Clarksville 1/2

i didn't get to run all week. doing my long run on a monday really threw me off schedule, not to mention work once again. i was not too worried, my legs and body really needed the rest after the long run. i am pretty sure, when i do my 20 mile run that i will have to start tapering the plan, whether i want to or not, if i survive.

i did the clarksville 1/2 marathon in my fastest pace for that mileage. i finished in 2:10.53. that is a pace of 10min/mile. my gps did not match up with the mileage markers on the race, it was about a quarter of a mile off. at what my gps said was 13 miles, it showed that i was running a 9:45min/mile pace. so, because i train with my gps, that is really quite a bit faster than my fastest pace for that mileage (about 9 minutes faster for 13 miles) in training. the gps and race mileage markers were pretty consistently the same distance apart. overall, i am very happy about my time, even though i was 25th out of 30 in my age group and about 280th overall. maybe next year i can win. my older brother who is nearly a decade older than i am, beat me by a decade (in runner's time).

i will be out of town this coming friday through next monday so i will not be able to get my long run in this coming weekend. not to worry, i had an extra week planned into my schedule. i plan on doing a little extra mileage during the week. and getting back to the schedule next week.

thought of the day: patience is a virtue some say. i often think of myself as being a patient person. but, is it possible to be patient while at the same time being impatient. it is. i can very often be extremely patient with something i am fine being patient with, while in that very instant being impatient with another issue. i think being impatient can be a sign of selfishness. it is very humbling when i see my impatience. (i hope all those patients were spelled correctly)

Longest Ever

i did it. i ran 18 miles yesterday, non-stop. there were several things i think allowed me to do this. one, was that i had carb loaded better in the previous week than i had for all my other long runs. two, it was cloudy and cool. three, i started out at a pace that i thought would not wear me out towards the end. my pace varied a little here and there but up until mile 16.5 i was just under 11min miles, the pace i wanted to start and finish at. my first mile or two was a little under that pace. then i was right at the pace. at mile 5 my phone fell out of my pocket and it slowed me down a little to pick it up, put the headphones back in, put it back in the pocket, realize it wasn't working, then get it working, and get back on pace. the 1/2 mile from mile 5 to 5.5 was 40 seconds slower than previous and next 1/2 mile. at mile 16 i was feeling great and my pace had actually picked up a little. by mile 17 i was starting to feel the mileage. i finished in 199:05.

after the run, i drank 2 bottles of grape juice, 1.5 cups of orange juice, took a shower and forced myself to eat a little. i ate 4-5 bites of spaghetti and then fell asleep. i woke up, drank a little more and finished my spaghetti. i still didn't feel quite normal until this afternoon. i feel pretty good now.

so, i did it, and i finally feel like i survived, the longest run of my life.

thought of the day: why is it hard to explain to people that if a=b and b=c that a=c? or that if you want to get to a point and you know where you are now, if your route does not go to the point you want to reach, you can't get there. it's elementary my dear.

Last 4 of the Week

i did not get to run friday night. i worked pretty late and was pretty tired after work. i knew i wouldn't have time to run my long run of the week on saturday or sunday so i figured i could make up the 4 miles from friday before the halloween party on saturday. and that is what i did. my right knee was aching a little so i started out at a slow pace. at 1/2 mile to a mile my knee was not hurting and i felt pretty good. then at mile 2 i thought if i really pushed i could have my fastest 4 miles of the summer. my previous fastest 4 miles was on a very hilly course and this course was pretty flat, other than the one big hill just before the end, but i was going to have to make up some time. at miles 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5 i knew i could still do it, but i would have to really push. i hit mile 3.5 and had to climb the big hill. it was all i could do to reach the top, and then it was a downhill sprint for 200 yards. i finished right at 20 seconds faster than my previous fastest time. here are the splits:

.5= 4:44 151
1.0= 9:33 4:49 168
1.5= 14:08 4:34 170
2.0= 18:50 4:42 173
2.5= 23:29 4:38 171
3.0= 28:00 4:31 173
3.5= 32:28 4:27 176
4.0= 36:52 4:24 180

kind of funny that my fastest 1/2 mile was the 1/2 mile with the big uphill, where it felt like i was going so slow up the hill. i think the downhill to finish must have made up for it. my heart rate on this run got a little higher than it usually does. and i could tell the breathing wasn't nearly as easy either. but i really felt good after i finished.

i have 18 miles planned for today. ate a little while ago. going to let that settle and let the thunderstorm chances pass before i head out here in an hour or 2. i will have a 1/2 marathon race less than 5 days after completing this 18 miles, i hope (first i hope i can complete the 18 miles) that my legs will be able to recover inn time from the 18 miles, along with the short runs this week. this is a "rest" week in my training which was supposed to be last week, but i had to switch it because the 1/2 marathon is coming up on saturday. i am supposed to do three 3 mile runs this week and 13 for the long run. i may cut out one of the 3 milers, or i might do 6 miles one day instead of 3 miles, to get my total miles in for the week. with the way work is going i really hope i can get any of them in.

thought of the day: "It is necessary to try to surpass oneself always; this occupation ought to last as long as life" Queen Christina. this is what i will be doing later today. 18 miles will be my longest run ever. i don't know if i've ever even ridden a bike that far. it is getting closer and i am growing more confident and excited.

A Couple of 4s

i didn't run monday since i ran the long run on sunday and it was pretty tough. i was going to try and run tuesday during my lunch break. unfortunately i worked through lunch and then i was on call and worked until about 10pm. yesterday i was going to run during lunch but couldn't get motivated, so i ran last night at 9pm. it was pretty cool and i was coughing all day today from breathing in the cold air. today i couldn't get motivated to run at lunch either, so i ran tonight at 9:30. i need to run another 4 tomorrow to get my short runs in for the week. i will not be able to run my long run during the weekend due to prior engagements, i guess i will have to run it on monday. i could run it on sunday, if i wanted to run to tn ridge from clarksville, but there are some very long, steep hills, so i may push it to monday. doesn't look like i will get to hunt this weekend or on monday.

my 4 miles on wednesday was my fastest of the year so far. i was surprised since i was running the hilliest route that i run. so, tonight i took it pretty easy. i pushed it for 1/2 of a mile, but thought that was enough since i pushed pretty hard last night. i have been feeling pretty good, shins have not hurt for a week or so.

my time for last night was 37:12 (9:18min/mile pace, still 20 seconds/min slower than jeff's easy pace for the same mileage, just saying). tonight i finished in 38:54 (a 9:44min/mile pace).

thought of the day: i was talking to one of my partners about some stuff at work tonight and when we were getting off the phone i made the joke that i had to go take my blood pressure medicine. what he didn't realize was that i was talking about running. since running, my resting heart rate has really slowed down. it does relax me, even though this week it has cost me a little sleep. maybe that is one thing i will be able to catch up on this weekend, if nothing else.

Lucky 16 miles

yes, lucky, lucky to have finished and lucky to be alive afterwards. when i started it was warm (between 75 and 80 degrees) and very sunny. i thought the sun may take its toll. along with the fact that i started out faster than i planned. i wanted to keep my pace around 11 minute miles. however, i started out at 10 minute miles. doesn't sound like a big deal, but after 16 miles, it is a big deal. at mile 2 i could feel my body getting too hot, not much i could do about it, except run until it got cool. i did, and then i got cold. no happy medium. i ran 4.5 miles away from the house, then came back, switched out my water bottles, and then headed out to finish the last 7 miles. it took me about 2 minutes to switch water bottles and drink what was left in one of the bottles i was leaving behind then get back on the road. i was not feeling very good at mile 11, but i pushed on. at mile 14 i decided i would take a very short walk break, i got a drink and tried to take my last gu gel. i had to spit 1/2 of it out because i was afraid i was going to vomit it back up. then i started running again. at mile 15.5 i took another short walk break because my side was hurting. i finally finished at my house and got to feeling a little sick when i was stretching. then i got a chill and hopped in the shower to warm up. i had to put on some flannel pants and a long sleeved shirt and get under the covers. i then slept until this morning got up and went to work for a little and didn't feel real good until after i took a short nap after i got back home.

my time for this 16 miles was 17 minutes faster than my last 16 miles. i was happy about that, however, i did not feel near as bad after my last 16 miles. my final times was 3:07.02. my legs are a little sore now, no more than expected.

thought of the day: running long distances is pretty hard for me. i am a short, pudgy, slow little turtle. last night i had to suck back into my shell for a little while. maybe i can make it back out tomorrow for a short little run.

An Easy 3 Miles, Maybe If I Ever Get To It

tried to run yesterday, worked through lunch then until 8:30pm. tried to run today, worked through lunch and i am still at work at 9:10pm, waiting on a sick dog to get to the clinic. i have known i would not be able to run my long run on saturday, i should definitely be able to get this 3 miles in tomorrow and run 16 on sunday. so i am not really off schedule that much.

i think you know the thought of the day: work stinks. i went to school to get a good job so i could fulfill my goals in life. now it seems like work is trying to stand in the way of the marathon. however, when i finish the marathon this extra little hurtle will make it more incredible that i have accomplished that goal. besides, if it were easy, everyone would do it, then it wouldn't even be a goal (the goal would probably then be an ultra-marathon).

6 Hilly Miles

i had to run tonight. i was on a farm call right until noon, so couldn't run at lunch, then i worked until 6 and didn't get home until after dark. i decided to eat and let that settle since i was going to be running in the dark no matter what. i finally got started around 8:30pm. i was running on a very hilly road with 3 long, steep hills, hills that i felt like my legs were barely moving when i got to the top. once i got my breath i felt like i was starting up another hill. i figured my time wasn't going to be very good, but i knew i would be much stronger once i finished and healed. i did wear a small cheap flashlight so cars could see me. i repeat cheap. it quit working less than 1/2 a mile into the run. i think all of the bouncing was too much. after it quit working, it would flash off and on with the bouncing of my steps. at first i wasn't sure if it was lightening or the light. i turned the light off and realized it had been the light. then i ran another mile and actually saw lightening in the background. anyway, i finished 3 minutes faster than my fastest 6 miles so far this year, a welcome surprise.

here are my splits:

.5= 4:57 151
1.0= 9:42 4:45 162
1.5= 14:06 4:24 164
2.0= 18:52 4:45 168
2.5= 24:03 5:10 169
3.0= 28:59 4:56 163
3.5= 34:27 5:28 167
4.0= 39:52 5:24 163
4.5= 44:59 5:07 162
5.0= 50:31 5:32 168
5.5= 55:56 5:24 166
6.0= 61:07 5:10 164

the hills really made my splits vary quite a bit. my legs feel really good right now. i did have a little shin and calf pain during the run. i started trying to run "correctly" by landing more on the balls of my feet instead of my heels. that really works my calves more, have to slowly get used to it. after the first really big hill i had to start running my regular way by hitting on my heels. i think i can really improve my times if i can learn to run that way.

thought of the day: on my run i was thinking of the quote from Braveheart "every man dies, but not every man truly lives." i was wondering why that is. why doesn't everyone live passionately for something? maybe not everything i live passionately for is really worthy of living passionately for, maybe i should be more productive with my passion and redirect it to "worthy" causes. i could go on forever on this, and i think i have in the past so i won't tonight, just crossed my mind on the run. just think about it, again.

22 Miles in 3 Days

not being able to run on friday threw me off schedule. so i had to run 3 days in a row to get back on. i was a little worried since my shins were hurting a little last week and i did my long run yesterday. my shins did hurt a little, once again i ran on the greenway, so i think the hills had a lot to do with that. i tried to avoid the huge hill by running a different way. however, the other way, that is labeled at 3/4 of a mile is unfinished and is more like .35 of a mile. so i had to do all the hills. tomorrow is a weight training day, so my legs will get a little break before 6 miles on wednesday. i am not sure if i will get to run on saturday, we have open house/client appreciation at the clinic and then a halloween party at the house. i guess that will be another long run on sunday. i have 16 miles scheduled for the long run this week. i really can't wait for the clarksville 1/2 marathon, that will be a rest week with only 23.1 miles for the week. last week was 27 miles, this week is 29, the following week is 30, then the week of the race, thank goodness. i am not sure my gps was exactly correct, the first mile, which was the easiest, was the second slowest. anyway, i know i did at least 4 miles.

here are my splits for this run:

.5= 5:34 144
1.0= 10:05 4:31 161
1.5= 14:47 4:42 160
2.0= 19:51 5:03 162
2.5= 25:23 5:32 163
3.0= 30:37 5:14 161
3.5= 36:16 5:39 161
4.0= 41:34 5:17 164

the hills really got me today, the main hills were between miles 3 and 3.5. there was a spot somewhere that i had to stop behind 2 walkers for someone coming the other way to pass. plan on doing more speedwork so i can get a little faster, hopefully i wont have to cram all my runs together. have lost a little weight, hopefully i will lose more and get even faster! maybe i will be in shape for the next olympics!

i already blogged once today, so no second thought of the day today.

14 Miles

I did my 2nd 14 mile run of the year. this one was 20 minutes faster than the other one, 2.5 months ago. for the 1st 5 miles my shins hurt and were pretty weak. finally, they quit hurting. the first 9 miles it was light outside and then it got dark. i thought i was going to get hit by a car around mile 10.5. like i said, it was dark, i was running on the shoulder of the road, just off the shoulder was a steep drop off. a car came around the curve pretty fast, i could hear a car coming from the other direction. i think the car on my side of the road saw me and hit the brakes, when he did his truck started pulling to the right, towards me. i tried to get as far over as i could, in the dark, and i think it looked like i was walking a tight rope, and nearly fell off the shoulder. and about that time the car coming from the other way passed us. pretty exciting for a moment. otherwise, the run went pretty well. i decided to run this one a little slower than the last few since my shins had been hurting. i didn't get any blisters and my legs felt good after the run. my pace was 11:08 min per mile. i was trying for 11 min miles, so i was pretty close. my last 7 miles were 1.5 minutes slower than the first 7, pretty happy about that too.

thought of the day: there are workaholics and there are people who just work a bunch, not because they love it or are obsessed with it, just because they have to, their job just requires it. i think i am the latter.

Greenway Again

i worked today and had to go back to the clinic tonight to check on a few patients. I decided, since it was warm and sunny, that i would go to the clarksville greenway and run again. it was a little different in the daylight. i could see the mileage markers, something i did not know existed the other night when i was running in the dark. another thing i noticed was that the 4 hills on the trail are 15% grades or more, they didn't seem as steep today though, but steep enough. one of them i have to really slow down to go down. i do like running there, the trail is in the shade and goes through some rock walls, it seemed 10 degrees cooler than the parking lot, and did i mention the shade. this is becoming my favorite place to do my short runs. unfortunately it is only 2.6 miles and to do longer runs i would have to repeat those hills several times the way they are positioned in the trail.

my shins hurt just a little, not near as much as my other runs this week, i think the downhills hurt them more than anything. here are my splits:

.5= 4:57 147
1.0= 9:39 4:42 163
1.5= 14:39 4:59 167
2.0= 19:30 4:51 165
2.5= 24:16 4:45 164
3.0= 29:16 4:59 164
3.5= 34:23 5:07 163
4.0= 39:30 5:07 169

the last 2 half mile splits were a little slow due to the steepest hills. and my gps did work today. i finished about 7 tenths of a mile from the parking lot and walked the rest of the way to cool down a little and stretched a little in the parking lot.

thought of the day: it was a sad day for my brother, #1 alabama got beat by south carolina. it is always tough when your team gets beat. so condolences to him.

One Tough 5.2

I was on call last night, i had to go in to work at 4am this morning and just stayed at work after that. during lunch i was too tired to run and one of my clients brought me some jambalaya. i skipped the run at lunch and HAD to get it in after work. i worked until 6:15pm and i was going to try a new place to run. i went to the clarksville greenway. i'd been wanting to try it for a while and one of my co-workers suggested it the other day. it is about 15 minutes from the clinic, on the way home. i headed there, knowing it would be dark when i finished. i had asked my co-worker if there were big hills on this trail and she said no. however, i heard there was at least one big hill. that was an understatement by far. there were two big hills and two huge hills. the huge hills were very hard to even go down. they were so steep you couldn't see the bottom of the hill until you were 1/3 of the way down it. the trail was nice. several other runners and walkers. however, there were so many trees my gps wouldn't work for part of the run. the sign said it was 2.6 miles one way. i knew my gps was messing up because i knew i started at a pretty good pace and it took me over 5 minutes to run the first 1/2 mile. then it took me 3 minutes to run the next 1/2 mile. something was way off. when i finished, what should have been around 5.2 miles my gps hit 5.0 miles. anyway, my shins were really killing me for most of the run, then i tried running more upright and concentrating on rolling my foot from heel to toe and then (after the huge hill) i slowed down a bit and my shin stopped hurting. after i got home my shins and legs felt great. i also think that my shin problems may be caused by the boots i wear at work. they are comfortable but do not have any ankle or leg support. i am trying a different pair of boots from now on that lace-up. i am also gonna try the $50 insoles i bought. i am starting the weight lifting part of my workout again, it is supposed to be a key part of the training.

i don't have accurate splits since my gps didn't work.

thought of the day: before going out on a new running path, check it out in the daytime, it may hurt you if you don't(even though i was glad to get some good hills in) or leave you in the dark (with lots of trees covering the path, it was pitch black after sunset). but i think the new path will be good when it is sunny due to all the shade. i also saw several deer within just a few yards of me. oh, and if you are going out on a public path after dark, have a light so you don't run into people and they don't run into you. i tend to huff and puff so i usually stay pretty safe.

Can I Continue

I got back on schedule saturday with 13 miles, and also got my run in on monday (my wedding anniversary). i started out pretty good and then slowed down a little. at mile 2.5 my left shin started hurting really bad and i basically limped the rest of the way home as fast as i could. i have not had any pain all summer, until i start trying to speed up my times. and now i am really hurting. my shin hurt all day yesterday, however, it has not bothered me today. wonder how it will feel when i run tomorrow. this was my second fastest 4 miles all summer. here are my splits:

.5= 4:30 160
1.0= 8:57 4:27 173
1.5= 13:36 4:38 178
2.0= 18:32 4:56 174
2.5= 23:25 4:53 169
3.0= 28:18 4:52 169
3.5= 33:14 4:56 169
4.0= 38:14 4:59 170

a pace of 9:33min/mile.

this was the first time my heart rate has gotten up to 178 during a run. i felt pretty good other than the shin. was again it was a very sunny day with no clouds. it was pretty cool. i thought i was doing pretty good but my brother is still shredding my times.

thought of the day: "Eat Better=Lose Weight=Run Faster=Run Like Jeff"-Shane Sykes

13 Again

yesterday was the second time this year i have ran 13 miles. the last time was in july. this 13 miles was 17 minutes faster than the last. that is quite an improvement. last week i ran my fastest 11 miles of the year. at the 11 mile mark yesterday i was 2 minutes ahead of my time last week. it was much cooler yesterday, but the sun was shining bright. of course, i waited until 10:30am to run, which meant i was running until nearly 1:00pm, not quite the hottest part of the day, but close. towards the end of the run i was really feeling the heat. after the run, i felt bad all day, like i was sunburned. last night when i got home i figured out why. my forehead and cheeks were sunburned and i could see the outline of the sleeves on my arm. i wear sunglasses and a headband, i was sunburned above the headband (i wear the just above my sunglasses) and below the sunglasses, pretty funny looking. i have a problem with my feet when i run. it's almost like my feet want to grab the road. i have to keep reminding myself to let my feet relax. when i don't, my second toe rubs a blister on the inside of my big toe. when i got in the shower i realized i had forgotten to put my glide on. ouch. at work that is what we call galded. it is caused from being over weight and your skin rubbing together in certain areas that aren't used to rubbing together for that long at one time.

anyway, here are my splits:

.5= 4:59 146
1.0= 9:55 4:56 161
1.5= 14:58 5:03 163
2.0= 20:13 5:14 164
2.5= 25:30 5:17 162
3.0= 30:45 5:14 165
3.5= 35:44 4:59 166
4.0= 40:55 5:10 167
4.5= 46:09 5:14 167
5.0= 51:27 5:17 166
5.5= 56:23 4:56 166
6.0= 61:27 5:03 169
6.5= 66:34 5:07 170
7.0= 71:44 5:10 167
7.5= 76:48 5:03 167
8.0= 81:55 5:07 168
8.5= 87:20 5:24 168
9.0= 92:48 5:28 166
9.5= 98:27 5:39 168
10.0= 103:52 5:24 166
10.5= 109:28 5:35 165
11.0= 114:46 5:17 167
11.5= 120:07 5:21 168
12.0= 125:42 5:35 167
12.5= 131:18 5:35 166
13.0= 136:39 5:21 170

my last half of the run was about 5.5 minutes slower than the first half. last week my last 5.5 miles was 4 minutes faster than the first 5.5 miles. i blame this week all on the sun :).

thought of the day: "Happiness is different from pleasure. Happiness has something to do with struggling and enduring and accomplishing" George Sheehan. i guess this is why i feel so happy after running. after a long run i feel really happy, no matter how miserable i feel.

well, i have gotten 4 miles in this week. i should have gotten 13 in by now. i was planning on running 6 miles at lunch today and then had to work right through lunch and then worked until 8 tonight. so no running again today. there are a few rest weeks in my schedule that i think i can use as catch up weeks, however, i don't know what i'm gonna do if i can't get any runs in. i am off tomorrow, so i am gonna get back on my schedule and run 13. hopefully i can get back on schedule and stick to it. i have one weekend i am going to be out of town, so i really have to get serious now.

thought of the day: i might have a really hard time finishing the marathon if i don't quit working so much.