Race week has finally arrived and with it, all the little phobias you get before a marathon. I'm paranoid that I'll catch a cold from someone, so I wash my hands about 100 times a day. Anyone that coughs or sneezes near me makes me want run away. I take little baby steps when I get out of bed so that I don't stub my toe or run into anything. Any little tweak or twinge in my legs immediately becomes something to worry about. I guess this is normal after you train for months for something you only get one shot at. I've run enough of these now to know that these are all normal thoughts, but it still doesn't relieve the paranoia that much.
We have a few more runs to do this week and then Sadie and I will be off to Utah on Thursday. I'll spend the next three days getting my projects at work under control so that I can be gone for two days, hydrating, getting my clothes ready, and hopefully sleeping.
The weather forecast is showing pretty cool temps at the start, warming up to near 60when I should be finishing. We could have some pretty good winds in our face or across us though. It probably won't be as perfect as last year, but it should be just fine for a fast race.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Silicon Lab Marathon Relay
Sunday was the Silicon Labs Marathon Relay and once again Team Mac was there to race. I was on a team with Aaron, Travis, Stuart and Jeff competing in the Open Men's division. We also had an Open Women's team and a combo team. Our team came in 10th overall and 4th in our division (8 secs off the podium). The girls dominated and won their division.
Since St. George is getting so close, Mac had me run one of the 5k legs. I had planned to run hard without hurting myself. 13 days out from a marathon is not a good time to go injure yourself. I kept telling Jeff he was going to have to run extra fast to make up for my leg. Apparently, I'm in pretty good shape because I ended up running 5k in 18:49 (6:03/mile) according to Run-Far's time for my leg. That's a PR by 35 seconds. It felt good to run like that without feeling like I was on the edge.
I'm still amazed by people that don't run the tangents in races. What part of the word "race" do they not understand? The object is to finish as fast as possible, which in my mind means running the shortest distance the course gives you. I saw so many people running wide around curves or following the lanes like they were in a car.
Since St. George is getting so close, Mac had me run one of the 5k legs. I had planned to run hard without hurting myself. 13 days out from a marathon is not a good time to go injure yourself. I kept telling Jeff he was going to have to run extra fast to make up for my leg. Apparently, I'm in pretty good shape because I ended up running 5k in 18:49 (6:03/mile) according to Run-Far's time for my leg. That's a PR by 35 seconds. It felt good to run like that without feeling like I was on the edge.
I'm still amazed by people that don't run the tangents in races. What part of the word "race" do they not understand? The object is to finish as fast as possible, which in my mind means running the shortest distance the course gives you. I saw so many people running wide around curves or following the lanes like they were in a car.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
A Lot of Running
Today marks the end of two of the highest mileage weeks I've run and I'm happy to say that I'm still feeling strong.
Last week I ran 62 miles which was a new personal high. In the past I've always felt like I started to break down when I approached the mid-50's, but last week I felt great the whole time. I was very surprised considering it came on the heels of racing the Zilker Relays and running the Nike Human Race 10k pretty hard. The week was capped off with a 20 miler on Sunday that I ran with Travis. We made up a route that included Mt Bonnell, Balcones and Barton Hills and we both felt strong enough to drop down to MGP in the last few miles.
This week was our peak week and Mac had us scheduled for 70, but that included a 5 miler on Friday that I decided I wasn't going to do. Sixty-five miles would be enough with a 24 miler on Saturday. I didn't feel near as good this week as I did last week. My legs started hurting and I was feeling the normal aches and pains that I feel during peak weeks.
Tuesday we did 6 mile repeats at 30secs below MGP. Two were on the track, two were on the trail, and two were on the grass at Zilker. I managed to keep them all below 6:20/mile with a couple at 6:00/mile. At Zilker we ran into a little trouble because some guys playing soccer decided to use Mac's cones for one of their goals. When Mac ran over to take his cones back, this one loser soccer player got mad and started getting in Mac's face about disrupting their game. His argument was that we shouldn't leave cones on the field and if we did, he was going to use them if he wanted to. He couldn't get it through his small little brain that they were not his cones and that they were marking our course.
Saturday was my longest scheduled run of the season. We did 24 starting at Gateway and ending at the Rock. Due to the different distances everyone was running, I did most of this run by myself. I figured it would be a good character builder. I felt pretty strong for about 20 miles and then just had to gut out the last 4. Part of that was heading west up Enfield from Lamar into the strong winds that Ike gave us. I was definitely slower the last 4 miles, but still managed to average 8:04/mile for the whole run. That's just about right where I wanted it.
I sure thought today's 8 miles was going to suck, but I really didn't feel too bad. I was a little tight for 1/2 mile, but ran pretty well for the rest of the time. It was great to finish knowing the worst was behind me and having set a new personal high (65 miles). I've never felt this healthy 3 weeks out from a marathon, so I'm hoping it's a sign of good things to come.
Last week I ran 62 miles which was a new personal high. In the past I've always felt like I started to break down when I approached the mid-50's, but last week I felt great the whole time. I was very surprised considering it came on the heels of racing the Zilker Relays and running the Nike Human Race 10k pretty hard. The week was capped off with a 20 miler on Sunday that I ran with Travis. We made up a route that included Mt Bonnell, Balcones and Barton Hills and we both felt strong enough to drop down to MGP in the last few miles.
This week was our peak week and Mac had us scheduled for 70, but that included a 5 miler on Friday that I decided I wasn't going to do. Sixty-five miles would be enough with a 24 miler on Saturday. I didn't feel near as good this week as I did last week. My legs started hurting and I was feeling the normal aches and pains that I feel during peak weeks.
Tuesday we did 6 mile repeats at 30secs below MGP. Two were on the track, two were on the trail, and two were on the grass at Zilker. I managed to keep them all below 6:20/mile with a couple at 6:00/mile. At Zilker we ran into a little trouble because some guys playing soccer decided to use Mac's cones for one of their goals. When Mac ran over to take his cones back, this one loser soccer player got mad and started getting in Mac's face about disrupting their game. His argument was that we shouldn't leave cones on the field and if we did, he was going to use them if he wanted to. He couldn't get it through his small little brain that they were not his cones and that they were marking our course.
Saturday was my longest scheduled run of the season. We did 24 starting at Gateway and ending at the Rock. Due to the different distances everyone was running, I did most of this run by myself. I figured it would be a good character builder. I felt pretty strong for about 20 miles and then just had to gut out the last 4. Part of that was heading west up Enfield from Lamar into the strong winds that Ike gave us. I was definitely slower the last 4 miles, but still managed to average 8:04/mile for the whole run. That's just about right where I wanted it.
I sure thought today's 8 miles was going to suck, but I really didn't feel too bad. I was a little tight for 1/2 mile, but ran pretty well for the rest of the time. It was great to finish knowing the worst was behind me and having set a new personal high (65 miles). I've never felt this healthy 3 weeks out from a marathon, so I'm hoping it's a sign of good things to come.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Tiger walks on water
Nice shot, but unfortunately he's going to have to add a stroke for grounding his club in the hazard before he hit it.
Monday, August 11, 2008
The Olympics
We've been enjoying watching the Olympics the last few days. The pictures have been pretty awesome in HD, especially the Opening Ceremonies. I guess we're going to be staying up late since all the swimming finals seem to be between 10-11PM.
Here are few things we've seen that I think are funny:
1. After the U.S. won the 4x100 relay last night, Garrett Weber-Gale called France's relay team "The Frenchies".
2. Hearing the theme from Baywatch being played during the beach volleyball matches.
3. After one of the gymnasts wipes out on their dismount they still have to stand back up and raise their hands like they are saying "Ta DAAA!".
4. This just in: Did you know that Dara Torres is old and has a couple kids? I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware of that. The TV guys never mention that.
5.
(to be continued)
Here are few things we've seen that I think are funny:
1. After the U.S. won the 4x100 relay last night, Garrett Weber-Gale called France's relay team "The Frenchies".
2. Hearing the theme from Baywatch being played during the beach volleyball matches.
3. After one of the gymnasts wipes out on their dismount they still have to stand back up and raise their hands like they are saying "Ta DAAA!".
4. This just in: Did you know that Dara Torres is old and has a couple kids? I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware of that. The TV guys never mention that.
5.
(to be continued)
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Moonlight Margarita Run
Mac had us all run the Moonlight Margarita Run tonight as our Thursday night workout. Most of the group showed and seemed to run well.
My goal was to run as close to 19 minutes as I could. I've only previously run 2 5k's in my life, so I'm still figuring out how to approach them. It's hard to start slow enough where you have something left for the finish, but fast enough that you aren't losing too much time in such a short race.
I lined up with Chris and Aaron at the start and we were probably a little bit farther back than we should have. It didn't matter too much because the road opened up really fast and we were able to get going. I was trying to hold back but it was hard to judge how fast we were going. The three of us stayed pretty close together until Chris ran past us just before Mile 1. The first mile was 6:05 which was right where I wanted to be. I wanted to hold that pace and then try to pick it up the last mile through the finish.
I pushed a little up the hill on Cesar Chavez and then made the turn-around. Chris stayed about 30 yards ahead of Aaron and me. I missed the Mile 2 split but felt like I was still moving pretty good. I was breathing and working hard, but still felt pretty good. About the time we were passing the track at Austin High I started my push to the finish. I ran over one of the speed bumps and pushed off on the backside to get a little boost. I was gaining on Chris a little, but not enough to catch him. My Mile 3 split was 12:45 (for Miles 2 & 3).
I finished in 19:30 (6:15/mile). That was good enough for 14th overall, but only 8th in my age group. Once I got home I figured out I was 6 seconds off my PR at the Bun Run last year. Not bad for a 90 degree, evening race after working all day (I'm sure I can think of some more excuses). It was a good workout.
I figured out after the race that I must have started out fast and slowed down into my 6:05 first mile. I then held the pace that I was doing at the marker. That's why the next two miles were slower than I thought.
Congrats to Sadie for setting a new PR by 46 seconds. I'm proud of her for running so well.
(I also just found out that it was 103 at the start of the race)
My goal was to run as close to 19 minutes as I could. I've only previously run 2 5k's in my life, so I'm still figuring out how to approach them. It's hard to start slow enough where you have something left for the finish, but fast enough that you aren't losing too much time in such a short race.
I lined up with Chris and Aaron at the start and we were probably a little bit farther back than we should have. It didn't matter too much because the road opened up really fast and we were able to get going. I was trying to hold back but it was hard to judge how fast we were going. The three of us stayed pretty close together until Chris ran past us just before Mile 1. The first mile was 6:05 which was right where I wanted to be. I wanted to hold that pace and then try to pick it up the last mile through the finish.
I pushed a little up the hill on Cesar Chavez and then made the turn-around. Chris stayed about 30 yards ahead of Aaron and me. I missed the Mile 2 split but felt like I was still moving pretty good. I was breathing and working hard, but still felt pretty good. About the time we were passing the track at Austin High I started my push to the finish. I ran over one of the speed bumps and pushed off on the backside to get a little boost. I was gaining on Chris a little, but not enough to catch him. My Mile 3 split was 12:45 (for Miles 2 & 3).
I finished in 19:30 (6:15/mile). That was good enough for 14th overall, but only 8th in my age group. Once I got home I figured out I was 6 seconds off my PR at the Bun Run last year. Not bad for a 90 degree, evening race after working all day (I'm sure I can think of some more excuses). It was a good workout.
I figured out after the race that I must have started out fast and slowed down into my 6:05 first mile. I then held the pace that I was doing at the marker. That's why the next two miles were slower than I thought.
Congrats to Sadie for setting a new PR by 46 seconds. I'm proud of her for running so well.
(I also just found out that it was 103 at the start of the race)
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