So, we woke up Saturday to rain, Mom called about 5:30am to advise that she thought it was suppose to pour all morning and she was not going, we agreed and decided to make up our miles later in the weekend. We slept for another hour or so and guess what...it stopped raining.
I really felt bad about missing the Fleet Feet run, so I told Karen I was running, but would do some configuration of our runs that we normally do near the house. After I got ready, I noticed Mom had called...I called her back and she wanted to see if we were running, she decided it was also in her best interest to get the miles out of the way and she came over...
We did a modified version of our normal 2.5 mile out and back and ran 3 out and back twice. The first 7 or 8 miles went really well...around mile 8, I realized that I was running out of water. At that point I was not totally concerned, but at about mile 9, I hit the wall. I have read about "the Wall" and was very thankful that I had not hit it yet, but I guess I knew it was going to be there and eventually it would happen. So, at about mile 9, my body decided that it did not want to run anymore. There was nothing my mind could do to push it forward. I ran out of water and began to panic...so I walked a mile...I tried to start back up my intervals, but a mile from the house, I decided just to walk. I was pretty upset when I got home, I broke 10 miles for the first time, I was expecting this exhilarating feeling like I have had with my other long runs, but I just felt lucky to finish.
Here are things that I learned from yesterdays run:
1. I need to eat a better breakfast on the long run mornings. I realize that my body was running on fumes...
2. I need to manage my water better.
3. I need to manage my early miles better. Mom noticed that our pace was pretty quick at the beginning...I have to know that I can work a negative split and run slower at the beginning.
I have to remind myself that we really just started 4 months ago, the thought that we are already running a half marathon is pretty good. I am going to learn from mistakes to make myself a better runner...
This week is a well needed recovery week which will consist of a couple of 3-4 milers and a 5.8 miler at Percy Warner...
We will see what the week brings...
Joe
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Tuesday Night
Well, Claire's piano lesson got cancelled, which was a bummer, but there is always next week. I was going through my pictures this evening and figured I would post a few. I think you really do not need a reason to post pictures of the kids and pets...
Claire - after the bubblegum blowing contest...
Bella - after the bubblegum blowing contest...
Gizmo and Claire...
Tigger...
Claire - after the bubblegum blowing contest...
Bella - after the bubblegum blowing contest...
Gizmo and Claire...
Tigger...
Monday, March 23, 2009
Blog-Worthy Run tonight
So, due to more scheduling conflicts...darn kids (this time it is Claire, I am going to go watch her piano lesson tomorrow night)...I did my first run of the week tonight. Karen and I ran our normal 5 miler, from the house through a few neighborhoods and back. It would be the first time running with my new fuel belt...I finally found one I wanted, one that would carry water and have a pocket for my camera and gels. I got home early enough to stretch properly, waited until Karen got home, and then we were off.
I was nervous about the bag, but it fits on me perfectly and did not bother me at all. The only thing that does bother me are those darn ipod headphones. I sweat a bit while running and the buds slip out of my ears...so, I am constantly fiddling with them and my glasses...All in all, it was a pretty strong run for me. I had control of my breathing, so aerobically, I felt good...the last hill kind of sucked though, but the others didn't which was good.
The best part is that the running is done for the evening, so we are free to watch Dancing with the Stars and "24" tonight and not have to stay up all night AND there will be no issues for American Idol tomorrow night. VOTE FOR ANOOP, by the way, that guy is a bad ass.
In closing, since I started running, I never really realized the web presence the running community has. There are tons of blogs and podcasts out there and I have really enjoyed reading/listening to them...aside from just listing them on my links to the right, I wanted to call out these 2 podcasts, I look forward to hearing them every week...
I have mentioned Gordon's blog before, but seriously check it out...be sure to listen to his podcasts too, they are awesome. I like his stuff because he seems like a normal guy, someone I can relate to. He blogs about his running accomplishments as well as what is going on with the family...good guy.
Then there is the Trilogy Running guys...if my brother and I did a podcast, it would most likely be like this. Of course, ours would probably be a little more "blue" and probably not as good...
Enjoy...
Joe
I was nervous about the bag, but it fits on me perfectly and did not bother me at all. The only thing that does bother me are those darn ipod headphones. I sweat a bit while running and the buds slip out of my ears...so, I am constantly fiddling with them and my glasses...All in all, it was a pretty strong run for me. I had control of my breathing, so aerobically, I felt good...the last hill kind of sucked though, but the others didn't which was good.
The best part is that the running is done for the evening, so we are free to watch Dancing with the Stars and "24" tonight and not have to stay up all night AND there will be no issues for American Idol tomorrow night. VOTE FOR ANOOP, by the way, that guy is a bad ass.
In closing, since I started running, I never really realized the web presence the running community has. There are tons of blogs and podcasts out there and I have really enjoyed reading/listening to them...aside from just listing them on my links to the right, I wanted to call out these 2 podcasts, I look forward to hearing them every week...
I have mentioned Gordon's blog before, but seriously check it out...be sure to listen to his podcasts too, they are awesome. I like his stuff because he seems like a normal guy, someone I can relate to. He blogs about his running accomplishments as well as what is going on with the family...good guy.
Then there is the Trilogy Running guys...if my brother and I did a podcast, it would most likely be like this. Of course, ours would probably be a little more "blue" and probably not as good...
Enjoy...
Joe
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Long Time, No Run...
...or at least it felt like it. I ran my normal 3 Tuesday, but due to some scheduling conflicts (Bella's 1st Grade Music Program) and my inability to get up early enough to run before work, I was unable to get another 3 in.
Saturday was special because it was the first weekend in a bit that all 3 of us were able to participate. Karen was largely over her cold, so she went back with her 6:1 group and Mom's leg was doing well, but not well enough to trot with my 2:2 group, so she went with the walkers.
Yesterday morning's run was at the Concord Y, we know the route really well, this is our 3rd run out there. Since we did the long run last week (9.8), we had a recovery run of 6 miles ahead of us. The weather was a bit cold at the beginning, but it turned out to be a very decent, uneventful run. I felt good about my breathing, I finished strong, I honestly could have kept on going after the end...So, really nothing to report. As we always do, we went to Mom's for a quick dip in the hot tub, before we went about our day.
5 weeks from the race and I feel pretty confident. Since, I feel like I am in my zone for the long mileage, I don't feel it necessary to push myself into another interval group right now. After the CM 1/2, the next major race for us will be the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta...since this is just a 10k, I will be pushing myself for that one. My goal is to be in the 4->6:1 range for that race, which I think will give me a good base for fall training for Disney.
There will be some long miles this week, no room for missing any. Plan is for 5 tomorrow, 6 Thursday, and then our long 10-12 run on Saturday. We will reach another milestone this weekend...after Saturday, we will have run 50 miles this month which I think is a very big accomplishment for us.
Thanks,
Joe
Saturday was special because it was the first weekend in a bit that all 3 of us were able to participate. Karen was largely over her cold, so she went back with her 6:1 group and Mom's leg was doing well, but not well enough to trot with my 2:2 group, so she went with the walkers.
Yesterday morning's run was at the Concord Y, we know the route really well, this is our 3rd run out there. Since we did the long run last week (9.8), we had a recovery run of 6 miles ahead of us. The weather was a bit cold at the beginning, but it turned out to be a very decent, uneventful run. I felt good about my breathing, I finished strong, I honestly could have kept on going after the end...So, really nothing to report. As we always do, we went to Mom's for a quick dip in the hot tub, before we went about our day.
5 weeks from the race and I feel pretty confident. Since, I feel like I am in my zone for the long mileage, I don't feel it necessary to push myself into another interval group right now. After the CM 1/2, the next major race for us will be the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta...since this is just a 10k, I will be pushing myself for that one. My goal is to be in the 4->6:1 range for that race, which I think will give me a good base for fall training for Disney.
There will be some long miles this week, no room for missing any. Plan is for 5 tomorrow, 6 Thursday, and then our long 10-12 run on Saturday. We will reach another milestone this weekend...after Saturday, we will have run 50 miles this month which I think is a very big accomplishment for us.
Thanks,
Joe
Saturday, March 14, 2009
9.83
So, the alarm went off at 5:45am this morning, as I turned over, I could still hear the rain coming down outside. As of last night, I had still not come to a decision on whether I was going to run in Nashville. Karen has been sick all week and running outside in the rain would not be in her best interest and Mom has been nursing some more leg woes...so it would just be me, if I went. Anyhow, the alarm went off, I turned it off and got back in bed. I layed there for about 10 minutes and said forget this crap, I am going. I jumped out of bed, put my gear on, and left the house a little after 6.
I got to the church next to Granny White Market and it was still drizzling...so be it, we ran in the rain before. Today, we ran a route that started at the Market and then went to Belle Meade BLVD...up and down the blvd from Percy Warner to some stoplight and then back to the church. It was cold, rainy, but really not terrible. We were supposed to run 9-10 miles...there were 3 water stops which REALLY helped. By the time we were done, most people were soaked...most of the run back, we had the rain in our face...BUT the half marathoners ran 9.83 miles...the most we have done. I am still kind of itching to break 10...I guess that will happen in 2 weeks...when we are supposed to run 10-12. After 2 soaks in Mom's hot tub, I feel fine, believe it or not. We will see what tomorrow brings, but that is tomorrow, not going to worry about that.
I do not normally talk much when we are out running...not for lack of things to say or I am gasping for air or anything like that, but I do kind of want to conserve my energy and such. I do think about silly stuff though. Actually, since I was pretty much by myself today, I had an ongoing conversation with myself from about mile 7 - until the end about how stupid I was for running in the rain...then I berated myself for being fat for awhile...that passed the time and miles. For some reason, I started thinking about the Halo 3 "Believe" marketing campaign. Before the release of Halo 3 they released these commercials where they "interviewed" old soldiers that fought alongside Master Chief and also had a really cool ad depicting one of the wars through a diorama. Stuff was really cool...This guy's site I linked to above has all the videos on there...very cool stuff. Totally off topic, but there you go...
Believe.
J
I got to the church next to Granny White Market and it was still drizzling...so be it, we ran in the rain before. Today, we ran a route that started at the Market and then went to Belle Meade BLVD...up and down the blvd from Percy Warner to some stoplight and then back to the church. It was cold, rainy, but really not terrible. We were supposed to run 9-10 miles...there were 3 water stops which REALLY helped. By the time we were done, most people were soaked...most of the run back, we had the rain in our face...BUT the half marathoners ran 9.83 miles...the most we have done. I am still kind of itching to break 10...I guess that will happen in 2 weeks...when we are supposed to run 10-12. After 2 soaks in Mom's hot tub, I feel fine, believe it or not. We will see what tomorrow brings, but that is tomorrow, not going to worry about that.
I do not normally talk much when we are out running...not for lack of things to say or I am gasping for air or anything like that, but I do kind of want to conserve my energy and such. I do think about silly stuff though. Actually, since I was pretty much by myself today, I had an ongoing conversation with myself from about mile 7 - until the end about how stupid I was for running in the rain...then I berated myself for being fat for awhile...that passed the time and miles. For some reason, I started thinking about the Halo 3 "Believe" marketing campaign. Before the release of Halo 3 they released these commercials where they "interviewed" old soldiers that fought alongside Master Chief and also had a really cool ad depicting one of the wars through a diorama. Stuff was really cool...This guy's site I linked to above has all the videos on there...very cool stuff. Totally off topic, but there you go...
Believe.
J
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Quick Post about last night...
I left work yesterday to 78 degree weather, even though it was an off night, it would have been silly to not run yesterday. I got home and Karen was ready for me to cook dinner, so I went ahead and grilled some steaks and we ate an early dinner. One of our neighbors graciously offered to watch Bella for a bit while we put in a quick 5 miles.
We stretched, tried to let our food digest the best we could, then took off. Karen tracked us a different route that had some hills, but also had some flat points where we could recover. It was pretty much my out and back to Buckner, but a little further and a detour into another part of the neighborhood that had a couple of extra hills. All in all, I think I did OK, I was a bit nervous because I generally do not run RIGHT after I eat...I felt a bit heavy at mile 2, but picked things up by 3, and we finished pretty strong. I also need to make sure I tie my shoes correctly, one of my shoes was fairly loose during the first mile or so and I decided to ignore it for a while which did nto give my ankle the support it needed, so it started to ache a bit after a while. Once I fixed my shoe, all was well again.
Joe and Karen: 5 miles 1:05:19 13:04 pace
So, I am still running slow...I lost about a minute a mile which I know I can get back, but I am trying to not get frustrated over it. My ankle is still healing, and I am doing my best. I was going to go back to my old interval this weekend for our 9-10 miler, but I think Mom's plan may be best. Go 3:1 during the week on my short runs (we did 3:1 last night) and this weekend being a long run, stay with 2:2 and next week during recovery, go ahead and run 3:1's all week...to ease back into it. My goal still is to be running 4:1 for the 1/2...we will see...
Thanks,
Joe
We stretched, tried to let our food digest the best we could, then took off. Karen tracked us a different route that had some hills, but also had some flat points where we could recover. It was pretty much my out and back to Buckner, but a little further and a detour into another part of the neighborhood that had a couple of extra hills. All in all, I think I did OK, I was a bit nervous because I generally do not run RIGHT after I eat...I felt a bit heavy at mile 2, but picked things up by 3, and we finished pretty strong. I also need to make sure I tie my shoes correctly, one of my shoes was fairly loose during the first mile or so and I decided to ignore it for a while which did nto give my ankle the support it needed, so it started to ache a bit after a while. Once I fixed my shoe, all was well again.
Joe and Karen: 5 miles 1:05:19 13:04 pace
So, I am still running slow...I lost about a minute a mile which I know I can get back, but I am trying to not get frustrated over it. My ankle is still healing, and I am doing my best. I was going to go back to my old interval this weekend for our 9-10 miler, but I think Mom's plan may be best. Go 3:1 during the week on my short runs (we did 3:1 last night) and this weekend being a long run, stay with 2:2 and next week during recovery, go ahead and run 3:1's all week...to ease back into it. My goal still is to be running 4:1 for the 1/2...we will see...
Thanks,
Joe
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Saturday at Radnor Lake
This morning we were doing a recovery run after last week's 9.5 miler. At this point, 5.5 miles sounds easy, but the hills at Radnor Lake were brutal. The first 2.75 were not terrible, in fact during the last downhill, I believe we skipped at last 2 intervals and ran for 10 minutes straight. Of course, coming back was horrible. I very rarely have those moments now where I think to myself, this is bullcrap, what am I doing here, but for about 3/4 of a mile going up hill...I thought about that. Needless to say, we finished and finished pretty strong.
Mom and Joe - 5.5 miles 73 minutes - 13:12 pace
Karen finished a bit ahead of us, I do not have her time.
Check out Mom's blog. She has a bunch of pictures from today. Even with the hills, it was a really pretty run...
Mom and Joe - 5.5 miles 73 minutes - 13:12 pace
Karen finished a bit ahead of us, I do not have her time.
Check out Mom's blog. She has a bunch of pictures from today. Even with the hills, it was a really pretty run...
On our way to Radnor
The alarm seemed early today, but unfortunately it was right. After the run, we will be hitting up the hot tub and then Karen will be running off to a bridal shower...
Friday, March 6, 2009
Friday Night is Pizza Night
Well, tonight it was. Karen and the kids met me at the Pie in the Sky in Cool Springs. Pie in the Sky is a little more expensive than other pizza joints, but it is very dependable as far as how good the food is. While we sat there, there was a guy in the next booth that seemed really familiar to me. Turns out it was Brent Keith, who was a top 36 contestant on American Idol...you see Ryan, we have "star" sightings here too. Of course, this didn't top when we sat across from Naomi Judd at the Omikoshi last month.
The last part of this week has been kind of slow as far as the training goes. I have been purposely slowing down in preparation for our hill work this weekend. Mom and I did a short mile Thursday night...her leg has been bothering her...we also wanted to experiment with her blackberry as far as tweeting from the course and taking pictures and posting them to twitpic. Tomorrow morning, Mom will be coming over around 6:00 and we will be meeting the Fleet Feet folks over at Radnor Lake to do our 5.5 recovery run. After tomorrow, we will only have 6 more workouts until the 1/2. I will post again tomorrow to let you know how it works out.
The last part of this week has been kind of slow as far as the training goes. I have been purposely slowing down in preparation for our hill work this weekend. Mom and I did a short mile Thursday night...her leg has been bothering her...we also wanted to experiment with her blackberry as far as tweeting from the course and taking pictures and posting them to twitpic. Tomorrow morning, Mom will be coming over around 6:00 and we will be meeting the Fleet Feet folks over at Radnor Lake to do our 5.5 recovery run. After tomorrow, we will only have 6 more workouts until the 1/2. I will post again tomorrow to let you know how it works out.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Made it through Tuesday Night
This afternoon, the panic set in. It is Tuesday, Tuesday workouts and me just don't mix lately...thankfully, Mom called during lunch to let me know she was coming with. That made me feel much better about the run...having a partner makes it a lot easier. We are still taking it slow at 2:2 to be sure we do not mess up our injuries, and things went really well. To see how it would go, I decided that I would wear Karen's "fuel belt" and carry a camera as well so I can document each run.
Here are Mom and I prior to our run...we were having some issues taking my picture, I was actually glad to be running...the picture does not really show it...
Tonight's run was out to Buckner Road and back...roughly 4 miles...all through neighborhoods, we ran mostly on the sidewalk due to traffic, but ran on the road for a few as well. We made it through the first hill and out of our neighborhood fairly easily...we had not quite gone a mile when we ran into Claire and her Mom....
As you can see, she was really happy to see us. You can see Claire and her little sister Libby...they were off to take Claire to piano lessons. After Claire we went about a quarter mile, then I saw this nice little creek...
Next up, what I like to call Asshole hill. The best thing about Asshole hill is that we go up it once and the downhill on the way back is awesome.
Finally, here is the turnaround...the stop sign...
Anyway, things went well tonight. Once again, no pain, I think that I have been stretching much better, my exercising has been paying off, and regular icing of the ankles doesn't hurt either.
Mom and Joe 4 miles 52:46 13:20 pace...
Karen: 5.6 mile 70:00 12:30 minute pace...
I really liked carrying the camera. I will definitely do this from time to time especially at the Fleet Feet runs...this weekend's Radnor Lake run should provide us with some good picture opportunities...
J
Here are Mom and I prior to our run...we were having some issues taking my picture, I was actually glad to be running...the picture does not really show it...
Tonight's run was out to Buckner Road and back...roughly 4 miles...all through neighborhoods, we ran mostly on the sidewalk due to traffic, but ran on the road for a few as well. We made it through the first hill and out of our neighborhood fairly easily...we had not quite gone a mile when we ran into Claire and her Mom....
As you can see, she was really happy to see us. You can see Claire and her little sister Libby...they were off to take Claire to piano lessons. After Claire we went about a quarter mile, then I saw this nice little creek...
Next up, what I like to call Asshole hill. The best thing about Asshole hill is that we go up it once and the downhill on the way back is awesome.
Finally, here is the turnaround...the stop sign...
Anyway, things went well tonight. Once again, no pain, I think that I have been stretching much better, my exercising has been paying off, and regular icing of the ankles doesn't hurt either.
Mom and Joe 4 miles 52:46 13:20 pace...
Karen: 5.6 mile 70:00 12:30 minute pace...
I really liked carrying the camera. I will definitely do this from time to time especially at the Fleet Feet runs...this weekend's Radnor Lake run should provide us with some good picture opportunities...
J
Monday, March 2, 2009
This just in...
13 days until registration starts for the Peachtree Road Race...and it looks like they are offering online registration too!
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/peachtree/peachtree-road-race.html
Looks like we will be spending July 4th in Atlanta...
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/peachtree/peachtree-road-race.html
Looks like we will be spending July 4th in Atlanta...
Monday Night
Was going to go ride the bike tonight at the rec center, but when I stopped by the house to pick up my ipod, Karen was in a bit of a mood over the amount of cleaning she had to do before her friends came over to see the Bachelor, so I opted to stay home and help clean.
After I finished my chores, I was able to squeeze in a few minutes of Star Wars Lego before I had to begin my babysitting duty. I have been playing that game quite a bit over the last week, I am closing in on completing the game to 100% which I have not done with any of the Lego series games...not that anyone cares, but I figured I would talk about something else for a moment.
Anyhow, I still feel great about the run on Saturday. No pain was felt, just normal sore muscles after a long run. It is probably best that I skipped tonight anyway. Tomorrow, I am going to do my normal 3.9 out and back out to Buckner Road. I am pretty excited to be running in the neighborhood again, it feels like forever. So for this week, I will not do any real cross-training...3.9 tonight, 3.9 Thursday, then we are doing 5.5 out at Radnor Lake on Saturday. Still plan to take it easy at the slower interval just to be sure. I want to make it through the rest of the training without injury. My goals for the 1/2 are well in reach...I do not want to mess it up.
If you have not been keeping up, check out Mom's Blog...she has been doing great keeping up with it. Mom ran quite a bit while we lived in Atlanta...I am embarrassed to say more than I knew. I had a chance to look at all of her bibs from over the years with her times listed on them, including a sub 2 hour 1/2 marathon time, which is totally impressive...mind you, my goal is to have a sub 3...
After I finished my chores, I was able to squeeze in a few minutes of Star Wars Lego before I had to begin my babysitting duty. I have been playing that game quite a bit over the last week, I am closing in on completing the game to 100% which I have not done with any of the Lego series games...not that anyone cares, but I figured I would talk about something else for a moment.
Anyhow, I still feel great about the run on Saturday. No pain was felt, just normal sore muscles after a long run. It is probably best that I skipped tonight anyway. Tomorrow, I am going to do my normal 3.9 out and back out to Buckner Road. I am pretty excited to be running in the neighborhood again, it feels like forever. So for this week, I will not do any real cross-training...3.9 tonight, 3.9 Thursday, then we are doing 5.5 out at Radnor Lake on Saturday. Still plan to take it easy at the slower interval just to be sure. I want to make it through the rest of the training without injury. My goals for the 1/2 are well in reach...I do not want to mess it up.
If you have not been keeping up, check out Mom's Blog...she has been doing great keeping up with it. Mom ran quite a bit while we lived in Atlanta...I am embarrassed to say more than I knew. I had a chance to look at all of her bibs from over the years with her times listed on them, including a sub 2 hour 1/2 marathon time, which is totally impressive...mind you, my goal is to have a sub 3...
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Pictures from Yesterday and today
So, here are some pictures from the run yesterday...here is Karen and I about to get rolling...you can see how nasty it was behind us...
Gordon, master pancake maker, after doing us a major solid and not only making us breakfast, but having it READY when we got there. Thank you Gordon.
So, last night, at some point it started snowing and also the flat tire fairy visited me. That guy is a serious asshole.
At some point, hopefully the sun will come out and burn some of the ice off the driveway, so I can get the donut on and drop it off at Sears in the morning.
Gordon, master pancake maker, after doing us a major solid and not only making us breakfast, but having it READY when we got there. Thank you Gordon.
So, last night, at some point it started snowing and also the flat tire fairy visited me. That guy is a serious asshole.
At some point, hopefully the sun will come out and burn some of the ice off the driveway, so I can get the donut on and drop it off at Sears in the morning.
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