Just For Fun?

Yeah, so that "just for fun" option of bumping up to 12 miles didn't happen. I didn't want to push myself too hard. It's hard enough to gear myself up mentally for those long runs without putting any extra miles on just for fun. But I'm going to try 18 miles this Friday, so we'll see how it goes. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Friday's 10-mile run was great. It was 65 degrees and partly sunny. Running outside in shorts and a t-shirt felt great. But somewhere around 6 or 8 miles my right knee started giving me some problems. By the end of my run, it was pretty stiff. Later that day, I could barely walk...mostly because I sat down at my desk for the rest of the afternoon and it tightened up even more. I put some ice on it that night and by Saturday morning I didn't even think of it until the first time I tried to go down some stairs. It wasn't painful, just a dull ache.

Today I ran 4 miles and it was as if nothing had ever happened. I didn't feel a thing. Maybe it has something to do with running outside for the first time in a couple months. So we'll see how this Friday goes. And, if all goes well, I'll be registering for the marathon!

In or Out?

So the big question is did I sign up for the marathon yet? No, sadly, I haven't. The registration deadline before the fee goes up is the end of February. So I'm giving myself a bit of extra time to feel good about my progress.

Last Friday I managed to get in a 16-mile run on the treadmill. I did just kind of get into a groove and didn't think about the fact that I was running for 2.5 hours and didn't really go anywhere. I saw many people come into the gym, do their workout and leave...all while I was busy running nowhere. It wasn't a lot of fun, but it can definitely be done. Especially since I figured out how to override the 60 minute time limit on the treadmill.

So this week's long run is only 10 miles. I may bump it up to 12 just for fun, especially since it's supposed to be really nice outside tomorrow. I haven't run outside since just before Christmas, so I'm looking forward to that.

Back On

Last week I made an effort to get back on track with my training. After all, the Garden Spot marathon is only 60 days away. I'm right on schedule, so as long as my muscles didn't forgot how to run long distances, I should be ok. I ran 10 miles last Friday and didn't really have any muscle soreness or anything that would indicate I shouldn't keep going. So this week I'm going to try 16 miles and see how it goes. If all goes well with that, then I should be in good shape to register for the race.

I need to prepare myself mentally again. Running 10 miles last Friday was very helpful with that. Especially since I ran those 10 miles on a treadmill. Not very exciting. And with all the snow on the ground, I don't think I'll be running outside this week either.

Off Course

So since recovering from surgery, I haven't been able to get back on my normal training schedule. I've still been able to fit in 3 or 4 runs per week, including 1 long run of at least 5 miles and at most 10 miles. I have to be honest, with all the snow on the ground it's hard to stay motivated. The thought of running 10+ miles on a treadmill disturbs me. On top of that, work has been extremely busy lately (losing a couple of people from my team), and I've been tied up with some pretty major projects there. Taking 2 or 3 hours to go run in the middle of the day is hard for me to justify right now.

I'm not ready to say I'm not going to run the Garden Spot marathon this spring, but I am evaluating whether or not it is the best timing for me. Regardless, a marathon is still in my future, and I am most definitely not going to quit running. I'm going to see if I can get back on schedule and maybe I'll still do the one in the spring. But there are lots of marathons in the fall that I can train for. Like I already said, I still want to complete one. I'm just not sure which one right now.

Back To Training

A good week this week. I didn't quite follow my training schedule this week. Since starting up again after my surgery, I noticed that my heart rate is up a bit, which means it's harder to maintain my old pace. But I've been trying and so I wanted to run everyday this week instead of having my usual Thursday off. So here's what I did:

Monday - 3 miles
Tuesday - 4 miles
Wednesday - 6 miles
Thursday - 4 miles
Friday - 10 miles

I wanted to push myself a little bit today so that I can whip my leg muscles back in shape. Now, after sitting down for an hour after my run, my legs are a little stiff and sore, but not too bad. It's the kind of stiff and sore that feels good after a hard workout. So I'll take the weekend to recover and try to get back to my normal schedule next week.

Back To It

Yesterday was my first day running since surgery. It was 2 weeks since the last time I ran. I was a little worried that some of my muscles would have weakened and that I'd be in some serious pain if I ran to far (remember that first trek out in my Vibram's?) So I had planned on walking a bit and then just pounding out 1 mile and calling it a day. But I felt so good after 1 mile, I kept going for another 2. So 3 miles yesterday and it felt pretty good. I wasn't wearing my heart rate monitor, but I think my heart rate might have been slightly elevated for the pace that I was running, but I know that won't take long to come back down, so I'm not worried about it.

So I'll take it easy this week and next week, then try to figure out where in my training schedule to jump back in for the new year.

Repeat...

I'm repeating last weeks' training this week because I missed my long run last week. I'm grateful for the 8 extra weeks padded into my training schedule between now and April 9. It gives me a little bit more flexibility. Plus I'm having sinus surgery this Friday, so I'm going to be down and out for at least a week.

Yup...Still My Least Favorite Part

My least favorite part of training has been and probably will always be interval training. I don't know why, I just don't like it. That was confirmed again today. But I press on, hoping that it does some good.

On another note, I ran 14.5 miles last Friday. Not bad since I was only able to get out one other time last week for a 5 mile run. I felt pretty good afterwards. I was a little sore on Saturday and Sunday, but by the time it came to run again yesterday, I felt fine. Easy week this week before next week's 16 mile run.

The Finish Line

(For those of you who have already read my post-race post, this is a more organized post with complete thoughts rather than random ramblings. This one is a bit long but much better!)

I'm not going to lie. The best part of running the Amish Half-Marathon was the finish line! Here are my official results:

Overall Place:	434 out of 995
Division (35-39) Place:	35 out of 55
Gender Place:	262 out of 440
Time:	1:59:54
Pace:	9:10

But I've gotten ahead of myself. It all began at 5:00am...

At 5am I woke up and took a long, hot shower. I did that to loosen up my muscles because I'm not used to running first thing in the morning. Then I did a nice little 1 mile warm up run around my neighborhood. Nothing too strenuous, just something to get me going.

Then it's back inside to warm up. After all, it's almost 5:30am Saturday morning and 30 degrees outside. I have my typical breakfast of baked oatmeal (April's homemade...the best!) and Tazo Zen Green Tea with lemongrass and spearmint.

At 7:15am, my friend Dwayne Lapp picked me up to take me to the race. Meanwhile, April is scurrying around the house waking the kids and getting ready to head out the door herself. Apparently, the only way to Bird-In-Hand is route 340 coming from Lancaster. Traffic was backed up about 3 miles, so we took a detour and didn't run into any traffic.

When Dwayne and I arrived the parking and waiting area was in a frost laden field. Now, if you remember, all of my training had been in my Vibram's, so I certainly wasn't going to tie on a normal pair of running shoes. Well, I probably should have had something to cover my feet with while walking through the fields, because they got really cold really fast.

A little before 8am, the starting line was opened up and the crowd moved over there. I made sure I squeezed my way through to get a spot on the road to get my cold feet out of the wet grass. I never heard the official start, but around 8:20, the crowd started running, so I followed. It had begun! A hundred yards or so from the starting line were April and the kids waving and smiling and holding their signs. Lane's sign said "Go Daddy Go, Your a dragon" and had a picture of me breathing fire. Ava's said "Go Dad" and had her signature smiley sunshine drawn on it. I waved and smiled back and continued on my way, while they headed back to the car to turn the heat on, eat breakfast and watch a movie. Thanks April for making that all happen, it was great to be able to see all of you cheering me on as the race started!

It took about 2 miles until my toes and the rest of me had thawed out. I was trying to keep an easy pace to start out, but my heart rate indicated otherwise. I really don't feel that I was running too hard. I think it was just the pure adrenaline that had my heart rate slightly elevated before. I was listening to my music and on my way. The crowd slowly thinned out after the first few miles and was much easier to pass those going slower than my pace (as well as letting those faster pass me).

Overall, it was a very nice course. There were a few hills, but I don't feel that they slowed me down too much. And I didn't feel that they were anything beyond what I had experienced in training. As far as my mind games go, I only thought about looking for trash once or twice during the race. I didn't feel the need to play any mind games. Just focusing on the task at hand was enough. There was just something about the adrenaline I had from actually running in the race, and that was enough to occupy my mind. Plus the unfamiliar territory actually helped because I didn't know what to expect after the next turn.

Despite the cold, it really was a beautiful day. The sun was shinning and there wasn't any wind, something I was extremely thankful for. I personally think running into the wind is tougher than running up hills. There's just something annoying about a force pushing against me as I run that is very unpleasant.

I don't remember a lot about various mile markers along the way. I was just trying to do my best and enjoy the run. My right ear bud fell kept falling out of my ear, so I just left it out and continued running. There were some people talking, but mostly I heard the sound of footsteps all around me.

At mile 8 Dwayne Lapp joined me to pace me the rest of the way. He was originally going to run the whole thing but decided not too because of some knee problems he had been having. I was extremely thankful to have him join me for the last stretch. It was good to be able to talk to someone to take my mind off of the race and just to have him push me a bit. There was a part along the last mile that got a little windy. And there was Dwayne running in front of me to break the wind (not to be confused with breaking wind) for me.

Somewhere around mile 10 or 11 my calves started tightening up pretty bad. I'm not sure if it was the cold weather or if I wasn't hydrated enough or if I was pushing myself too hard that caused it. Whatever, I knew I still had 2-3 miles to push through to the end. My pace had slowed down to almost a 10 minute mile and I even had stopped to walk a bit near the end.

Ok, half a mile to go. My calves are still hurting but the end is so close. I can see April's white coat standing at the finish line. Still coming in slow, but as I made the final turn, I picked up the pace, smiled and waved at April and the kids, and the Miranda's (Noah & Edwin ran the 5k that day).

Yeah, crossing the finish line was a good feeling. Half-marathon...done! I'm amazed at how the training has progressed and how I actually have this God-given ability to do something like this. I remember seeing several signs along the way. The "13.1 miles = 5.5 donuts" was a good one, but I liked the one that said "If it were easy, everybody would do it". A simple statement that puts it all into perspective. It's painful and hard at times, but I challenged myself to something that I never really thought was possible before a few months ago.

Thanks to everyone who was there to cheer me on at the end, especially April, who had to wake all the kids and drag them out into the cold so early in the morning. Thanks for being my biggest fan. And thanks to Dwayne Lapp for jumping in near the end to push me through to the end. I'd love to be able to get up to your pace so we could run a few races together!

And now...the training continues. Only 141 days until the full marathon!

Half-Marathon? Check.

I did it! I completed the half-marathon. Official results:

Overall Place:	434 out of 995
Division (35-39) Place:	35 out of 55
Gender Place:	262 out of 440
Time:	1:59:54
Pace:	9:10

I came in (just barely) under my goal of 2 hours which made me happy. I was a little bummed because my calves tightened up somewhere between 10 and 11 miles which made the last stretch pretty painful and slowed me down a good bit. I probably lost about 3 or 4 minutes because of it, but I was still happy that I made my goal. Plus, it was my first race ever, so there was a lot to learn by actually competing in a race as opposed to just doing a training run on my own.

In addition to meeting my goal, I did better than the average time which makes me feel good since I've only been seriously training for a few months. And I finished in the top 43rd percentile. Obviously, there is a competitive side to official races. But as long as I keep it in perspective and just try to improve on myself, I won't be disappointed. It's so easy to get caught up in the competitive nature of the event. One of the signs I saw along the race said "If it were easy, everybody would do it". A simple statement, but it really does put everything into perspective. I'm challenging myself to something I never before thought was possible and to something that not a lot of people even attempt. And it's a good feeling to know that I did actually run the face and finish.

As far as my mind games go, I only thought about looking for trash once or twice during the race. I didn't feel the need to play any mind games on Saturday. Just focusing on the task at hand was enough. There is just something about the adrenaline I had from actually running in the race, and that was enough to occupy my mind. Plus the unfamiliar territory actually helped because I didn't know what to expect after the next turn.

Overall, it was a very nice course. There were a few hills, but I don't feel that they slowed me down. The weather was a bit cold to start, but I was thawed out by the end of mile 2. My feet probably felt it the most while walking through the frost in my Vibrams. My toes were pretty cold at the start of the race, but I figured they would warm up once my blood started pumping. After those first couple of miles, I was warmed up and felt good. I am extremely thankful that it wasn't windy on Saturday.

I definitely enjoyed it and will keep going with my training for the full marathon. I'm taking a break today but tomorrow it's back to training...only 151 days until the marathon!