2010 Lincoln National Guard Marathon

Text to come...

Time of 3:56 and change.  Sub 4, yeehaw!

2010 Eisenhower Half Marathon

I ran the 2010 Eisenhower Half Marathon today in Abilene, KS.  I've put in some hard training leading up to this race as I really wanted to get a 1:50 for the half, which would put me into the seeded D corral at the Chicago Marathon this fall.  I must admit, everything leading up to this race just fell into place for me.  The training was good, the weather was perfect, I had a nice taper, I was healthy, and not only met my goal, but completely smashed it.  I ran the race in 1:47:02, which is an almost 10 improvement over my previous personal record!  There was also a soft field in the M35-39 age group, and the time garnered me a 2nd place medal.  Unbelievable.

The race itself was a small race in a friendly small town, but very well organized.  The course itself was an out and back, starting in town, heading south to a local park, through the park, then back.  Slightly uphill to the turn around, then slightly downhill on the return. The weather was nearly perfect, light winds, mid clouds to keep the sun off, and temperatures in the lower 50s.  I've been having some ITB issues since my last marathon in December, and have been making slow progress in eliminating the knee pain.  The knee pain finally subsided about a week before this race, and I was able to run at an 8:10 pace with no pain whatsoever.

This is the fastest I've ever run, and I felt good throughout, although I was really starting to struggle by about mile 10.  At that point, I turned on the radio and tried to focus on the music to get me through the last 5k.  I felt amazing after crossing the finish line, and couldn't believe what I had just accomplished.  I reached my goal of getting into a seeded Chicago corral, but missed the C corral by only 1 minute and 3 seconds.  Ahh, there will always be another race.

After the race, I headed back to the motel to shower and clean up.  The race offers a free pancake and sausage breakfast, and I didn't want to miss it.  After eating my first helping of food, I thought I should check the race placements.  I didn't think I was fast enough to earn an award, but I still wanted to look.  To my surprise, the preliminary results indicated that I had placed 2nd in my age group.  I was in shock.  Really.  I thought the awards ceremony was already over, and was trying to find out where to pick up my medal.  Come to find out, the awards ceremony wasn't for another 15 minutes, so I made it afterall.

So what can I say?  I had an awesome time at this race, my best ever performance, and I scored some hardware, which is a first for me.  It was a good day.  Better than I was yesterday, but not as good as I'll be tomorrow.  Just keep moving forward.  Even though it was a soft age group today, I'll still take the 2nd place finish.  It may be the only one I ever get.  But, I know that I can do better with more training, and I'm not giving up.

Upcoming Half Marathon

I've got another half marathon scheduled for Saturday, the Eisenhower Half Marathon in Abilene, Kansas.  I'm feeling very confident about this race.  My training over the last couple of months has been plagued with ITBS, but I feel I'm almost over that, and over the last 2 weeks, I've definitely been able to run very strong.  I've run 6 miles at my goal PR pace, and felt I had a lot more to give.  I'm hoping that the adrenaline from race day, along with the other runners, will help pull me along.  My super secret goal is to get a seeded corral for the Chicago Marathon this fall.  That would be 1:50.  I'd probably be just as happy with a new PR with anything between 1:50 and 1:55.  The weather looks nearly perfect, nice cool temperatures, clear skies.  I'll be running into the wind and uphill the first half, then turn around and run downhill with the wind at my back for the second half.  That should be ideal conditions I think for a nice negative split.  Legs and knees feel 100% right now, and I'm praying that everything will come together for a blessed run.

250.7

That's a new monthly PR for mileage for me.  I still can't believe I ran that much over the past month, but I did.  Running sure felt like a part time job once in awhile, but it also felt good to push myself past my comfort zone.  It wasn't easy, and some of it wasn't very fun, but I sure hope it pays off in my upcoming spring race schedule.  Seriously, I ran 250.7 miles in March.  Me.  And 15 months ago, I was not a runner, at all, didn't want to do it, couldn't do it, wouldn't try it. And now, I run. And run. And run. Weird.

4 Personal Record Weeks in a Row

My legs may think I'm a little nuts, but I've just completed 4 buildup weeks in a row, culminating in 42.0, 51.0, 52.4, 60.4, and 62.4 miles each successive week.  That's definitely a PR in itself, and also just completed my 50th day of running in a row. Overall I'm feeling OK, although my right knee hurts quite a bit, but it does seem to be getting a lot better too. I have a few other minor aches, but that's perfectly acceptable for as much running as I'm doing.  My speeds have really increased, going from an average weekly pace of 9:37, to 9:26, to 9:34, to 9:19, and finally 9:09.  In other words, even though the mileage feels like a part time job sometimes (my wife would probably agree), it seems to be paying dividends that hopefully I can cash in during any one of my upcoming half marathon races.  I'm shooting for 1:50 if at all possible so I can get a position in the seeded race corral in the Chicago Marathon this fall.  Running is good right now, and while I've got the time, I need to use it to keep pushing harder, faster, further, and longer while I can.

RaceReady Fitness LD Shorts Review

In a recent race, I ran in my Nike tight shorts, and I liked it a lot. Basically, they're like bicycle shorts, only a little thicker. I'm not trying to flaunt anything, it's just that I liked the tighter shorts for the race. Knowing about the RaceReady brand of shorts that mesh have pockets attached to the back of the shorts, I decided to buy a pair of of the Fitness LD (long distance) shorts. These are the tight shorts, very similar to the Nike tight shorts, but with 5 mesh pockets along the back. I used them on my 14 mile long run today, and overall, I'd have to say I like them a lot. There aren't any seems in the crotch (I have a pair of Asics tight shorts that have a seam that rubs me in the nether regions on longer runs), and they are a high quality pair of shorts. The pockets in the back should be very handy for carrying a lot of extra stuff!  Definitely worth the money.

On Fire...

I'm on my 42nd running day in a continuous streak. That's amazing, and my speeds are finally starting to improve a little. I've had some pangs in my right knee over the last couple of weeks, but I've learned how to manage it so it doesn't get any worse. Icing, stretching, NSAIDs, ultrasound, it's all working. But, the beating on my body will only continue. My spring marathon is in 6 weeks. So about 3 to 4 more weeks of solid training, and then the taper begins. I do have a half marathon in mid April in Abilene, KS, and am hoping to at least get a PR out of that. Ideally, my half marathon goal is 1:50 so I can get a seeded corral at the Chicago marathon this fall, but I've got 2 more chances after the April race to reach that. After looking at my running log this morning, I noticed that I've run 66.6 miles over the previous 7 days, and 215 miles over the previous 30 days. That's pretty amazing!

A Good Week Afterall

Earlier in the week, I was fairly concerned about my knee. The pain was similar to the pain I experienced after the injury after the Vegas race. Well, I lived up to my expectations and really was conscientious about my stretching and icing. It paid off since I was able to log 52 miles, my best week ever, culminating in a 20 mile long run this past Sunday. Excellent.

I'm off to a good start this week. My knee was definitely not as sore after the 20 miler this weekend, and it feels good now. I've already run 15 miles this week, everything feels good. I should take a cutback week, but I'm in a running game on Runners World, and our team really needs the miles. Depending on how I feel, I may try to push it a little.

2010 Leprechaun Chase 10k

Details Coming...

Now I've Done It

The knee hurts pretty badly today. I did go to the gym and managed about 2.5 miles on the treadmill, doing a combination of a shuffle and the circular motion that I discovered yesterday. I've iced my knee, and am back on Aleve for awhile, and plan to stretch the ITB and hamstring like crazy. May even get the ultrasound unit back out. This is ridiculous. Stupid tight ITB. 2 steps forward, 1 step back. Feels like that's been my mantra for my entire running career.

Now My Blisters Have Blisters

Using the combination of athletic tape and moleskin taped over my arch blisters worked out very well. On my 18.2 mile run today, my arches did not hurt at all thankfully. However, now I have blisters on my right foot where the tape seams were located. So I have blisters as a result of my blisters. Ei Yi Yi! What next? On the bright side, the blister on top of my toe did OK. I managed to paint it with a few layers of liquid bandage last night, which helped to seal it tight, and I also managed to get a corn pad to stick this morning before putting on my shoe. It may have bled a drop or two, but overall, did great.

I can't say the same for my knee though. Last week after my 16 mile long run, I had a lot of knee pain the next couple of days. It was the same old pain that I had during the Vegas Marathon. I think I've reached my limit of combining speed workouts and increasing my distance. I'm on the verge of breaking myself again, likely a result of a tight ITB. I've been stretching really well, and the mid week runs felt great though. But, near the end of my 18.2 mile run today, I knew I had pushed it too far. I ran 15 of the 18.2 at marathon pace, (it feels better during the run if I run faster), but I'll pay for it after the run. The last 3 miles were kind of a death march, so I definitely went "too" far. Ugh. I did find a way to swing my leg in a circular motion though to help prevent the pain, but I fear the damage has been done.

On a bright note, even though I may have "broken" my knee again, I did manage to break my weekly mileage personal record with 51 miles. Yay me? Hmm.

Streaking - 28 Days

I've done it, I've run for the last 28 days, straight, without a break. A running friend has been doing it since the beginning of the year and inspired me to give it a try too. At first, I didn't think I could do it, but found that the easy runs on my scheduled rest days weren't actually that bad. A couple of miles at a very slow, easy pace without barely breaking a sweat wasn't as hard as I thought. Mostly, I think it was a mental thing, that my mind made me think I "needed" a rest day. In fact, these very easy runs aren't that taxing, and it's just like a rest day anyhow. For what it's worth, 28 days down, weeks and months to go.

My Lucky Day??

On my run last night, near the end, in the last mile, I found a $1 bill in the gutter, soaking wet. We've had a lot of snow melt over the last couple of days, and I'm guessing it must have fallen out of a snowbank. Today, I ran the same route, and in the same exact spot, I found a $10 bill, soaking wet, floating in the gutter. Seriously? I looked around for more money, but that was it. Either someone lost some money earlier in the year and it just finally melted free, or I'm now part of some kid's science or psychology experiment. Either way, I've got $11 in my pocket right now. Although, I certainly don't need the money, so I'll try to pay it forward at some point by giving it to a homeless person on a street corner.

A Bloody Blister

Ok, this is getting out of control. The blister that I got yesterday broke open tonight on my 9.5 mile run, which then soaked the top of my shoe with blood. I didn't even realize it during the run since it was dark, and the run was going so well. In fact, I was very surprised to see the blood, since my foot didn't hurt much at all after the first mile or so. Se la vi, this may turn out to be a very troublesome spot.

Yet Another Blister

The new shoes have given me another blister, this time, on the top of my middle toe on my right foot. I was able to solve the arch blister problem by getting some moleskin and using athletic tape to tape the moleskin over them, which worked OK. But, the top of my middle toe rubbed on the shoe, and new blister developed. Hmm. Can a running shoe be defective?