Top of Michigan 100K

62 miles is an awfully long way.

To be fair, so is 26.2. Or 10.  Sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my brain around five miles, and that's usually how long it takes for my leg muscles to feel warmed up. I think I still count miles one-two-three-many.

The start of the race was a bit confused for me. I got there and checked in. I went back to the car to stay warm, make some last minute decisions on what to wear, and then my brother David said: "where is everyone?" a few minutes of searching, and then I saw headlamps bouncing down the path. I started at the back and stayed there, happily enough.

I remember hitting mile 26 and thinking "I feel pretty fresh! I feel like I could start to run a marathon now!" and then I considered that I had another marathon to go. And then I had ten miles to tack on after ward. I don't think I was discouraged, but perhaps a bit daunted. I dealt with it by thinking about it as little as possible.

I hit mile 28 and someone at the aid station told me it was the half way point. I didn't like the discrepancy between course personnel and garmin, but I've learned to take Garmin with a grain of salt. Sometimes that can be a mistake, like the quarter inch layer of salt I inadvertently dipped onto a boiled potato before I put it into my mouth at the aid station. My stomach wasn't happy with me for a few miles afterward. Oops.

I remember the wind and the rain. They shut down the Mackinaw bridge for the day because of it- too many visions of a Yugo plunging off of it, I guess. I know I was pushed off the trail a couple of times, but mostly because I was in my own world and reacted too slowly to compensate. It rained pretty much the whole time, and through the wind let up occasionally, I remember it being in my face a lot more than it was at my back.

Of course, that's the way it usually goes.  Memory is like that.

I have to give killer Kudos to my brother David and my Sister-in-Law Deb. They were kind enough to trail me for the entire day, meeting me at the aid stations and giving me such wonderful gifts like chicken soup and encouragement. A few minutes before the race started, it finally dawned on me just how cold, windy and rainy it would be. David offered me his jacket. I wore it the entire time, and it very well might have kept me from a DNF.

I hit mile 26 in almost exactly five hours, and was pretty pleased. I hit mile 50 at 10:02, and thought I was being pretty consistent. I remember thinking that 12 miles is no big deal; I've run 12 in my sleep. I didn't consider 12 a long run.

It was an awfully long run. Three hours to go 12 miles, only made bearable by David coming to meet me around mile 58 and run/walk me in.

I finished, went to the post race party, had a long island iced tea, and pretty much slept all the way back to Gaylord. As the Tigers ended their season, I took a long, hot shower (but still managed to get the cold water spray down of my legs in) and blissfully crashed on a couch for ten or twelve hours. Best sleep I've had in months.

A week later, and I haven't gone for a run yet. My body still feel quite drained, even though I've eaten quite a bit. I've managed to pick up a cold that's been going around. However, I see people out running, and I feel a little jealous. I'm sure I'll be out there soon enough...

Third Quarter books

Dance of Dragons -GRR Martin

I had high hopes for this book; and though it mostly dwelt on characters I like, pacing was glacial. I could go on, but that was the thought that stood out. I wonder if he might pass away before bringing the series to a close, and they'll have to tap someone like Sanderson to finish it off.

Blade Itself- J Ambercrombie
Before They are hanged
Last argument of kings

Needed to get some Epic Fantasy where the plot moved, the characters felt real, and everything came to a crashing conclusion. Second time this year.

Dune- F Herbert
Ghost Story -J Butcher
Shadows Linger -G Cook

I read Dune a couple of times in the past; age 10, age 20 something, and now age 30 something. It's a lot easier to follow now than it was a quarter century ago. strange that.

Ghost story was enjoyable; though the characters didn't develop as much as I would have liked to see, I thought it moved the plot along. Besides, the previous book in the series (Changes) had enough going on in it for a couple of books. I'm curious to see where Butcher will go from here.

War Breaker- B Sanderson
Firstborn
Way of Kings

All stuff I've read before, but I was killing time while waiting for my next audiobook credits to come in, or was reading them while concurrently listening to something else. Also was interesting to see Sanderson's growth as an author.

Diplomatic Immunity - LM Bujold
Cryoburn

Finished off the VorKosigan novels again. Still love/hate (but mostly love) the end of Cryoburn. After a fairly vanilla book (enjoyable, but not her best work) Bujold writes a series of reactions which were some of the most effective scenes I've read/heard.

Macbeth - AJ Hartley/D Hewson

I'd never read/seen the play or watched a movie of it before, so I got the audiobook. It was interesting; the story as tough to deal with as season two of the "Slings and Arrows"

Golden Compass - P Pullman
Boneshaker - C Priest
Clementine
Dreadnought

Didn't realize that I got so much steampunk all in a row. Priest is kind of Steampunk horror, which I didn't expect. Golden Compass was a bit easier for me to stomach (I'm not a big horror fan) but things worked out a little too easily. Will probably continue to get their (Pullman and Priest's) books.

Fuzzy Nation - J Scalzi
Live Free or Die - J Ringo

Fuzzy nation is just fun, and I needed a change of pace after the steampunk. Honestly it felt like stepping up into clean, fresh, warm air after being stuck in dank, uncomfortable, cold basement for hours.

J Ringo is sort of fun- if he'd keep off the political theory and go for story, I'd enjoy his books more. Since I don't agree with him politically, when he climbs on his soap box it kind of sets my teeth on edge. I think he wants to be the SF's version of Ayn Rand.

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Mudstock 2011

I love understatement.

So saying Woodstock 2011 was a bit muddy is like saying I occasionally like to run, or that political ads can be kind of annoying.

It started off with a wrong turn. Or a correct turn that wasn't followed by dozens of people- whatever. all I know is that I was following the pink flags. Doesn't really matter that I was going the wrong way- it gave me a chance to cheer on all the 100K, 50 & 100 milers who were going in the proper direction.

And if you hadn't guessed, I'm also a fan of rationalization.

I paced JB, who was doing her first 50K and seems to have a gift for it. At least, she held up better than I. For me, the day started off painful- my right lower back was tight when I woke up, continued to feel uncomfortable on the way to the race, and was got pretty bad as the race progressed. Which is why drugs were invented. Advil was very much my friend- otherwise, I don't believe I could have finished.

As more and more people tromped through the trails and water and dirt mixed nicely, it really did become a mudfest. In retrospect, the word I like is "slurry" because it avoids the obvious comparisons. Occasionally it looked like chocolate frosting. I also thought chocolate pudding- and the designs of all the shoes that had slipped in it reminded me of abstract art. All us runners were adding in our own marks, making it a collaboration.

I really liked to think of it artistically, because all the comparisons to chocolate made me pretty hungry.

We finished to first lap and got food; we also decided to make the half mile trek out to the car to drop off gear, get more advil, and randomly help stuck cars out of the parking lot. Two of the half marathoners (or maybe 5 milers; I'm not sure) needed a push out of the mud, and I thought "why not?"

Obviously, the drugs were helping.

The second loop was even more fun- there were hills far to slippery to climb without using trees; water that went up past my knees, and bees at most every aid station.

The volunteers were awesome; pretty much everyone had a "good job" encouragement as we passed one another, and the hours and time flew.

My longest (time wise) run ever!
Distance 31 miles (plus a mile or so to get to the parking lot)
Time 7:59:59.9
Pace 15:27

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2nd Quarter books

Only read a few interesting books since April; some were repeats, some were gambles that didn't pay off, and some were just out of a sense of ennui.

Still, it's nice to have stories going through my head. Strangely enough, it seems to help keep life in perspective.

The name of the wind- P Rothfuss
Wise Man's Fear

A Hymn before Battle- J Ringo
Gust Front
When the Devil Dances
Hell's Faire

Dreadnaught- J Campbell
Fuzzy Nation- John Scalzi
Moon Called- P Briggs
Borders of Infinity- LM Bujold
Elantris- B Sanderson
Moon is a Harsh Mistress- R Heinlein
Overkill- Robert Buettner

The first two by Patrick Rothfuss are my favorites. There is an interesting back story, the character is smart and quick, but has flaws which tie well into his strengths. I did have the discomfort of continually thinking: "When's the other shoe going to drop? When are things really going to get bad?"

Occasionally it was difficult to listen to for that reason. But there were some moments of genuine awesome storytelling.

The stuff by John Ringo was plot driven military silliness, but entertaining. Fuzzy Nation was legal driven fun; decent number of laugh out load moments.

Cetaganda- LM Bujold
Brothers in Arms
Mirror Dance
Memory
Komarr
A Civil Campaign
Winterfair Gifts

Listening through the VorKosigan novels again. I'm amazed that they have the staying power to keep me entertained enough to listen through all of them for the past three or four years; occasionally multiple times per year.

I hope Sanderson will get the next book in the Stormlight Archive done soon. He's fairly prolific, so it shouldn't be more than a year or two. And I'm looking forward to Butcher's Ghost Story. That should be coming out in the next few days.

Pity that Patrick Rothfuss took years between his two novels. Still, I'd rather a good book that ooh a while rather than a half assed effort once a year. Of course, the worst of both worlds occasionally happens, too. Hope it doesn't in his case.







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Ophilia Bonner 8K

The race was maybe five miles away from where I go to school, and about two hours after my last class on Thursday. So it just sort of made sense to me.

I very nearly forgot about it, though; habit nearly had me driving back home after class. But I remembered in time, plotted my course to the race, and showed up to pick up my bib and do my warm up.

I figured a four mile warm up would have me up to nine for the day, and I wanted to get a feel for the terrain. It was very much like the Crim, except not as hilly. Really quite flat, now that I think about it.

Race started, and I settled into a comfortably hard pace; I passed a few, and was passed by a few. The 5K and 8K folks started at the same time, so you weren't quite sure if someone was a competitor or just along for the ride for the first mile and a half.

I found myself following a lady who had a very even pace; I was fairly happy to have someone to set my sights on for the majority of the race. I followed her for about four miles, when we joined up with the 5K race folk and started passing people.

Like, a lot of people.

I'm not why I react this way, but it seems to give me a boost to reel people in. I ran harder, and my mile pace dropped about 45 seconds. The last half mile was pretty rough, but I just kept at it.

I finished in 35:26 2nd AG, 13 OA (out of 90 or so). I even got a trophy. No idea what I'll do with it. Seems a silly bauble, really. But as a mid packer, I should enjoy the little things, I guess...





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Location:Flint, MI

Fun with dumbbells

Ever since Bayshore, I've had some problems with my left hamstring. I have about 15-20° less extension in my knee with full hip flexion, and a muscle knot that feels about the size of a marble at it's proximal attachment.

What that means in english is that it's a real pain in my ass. Enough that after a hard run it's kinda painful to sit. I've tried regular stretching, foam roller, tennis ball, and (OTC) drugs to try to calm it down, with no avail.

So I've gone something a little more desperate. Picture in your mind the stereotypical "touch your toes" hamstring stretch, except have a 30# dumbbell in one of your hands. As gravity does it's work, stand on a step for a better stretch.

Work on doing an anterior pelvic tilt to move ischial tuberosity (the attachment point for hamstrings) further away from it's origin. Finally, flex right knee so that the left is the only one getting the stretch.

While your imagining this, try *not* to imagine the "pop" sound which means something very, very bad has happened. :P





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Hungry Duck Half

Second of nine or races in my quest to have a season of fun, rather than of focus on an "A" race.

I need to start waking up at five am more often. The sunrise this morning was beautiful, even if I was so tired that every time I made a turn on the way to the race, I had a brief moment of panic thinking that I was going the wrong way.

I also didn't realize till I got the race that I forgot my Garmin. I've been running Garmin free quite a bit lately, but this is the first time in six years of running I've been without something to time myself. It was particularly odd when I crossed the finish line. I found myself pushing on my wrist where the Garmin "stop" button would be. No joke.

So I have no idea of my time; I'm pretty sure it was about what I was shooting: maybe a 1:39-1:40. I ran most of the race with a friend nicknamed A-train; he still had a lot of gas at mile 11 so I told him to go on ahead. He dropped to sub-7 pace while I think I maintained a decent 7:35-7:40.

Not only was I sans garmin, I was also shirtless. I don't have quite the physique to run shirtless as comfortably as other of my friends, but I do overheat quickly, and I've been going shirtless almost as much as garminless these days. I only felt self conscious when I wasn't running.

After the race I popped into a recently opened running store in Brighton called Elite Feet. Very nice place; wide open, video analysis on a treadmill, exceptionally knowledgeable staff. I must've hung out in there for a good 45 minutes analyzing gait patterns in different shoes and chatting about form, shoes, and things like that.

Fun times!


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Solstice 10 Mile

First of my nine (or so) races. It went just about perfectly. :)

I went in with this vague idea of going relatively easy the first three miles, moderate hard the second three miles, and hard the last three miles.

Of course, those of you with math skills realize that this adds up to nine. I didn't really figure that out until mile six. On the other hand, I didn't follow that plan even a little, so I just got a chance to laugh at myself.

I warmed up about mile with some of my Daily Mile friends, kicked back and watched the 10K start. Soon enough I was lining up with the rest of the 10 milers, feeling that anticipation that usually comes at the beginning of a race.

Doing the first half mile on a horse track was sort of interesting. A bit sandy, and kind of banked, it wasn't my favorite running surface; on the other hand, I like it better than concrete. Nearly tripped going out of the track, and a few minutes later hit the first hill.

I later thought that during the race, if I can feel myself going down the hill, I'll probably have to pay for it a lot, later. Well. We started off with money in the bank. The first hill wasn't killer. Might maim a bit, if you didn't respect it, but not killer.

No, I think it was the downhills that were truly killer. I like to let my momentum work, but it still and kill the quads. I was feeling it by mile eight, and am particularly glad I skipped my strength training workout Friday.

The miles flew by; I thought random thoughts, and attacked (or was attacked by) random hills. There were houses, but I didn't see them. Lots of people were wearing the race shirt, I guess, but I wasn't paying attention.

In fact, either I was in the "zone" for most of the race, or I pretty much sleepran through it. Not really sure I could tell the difference, really.

Finished the race in 1:16:28 (Garmin time) and enjoyed the post race festivities. Had a good time standing around and chatting with all the various people. then went off to Guernsey Farms for food and company. I'm regretting not getting chocolate milk and ice cream... but I'll know better for next time.

So, I got a shiny new PR to go along with my shiny new metal. Also got a lei, which was new but not shiny. A good race. I definitely recommend it!

It's possible I've overdone my race commitments this season. But you know how it goes when a big chunk of my social set are runners: every race anyone is doing sounds like a good idea. So here it is:

6-25 Solstice Run 10M
7-4 Hungry Duck Half Marathon
7-31 Warrior Dash 5K
8-6 The Legend Half Marathon
8-14 RUT lucky 13 fat ass
8-27 The Crim 10M
9-3 Labor Day 30K
9-10 Run Woodstock 50M
10-2 Brooksie Way Half Marathon

If I have anything left, I may sign up for a marathon after the Brooksie, but I'm not sure. Hopefully I can run these relatively smart; not push so hard that I injure myself.

I'm a little worried about the Crim/Labor Day 30K/Woodstock weekends; one after the other isn't a great way to keep myself from overdoing it. But I wouldn't have a problem dropping down from the 50 Mile to the marathon, or even the half if necessary. Or DNFing. There are lots of 50 Milers out there, and I have time to try again, if at first I don't succeed.

If you're doing any of these races, let me know!

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Location:Races!

Bayshore Race Report

Random things I learned during the race:

-S-Caps dissolve in rain; next time, remember a baggie.
-The further out Gus are pinned on shorts, the more they bounce.
-Muscle cramps anywhere is bad. Muscle cramps everywhere is worse.
-As much as you might desperately want to run up to the ambulance and collapse, it's better to collapse after the finish line. The ice cream tastes better there, too.
-Having a friend run me in the last couple of miles is a race saver. Big time.

Executive summary:
Time: 3:24:44  [New PR!]
Pace: 7:47
Average Heart Rate: 175
Age group: 32/136
Over all: 179/1463

How things went: a story in three parts.

The first part went fairly well; at least according to plan. I was hanging with a group of people who were all shooting for a 3:15 or 3:20. It felt a little harder than I had hoped, but the weather cooperated nicely. 50's or so, rain, a bit humid.

First 8 Miles-
Average pace: 7:24
Average HR: 172

The second part got a little rough. The group pulled away, and to try to hang with them would've taken more out of me than I wanted to spend. For no real reason I could see my heart rate jumped up about 20 beats per minute, and by mile 11 my quads were starting to talk to me. This is what we'd call "A Bad Sign"

I got through the half way mark in 1:37:16, right on target for my 1st goal of 3:15, but I was feeling more than half used up. I was, in fact, feeling about as used up as I wanted to be feeling at about mile 20. This stage lasted till mile 18, when the wheels really started to come off.

Miles 9-18
Average pace: 7:26
Average HR: 191

Right around mile 19, the cramps really started to do me in. The quads were relatively tame, just fatigued. But in my hamstrings (or maybe my piriformis) calves, and side began to blaze with pain. Not all at the same time, but enough to sing a chorus together. Some times one part of my body would take the lead, sometimes another. Occasionally a duet.

Some tough going.

Miles 19-26
Average pace: 8:25
Average HR: 163

It was during some of these miles I had to stop and walk to try to work out my side cramp; other times I was pushing as hard as I had and was averaging a 9 min/mile. Then around mile 23, a wonderful running friend found me on the course and ran me into the finish line, talking to me and helping the miles move along as they should rather than like molasses. We chatted, though I can't be wholly certain what I said. My mind was pretty well in tatters by that point.

But I crossed the line, and it was good. I met my brother soon after, and we chatted and ate ice cream together, and that was great. We staggered around town together bit, having lunch and otherwise congratulating one another on another fine race.

I walked out into lake Michigan and replaced the agony of fatigue with the agony of hypothermic shock. I decided that my hips needed to get in on the action and knelt down, too. After a little while, I wondered if I'd ever be able to stand up. If I did try to stand up, would my legs buckle? And if I fell face first in the water, would my lungs explode?

After showering lake Michigan, marathon salt and a good portion of the icky feeling away, I felt like a new man. Now if only I could find a shower that would spray the fatigue away, I'd be happy. All in all, a great race, with great friends and a shiny new PR! Now if I could only concentrate on school work... :P

Goals

It's time to start considering goals.

First, if all the things I can't control go perfectly:
Fly goal: 3:15
Happy goal 3:22
Content (New PR) goal: 3:27:44
Stuff happens: 3:35

Breaking 3:20 would be pretty amazing.  So would not hitting the wall. I'd like to negative split; I'd also like to run the last 10K faster than the first.

Mostly, I just want to have a good run, and an enjoyable time. There will be plenty of other races in the future, and I hope to be running them, too.  :)

better than expected

I was worried about this week; that the illness I suffered from would keep me from running the way I'd like. Or would cause me to have a relapse if I went too far too fast.

I was worried about the wrong things.

I should have been worried that I would get too caught up in finally being able to run again, and run a bunch of junk miles- miles that are too hard to be easy but too easy to be beneficial in the way I'd like.

And right now, I'm sort of caught in that gear. I need to remember how to slow it down during easy runs. Trails help, as do running in five fingers. but still, there's something comforting in running at a moderate effort. It's just not helpful for me to accomplish my goals.

I need to work on that. :)


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Location:W Bristol Rd,Flint,United States

sick

I'm really bad at being sick. Most people are, so I figure that puts me in the majority.

I've had about five days of being either only able to talk in a whisper, or sounding like I'm going through puberty again. For a while it was nice not to have to say much of anything to anyone, except by choice. Now it's just annoying.

I've only run four miles this week. Part of me is aghast; another part of me feels weak enough that the four miles may have been a mistake. Today's work shift wasn't bad; it was steady but not crazy busy, and most of the people were able to hear me when I spoke. I'm kind of worried about tomorrow, though. Saturdays are usually a little more difficult.

*sigh* I'm really looking forward to when I'll be back running easy, fast, and comfortable...


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Pain scale

http://www.xkcd.com/883/

I ask this question fairly frequently; not as much as a real practitioner, but more than the average bear.  I need to remember to phrase it for those with overactive imaginations. :)

Intervals!

I went into this workout worried. My Martian Half went really well, but I worry that I may have left too much out on the course. A (projected) two minute PR is about four minutes faster than I thought I would do, and about three minutes faster than I thought may have really been healthy for me.

Tuesday I did a leg workout which is still kicking my ass. at least, that's where about half the pain is. The rest is in my quads. And yesterday I felt like I was running just a bit too fast, sabotaging today's run.

I get worried when factors pile up like that. It's a thing.

So I got to Indian Springs, and the day is just perfect, for me. Mid 40s, overcast, and just a bit breezy. Two mile warm up. I thought of the intervals my coach assigned me: six 800s with a 400 rest between, paces as follows: 7:30, 7:15, 7:00. 6:45, 6:30, 6:30.

First interval (goal: 7:30) was hard: I guess my legs were set on half marathon pace from this weekend. Started to fast, slowed myself down too much, played yo-yo to catch up. Wash, rinse, repeat. 3:46 (7:32).

Second interval (goal: 7:15) went much better.I felt relaxed, checked every 30 seconds or so to make sure I was on target, and didn't do much tweaking. 3:37 (7:14).

Third interval (goal 7:00) also went really well. I just pictured myself running a 10K, tried to find my rhythm, and started thinking a little more about breathing. 3:28 (6:56).

Fourth interval (goal 6:45) didn't go quite so well. Got a little lazy, didn't check my watch to make sure I was on track, so when I hit about 600 meters, my average pace was 6:53. So I ran hard and hit the 800 meters completely winded... but ahead of schedule. Oops. 3:19 (6:38).

It was during this rest interval I really started to play with the idea of changing my breathing. Counting breaths is my mantra when I'm running; I've been doing it for years, and it really helps me focus. When I'm running easy, I use my breaths to time my foot falls; usually to the tune of one breath every six steps, three in, three out.

If I'm holding a 180 step cadence, and count every inspiration and expiration, I should be doing half a breath (and count) every second. And I've counted literally thousands of my breaths.

Harder running usually calls for two steps per inspiration and expiration, meaning I hit about a 90 count during a minute. This is what I shoot for during a half, 10K or 5K. I've only toyed with the idea of taking breaths faster, never played with it.

I started playing with the new breathing pattern after doing the stupid interval. Two steps to breath in, one step to breath out. Easy to maintain during rest; foot falls are slow, and I have time to think about it.

Fifth interval (goal 6:30) came, and it went out the window. I was averaging a 6:39 pace for the most part until I hit a lucky down hill; this helped enough to let me hit my interval goal. But towards the end I was gasping like a landed fish. And wheezing, which wasn't much fun at all. 3:14 (6:28).

Rest interval. I tried to practice the two steps (breath in) one step (breath out) pattern a bit more. Maybe a little better handle on it.

Sixth (and final) interval (goal: 6:30). I started with the new pattern right off. It felt... pretty good. Like running a waltz. Every time I exhaled, I imagined my breath hanging just a meter before me, and every time I inhaled, I caught up to it. It kind of gave new meaning to "catching my breath." The interval went smoothly. No yo-yoing after falling off pace. No concentration lapses. And best of all, no Wheezing! 3:15 (6:30).

So, gentle reader, if you've made it this far, color me impressed. I hope it was diverting if not entertaining. I renamed my blog appropriately, I think. Perhaps if you've spent time thinking on these things, you could drop me a line to tell me what you've learned...


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Martian Half Marathon

I love race plans. I always get a laugh when I reflect on my plan after the race. Or a "How did that happen?" feeling when a race actually goes to the way I expected.

I don't get the latter feeling too often.

In any case, the race weather was splendid. In the beginning of the week, the weather was promised fine, and I didn't believe it. Last couple of days, the weather promised wintery mix, and I chose to hope for the best.

I got lucky. It happens, from time to time.

Low to mid 30s, nice bright sun, and a breeze that probably helped more than it hurt. One of the big non-controllable factors work out about as well as I could have possibly hoped, and I thought during the run that I should give all due amazement for the fact.

Also for the fact that I didn't overdress. It was a near thing.

Anyway, I got to the race, parked far away but easily, and did the packet pick up thing. Did a brief (1 mile) warm up, regretted that I forgot to bring my Gu, and lined up next to some friends and waited for the start.

I also love goals, much as I love race plans. I always go in with bunches of goals, from the aggressive to the intelligent to the silly. Usually I can hit a bunch of them, sometimes all, but most of the time only a few.

For this race, my time goals were as follows: 1:35-1:37 if things go amazingly well. I gave myself a 1 in 5 chance of hitting this one. If I run smart, 1:37-1:40. That would have been my 'happy with the race' goal, meaning I'm running about where I expected. 1:45+ would have been okay, but it would have meant either I snag (like pain that warns of injury) or I decided to run with someone just for the fun of it.

The race started, and I settled into the "comfortably hard" groove that makes me love half marathons. It felt like a 7:30-7:40 pace to me. Garmin said it was 7:23. I thought "cool" and didn't change a thing effort wise.

Next lap went by in 7:10. I thought to myself: "this is something close to my 10K pace last winter. Sweet!"

Around mile 3 or 4 I got passed by a women wearing a Boston Marathon Jacket. Personally, I have no problem at all getting chicked, especially by a women wearing a Boston jacket. But she was going about my speed, and I thought: Hm. Maybe I can keep up!

So I ran along, attacked (or floated over) the hills, and tried to run a nice, relaxed, even race. That ended when I started to see runners who had hit the turn around and started to run back. It's a wonderful thing to be part of a running group; the encouragement during an out and back that a lot of friends are doing is awesome.

I tried to spot as many people as I could, cheering people on and being cheered. I missed a few, and sometimes names only sprung to my sugar deprived brain long after the people had passed me by. It happens.

When I hit the turn around, the mass of runners started to pass by, and I got enough encouragement to help me drop my mile pace about 15 seconds. Oops.

I hit the water station with the Gu, and walked long enough to take it and water without choking. Boston girl passed me, and for the next five miles or so was hundreds of feet ahead of me. I told myself I was okay with that, and kept on.

Right around mile nine my Garmin bleeped, but there wasn't a mile marker anywhere near me. I thought: Hm. Well. I hope the course isn't long. Or short. Or whatever. In other words, I was practicing denial.

The miles continued to pass. The discrepancy between my garmin and the course markings grew. And I chose to deal with it by ignoring it. I just wanted to finish strong.

About a mile away from the end, just as I was flagging, I saw a friend by the side lines with a camera; he shouted some encouragement as I hammed it up for the camera. Gave me a big boost, and I hoped I didn't make too much of a fool of myself. Forlorn hope, perhaps, but one I'll cling to till I see the evidence.

About half a mile from the end, I reeled in Boston girl and passed her by. I didn't sprint, so I didn't feel like a heel doing it, but I just maintained a nice, even acceleration. Till I hit the corner going into the finish line. I stepped up my acceleration a bit more, until a few hundred feet away, where I really stepped it up.

It felt smooth, easy, and comfortable. If I had tried to do it more than a quarter mile, I'm sure I'd be dying, but it felt really good to cut loose a little. About the only time I feel comfortable cutting loose is kicking into the finish; even during intervals or whatever, I hold myself back. At the end of a race... well, things are a little different.

I finished the race, got my medal, and stood around talking to all the people who finished prior to me, and then who came in afterward. Till the sweat and the wind threatened hypothermia. Realized I scored a PR. Realized that the course was perhaps a half mile long. Realized that the two in combination was really pretty cool.

Hung out for a bit, congratulating and commiserating as the situation warranted, then went off to the Daily Mile Meet Up. Great people, great time, and I even got to biology geek for a while! :)

Executive Summery:
Distance: 13.1 (Garmin 13.52) miles
Time: 1:36:57
Pace: 7:25 (Garmin 7:10) min/mile
25/168 AG,  116/1836 OA (Top 15% of my Age Group; top 7% Over All!)

Personal Record! (Down from 1:37:02, set in 2008)
Side note: if Garmin had the correct average pace, I would've crossed the finish line in 1:33:53. Which really kind of rocks. :)

Thanks to all who made it all the way to the end of this! I did name my blog appropriately, eh? ;)

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books in 2011

Not a running post, believe it or not.  Most of the time, I listen to books as I drive, or do laundry, or cook or dishes.  Fills the empty time between silences.  I read something when it's given to me; though i might start hitting the library soon. Anyway, here's my list:

2011 Books in the first quarter (Jan-March)

*Way of kings- B Sanderson

*Soulless- G Carriger
*Changeless
*Blameless

Blade Itself- J Ambercrombie
Before They are hanged
Last argument of kings

The final empire- B Sanderson
The well of ascension
Hero of ages

*Agatha hetrodyne and the airship city- P&K Foligo

Dauntless- J Campbell
Fearless
Courageous
Valiant
Relentless
Victorious

*The Black Company- G Cook

Assassin's Apprentice- R Hobb
Royal assassin

Altered Carbon- R Morgan
Broken Angels

*Best served cold- J.Ambercrombie

Shards of Honor- LM Bujold
Barrayar
The Warrior's Apprentice

*New books; all the others are all audiobooks, and ones I've listened to in the past.  Great for long car trips; since I know the story, it only needs some of my attention.  But it does a lot to keep me from getting bored, strangely enough.

Pancakes!

I think that pancakes (or waffles) may be one of the most versatile edibles evar. The beauty is that you can put whatever you like on them, and they can still turn out pretty good. I either make (or buy) a big batch of them, eat a bunch, and freeze the rest. After they've been popped in the toaster, they have this neat crunchy texture which I might like a little better than fresh made.

A little weird, but there you go. Anyway, on to the spreads...

Grade B maple syrup might be my favorite, and it's an old stand by, but it lacks some imagination. Still, with a good dose of olive oil spread, it's very hard to beat.

When it comes to energy longevity, I like to put sun nut butter on them. It's like peanut butter, but made out of sunflower seeds; different flavor, same consistency, but different feeling when I eat it. Not sure what it is. Probably all psychological.

When it comes to yummy sweetness, I like blueberry or raspberry jam. I usually go for Trader Joe's organic, because it costs a bit more than smuckers but isn't as pretentious as some of the stuff they sell at whole foods or plum market.

Finally, there's nutella. Mmmm...

Before a long run or race, I'm a big fan of eating two: one with the nut spread and the other with jam. When I feel like an actual breakfast, I go with the syrup option. But when I want a treat, I'm not sure anything I can think of beats nutella. Stuff is dangerous!


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Came across an interesting realization today...

I like to ride on a bike trainer because it's safe, and it reminds me how much more fun it is to bike on the roads.
I like to bike on the roads because it's good crosstraining, and it reminds me how much I'd rather be running.
I like to run on the roads because it's fast, and because pretty soon I get to run on trails.
But I most of all love to run on the trails, especially through mud, especially in five fingers.

Because, for me, it doesn't get much closer to childish fun than that.  :)

Tempo Run!

I was a little worried about today's run.

Part of it was the possibility of freezing rain, sure. But mostly it was because I was supposed to run for nine miles, five of which at a 7:30 pace.

It really shouldn't have worried me all that much; a 7:30 is probably right around my half marathon pace, or maybe a little faster. But over the past couple of weeks I've been doing some tempo runs, and they haven't been easy. 7:40s and 7:30s have made me work fairly hard.

So I figured I'd tempt fate by wearing shorts, just because I can.

Weather here is a mite unpredictable, but today it was in the high 30s with rain. That can be awfully chilly, but if I dress to be warm when doing a tempo run, it gets really easy to get *too* warm.

So. Shorts.

And so after work, I went off to Indian Springs, and started my run. It started off fine, although my heart rate was kind of jacked. I was in the 170s almost immediately, even at a 9 min pace. I figured it would settle after a while, and it'd be fine.

The first two miles went by easily, just like they should. When I dropped into my tempo pace, my watch started yelling at me because I was well into the sixes for the first minute or three. I know it wasn't something I could maintain, but it felt fairly natural and good to be there. But I followed my coach's advice and slowed down till I was in the 7:20s.

The next five miles went by fairly easily, all thing considered. Keeping my cadence in the 90s, I tried to push off a little more powerfully, and that worked. I kept my breathing comfortable, and tried to relax my neck and shoulders.

When I got to the end, I was pretty amazed by my average pace for the five: 7:19. I really felt like I was running at a 7:30 odd pace. 11 seconds per mile might not seem like a lot, but that's 4:40 faster during a marathon, which may mean the difference between registering for Boston and not.

So, it was a good run. Gave me some confidence, which is never a bad thing to have...


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