weekend. If you've never been to a Sprint Cup race, you would never
believe how loud it is when they start up the engines.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Dickies 500
weekend. If you've never been to a Sprint Cup race, you would never
believe how loud it is when they start up the engines.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Portland Marathon - Race Report
Time to catch up on some blogging.
I learned at the Portland Marathon that I know how to train myself for a marathon. It only took 6 years and 17 marathons to figure that out.
Since Sadie's Rogue group was running Portland it made sense for me to run too. Work was really busy for me this summer and my training group was focused on other things, so I decided to go it alone. My training mainly consisted of easy runs through our neighborhood and the Town Lake Trail. I did very little speedwork. Only a few MGP runs of 4-5 miles on the trail. I did get my long runs in and was able to do 5 runs of 20+ miles, peaking at 25 miles about 4 weeks out from the race.
The main thing I tried to do was simplify my training. I didn't feel the need to go find a track and do 1000/1000's or 5k/10k pace work. I didn't feel like I needed (or wanted) to go do some extremely high mileage program. I just concentrated on getting my miles in and running at an easy pace and as the summer went on, tried to make that easy pace a little faster. During my neighborhood runs I always made sure to include some hills. My weekly mileage peaked at around 50 miles/week.
Going into the marathon, I didn't know what to expect, but I felt good. My stated goal was just to break 3:15 because that would keep me eligible to run Boston for two more years. Deep down I thought I probably could run 3:10 or less, but I still had doubts on whether I had trained hard enough. I came up with a simple race plan that would give me some flexibility. I started behind the 3:10 group, but ahead of the 3:15 group. The plan was to begin the race running between 7:10-7:25/mile. Hopefully 7:10 would feel pretty good and I would hold it through Mile 17 when we reach the top of the St. John's Bridge, the highest point on the course. At the bridge I would assess how I was feeling and either pick it up or hold where I was.
Race morning came with perfect weather and me feeling strong and rested. I started out as planned and it felt easy. I was able to immediately get on 3:10 pace and ran without any problems. 10K split was at 7:10/mile. Halfway split was 1:34:27. The funny thing was I was on 3:09 pace and the 3:10 pace group was way ahead of me, obviously going out too fast.
I made the long climb up to the bridge at Mile 17 and still felt good. My pace has slowed to 7:17/mile overall, but we had been good up some hills. I think I also got lulled to sleep on a couple of the boring flat miles around a bunch of warehouses. I decided to hold my pace where I was and wait for the big downhill section at Mile 21 to start kicking it in. I had a couple moments in the next 4 miles where I started to feel bad and have some doubts, but I was able to fight off the bad feelings and run through it. I thought back to the Team Rogue pre-race meeting that I crashed the day before. Steve told everyone to make a list of reasons why they were ready to have a good race. I came up with one: I'm pretty sure I ran more in 100 degree weather than anyone there. Most of my training runs were in the afternoons when I got home from work. While they weren't fun, I knew it was helping me learn to deal with the suffering that you face during a marathon. That's what I focused on when I started feeling bad at the end of the race.
At Mile 21, I picked up the pace but was only able to do 7:08. Faster than I had been running but not enough to pick up much ground on the 3:10 group. I figured I was about 1 minute behind them so I needed a strong finish. With about 2 1/2 miles to go, we crossed the Broadway Bridge and I picked up the pace again ready to run as fast as I could to the end. I ran off the bridge and made the sweeping righthand turn down to Naito Parkway that takes us to the finish. This is where my only course complaint is. As I made the turn I looked ahead to see some train tracks with the gate down. To my left I could see a train coming about to block off the course. Without much thinking I ran as fast as I could, slipped around the side of the gates, dodged a guy trying to block my way and ran across the tracks. I really wasn't that close to the train, but I think I would have been stopped if I was 10 seconds slower.
After that I could feel my heart pounding and just felt grateful that I has been far enough along not to have to wait for the train. I though about how mad I would have been to have trained for 6 months, have been running a good race and then get stopped by a train. That would have been awful. I kept running but I think I just lost focus from there on in. While Mile 24 had been 7:10, the next two were 7:27 and 7:38 even though I didn't feel like I was struggling. With a mile to go I knew I wasn't beating 3:10, so the last .2 was pretty slow. Finish time: 3:11:52.
Overall I'm pleased with the race. Another Boston qualifying time and a race where I really felt pretty good the whole way. It seemed easy compared to Nashville where I walked a bunch. Of course, it doesn't matter how fast I run, I normally always feel like I could go faster. Looking back I probably should have tried to pick up the pace earlier. I just had the fear of bonking hard in the back of my mind so it lead me to be a little bit conservative. After struggling towards the end of my last couple marathons, I really wanted to feel strong at the end of this one and to be able to enjoy it. I think I accomplished that.
I learned at the Portland Marathon that I know how to train myself for a marathon. It only took 6 years and 17 marathons to figure that out.
Since Sadie's Rogue group was running Portland it made sense for me to run too. Work was really busy for me this summer and my training group was focused on other things, so I decided to go it alone. My training mainly consisted of easy runs through our neighborhood and the Town Lake Trail. I did very little speedwork. Only a few MGP runs of 4-5 miles on the trail. I did get my long runs in and was able to do 5 runs of 20+ miles, peaking at 25 miles about 4 weeks out from the race.
The main thing I tried to do was simplify my training. I didn't feel the need to go find a track and do 1000/1000's or 5k/10k pace work. I didn't feel like I needed (or wanted) to go do some extremely high mileage program. I just concentrated on getting my miles in and running at an easy pace and as the summer went on, tried to make that easy pace a little faster. During my neighborhood runs I always made sure to include some hills. My weekly mileage peaked at around 50 miles/week.
Going into the marathon, I didn't know what to expect, but I felt good. My stated goal was just to break 3:15 because that would keep me eligible to run Boston for two more years. Deep down I thought I probably could run 3:10 or less, but I still had doubts on whether I had trained hard enough. I came up with a simple race plan that would give me some flexibility. I started behind the 3:10 group, but ahead of the 3:15 group. The plan was to begin the race running between 7:10-7:25/mile. Hopefully 7:10 would feel pretty good and I would hold it through Mile 17 when we reach the top of the St. John's Bridge, the highest point on the course. At the bridge I would assess how I was feeling and either pick it up or hold where I was.
Race morning came with perfect weather and me feeling strong and rested. I started out as planned and it felt easy. I was able to immediately get on 3:10 pace and ran without any problems. 10K split was at 7:10/mile. Halfway split was 1:34:27. The funny thing was I was on 3:09 pace and the 3:10 pace group was way ahead of me, obviously going out too fast.
I made the long climb up to the bridge at Mile 17 and still felt good. My pace has slowed to 7:17/mile overall, but we had been good up some hills. I think I also got lulled to sleep on a couple of the boring flat miles around a bunch of warehouses. I decided to hold my pace where I was and wait for the big downhill section at Mile 21 to start kicking it in. I had a couple moments in the next 4 miles where I started to feel bad and have some doubts, but I was able to fight off the bad feelings and run through it. I thought back to the Team Rogue pre-race meeting that I crashed the day before. Steve told everyone to make a list of reasons why they were ready to have a good race. I came up with one: I'm pretty sure I ran more in 100 degree weather than anyone there. Most of my training runs were in the afternoons when I got home from work. While they weren't fun, I knew it was helping me learn to deal with the suffering that you face during a marathon. That's what I focused on when I started feeling bad at the end of the race.
At Mile 21, I picked up the pace but was only able to do 7:08. Faster than I had been running but not enough to pick up much ground on the 3:10 group. I figured I was about 1 minute behind them so I needed a strong finish. With about 2 1/2 miles to go, we crossed the Broadway Bridge and I picked up the pace again ready to run as fast as I could to the end. I ran off the bridge and made the sweeping righthand turn down to Naito Parkway that takes us to the finish. This is where my only course complaint is. As I made the turn I looked ahead to see some train tracks with the gate down. To my left I could see a train coming about to block off the course. Without much thinking I ran as fast as I could, slipped around the side of the gates, dodged a guy trying to block my way and ran across the tracks. I really wasn't that close to the train, but I think I would have been stopped if I was 10 seconds slower.
After that I could feel my heart pounding and just felt grateful that I has been far enough along not to have to wait for the train. I though about how mad I would have been to have trained for 6 months, have been running a good race and then get stopped by a train. That would have been awful. I kept running but I think I just lost focus from there on in. While Mile 24 had been 7:10, the next two were 7:27 and 7:38 even though I didn't feel like I was struggling. With a mile to go I knew I wasn't beating 3:10, so the last .2 was pretty slow. Finish time: 3:11:52.
Overall I'm pleased with the race. Another Boston qualifying time and a race where I really felt pretty good the whole way. It seemed easy compared to Nashville where I walked a bunch. Of course, it doesn't matter how fast I run, I normally always feel like I could go faster. Looking back I probably should have tried to pick up the pace earlier. I just had the fear of bonking hard in the back of my mind so it lead me to be a little bit conservative. After struggling towards the end of my last couple marathons, I really wanted to feel strong at the end of this one and to be able to enjoy it. I think I accomplished that.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Lucky Bamboo
In February 2003 as I was getting ready to run my first marathon, I received a package in the mail from my sister. In it was a good luck present for the race, a "Lucky Bamboo" plant. It was a great gift and a perfect plant for me. It didn't require a lot of care or attention. Just add water when it starts to run out. Since then I've always thought of it as a marathon good luck charm.
My lucky bamboo has lasted all this time and has been with me through 4 houses now. It originally had 3 stalks, but over the years a couple of them died and I removed them. The last stalk hung on until this week when it turned yellow, just as I am getting ready to leave for Portland for my 17th marathon. I sure hope that doesn't mean anything!
I don't know if turning yellow means it is dead, or not. After doing some research, I see that lucky bamboo is not supposed to be in direct sunlight, which it is, of course, sitting in the window. I don't remember that being in the care instructions. I'll have to pull it out of the window, give it some fresh, clean water and hope it revives itself.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Mystery Sticks
Yesterday, I came home from work early and was rummaging around the hallway closet and discovered something I hadn't seen in quite some time. Way in the back, stuck behind the vacuum cleaner and a bunch of coats was this tall blue bag with a bunch of metal rods sticking out. I was curious so I crawled into the closet and pulled this mysterious bag out into the hallway.
After the cloud of dust settled, a closer inspection revealed about 14 of these sticks of varying lengths. The shorter ones had shiny, metal extensions attached to the end and seemed to be set at different angles. The taller sticks had these large hats on the ends that were covering larger, rounder metal extensions. The shortest stick in the bag had a squarer "head" attached to it and didn't look anything like the other 13. They all had these strange words like "Mizuno" and "Taylor Made" stamped on them, along with different numbers. What could these strange instruments be? What are they used for? Why do the numbers start at 3 and stop at 9? Why does one say "P"?
Searching for clues, I started looking through the bag. One pocket on the side had several small, white balls tucked into it. Another had a bag of tiny wooden stakes in it. Without thinking I took one of the balls and balanced it on the end of one of the stakes. As I did, old memories began rushing back into my mind. I could see people hitting the balls off the stakes with the metal sticks that were in the bag. They seemed to be advancing the balls towards these small holes set in the middle of a field. Some were walking. Some were riding in little mini-cars. A few people seemed to enjoy hitting off the freshly cut grass that extended as far as the eye could see. Many others looked like they preferred playing amongst the trees and sand.
It all came back to me know. These were tools used to play a game. Instinctively I threw the bag into the back of my truck and set off towards 620 where I recalled seeing people using these objects. Mr. Tee's Driving Range, that's the place. I forked over $10 inside the office and set off for the lawn with a big basket of balls. They were just like the ones in the bag except they were yellow and had stripes on them. I found a nice level spot, did a few stretches and started hitting the balls out into the field with the clubs. Nice and easy. The first few were a little crooked. On a couple I made more contact with the ground than the ball causing big patches of grass to go flying.
Pretty soon though, the balls started going in the direction of my target. I determined hitting the ball with the middle of the club's face produced a much better result than the edges. I worked my way through all the clubs in the bag from shortest to longest. The longest one was the most fun to hit, but it also was the hardest one to hit straight.
As I hit the last few balls it occurred to me what this was. This is golf (or at least some form of it). My old friend that I hadn't seen in a while. This may be something I'll have to do again.
After the cloud of dust settled, a closer inspection revealed about 14 of these sticks of varying lengths. The shorter ones had shiny, metal extensions attached to the end and seemed to be set at different angles. The taller sticks had these large hats on the ends that were covering larger, rounder metal extensions. The shortest stick in the bag had a squarer "head" attached to it and didn't look anything like the other 13. They all had these strange words like "Mizuno" and "Taylor Made" stamped on them, along with different numbers. What could these strange instruments be? What are they used for? Why do the numbers start at 3 and stop at 9? Why does one say "P"?
Searching for clues, I started looking through the bag. One pocket on the side had several small, white balls tucked into it. Another had a bag of tiny wooden stakes in it. Without thinking I took one of the balls and balanced it on the end of one of the stakes. As I did, old memories began rushing back into my mind. I could see people hitting the balls off the stakes with the metal sticks that were in the bag. They seemed to be advancing the balls towards these small holes set in the middle of a field. Some were walking. Some were riding in little mini-cars. A few people seemed to enjoy hitting off the freshly cut grass that extended as far as the eye could see. Many others looked like they preferred playing amongst the trees and sand.
It all came back to me know. These were tools used to play a game. Instinctively I threw the bag into the back of my truck and set off towards 620 where I recalled seeing people using these objects. Mr. Tee's Driving Range, that's the place. I forked over $10 inside the office and set off for the lawn with a big basket of balls. They were just like the ones in the bag except they were yellow and had stripes on them. I found a nice level spot, did a few stretches and started hitting the balls out into the field with the clubs. Nice and easy. The first few were a little crooked. On a couple I made more contact with the ground than the ball causing big patches of grass to go flying.
Pretty soon though, the balls started going in the direction of my target. I determined hitting the ball with the middle of the club's face produced a much better result than the edges. I worked my way through all the clubs in the bag from shortest to longest. The longest one was the most fun to hit, but it also was the hardest one to hit straight.
As I hit the last few balls it occurred to me what this was. This is golf (or at least some form of it). My old friend that I hadn't seen in a while. This may be something I'll have to do again.
Monday, August 31, 2009
25 (almost) big ones
I got to tag along with Sadie and her Team Rogue group on Saturday for my long run, so I guess I'm obligated to blog about it. :)
Since I've been so busy with work the last few months and my running group was focusing on track meets and other races, I decided I would just train by myself this summer. It's really been a nice change of pace. I run when I want to and take the day off when I feel like it. I spent the first part of the summer just running easy, but lately I've been adding hills when I can. That's pretty easy to do in our neighborhood. The worst part has been the heat because I run after work. I think at one point I had a string of 7 or 8 runs in a row above 100 degrees.
Long runs have been harder because I've worked a lot of Saturdays and it's hard to get out of bed early when you're not meeting up with anybody. I had managed to get in a 16 miler and a 19+ miler, but I knew I needed to get in a few runs above 20 miles in order to keep Portland from being painful. That's why I jumped at the chance to run with Rogue on Saturday when Sadie suggested it. It was their 2nd of 3 Soul Buster or Race Prep runs. (Basically, 20 miles with 1 "fast" mile and 9 miles of MGP, followed by 6 miles on the track progressing from MGP to 10k pace.) I figured that this run would give me a good idea of my fitness level, but I also figured with my lack of training (compared to their training), the 6 miles on the track was an injury waiting to happen. Instead I elected to just run another 3 miles on the trail when I got to the track.
So what happened? I had a good run. I don't know what my fast mile was because the auto-splits on my Garmin weren't in sync with the track, but I felt like I gave it a good effort. The first 5 miles of the MGP, I seemed to be staying right around 7:00-7:05, except for the mile I had to stop and ask Jon and Keith for directions. The 2nd section I picked it up a little and averaged about 6:55/mile. That was my first MGP work of the summer, so I was pleased to be able hold those paces for 9 miles.
After that we ran up Red Bud Trail and into Westlake for some hills and finished it off on Stratford. While everyone else broke off to the Austin High track, I finished off the 3 mile loop for a total of 23 miles. Garmin said I had a 7:47/mile average. I thought that sounded like a good days work.
It was starting to get hot when I got to the track to watch Sadie finish up her run. She must have been 3-4 laps in when I got there, so I had around 20 laps to relax and stretch and get re-hydrated before we would leave to go back to the car at Barton Springs. I watched her run for a couple miles and then all of a sudden she runs by and I hear her say "Do you have any energy left?" I knew what that meant. She wants me to run with her. I could have said "No, I'm tired" or pretended to not hear her, but all I could manage to say was "Maybe....Why?" as she ran past. I knew what I had to do so I cut across the field and met her on the other side of the track just to make sure she wanted me to run with her.
From there I ran another 7 laps of the track taking a few laps off to let Sadie run by herself. So my long run turned out to be 24 3/4 miles. That's the longest I've ever run at one time without being in a marathon. The crazy thing is that I'm not really that sore. I guess the extended break before I hit the track probably helped that.
Since I've been so busy with work the last few months and my running group was focusing on track meets and other races, I decided I would just train by myself this summer. It's really been a nice change of pace. I run when I want to and take the day off when I feel like it. I spent the first part of the summer just running easy, but lately I've been adding hills when I can. That's pretty easy to do in our neighborhood. The worst part has been the heat because I run after work. I think at one point I had a string of 7 or 8 runs in a row above 100 degrees.
Long runs have been harder because I've worked a lot of Saturdays and it's hard to get out of bed early when you're not meeting up with anybody. I had managed to get in a 16 miler and a 19+ miler, but I knew I needed to get in a few runs above 20 miles in order to keep Portland from being painful. That's why I jumped at the chance to run with Rogue on Saturday when Sadie suggested it. It was their 2nd of 3 Soul Buster or Race Prep runs. (Basically, 20 miles with 1 "fast" mile and 9 miles of MGP, followed by 6 miles on the track progressing from MGP to 10k pace.) I figured that this run would give me a good idea of my fitness level, but I also figured with my lack of training (compared to their training), the 6 miles on the track was an injury waiting to happen. Instead I elected to just run another 3 miles on the trail when I got to the track.
So what happened? I had a good run. I don't know what my fast mile was because the auto-splits on my Garmin weren't in sync with the track, but I felt like I gave it a good effort. The first 5 miles of the MGP, I seemed to be staying right around 7:00-7:05, except for the mile I had to stop and ask Jon and Keith for directions. The 2nd section I picked it up a little and averaged about 6:55/mile. That was my first MGP work of the summer, so I was pleased to be able hold those paces for 9 miles.
After that we ran up Red Bud Trail and into Westlake for some hills and finished it off on Stratford. While everyone else broke off to the Austin High track, I finished off the 3 mile loop for a total of 23 miles. Garmin said I had a 7:47/mile average. I thought that sounded like a good days work.
It was starting to get hot when I got to the track to watch Sadie finish up her run. She must have been 3-4 laps in when I got there, so I had around 20 laps to relax and stretch and get re-hydrated before we would leave to go back to the car at Barton Springs. I watched her run for a couple miles and then all of a sudden she runs by and I hear her say "Do you have any energy left?" I knew what that meant. She wants me to run with her. I could have said "No, I'm tired" or pretended to not hear her, but all I could manage to say was "Maybe....Why?" as she ran past. I knew what I had to do so I cut across the field and met her on the other side of the track just to make sure she wanted me to run with her.
From there I ran another 7 laps of the track taking a few laps off to let Sadie run by herself. So my long run turned out to be 24 3/4 miles. That's the longest I've ever run at one time without being in a marathon. The crazy thing is that I'm not really that sore. I guess the extended break before I hit the track probably helped that.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Jury Duty: Day 4
It's 10:00 and we haven't started yet. We're waiting on them to
complete a list of the charges before we go into the courtroom. So I
sit here and wait.
complete a list of the charges before we go into the courtroom. So I
sit here and wait.
The most entertaining thing has been a guy yelling at his lawyer out
in the hall. I can also watch a basketball game being played on the
roof of the jail across the street.
Thank you, whoever invented the iPhone.
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