Well over thanksgiving I ran a 9 mile run with my brother Adam. My brother and I laughed from the time we got out of my car until we were driving home.
-First, My apologies on not writing in a while. I had another workout after my last post and then went hunting, lol. So i have been away
The race was incredible from start to finish. Literally the last 1.5 miles of the race was filled with hundreds of people. At some points especially at the end of the race both sides of the road had people 6-10 deep cheering the runners on.
My brother did an awesome job. You know for not thinking he is much of a runner he runs pretty well. We both ran negative splits which was a first for me and Adam as well. I finished the race at 71:55 and Adam finished around 70:30 ish.
I don't want to ruin the suprises the race hold for those who potentially want to run it but between running against a ton of Canadians and the suprise from mile 2-3.25 you won't be disappointed in running this race, i promise. My brother and i have already talked about hammering out this race again next year. Great job Adam, keep running.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Treadmill workout
ehhhhh. I have love hate relationship with treadmills. Today i think i loved hating it, lol. After class today i hit up the gym for a treadmill workout. My workout today was 7 miles in roughly 54:45 seconds. Nothing blazing fast but fast enough that I felt like I got a workout. I realized my brain gives up so fast at the monotony of a treadmill. I was on for a few minutes and i convinced myself that i was so tired i had to stop. I didn't stop. If your like me i will do a complete body check every few minutes. My feet. My lungs. My legs. My mind. My shorts or i should say are they rubbing. Pretty much i get crazy with my thoughts when i run. I guess i get a little silly with crap like that. I fluctuated between a 1-3% grade on the treadmill to try and make it at least a little more realistic. All in all it was a great run.
Today i looked at several more 100 mile races trying to narrow 1 down. The thing is want to make sure i balance myself out to were i have enough time from the 50 mile race in march to the 100. I would love to get two 100 mile races in this year but that may be pushing it. The biggest thing i am focusing on right now is running at least 3 marathons and maybe 5 ultras this year. Kind of a lofty, I know, but certainly attainable. Happy running.
Today i looked at several more 100 mile races trying to narrow 1 down. The thing is want to make sure i balance myself out to were i have enough time from the 50 mile race in march to the 100. I would love to get two 100 mile races in this year but that may be pushing it. The biggest thing i am focusing on right now is running at least 3 marathons and maybe 5 ultras this year. Kind of a lofty, I know, but certainly attainable. Happy running.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Trail running in the snow
Beautiful! Took my 7yr son and his best friend for a snowy trail run today. Man those little dudes did awesome. Nate and I were waiting on his friend so to stay warm we decided to do some hill work. I got about 1.5 miles while carrying Nate on my back, lol.
When his friend came we warmed up with a slow downhill jog for about a mile then stretched and hit the trail. Its awesome at one point in the run you have the option to hit this trail with a 50% grade that lasts for about 3/4 of a mile. I asked the boys if they wanted to try and do and they both said OH YEAH! So off and up we went. They took off up the hill for about 10 feet and realized this isn't a typical hill, lol. Its actually a technical trail for even a seasoned trail runner so they began to walk. About 1/4 of a mile up i turned around to see them huffing and puffin but not giving up. So naturally i had to egg them on a little and i said, "Boys you know this is what rocky was doing to get ready to fight the Russian?" They both started hooten' and hollering. When we finally reached the top they were both pumped but covered in snow. We finished up with some pretty flat trails to the end. This is what running is all about. Going out with out a care in the world and running for the love of it. And its even more awesome when you get to share it with someone special.
At times running can feel like a chore and i dread this. Othertimes my running builds memories. Memories of sights, sounds, smells, feelings, and emotions. There has never been a time that i regretted going for a run but there have been countless times i regretted not taking the opportunity to run. If you have a moment take the opportunity to run and take someone special with you to make it more memorable.
"Run the race as if to win the prize...."
When his friend came we warmed up with a slow downhill jog for about a mile then stretched and hit the trail. Its awesome at one point in the run you have the option to hit this trail with a 50% grade that lasts for about 3/4 of a mile. I asked the boys if they wanted to try and do and they both said OH YEAH! So off and up we went. They took off up the hill for about 10 feet and realized this isn't a typical hill, lol. Its actually a technical trail for even a seasoned trail runner so they began to walk. About 1/4 of a mile up i turned around to see them huffing and puffin but not giving up. So naturally i had to egg them on a little and i said, "Boys you know this is what rocky was doing to get ready to fight the Russian?" They both started hooten' and hollering. When we finally reached the top they were both pumped but covered in snow. We finished up with some pretty flat trails to the end. This is what running is all about. Going out with out a care in the world and running for the love of it. And its even more awesome when you get to share it with someone special.
At times running can feel like a chore and i dread this. Othertimes my running builds memories. Memories of sights, sounds, smells, feelings, and emotions. There has never been a time that i regretted going for a run but there have been countless times i regretted not taking the opportunity to run. If you have a moment take the opportunity to run and take someone special with you to make it more memorable.
"Run the race as if to win the prize...."
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Trail runs
Still trail running is my favorite. On Friday i went out on a small trail run looking like a neon light in the woods. I was geared up with bright colored clothes and a blaze orange vest for protection. I saw about 6 other runners and all of them were in dark green, white, or black.
I ran for about 45 minutes and felt great. I wore my La Sportiva crosslites and they were awesome. I was running up and down hills faster than usually on wet leaves and wet rocks without slipping. This is the most impressed i have been with the shoes since i bought them a few months back. I am going to hit a few more long runs (over 1.5hrs each) on the trails using these shoes just to see how far i can push them. I figure this will be good training for an upcoming 9 mile run that i will have. Guess we will see, lol.
"Fatigue makes cowards of us all.."
I ran for about 45 minutes and felt great. I wore my La Sportiva crosslites and they were awesome. I was running up and down hills faster than usually on wet leaves and wet rocks without slipping. This is the most impressed i have been with the shoes since i bought them a few months back. I am going to hit a few more long runs (over 1.5hrs each) on the trails using these shoes just to see how far i can push them. I figure this will be good training for an upcoming 9 mile run that i will have. Guess we will see, lol.
"Fatigue makes cowards of us all.."
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Screw apathy
I was fighting with myself over running. I wasn't sure how far, how much, or when. So I headed over to my school strapped on my shoes and just ran. There is an indoor track at Fairmont State University and it is nice to get out on that every now and again. It went well.
0-1.5miles - 12 minutes
1.5-2.5 - 7:35 minutes
2.5 - 3.5 - 7:00 minutes
3.5 - 4 - walk
push ups
pull ups
v-ups
40 minutes total. I would have went longer but i had to pick up my kids. I think it was great though. Any longer and i may have gotten annoyed. Ah well. I will post more later.
The difference between 1st and 2nd place is only one step...
0-1.5miles - 12 minutes
1.5-2.5 - 7:35 minutes
2.5 - 3.5 - 7:00 minutes
3.5 - 4 - walk
push ups
pull ups
v-ups
40 minutes total. I would have went longer but i had to pick up my kids. I think it was great though. Any longer and i may have gotten annoyed. Ah well. I will post more later.
The difference between 1st and 2nd place is only one step...
The apathy bug
Well it has been 10 days since my last run. 10 days!! I am seriously not in the mood to run lately and I am having a hard time even finding motivation at this point, lol. I guess everyone has these issues but when i get them i often struggle with depression as well. Oh well, i am just being a baby. I need to man up.
I have been doing some plyometrics but i do need to hit some running speed work. I am just in a small rut and all its going to take is one trigger to get me fired up. Hope you all have a good day i will write again soon.
I have been doing some plyometrics but i do need to hit some running speed work. I am just in a small rut and all its going to take is one trigger to get me fired up. Hope you all have a good day i will write again soon.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Marshall University Marathon review
I had a great time at this marathon. It was my first marathon and naturally i made a few mistakes, but all in all it was a great run. The morning started off cooooold. Warmer than usual but it was still cold. The race was scheduled to kick off at 7:30am and at 7:25 i was in desperate need of a bathroom. I looked everywhere but the lines were all 20 deep. I headed back to the starting line and got myself ready.
Miles 1-5
I had to pee real bad and to make matters worse now my stomach was turning. I was in the middle of huntington and i didn't think people including the racers would take to kindly to me using some bushes. I don't know something about seeing a shiny white butt on a cold morning would make me a little queezy so i didn't want to subject anyone to that, lol. I felt good and the volunteers kept the atmosphere buzzing. I noticed my hands where very swollen at the start of the race and i just figured it was the weather.
Miles 5-11
I was still cruising along acting like i "owned" this course but my bowels were convincing me otherwise. At mile 11 i found a little bridge next to some trees pee'd for what seemed like 28 minutes. At around mile 12 i was releived to see a port o jon. I picked up my pace and ran in there only to discover.........sweet Lord......No TP!!!!!!! Feeling defeated i just kept running.
Miles 11-17
My stomach was gurgling so bad that i was having shooting pains in my stomach that seemed to trigger painful shocks to my legs. At mile 17.......yes another jon.....and it had TP! After a few minutes i was ready to tackle this marathon. I ran out of the port o jon and realized my legs weren't working the way they were before i sat down, lol. My feet were on fire and i hadn't talked to anyone since 7am. I was getting bored very bored and i was starting to focus more on pain then on my run.
Miles 17-21
WALL what wall. I think everyone makes up this crap to keep the common folk away from this sport.
Mile 21.5
Oh that wall!!!!! My legs stoped working and i can't figure out why. I changed my running style because the blisters on my feet where burning like crazy and because of this now my hips screaming at me. To top it off looked down only to see two blood soaked streaks on my shirt exactly where my nipples are. Man this marathon is "violating" me. Holy crap the wall.
Miles 21.5-26.2
Keep going. Quit being a baby and keep running. I couldn't help but remember that there are people who have run 25 miles of a marathon only to have there bodies shut down at the last mile. I read an article in "Mens Health" about Marathons and the damage they do to people internally. As you can read my mind was playing all sorts of crazy tricks on me and i just kept feeding into it.
The last 200yds was on the Marshall football field which was nice soft of my feet. FINISHED 4hrs 16 minutes.
All in all it was a beautiful run with very scenic spots. It was probably a perfect pick for a first marathon and one i would highly recommend to others in the future. Very smoothly run and very well organized. I didn't accomplish my goal of doing it in under 4hrs but i did complete it and that was my other goal. Happy running.
Miles 1-5
I had to pee real bad and to make matters worse now my stomach was turning. I was in the middle of huntington and i didn't think people including the racers would take to kindly to me using some bushes. I don't know something about seeing a shiny white butt on a cold morning would make me a little queezy so i didn't want to subject anyone to that, lol. I felt good and the volunteers kept the atmosphere buzzing. I noticed my hands where very swollen at the start of the race and i just figured it was the weather.
Miles 5-11
I was still cruising along acting like i "owned" this course but my bowels were convincing me otherwise. At mile 11 i found a little bridge next to some trees pee'd for what seemed like 28 minutes. At around mile 12 i was releived to see a port o jon. I picked up my pace and ran in there only to discover.........sweet Lord......No TP!!!!!!! Feeling defeated i just kept running.
Miles 11-17
My stomach was gurgling so bad that i was having shooting pains in my stomach that seemed to trigger painful shocks to my legs. At mile 17.......yes another jon.....and it had TP! After a few minutes i was ready to tackle this marathon. I ran out of the port o jon and realized my legs weren't working the way they were before i sat down, lol. My feet were on fire and i hadn't talked to anyone since 7am. I was getting bored very bored and i was starting to focus more on pain then on my run.
Miles 17-21
WALL what wall. I think everyone makes up this crap to keep the common folk away from this sport.
Mile 21.5
Oh that wall!!!!! My legs stoped working and i can't figure out why. I changed my running style because the blisters on my feet where burning like crazy and because of this now my hips screaming at me. To top it off looked down only to see two blood soaked streaks on my shirt exactly where my nipples are. Man this marathon is "violating" me. Holy crap the wall.
Miles 21.5-26.2
Keep going. Quit being a baby and keep running. I couldn't help but remember that there are people who have run 25 miles of a marathon only to have there bodies shut down at the last mile. I read an article in "Mens Health" about Marathons and the damage they do to people internally. As you can read my mind was playing all sorts of crazy tricks on me and i just kept feeding into it.
The last 200yds was on the Marshall football field which was nice soft of my feet. FINISHED 4hrs 16 minutes.
All in all it was a beautiful run with very scenic spots. It was probably a perfect pick for a first marathon and one i would highly recommend to others in the future. Very smoothly run and very well organized. I didn't accomplish my goal of doing it in under 4hrs but i did complete it and that was my other goal. Happy running.
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