Going Stir-Crazy

It's only been 4 days of no running, but I am going insane! I don't know how I am going to last through Friday with no running. My ankle still hurts a bit, especially walking down steps, but I just really want to get back on the road. Half-way through my rest period.

Down for the Count

Last night I went out for a 3 mile run. I was trying to run it fast, instead of just a leisurely stroll. Mile 1 came along in 7:17, feeling good. At 1.58 miles I took a bad step. My right foot landed half on the sidewalk, half on the grass. When the grass gave and the sidewalk didn't my ankle buckled, I pushed off for my next step and then immediately dropped to the ground screaming in pain. After laying on some random persons lawn for a few minutes I made my way to my feet. My ankle was hurting bad, but I had to get home. I started to walk home, .6 miles later I arrived home. I was hurting bad. I took some tylonal, gave it some ice and then wrapped it. I went to bed and it was still in pain, I woke up in the middle of the night and refreshed my ice. Today I woke up and was still unable to put any weight on that foot at all, even the weight on the foot while sitting was enough to cause pain. I worked a half day before making my way to the ER. After a few hours and three x-rays I got my diagnosis. Severe sprain. I am hanging up my Brooks for the next 7-10 days, and replacing them with some crutches. I am going to miss out on some runs. Three 6 milers, one 8miler, one 4miler, one 3 miler, one 13 miler. Maybe more, hopefully less. Being sidelined is going to SUCK.

Inagural Baltimore 10-Miler Race Report

The day started very early (for me at least) when my alarm sounded at 5:25am. I begrudgingly got out of bed and started cooking my breakfast. A cup of water in the microwave and two pieces of bread in the toaster. I went back up stairs while everything was cooking I got changed into my race clothes. I came back and added the water to my bowl of instant oatmeal and chunky peanut butter to my toast. I ate breakfast and was on my way.

The course was about a 20 minute ride away, my GPS tried taking me in through the back side of the park, which was closed off because of the race. After a few laps around the park a few other cars and myself came upon a race volunteer who pointed us in the right direction. When I parked I grabbed my stuff and changed my shoes, got out of my pants (I wear pants over my racing shorts, habit.) While I was making my final preparations I was talking to my parking lot neighbor, Grace. We walked over to the packet pick-up together and chatted a bit before parting ways.

I had an hour or so to kill so I found a chair and relaxed as best I could. About 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time I made my way to the sign that read "10:00 Pace." My goal time was 1:40:00, so I figured thats where I wanted to be. While waiting for the gun a friend of mine, Scott, came up and said hi. We chatted for a bit, he said that 10 minutes was probably a bit quicker then he was going to be able to run with his knee, but he'd start there with me and see how it goes. 7:34am the gun goes and we are off.

The course opened up with a 2 mile consistent downhill of about a total of 200ft. Which was very bad, considering the course was an out and back, so we finished with a 200ft, 2 mile climb. Miles 1 and 2 went by fast, like they do in most races. Mile 1 was done in 8:51, it was quicker then it was supposed to be but it was still ok. mile 2 went by in 9:32, right about where I wanted to be for the 1st half.

After the 2 mile down hill there were 2.5 miles of rolling hills. Still feeling surprisingly well mile 3 and 4 were 9:18 and 9:27. As we approached mile 5 we looped around Lake Montebello. A 1.3 mile loop around a man-made lake with a running/biking lane around it. It is was the only flat part of the course and it gave my leg muscles a great rest. Mile 5 cruised through in 9:53. The clock time at the 5 mile marker said 49:45, which means that according to gun time I was just ahead of my goal pace. During the first half I was having a blast, chatting with Scott, and all the other runners. As we approached the lake one woman was saying that she needed something to cure her boredom, so I asked what she wanted to hear and started to sing for her.

After the loop around the lake we had to re-run the course in reverse to get the total mileage. Back to the 2.5 miles of rolling hills. Miles 6 and 7 came and went in 9:42 and 9:47. After the set of rolling hills came the final 2 mile climb. The 8 mile marker came at the bottom of the last hill, and passed at 10:01. The fatigue was beginning to set in, right as we got to the final 2 miles. Coming up on mile 6 Scott and I came up on Grace, she was walking when we reached her but she ran with us for a little. She said that the heat was getting to her, so after a few minutes she went back to her walk. Around mile 7 I could feel that I could push a bit, and knew that I would need to push if I would make pace with those hills to close out the race. I told Scott I'd catch him later and I was now running 'alone.'

As I said earlier the last 2 miles were a 200ft climb. Miles 9 and 10 were slower then all the others. I had to walk a bit in mile 9, the climb killed me. Mile 9 went in 11:05. Mile 10 was only slightly faster, but I kept in a running stride the whole way, it finished in 11:03. My Garmin read the course as a total of 10.18 miles, so that means I still had another .2 miles to the finish, which I did in 1:19, a 7:29 pace.

When I stepped on the mat I stopped my watch, I looked at it and saw it read "1:39:59.93." I did it! My time said I did it! I hung around for a bit snacking on the watermelon they supplied, YUM! While hanging around I ran into Scott again, who was surprised with his finish time and that his knees held up as well as they did. As the results were coming out they posted them, I couldn't find my name which worried me, what if my chip malfunctioned? I tried not to think about it and returned to my car, where Grace was on the phone with a loved one. She came in with a time of 1:48:xx, slower then she was hoping for, but she was having problems with the heat so she was happy with it.

I got home and checked to see if the results were online yet, they were. I searched for mine and found a listed chip time of 1:40:00. Right on my goal. I took a shower and then a nap, it was wonderful. Today I am feeling almost no pain, which is that much better.

3 Fer 1 Post

Tuesday 6/10
Hot and sticky, 5 miles scheduled, what to do? I decided that I didn't want to wake up an hour earlier then normal to go for a run so I pushed the run to the evening. Knowing it was going to be hot I planned to use a treadmill at the gym. Let me just say, treadmills are so boring! I completed 5.17 miles in 49:00, an average pace of 6.33MPH, 9:28min/mi.

Wednesday 6/11
The weather was finally breaking, with a 3 mile run on the training calendar. I set my alarm for 5:55am and was out the door by 6:05am. Mile one went very smooth at 9:38. Mid-way between miles one and two I stepped on unlevel sidewalk wrong and down I went. While I was down I stopped my timer. A driver coming up from behind me must have seen me go down because she stopped to see if I was ok. After a minute or two of walking gingerly talking to the nice woman she went on her way as did I. At this point the pain in my ankle subsided and I was back off again. Mile two splitted at 9:13, should have been closer to 12:00 since I stopped my watch when I was nursing my ankle. Mile three my ankle was begging to bother me but I pushed on knowing that I was only four minutes away from home. Mile three finished at 9:34. I then slowed to a walk for the last 386ft to my door.

~~Mile Splits~~
Mile 1 - 9:38
Mile 2 - 9:13
Mile 3 - 9:34
3-3.07 - 0:50 (11:30/mi pace)
Total - 3.07mi - 29:16 - 9:31/mi

Thursday 6/12
The day after the injury. My ankle was hurting pretty bad last night, standing on it for a couple hours at a concert probably wasn't the best medicine for it. When I got home I iced it as I fell asleep. It was feeling good until recently, it is beggining to hurt again. So I see more ice in my future, when i get home. Today is a scheduled rest day, which I hope is all that I need to get my ankle good enough to run again. Tomorrow I have 5 miles on the schedule and a group 10 mile run planned for Saturday morning. Until next time, happy running.

Welcome to Marathon Training!

I start my official marathon training this week. I have a mixed feelings of hope, fear, nervousness and anticipation for the next 18 weeks. The program is based off of Hal Hidgons' intermediate training plan. It features three low weeks of twenty-six miles and two high weeks of fifty miles. It builds in atleast two rest days a week. Week one is a nice way ease into the program slowly ramping up the mileage. The program offers three twenty mile runs, two of which fall the day the following a ten mile run.

Week 1 Plans
Sunday - Cross Train
Monday - 3 Miles
Tuesday - 5 Miles
Wednesday - 3 Miles
Thursday - 4 Miles
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 10 Miles

Toe Isn't Healed

This morning I woke up nice and early. Rolled out of bed at 6:00am and was on the road by 6:10am. I was sleepy, and the first mile took a lot more effort then what it should have to get my legs moving. Mile one went by at 8:38, even though it felt like I was running a seven minute mile. Mile two I slowed a bit, but I was finally waking up, so my effort level fell considerably. Mile two passed in a time of 9:19. Mile three was very tough, the mercury was already beggining to rise, even though it was only 6:30am at this point. I took a bit of a walk break from about 22:15-22:50, the 85º temps were starting to hit me. Mile three finished at 9:28. My pace was slowly falling as the temps were slowly rising. I walked another four-hundredths of a mile to cool my body down a bit. As I sit here typing this my toe is starting to bother me, I was hoping it was finally healed, apparently not.

Mile splits (which are posted above):
Mile 1 - 8:38
Mile 2 - 9:19
Mile 3 - 9:28
3-3.04 - :38

Total - 28:04 - 9:14/mi

What a Wonderful Run Yesterday.

Yesterday I had what could be described as my best run ever. It was a just a quick and easy 4.5 mile run, but it was so perfect. My feet were moving seemingly effortlessly, my breathing was in perfect check. I went out with only one goal, to hold a steady pace, and I did just that.

Mile Splits
Mile 1 - 9:23
Mile 2 - 9:33
Mile 3 - 9:45
Mile 4 - 9:25
4-4.64 - 6:03 (9:27/mi pace had I finished it)

Held a steady ~9:30 pace for my entire run.



On another note, I registered for the Inagural Baltimore 10 Miler yesterday. I need to have another shot at a race distance of double digits. Look for me on June 21st running 10 miles through the ghettos of Baltimore.

Running On an Injury. Probably Not the Best Idea.

I hurt my toe when I took that miss-step in my half-marathon on Sunday. It felt wrong the rest of the race, and swelled up like a baloon as soon as I stopped running. I gave it Monday off to rest then got back to pounding the roads on Tuesday. I went out for a quick four miler, although my pace didn't suffer from the lingering injury, I know that it would have made a difference had I went much further. After mile 3 I could feel every other step (the ones that I was landing on my left foot) so intensely. I should probably rest it until the weekend, then plan on cutting my long run back if it starts to flare up, but I will probably go out on a run tonight and see how it goes.

~Mile Splits~
Mile 1 - 8:30
Mile 2 - 8:41
Mile 3 - 9:45
Mile 4 - 9:48
4.0-4.19 - 1:50 (9:55/mi pace)

Stupid toe!

Zooma Annapolis Half-Marathon Race Report

I suppose that this race started Tuesday afternoon, when I picked up my race packet. At that point I had a mix of excitement and nerves. I was feeling good, having a tough time with my taper though, I just wanted to run. I went out for a quick two mile run on Thursday, just to keep my legs loose, that was my last run before the race.
My bib:

Race shirt:


~~Saturday~~
I had a graduation party to goto, at 3:00 PM. Which means I'd be eating whatever they served for dinner. The food sucked, so when I got home I cooked myself some pasta and enjoyed in a carbo-load dinner. I went upstairs around 9:30 PM and started my last minute prep for the following morning. I set two alarms so I'd defiantly wake up on time. I laid out my clothes, set my shoes by the door. Made sure I had my breakfast food of choice in the house. Everything was perfect. I didn't fall asleep until closer to 11:30 PM, giving me about five hours of sleep.
Everything waiting for me to wake up:


~~Sunday (pre-race)~~
My alarms sound at 4:30 AM, which is the earliest I've woken up in a long time. I was surprised that I was able to sleep as well as I did. When I woke up my stomach was in knots, I was so nervous. I got dressed, went downstairs and set in on my usual race day breakfast of toast with peanut butter (chunky) and apples & cinnamon oatmeal. After breakfast my stomach wasn't feeling good at all, I set off anyway in hopes that in the following hour and a half before the race starts it will settle. It started to, but defiantly wasn't 100% at the start.
At my house, 4:40 AM:

Pre-race at the start, 6:40 AM:


~~Sunday (gun to finish)~~
I lined up with the nine minute pacer, knowing that I couldn't hold that pace, but I was hoping to stick with her until mile 6 or 7. As we were in the final minutes before the start I saw one of my friends that I had no idea would be at the race, that was a big boost. She set off with the nine minute pacer, also knowing that was too fast for her. The gun sounded and we were off. It was really happening, I was actually about to run 13 miles, 142 yards, 1 foot, and 6 inches. Mile one was effortless, we ran it in 8:20. Mile two was also quicker then it should have been with about 8:40. Right after the mile two marker we embarked in our first hill, a bridge over the Severn River. This bridge was huge, and a killer. It's good that I was at the beginning as opposed to the end. I was able to run the bridge but it took a lot out of me. I don't know any more mile splits from this point because my Garmin started to mess with me. At the 5k split the clock was showing just under 30 minutes, which puts me on the ten minute pace I was hoping for, but I hit it earlier then I wanted. Right after the 5k point I took a miss step which resulted in me falling off the road, I caught myself with my hands and was able to only loose a step or two. Mentally it messed with me bad though. I pushed on and around mile five I saw the nine minute pacer walking, turns out she tripped also. Around mile six I was starting to slow and could feel it. Not too much later I had a FE with cj2001. We ran together for a little, then she fell off the pace, then caught me again, then passed me. At the turn around point, which came right before mile eight I was feeling really bad. I was still ahead of my hopeful ten minute mile pace. At eight and a half I grabbed some Gatorade because I was cramping a bit. This was a bad idea, my stomach didn't like that at all. I was starting to lose my pace around mile nine. Shortly after my friend from the start line caught up to me and helped to push me along. I was starting to hurt bad around mile ten. After the tenth mile marker I was in a new distance PR. The miles kept passing, although they were passing much slower then I was hoping they would be. The last couple miles were downhill, which was a welcomed relief considering the first four or five miles were almost straight up hill. Mile twelve passed, I was hurting so bad. I looked down and saw 2:10:00 pass, there went ten minute pace. Now it was all about finishing. Mile thirteen came, all that was left was a loop around an exit ramp to the finish line. As soon as I saw the banner that said "FINISH" my legs gained a second wind. I asked my friend if she minded if I 'sprinted' to the finish, she told me to go. I gave it my all, crossed the line with a gun time of 2:18:36.
Just after the gun:

Coming to the finish:

Just after the line:

Removing my chip:

Post-race chat with fellow runners (#8 is my friend who helped me push through the last 5 miles):


~~Sunday (post-race)~~
I tried to walk a bit, but my legs weren't having any of that. So I stretched as best I could before getting on the shuttle to the post-race party and expo and my car. One I sat down on the bus my legs instantly locked up, it was bad. We got back to the post-race party, I stumbled off the bus and picked up my boxed lunch. I was feeling horrible still, as expected. I stumbled my way back to my car where I say cj2001 again, she finished about ten minutes ahead of me (Good Job on your first half!) we chatted for a little before we parted ways. After a bit of a ride home I took a shower and sat in the tub, it felt so good. I took a bit of a nap on the sofa then checked for the official results. My chip time was, drum-roll please...2:18:20. A 10:34 pace, only 34 seconds off my goal pace, so for my 1st half I am not complaining. Another thing I saw when checked the results, was that I won my age group! Ok, I was the only Male 15-19 to finish, but there is still a 1 next to my name under age group place!