Today's Run: 10.16 miles through Bath (work)
Time finished: 81 minutes, 10 seconds (7 minutes, 59 seconds per mile)
Type of run: easy - relaxed effort
Miles this week: 10.16
40 and rain is not an easy thing to run through. Conditions are near ideal for a long run - no wind, light rain, cool temps to keep the body regulated - but wearing heavy clothes that got heavier with each mile made maintaining pace more difficult. All in all it was a good run, though, and the longest run I've done directly from work.
This weekend was a crazy one, most of it having nothing to do with running except for the fact that it cut into my week's plan. I was aiming for 40-45 miles and got around 36. The successful 4-miler on Thursday helped to offset that disappointment.
My goal this week is to hit around 45 miles, possibly getting an interval workout of some sort mixed in Wednesday. The weight I worked hard to shed over the last two weeks has been negated somewhat, but I'm hoping the next several days will put me right back on track. Getting myself below 190 for mid-December would be really ideal for running and non-running purposes.
It's also important for me to really up the mileage this week because of the upcoming schedule - six days of Bowdoin College work (lunch time cut drastically), dance show tech week, the show itself, and finally the hectic travel that is Christmas. I am going to have to be inventive in how I get my runs in so I can maintain my conditioning. I am hoping to pull off a good time at the Bangor Epic 5K (December 27). If I can pull off a good time at that point, then mission accomplished.
For now, I'll focus on this first week and racking up the mileage as much as possible with putting myself at risk of overuse injury. I still need to burn all those Thanksgiving meals off...
Monday, November 30, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Portland Thanksgiving Day 4-miler Results
Overall Time: 26:27
Overall Pace: 6:37
Overall finish: 123rd (111th among men, 15th among ages 30-34)
Mile splits: 6:37, 6:43, 6:55, 6:12
Mile One: The first mile is not only a great gauge for how you'll feel in the rest of the race, it's also a test of discipline. Many runners will go out too fast, and with the first 1/2 mile plus being downhill, that makes it even more difficult to keep a conservative pace. After shrugging myself from the knot of runners on Franklin street, I was able to get into a comfortable stride that I could use for the duration of the race. The hill began once I turned off commercial street but as the case for all my runs this week, my legs felt great and I had an abundance of energy.
Mile Two: About half-way up the series of streets, I crossed mile 1 with a very respectable time. My energy was still great even after scaling the hill and returning to congress street. I used the down up to and through mile 3 to coast and keep my reserves until I could push for everything I got at the end.
Mile Three: It was about this time that I started to feel a little fatigue in my legs. It didn't bog me down too much, but the uphill felt a lot more difficult this time. As I approached mile four, I did worry a bit about if I was going to wear down before I got to the final stretch. It's been an all-too-familiar theme with my 5K's this year.
Mile four: About half way up Free St, I suddenly had that second wind kick in. I passed a pocket of 10-15 runners while surging with adrenaline, and I could feel that tiredness wash away under the excitement of being able to pull off a good time. I had more power than I thought, and I wasn't going to waste it. Getting to the top and turning at Congress street once again was a great feeling. From that point I slowly picked up speed until I was barreling through the final two turns at One City Center.
Post-race: Even as good as I did, I felt that I did not put all my energy and effort on the line - I felt like I had run a race, but it felt like I still had a little more to expend before I had that "on empty" feeling that overtakes me with I slow down. So in a way, I ran this one fairly conservatively, but it was a great barometer for how my speed was in the short races to this point. The 6:12 pace on the last mile was an incredible accomplishment for me - not only have I had difficulty reaching that pace in any road race this year, I also managed to achieve this on the final mile, meaning that I kept enough in the tank to burn off at the end.
This is probably the final race before the Epic Finale 5K in Bangor at the end of December. The Freeport 5K in early December comes up too close to my dance show to try and risk it. I feel good about where I am, though. At least I can take that to the turkey feast with me today...
...along with the Boston cream pie I just made and assembled. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Overall Pace: 6:37
Overall finish: 123rd (111th among men, 15th among ages 30-34)
Mile splits: 6:37, 6:43, 6:55, 6:12
Mile One: The first mile is not only a great gauge for how you'll feel in the rest of the race, it's also a test of discipline. Many runners will go out too fast, and with the first 1/2 mile plus being downhill, that makes it even more difficult to keep a conservative pace. After shrugging myself from the knot of runners on Franklin street, I was able to get into a comfortable stride that I could use for the duration of the race. The hill began once I turned off commercial street but as the case for all my runs this week, my legs felt great and I had an abundance of energy.Mile Two: About half-way up the series of streets, I crossed mile 1 with a very respectable time. My energy was still great even after scaling the hill and returning to congress street. I used the down up to and through mile 3 to coast and keep my reserves until I could push for everything I got at the end.
Mile Three: It was about this time that I started to feel a little fatigue in my legs. It didn't bog me down too much, but the uphill felt a lot more difficult this time. As I approached mile four, I did worry a bit about if I was going to wear down before I got to the final stretch. It's been an all-too-familiar theme with my 5K's this year.
Mile four: About half way up Free St, I suddenly had that second wind kick in. I passed a pocket of 10-15 runners while surging with adrenaline, and I could feel that tiredness wash away under the excitement of being able to pull off a good time. I had more power than I thought, and I wasn't going to waste it. Getting to the top and turning at Congress street once again was a great feeling. From that point I slowly picked up speed until I was barreling through the final two turns at One City Center.
Post-race: Even as good as I did, I felt that I did not put all my energy and effort on the line - I felt like I had run a race, but it felt like I still had a little more to expend before I had that "on empty" feeling that overtakes me with I slow down. So in a way, I ran this one fairly conservatively, but it was a great barometer for how my speed was in the short races to this point. The 6:12 pace on the last mile was an incredible accomplishment for me - not only have I had difficulty reaching that pace in any road race this year, I also managed to achieve this on the final mile, meaning that I kept enough in the tank to burn off at the end.
This is probably the final race before the Epic Finale 5K in Bangor at the end of December. The Freeport 5K in early December comes up too close to my dance show to try and risk it. I feel good about where I am, though. At least I can take that to the turkey feast with me today...
...along with the Boston cream pie I just made and assembled. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Thanksgiving Prep
Today's Run: 5 miles through Bath (work)
Time finished: 37 minutes, 16 seconds (7 minutes, 27 seconds per mile)
Type of run: easy - moderate effort
Miles this week: 19.01
I'm still running like I'm on fire. I'm not entirely sure I understand why I have this burst of energy and regular adrenaline, but if it continues in the morning, I will have no complaints.
My goal(s) for the 4-miler? Well, first and foremost, set a PR (personal record). By finishing the race I should set that considering I have yet to run a 4-mile road race. With this much energy, I have set my secondary goal aggressively: try to finish the race at or close to a 6:30 per mile pace. It's an ambitious goal at best, but I'm going to try as hard as I can to get there. This may be my last race before my dance show. (The Freeport Jingle Bell run may be off-limits due to its proximity to the show's tech week, but we'll see.)
For now, sleep. Then wake up and head to One City Center in Portland. At 9AM, it's go time.
Time finished: 37 minutes, 16 seconds (7 minutes, 27 seconds per mile)
Type of run: easy - moderate effort
Miles this week: 19.01
I'm still running like I'm on fire. I'm not entirely sure I understand why I have this burst of energy and regular adrenaline, but if it continues in the morning, I will have no complaints.
My goal(s) for the 4-miler? Well, first and foremost, set a PR (personal record). By finishing the race I should set that considering I have yet to run a 4-mile road race. With this much energy, I have set my secondary goal aggressively: try to finish the race at or close to a 6:30 per mile pace. It's an ambitious goal at best, but I'm going to try as hard as I can to get there. This may be my last race before my dance show. (The Freeport Jingle Bell run may be off-limits due to its proximity to the show's tech week, but we'll see.)
For now, sleep. Then wake up and head to One City Center in Portland. At 9AM, it's go time.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The Tuesday 9
Today's Run: 9.01 miles through Bath (work)
Time finished: 1 hour, 8 minutes, 26 seconds (7 minutes, 36 seconds per mile)
Type of run: easy - moderate effort
Miles this week: 14.01
It's definitely good to see my steps with a bit more speed this week. Normally I've been averaging a 7:45-8:00 per mile pace in my regular runs. Energy and a new padding in my crumbling running shoes have certainly helped me this week - that is if they haven't been the cause of it. Combine this witht he 7:20 per mile pace I had on Monday and things are looking pretty decent for the Turkey run.
For those who don't know, I am running the 4-miler in Portland on Thanksgiving morning. (details here) This will be my first run on Thanksgiving Day. I am aiming to get as close to a 6:30 per mile pace; this run will be a good indicator of how well my speed is holding up. This run will also be a good way to help get the metabolism going for the turkey, too. It'll be a hard day to resist food.
(Also, this is an abnormally late post for me but I wanted to make sure I got it out. There are just some things I have to get done before bed, you know?)
Time finished: 1 hour, 8 minutes, 26 seconds (7 minutes, 36 seconds per mile)
Type of run: easy - moderate effort
Miles this week: 14.01
It's definitely good to see my steps with a bit more speed this week. Normally I've been averaging a 7:45-8:00 per mile pace in my regular runs. Energy and a new padding in my crumbling running shoes have certainly helped me this week - that is if they haven't been the cause of it. Combine this witht he 7:20 per mile pace I had on Monday and things are looking pretty decent for the Turkey run.
For those who don't know, I am running the 4-miler in Portland on Thanksgiving morning. (details here) This will be my first run on Thanksgiving Day. I am aiming to get as close to a 6:30 per mile pace; this run will be a good indicator of how well my speed is holding up. This run will also be a good way to help get the metabolism going for the turkey, too. It'll be a hard day to resist food.
(Also, this is an abnormally late post for me but I wanted to make sure I got it out. There are just some things I have to get done before bed, you know?)
Monday, November 23, 2009
To Start Things Off...
Well, here we go. My first post on my first dedicated running blog.
To briefly recap my running history, I've been at this for over 37 months. I've taken part in well over 50 road races, 6 of them full Marathons. It's given me a body I never knew existed, a confidence unmatched by anything else in my life, and a hunger that I hope never goes away. The last three years of my life have been beset by many, many changes but one of the few constants in it has been the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other. Faster and faster.
I'm a far cry from the 300-pound dude with persistent knee pain and an unwillingness to put myself in motion for very long. In that alone, I know I've been an inspiration to many. However the greatest person inspired is the one who started this in the first place - me. The fact that I've accomplished a very difficult task in my life allowed me to break through the barriers I used surround myself with.
I can't say that I did it alone, though. There are quite a few people who have put various levels of encouragement in me at the right times to keep me focused and still continue to do so, but one stands out the most. My running coach and mentor (henceforth known in this blog as "RK") was the one that I lay the credit/blame for what I started back in early October 2006. Being a distance and Marathon runner himself, RK made a near-impossible task much easier to deal with by giving me a new focus every time I hit a certain goal. He knew which buttons to push to get me to the next step, even when he wasn't aware of pushing them. RK made it a mental test just as much as a physical one. If I thought I would skip out on a run, he would go anyway and challenge me to keep up with what he did. "Just completed your loop? Good, go sign up for your first race - a 5-miler." "Good time on your race! Now do a half-marathon." "Want to do a full Marathon? How about one on Cape Cod...in the dead of winter." It does help that I rarely back down from a challenge. RK learned that fact pretty quickly, I think. To this day he still makes sure I'm keeping myself up in the running scheme of things - and to this day I still am.
Speaking of keeping myself up on things, I do hope to provide you all with regular running updates on this blog. Everything from my (almost) daily running route results to road races to interesting stuff about running in general - I should have plenty to post about. Thank you for taking the time to read this first post!
To briefly recap my running history, I've been at this for over 37 months. I've taken part in well over 50 road races, 6 of them full Marathons. It's given me a body I never knew existed, a confidence unmatched by anything else in my life, and a hunger that I hope never goes away. The last three years of my life have been beset by many, many changes but one of the few constants in it has been the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other. Faster and faster.
I'm a far cry from the 300-pound dude with persistent knee pain and an unwillingness to put myself in motion for very long. In that alone, I know I've been an inspiration to many. However the greatest person inspired is the one who started this in the first place - me. The fact that I've accomplished a very difficult task in my life allowed me to break through the barriers I used surround myself with.
I can't say that I did it alone, though. There are quite a few people who have put various levels of encouragement in me at the right times to keep me focused and still continue to do so, but one stands out the most. My running coach and mentor (henceforth known in this blog as "RK") was the one that I lay the credit/blame for what I started back in early October 2006. Being a distance and Marathon runner himself, RK made a near-impossible task much easier to deal with by giving me a new focus every time I hit a certain goal. He knew which buttons to push to get me to the next step, even when he wasn't aware of pushing them. RK made it a mental test just as much as a physical one. If I thought I would skip out on a run, he would go anyway and challenge me to keep up with what he did. "Just completed your loop? Good, go sign up for your first race - a 5-miler." "Good time on your race! Now do a half-marathon." "Want to do a full Marathon? How about one on Cape Cod...in the dead of winter." It does help that I rarely back down from a challenge. RK learned that fact pretty quickly, I think. To this day he still makes sure I'm keeping myself up in the running scheme of things - and to this day I still am.
Speaking of keeping myself up on things, I do hope to provide you all with regular running updates on this blog. Everything from my (almost) daily running route results to road races to interesting stuff about running in general - I should have plenty to post about. Thank you for taking the time to read this first post!
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