Bummer

My grandfather went to be with the Lord last week and we attended his funeral this weekend. Obviously, running took a backseat to life.

He was always there for us. He passed away last week and we attended his services and the reunion picnic celebrating his life this weekend. Who else would teach me how to repair the rust holes on my '84 Dodge Daytona with duct tape and primer and have it actually work and look good? We will miss him greatly. Prayers for my family, especially for my grandmother are welcomed and appreciated!

I did run this weekend, though not the Crim 10 Mile race I had planned. I ran Friday morning at about what I figured my 10 mile race pace would have been. I did 5 miles. I would have rocked at my race and beat my goals. I have very little doubt about that.


On Sunday, I just wanted to do something to get out and run. I ran the only race I could find in the area. It was the Foxwood 4 Mile, put on my Frank Johnson of ASF Running (http://www.asfrunning.com). It was a loop around a neighborhood then a nice bike trail out and back. I did the race and, considering that I was mentally and somewhat physically tired before the race, I did ok with a time of 34:25. I figured if I was under 35, I would be satisfied. It was an age-graded race, meaning that some people started earlier and others later based on age. I finished 8th overall and got a nice little "Top 20 Finisher" trophy for my efforts.



I met some nice people and overall the race just made me feel good and normal after the events of the past week. They will be putting on a marathon / half marathon in April 2012 that I might consider doing (the half that is).

Cautious run

Ran a "5k" on part of my "hilly route" this afternoon. I didn't go 5k race pace, but I wanted to go a bit faster than I had been as of late. For a training run, this was an OK one. I was very cautious in that once I experienced the slightest bit of discomfort or a little pain, I seemed to back off. If I was racing, I hope I would have just powered through it. Maybe I should have done that anyway....

Even though the Crim 10 Mile is the lead-in to my Brooksie Way Half Marathon in October, I still want to do well and really want to feel good and healthy going into it. Ideally, I would do a mid-tempo morning run on Wednesday and a very light run on Thursday this week. Hopefully, I will do it and not just talk or type about it. :)

I think I have been too cautious overall in my running this year and maybe I'm not as "good" as I should be, but the main thing is that I am still at it and have no plans to stop. I wouldn't say I'm in great shape, but I probably haven't been in better shape in the past few years.

Love to my grandparents who are both dealing with health issues.

Gettin' ready for the Crim!

Gettin' ready for the Crim 10 mile next week! I'm excited as it is my first road race in over two months (the Warrior Dash was fun but not the same) and my first race over 3.1 miles. I wish it would have been today, but, alas, I must wait another week.

Did a 7 mile run today in a different direction than normal. I liked the loop I ran, though I did have a long stretch of sidewalk running. I don't like to run on concrete as I think it has less give than asphalt and wears legs out faster. I've heard other runners say the same, but I'm not sure if it really matters or if is just a mental thing. At least it was a fairly new and level sidewalk...

I ran ok. About a half mile into my run, I noticed that I had my tennis shoes and not my running shoes on. I felt good, but something just felt off. These tennis shoes are definitely not suitable for running, but I decided to press on. About 4 miles in, my feet felt like bricks. Hopefully, it will be like using a weighted ring on a baseball bat and it will help me later. :)

I didn't end up going quite as fast as I would have liked, but I think it was caution on my part not to hurt or strain anything before the Crim more than anything. While my legs were getting a little tired, I had lots left in the tank when I was done.

Not ever running a 10 mile race, I shouldn't make predictions or announce my goals publicly, but what the heck! If I go under 1:40 next Saturday, I'll give myself an 'A', under 1:45 a 'B', under 1:50 a 'C'. Anything over 1:53 or so would be a failure in my eyes, especially since I have done that just training. My plan is to establish a 9:30 min/mi pace and try to stick to it throughout. As I have never really done that before for that distance, I'm giving myself a little wiggle room. 1:40 is a 10 min/mi pace and if I can do that, I'd be really happy.

Warrior Dash

Ran the Warrior Dash on Saturday. It was a fun event, different from a traditional race in that it is run on trails with many obstacles, both natural and man-made.

The race starts with a wave of about 500 people with fire shooting out the top of the starting gate. My brother-in-law and I were about halfway back in the group when the race began. Unfortunately, the course was pretty narrow and there was nowhere to move. We went at a slow jog pace for nearly a mile until the first intentional obstacle. While I wasn't overly concerned about getting a great finishing time, next time I will get as close to the front as possible.

We ran up and down good sized, fairly steep hills and through a little stream several times. Intentional or not, the obstacles seemed to be placed in more or less increasing difficulty. Many of them required considerable effort, though none were impossible. The 20 ft tall cargo net climb was probably the hardest and the scariest, besides the mud.

The mud pit was right at the end and required one to jump into about a 4 ft pit of watery mud, then crawl through about 60 feet of more shallow mud below barbed wire. After I jumped in, my shoes got stuck in the mud and it took considerable effort not to lose them. I probably had about 5 pounds of mud on me as I got out of the pit and shuffled to the finish line.

Overall, it was a fun event, though much different than a traditional 5k. The finishing time doesn't really mean too much, this race was more about the experience. I finished with a time of 39:24, which was 183/592 in my age group and 1674/6726 overall. I would consider dong this race again next year.

I ran 6 miles this morning as well, as I wasn't feeling too many effects from the Warrior Dash. Nothing remarkable about the run, though it may be the coolest it has been on a run in weeks (still humid though).

Rain in the AM, Run in the PM

Got up around 5:30 am this morning, intending to run, but it was raining pretty hard, so I went back to bed. Ran after work instead. Nothing special. It is getting easier to intentionally run the last mile as the fastest mile, especially when "only" running 3.



One more short run planned for Thursday before the Warrior Dash!

This one goes past eleven!

I ran 12 miles this morning! I was planning to go somewhere between 6 and 11, depending on how I felt. 11 would have been good, but I ended up pretty far from home on my route. It would have taken forever to walk home if I stopped. I felt pretty good up until about 8.5 miles. The last 3.5 miles was tough, but I made it. I was tempted to go 13.1 miles, but decided that is best left for another day.

Two Hundred Miles

Did a short two mile run tonight to bring my measured total to 200 miles so far this year.

Tuesday Evening Run - That's Soupy!

As I was driving home, I was looking forward to running. Then, I got out to pick up some pizza and was treated to a blast of warm, humid air that fogged my glasses. It was drizzling and I was hoping it would just pour. I got home and it was still very humid and lightly drizzling, which continued throughout the run. Please rain.. please rain... it would feel so nice if it would just pour.. but it was not to be.

I ran pretty well for an evening run in the soupy air. I felt great at first, but had some trouble with breathing in the thick, humid air. I ran about 30 seconds a mile slower than I had hoped, but still had a decent 5k run.

I would like some running weather please.