill at the gym. A lot of people run a single marathon so that they can cross it off their list, just to never run again.

I run because it is primal and the human machine can push it's limits and run no matter what the circumstances. I run to build my endurance and eventually expand my limitations. The harder I run the better I become at it.

I run because that is what I am created to do.

Running In The Rain

I seem to have a lot of trouble with motivation. When I wake up early for a morning run, it takes me forever to get moving and convince myself to run. All the while I know that once I start running I feel great.

This morning was raining... and I mean really coming down. I have run in overcast and slight drizzles, but never in rain this hard. My mind was telling me to stay in bed, but I knew I couldn't do that and enjoy the rest of the day.

I finally got out there and ran in the downpour. I immediately felt great. I was listening to music in one ear while I ran, not something I do all the time, and it helped pump me up and run for Him. I noticed that while I was focused on things other than running, like prayer, praise, the music, or thinking about other things, the running went by so easy. It was only when I focused on my breathing, or the hurt in my legs, that I had trouble running.

I know that a lot of running is mental, and I am still training myself to get over the mental hurdles so that I can run with ease. There was even one point in my run when I was thinking about someone I read about in Runners World. I forget the details but this guy has run numerous marathons, his first marathon in over 5 hours and his best marathon in about 2:45 or so. It gave me inspiration because I know that I am very far off from a marathon, but with dedication I can do it.

I just have to keep running.