After 6 weeks of continuous stress and tiredness, I had a nice, productive, relaxing weekend. I work for one day this week and then head out on vacation for a few days. I get to spend time with my entire immediate family. There's always bad eating and some drinking going on along with lots of time spent out on the boat boat skiing and tubing (not while drinking though ;) ). This summer may be a bit different. At least three of us will be doing a 5 mile race on the 4th. That may put a damper on the eating and drinking. This is my parents' first race and they are super psyched for it. I'm sure they are going to eat well and not drink. If I'm running it with them, anything goes, but there's a chance I may try burn it out. If that's the case, I can't fill the tank with pizza and beer and expect to perform that well. I could actually do that and complete destroy my 5 mile PR. Well, I've never run 5 miles before during a race, but I have done an 8K a couple times. That is essentially 5 miles (just a bit shy). This was years ago before I became a runner. My PR is 43 minutes. (You can see all my results on my Athlinks page.) I'm not sure what the course looks like and just how hot and humid it will be on Friday, but I'm expecting somewhere around 33 minutes if I burn it out. So I think I could run the entire thing backwards and beat my best 8K time. But then again, it might just be more enjoyable to take it easy and enjoy the race with my family. We'll see.
I hope everyone has a great 4th of July. I may not have another entry until next weekend. Good luck to all of you doing races this coming week.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
"That's good. One less thing."
Anyone know this movie? It's a good one.
Finally! That day has come and gone. I made it. Phew! The exam was scheduled for 3 hours 15 minutes. There was a survey at the beginning that needed to be filled out and they added 15 minutes onto the time. The survey only took me 5 minutes. So I had 3:25 to take this thing. I finished the last question with somewhere around 5 minutes to spare. Wow! That's a long test. I finished feeling very confident that I easily passed. I had to wait a minute or two for the results and it turns out I was mistakenly confident. I didn't make it by much. I should be happy because all I needed to do is pass, but all that freaking time I spend over the last 6 weeks and to only squeak by is very frustrating. Oh well. I passed and I'm done with it. Such a relief!
Finally! That day has come and gone. I made it. Phew! The exam was scheduled for 3 hours 15 minutes. There was a survey at the beginning that needed to be filled out and they added 15 minutes onto the time. The survey only took me 5 minutes. So I had 3:25 to take this thing. I finished the last question with somewhere around 5 minutes to spare. Wow! That's a long test. I finished feeling very confident that I easily passed. I had to wait a minute or two for the results and it turns out I was mistakenly confident. I didn't make it by much. I should be happy because all I needed to do is pass, but all that freaking time I spend over the last 6 weeks and to only squeak by is very frustrating. Oh well. I passed and I'm done with it. Such a relief!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Twas the night before...
This would be a good place to write something creative to match the title of this blog, but I'm too tired and too busy. Sorry. My certification is tomorrow at 11:45. I've got to tell ya, I'm burnt out. I'm sick of studying. I'm sick of burning the midnight oil night after night and being in a continuous stage of extreme tiredness. The test is 3 hours and 15 minutes and it sounds like I'll need most, if not all of the allotted time. So by 3 pm, I should be done and as long as I pass, I won't to spend night after night studying while thinking that I should be working. I'll be able to focus on... well... working. The other thing that has kept me ridiculously busy of the last 6 weeks has been work. We needed to wrap everything up by tomorrow. I thought we were on pace to come into this cut-off with only minor things remaining to clean up while the testing is happening. It turns out that the one thing that I have left on my plate is huge. It will require at least 2 weeks of solid development. As I will be out of town for 1 week, that means that the development for this part will not wrap up for 3 weeks from now. So it looks like I will be busting my bum for a couple more weeks. At least there will be a week in the middle where I can relax and spend some time with my family.
On to something that is a bit more enjoyable. With all the craziness going on, I'm still making myself get out there to get in my key workouts for the week. I'm not getting to the gym and getting some of the additional miles in during the week, but I am making myself do the quality stuff. Today was a 7 mile run with 5 of those miles at 6:52 tempo. I did 1 mile warm-up and cool-down and then averaged 6:45 during the 5 mile tempo with my heart rate averaging 172 bpm. The numbers are slightly skewed as I picked it up a bit over the lat mile. Again, I felt pretty good today. Not bad considering my slightly over 5 hour per night sleeping time.
1 - 6:52, 165 bpm
2 - 6:50, 169 bpm
3 - 6:51, 171 bpm
4 - 6:48, 174 bpm
5 - 6:26, 179 bpm
That's it for today. Hopefully tomorrow I will be back with good news.
On to something that is a bit more enjoyable. With all the craziness going on, I'm still making myself get out there to get in my key workouts for the week. I'm not getting to the gym and getting some of the additional miles in during the week, but I am making myself do the quality stuff. Today was a 7 mile run with 5 of those miles at 6:52 tempo. I did 1 mile warm-up and cool-down and then averaged 6:45 during the 5 mile tempo with my heart rate averaging 172 bpm. The numbers are slightly skewed as I picked it up a bit over the lat mile. Again, I felt pretty good today. Not bad considering my slightly over 5 hour per night sleeping time.
1 - 6:52, 165 bpm
2 - 6:50, 169 bpm
3 - 6:51, 171 bpm
4 - 6:48, 174 bpm
5 - 6:26, 179 bpm
That's it for today. Hopefully tomorrow I will be back with good news.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Speed Work - 800 Repeats
Somehow, I was actually awake today. After Only sleeping 4 1/2 hours last night and 5 1/2 the night before, I somehow found the energy after work to put in a quality speed session. The schedule called for 4x800 @ 5:36 /mile pace with 2 minute recoveries. Since the weather cooled off nicely, it was very pleasant out there after work. That 10+ degree difference in the temperatures makes a huge difference for me. Before the run, I decided the recoveries would be 1 minute walking followed by 1 minute jogging. Two minutes seems like a long recovery for 800 repeats, but hey, I'm not complaining. After a 10 minute warm up, here's what I did. The intervals show time, (pace) and avg HR while the recoveries show time, distance and avg HR.
#1 - 2:51.20 (5:41), 175
(rec)2:01.38, 0.18, 151
#2 - 2:41.27 (5:23), 177
(rec)2:01.59, 0.19, 158
#3 - 2:41.58 (5:22), 180
(rec)2:01.28, 0.18, 161
#4 - 2:42.03 (5:21), 181
I was pleasantly surprised by how good I felt out there today. I didn't expect to hit the goal pace on any of the intervals. I thought they would all be right around there the first interval was. I'm sure I'll be paying for my lack of sleep just as I have for the last 5 weeks, but for the time being, I feel good.
#1 - 2:51.20 (5:41), 175
(rec)2:01.38, 0.18, 151
#2 - 2:41.27 (5:23), 177
(rec)2:01.59, 0.19, 158
#3 - 2:41.58 (5:22), 180
(rec)2:01.28, 0.18, 161
#4 - 2:42.03 (5:21), 181
I was pleasantly surprised by how good I felt out there today. I didn't expect to hit the goal pace on any of the intervals. I thought they would all be right around there the first interval was. I'm sure I'll be paying for my lack of sleep just as I have for the last 5 weeks, but for the time being, I feel good.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Officially in Cram Mode
I am quickly running out of time to prepare for my test. I'm down to less than 4 days now and I don't feel at all ready yet. I may be able to squeak by with a barely passing grade right now, but I'd like to make sure that I can have some breathing room. To make matters worse, my work deadline is quickly approaching and I can't spend much of my spare time trying to finish as I need to devote that time to studying. There just isn't enough time in the day to do it all.
Through all this, I'm trying to make sure I get out and get a little exercising in. Today I did 6 miles up and down a 3 mile hill by my house at about 8 min/mile just to get some miles in. Tomorrow I will get in about 6 miles with 4 800 repeats at 2:48 each. Since the temps will be a bit cooler, it shouldn't be ridiculously painful.
I can't wait for next week. Hopefully I can get back to my normal life. It's been 6ish weeks since life has been anything but chaotic. I'm not sure what will happen when I can start getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night again. Those 800 repeats I mentioned above may feel like an easy jog.
Almost there...
Through all this, I'm trying to make sure I get out and get a little exercising in. Today I did 6 miles up and down a 3 mile hill by my house at about 8 min/mile just to get some miles in. Tomorrow I will get in about 6 miles with 4 800 repeats at 2:48 each. Since the temps will be a bit cooler, it shouldn't be ridiculously painful.
I can't wait for next week. Hopefully I can get back to my normal life. It's been 6ish weeks since life has been anything but chaotic. I'm not sure what will happen when I can start getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night again. Those 800 repeats I mentioned above may feel like an easy jog.
Almost there...
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Busy, busy, busy
I'm not reaching crunch time in my ridiculously busy schedule. My certification exam in barely over 1 week away and my project deadline is the following Monday. So extra time in my schedule is very hard to come by. I've already missed a couple work outs this week as I have not had any time to get out. I did a reduced and modified speed workout yesterday and will try to get in a few tomorrow if I can. The schedule calls for 13 miles at 7:22 pace on Sunday. The temps are ridiculously hot around here lately and Saturday looks to be the same. Fortunately the group is starting nice and early so we will avoid the bad part of the day.
Had another softball game tonight. As the team was nearly short on players, I couldn't blow it of to work. We played another really bad team and played down there level. We only beat them by a couple runs and they were playing with only 8 fielders. It seems like our team always plays up or down to the competition. Oh well, I guess in this league a win is a win. I was 2 for 5 with 4 runs scored, 2 HRs and 2 RBIs. As they were not that good of a fielding team, they couldn't handle 2 of my hot shots in the field. A lenient scorekeeper may have marked them down as hits, but I couldn't do it.
Season Stats
G - 8
AB - 38
R - 23
H - 24
2B - 6
3B - 5
HR - 5
RBI - 32
SF - 2
AVG - .632
SLG - 1.447
Had another softball game tonight. As the team was nearly short on players, I couldn't blow it of to work. We played another really bad team and played down there level. We only beat them by a couple runs and they were playing with only 8 fielders. It seems like our team always plays up or down to the competition. Oh well, I guess in this league a win is a win. I was 2 for 5 with 4 runs scored, 2 HRs and 2 RBIs. As they were not that good of a fielding team, they couldn't handle 2 of my hot shots in the field. A lenient scorekeeper may have marked them down as hits, but I couldn't do it.
Season Stats
G - 8
AB - 38
R - 23
H - 24
2B - 6
3B - 5
HR - 5
RBI - 32
SF - 2
AVG - .632
SLG - 1.447
Monday, June 16, 2008
Week 1 Speed Work
Today officially began my training for the St. George Marathon. I'm following a modified version of the FIRST training approach. I'm taking the key runs given my this 3 day a week plan and adding additional work out to the plan. Today was the first speed session. The numbers that I generated for this training plan are based on my goal time of a 3 hour marathon. Some may say that isn't the correct approach as I'm not currently in 3 hour shape, but I like it as it pushes me harder. According to all my calculations, today included 3 1 mile repeats at a 5:51 pace. I knew going into the workout that I would not hit that number. There were various reason. Firstly, as I said, I'm not currently in 3 hour shape. As the goal marathon will be in much cooler weather and is a net downhill course, whatever times I'm able to do here during the summer will be easy to beat out there. Another reason I knew I wouldn't hit that number is because I've taken the last 2 weeks off. I'm coming off my taper, race and recovery from the RnR. So I'm not in prime shape at the moment. The last reason I knew I wouldn't hit that number was because it was 85 degrees when I started my run today. So the idea was to push hard, but not blow myself out in the first repeat so I couldn't finish the other two. That is what I did a lot last year. I'd do everything I could to hit that goal pace and then would struggle for the next few repeats. Here's what I was able to do today.
16:48 156 bpm (2 miles)
6:08.75, 182 bpm (1 mile)
1:01.43, 171 bpm
5:58.52, 185 bpm (1 mile)
2:01.20, 162 bpm
6:12.38, 186 bpm (1 mile)
1:00.90, 177 bpm
8:22.96, 172 bpm (1 mile)
I normally like to do slow jogs for my recoveries. Last year when following this plan, I found that I often had to walk the recoveries. Today was no different. By looking at the recovery and interval HR efforts, it's no wonder I had to walk. I even had to increase the recovery after the 2nd repeat to 2 minutes because I was feeling it big time. Usually after the last repeat I start the cool down. Today was I so tired at the end that I put in another 1 minute recovery before starting the cool down. I hit a max HR of 191 in the last repeat.
All in all, I'm not disappointed with the effort as I'm just getting back into it. It definitely was a harder workout then I intended it to be. My only negative/constructive thoughts would be to be more consistent and to not have pushed so hard on my first workout.
I looked back at my training schedule from last year when I likely did the same workout. I don't think I was in quite as good of shape at the time last year, but the run last year was on the road. Today I did it around the lake. The lake is definitely flatter than the route I did last year. This is approximately what I did last year.
6:21, 171 bpm
1:01, 151 bpm
6:41, 172 bpm
1:03, 166 bpm
6:29, 173 bpm
So I was faster today, in hotter weather on an easier course, but I pushed harder. It will be interesting to compare the workouts from last year to this year.
The schedule for the week is being slightly altered due to conflicting schedules. I'm doing my next speed session on Wednesday and not doing the 20+ work run this week. I figure 50+ is too much the first week back and it won't really fit into my schedule this week.
16:48 156 bpm (2 miles)
6:08.75, 182 bpm (1 mile)
1:01.43, 171 bpm
5:58.52, 185 bpm (1 mile)
2:01.20, 162 bpm
6:12.38, 186 bpm (1 mile)
1:00.90, 177 bpm
8:22.96, 172 bpm (1 mile)
I normally like to do slow jogs for my recoveries. Last year when following this plan, I found that I often had to walk the recoveries. Today was no different. By looking at the recovery and interval HR efforts, it's no wonder I had to walk. I even had to increase the recovery after the 2nd repeat to 2 minutes because I was feeling it big time. Usually after the last repeat I start the cool down. Today was I so tired at the end that I put in another 1 minute recovery before starting the cool down. I hit a max HR of 191 in the last repeat.
All in all, I'm not disappointed with the effort as I'm just getting back into it. It definitely was a harder workout then I intended it to be. My only negative/constructive thoughts would be to be more consistent and to not have pushed so hard on my first workout.
I looked back at my training schedule from last year when I likely did the same workout. I don't think I was in quite as good of shape at the time last year, but the run last year was on the road. Today I did it around the lake. The lake is definitely flatter than the route I did last year. This is approximately what I did last year.
6:21, 171 bpm
1:01, 151 bpm
6:41, 172 bpm
1:03, 166 bpm
6:29, 173 bpm
So I was faster today, in hotter weather on an easier course, but I pushed harder. It will be interesting to compare the workouts from last year to this year.
The schedule for the week is being slightly altered due to conflicting schedules. I'm doing my next speed session on Wednesday and not doing the 20+ work run this week. I figure 50+ is too much the first week back and it won't really fit into my schedule this week.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The End of the Recovery
This is my last weekend of recovery after the RnR. To celebrate, I decided to miss the group run and get some much needed sleep. As has been the case for the past few weeks, I was basically surviving on caffeine and very little sleep. I got to sleep around 12:30 and planned on waking up whenever Wendy woke me up. She later told me that her plan was to let me sleep as late as possible, just to see how late I would go. She got sick of waiting at 11:15 and woke me up. Sweet! Nearly 11 hours of sleep. I really needed that. I'm still behind and a bit tired yet, but I felt a million times better today then I have in awhile.
I continued to follow the theme of this recovery period by eating pizza tonight. This is my last day to binge on pizza for the next four months so I decided to do it right. I got a Digiorno Thin and Crispy pepperoni pizza and ate the whole thing. It was only 1600 calories and 75 grams of fat. Since I'm a weirdo and like milk with my pizza that added another 200ish calories. Now that's how it's done. :) Then I chased that down with a couple beers and called it a night. I think today should help me gain back all the weight that I lost the last few months.
I planned on getting in around 10 miles today, but it just didn't work out. I'm not too worried about it. I will run for about an hour tomorrow before all the Father's Day festivities begin and then start my 16 week schedule on Monday. This is my plan for week #1 (I know it starts with Sunday, but I feel Monday is the first day.)
Sunday - 7 easy miles
Monday - ~20 min warm up; 3x1600m @5:51 pace with 1:00 recovery; 10 min cool down
Tuesday - Lift
Wednesday - ~20 miles to/from work
Thursday - 2 easy; 2 Short Tempo Speed (6:26); 2 easy
Friday - Rest Day (or make Wed rest day and do ~20 today)
Saturday - 13 miles with the group (schedule says 7:22 pace, but I'm sure it won't be that fast)
Week ~52 miles
Hmm, now that I have that down in print, that's a big week for #1. That should go well with my continued lack of sleep. Unfortunately, I still have 2 more weeks of hell left before things start to calm down. The goal will be to not get sick, but with that kind of effort combined with my burning the midnight oil there's a good chance it will happen.
I scheduled my certification exam for 11:45 on Friday the 27th. So as long as I pass, that should help put an end to all this madness. I think I will still be busy at work for awhile, but at least it will only be 1 thing and not 2 things that take up all my spare time.
The Cubs continue to dominate the majors. Nearly unstoppable hitting combined with top notch pitching makes for a great combination. Even though they recently lost the team leading home run hitter and lead-off man, they should continue to dominate. Go Cubbies!
I continued to follow the theme of this recovery period by eating pizza tonight. This is my last day to binge on pizza for the next four months so I decided to do it right. I got a Digiorno Thin and Crispy pepperoni pizza and ate the whole thing. It was only 1600 calories and 75 grams of fat. Since I'm a weirdo and like milk with my pizza that added another 200ish calories. Now that's how it's done. :) Then I chased that down with a couple beers and called it a night. I think today should help me gain back all the weight that I lost the last few months.
I planned on getting in around 10 miles today, but it just didn't work out. I'm not too worried about it. I will run for about an hour tomorrow before all the Father's Day festivities begin and then start my 16 week schedule on Monday. This is my plan for week #1 (I know it starts with Sunday, but I feel Monday is the first day.)
Sunday - 7 easy miles
Monday - ~20 min warm up; 3x1600m @5:51 pace with 1:00 recovery; 10 min cool down
Tuesday - Lift
Wednesday - ~20 miles to/from work
Thursday - 2 easy; 2 Short Tempo Speed (6:26); 2 easy
Friday - Rest Day (or make Wed rest day and do ~20 today)
Saturday - 13 miles with the group (schedule says 7:22 pace, but I'm sure it won't be that fast)
Week ~52 miles
Hmm, now that I have that down in print, that's a big week for #1. That should go well with my continued lack of sleep. Unfortunately, I still have 2 more weeks of hell left before things start to calm down. The goal will be to not get sick, but with that kind of effort combined with my burning the midnight oil there's a good chance it will happen.
I scheduled my certification exam for 11:45 on Friday the 27th. So as long as I pass, that should help put an end to all this madness. I think I will still be busy at work for awhile, but at least it will only be 1 thing and not 2 things that take up all my spare time.
The Cubs continue to dominate the majors. Nearly unstoppable hitting combined with top notch pitching makes for a great combination. Even though they recently lost the team leading home run hitter and lead-off man, they should continue to dominate. Go Cubbies!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Running and Softball
I ran 5.5 easy miles today. I'm just trying to take it easy this week in preparation for kicking things off next Monday. I expect that I'll hit the gym tomorrow and then run again on Thursday. Depending on how I feel and how busy I am, Friday will be another running day, another gym day or a rest day. I'll probably do 8-10 on Saturday.
We played a really bad team tonight in softball. I think they are winless on the season and for good reason. The are all incredibly inexperienced. We won easily 29-14. As in our last blowout, we gave up a lot more runs than we should have, but when the other team is so bad, you get off your "A" game pretty quick and easily. Our SS from last year was back for a game and this put me back at third. No errors tonights and I made some nice plays. Our SS had some errors, but it's much better when I'm not the one causing the problems. Continued hitting pretty well. I got on base 6 times in 7 at bats. I was 5 for 7 with 5 runs scored, 2 doubles, 1 triple and 4 RBIs. I batted 2nd for the first time this year and didn't get as many RBI opportunities. Instead I tried more to get on base and let the guys behind me knock in the runs. The one time I got on and didn't score was when I knocked in the 4th and 5th runs for the inning and this ends the inning.
Season Stats
G - 7
AB - 33
R - 19
H - 23
2B - 6
3B - 5
HR - 3
RBI - 30
SF - 2
AVG - .697
SLG - 1.455
We played a really bad team tonight in softball. I think they are winless on the season and for good reason. The are all incredibly inexperienced. We won easily 29-14. As in our last blowout, we gave up a lot more runs than we should have, but when the other team is so bad, you get off your "A" game pretty quick and easily. Our SS from last year was back for a game and this put me back at third. No errors tonights and I made some nice plays. Our SS had some errors, but it's much better when I'm not the one causing the problems. Continued hitting pretty well. I got on base 6 times in 7 at bats. I was 5 for 7 with 5 runs scored, 2 doubles, 1 triple and 4 RBIs. I batted 2nd for the first time this year and didn't get as many RBI opportunities. Instead I tried more to get on base and let the guys behind me knock in the runs. The one time I got on and didn't score was when I knocked in the 4th and 5th runs for the inning and this ends the inning.
Season Stats
G - 7
AB - 33
R - 19
H - 23
2B - 6
3B - 5
HR - 3
RBI - 30
SF - 2
AVG - .697
SLG - 1.455
Monday, June 9, 2008
Low Content
Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Here's a summary of what has happened since I last wrote. I worked a lot. I've studied a lot. I had 2 nights of good sleep this past weekend, but followed that up with a 4 1/2 hour night and now I'm struggling already at the beginning of the week. I've eaten tons of pizza. And I've been out on 2 runs so far. The first was an easy 5.45 miles and the 2nd was a unintentionally intense 7 miler. It was supposed to be a nice and easy 1 hour run that ended up being a bit hard and fast. I just couldn't slow it down. My heart rate was going crazy, but I did nothing today. So I don't think that I will be over training during this recovery time.
This is my last recovery week. I'll get out for a couple more easy jogs, maybe hit the gym once or twice and then do 10ish this weekend. Monday the 16th starts the first of my 16 weeks of training for St. George. It will be my first speed session. Since that's coming up, I'm trying to focus on work, studying and "recovery". Of course, real recovery would be much healthier eating and involve getting much more sleep, but hey, you can't have everything.
So, until next week, I'm not sure what the posts will be. There is a softball game, so I will probably write something about how poor my fielding continues to be. I will be back to more regular posts next week.
Go Cubs!
This is my last recovery week. I'll get out for a couple more easy jogs, maybe hit the gym once or twice and then do 10ish this weekend. Monday the 16th starts the first of my 16 weeks of training for St. George. It will be my first speed session. Since that's coming up, I'm trying to focus on work, studying and "recovery". Of course, real recovery would be much healthier eating and involve getting much more sleep, but hey, you can't have everything.
So, until next week, I'm not sure what the posts will be. There is a softball game, so I will probably write something about how poor my fielding continues to be. I will be back to more regular posts next week.
Go Cubs!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Rock n Roll Marathon Race Report
The following is a summary of my race day for the Rock n Roll Marathon in San Diego, June 1, 2008.
As I had been mentioning over the past few weeks, I had not been getting the rest I needed, but I was putting in some good quality speed sessions during the taper period. This helped me to build my confidence come race day. I decided I was aiming for a 3:15 and if I was able to manage, I'd try to beat 3:14:19, which was my current 2nd fastest race to date. The goal was to head out at approximately 7:26 per mile and adjust at the half way point and/or mile 20 as my body allowed. Andy and I were starting together and planned on doing the race together to the end.
I woke up at 4:00 am and had my normal N-Large Weight Gainer shake with 8 oz skim milk. As I was tired, I also drank a cup of tea on my way to the race. I picked up Andy and on our way to the race Andy said he wanted to start out a bit quicker and bank some time. I wasn't too keen on the idea, but figured if I was running with him the whole time he could push (or pull) me to the end.
Along with the other 20,000 other people out there, I waited about 30 minutes in a line for a port-a-potty and by the time I got back to where the group was meeting, people were starting to head to their corrals. When Andy got back, we headed into corral number 1 and were ready to go. As we were waiting for the race to start, we saw a dude with a chick tattoo on his lower back. It was pretty funny looking.
Right from the gun we were running faster than goal pace. (see split times below) I felt fine for the first few miles but then started feeling like it was a bit fast and that I wasn't sure I could keep the pace the entire time. Even though there were hills, we were 55 seconds ahead of pace after the first file miles and I was feeling a bit tired. I was wanting to slow down a bit, but Andy want to keep the pace up. I decided I would just stay mentally focused and push myself the entire time. The rest of the way through downtown was pretty uneventful. We started going up hill a bit and our times started to slow a bit to right around goal race pace. As we started heading up the bigger incline going up 163, I started to feel better. Our pace kept up pretty good while going up hill. We slowed a bit as the hill got steep, but were still easily passing people. I've heard a lot of people say in the past that you should break a race up into 3 segments to help you focus. You do 2 10 milers and then a 10k. At this point, we just finished the first 10 miler and I was feeling a bit better. I told myself to stayed focused for the next 10 and we would pick up the pace around 18 or so if I was feeling good.
We now fly down the 163 hill and head around the corner by Fashion Valley Mall. This is where I planned on meeting my wife. Andy was only expecting to see Wendy as his wife and son were only going to make it to the finish line. Little did Andy know that my wife and his wife talked and planned on both being at the mall. Here's a couple pix of us seeing them and the surprise on his face.
That gave both of us an energy boost over the next mile. By the time we hit the half way point, I was feeling tired again. Around this time, another running friend, Denise caught up to us and ran with us a few miles. She said she had been trying to catch us since down town being right behind us the entire time. She just had her first child 8 months ago and was on pace for a sub 3:15 race. Incredible! We found out that her fastest RnR was right around mine. My prior course PR was 3:26 and hers was 3:27.
As we headed towards Mission Bay, I felt the pace drop a bit and picked it up at a water station. Denise fell behind a bit at the water stop and we didn't see her again until the end. Our pace was staying fairly consistent between low to mid 7:20s per mile. I was feeling more and more tired as we were going. We were still on pace for a 3:13 race and if we could pick it up, we could easily do at least 3:12. I could feel my mind start to go, but would force myself to pay attention saying the 2nd 10 miler was almost over. I was taking 2 water cups at every station and got most of it down nearly every time. I took a 150 calorie Cranksports goo pack every 45 minutes for needed energy.
Around mile 19 I decided we should pick it up a bit and try to drive down that finishing time. I knew we were less than an hour from the finish and just had to push myself a bit more for a little while. The next four miles were faster, but the 3rd mile really hurt me. Throughout the run Andy kept asking how I felt and I was giving him the updates that I've been writing here. After this third mile, I said "I'm tired. That one hurt."
We are now into the last 10 K of the race and going through the most boring part of the course. It's definitely the most mentally challenging as there are a few rollers and the heat is start to come up as the sun is coming out. I felt myself getting really hot and my mind was fading fast. I took my shirt off as I had been dumping water over my head and the shirt was not drying that fast. It was a bit heavy and annoying. I carried it for a bit, but it started getting heavy in my hands. It was my favorite race shirt and definitely the most expensive one I had. Notice the past tense. After a brief struggle in my head, it hit the trash can. Now, I hardly ever take my shirt off while running. Why? Not sure. But it is definitely a sign of duress.
We did the little loop on Friars and go the 2nd to last incline of the race. I wasn't able to get my legs moving and my HR was spiking as my pace dropped. It was getting tough. I was trying to force myself to just move. Andy obviously could tell I was struggling as he mentions that we are about done. We get up the hill and get our pace back to goal pace. We then head make the right turn on Pacific and head over the bridge. Again, I struggled up this last "hill". Andy gives encouragement again as I ask him if this is our last hill. Fortunately, he says yes.
By this time we have three miles left and I'm struggling. I hear Andy continuing to offer words of motivation as we continue to slow down. As we head through water stops, I buying everything they are selling in the water aisle. A couple cups go in my mouth a few cups go over my head. We now turn right and run in front of MCRD. I'm in worse shape. I can't focus. I can't make myself do anything other than keep running. I want to walk so bad, but know that I can't. Internally, I was able to tell myself that even if I slow a bit and run, it will be way faster than walking. We keeping going and turn left into MCRD. This sucks! Then Andy said the best thing. Only 1200 meters to go. That's less than 3 laps around the track. Even though I wasn't able to get myself going faster, it did help me me get to the end. He's now saying stuff about every 5-10 seconds trying to get me to pick up the speed and get moving. I see the banner at the end and still can't push myself any faster. Almost there. I see Wendy on the right snapping photos. Ok, almost done. I am finally able to push harder. I see the clock and see that 3:14:19 is quickly approaching. That forced me to kick it into high gear. Andy says, "there ya go" and we fly to the finish line. I believe we crossed at the exact time of my last race. I knew we started a couple seconds later than the race clock so I knew I just got my 2nd fastest marathon time. I feebly raise my hands for the victory. If you go to nbcsandiego, you can see us crossing the finish line. Drag the scroll bar until the clock time is right around our finish time.
All in all, I was happy with the performance, but there are a few outstanding questions. I will analyze the race performance in another blog in the next week or two. I want to thank Andy for all his help. Running a 3:14 was easy for him. At any point he could have easily picked it up and qualified for Boston. I'm confident that my finishing time would have been slower without his help. Thanks for all the help.
My finishing time of 3:14:14 was a course PR by 12 minutes. Last year I finish in 3:26, which was a 12 minute PR from when I ran it in 2003. Does that mean 3:02 next year?!? Umm, I think not. I finished in 249th position out of 16,731 finishers.
Congrats to all those Marc Fitters out there that did the race. Everyone did great. I don't envy anyone that was out there longer then I was. The temperatures definitely rose after I was done. It's must have made things tough. Special kudos go out to Dano for finishing in 3:41 having just completed Boston 6 weeks ago and competing the race while being sick. Very impressive (or maybe that's not the right word :-) ).
I'll touch more on this in my race analysis in another blog, but I usually get sick after most of my races. I usually have cramps and I'm nauseous. After this race, I felt good. I didn't feel like eating, but I felt good. As I was ready to leave, I opened up one of those 90 calorie snack packs and had 1 little piece of chip. That started the downfall and I felt like crap the next few hours. I got home and layed on the floor curled up in a ball in front of the fan. Fun times. I finally started feeling better and was able to east a little something 4 hours after the race. More on that later.
Here's a snapshot of the elevation, our pacing and my HR from the race.
Here are a link to some other race photos Wendy took.
http://flickr.com/photos/25745983@N04/sets/72157605422008404/
Mile Summaries
Food
As I had been mentioning over the past few weeks, I had not been getting the rest I needed, but I was putting in some good quality speed sessions during the taper period. This helped me to build my confidence come race day. I decided I was aiming for a 3:15 and if I was able to manage, I'd try to beat 3:14:19, which was my current 2nd fastest race to date. The goal was to head out at approximately 7:26 per mile and adjust at the half way point and/or mile 20 as my body allowed. Andy and I were starting together and planned on doing the race together to the end.
I woke up at 4:00 am and had my normal N-Large Weight Gainer shake with 8 oz skim milk. As I was tired, I also drank a cup of tea on my way to the race. I picked up Andy and on our way to the race Andy said he wanted to start out a bit quicker and bank some time. I wasn't too keen on the idea, but figured if I was running with him the whole time he could push (or pull) me to the end.
Along with the other 20,000 other people out there, I waited about 30 minutes in a line for a port-a-potty and by the time I got back to where the group was meeting, people were starting to head to their corrals. When Andy got back, we headed into corral number 1 and were ready to go. As we were waiting for the race to start, we saw a dude with a chick tattoo on his lower back. It was pretty funny looking.
Right from the gun we were running faster than goal pace. (see split times below) I felt fine for the first few miles but then started feeling like it was a bit fast and that I wasn't sure I could keep the pace the entire time. Even though there were hills, we were 55 seconds ahead of pace after the first file miles and I was feeling a bit tired. I was wanting to slow down a bit, but Andy want to keep the pace up. I decided I would just stay mentally focused and push myself the entire time. The rest of the way through downtown was pretty uneventful. We started going up hill a bit and our times started to slow a bit to right around goal race pace. As we started heading up the bigger incline going up 163, I started to feel better. Our pace kept up pretty good while going up hill. We slowed a bit as the hill got steep, but were still easily passing people. I've heard a lot of people say in the past that you should break a race up into 3 segments to help you focus. You do 2 10 milers and then a 10k. At this point, we just finished the first 10 miler and I was feeling a bit better. I told myself to stayed focused for the next 10 and we would pick up the pace around 18 or so if I was feeling good.
We now fly down the 163 hill and head around the corner by Fashion Valley Mall. This is where I planned on meeting my wife. Andy was only expecting to see Wendy as his wife and son were only going to make it to the finish line. Little did Andy know that my wife and his wife talked and planned on both being at the mall. Here's a couple pix of us seeing them and the surprise on his face.
That gave both of us an energy boost over the next mile. By the time we hit the half way point, I was feeling tired again. Around this time, another running friend, Denise caught up to us and ran with us a few miles. She said she had been trying to catch us since down town being right behind us the entire time. She just had her first child 8 months ago and was on pace for a sub 3:15 race. Incredible! We found out that her fastest RnR was right around mine. My prior course PR was 3:26 and hers was 3:27.
As we headed towards Mission Bay, I felt the pace drop a bit and picked it up at a water station. Denise fell behind a bit at the water stop and we didn't see her again until the end. Our pace was staying fairly consistent between low to mid 7:20s per mile. I was feeling more and more tired as we were going. We were still on pace for a 3:13 race and if we could pick it up, we could easily do at least 3:12. I could feel my mind start to go, but would force myself to pay attention saying the 2nd 10 miler was almost over. I was taking 2 water cups at every station and got most of it down nearly every time. I took a 150 calorie Cranksports goo pack every 45 minutes for needed energy.
Around mile 19 I decided we should pick it up a bit and try to drive down that finishing time. I knew we were less than an hour from the finish and just had to push myself a bit more for a little while. The next four miles were faster, but the 3rd mile really hurt me. Throughout the run Andy kept asking how I felt and I was giving him the updates that I've been writing here. After this third mile, I said "I'm tired. That one hurt."
We are now into the last 10 K of the race and going through the most boring part of the course. It's definitely the most mentally challenging as there are a few rollers and the heat is start to come up as the sun is coming out. I felt myself getting really hot and my mind was fading fast. I took my shirt off as I had been dumping water over my head and the shirt was not drying that fast. It was a bit heavy and annoying. I carried it for a bit, but it started getting heavy in my hands. It was my favorite race shirt and definitely the most expensive one I had. Notice the past tense. After a brief struggle in my head, it hit the trash can. Now, I hardly ever take my shirt off while running. Why? Not sure. But it is definitely a sign of duress.
We did the little loop on Friars and go the 2nd to last incline of the race. I wasn't able to get my legs moving and my HR was spiking as my pace dropped. It was getting tough. I was trying to force myself to just move. Andy obviously could tell I was struggling as he mentions that we are about done. We get up the hill and get our pace back to goal pace. We then head make the right turn on Pacific and head over the bridge. Again, I struggled up this last "hill". Andy gives encouragement again as I ask him if this is our last hill. Fortunately, he says yes.
By this time we have three miles left and I'm struggling. I hear Andy continuing to offer words of motivation as we continue to slow down. As we head through water stops, I buying everything they are selling in the water aisle. A couple cups go in my mouth a few cups go over my head. We now turn right and run in front of MCRD. I'm in worse shape. I can't focus. I can't make myself do anything other than keep running. I want to walk so bad, but know that I can't. Internally, I was able to tell myself that even if I slow a bit and run, it will be way faster than walking. We keeping going and turn left into MCRD. This sucks! Then Andy said the best thing. Only 1200 meters to go. That's less than 3 laps around the track. Even though I wasn't able to get myself going faster, it did help me me get to the end. He's now saying stuff about every 5-10 seconds trying to get me to pick up the speed and get moving. I see the banner at the end and still can't push myself any faster. Almost there. I see Wendy on the right snapping photos. Ok, almost done. I am finally able to push harder. I see the clock and see that 3:14:19 is quickly approaching. That forced me to kick it into high gear. Andy says, "there ya go" and we fly to the finish line. I believe we crossed at the exact time of my last race. I knew we started a couple seconds later than the race clock so I knew I just got my 2nd fastest marathon time. I feebly raise my hands for the victory. If you go to nbcsandiego, you can see us crossing the finish line. Drag the scroll bar until the clock time is right around our finish time.
All in all, I was happy with the performance, but there are a few outstanding questions. I will analyze the race performance in another blog in the next week or two. I want to thank Andy for all his help. Running a 3:14 was easy for him. At any point he could have easily picked it up and qualified for Boston. I'm confident that my finishing time would have been slower without his help. Thanks for all the help.
My finishing time of 3:14:14 was a course PR by 12 minutes. Last year I finish in 3:26, which was a 12 minute PR from when I ran it in 2003. Does that mean 3:02 next year?!? Umm, I think not. I finished in 249th position out of 16,731 finishers.
Congrats to all those Marc Fitters out there that did the race. Everyone did great. I don't envy anyone that was out there longer then I was. The temperatures definitely rose after I was done. It's must have made things tough. Special kudos go out to Dano for finishing in 3:41 having just completed Boston 6 weeks ago and competing the race while being sick. Very impressive (or maybe that's not the right word :-) ).
I'll touch more on this in my race analysis in another blog, but I usually get sick after most of my races. I usually have cramps and I'm nauseous. After this race, I felt good. I didn't feel like eating, but I felt good. As I was ready to leave, I opened up one of those 90 calorie snack packs and had 1 little piece of chip. That started the downfall and I felt like crap the next few hours. I got home and layed on the floor curled up in a ball in front of the fan. Fun times. I finally started feeling better and was able to east a little something 4 hours after the race. More on that later.
Here's a snapshot of the elevation, our pacing and my HR from the race.
Here are a link to some other race photos Wendy took.
http://flickr.com/photos/25745983@N04/sets/72157605422008404/
Mile Summaries
- 7:19.75, 156 bpm
- 7:22.75, 165 bpm
- 7:20.45, 163 bpm
- 6:57.80, 159 bpm
- 7:18.48, 162 bpm
- 7:28.87, 166 bpm
- 7:29.20, 167 bpm
- 7:29,25, 170 bpm
- 7:26.48, 169 bpm
- 7:41.44, 169 bpm
- 6:57.19, 159 bpm
- 7:21.46, 170 bpm
- 7:23.62, 162 bpm
- 7:25.30, 167 bpm
- 7:20.13, 167 bpm
- 7:23.45, 172 bpm
- 7:26.14, 171 bpm
- 7:22.35, 172 bpm
- 7:19.68, 174 bpm
- 7:22.67, 173 bpm
- 7:15.89, 175 bpm
- 7:19.77, 177 bpm
- 7:36.25, 179 bpm
- 7:39.03, 178 bpm
- 7:44.99, 178 bpm
- 7:50.35, 181 bpm
- 26.2 - 1:34.70 (7:01), 183 bpm
Food Journal
Food
- 2 Chocolate Chip Pop-Tarts
- Crackln Oat Bran Cereal
- Taco Bell (Big Taste Taco, Cheesy Double Beef Burrito, Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito)
- Einstein Bros Bagels Chocolate Chip Cookie
- Pork Chips, Brown Rice, Green Beans
- Chips and Salso
- 97 oz Water
- 52 oz Coffee
- 12 oz Diet Dr. Pepper
- 12 oz Skim Milk
- 2 Sam Adams Lights
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
May Monthly Summary (and other stuff)
Recovery continues to be going very well. I woke up this morning with a tiny bit of soreness that quickly went away. I considered going for a little jog, but figured I should really give my legs some rest. So I went to the gym and did some light lifting to help myself get back into it. Even though I took it easy, I'm sure I'll be a bit sore the next couple days as I haven't lifted in a couple months.
My monthly totals for May were down this month. This is mostly due to the taper for the marathon, but was also due to all the extra work and studying I have been doing. I haven't run to/from work in over a month. That definitely cuts down on distance. As gas prices continue to go up and up, I will likely get back to it again and potentially get back to cycling to/from work again. For comparisons, see April totals.
I'm still on pace for my first 2000 mile year, but have fallen off the pace of averaging 200 miles per month. As my training for my next race will highly focus on quality speed sessions, I'm not yet sure what kind of monthly distances I'll be hitting.
Without really trying, I lost another pound again this month. Looking at the numbers, the majority of it looked to be muscle. I can definitely feel it too. I am very weak right now. My core is incredibly weak. I definitely need to get back to the gym to build some strength. As I don't plan on trying to gain weight before my next race and since I have a really hard time putting on muscle, I don't expect to pack on any additional weight. It should help me with strength and posture which will come in very handy during my next race.
Here's the yearly summaries so far for comparison. One thing that is very interesting to see is that my average sleep is down a bit, it's actually been down under 7 hours per night for the past 3 month now. I definitely need to work on this as my training intensity increases over the nexts few months. Unfortunately, that will not start until July.
The Cubs continue to be red hot. They have won 8 in a row and are ahead again tonight against the lowly Padres. They have the best record in the majors and continue to fight back from being down night after night. It's absolutely incredible to see this team hit this year. They are looking good right now.
Today was my second coaching stint of the season. I had 11 confirmed players up until 15 minutes before I had to leave for the game. Two plays canceled on me. That put us down to 9 players. We could potentially be ok with 9 players. Then, 1 of the women who confirmed she would be there did not show up without telling me she wouldn't be there. We ended up with only 8 players, two of who showed up way late. Instead of the normal 4 outfields, plus rover, we were playing with only 3 outfielders. Given the situation, our loss of 9-19 isn't so bad, but it was a disappointing day. We didn't hit that well.
I think I need to take a break in playing softball. These past few weeks of getting little sleep has greatly affected my playing in the field. I made some plays again today, but I missed a handful of routine plays that I don't usually miss. I'm not sure if I'm just not focusing enough or what the problem is. It's pretty annoying. I mean, my team is bad and I'm not sure that they'd be better off without me, but I'm thinking I should take a break and let someone else fill in to see how it goes. My hitting is staying OK during this struggle, so I'm at least helping the team out this way. Today I was 4 for 6 with 1 run scored, 1 double and 3 RBIs.
Season Stats
G - 6
AB - 26
R - 14
H - 18
2B - 4
3B - 4
HR - 3
RBI - 26
SF - 2
AVG - .692
SLG - 1.500
Foods
My monthly totals for May were down this month. This is mostly due to the taper for the marathon, but was also due to all the extra work and studying I have been doing. I haven't run to/from work in over a month. That definitely cuts down on distance. As gas prices continue to go up and up, I will likely get back to it again and potentially get back to cycling to/from work again. For comparisons, see April totals.
I'm still on pace for my first 2000 mile year, but have fallen off the pace of averaging 200 miles per month. As my training for my next race will highly focus on quality speed sessions, I'm not yet sure what kind of monthly distances I'll be hitting.
Without really trying, I lost another pound again this month. Looking at the numbers, the majority of it looked to be muscle. I can definitely feel it too. I am very weak right now. My core is incredibly weak. I definitely need to get back to the gym to build some strength. As I don't plan on trying to gain weight before my next race and since I have a really hard time putting on muscle, I don't expect to pack on any additional weight. It should help me with strength and posture which will come in very handy during my next race.
Here's the yearly summaries so far for comparison. One thing that is very interesting to see is that my average sleep is down a bit, it's actually been down under 7 hours per night for the past 3 month now. I definitely need to work on this as my training intensity increases over the nexts few months. Unfortunately, that will not start until July.
The Cubs continue to be red hot. They have won 8 in a row and are ahead again tonight against the lowly Padres. They have the best record in the majors and continue to fight back from being down night after night. It's absolutely incredible to see this team hit this year. They are looking good right now.
Today was my second coaching stint of the season. I had 11 confirmed players up until 15 minutes before I had to leave for the game. Two plays canceled on me. That put us down to 9 players. We could potentially be ok with 9 players. Then, 1 of the women who confirmed she would be there did not show up without telling me she wouldn't be there. We ended up with only 8 players, two of who showed up way late. Instead of the normal 4 outfields, plus rover, we were playing with only 3 outfielders. Given the situation, our loss of 9-19 isn't so bad, but it was a disappointing day. We didn't hit that well.
I think I need to take a break in playing softball. These past few weeks of getting little sleep has greatly affected my playing in the field. I made some plays again today, but I missed a handful of routine plays that I don't usually miss. I'm not sure if I'm just not focusing enough or what the problem is. It's pretty annoying. I mean, my team is bad and I'm not sure that they'd be better off without me, but I'm thinking I should take a break and let someone else fill in to see how it goes. My hitting is staying OK during this struggle, so I'm at least helping the team out this way. Today I was 4 for 6 with 1 run scored, 1 double and 3 RBIs.
Season Stats
G - 6
AB - 26
R - 14
H - 18
2B - 4
3B - 4
HR - 3
RBI - 26
SF - 2
AVG - .692
SLG - 1.500
Food Journal
Foods
- low-fat Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake (Starbucks)
- Powerbar
- Chicken Caesar Salad
- Cracklin Oat Bran Cereal
- Original Jamba Juice Coldbuster w/ Protein
- 140 oz Water
- 20 oz Coffee
- 12 oz Diet Dr. Pepper
- 12 oz Mountain Dew
Monday, June 2, 2008
A Good Recovery Day
I'm still working on the race report. It should be ready Tuesday or Wednesday. In the mean time, here is some other stuff.
I'm sure most of you have already seen this video, but I think it's funny. I didn't see anyone today that is recovering from the race, but I did yesterday after the race. Most people were moving just like this.
I'm sure most of you have already seen this video, but I think it's funny. I didn't see anyone today that is recovering from the race, but I did yesterday after the race. Most people were moving just like this.
Speaking of post race soreness. Let me tell you folks that didn't get the memo, the trick is the ice bath. I've been doing this things for a the last few years and they make all the difference. I'm still sore today, but it's not unbearable. I can go up and down stairs and get out of a chair (and the toilet) without a problem. For those that feel miserable after a race or a long run, try taking an ice bath for 20ish minutes. You may hate life for those 20 minutes, but you'll be much happier that day and the next. For those that think it's too hard or have tried and failed, the trick is to get in an empty bath tub, fill it with cold water (from the cold tap only) and then add the ice. I've never tried to fill a tub, add ice and then get in, but I'm sure I wouldn't be able to do it as I'm a pretty be wuss.
Usually when I finish a marathon my diet turns to complete crap as I eat anything and everything I want. As my training for my next race starts in only 2 weeks, I need to keep this to a minimum this time. I'm going to fire up the food journal again as documenting this helps me to keep quality and quantity under control. Of course, there will definitely be some bad stuff in the coming weeks, but I'll be fine as long as I don't get too carried away.
Food
Usually when I finish a marathon my diet turns to complete crap as I eat anything and everything I want. As my training for my next race starts in only 2 weeks, I need to keep this to a minimum this time. I'm going to fire up the food journal again as documenting this helps me to keep quality and quantity under control. Of course, there will definitely be some bad stuff in the coming weeks, but I'll be fine as long as I don't get too carried away.
Food Journal
Food
- English Muffin with Peanut Butter
- Original Jamba Juice Coldbuster with Protein
- 2 slices Pepperoni Pizza
- slice Chocolate Cake - stupid bday parties :(
- slice Cheese Cake - stupid bday parties :(
- 2 Chicken Tacos, Black Beans and Chips (Rubios)
- 4 Otter Pops
- 89 oz Water
- 34 oz Coffee
- 12 oz Diet Dr. Pepper
- 12 oz Skim Milk
Sunday, June 1, 2008
The Recovery Begins
Just a quick note today to say the race was a success, for the most part, and I achieved my goal time coming in at 3:14:14 for my 2nd fastest marathon time out of 10 so far. I will post my race report in the next couple days as time permits. For now, I'm exhausted having only slept around 4 1/2 hours last night and running 26.2 miles. It's time for some much needed sleep.
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