This is my first week of marathon training, which called for an eight mile long run. I tend to be inconsistent with my long runs, since I’m not usually training for anything, so having an actual coach had been a big help. It’s just my first week, sure, but I’m feeling good.
Had to remind myself a few times – slow it down. I tend to speed up as I feel good, but going to fast can lead to running out of gas, and then there’s no long run! So had to remember – this is a long run, so make it a long run. Tempo runs and such? That’s when I run faster, but not today
Sometimes we have to stay at the office late, or experience back-to-back days of drinking too much caffeine and cramming for exams, or take 12 flights in a month (and drink a few too many glasses of wine). That’s okay, as long as we invest in our health when that period of performance is over, and restore equilibrium, setting ourselves up for the next stretch where we’ll be tested.
My tenth race of the 2019, my most ever since starting to run in 2016.
This is my second time running the Turkey Trot in Bethlehem PA today. Today was faster (28:02 vs 29:05), and with less effort (155 vs 160 bpm).
I dealt with stomach issues most of the week, which threw me off. That messed with my sleep, and I didn’t get to run much the past few days, so I didn’t run as well as I wanted – I actually stopped at one point to stretch a bit because I had some pain in my shins. But, I still showed up and had fun and told all the puppers I saw that they were doing a very good job.
Oh, and I lost ONE glove this week, too, so my hands with frozen by the end of the run. All in a great day, and I’m definitely stoked and content with the progress I’ve made at racing this year – the logistics, the timing, the pre-race fueling. So many details, but learning so much in the process.
In the world of running there’s a lot of waste. Lots of plastic water bottles, papers, “swag” that is generally garbage, styrofoam, and that’s just what the race provides.
One of the other things is waste from the food products we bring along. The gels, and “powerbar” types of foods. Single serving food items wrapped in plastic that usually just ends up in the garbage.
My buddy Jesse (one of the key people who inspired me to start running) has started making his own foods for running, and storing them in re-usable food pouches, which you can find on Amazon and probably elsewhere.
Sure, it’s a drop in the ocean as far as waste, but it’s something, and I think it’s awesome. You should try it out!
Today it was rainy and gross, but I set out for an hour drive to run the 7th Annual “Pound the Pavement Purple” 5K race. This is my third time running it, and it was my fastest time yet (26:41, around a 8:25/mi pace).
Like I said, it was rainy, and windy, and running at this “new” pace is really something. Putting the pain somewhere is the challenge. Like, I’m an adult and can make choices, right? Ouch, this hurts, I should just walk. But… nope. Kept pushing the pace, and passed another runner half mile to finish ninth (out of 70).
Mind you, it’s not all about results, and winning, and placing, until…. it is. This is new territory for me, actually being able to compete. To focus. To actually get nervous before a race. Not so much to perform, or anxiety about what’s gonna happen, but an excited sort of nervous, the kind where you’re excited to find out what’s gonna happen.
I had planned a 10 mile race after a recent 5K. Like, the day after.
The plan was to run an “easy” 5K, that is, slow. To conserve energy, save my muscles for the longer 10 mile run the next day.
But I didn’t run easy, I ran hard. Faster than I’ve ever run before.
While I thought I felt fine, my body had other plans. An upset stomach, loss of sleep, yeah, just wasn’t going to happen.
I took a lot of risks on that 5K – choosing to not take it easy, running hard in mile one, then mile two. Choosing to keep chasing the #2 runner, when I could have easily just coasted in for a 3rd place finish.
But I pushed, and took a risk, and came in 2nd, and I don’t regret a thing.
I guess that’s what risk is, though. Not knowing what might happen, and being completely present. Sort of not worrying about tomorrow, because right now is all we got.
Cliche, sure, but in this case it worked out okay.
It was a small field, just about 50 people. I had intended to “take it easy” on this run, as I have a 10 mile trail race tomorrow, but when I saw it was a smaller crowd, I figured I should put my year of training and running to some use!
I was in third place for most of the race, but in the final 50 yards or so I moved into second place. That’s the second time I’ve made a “late race move,” and it usually leaves me scared, waiting for that person to make their move and pass me! But thankfully that didn’t happen, and I finished in second place overall, with a time of 25:25, my fastest ever.
Today I ran my fastest mile, too: 7:49. When I was in high school, back in the mid 90s, I ran a seven minute mile. All these years later, to be just 49 seconds off is okay with me.
Looking back at my training, I’ve been mostly running at a slower pace, from 10-12 minute miles, for about an hour at a time. About once every two weeks I’ll do a speed run using the Nike Training App, with their treadmill runs. It’s wild to think that easy running, with the occasional half hour speed workouts, really make a difference. That, and losing 15lbs since June, of course.
After a five hour drive from the Outer Banks to Greensboro, NC, I was exhausted. Absolutely wiped out. I checked into my hotel room, put on some NFL football, and was ready to just lounge around the rest of the night.
Stress is real, and stress from five hours of driving is real. Lane changes, aggressive drivers, merging, it all adds up, and it feels nice to just relax it away.
Instead I did some online searching and found the Laurel Bluff Trail, about a 15 minute drive from my hotel. It’s a 3.1 mile trail, and it was absolutely gorgeous. As you can see from this photo, there’s an area covered in kudzu, and it was magic.
I knew how the other movie ended; hotel lounging, watch some football, watch TV too late, sleep like crap… but this other movie? I had no idea what to expect, and that’s what made it so great.
Running isn’t always racing, or group runs. A lot of the time it’s a solo effort, and today I happened to be in the Outer Banks, of North Carolina. It was overcast, rainy, and the wind was fierce coming off the ocean, but these were eight fun miles and I wish I could do it again tomorrow.
Multiple times I thought of turning back to my car, walking, calling it a day, but one foot in front of the other, two miles turned into three, and I just kept it rolling.
One of the best things about running is it lets you explore new places in ways you can’t see otherwise. Most of this run was driveable, and I drove some of it before I actually started this run, but it’s just different on two feet, with sweat stinging your eyes, and wind gusts rushing right into your face.
This run started about 3.25 miles away. My friend Jesse knew parking down at the start would be a shit show, so we started out run in the dark down the Schuylkill River trail and it was magnificent! Cool and breezy at a nice pace.
We showed up about 45 minutes before the race start, and just walked the staging area which was filled with people doing stretches and adjusting their iPhone arm bands and such.
This was the race I was sort of training for all summer. The sweaty runs, the time at the gym, this was the event I really wanted to push and see what I could do. Especially since I’ve been working on losing weight since June 1st – like, for-real trying to lose weight. I was down to about 180lbs at this race, down from 195 in June and feeling great.
The race started off and I was motoring along. I was in the E corral, which I’m finding I am way underestimating my speed these days, and end up spending a lot of energy just passing slower people in front of me. As we headed south on a skinny street, I had to get up on the sidewalk to pass people in front of me. Usually moving that fast would have winded me, but it was a cool morning in the high 60s or so, and I was feeling great.
At one point on Washington Ave, heading West, the sun was beating down, and it was starting to get rough. There were less people cheering, and all the runners were spread out, so it just felt slower. But then it headed north again, and again, on a narrow street, so it felt faster, and I found myself passing a handful of other runners.
I kept glancing at my watch, and couldn’t believe the numbers. Mile two I hit 9:08, and mile three was 8:50. What? I mean, I’ve did some of those Nike Run Club speed runs, but those are like, “run fast for 2 minutes,” but here I was running a MILE at those paces?! What? My last full mile (mile 6) was 9:01.
I wanted to get under an hour, and I did, hitting an official time of 56:27 (official results, Strava), which is a 9:05 pace. I still can’t believe how well it went.
