Last night I decided to do another of the training races in the park since it was overcast, breezy and only in the 70s. They were offering a 1 mile run for the kiddies, a 3 mile and a 6 mile. I opted for 3 mile to see how 7:00 pace felt.
These races are awesome because they only cost a dollar, they are run on a bike trial that only crosses one road and the terrain is hilly. The terrain is so hilly that the last half of the first mile is downhill and the first half of the last mile is uphill. It gets even worse out toward the turnaround for the 6 mile folk so it is a great practice run for the Shoreline 15K in September.
I warmed up with an easy two in 16:12, did a few strides and waited for the little kids' run to finish. I lined up at the start and eased into it behind a group of high school kids who were running the six at a conversational (for them) pace. We hit the first half mile in 3:31.64 which was perfect. I felt a bit frisky and since I had a nice long downhill to the mile mark I picked it up a bit and coasted through the mile mark in 6:48.32 with a half mile split of 3:16.68. I ran to the turnaround with a junior high kid who was running the six and would have missed the turnaround if he hadn't pointed it out to me. I hit the halfway point in 10:10.58 running the third half in 3:22.26.
I picked it up a bit while it was still relatively flat and ran a 3:14.85 while crossing the two mile mark in 13:25.43. The two mile mark is halfway up a decent size hill heading toward a bridge that crosses Steven's Creek (I think it is Steven's Creek anyway) after crossing the bridge it is a looooong slightly more than gradual uphill to the 2.5 mark. I ran the uphill have mile in 3:35.98 and got passed by two guys about halfway up (I had been in the lead). I didn't go with them as I wanted to save a little in the legs for the four mile race I'm running on the 4th but I picked it up the last half mile and used the nice downhill in the last 400 to my advantage to run a 3:08.68 and finish in 20:10.09 (by my watch). My official time was 20:09.
Mile splits of 6:48.32, 6:37.11 and 6:44.66 made me very happy and I think I could have run 10 to 15 seconds faster if not for the brutal hill the first half of the final mile.
I hit the halfway point in 10:10.58 and ran the last mile and a half in 9:59.51. I felt pretty comfortable with the pace and I am very surprised I ran this fast as I went in expecting 6:50 pace to be what I could do on a good day. Apparently I'm in better shape than I thought.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Training Race #1 - The Mile
The nice thing about the Decatur Running Club is that they have training races of varying distances every Tuesday until August. Tonight they offered a mile and three mile training races but in coming weeks will also offer two, four, six and seven mile options, all for the low price of $1. I am getting ready to ramp up the training for a PPR peak in mid-September and I wanted to see how the legs felt with fast stuff and I wanted to have a fast effort to base my speedwork paces on.
The races are held on a bike trail in Fairview Park and are out-and-back on rolling terrain. In fact, the first quarter of the races is almost completely uphill. The nice thing about that is that you get to run down the hill the last quarter.
Us lucky few, mostly kids high school age or younger, and me (the nearly 31 year old guy) were released about 2 minutes after the three mile people. I thought this would be nice to have people to catch but I was wrong. I took it easy the first quarter and let one of the high school boys lead up the hill. At the top I stayed on his heels and as we approached the half mile turnaround he slowed and I dropped him. Unfortunately I ran up on the back-of-the-pack three mile people and got hung up behind one as I came to the switchback. I think this cost me a few seconds but I clicked my half mile split in 3:03.38, uttered a profanity and surged very aggressively. I reached the 3/4 point, approximately, in 4:39; uttered another profanity and pretty much threw myself down the hill to the finish and crossed in 5:51.90. I ran the last half in 2:48.52 and waited for the second place kid who finished in 6:18. After catching my breath I ran a two mile cool down and drove home.
I'm pretty certain that I could have run 5-10 seconds faster for a full mile on the track and I'm pretty happy with my run. I will probably skip next week's training race to do 800s in the grass at the park but will probably hit the three mile option the last Tuesday in June.
I've got to get in shape for the PPR because Dan-oh and Lance ran 19:23 and 19:50, respectively, at the Scholastic Challenge last weekend. I can't let THOSE guys beat me. . .
Great job fellas!
The races are held on a bike trail in Fairview Park and are out-and-back on rolling terrain. In fact, the first quarter of the races is almost completely uphill. The nice thing about that is that you get to run down the hill the last quarter.
Us lucky few, mostly kids high school age or younger, and me (the nearly 31 year old guy) were released about 2 minutes after the three mile people. I thought this would be nice to have people to catch but I was wrong. I took it easy the first quarter and let one of the high school boys lead up the hill. At the top I stayed on his heels and as we approached the half mile turnaround he slowed and I dropped him. Unfortunately I ran up on the back-of-the-pack three mile people and got hung up behind one as I came to the switchback. I think this cost me a few seconds but I clicked my half mile split in 3:03.38, uttered a profanity and surged very aggressively. I reached the 3/4 point, approximately, in 4:39; uttered another profanity and pretty much threw myself down the hill to the finish and crossed in 5:51.90. I ran the last half in 2:48.52 and waited for the second place kid who finished in 6:18. After catching my breath I ran a two mile cool down and drove home.
I'm pretty certain that I could have run 5-10 seconds faster for a full mile on the track and I'm pretty happy with my run. I will probably skip next week's training race to do 800s in the grass at the park but will probably hit the three mile option the last Tuesday in June.
I've got to get in shape for the PPR because Dan-oh and Lance ran 19:23 and 19:50, respectively, at the Scholastic Challenge last weekend. I can't let THOSE guys beat me. . .
Great job fellas!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Race #2 in Deca-turd
I completed my second race here in sweet smelling Decatur this morning. We moved here March 27 and I ran a 5K in 20:43 a week later. I was still very sore from the move and didn't perform as well as I thought I could.
I've been putting in about 15-20 miles a week on 3-4 days of running since we moved here. I'm trying to be careful as Decatur is much more hilly than Chatham was and my legs are not used to it. I thought I was trying to get shin splints but a new pair of shoes has alleviated that.
I have not done any speedwork (tempo or track) since sometime in late Feb, early March and I have not run longer than 6 miles since about that time either. I am basically trying to say that I don't really have much going on in the way of race preparedness.
Despite all the above-mentioned disadvantages I felt that a time in the neighborhood of 35:00 would be pretty good. I thought that if the course was reasonably flat and the weather cooperated I could go under 35:00.
The temps this morning were in the 50s, which is perfect, but the wind was blowing about 15 mph with some pretty heady gusts out of the WNW. Unfortunately for me, this race was an out-and-back that headed pretty steadily in that direction.
I started at the front of the pack and after the gun set off I settled into a pretty relaxed pace that I hoped was in the 7:00-7:10 range and hung out in 6th place until a guy in a Cubs hat passed me at about the 4:00 mark. I was content to stay behind him until I hit the mile in 7:19.94 after which I dropped him like the good Cardinals fan I am.
After dropping my blue-hatted friend I found myself all by my lonesome in 5th place approximately 45 seconds behind a pack of 3 guys and 10 to 15 seconds, and extending, on Cub's man.
In a cruel twist of fate we ran over I-72 at which point I was going uphill and into the wind. I wound around on a side road to the turnaround which I hit in 18:15.21 running from the mile mark in 10:55.27. I noticed that after the turnaround the group ahead of me had strung out and it looked like Tailgate Charlie was coming back to me. I relaxed my form, shortened my stride and focused on his orange back. As we left the side road to head back over I-72 he was 28 seconds ahead of me and upon reaching the other side he was only 18 seconds ahead.
I passed the 4 mile mark in 29:05.49 running from the turnaround in 10:50.28 and was only about 8 seconds back. I had picked a house that marked the half mile left point and started an extended kick, passed the guy to move into 4th place and crossed the finish line in a somewhat disappointed 36:01.84 and covering the last mile in 6:56.35.
I was only disappointed until looking at my splits, such as they were, and noticing that I had run negative splits. I was also less disappointed when three people with Garmins commented that the course was between 5.08 and 5.15 miles which makes it about 30 to 50 seconds long. All of a sudden my 36:01 was looking more like a 35:11 or a 35:31 and more in the range I thought myself capable of. The wind also played a factor in that it was in my face most of the first half and blowing me sideways most of the second half.
I did win my age group and brought home a very nice blue coffee cup with the race logo on it.
I'm hoping to run at least one race a month until the end of the year, though I'll see how that works out. I'm going to work on getting my mileage up to the mid-20s with an 8-10 mile long run and I'll start adding some speedwork so I can crank out a respectable time at the PPR in September. I doubt I'll break 19:00 this year but I think sub-19:30 is possible with all the demands on my time.
I've been putting in about 15-20 miles a week on 3-4 days of running since we moved here. I'm trying to be careful as Decatur is much more hilly than Chatham was and my legs are not used to it. I thought I was trying to get shin splints but a new pair of shoes has alleviated that.
I have not done any speedwork (tempo or track) since sometime in late Feb, early March and I have not run longer than 6 miles since about that time either. I am basically trying to say that I don't really have much going on in the way of race preparedness.
Despite all the above-mentioned disadvantages I felt that a time in the neighborhood of 35:00 would be pretty good. I thought that if the course was reasonably flat and the weather cooperated I could go under 35:00.
The temps this morning were in the 50s, which is perfect, but the wind was blowing about 15 mph with some pretty heady gusts out of the WNW. Unfortunately for me, this race was an out-and-back that headed pretty steadily in that direction.
I started at the front of the pack and after the gun set off I settled into a pretty relaxed pace that I hoped was in the 7:00-7:10 range and hung out in 6th place until a guy in a Cubs hat passed me at about the 4:00 mark. I was content to stay behind him until I hit the mile in 7:19.94 after which I dropped him like the good Cardinals fan I am.
After dropping my blue-hatted friend I found myself all by my lonesome in 5th place approximately 45 seconds behind a pack of 3 guys and 10 to 15 seconds, and extending, on Cub's man.
In a cruel twist of fate we ran over I-72 at which point I was going uphill and into the wind. I wound around on a side road to the turnaround which I hit in 18:15.21 running from the mile mark in 10:55.27. I noticed that after the turnaround the group ahead of me had strung out and it looked like Tailgate Charlie was coming back to me. I relaxed my form, shortened my stride and focused on his orange back. As we left the side road to head back over I-72 he was 28 seconds ahead of me and upon reaching the other side he was only 18 seconds ahead.
I passed the 4 mile mark in 29:05.49 running from the turnaround in 10:50.28 and was only about 8 seconds back. I had picked a house that marked the half mile left point and started an extended kick, passed the guy to move into 4th place and crossed the finish line in a somewhat disappointed 36:01.84 and covering the last mile in 6:56.35.
I was only disappointed until looking at my splits, such as they were, and noticing that I had run negative splits. I was also less disappointed when three people with Garmins commented that the course was between 5.08 and 5.15 miles which makes it about 30 to 50 seconds long. All of a sudden my 36:01 was looking more like a 35:11 or a 35:31 and more in the range I thought myself capable of. The wind also played a factor in that it was in my face most of the first half and blowing me sideways most of the second half.
I did win my age group and brought home a very nice blue coffee cup with the race logo on it.
I'm hoping to run at least one race a month until the end of the year, though I'll see how that works out. I'm going to work on getting my mileage up to the mid-20s with an 8-10 mile long run and I'll start adding some speedwork so I can crank out a respectable time at the PPR in September. I doubt I'll break 19:00 this year but I think sub-19:30 is possible with all the demands on my time.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
My new home base of Decatur
Since we moved to Decatur a little over two weeks ago I have run in my new neighborhood four times and ended up lost twice. Today's excursion was supposed to be a touch over five miles and ended up, after getting lost three times, being right around six miles. Decatur also has quite a few more hills than Chatham so a six mile jaunt through town sees me run up at least twice as many hills as my 6 mile route back in Chatham.
The weekend after we moved here I ran a small 5K down the road a bit. It was the LSA 5K and I placed 3rd overall and 1st in my age group in 20:43. I've been fighting a bit of sciatica and hamstring issues and not training very much due to work, school, newborn and moving so I am happy with the result though I think I could have run at least ten seconds faster.
I've been doing calisthenics and working out on the Total Gym pretty consistently so between that and the extra mileage I will get in from getting lost maybe I'll become injury free and faster this year on the infrequent occasions I will race.
The weekend after we moved here I ran a small 5K down the road a bit. It was the LSA 5K and I placed 3rd overall and 1st in my age group in 20:43. I've been fighting a bit of sciatica and hamstring issues and not training very much due to work, school, newborn and moving so I am happy with the result though I think I could have run at least ten seconds faster.
I've been doing calisthenics and working out on the Total Gym pretty consistently so between that and the extra mileage I will get in from getting lost maybe I'll become injury free and faster this year on the infrequent occasions I will race.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Adam Michael
My second son was born today at approximately 1030 hrs. He weighed in at 5 lbs 8 oz and measured 17 3/4 inches. He has a head of blondeish/brown hair and blue tinted eyes. Mother and baby are doing well and it is possible that he will be able to come home on Sunday.
As the new father of a child with Down Syndrome I encourage all five of my readers to visit the National Down Syndrome Society website or take part in a Polar Bear Plunge in your area to support Special Olympics.
As the new father of a child with Down Syndrome I encourage all five of my readers to visit the National Down Syndrome Society website or take part in a Polar Bear Plunge in your area to support Special Olympics.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
3200 meter time trial
My training plan this year basically revolves around a 14 day cycle where I run 5 miles in Decatur during my lunch break on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday's lunch is occasionally spent in the weight room. Thursday and Friday are usually off days. Saturdays alternate between a long run (usually 8 miles) one week and a hard effort (1600 meters, 3200 meters or 3 miles). Sunday is an easy 4.
Last weekend's 8 mile run was completed at an 8:03 clip and my other runs are generally completed between 8:00 to 8:30 pace.
Last night I ran 4 in 32 minutes and change.
This morning I warmed up with an easy two in 15:36.48 (8:04.83 and 7:31.65). I took a 4:53.81 break to water a thirsty tree in the woods near the middle school and, after changing into my vest from my jacket, I started my 3200 meter time trial. The plan was to see if I could run faster than the 12:42 I ran in November. My 5:41 1600 TT from two weeks ago made me think sub-12:30 was possible.
I set off at an easy pace the first lap and felt comfortable the whole way.
1:33.96
1:33.20; 3:07.16
1:34.07; 4:41.23
1:35.52; 6:16.75
1:33.85; 7:50.60
1:34.13; 9:24.73
1:34.24; 10:58.97
1:29.16; 12:28.13
Mile splits= 6:16.75/6:11.38
I cooled down with an easy two miles.
Last weekend's 8 mile run was completed at an 8:03 clip and my other runs are generally completed between 8:00 to 8:30 pace.
Last night I ran 4 in 32 minutes and change.
This morning I warmed up with an easy two in 15:36.48 (8:04.83 and 7:31.65). I took a 4:53.81 break to water a thirsty tree in the woods near the middle school and, after changing into my vest from my jacket, I started my 3200 meter time trial. The plan was to see if I could run faster than the 12:42 I ran in November. My 5:41 1600 TT from two weeks ago made me think sub-12:30 was possible.
I set off at an easy pace the first lap and felt comfortable the whole way.
1:33.96
1:33.20; 3:07.16
1:34.07; 4:41.23
1:35.52; 6:16.75
1:33.85; 7:50.60
1:34.13; 9:24.73
1:34.24; 10:58.97
1:29.16; 12:28.13
Mile splits= 6:16.75/6:11.38
I cooled down with an easy two miles.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
1600 Time Trial
I just want to brag about my 1600 m. time trial today.
After a 1.5 mile warm-up I hit splits of:
1:27.74
1:25.50; 2:53.24
1:24.32; 4:17.56
1:23.68; 5:41.24
I did a 1.5 mile cool-down and staggered to my car and home for a shower.
I was hoping to hit 5:50 or so but once I hit 1200 I thought that I could dip under 5:40 if I burned the last lap. I don't have much to burn but I'm happy that I got faster every lap and I think I was too conservative my first lap around the oval. I can tell that I haven't run speed like that for a long while but I think that a 5:41 is pretty solid for not running any speed work since sometime in September.
After a 1.5 mile warm-up I hit splits of:
1:27.74
1:25.50; 2:53.24
1:24.32; 4:17.56
1:23.68; 5:41.24
I did a 1.5 mile cool-down and staggered to my car and home for a shower.
I was hoping to hit 5:50 or so but once I hit 1200 I thought that I could dip under 5:40 if I burned the last lap. I don't have much to burn but I'm happy that I got faster every lap and I think I was too conservative my first lap around the oval. I can tell that I haven't run speed like that for a long while but I think that a 5:41 is pretty solid for not running any speed work since sometime in September.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Nice
I just got back from a very pleasant 5 mile run in sunny Chatham. It was in the upper 40s with a bit of a wind out of the south but I went out and ran in a long sleeve shirt, shorts and a ball cap and broke a sweat. I wore a watch for the first time in a long time and covered my five in 41:04 with splits of 8:18, 8:26, 16:24, and 7:56. I felt good after beating the crap out of myself the last few weeks with calisthenics and stuff to get the hammy and the right knee fixed up. I wish it was like this all winter.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas
I just want to wish my readers, all five of you, a Merry Christmas.
I got about 7 pair of Gap underwear (and they're not labeled Monday thru Sunday), a $30 gift card to Best Buy, a George Carlin (RIP) calendar, a long-sleeve Nike technical shirt and a new pair of InSport lightweight running tights. But best of all is that I get to sit around with my family and watch Nathan play with his toys.
Happy Holidays!
I got about 7 pair of Gap underwear (and they're not labeled Monday thru Sunday), a $30 gift card to Best Buy, a George Carlin (RIP) calendar, a long-sleeve Nike technical shirt and a new pair of InSport lightweight running tights. But best of all is that I get to sit around with my family and watch Nathan play with his toys.
Happy Holidays!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Mamma Mia
I was a good husband and rented "Mamma Mia" for my wife last night since we watched "Hancock" the night before that. I don't mind the occasional chick flick or musical but I was hesitant to watch a movie version of a musical based on ABBA music. (Cringe.)
I consoled myself with the fact that Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and the guy who played Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi Master in "The Phantom Menace" were in it and that they don't usually suck.
I've come to the conclusion that the reason I'm not a huge fan of musicals is this: I cannot suspend disbelief enough to accept that people are spontaneously bursting into song because they're in love, angry, horny or drunk.
Well, I guess I could believe it when someone is drunk.
I also get freaked out when they have a conversation in song and when bystanders in the crowd sing back-up (especially when they're "ahhhh, do wop, do wop" back-up singing). If someone started singing "sha doobie do-wop" when I was having an argument with my wife or singing about how much I love vanilla flavored Silk I would run screaming to the nearest psych ward.
I left the room periodically to preserve my sanity (and listen to something that wasn't ABBA) but thought that the movie was decent and that I won't be buying it anytime soon.
I consoled myself with the fact that Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and the guy who played Obi-Wan Kenobi's Jedi Master in "The Phantom Menace" were in it and that they don't usually suck.
I've come to the conclusion that the reason I'm not a huge fan of musicals is this: I cannot suspend disbelief enough to accept that people are spontaneously bursting into song because they're in love, angry, horny or drunk.
Well, I guess I could believe it when someone is drunk.
I also get freaked out when they have a conversation in song and when bystanders in the crowd sing back-up (especially when they're "ahhhh, do wop, do wop" back-up singing). If someone started singing "sha doobie do-wop" when I was having an argument with my wife or singing about how much I love vanilla flavored Silk I would run screaming to the nearest psych ward.
I left the room periodically to preserve my sanity (and listen to something that wasn't ABBA) but thought that the movie was decent and that I won't be buying it anytime soon.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Season Recap
Top-Times for 2008
Mile: 5:21 PB (previously 5:27)
Two Miles: 11:59.68
5K: 19:22
5 Miles: 33:00 PB (previously 33:39)
10K: 41:30 PB (previously 42:06)
Half Marathon: 1:39:21 PB (previously 1:43:23)
Course Bests
AMA 5K/Run for Hungry Children: 20:12 (previously 20:23)
Abe's Amble 10K: 41:30 (previously 42:06)
Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon: 1:39:21 (previously 1:44:45)
Races I Executed to Perfection
Sizzling Mile: 2.09, 1:20.90 (1:22.99), 1:21.45 (2:44.44), 1:20.01 (4:04.45), 1:17.11 (5:21.56)
Abe's Amble: 6:40.56, 6:47.45 (13:28.01), 6:41.31 (20:09.32), 6:46.67 (26:55.99), 6:43.87 (33:39.66), 6:38.83 (40:18.69), 1:11.95, (41:30.64)
Heroes Run for Hope: 6:33.34, 6:52.87 (13:26.21), 6:39.37 (20:05.58), 6:43.12 (26:48.70), 6:12.92 (33:00.62)
Future Plans
I have no "A" races planned for the foreseeable future. Kim and I have a baby due in March and he has Down Syndrome and will need heart surgery this summer. I plan to continue working on my masters degree through this so I will only race when the mood strikes me and when I have the time. I am tentatively planning on running the 2010 version of the Illinois Half Marathon in Urbana-Champaign that April. When I complete graduate school in June of 2010 I will set my sights, if all is well, upon the 3rd annual Illinois Marathon in the spring of 2011.
Mile: 5:21 PB (previously 5:27)
Two Miles: 11:59.68
5K: 19:22
5 Miles: 33:00 PB (previously 33:39)
10K: 41:30 PB (previously 42:06)
Half Marathon: 1:39:21 PB (previously 1:43:23)
Course Bests
AMA 5K/Run for Hungry Children: 20:12 (previously 20:23)
Abe's Amble 10K: 41:30 (previously 42:06)
Lincoln Memorial Half Marathon: 1:39:21 (previously 1:44:45)
Races I Executed to Perfection
Sizzling Mile: 2.09, 1:20.90 (1:22.99), 1:21.45 (2:44.44), 1:20.01 (4:04.45), 1:17.11 (5:21.56)
Abe's Amble: 6:40.56, 6:47.45 (13:28.01), 6:41.31 (20:09.32), 6:46.67 (26:55.99), 6:43.87 (33:39.66), 6:38.83 (40:18.69), 1:11.95, (41:30.64)
Heroes Run for Hope: 6:33.34, 6:52.87 (13:26.21), 6:39.37 (20:05.58), 6:43.12 (26:48.70), 6:12.92 (33:00.62)
Future Plans
I have no "A" races planned for the foreseeable future. Kim and I have a baby due in March and he has Down Syndrome and will need heart surgery this summer. I plan to continue working on my masters degree through this so I will only race when the mood strikes me and when I have the time. I am tentatively planning on running the 2010 version of the Illinois Half Marathon in Urbana-Champaign that April. When I complete graduate school in June of 2010 I will set my sights, if all is well, upon the 3rd annual Illinois Marathon in the spring of 2011.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Catching Up
I didn't do a race report for the Jingle Bell Run 5K last week. I've been busy with house repairs and getting said house ready for people to look at it. I've also had the regular business with school, grad. school, family, etc.
Last Saturday was cold as a well digger's ass in Ohio. It was only about 35 degrees with very chilly winds coming out of the NE at close to 20 mph. That was fine on the way back in on the out-and-back course but really sucked on the way out. Once we hit the tree line around the 1K mark it was fine.
I drove to the race so I had about 90 minutes to sign-up and warm-up. I'm glad I did because it was a huge SNAFU. You had to sign-up and pay at one table, get your bib number at another and then get your goodie bag and t-shirt in another. It was a ton of standing in line. To make matters worse when I got to race and went to grab my gloves and hat they weren't in the car. Luckily I had a raggedy old stocking cap in my car that was covered in dead leaf fragments from the yard work I'd done in it the previous weekend and an extra pair of socks in my dry clothes bag. I eventually found my hat and gloves on the floor of my garage upon returning home.
I got in about a two mile warm-up and stripped down to a long sleeve shirt, light vest, tights, glove/socks and lawn detritus covered hat. I lined up with my friend Emily (the girl I beat at the Run for Hungry Children 5K in April and then almost puked on her shoes). Emily was planning on running 20:00 or faster as I was. The plan was to egg each other on to get under that mark.
The gun went off and Emily shot away. I yelled at her, "What's the hurry?" She said "C'mon!" I stayed where I was because I didn't want to go that fast.
I tucked in behind a few fool-hardy high school kids until we hit the tree line and then I started picking them up and putting them down. I hit the mile, which I think was off, in 6:17 and hit the turnaround in 10:30 with my buddy Nyle. I'm not sure if the turnaround is really the halfway point or not but it has to be pretty close. 10:30 at the halfway doesn't equate to a sub-20:00. I surged pretty hard with Nyle and we passed even more people heading toward the 2 mile mark. Nyle and I go back and forth quite a bit. I'll beat him a few races after passing him late and he'll get me the next race or two. We have a pretty decent rivalry but I think I have the edge because I'm about 20 years younger and have a better kick. He is pretty fun to race though and we pushed each other pretty hard the last bit of this race.
We hit the second mile mark in 11:57 but I'm gonna go ahead and say that their's no way I ran a 5:39 mile and ran within one second of my post-married life PR. Nyle got the best of me heading out of the treeline but only after we passed another three or four people. We were running with two other teenagers at this point and Nyle attacked and built up a lead of no more than five seconds with about 800 to go. Out of nowhere I got a second wind and could see Emily only ten seconds ahead. With about 600 to go I started sprinting. I dropped the high school kids and started gaining on Nyle. Right around the three mile mark we turned into the final straight and I kicked past Nyle and came within a whisker of getting Emily at the finish. I didn't puke though.
I stopped my watch as I crossed the line in 19:59.59. Emily must have run 19:58.xx as her time was 19:59 and mine was 20:00 in the official results, these were the same guys who did the timing for the Parade Run (11:59.68 but 12:00 official). Nyle finished one place behind me in 20:05. I ran from the turnaround to the finish in 9:28.
I placed 19th overall, 17th overall male and finally completed my collection of age group medals with a win in the 30-34 age group to go with two second place finishes and a third in 25-29. The after race party was crazy busy and when I finally decided to brave the line for food there was NOTHING left! No coffee, no bananas, no muffins, nothing.
I went home, drank coffee and did homework.
Last Saturday was cold as a well digger's ass in Ohio. It was only about 35 degrees with very chilly winds coming out of the NE at close to 20 mph. That was fine on the way back in on the out-and-back course but really sucked on the way out. Once we hit the tree line around the 1K mark it was fine.
I drove to the race so I had about 90 minutes to sign-up and warm-up. I'm glad I did because it was a huge SNAFU. You had to sign-up and pay at one table, get your bib number at another and then get your goodie bag and t-shirt in another. It was a ton of standing in line. To make matters worse when I got to race and went to grab my gloves and hat they weren't in the car. Luckily I had a raggedy old stocking cap in my car that was covered in dead leaf fragments from the yard work I'd done in it the previous weekend and an extra pair of socks in my dry clothes bag. I eventually found my hat and gloves on the floor of my garage upon returning home.
I got in about a two mile warm-up and stripped down to a long sleeve shirt, light vest, tights, glove/socks and lawn detritus covered hat. I lined up with my friend Emily (the girl I beat at the Run for Hungry Children 5K in April and then almost puked on her shoes). Emily was planning on running 20:00 or faster as I was. The plan was to egg each other on to get under that mark.
The gun went off and Emily shot away. I yelled at her, "What's the hurry?" She said "C'mon!" I stayed where I was because I didn't want to go that fast.
I tucked in behind a few fool-hardy high school kids until we hit the tree line and then I started picking them up and putting them down. I hit the mile, which I think was off, in 6:17 and hit the turnaround in 10:30 with my buddy Nyle. I'm not sure if the turnaround is really the halfway point or not but it has to be pretty close. 10:30 at the halfway doesn't equate to a sub-20:00. I surged pretty hard with Nyle and we passed even more people heading toward the 2 mile mark. Nyle and I go back and forth quite a bit. I'll beat him a few races after passing him late and he'll get me the next race or two. We have a pretty decent rivalry but I think I have the edge because I'm about 20 years younger and have a better kick. He is pretty fun to race though and we pushed each other pretty hard the last bit of this race.
We hit the second mile mark in 11:57 but I'm gonna go ahead and say that their's no way I ran a 5:39 mile and ran within one second of my post-married life PR. Nyle got the best of me heading out of the treeline but only after we passed another three or four people. We were running with two other teenagers at this point and Nyle attacked and built up a lead of no more than five seconds with about 800 to go. Out of nowhere I got a second wind and could see Emily only ten seconds ahead. With about 600 to go I started sprinting. I dropped the high school kids and started gaining on Nyle. Right around the three mile mark we turned into the final straight and I kicked past Nyle and came within a whisker of getting Emily at the finish. I didn't puke though.
I stopped my watch as I crossed the line in 19:59.59. Emily must have run 19:58.xx as her time was 19:59 and mine was 20:00 in the official results, these were the same guys who did the timing for the Parade Run (11:59.68 but 12:00 official). Nyle finished one place behind me in 20:05. I ran from the turnaround to the finish in 9:28.
I placed 19th overall, 17th overall male and finally completed my collection of age group medals with a win in the 30-34 age group to go with two second place finishes and a third in 25-29. The after race party was crazy busy and when I finally decided to brave the line for food there was NOTHING left! No coffee, no bananas, no muffins, nothing.
I went home, drank coffee and did homework.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
3200 m. Time Trial
In the spirit of the post-season that is going on around me I decided to run a hard workout today. My high school alma mater brought home two trophies and four individual all-state medals from the 1A state cross country championships last weekend and the D-1 regional cross country meets were taking place this morning.
I ran a warm-up around the neighborhood and drove to the middle school track in the drizzle and wind to do another mile of accelerations before ditching the jacket and putting on my vest for a 3200 meter time trial. The temps were in the mid-30s with winds about 16 mph out of the NW with gusts in the 20s. Add a nice drizzle/sleet to the mix and it was a fun time.
I decided to see how 1:35s felt and had at it.
Here are my splits:
1:36.10
1:37.36; 3:13.46 (3:13.46)
1:36.35; 4:49.81
1:35.76; 6:25.57 (3:12.11)
1:35.24; 8:00.81
1:35.63; 9:36.44 (3:10.87)
1:34.75; 11:11.19
1:30.90; 12:42.09 (3:05.65) (6:16.52)
1:35s felt okay after easing into them the first few laps. I got a little uncomfortable the last 600 meters or so but nothing too bad. I think I could have clipped off 1:35s for a few more laps before vomiting.
I'm going to run the Jingle Bell 5K to close out my season next Saturday and more than likely will not race again until Adam is a few months old late next spring or early next summer.
Hopefully we will have a house in the Decatur area before he comes along, I hope they have a few decent races.
I ran a warm-up around the neighborhood and drove to the middle school track in the drizzle and wind to do another mile of accelerations before ditching the jacket and putting on my vest for a 3200 meter time trial. The temps were in the mid-30s with winds about 16 mph out of the NW with gusts in the 20s. Add a nice drizzle/sleet to the mix and it was a fun time.
I decided to see how 1:35s felt and had at it.
Here are my splits:
1:36.10
1:37.36; 3:13.46 (3:13.46)
1:36.35; 4:49.81
1:35.76; 6:25.57 (3:12.11)
1:35.24; 8:00.81
1:35.63; 9:36.44 (3:10.87)
1:34.75; 11:11.19
1:30.90; 12:42.09 (3:05.65) (6:16.52)
1:35s felt okay after easing into them the first few laps. I got a little uncomfortable the last 600 meters or so but nothing too bad. I think I could have clipped off 1:35s for a few more laps before vomiting.
I'm going to run the Jingle Bell 5K to close out my season next Saturday and more than likely will not race again until Adam is a few months old late next spring or early next summer.
Hopefully we will have a house in the Decatur area before he comes along, I hope they have a few decent races.
And the Winner is. . .
After weeks of suggesting names to my wife and weeks of her saying "no, I don't like that" I gave up on suggesting names and told her to pick one herself. She came up with. . .
Thursday, October 30, 2008
It's a BOY!
I guess I'm going to be the father of sons.
We got our 20 week ultrasound today and while I was hoping for a daughter I am happy that I'm going to have another little boy around the house soon.
I was curious to see what a little girl would look like though.
All we know is that the middle name is going to be "Michael".
Any suggestions?
We got our 20 week ultrasound today and while I was hoping for a daughter I am happy that I'm going to have another little boy around the house soon.
I was curious to see what a little girl would look like though.
All we know is that the middle name is going to be "Michael".
Any suggestions?
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Heartbeats
Kim and I got out the stethoscope this morning and attempted to find the baby's heartbeat. When Kim was pregnant with Nathan we heard his heartbeat with our 'scope for the first time around 15 weeks in but we haven't had the same luck with this one. We are nearly 18 weeks along and I was able to find the heartbeat this morning. I guess the baby was feeling cooperative because I think it rolled for me because I could hear "swooshing" sounds and then the beat got louder.
We go in for the 20 week ultrasound on October 30th so hopefully the child's spirit of cooperation persists so we can discover if Nathan is going to have a baby brother or a baby sister in March.
We go in for the 20 week ultrasound on October 30th so hopefully the child's spirit of cooperation persists so we can discover if Nathan is going to have a baby brother or a baby sister in March.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Heroes Run for Hope
I ran the Heroes Run for Hope 5 mile in beautiful Chatham this morning. I LOVE having a race in the town where I live and I was heartbroken when the Race for Brazil/Race to Cure Lymphoma dissolved two years ago.
I love racing in Chatham because I know the streets, I know the hills and I like to do well on my "home" course. This morning dawned sunny and cool with temps in the mid-50s by race time. As I stood on the line I did not see any of the big horses from the SRRC and was wondering if the race was going to turn into a lonely slog in the lead. I didn't have anything to worry about though because when "go" was yelled a guy next to me on the line shot to the front. I let him go and focused on finding my rhythm as the race headed north on Rt. 4. As we passed Walgreens heading to the one mile mark another runner passed me. I didn't feel like chasing and hit the mile in 6:33.34 which was a bit faster than I wanted to go. I didn't feel over-extended and I tried to stride out on the downhill heading toward the railroad trestle. As I crested the hill heading toward the high school I felt like I had quite a bit of life in the legs and attempted to run the tangents as Plummer Rd. wound its way to Gordon Dr. I hit mile two in 13:26.21 with a mile split of 6:52.87.
After rounding the turn onto Gordon I knew that it was a long, straight shot to the three mile mark. Luckily for me the course basically mirrored the first three miles of my six my training loop that I have completed numerous tempo runs on. I settled into a rhythm and hit mile three in 20:05.58 with a mile split of 6:39.37. I ran up the next to last decent hill on the course and wound through the Breckenridge sub-division heading toward the four mile mark. As I rounded the corner with the four mile mark in sight I heard the scuff of shoes right behind me. I snuck a peek over my shoulder as I turned and saw a guy not quite ten seconds back and gaining. I noticed him at the two mile mark when he was about 30 seconds back. It seemed apparent that he was gunning for the bronze medal.
I surged hard at four which I hit in 26:48.70 with a 6:43.12 mile split. I cut a tangent heading to Park St. and swooshed around the corner into the last 3/4 of a mile and the last two hills on the course. I easily crested the first of the bunny hops and surged on the downhill side. As I approached the last hill a block later I lowered the arms and shortened the stride and gave it all I had. As I turned into South Park I dug deeper and sprinted as hard as I could to the finish. I could hear myself whimpering with effort and crossed the line in 33:00.62, having covered the last mile in 6:12.92. I managed to hold off my shadow by 11 seconds and just barely avoided vomiting on his shoes as he came over to congratulate me.
My shadow started running seriously this past spring after spending years on an elliptical machine. He is in his forties and knocked down five miles in 33:11 today. Personally, I am glad he didn't start running seriously a month or two earlier than he did or I would have had to settle for first in my age group instead of third overall.
The race was won by the guy who passed me at the mile mark. He caught the early leader with about a half mile to go and triumphed in 31:45 (I think) to 31:59. I remember when I could run that fast. . . on hilly, solo tempo run days even. Those days were nice. Those days were also about 13-14 years ago. Hopefully those days will come around again.
My legs felt pretty good after having felt dead every time I ran for the last month or so. I started doing the Core Secrets workout with Gunnar Peterson again the last two weeks and I think that is helping me out immensely. I think I'll have to keep that up.
I am getting ready to start two ten week long grad classes on Monday after finishing my first one a few weeks ago. I expect the blogging to go on hiatus for awhile, though I will post updates about our pregnancy toward the end of the month or beginning of next as we'll be discovering the sex of our child then. I'll also try to get a race report up if I decide to run the Jingle Bell Run 5K in the middle of November.
Take care and have a nice autumn!!!
I love racing in Chatham because I know the streets, I know the hills and I like to do well on my "home" course. This morning dawned sunny and cool with temps in the mid-50s by race time. As I stood on the line I did not see any of the big horses from the SRRC and was wondering if the race was going to turn into a lonely slog in the lead. I didn't have anything to worry about though because when "go" was yelled a guy next to me on the line shot to the front. I let him go and focused on finding my rhythm as the race headed north on Rt. 4. As we passed Walgreens heading to the one mile mark another runner passed me. I didn't feel like chasing and hit the mile in 6:33.34 which was a bit faster than I wanted to go. I didn't feel over-extended and I tried to stride out on the downhill heading toward the railroad trestle. As I crested the hill heading toward the high school I felt like I had quite a bit of life in the legs and attempted to run the tangents as Plummer Rd. wound its way to Gordon Dr. I hit mile two in 13:26.21 with a mile split of 6:52.87.
After rounding the turn onto Gordon I knew that it was a long, straight shot to the three mile mark. Luckily for me the course basically mirrored the first three miles of my six my training loop that I have completed numerous tempo runs on. I settled into a rhythm and hit mile three in 20:05.58 with a mile split of 6:39.37. I ran up the next to last decent hill on the course and wound through the Breckenridge sub-division heading toward the four mile mark. As I rounded the corner with the four mile mark in sight I heard the scuff of shoes right behind me. I snuck a peek over my shoulder as I turned and saw a guy not quite ten seconds back and gaining. I noticed him at the two mile mark when he was about 30 seconds back. It seemed apparent that he was gunning for the bronze medal.
I surged hard at four which I hit in 26:48.70 with a 6:43.12 mile split. I cut a tangent heading to Park St. and swooshed around the corner into the last 3/4 of a mile and the last two hills on the course. I easily crested the first of the bunny hops and surged on the downhill side. As I approached the last hill a block later I lowered the arms and shortened the stride and gave it all I had. As I turned into South Park I dug deeper and sprinted as hard as I could to the finish. I could hear myself whimpering with effort and crossed the line in 33:00.62, having covered the last mile in 6:12.92. I managed to hold off my shadow by 11 seconds and just barely avoided vomiting on his shoes as he came over to congratulate me.
My shadow started running seriously this past spring after spending years on an elliptical machine. He is in his forties and knocked down five miles in 33:11 today. Personally, I am glad he didn't start running seriously a month or two earlier than he did or I would have had to settle for first in my age group instead of third overall.
The race was won by the guy who passed me at the mile mark. He caught the early leader with about a half mile to go and triumphed in 31:45 (I think) to 31:59. I remember when I could run that fast. . . on hilly, solo tempo run days even. Those days were nice. Those days were also about 13-14 years ago. Hopefully those days will come around again.
My legs felt pretty good after having felt dead every time I ran for the last month or so. I started doing the Core Secrets workout with Gunnar Peterson again the last two weeks and I think that is helping me out immensely. I think I'll have to keep that up.
I am getting ready to start two ten week long grad classes on Monday after finishing my first one a few weeks ago. I expect the blogging to go on hiatus for awhile, though I will post updates about our pregnancy toward the end of the month or beginning of next as we'll be discovering the sex of our child then. I'll also try to get a race report up if I decide to run the Jingle Bell Run 5K in the middle of November.
Take care and have a nice autumn!!!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Extra Credit
For two (2) extra credit points:1. Identify the diagnostic imaging modality utilized to obtain this image.
2. Identify the anatomic structures demonstrated in this image.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
I am not a good prognosticator.
I competed in the Polka Pace Race 5K in beautiful Havana, IL this morning. We had some nice weather with temps in the high 50's and sunny skies. The PPR is a flat and fast course and is where I ran my post-married-with-children PR (19:02) last season. If any race on my club's Points Series can be described as a "home" meet for me it is this one. My grandparents live three houses down from the starting line, a block before the two mile mark and about four blocks from the finish line. Add them to a town full of aunts, uncles and cousins (many of whom I have never met) and a good friend's parents who live around the corner from my grandparents and I have I rather large cheering section.
I had high hopes for this race even though my training has been derailed a few times this year by IT band syndrome, a hamstring pull, grad school and a new job. The plan was to hit the mile in 5:55 - 6:00, two in 11:55 - 12:10 and then try to hold on and get the last mile under 6:20 where I could use my finishing speed to dig under 19:00.
I got in a two mile warm-up and took my place on the line with a few high school football players. As the starting gun (siren) went off I broke my cardinal rule of racing, "don't get caught up in the initial sprint". I could tell that it was going to be a long day as I was breathing hard by the time we hit downtown Havana, not even 800 into the race. I hit 800 in 2:50, surged down the hill to the riverfront and found myself in 4th place as I passed the mile mark in 5:59. I was surprised to here 5:59 as I felt like I had run 5:50 or faster. I managed to hold form and could see that I was only 20 - 30 seconds behind the leaders as we wound our way to the 1.5 mark. I can't remember my exact split at 1.5 but it was sub-9:10.
I was passed by a guy from my club who passed me in the exact same spot as last year and I tucked in behind him and rapidly fell off the back about two blocks after the two mile mark (12:17). The hardest part about the final mile is that you basically have two long straights of about a half mile where you can see exactly how far you have to go to the turn or the finish line. As I approached the 2.5 mark I felt as if I was in a bad dream where I was running and running but not moving any closer to my destination.
The third mile was a long, shoulder-cramping, lung-searing stagger to the finish line where I ran fast enough to get passed by two more runners and finish in 19:22.79.
I finished in 7th overall (again) and won my age group only because the fastest 30-34 year old in the race placed third overall. On a happier note, I believe I clinched my club's Point Series championship for my age group to defend the title I earned last year. I also earned 8 points in the overall standings as I was the third club finisher across the line today. I have no idea where I am in the overall standings because they haven't been updated since late May but I finished 15th last year.
I think I am going to run the Shoreline Classic 15K in a few weeks but I'm not locking myself into it as I think the IT Band is flaring up again.
I think I'm going to have to give up on the sub-19:00 goal for at least this year.
Maybe I'll go play the lotto with the 18:34.64 from my dream.
I had high hopes for this race even though my training has been derailed a few times this year by IT band syndrome, a hamstring pull, grad school and a new job. The plan was to hit the mile in 5:55 - 6:00, two in 11:55 - 12:10 and then try to hold on and get the last mile under 6:20 where I could use my finishing speed to dig under 19:00.
I got in a two mile warm-up and took my place on the line with a few high school football players. As the starting gun (siren) went off I broke my cardinal rule of racing, "don't get caught up in the initial sprint". I could tell that it was going to be a long day as I was breathing hard by the time we hit downtown Havana, not even 800 into the race. I hit 800 in 2:50, surged down the hill to the riverfront and found myself in 4th place as I passed the mile mark in 5:59. I was surprised to here 5:59 as I felt like I had run 5:50 or faster. I managed to hold form and could see that I was only 20 - 30 seconds behind the leaders as we wound our way to the 1.5 mark. I can't remember my exact split at 1.5 but it was sub-9:10.
I was passed by a guy from my club who passed me in the exact same spot as last year and I tucked in behind him and rapidly fell off the back about two blocks after the two mile mark (12:17). The hardest part about the final mile is that you basically have two long straights of about a half mile where you can see exactly how far you have to go to the turn or the finish line. As I approached the 2.5 mark I felt as if I was in a bad dream where I was running and running but not moving any closer to my destination.
The third mile was a long, shoulder-cramping, lung-searing stagger to the finish line where I ran fast enough to get passed by two more runners and finish in 19:22.79.
I finished in 7th overall (again) and won my age group only because the fastest 30-34 year old in the race placed third overall. On a happier note, I believe I clinched my club's Point Series championship for my age group to defend the title I earned last year. I also earned 8 points in the overall standings as I was the third club finisher across the line today. I have no idea where I am in the overall standings because they haven't been updated since late May but I finished 15th last year.
I think I am going to run the Shoreline Classic 15K in a few weeks but I'm not locking myself into it as I think the IT Band is flaring up again.
I think I'm going to have to give up on the sub-19:00 goal for at least this year.
Maybe I'll go play the lotto with the 18:34.64 from my dream.
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