2009 Chicago Marathon Race Report

ORN:  Yesterday, I ran 26.2 miles in a personal-best 5:05'17".

Pre-race

Wifey and I went to Chicago with Chris and Helga, staying in the Congress Plaza Hotel.  We were right across from Grant Park, perfectly situated to get from my bed to the starting line.  We arrived Friday night, however, in plenty of time to see some of the city.  On Saturday, we went to the Expo and got bags full of free swag.  I started to get excited.  Sadly, many fellow bloggers hit the Expo on Friday, so I missed out on meeting some people I would have liked to have met.  Oh well.  Let's skip ahead.

 The night before the big race, the four of us met up with Trish and Fletch, fellow Louisvillians, and hit the town.  We ate at the Italian Village.  I had the stereotypical spaghetti and marinara sauce because I didn't want to eat anything too heavy.  I wish I had ordered the pumpkin ravioli, but I still enjoyed my meal.  [We had dessert there Friday night, and I had the best Limoncello.  Alas, no hooch the night before the marathon.]  Afterward, we went to the hotel and got to bed as soon as we could, near midnight.

Race Day

Up at 6:15, I geared up, gobbled down a bagel, lathered up my tenders with Bodyglide, and headed to the lobby with my entourage.  It was pandemonium down there.  Even in the hotel lobby, there were tons of people milling about, headed this way and that -- stretching, dressing, undressing.  Outside, we encountered the hordes.  Tens if not hundreds of thousands of people were all descending on Grant Park, either to run [33,419 official finishers] or to support the runners.  We fought the crowds to get my bag, filled with after-race clothes and junk, to the American Cancer Society tent in the Charity Village.  Unfortunately, we soon lost Wifey in the throng, and I got anxious that I'd not be able to kiss her one last time before the start.  Time was running out.  After much fruitless searching and calling on the celly, no joy. She was lost.  Chris and I had to make it to the starting corral.  Once we found a spot to stand, I had to pee.  Of course.

He was injured with terrible plantar fasciitis, so he was just going to cross the start and drop out.  We stood around, packed like sardines for about 30 minutes until we could begin shuffling toward the starting line.  Chris and I exchanged words, I handed him my sweatshirt, and then I took off.

Start - 10K

The first section of the race was me trying to stay slow.  I tried to keep my pace right at 11 minutes per mile, and it wasn't difficult, especially since it was wall-to-wall humans all around.   The crowds of spectators were AWESOME the whole way, and I spent as much time gawking at all the people as I did gawking at the city and watching Rudy, my Garmin, to keep my pace in check.

Even though I had used the bathroom several times before the race, as I said, I had to pee from before the starting gun.  Every water station had portable toilets, but they were all packed.  Finally, when we made it to Lincoln Park, I noticed people -- men and women -- using the trees, so I did the same.  I watered a tree for what seemed like a couple minutes, and then ran relieved for the first time in an hour.

Still, at this point I felt great and was having a great time.

10K - Halfway

This portion of the race is a blur to me.  I felt great, and I was having so much fun watching the crowds that I can't even recall many specifics.  All I know is that I decided after 6 miles I was sufficiently warmed up, and I had started off slow, and it was time to turn up the heat.  I picked up the pace to between 10 and 10:30 per mile.  I started passing people.

My hydration/gel plan was working.  I started to feel hungry about mile 10 and popped a gel.  I instantly felt better.  The water/gatorade stations were perfectly distanced, and the volunteers handed out just a mouthful of liquid at a time.  Perfect for me.  Things were looking good.

13 miles - 20 miles

This is where things started going downhill for me.  I started getting tired. I started having trouble maintaining a 10:30 pace, even.  Still, I was feeling good.  I wasn't hurting anywhere.  I was just getting tired.  I ran into my entourage at mile 16.  Chris ran out and patted me on the back.  I quickly handed him my hat, thanked him, said hi to Wifey, all in a span of seconds as I ran by.  It was great seeing them and did a wonders for my mood.  I picked up the pace and ran on.

I think around mile 18, some people were handing out small cups of Negro Modelo [beer].  I took a couple mouthfuls and did not regret it.  It was refreshing, but it did sit heavily on my stomach.  Beer is beer, though.  I love beer.  It made me happy at a time when I needed it.  Thanks people at mile 18!

On I ran, and on and on.  The first time I felt like crying was at the 20 mile mark.  I felt tears welling in my eyes as I passed that mark, but I kept it in check.  20 miles.  Just a 10K to go.  20.  20.

Wrapping it all up

Somewhere between 24 and 25, I think, I ran past a section where there was a group of people blasting an Obama speech with a phat hip-hop beat behind it.  It was a speech where he talked about his grandfather and father, how they came from Kenya to America and built their life.  Like many of Obama's best speeches, it was incredibly inspiring and motivational.  This was the second time I nearly lost it to weeping.  After that, it seemed like the last two miles, as I plodded up Michigan Avenue, crept by.  So slowly, I creeped toward the finish.  But the crowds were going nuts, encouraging us, telling us we looked great, urging us forward.  Pure will was driving the bus at this point, because I was exhausted.

As I made the last turn into Grant Park, at the 26 mile mark, I caught sight of the finish line.  And then, looking left, I saw some bleachers.  And in them, I saw my wife and my friends all cheering for me.  Wifey was smiling and yelling.  I looked like this:

The smiling is joy at seeing my wife and friends and being within a couple hundred feet of being able to stop running.  I was done.

I finished in a respectable time of 5:05'17", which was 20 minutes faster than my last marathon.  I wanted to go under 5 hours, but you always wish you had done better.  Those five minutes were easily the stretch breaks, the walk breaks, the pee breaks, but you know what?  I needed those.  I don't regret a thing.  I had a tremendous day.  I had a fun marathon.

Post race

I turned in my chip, got my medal, grabbed a beer and got on with my day.  I inteded to go to the Cancer Society tent and get my free massage, but the place was a madhouse.  I just wanted to go home.  I wanted to get my crap and go.  I was done with crowds.  I needed a shower and a fresh set of clothes.

I limped back to the hotel and got those things.  In short order, we packed and loaded the car and left.  We drove from Chicago to Louisville in 5+ hours, then collected Little One from the grandparents.  I finally got to bed way too late, but I slept like the dead.

Today, we've been taking it easy.  We've had doughnuts and lots of TV.  Wifey got me an hour-long massage, and then I took a hot bath.  I am amazed at how good I feel.  Stiff as I am, I have nothing to complain about.  I feel great.

More post-race thoughts later on.  Time for more spaghetti.

[28] Happy Sunday

ORN: This morning, I ran 15 miles in 2:36'30".  I started out with a strong, marathon pace, but the hills got the better of me.  I slowed way down to my usual LSD pace after five miles or so.  The morning was lovely and cool and only got to be warm in the last 20 minutes or so.  After reading about the merits of chocolate milk as a recovery drink in Runners' World and online, I tried using it today.  We'll see how that works.  Milk kinda makes my tummy rumbly, so I'm not loving it right now.  Still, chocolate is yummy.  Can't complain there.

I'm thinking a lot about Chicago, but I am thinking more about my next race -- the Downtown Doubler 30K next weekend -- and future races.  I'm signed up for the Derby Festival miniMarathon in April, but I don't know whether or not to do the Fleet Feet winter race series and/or the Triple Crown in the spring.  That's a lot of races.  I'm not sure I want to do any or all of them.  I'm happy with the races I have scheduled, but I know I need to have regular milestones to stay on the road.  I'm not going to decide this today, but it's on my mind.

This coming week is my last big mileage week before I taper.  Thank the running gods.  I think I might end up doing over 40, which ain't much for a marathoner, but that's all on three days.  And then there's the cross training....

[30] How to be my scream team

ORN:  Did 45 minutes on a stationary bike Thursday, but who cares about that?  Today, I ran a 10 mile tempo run, just like Ryan Hall, except he does 18 mile tempo runs in the mountains at near a 5'00"/mile pace.  I managed to squeak out a tenner in 1:37'25", a 9'44" average pace.  Still, Ryan Hall and I... like this [crosses fingers.]  I'm feeling full of myself because that's a PR for me, beating my previous best time for 10 miles by over four minutes.  [happy dance]  I was queasy as heck about an hour afterward, but a Wasa cracker and some water helped settle my tummy.  I couldn't imagine eating the sardines I had packed for breakfast.  Squick.  Anyhoozer, go me and my big PR.

My secret?  Don't tell Ryan, but I had a bottle of Delirium Nocturnum after dinner last night.  That was the carb-loading rocket fuel I needed to get over all those lousy hills.

I'm tapped out on things to write about these days.  I'm grateful that a little birdie came along to offer this suggestion:  What do you like and dislike from spectators at a race?  My experience with races where spectators line the route for the whole course is limited to three events, but one really doesn't count because the spectators were pretty thin along the course except around the start/finish and in some of the parks.  Here are some things I like.

1. More cowbell.  Cowbells are loud and obnoxious, but I have found that when they are rung by enthusiastic people, they can wake me up out of my mid-race fog.  I got a fever, and the only prescription... is more cowbell!  Whistles and other noise makers are good, too.
2. Bands.  As I was nearing the turnaround point in the 2007 Louisville Half Marathon, my first ever, there was a group of youths from a local marching band pounding out some phat beats.  It was such an uplifting moment at a key point in the race that I wanted to stop and listen. Instead, I lifted my feet and got through the next few miles with higher spirits.  The Derby Festival marathon and half marathon feature a number of bands along the route, including a jazz band around mile 11 or 12.  The more, the merrier, I say.
3. Data-aware cheerleaders, for lack of a better term.  No, these aren't teenage girls from MIT wearing short skirts and bucky ball pom-poms, but nice folks with access to a list of bib numbers and names.  As you run by, they quickly look you up and cheer out your name.  Awesome, especially if you don't have a posse. [Like many, I like to travel light.]  I love it much more than the people who just cheer for their Linda or Stan and then spend the rest of the day in their lawn chairs. 
4. Orange people.  No, I'm not talking about Oompa Loompas.  Some people have shown up at my races and handed out orange slices.  They aren't official race volunteers, just nice people showing compassion.  Much appreciated.
5. People shouting out how great I look or how awesome I am.  This is much better than hearing "Just a couple more miles," especially when you are near the split at a dual event, and I actually have 15 more miles and not two.  Please don't throw out numbers.  I know precisely how much more I have to endure. 
6. Spontaneous high fivers.  These people just line the route and hold their hands out giving high-fives to racers.  I like it, especially when kids do it, but I hope they have a bucket of hand sanitizer nearby.  We runners can be a slimy lot.
7. The drinkers.  There's a tribe of frat boys at the Derby Festival races, somewhere along Southern Parkway, bearing the sign "As long as you run, we drink."  They have coolers of beer and, for all I know, drink all morning.  At the other end of the spectrum are gangs of more elegant people parking themselves along the route, sipping mimosas, and toasting us with great civility as we go by.  This phenomenon is a complicated one for me.  On the one hand, I like it, but I also wish they would offer me a drink.  They never do, so I also hate it.   Yet, the drinkers remind me that the beer tent awaits me at the finish line.  Here I come, Duffman!
8. The first aid people.  During my marathon, there was a group of people [nurses?] around mile 18 handing out gobs of petroleum jelly and bandages.  They'd also bind up blisters for you.  Another group later on handed out single-use tubes of Chamois Butt'r.  Thank you people!  You rock!

I could write another blog post about what I hate from spectators, but that's a post for another day.  Let's keep things positive, shall we?  At this stage of the training season, the more positive, the better, I say.

Race Report: Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon

ORN: 26.2 miles in 5:25'10" [bib #1744]. When the race started, the weather was nearly 70° and clear, and when I finished, it was over 80°. Considering the bulk of my training miles were in wintry weather, yes, you could say the weather played a factor in the world-class suck that was my first class marathon. Actually, that's not fair. I cannot just say that it sucked. It was more complicated than that.

Pre-race

After staying out a little too late at the pasta dinner and Balloon Glow, I slept hardly a wink Friday night. I was too excited. When my alarm went off at 4:30, I was ready to go. I quickly dressed and ate two pieces of toast and a Clif Bar. On the drive downtown, I drank 0.6 L of water. [I decided to drink this and be done with it until the race starts so I wouldn't be peeing all day long.] I parked in my office parking lot a few blocks from the finish line and grabbed the shuttle to the start.

On the bus, I got an idea of how freaking long it's going to take me to finish. Downtown receded behind me, and I began to feel the weight of task ahead. The guy sitting next to me, another first-time marathoner, tried to make chit-chat, but I was far away.

Once at the starting line, I did the dance of getting into the potty lines, sitting around trying to keep calm, and then getting back into the potty lines. I was fabulously hydrated heading into the race. Hydration was to be the least of my problems today.

Fidgety, I tried to stay off my feet and ignore how warm it was already. I tried to find my calm center, but it was elusive. For one thing I felt cold. I was shivery in my American Cancer Society singlet even though it was around 60°. The shivers came from nerves, I guess. After one last long stand in the bathroom line, we were off. It took 15 minutes for me to get to the starting line after the gun.

Notable events here: my last experience with a clean porta-potty, numerous Elvii, and several other people in costumes. Fun!

Miles 0-12

I'm not going to do the usual thing you see in a lot of race reports and divide everything up into nice, even sections. I'm going to describe the race as I experienced it. The first half was a breeze. I loved it. The crowds were huge and very supportive. There were a few bands and lots of booming speakers blasting music. Notable among these musical interludes were the jazz band in Old Louisville, around mile 10, and the Doors cover band near the split.

The best mile of the whole day was mile 9, the jog through Churchill Downs. Running underneath the twin spires while the thoroughbreds finish their morning workouts makes this is a great race in my book.

Anyway, I could go on and on about the great crowd support all through this section but in the interest of brevity I'll just say it was a large reason why this section of the race was a blur. It was just easy, fun, people-watching up to The Split.

Miles 12-18

At 4th and Breckenridge Streets, the race course splits. The half marathoners head toward the finish line, and the marathoners begin the second half of their day. [Aside: the "mini" is the BIG race. The crowd assumes everyone is running the mini and shouts things like "two more miles" at mile 11. And for the marathoners... well, you can imagine how annoying that gets.] After the split, the crowds for the marathon portion of the race evaporate. Apart from a few handfuls of people and the water table volunteers, this was a lonely section of the race. No bands, no cowbells, no banners. Just the road stretching on forever.

The abrupt lack of crowd support probably contributed to this section of the race being the turning point. With nothing to look at and nobody cheering and the heat starting to really bake us, the race began to really suck.

The highlight of this section is running through Cherokee Park. Whereas the race up to that point had been mainly flat once we were out of Iroquois Park, now the hills resumed. That sucked too, but at least it broke up the monotony. I noticed my feet started really hurting in the park. I mean, serious pain, especially in my left plantar fascia. And I had this strange series of spasmodic cramps along my inner thighs, but they didn't last long.

After leaving the park, I abandoned my plan of running two miles and then walking a minute. I also highly modified my hydration plan. Rather than metering my water carefully so I wasn't peeing every 20 feet, I just drank and drank and drank. The race was now a game of survival. I just had to do the best I could. I felt like I was dying. Figuratively, anyway.

Miles 18-21

This brief section was when despair started to set in. I don't know if I was hitting the wall at that point, but I felt I had nothing left in me. There was no question that I was still going to finish the race. But I gave up all pretense of doing it in any sort of elegant fashion. It was going to be slow, ugly, brutal, unpleasant, and almost impossibly hard. What marked the endpoint of this awful section was seeing my friends Helga & Chris and their kids.

Helga & Chris had already finished the half and were showered and fresh and walking their kids back to their car. I assumed they'd even been home already by this point. In any case, they all cheered and gave me high fives. That, by itself, lightened my load a bit. But then Helga ran with me for about a half mile until I turned to climb the Clark Memorial Bridge. As we ran together, first she called my Wife and told her I looked great. Then, she gave me all sorts of encouraging words that brought lifted my spirit to about 25% [from <1%]. style="font-weight: bold;">Miles 22-24

Helga's good vibes carried me about 300 feet, just beyond the base of the bridge. The long hill of the Clark Memorial was just starting when it became abundantly clear that I still had a long way to go. At this point, I was walking a quarter mile and then shuffling/jogging a quarter mile or so. I was going damned slow. My feet hurt bad. My traps were aflame from the mere effort of moving my arms back and forth for nearly five hours. Would this race never end?

Miles 24-26.2

Passing the 24 mile marker was no comfort. Every step was a painful struggle. I was talking to myself out loud at this point. "I gotta get over this bridge," I'd tell myself. Then it was, "I'm gonna get over this bridge." Then, "I'm going to run to Market Street." As I passed Market and looked west, I could see the finish line and the race party area. I saw the beer tent. Those bastards had better still have beer.

I was making deals with myself. OK, just run to Chestnut now. Stop and stretch. OK, now run to 4th. Have to walk. OK, finish strong and run down 7th to the finish. One last walk break. [These are mere blocks I'm talking about here, tenths of miles.] Finally, around 7th and Liberty [where I work] I picked up the pace and decided to run it on out.

I saw my wife between Jefferson and Market, right before the final turn, and that lifted my spirits tremendously. She handed me a key chain that had 26.2 on it. That was all I needed.

Smiling, hands in the air, my whole body in open revolt, I crossed the finish line. I began to weep.

Post-race

That's right, I began to weep right after I got my medal. I wept the whole way through the chute, which was, thankfully, about a block long. That gave me enough time to get the weeping out of my system and "man up" for pictures. I wept because I hurt. I wept because I was able to stop running. I wept because I achieved my goal. I wept because I was done.

Two things make me weep spontaneously now: Mr. Rogers and finishing marathons.

At the party tent, I turned in my medal to get engraved and found the beer tent. I threw down the best glass of Michelob Ultra [ick] ever and turned back to go find Wifey. I kept moving because my hamstrings wanted to cramp up. Finally, we ran into each other and kissed.

She made me a basket with all sorts of goodies in it. There were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Clif Bars, naproxin, a 26.2 car magnet, epsom salts, pain relieving sports creme, and beer. I tore into a sandwich. My recovery began.

Finished 872nd out of 1,076 overall, 595th out of 710 males, and 99th out of 114 males 35-39.

Tuesday: more post-race stuff and my marathon lessons learned.

Race Report: Goose Creek 5K

The facts are these

Distance: 5 kilometers

Finishing time: 25'02" <-- Huge PR!!!!

Pre-race

Woke up two full hours before the race and gobbled down a small amount of oatmeal with honey and a little coffee. I didn't want a repeat of last week when I hit a major wall about halfway through my day. I had 18 miles to do today so energy management was going to be key. I swallowed down some Gu, my vitamins & meds, and some water, and took off. I ran five and a quarter miles from my house to the starting area, getting there wicked early. That gave me a chance to find a locker into which I could stow my gear, stretch, and take as many bathroom breaks as I needed. A couple onesies and a twosie later, I was ready to race. I was bib number 14. This was a small race.

Race day

I guess altogether there was around 200 people milling around the starting area. We waited for the bullhorn to start. My strategy was to take it easy, running comfortably hard, not all out. I kept reminding myself I still had 10 miles to run after this. Still, I was getting pretty pumped. This was my first race in a while. The bullhorn siren went off, and we were off.

In the first mile, my focus was on good foot turnover. I wanted to have a good, regular cadence. Again, nothing faster than comfortably hard, but I found myself passing people. That got me hooked. I became hooked on the opiate known as passing people. They called out my first mile split, and I nearly split my pants -- 8'16"! I was flying.

The second mile found me at war with myself. Should I keep stride and maintain this pace? Should I open it up and see how fast I can go? As I did this, I kept passing a few people. We went off-road and onto some gravel trails. I wanted to open wide, but I was also starting to tire, which worried me. My second mile split was 16'23". I was doing negative splits!

OK, fine, body. If you want to play that, let's play. I stopped worrying about it and just ran my race. The third mile was one of me picking someone ahead of me and trying to pass him or her. Finally, I got to the woman who'd later win the 30-35 division. I never took her. There was no Third Mile split caller, but my watch said 24'39". I was still doing negative splits.

I finished the race with a 25'02", destroying my previous PR. I also felt good. I was winded and tired, but I felt like I could recover. And I did.

Post race

We hung around the gymnasium and waited for the awards to get passed out. They did two-deep in the age groups, and when I turned my card in, I was the only dude in my division. I figured my chances of winning something were greater than usual so rather than running on home, I stuck around. I drank and gobbled fruit and waited. Eventually, they got around to it, and you could have knocked me over with a feather when they called out my name -- Runner Up, Mens 35-39! I got a medal!

After the awards were doled out, my mind quickly turned to getting home. Thankfully, I didn't take first place. That award -- a wooden plaque -- would have been a bitch to run with. But the medal slid snugly into my Nathan water belt. I geared up and took off. All I had in me was 10-minute miles heading out, and I tapered from there. By the eighth mile [actually mile 16 for the day], I was done. I hobbled home doing 11-12 minute miles. Still, I felt OK. I was hurting, sore, tired, and completely spent, but I still felt a million times better than I felt after last Saturday's run. I owe it to good eating and starting out slow. And staying slow.

Concluding Thoughts

All together, I ran 18 miles in 3:05'42", but that huge elephant was broken up into three bites. The 5.25 mile pre-race segment, I ran in 54'10". We already discussed the race, and so the 9.7 mile return trip took me 1:46'23". Please don't check my math. I'm very tired now. And ravenously hungry. And I've typed long enough.

---

Thanks to Heather Daniel, whose race report style I'm borrowing.

We're mass communicatin' now!

ORN: Today was what the rave run tag is for. Despite the gloomy, rainy weather, I had a great run today. I ran a personal-best in the 10K, 55'18". I'll save you from doing the math; that's an 8'55" average pace. But more than being a speedy run, with me feeling faster and stronger with each mile, today's workout just felt good. Everything clicked. Everything fell into place. I couldn't believe what my body was doing, and then it just kept doing more. Amazing.

Long-time readers know that one of my life-goals is to become huge on the Internet, an online celebrity more along the lines of Wil Wheaton than the Star Wars Kid. Today, I am one step closer to immortality. My first podcasting experience is now online. I participated in a discussion with Amy from Runners' Lounge and BigB from BigB on the Road, on the subject of Getting Started Running. Download it here.

Also, if you plan to run the 2009 Chicago Marathon, I'll see you there. I signed up last night. My buddy, Chris, and I are going to do it. We're going to drive or fly up there, depending on cost, and drag our wives along for a fun couples mini-vacation of sorts. In other words, while Chris and I suffer through 26.2 miles along Lake Michigan, the gals will be sitting somewhere comfortable, sipping wine and cocktails, laughing at us. For this race, I'm going to sign up as a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. I hope to raise at least $1,000. More on that in a few months.

Vernal Equi-Rocks!

ORN: Today, on the last day of an awful winter, I ran five miles in a nice 47'11", which is my best time for this distance all year. I didn't feel like I was running especially fast, especially considering I still am having that shoulder pain that I complained about yesterday.

I couldn't be happier that Winter is on it's way out. I am not a Winter person. Sure, after winning the lottery, I'd like to live in Boston. But I would only spend the six months of the year there that are bearable. The rest of the year I'd be in Hawaii watching pineapples grow and lava flow, busting rhymes with mahalo.

Best half-marathon time ever

ORN: This morning, the gods granted us the first day of unreservedly, unqualified awesome weather. The sun shone, the birds chirped, and I ran 13.1 miles in 2:13'43", which beat my previous half-marathon PR by more than eight minutes. I'm getting stronger people. Lock up your Clif Bars.

Our running group had a skeleton crew of die-hards. Everyone else, including my wife, was doing the Anthem 5K Fitness Classic downtown. [Wifey walked it and did great.] I ran with Aaron, a nice guy who happens to be an actuary. He also runs faster than I do, so he's largely responsible for my good time today. I didn't struggle to keep up, but left on my own, I might not have pushed it so hard. I didn't have tons of motivation today.

I broke the run into chunks. I ran 3.5 miles to the park bathrooms where we meet. We chatted for a minute or two and stretched, and then took off. I did six miles, keeping up with Aaron. Then we all gabbed for a few minutes, post run, and went our separate ways. I ran the 3.5 miles back to the house and made it an even 13.1 practically at my doorstep.

Seriously, y'all, this was a spring fever kind of day. Come on! Let's go outside and play!

Ready for spring

ORN: Ran 6 miles in 1:00'04", which is a personal record for me at that distance. That's something considering all the hills. It was 26°, which isn't that cold, but I was underdressed. I was miserable until I got warmed up, around the 1.5 mile mark.

I ran with a guy named Paul, a nice enough dude. We didn't talk much. But I think that's partly why I ran so well. I tend to run a little faster when I have company. I don't know whether I was holding him back or running to fast for him. I should have been more chatty, but I was in a quiet mood. I ran in my head. Also, I saw my buddy, Chris, at the park. Good to see him again.

Next week, 20 miles with a 8 mile long run. I hope this weather gets milder soon. I'm sick of freezing my secret garden off.

A K of Ks

ORN: I was chomping at the bit to get out and run today, waiting for 11:00, my scheduled running time. [Which is a function of not wanting to be in a tiny locker room with other guys and not taking my lunch hour too early so that the rest of the day drags on forever.] So, I kept watching the clock. Never mind that the weather sucked (50° and raining); I wanted to run! And run I did, polishing off three miserable miles in 31'00". I was dragging from my fiver yesterday.

Somewhere toward the end of today's run, I passed the 1,000 kilometer mark for 2008. I passed 2007's yearly total of 567 miles sometime near the end of October, but I like nice round numbers so my mind places more value on today's achievement. A thousand kilometers is a lot. It's 1/40th (2.5%) of the circumference of the earth, goddammit. Or 1/10th of the circumference of the moon. Light travels that distance in 3/1000ths of a second [unless my math is way off.]

What's most important, though, is that it's more than I have ever run in a year, and this despite having three weeks in 2008 where I logged zero miles and 14 weeks where I ran less than 10 miles. I have not been as consistent as I would have liked, but I did better than last year. Had I been more consistent, I could be celebrating 1,000 miles this week or sometime soon, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I'm happy with my achievement nonetheless. I can put the 1000K goal to bed and turn my sights toward the 1,000 mile goal for 2009.

If I run according to plan, I should have nearly 400 miles in the can in 16 weeks of marathon training. That should help.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Right now, I am going to bask in my achievement. I did well. I rock.

Race results: Summit Fall Fest 5K

As I mentioned yesterday, the race results from Saturday's Summit Fall Fest 5K are public, and I did really well [for me]. If I've finagled Excel correctly, I was 6th out of 13 in the 35-39 age group [male + female], and I think third or fourth out of six in the men's 35-39. It depends on whether "Kris" is ♂ or ♀. I didn't get an award, so I guess I was not third. I was 58th overall out of 160.

My official time was 28'18", which is a 9'06" pace and a PR for me. I ran it hard, and it paid off. I'm pretty pleased with myself.

Resting today. I might do some cross training, like walking during lunch or perhaps a bike ride. Nothing too strenuous.

Race report: Summit Fall Fest 5K

ORN: Yesterday, as if the hounds of hell were nipping at my heels, I ran 3.1 miles in something like 28'10" or thereabout. You read that right. I ran over three miles in around 28 minutes. The official time won't be published until Monday, but that truth is that I hauled ass through this race.

Before the race started, I ran half a mile to warm up and stretched out a little. Then once the starting gun went off, I concentrated on lifting and lowering my heels. When there were downhill stretches, I surrendered to gravity and flew downward. When there was an uphill bit, I put my head down and pushed upward. Most of the race was flattish, though, and I focused mainly on not slackening my pace.

To that end, I linked up with a family -- husband and wife and baby in stroller -- who had a pace I could just barely keep up with. At times, they slackened and I'd surge ahead of them. Other times, they'd get a bit of wind behind them and pass me. In the last mile, I made my move and left them behind me.

In the last mile, I had to find some hidden reserves of strength. I was tired from two miles of non-stop pushing. I had voices in my head telling me that I had to rest, but I wanted to do well. Hell, I wanted to PR. So I worked my lungs like a bellows and put whatever power I could muster into my legs and ran harder than I had run in a month of Sundays.

Then something unfortunate happened. I found myself behind a 9 year old boy. He was running fast, but I could have overtaken him easily. With the chute in sight, I could have breezed past him and crossed the line at 28 minutes flat or less. But this guy's parents were there, cheering him, and I think his grandmother was there too. In fact, now that I was paying attention, a lot of young kids were there cheering him. I thought if I blew his doors off this close to the finish, I would be considered the biggest ass in the world. So I held back and let him finish ahead of me. Who cares? He had a good day.

Afterward, I choked down a bagel and a slice of butter kuchen, as well as generous mouthfuls of water. It was a good day, but I was exhausted afterward. The rest of the day, I was tuckered.

KDF Mini Marathon

ORN: 13.1 miles in 2:33:17, which is a PR for me. My last half marathon time six months ago was 2:44.

Pre-race
Friday, the night before the race, we went to the race's pasta dinner. It was quite good, actually, for cafeteria-style pasta. I ate several helpings, some bread, a salad, and a piece of derby pie. Then we went to the Fest-a-Ville on the waterfront for a while. We, in this case, means Wifey, Little One, and me.

I didn't sleep well Friday night. I was, frankly, too excited. But I did the best I could and practically jumped out of bed at 5:00 when my alarm went off. I threw on a sleeveless shirt and my split shorts. Then I ate a breakfast of a cereal bar, a large glass of Gatorade, my vitamins and meds, and half a bagel. I was on the road by 5:15.


I arrived downtown by 5:30 and was queued up several minutes later for the shuttle bus. The weather was in the lower 50s and drizzly. Smarter people than I had garbage bags on or shells. As it was, I was shivering and debating when a good time would be to eat my energy beans. But the bus ride itself was great. Everybody was excited and full of energy. I listened to out-of-towners talk about the various derby events they were considering attending after the race.

I arrived in the starting area about 1.5 hours early. This was good because I peed three times. There were abundant portable toilets, but unfortunately no water. But it was no big deal. Apparently my body was more interested in dumping water than loading up on it.

Race
I placed myself between the 10 and 11 minute pace groups. There, I waited for the race to begin. I watched the running Elvis impersonators. I saw all the funny t-shirts. I listened to all the excited chatter, then, far ahead, I saw the flood of 12,000 racers take off.

The first two or three miles were very nice and quite slow. Once I started moving, the cold no longer affected me. The crowd of people was so intense that one could not go much faster than the stampede ahead of you. The spectators were encouraging. My hips, though, were starting to register their displeasure.

It's not an exaggeration to say that I was in pain nearly the whole race. My hips felt as though the tops of the femur bones were spearheads, piercing into my hip sockets with every footfall. The pain was deep inside and varied between a dull ache, a vague annoyance, and intensely sharp. For the whole race.

After three miles or so, we entered Iroquois Park, and as it was in the case of the Papa John's 10 Miler, the park was one of my favorite parts of the race. The cheering crowds were fewer, but the hills and the natural beauty carried me forward. Nothing much to say about this section of the race, except that I stuck to my 10/1 run/walk pattern and took it nice and slow. My thought was that after the park, I would start to pick up the pace a little.

However, once I exited the park, at around the 5-6 mile mark, my pains weren't going away. My hips were as bad as ever, so I just took it easy. I waved at the cheering crowds, thanked the numerous volunteers handing out water and sports drink. I especially thanked the spontaneous volunteers, the folks with orange slices who just showed up and handed them out because Louisvillians are awesome. Folks lined the roads to cheer on their friends and relations, but they did not discriminate. Every runner felt the love.

At mile 8, my favorite part of the run came into view — the run through Churchill Downs. We descended a ramp, ran through a tunnel, and emerged in the infield of the track. Around us, on the track itself, horses worked out with their jockeys and trainers. Around the infield, the tents and vendor stands were beginning to go up ahead of the Derby next Saturday. Under the twin spires, I ran awestruck. I had not been in the infield for years. I love the track.

Then, as we passed the ninth mile, we passed through another tunnel and back onto the street. Then began the boring slog through the remaining four miles. By this point, I was in trouble. My hips were aflame, and my knees were starting to protest too. Eventually, my feet started hurting too. But as I left the Downs behind, the skyscrapers of Downtown Louisville appeared.

The last miles of the race were painful but great because of the increasing crowds cheering us on. I pounded on and on, and then around the 13th mile, before the final turn, I saw my heroes! Wifey and Little One were there cheering for me at the end! Awesome. I crossed the finish line with my hands in the air and a stupid smile all over my face. Stopping running felt so freaking good.

Post race
The runners were fed through the chute into the post-race party. There, I gobbled down a bagel, a bottle of sports drink, and a beer. A band was playing, and there were engravers to etch your name and time on your medal. I'll write more on this on Monday.

Anthem 5K Fitness Classic

ORN: 3.1 miles in 28:01. You can find my result under bib number 4409. Yes, this is a PR for me for the 5K! w00t! I felt good all throughout this long, cold race. The only thing keeping me from running faster was a) the 8,000 walkers in front of me forming an impenetrable phalanx and b) once when I had to tie my shoe.

Like I said, there were a ton of people there. Many were first time racers, as I could overhear. Many, many were walkers. There was a Welsh Corgi who trotted along admirably beside his owner. After the flat, fast race, some stores and restaurants had booths set up with water, sports drink, bagels, and granola bars. The local soft rock station [squick] had a booth set up, blasting out the mellow, inoffensive jams.

All in all, a great race. Unfortunately, I didn't see anybody from my running group, but it would have been hard to find anybody in that mob. I hope everybody did well. I'm happy.

1. A Soundtrack to Saturday Night - The Articles
2. All My Loving - The Beatles
3. Obsessed With You - X Ray Spex
4. Strobe Light - The B-52's
5. Atomic Dog [Dogs of the World Unite Remix] - Coolio; George Clinton
6. The Word - The Beatles
7. 8 Track Mind - Bim Skala Bim
8. Dope Sick Girl - Rancid
9. Piece of Dirt - They Might Be Giants
10. Unfit - KMFDM

TRH Stampede results & more

ORN: 3.5 miles... 5 short hill repeats... 40:36 total time. Man, that was a hard workout.

They posted the results to Saturday's race, and I did about as well as I expected. I ran it in 29:32, which is a personal record for me. My previous PR for the 5K was 30:05. You can't see this, but I am patting my own back right now.

As far as placement goes, I placed 215th overall [49%], 141st in my gender [62%], and 25th in my age group [76%]. Not great, but I did really good for me.

Today, I ran five short hill repeats in Seneca Park. I did a one mile warm up, then I ran up and down Cherokee Garden Road [0.1 mile] five freakin' times. I finished with another mile cool down. The morning was lovely, which was great since the workout was a bitch. I'd have probably lain down and died if it was raining or something.

Getting to work was no problem. I didn't get lost coming out of Cherokee Park, a miracle because that place is the Labyrinth to me. I mean, I swear that place has a Minotaur in there somewhere. And I bet that bull-headed bugger used to narc on me in high school when I'd bring a date there to make out because I'd always get the cops rolling by with their flashlights just as I was making my moves. Then I'd be all nervous trying to get out of the park, get lost, and tremble with the thought that the cop would think that I was impaired because I was driving around like I just got off the boat. I guess I should have dated Ariadne.

Whoa, sorry for the digression. I don't know where that came from.

My point is that I got up wicked early this morning, ran a hard workout, and made it to work in plenty of time to shower, dress, enjoy my coffee, and drop a whole bunch of Greek Mythology references as if I was smrt or sumpthin'. Ta da!

Technorati Tags: greek mythology, labyrinth, ariadne, minotaur, running, workout, hills, interval, racing

Sorta 5K PR today

ORN: 5K in a speedy 31:32. Nike+ thinks that's a PR, and since I celebrate every victory, I will forgive the little white doo-dad for not recognizing my 30:09 achievement, which may or may not have been a fluke since I have not run that fast before or since.

The larger victory was getting out of bed at 0500 and running. Now that is behind me and I have nothing to worry about for the rest of the day, running-wise. It was hard, and I fought myself all the way out the door. If I suddenly became magically active, there would have been a hurricane in Louisville this morning. Or I would have been stricken lame. Or the Decepticons would have landed right on top of my house.

If I can manage it, I would like to run another 5K today. If that doesn't happen, and I doubt it will, I'll do 10K tomorrow if I can repeat the magic of running in the morning. We shall see.

Technorati Tags: running, PR

Learning how to run

ORN: 2.5 km in 15:04. This was a PR for me -- a 9:34/mile pace. Granted, it was only a 2.5 km run, but I celebrate every victory. Besides, I only had a limited amount of time to run yesterday, and I had to grab what I could grab.



I have a confession. I don't know how to run. You'd think it was the easiest thing in the world. One foot in front of the other and all that. I was on the track team in high school, and for a time, I had aspirations of being a USMC officer and trained for that in ROTC in college. In both endeavors, there was a strong incentive for me to run swiftly. I mean, in track, I ran the mile, and more often than not, the next event was setting up before I finished. In the military, I only barely passed my physical fitness tests. No amount of training has ever helped. In short, I have historically been damn slow. Apparently, running is something you need to learn, and nobody has ever coached me on how to do it well.



But now all that seems to be changing. As I have mentioned before, I am reading the book ChiRunning by Danny and Katherine Dreyer. In addition to being a well-put-together book, it's proving to be worth the $14. Last night on the way home from work, I started reading the magical chapter 4, which followed three chapters of explanation of the ChiRunning philosophy. Those chapters were interesting, but I have read about Taoism and even practiced a little Tai Chi, so I am totally sold on the theory. I get it. Chapter 4 brings the theory out of the library, laces up its shoes, and hits the road.



Yesterday's big lesson-learned had to do with posture and body lean. I noticed that when I run, I tend to stand straight up. That's not a bad thing, unless of course you are trying to move a 185+ pound mass through space in opposition to inertia, gravity, and wind resistance. My usual posture works against me in at least one key area. My legs end up doing more work than they need to because they sort of drag my body along. The Dreyers suggested that I lean into my run, lean forward from the ankle, like the forward slash on a keyboard. / That places my center of mass ahead of my feet, and I end up in a persistent state of nearly falling over. Of course, my feet are flapping around down there to keep me from doing that, for which I am very grateful.



So when I leaned into my run and let gravity help me along, I found that I was running faster. The author also recommends lengthening my stride. Historically, when I have done that, I have lifted my knees high into the air, forced my leg far forward -- ahead of my body -- with my thigh muscles, and huffed and puffed my way forward. It was very intense and tired me out almost instantly. However, the authors recommend just lifting the foot and putting it in front of you. The leg below the knee, feet included, ought to be limp, they say.



Also, they recommend being mindful of tension in your body. I found that I hold a lot of tension in my shoulders and neck, and I have to be vigilant to avoid falling into that. Here's what my run last night was like inside my head.



"OK, lean, lean farther. Now stride it out. Wow, I'm breathing hard, but this isn't that hard. Oh, watch those shoulders. I'm not leaning anymore -- lean! Now make sure the calves are loose. Loosen up the ankle. Lean!"



And so forth. I was constantly correcting myself, which explains why my pace looked like me when I was learning how to drive a stick shift. But the funny thing is that I was running faster! Amazing! I haven't finished chapter 4 and already results!







Technorati Tags: PR, running, ChiRunning, bragging

Warmth! Sunshine! Sweating!

ORN: I ran four miles in 41:55, a personal record, thankyouverymuch. It was nearly 70° and sunny today, so I actually think the heat affected me today. I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to the heat. I have my theories about why, and I'll tell you about them sometime if you buy me a beer. But the fact of the matter is that the Earth's yellow sun affects me much like it does my cousin Kal El [you Earthlings call him Superman.] It drains me. It drains me like a long soak in a leech bath.

I had an interesting experience in the locker room. Get your mind out of the gutter. I thought I would beat the rush of exercisers at noon by coming in at 1100 to change and work out. Instead of being blissfully alone, there was my CEO dressing himself to tackle the stair-master. He's a great guy, but it's a matter of context. I expect the CEO to be dressed and wandering the halls looking confident, contemplating giving that handsome go-getter in Sector 7G [me] a huge raise and a prestigious job, much to the horror of that sniveling bastard, Smithers. I do not expect to see him in the locker room changing into gym shorts. It was just strange. My hangup, though -- he was nice and chatted with me.

He said that he was unsure whether or not working out made you live any longer. But he could tell me that it made you feel a hell of a lot better while you're here. That's the truth. No matter how lousy or dull my day might get, I can always say that at least I ran four miles. And I ran it faster than ever.

Back to back PRs? I rock!

ORN: I just ran 4 miles in 42:17, a personal record. I'm tempted to think that I am the greatest thing to happen to running since feet given that I have had two PRs in two days. However, looking more closely at the data, my ego gets deflated rather quickly.

True, yesterday, I ran five miles faster than ever. Also true, it was the first time running five miles on the street instead of a treadmill. Likewise, my last many, many four mile runs have all been on treadmills. So today's incredible performance is remarkable only in that this is the first time I have run four miles on the street since last month's Snowman Shuffle race.

Still, it is encouraging to be out on the streets again. I don't know how long the favorable weather is going to last, but I am making the most of it. Tomorrow is a cross training day, thank the gods, because my legs, unused as they are to running on sidewalks, could use a day off.

Oh, and tomorrow is yet another new episode of Lost. Is it a bad thing that the highlights of my week are days off from running and Lost?

Tags: bragging, jogging, running, workouts

Running outside finally

ORN: I just ran a personal record for five miles. Go me. Of course, it is only the second or third time I have ever run five miles and the only time I have run it on the road. However, considering how many times I had to stop for traffic so that I could safely cross the street, I'm claiming the victory. It seemed like I had to stop at every intersection.

Today was sunny, clear, and around 45°. Considering I was running in the snow on Saturday, I was loving it today. I'm 44 miles behind the pace bunny.

Tags: bragging, jogging, running, workouts