Run for Lunch, For Once

i finally made myself run over lunch, it was hard, because i am always hungry at lunchtime. today i decided i would rather run at lunch and not have to run after work. once i started my calves were pretty sore. the last 2 runs this summer have been the first two times all summer that my calves have been sore, also they have been the first 2 runs that i have really increased my paces. last summer, when i was running a lot faster, my calves were sore nearly every run.

i ran on the road behind the clinic, man it has changed. they are doing a lot of construction work and another company moved in to one of the buildings so the traffic was really bad. i was dodging trucks and cars, dump trucks, and backhoes. there is also a lot of gravel, some pretty big pieces too, along the side of the road. one time, while i was avoiding a dump truck, i stepped on a piece of gravel and nearly twisted my ankle. almost fell over in front of the dump truck. there were also some pretty good hills on this run, which didn't help my time. and even though it was cooler, there were no clouds or shade and the sun was beating down on me pretty bad. so here are my splits:

.5= 3:59 142
1.0= 8:20 4:20 163
1.5= 12:58 4:38 169
2.0= 17:40 4:42 167
2.5= 22:26 4:45 169
3.0= 27:33 5:07 169
3.5= 32:26 4:52 167
4.0= 37:29 5:03 171

i was pretty happy with my times due to the calf soreness, hills, and sun.

i need to run tomorrow, saturday, and sunday to get my mileage in for the week. my blisters started hurting at work after the run, hope i can figure something out for them by tomorrow's run.

thought of the day: "Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric" Bertrand Russell. i feel like many times my ideas seem eccentric to people. at work i am known as the one who does everything differently. i just like to do things the most best way. i like to tweak ideas and procedures with little twists, combining things that i see other people doing. some people don't understand, maybe one day i'll do things the way everybody else does (as soon as i teach them all my ways :))

5k, 11 miles, 10 point buck

a lot has happened since friday. i ran a 5k in erin saturday morning. i was nervous about the race, since i had been talking to a little smack to cousin Todd. looks like i was the one who got smacked. he beat me pretty good in the 5k. however, i did run my fastest 5k to date at 27:50. i knew i started out a little too fast and couldn't keep my pace up, but i still finished in pretty good time. i did not push at the end, or i could have finished a little faster, but i knew i was going to run 11 miles yesterday so i didn't want to kill myself. here are my splits for the 5k:

.5= 3:47 (way too fast)
1.0= 8:04 4:17 (still too fast)
1.5= 12:35 4:31
2.0= 17:25 4:49
2.5= 22:10 4:45
3.0= 26:52 4:42
3.1= 27:50 0:58

i was pretty happy with my time. i was hoping i could average a pace of 8:30, a little behind that but still my fastest of this year and maybe of my life.

yesterday, i ran 11 miles and my calves and shins were paying for my starting pace at the 5k. they hurt off and on all during the run. about mile 3 i could also feel blisters forming on both insteps. they hurt until about mile 9, then i think i just forgot about them. otherwise, i felt really good during the run, until mile 9.5. at that point i hit the wall. i was still able to finish the run, but it was tough, then i felt pretty bad for about 2 hours after the run. i think i might have pushed this run a little too much, but i really didn't feel like i was pushing it until the end. i could sure tell it was cooler yesterday than it had been. i usually drink about 10oz for every 4 miles. however, on this 11 mile run i only drank 15oz total. the decrease in sugar intake might have been why i hit the wall. as soon as i got home i drank about 30oz of gatorade, and another 30oz of grape juice. when i felt a little better, i took a shower, i know i should have taken a cool shower, but it felt much better the hotter it was. at the end i did turn it to cold just to cool down a bit. maybe the cooler temps were the reason for my increased pace too, i'd like to think it was due to my training, but i think it had to be more than that. this 11 mile run was faster than all 3 ten mile runs i have ran this summer. here are the slits:

.5= 4:59
1.0= 10:06 5:07
1.5= 15:20 5:14
2.0= 20:38 5:17
2.5= 26:02 5:24
3.0= 31:20 5:17
3.5= 36:27 5:07
4.0= 41:34 5:07
4.5= 46:48 5:14
5.0= 52:06 5:17
5.5= 57:17 5:10
6.0= 62:10 4:52
6.5= 67:24 5:14
7.0= 72:45 5:21
7.5= 78:06 5:21
8.0= 83:45 5:39
8.5= 89:14 5:28
9.0= 94:32 5:17
9.5= 99:57 5:24
10.0= 105:29 5:32
10.5= 111:15 5:46
11.0= 116:46 5:31

i think that gives me a pace of 10:37. pretty good, when you look at my other paces for my long runs this year. today my calves are a little sore and my feet are blistered, other than that i really feel good.

i got up this morning and went deer hunting. bow season opened 2 days ago, and i hadn't been hunting yet. it was pretty slow until 7:30am, then i heard some deer behind me. i turned and saw 4 different bucks. the last one up the hill started fighting with all the others. when he was about to walk into my shooting lane, an 8 point walked within 5 yards and looked right up at me in the tree. luckily the 10 point fought with another buck until the 8 point decided i wasn't any harm and walked off. then the 10 point stepped into my shooting lane and i shot him at about 20 yards. he fell within sight.

i had a great weekend. hope everyone else had the same.

thought of the day: sometimes preparation will get you where you want to go, sometimes, preparation means just being in the right place, just make sure the place is the right place.

work, heat, ugh.

work and heat are really making it hard to run lately. i still can't run on my lunch break because it is so hot. i was going to run last night after work at the clinic. however, i didn't get through at work until after dark and was on call and just thought better of it. so i was going to get that run in after work today. i didn't get home until 7:15pm tonight. i thought to myself, if i don't run in the dark i will never be ready for this marathon and i can't just keep pushing my runs back. so i went and parked on a road (had 4 miles scheduled) that has a good shoulder, not much traffic, decent lighting (especially with a full moon and no clouds), and was about 2 miles long. the one good or bad thing about this road is that it is very hilly. for some reason, running in the dark makes it hard to gauge my pace and i started off much faster than normal. then i just kept that pace and i was doing pretty good...until...on the way back the hills got me. from miles 2.5 to 3.5 there are 2 steep hills and one long gradual hill. the first hill was pretty tough, the second, much tougher. i kept telling myself instead of thinking this is a steep hill, think of it as a short hill. and on the gradual hill i thought of it as unsteep. that made it easier, but still pretty tough. my hamstrings really got a good workout. the bad thing was i was a little thirsty when i started and i did not have my hydration belt. i also forgot to take a drink for after the run. luckily it was only about 3 miles from the house.

here are my splits:

.5= 4:44 155
1.0= 9:33 4:49 167
1.5= 14:08 4:34 169
2.0= 18:57 4:49 171
2.5= 23:42 4:45 174
3.0= 28:57 5:14 180 (hills=slower times and increased heart rate)
3.5= 34:18 5:21 177
4.0= 39:03 4:45 177

my pace was about 9:45 and i think without those big hills i could have been a good bit faster. i know they will help me in the long run. this is really the hardest i have pushed myself on a run all year. i feel good now, hope i don't have any injuries that show themselves tomorrow.

thought of the day: this is more of a question. i know if i had been pushing myself this hard all summer i would be much faster now, but would i been in more pain and not able to finish as many of my runs as i have. i guess there is a line between just finishing the runs and not getting much faster or pushing yourself to get faster and risking injuries. after doing some reading this summer i have kept to just finishing the runs at a slow, even pace. however, i like to run fast too. i think i may be getting to old for that, until i see my brother's times.

A Hot Failure

i have been trying to get my long run for last week in for 3 days now. i thought that if i did not do it this morning, i would not want to do it in the afternoon heat. i got up with intentions of running and then decided to wait until the afternoon. then i decided i really better run this morning, after seeing that the afternoon temps were going to be in the 90s. i just don't run well in the heat, especially when it is very sunny.

i headed out and was actually at a pretty good pace for me. then i hit the stretch of road that has very little shade and i was still feeling pretty good at about 3.5 miles. then i hit the stretch of road with no shade and i faded fast. at 5 miles i really felt like i was overheating, no matter how slow i was going. at 5 miles i stopped to walk the rest of the way home, and return some calls that i had on my phone. just about that time a woman came running from the other direction. she must have turned around a little after she passed me, and came back and passed me again. about that time i was getting off the phone and thought if she can do it i can too. so i ran for about another 1/2 mile, then i stopped and walked the rest of the way home, about a mile. during the run, my heart rate was about 6 bpms faster than what it normally is for the paces i was running.

i hate the sunny heat, can't wait for it to cool off a little. i basically ran for 5 miles. when i headed out, it was 80 degrees, when i got back it was 85. i would have swore it was 95. here are my splits for those:

.5= 4:54 152
1.0= 9:58 5:03 171
1.5= 15:05 5:07 175
2.0= 20:47 5:42 177
2.5= 26:34 5:46 174
3.0= 32:31 5:57 174
3.5= 38:13 5:42 174
4.0= 44:32 6:18 174
4.5= 50:50 6:18 172
5.0= 56:51 6:00 167

i am not worried that i didn't get my mileage in, my legs felt great the entire time, even after the run. i just felt drained for the entire run. maybe if i would run more in the sun i would do better, i just dislike it so much. 2 hours after the run after 2 gatorades in crushed ice and some ice cream and lunch i still feel drained and hot.

thought of the day: i'm hot.

Work, Work, Go Away

I was supposed to run 4 miles last night. however, i was on call. I decided to run 4 today and 11 tomorrow. however, i worked until 4pm and i was tired from not getting much sleep last night. i thought i would come home and get some rest (was supposed to go to erin to watch a play, but thought i would be miserable if i didn't get some rest) and run tonight after dark. now it is nearly 8:30pm and i got up not long ago from my nap and grabbed a bite to eat. i think i will hold off tonight and get a long run in tomorrow. i hate when i miss runs, especially because of work, especially because of silly decisions my coworkers make.

thought of the day: blah blah blah, that is what i feel like anything i want to write is really saying.

Slow 5 Miler

i started out a little later than i wanted, but i had to run. i started out right at 7pm, but i knew the road i was going to be on after dark would not have much traffic. it was warm but not hot or humid. when i started out, my legs and back felt so tight. it took me nearly 4 miles to feel like i was warmed up and loose. i was also keeping the pace a little slower because i was wanting to do some hills towards the end of the run. i was really wanting to do more hills, but these are the biggest i know of around here. i ran them, turned around and finished on the last hill. they were pretty tough. i never hurt any where, but i just felt tight most of the run. my time was pretty slow at 55.21, right at 11:04 min/mile. i thought it was slow, but i didn't think i was going that slow. my pace was pretty close on every mile. here are my splits:

.5= 5.22 153
1.0= 10.54 5.32 167
1.5= 16.26 5.32 166
2.0= 22.01 5.35 166
2.5= 27.41 5.39 168
3.0= 33.20 5.39 166
3.5= 38.52 532 169
4.0= 44.27 5.35 169
4.5= 49.49 5.21 168
5.0= 55.21 5.32 172

my left hip started hurting this afternoon. i am not sure why, but i hope it goes away. supposed to do weight training tonight, but i don't really feel like it, maybe i will do a little before bed.

the thought of the day: "Love everyone, trust a few, do harm to no one." -Shakespeare i like the quote but when writing it i realized something else. how would it feel if everyone knew you just by your last name (eg Shakespeare). how about that guy who was a great runner, yeah you know...Sykes. (if anyone ever uses that quote in time, it will probably be for my brother, not me).

Back, once again

this is the first time i have ran since 8/22. my running has been hit and miss since 7/25. i really have to get back on track since i have already signed up for the st judes marathon in december. i did 4 miles today and was trying to add a little speed work since i have a 5k race in less than 2 weeks. i ran training pace for 1 mile, then alternated between race pace/training pace for the rest of the 4 miles. my time was 41:05, a 10:15 pace, not bad, not my fastest, but i think i will be able to speed up a little since i have been running a good bit all summer and i am restarting at about week 5, and i had previously gotten to week 11.

here are my splits:

.5= 5.01 147
1.0= 10.05 5.03 166
1.5= 14.25 4.20 178
2.0= 20.19 5.53 171
2.5= 24.46 4.27 177
3.0= 30.26 5.39 171
3.5= 35.22 4.56 175
4.0= 41.05 5.42 174

here is my new philosophy as the thought of the day. i came up with this as motivation to eat better; eat better= lose weight= run faster.