I've been slacking on my posts lately but, to tell the truth, there hasn't been a whole lot to post about since the PPR. The week after the PPR I was in my training conference and that weekend I ran the Shoreline Classic 15k in Decatur. I hadn't run a 15k since Steamboat in 1999 where I ran 1:03:16 after a training cycle that consisted of running about 15 miles a week as fast as I could with my long runs consisting of a few seven milers.
My training has gone a little better than that this summer but, unfortunately, I am also eight years older than I was when I ran Steamboat back in the Nineties. I entered the Shoreline Classic leading my age group (25-29) in my running club's points series standings. I had the guy in second beat, there was no way he was going to catch me in the last four club races as he hadn't beaten me all season. The guy in third, my buddy, the illustrious Iron Tim was back in third and had a chance to tie me and win on tie-breakers as long as he ran the last four races of the series and won our age group each time. Tim is a very solid competitor (12:02, 19:07, 41:20, 1:35 and a Full Ironman Finisher in 11:58) and there was a pretty good chance he could pull it off. Tim owns a 3-2 record against me his losses to me came at Steamboat, where he picked up his race packet 10 minutes before the start and got the the line right as the gun went off and started the race behind a few thousand people. The other loss came at the PPR 13 days after completing his Ironman.
His very convincing wins came at the Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon in early April where he obliterated me, 1:35 to 1:44. Win number two came at the Passavant/Powerade 10k where he won 41:20 to 42:16 and his third win came at the Scholastic Challenge 5k, 19:07 to 19:25.
Tim ended up skipping the Shoreline Classic to nurse his knee and I had the points series clinched before the gun went off. It ended up being a little anti-climatic.
I started off the race with a 7:08 mile and then spent the next two miles chatting with people in the club. I covered those miles in 7:18 and 7:50. When I hit 5k in 23:05 I decided that I should probably kick it up if I wanted to run close to seven minute pace like I had intended.
I ran the rest of the race in 7:20, 6:48, 6:46, 7:11, 6:59, 6:47 and 1:53 for a total time of 1:06:06 which is 7:05 pace. Mission accomplished.
I ran my last two 5k splits in 21:38 and 21:23 for a total 10k time of 43:01.
I took the next four days off after Shoreline and didn't run again until Friday when I ran 3 miles in 24:58. Yesterday morning I ran 7 miles in 56:33. This week I am going to run easy miles and then I intend to ramp it up a little to get some training in for one last attempt at going under 19:00 for 5k at the Jingle Bell Run on November 17th. I can't let that 19:02 at Havana stand, I need to dip under so I can focus on the 6:00 barrier next season.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Knowledge
I spent Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in a comprehensive class about education and training presented by an instructor from ASTD. I learned so much that I can't remember all of what ASTD stands for. Something about American Society of Training blah blah blah.
As I was saying, I learned how to do a needs analysis (did anyone ever notice that analysis has the words "anal" and "lysis" in it?). I also learned to write an effective learning objective, I learned about the adult learning cycle, the three types of learners, icebreakers, group exercises, styles of teaching (I'm a coach), presentation skills, how to deal with a difficult audience (you beat the shit out of them), and methods of evaluation. There was quite a bit more but I would have to look at my notes to remember all of it.
I'm glad I went to this course. I have a more concrete idea of what I need to do to instruct my students and co-workers. I have ideas for future inservices and classes. I swear I dreamed about all the information I absorbed and I even woke up with some learning objectives in my head this morning. In an Educators' Network meeting this afternoon I came up with a whole class about portable radiography in ten minutes with the help of a few of my contemporaries in which we facilitated learning to the three types of learners (visual, auditory and kinesthetic) as well as a method of evaluating their knowledge by using film critique and then throwing them to the wolves.
It has taken me eleven years but I think I have finally become what I always wanted to be, a teacher.
Maybe I should seriously consider working on that Masters in Education that I've been hemming and hawing about for the last five years.
As I was saying, I learned how to do a needs analysis (did anyone ever notice that analysis has the words "anal" and "lysis" in it?). I also learned to write an effective learning objective, I learned about the adult learning cycle, the three types of learners, icebreakers, group exercises, styles of teaching (I'm a coach), presentation skills, how to deal with a difficult audience (you beat the shit out of them), and methods of evaluation. There was quite a bit more but I would have to look at my notes to remember all of it.
I'm glad I went to this course. I have a more concrete idea of what I need to do to instruct my students and co-workers. I have ideas for future inservices and classes. I swear I dreamed about all the information I absorbed and I even woke up with some learning objectives in my head this morning. In an Educators' Network meeting this afternoon I came up with a whole class about portable radiography in ten minutes with the help of a few of my contemporaries in which we facilitated learning to the three types of learners (visual, auditory and kinesthetic) as well as a method of evaluating their knowledge by using film critique and then throwing them to the wolves.
It has taken me eleven years but I think I have finally become what I always wanted to be, a teacher.
Maybe I should seriously consider working on that Masters in Education that I've been hemming and hawing about for the last five years.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
PPR me, ASAP
I hopped in the car at 0600 with my wife and child and made the trek to Havana, IL to run the Polka Pace Race. The PPR has a special place in my heart as my Dad's side of the family comes from the Havana/Bath area. I can park my car at my grandparents' house, which happens to be around the corner from Nate's parents, and I have a built-in cheering section made of my grandparents, my dad, my wife and my little Nathan just before the two mile mark. A block later I run into Nate's Dad and then I know I'm on my own the last 1.1 miles to the finish in "downtown" Havana. If my cheering section moves fast enough, which gets hard with Grandpa's emphysema, Grandma's knee and hip replacements and Kim pushing Nathan in the stroller, I have my family yelling and snapping photos as I sprint the last few blocks to the finish line. After the race I meet relatives I haven't seen since I was this high (gesturing at knee level), girls I knew in high school (Rachel Ebert) and then I get to eat lunch with the grandparents and have a nice visit.
After arriving in Havana a little after 0700 I picked up my race packet, pinned on my number and went out for a warm-up jog. 47 seconds into my warm-up I ran into Nate's Dad and talked to him for a bit and finished my jog. I ran a mile warm-up and at the conclusion I was a dripping wreck. The humidity was going to be a bit of a challenge I surmised.
I don't have any Weather Channel stats but if I had to guess I would say it was at least 65 with maybe 70% humidity. There was a bit of a breeze but not enough to hinder, or help, us during the race.
After making some announcements and introducing the Havana Citizen of the Year, Coach Caton took his place on the starting line next to me and my buddy, IronTim. I don't know what Tim was thinking seeing as how he did his FULL Ironman about thirteen days ago but he's running a half marathon relay tomorrow with his sister too. Tim is just a stud. Way more studly than me anyway.
The starter started us and we all took off. David D. and the Bionic Woman worked their way up ahead of me, David by alot and the Bionic Woman by a step or two, and Coach and I ran side by side until the downtown area where coach decided I was running too fast for him.
Upon hitting the downhill to the river and essentially letting myself fall down it, while still keeping my feet, I passed the Bionic Woman and a few others. David had at least a 15 second lead on me at this point and looked very strong. I thought maybe he was going to uncork a good race and then, though I hate myself for this, I chuckled internally and told myself that if I was within 100 meters of him at the mile I was going to beat him.
I hit the first mile in 6:00.18, right where I wanted to be, and just tried to relax and continue gaining ground on David. A block later, as we headed east toward Broadway, I saw David sneak a glance over his shoulder to see where I was. I knew then that he was mine for the taking. I caught him on Broadway, right before we made the left to get on Pearl, and as I came up on him he surged hard for five or six steps. I let him go because I knew I was going to get him on the incline. I passed him halfway up and rasped out a "good job" as I went by. As I turned the corner I heard my cheering section yell and take pictures and I surged a little to try to catch up to Carl B. I told myself that Carl was going to break 19:00 and that if I stayed close I would too.
Right before the two mile mark I was passed by someone who ran up on Carl's shoulder and parked there. I was about three seconds back and starting to feel a little bad. I hit the two mile mark in 12:12.35 with a mile time of 6:12.17. I slowly started falling off the pace after that and Carl and the other guy built up a bit of a lead on me of probably 20 seconds. I noticed that my shoulders and arms were migrating to my ears like a punchy boxer trying to avoid a knock out late in a fight. I forced myself to lower my arms and surge and I kept telling myself, 4 minutes to go, 3 minutes to go. I came back to life with about a half mile left and started making up ground again.
I hit mile three in 18:32.73 with a mile time of 6:20.38. It wasn't what I wanted but it is what I got. I told myself going in that if I could hit the three mile mark between 18:15 and 18:20 I would comfortably dip under 19:00. I had 28.2 seconds to cover 0.1 miles and I did it in 30.18 to break the line in 19:02.91. I finished in 7th place overall, second in my age group and ahead of the Bionic Woman, IronTim and David D. Bionic Woman won the women's race in 19:27, IronTim took third in our age group in 19:34 and David finished in 20:25. Coach nipped David by about ten seconds, running 20:14. Carl B. and the guy who passed me at the two mile mark ran 18:47 and 18:52, respectively. Dang it.
I'm pretty happy with my race. I wish my third mile had been a 6:17 instead of a 6:20 but a 33 second improvement from last year is reason to cheer. This is quite an improvement over the Scholastic Challenge in June where I ran 6:05, 6:12 (12:17), 6:33 (18:50) and 35 (19:25). I got out faster, finished stronger and finished ahead of some people who trounced me then.
I'm going to take it easy this week and on Sunday I am heading to Decatur to run the Shoreline Classic 15k. IronTim will be there as well. He said he's having some IT Band soreness so I hope he feels okay after today and doesn't exacerbate it tomorrow in the half marathon relay he's running with his sister.
After arriving in Havana a little after 0700 I picked up my race packet, pinned on my number and went out for a warm-up jog. 47 seconds into my warm-up I ran into Nate's Dad and talked to him for a bit and finished my jog. I ran a mile warm-up and at the conclusion I was a dripping wreck. The humidity was going to be a bit of a challenge I surmised.
I don't have any Weather Channel stats but if I had to guess I would say it was at least 65 with maybe 70% humidity. There was a bit of a breeze but not enough to hinder, or help, us during the race.
After making some announcements and introducing the Havana Citizen of the Year, Coach Caton took his place on the starting line next to me and my buddy, IronTim. I don't know what Tim was thinking seeing as how he did his FULL Ironman about thirteen days ago but he's running a half marathon relay tomorrow with his sister too. Tim is just a stud. Way more studly than me anyway.
The starter started us and we all took off. David D. and the Bionic Woman worked their way up ahead of me, David by alot and the Bionic Woman by a step or two, and Coach and I ran side by side until the downtown area where coach decided I was running too fast for him.
Upon hitting the downhill to the river and essentially letting myself fall down it, while still keeping my feet, I passed the Bionic Woman and a few others. David had at least a 15 second lead on me at this point and looked very strong. I thought maybe he was going to uncork a good race and then, though I hate myself for this, I chuckled internally and told myself that if I was within 100 meters of him at the mile I was going to beat him.
I hit the first mile in 6:00.18, right where I wanted to be, and just tried to relax and continue gaining ground on David. A block later, as we headed east toward Broadway, I saw David sneak a glance over his shoulder to see where I was. I knew then that he was mine for the taking. I caught him on Broadway, right before we made the left to get on Pearl, and as I came up on him he surged hard for five or six steps. I let him go because I knew I was going to get him on the incline. I passed him halfway up and rasped out a "good job" as I went by. As I turned the corner I heard my cheering section yell and take pictures and I surged a little to try to catch up to Carl B. I told myself that Carl was going to break 19:00 and that if I stayed close I would too.
Right before the two mile mark I was passed by someone who ran up on Carl's shoulder and parked there. I was about three seconds back and starting to feel a little bad. I hit the two mile mark in 12:12.35 with a mile time of 6:12.17. I slowly started falling off the pace after that and Carl and the other guy built up a bit of a lead on me of probably 20 seconds. I noticed that my shoulders and arms were migrating to my ears like a punchy boxer trying to avoid a knock out late in a fight. I forced myself to lower my arms and surge and I kept telling myself, 4 minutes to go, 3 minutes to go. I came back to life with about a half mile left and started making up ground again.
I hit mile three in 18:32.73 with a mile time of 6:20.38. It wasn't what I wanted but it is what I got. I told myself going in that if I could hit the three mile mark between 18:15 and 18:20 I would comfortably dip under 19:00. I had 28.2 seconds to cover 0.1 miles and I did it in 30.18 to break the line in 19:02.91. I finished in 7th place overall, second in my age group and ahead of the Bionic Woman, IronTim and David D. Bionic Woman won the women's race in 19:27, IronTim took third in our age group in 19:34 and David finished in 20:25. Coach nipped David by about ten seconds, running 20:14. Carl B. and the guy who passed me at the two mile mark ran 18:47 and 18:52, respectively. Dang it.
I'm pretty happy with my race. I wish my third mile had been a 6:17 instead of a 6:20 but a 33 second improvement from last year is reason to cheer. This is quite an improvement over the Scholastic Challenge in June where I ran 6:05, 6:12 (12:17), 6:33 (18:50) and 35 (19:25). I got out faster, finished stronger and finished ahead of some people who trounced me then.
I'm going to take it easy this week and on Sunday I am heading to Decatur to run the Shoreline Classic 15k. IronTim will be there as well. He said he's having some IT Band soreness so I hope he feels okay after today and doesn't exacerbate it tomorrow in the half marathon relay he's running with his sister.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Grandma Gladys
My wife's last remaining grandparent, and Nathan's maternal great-grandmother, passed away Saturday evening around 1800 hrs. She was 86 and had bladder cancer and it finally caught up to her. She was a funny little old lady and I'm glad I had the chance to get to know the tough old bird. The first time I met her, and for about five years after that, I had no idea what it was she was saying. She would mutter something and then cackle wildly and we would all look at each other, shrug and laugh along with her. I finally was able, in the last two years, to decipher what it was she was muttering and it turns out that Grandma was a pretty funny lady.
One of my favorite stories is when she got a little saucy at our wedding and Kim's mom cut her off from the Bud Light. She wasn't too happy with Mom but I remember seeing her sitting quietly in the corner of the reception hall sneaking sips from her plastic cup. I remember wondering who she had sweet talked into getting her a brew.
Another good one is when she went to the fridge at my in-laws' house to get a Coke and "inadvertently" opened a can of Busch beer. Unbeknownst to Grandma Gladys, as she was exclaiming "I meant to grab a Coke! How did I get a beer?!", it was a non-alcoholic Busch and they let her drink it none the wiser.
She liked me for some reason and I would always give and get kisses from Grandma when we showed up for visits. She loved her youngest great-grandson and would light up when she saw him. I wish that Nathan was old enough to remember her.
All I know is that she is going to be missed by her daughter, her grandkids, great-grandkids and her favorite (and only) grandson-in-law. . . me.
One of my favorite stories is when she got a little saucy at our wedding and Kim's mom cut her off from the Bud Light. She wasn't too happy with Mom but I remember seeing her sitting quietly in the corner of the reception hall sneaking sips from her plastic cup. I remember wondering who she had sweet talked into getting her a brew.
Another good one is when she went to the fridge at my in-laws' house to get a Coke and "inadvertently" opened a can of Busch beer. Unbeknownst to Grandma Gladys, as she was exclaiming "I meant to grab a Coke! How did I get a beer?!", it was a non-alcoholic Busch and they let her drink it none the wiser.
She liked me for some reason and I would always give and get kisses from Grandma when we showed up for visits. She loved her youngest great-grandson and would light up when she saw him. I wish that Nathan was old enough to remember her.
All I know is that she is going to be missed by her daughter, her grandkids, great-grandkids and her favorite (and only) grandson-in-law. . . me.
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