Looping the Hen

Too many miles!

When I started thinking about doing a half-marathon last year, it was kind of a far-fetched goal. Too many years smoking 3 packs a day prior to quitting back in 2003, too many extra pounds to carry over a ridiculous distance, and an overall lack of discipline put it into the 'yeah, right' category. At least with jumping out of a plane all I had to actually do was obey the law of gravity; running 13 miles to me is more like defying it.

On top of that, when I was young, light, and (with no gray in my hair) in the best shape of my life while running track, I never did more than around 8 miles at a stretch. Track and cross-country at the high school level while I was running never topped out at more than 5k (3.1 mile) races. Doing any kind of distance was more for training and endurance.

So when I started actual training for the half-marathon back in January, I set my goal time (which you need to put into your registration form, due to the 20,000+ people who will run the Country Music Marathon) at a near-walk time of 3 hours even (13:45 mile pace). Well, part of that was trying to help motivate someone else who wanted me to run with her, and part of it was a safety net, because I was pretty sure I could at least shuffle along at that pace and finish.

However, my training has gone surprisingly well (for an old guy), and I jogged 10.5 miles (!!) yesterday at just under 10:00 mile pace (just under 1:44). Yes, more than 10 miles without stopping, and yes, I hurt pretty badly today, but proud. I continue to be amazed at the resilience of the human body, as it generally does most of what one asks it to. I started training at around 3 miles and 11:00 mile pace at the beginning of January and now I can run more than 10 miles at a faster pace. That's pretty cool! My new goal for the 13.1 mile butchery of my body is 2:12, or 10-minute pace for the entire distance. With the crowds that might be a little high, but even if I miss it by a minute or 3 (or 10 even), I'm not one of those who dwells on it as some sort of a loss (like many, many runners would!). And the lovely and talented Sara Evans, one of my favorites, is putting on the post-race concert, which should make it all worth while!

The race is on April 28, and I have 3 more 10+ mile runs between now and then, and a bunch of 6 milers, and even a couple of 5k races just to keep myself interested. With luck I'll make it to the big day healthy and under 200 for the first time since 1999. (One of the side benefits of training is the stone plus one pounds I've lost so far)

Out of Breath!

My honey entered her first 5k this weekend, I am supremely proud of her! Her and Arnold ended at 46:25, just under a 15:00 mile pace (14:59). You go Supergirl and Wonder Woman (Arnold is WW)!

I was pretty thrilled to see my time also; I haven't run a whole lot this summer, and I've been fighting off a cold/lung thing for a few weeks. I ended at 25:55 (8:22 mile pace). This was the first race I ran last year when I started running again. I think I did it at over 30 last time, so the summer layoff wasn't as bad as I thought!

Go us and a superhealthy lifestyle!

Aaaaaah!

It finally felt like the worst of summer was past us today! It was beautiful and the temperature was just low enough so I could feel human after sweating. Arnold and I went running in the park; we did a mile and a half at a pretty good clip. I was impressed a creature 6 inches tall could keep up as well as he did. My honey joined us for a 2nd lap of 1.5; she has started to run parts of it and we walk the rest. She has done fabulous and I am proud of her, especially as she just quit smoking a couple months ago! You go Honeybee!

I might be back to a decent blogging schedule, we'll see how it goes. I have at least a couple or 3 days worth of stuff for here, and I am going to be starting a new D&D game, so I will have posts over on the other side starting in a day or so also. Rodney also picked the next challenge for DDM, it's over here. We still wish you'd come play Gribblet and Dark_Elf!

G has reminded me I have some stories to tell from Canada still also, and I have been wanting to do a couple of pieces on what I call 'the New Economy'. I am hoping it will be practice for some editorial writing I hope to do for Lime-Tree Girl. I am also working on a pretty significant business venture with G and some others, I am sure I'll want to pontificate on some of that as well.

Anyhoo, my baby has Grilled Cheeses and Soup waiting, she rocks! Back later!

Why I Hate Running, Part 1

Summer In Tennessee.

It felt like nearly the longest day of the year or something, and the temperature proclaimed it. It hit 95 by lunchtime.

We had been blessed this year with the mildest spring since I emigrated here in 1999. Temperatures were moderate and sometimes cool all the way to June 6 or so; the last cool day in 2005 was exactly a month earlier if I remember right. Today there was no wind and a haze hung in the air, thick enough to breathe. It wasn't 75 yards before I was covered in sweat that couldn't evaporate and I felt like an Alaskan goose after an oil spill.

Still, I managed to trudge along for my four and a half miles without getting propositioned once! Apparently the beautiful park I run in has an, err, reputation as one of the seedier sides of town. To be honest, I've never had anything weird happen there or even seen anything weird, but I've heard this type of incident is pretty common. Doh!

Why I Run, Reason 1

On my refrigerator, I have the picture of the most beautiful woman and a pretty close to perfect guy. They were on the cover of an issue of Runner's World. (Yes, I searched diligently but could not find a cover gallery so I could put them up here, sorry...edit, until I tried Ebay). Underneath I have a little printed sign saying 'Why I Run, Reason 1'. To be more specific, it would be reasons one and two, but I'm not being picky.

Anyhow, I know I have a loooooong way to go before achieving anything close to being even the fittest I can be, let alone the level that sits on my refrigerator. Still, some days I receive small encouragements, and today was just such a day. As I was running at my park for the first time in 15 days (yes, I've been a slug, doing mostly indoor work due to the weather), a car with a couple of cute young missies in it drives by, honks and one yell's 'Nice body!' After I was done, I also got some looks for my car and a couple of admirers stopped and said how sweet they thought it was.

Overall much ego-building for the day, especially as I have backslid in both workouts and diet for about 3 weeks now. With hope it will give me some incentive to go back tomorrow and be less slug-like! Go me!

The Great Fool of China

Generally, when runners talk of the Wall, they tend to mean the distance in longer races where you would prefer to collapse and die (well, maybe not die), than continue to run. It is both a physical and mental barrier.

Although I think I am getting closer to being able to push through the physical barrier, the mental one killed me today. Statistically, the race was a success for me. I PR'd the Running of the Fools 5k in 24:25 or so (average 7:54 mile), a little above my goal of 24:48. I ran great the first two miles (15:08), both at 7:34, better than I could have hoped for. The problem was the last mile where I hit my wall.

This was almost the same type of course as a race I ran earlier in the season, the Frostbite 5k. Except this one was worse, and killed me mentally. It isn't that the course had any huge hills; it was the fact that there was no flat ground. The first 3/4 of a mile was a tiny up grade, but I could feel it. I always run my weekly course with a couple of big hills, so I thought I'd be fine. And then it kept going, up, down, up, down, up, down. I crossed the 2nd mile feeling ok physically, but my brain was already in retreat-mode.

I couldn't believe it but I actually ended up walking twice, for around 40 seconds total, and I did my third mile in near 9 minutes because of it. I regularly run 5+ miles now without walking, but my brain just gave up today.

The one silver lining is I felt that if the course had been even a little bit flat, I could have kept very near my first two mile pace. That would have been 23:30. And thus that will be my new goal!

I think I am doing well, as I really have only been running 1 day a week, with another 2 days on the elliptical and lifting weights. For the spring I am going to try to add another run to my schedule, one long run to match what I have been doing, and one speed or hill workout.

Next time I shall not hitteth the wall!