May in review

May total: 67.1 miles in 10:31:47

That's a little better than 9:30 m/mile for the month.

YTD: 347.7 in 56:55:23

Back in action

I wanted to take it easy this week mostly to just have a cut back week following my race on Saturday. 10-k's aren't a big deal as far as taking a toll on the body but with my ankle being sore I didn't want to push too hard and not recover. Well my ankle gets a little tight when I'm finished running but overall it feels great and I believe I can officially say I'm back in action.

Thursday I did 5.56 miles in 51:00 for a 9:11 m/mile and Today I did 5 miles in 48 minutes for a 9:36 m/mile pace.

So now my plan for the next few months. Since I run to race I've got a few races on the horizon. On July 29 I'll be running a 5k at Norfolk Botanical Gardens. My goal for this race will be 23 minutes. This will be Heather's debut 5k! The next race will be an 8k on September 27 at the Neptune Festival, VA. Beach. I haven't decided on a goal for this race but if all goes according to plan I'm shooting for 40 minutes. Then to wrap up the year I'll go for my longest race yet, a half-marathon. 13.1 miles of pure running pleasure. This race is in Richmond on November 15. The goal for this race will be 1:45.

Gaps

All right time to fill in some gaps.

On my 12 mile run on May 13 I seemed to have aggravated my ankle. For a few days I couldn't figure out what the problem was and actually thought it was my foot hurting. I've come to determine that it's my ankle and it seems to be getting better. It doesn't hurt when I run but does bother me sometimes when I'm not running.

So aside from the race on Saturday I haven't run more than 3 miles on any given run. Today I did run 3 miles and while a little sore I can tell it's getting better.

So I've dropped off some miles a little bit but am hoping to be back in full swing starting June 1, Sunday.

3 miles today in 26:54-8:55 m/mile

Elizabeth River Run 10-k

The weather turned out to be incredible for this race. It was slightly overcast at the start and cool enough to be nice but not too cool to be cold.

I decided to run my race. I wouldn't run faster than 8:35 for the first mile. With all the weaving that I do in that first mile I figured I'd be better off saving the energy for later in the race. For mile two I was planning on about 8:30. Then mile three and four I was shooting for 8:15 per mile. The last two miles I wanted at least 8:00 per mile if not better.

That was my game plan and I pretty much stuck to it...mostly. My pace the first mile was right on 8:30-8:35. It was crowded but not frustrating. I think my idea to not try to weave was a good one. That wastes so much energy probably more mental than physical but energy is energy. It's still frustrating getting caught behind a walker in the first quarter mile and at the same time it's frustrating getting cut off by some moron you're going to pass later in the race but I held back and just let it thin out some.

Mile two was down the most historic street in Old Towne Portsmouth. It was nice passing the old buildings. It was this mile that I realized this was the first race that I was actually enjoying the scenery. I decided to run without my ipod today and I think that really helped me enjoy the scenery. We turned off of the historic district and ran along the boardwalk overlooking the Elizabeth River and downtown Norfolk. It's a nice skyline to look at and anything over water is nice.

Mile three turned us onto the Navy Hospital and then on the outside loop around the hospital campus. Again this loop was on the water overlooking Norfolk and the Portsmouth Shipyard. It was at the 5k point that I realized my garmin was tell me I had run 3.3 miles and the markers were saying I had only gone 3.1 miles. I know it's a minor detail but it was a bit of a deflator knowing I was going to need to run an "extra" .2 miles but even more was knowing my pace timings were wrong.

Mile four continued around the hospital campus. It was at this point that I began to pass the people that had blown past me in the beginning. It might be mean of me but I take delight in passing people like that. This one guy was acting like a goofball at the start of the race. I heard his friend ask him "why are you so happy?" and the guy responded something about how 10k was no big deal, yadda, yadda. Well at about 4.5 miles he was walking. I started passing people at this point. I had planned my race to run negative splits. That's just the strategy that I like to run and it gives me the boost of passing people and the motivation I need to keep up the pace even when it's hard.

Mile 5 we hit the entrance to the hospital campus and turned toward the finish line. I knew the area well and I knew how far the mile would be and not so much what it would feel like. For some reason this really helped me get into a groove and just step it up as much as I could.

I started my final kick with about .4 miles left and then tried my best to fully kick out the last .25 miles.

53:12 was my watch time. I'll post chip time when they post it. Pics later.

Race Day

Today is race day. My legs are fresh and I'm well rested. I'm ready and about to leave the house in a few minutes. A few goal times before I run.


Dream Goal: 48:00 I'll need to pull off something I haven't trained for. Completely possible but I'm not placing any bets on it.
Realistic Goal: 53:00 This will have me doing 8:31 miles with no kick at the end. This is attainable and what I trained for. But I want better than this.

The weather is overcast and dreary with a good chance of rain this morning. I like running in the rain so no problem there but it will slow my time down some.

12 miles in 1:58:50

Yesterday, Monday, was long run day. I knew I’d be going for 11 or 12 miles. As soon as I hit the stairs to go down for breakfast I realized the ball of my right foot was hurting. I planned on walking it off. I knew it was because I had a busy weekend and was on my feet a lot. Correction I was either on my feet or I was sitting down cramped up in an auditorium. I also wore my dress shoes all weekend, they are comfortable shoes but aren’t very good recovery shoes from my hard run on Friday. So long story short the time came to go for a fun and my foot was hurting. I think I could have run on it and been ok but with the race less than 2 weeks away I wasn’t taking chances. It didn’t help that the wind was more than 20 mph outside and it was cold and rainy. Just didn’t seem like a good day for a run.

So I went to the gym for 6 miles on the stationary bike and chest and biceps in the weight room. It was a good workout. All day I kept worrying about running though. My mind kept asking weird questions -what if you don’t run tomorrow? What if you just stop running? What if you gain weight from not running?- it was this weird obsessive thing. I felt like I had fallen off the wagon but in reality I was listening to my body and that was a good thing.

So this morning I was ready for my run. I had planned to do 8 miles, mostly because I just didn’t feel like doing more. As soon as I clipped off my first mile I started adding miles to my daily goal and before mile 3 I knew I was going to do 12 miles today. I took the first 6 miles to just enjoy my thoughts; when things came to mind I would pray for them, or thank God for them. It was one of the better times I’ve had with myself and God in a while. I kept getting this overwhelming sense of love from no one other than God himself. I know that won’t make sense to some people; so often in life I get busy “trying” and I forget why I’m trying or what I’m trying for. I love that I can run, I love that I’m healthy enough and I love that it’s something I enjoy. I think it’s the healthiest thing I’ve done; it’s my healthiest habit. I enjoy the time to sort out my thoughts.

The weather was great- 50 degrees with a 17 mph wind. The wind wasn’t a big deal. Most of the run it was blowing from either my left or my right. Occasionally I would get it in my face but I just used it as a reminder to keep my shoulders up and relaxed. The funniest part about running in the wind is that the sweat on your face and clothes dries much faster so you’re literally drying out as you run. When salt stains start showing up on my face and clothes I know I’ve been running in the wind.

I started struggling at mile 10; I wonder how much of that is physical and how much of that is mental? I knew I was only 2 miles from my goal and I knew I had it in me to finish the 12 well.

7 miles in 1:00:25

I left the house with one goal in mind, to run 6 miles at 10-k pace (8:30 m/mile). During my warm up mile I wasn't feeling the freshest. Perhaps it was the 10 mile bike on the stationary bike yesterday or the ab work the day before. I wasn't .3 miles into my run when I got a freakin side stitch. Which I don't get often. Fortunately I've just decided to run through them since I know that as you run they tend to go away.

But I just relaxed and got the vision for the run. It was a practice in visualization; in making the run happen in my mind. I don't have to do this on my long runs. On long run day I can just get into the groove of my run and it normally happens quickly and naturally. But on tempo run days it's a lesson in mental and physical discipline and endurance.

But as I hit the mile point I was ready to run. I did 6 miles in 50:25 which is 8:25 m/mile, 5 seconds under my goal per mile. I noticed today that holding the pace was easier this week than my tempo run two weeks ago. I've got one more tempo run and then the race on the 24th.

Buzzard

I forgot to mention that on my long run on Monday I saw a buzzard. I was running on the road like I normally do and there in the middle of suburbia stands a buzzard. I first thought to myself- that's a weird bird to see around here. Then I thought to myself- am I running that slow?

Today I was forced to run on the treadmill which has quickly become one of the things I loathe. 3 miles in 27 minutes. An easy warm up, a 7:30 mile and an easy final mile.

Today I also passed 300 miles for the year. Never in my life did I ever think I would run 300 miles much less in a little more than 4 months. I've come so far and I'm proud of that. I'm starting to get hyped for the Elizabeth River Run (10-K) on May 24th. I sent my registration in this week and will do a race sim tempo run on Friday.

I'm also starting to set an a goal an under 23 minute 5k. I think eventually I can do a sub 20 min 5k.

I read this on Sara Hall's blog and thought I'd post it here:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us… And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others”.

- Marianne Williamson

Long Run 11.42 miles in 1:53:30

First long run in May turned out to be an excellent one. I think I have now found my favorite weather to run it. Low 60's with slight breeze. The day was absolutely incredible. The grass is so green, the flowers are brilliant and it was a great day for a run. I left the house with a goal of 10-12 miles. I figured I must finish 10 and if I was feeling really good I would do 12. Somewhere at mile 7 I settled on going for 11.

Today while running I was laughing about a mental picture I had in my head. I was thinking that it was funny that I run because no one wakes me up to do it. Heather likes it that I run and she knows that I enjoy it but she doesn't make me run. I wouldn't enjoy it if she did. I say that because I was thinking about other things in life that we do that might be challenging but they aren't something someone can make us do, honestly I was thinking about following Jesus and how it's hard work and challenging but no one can make us do it. There's a lot to be gleaned from that as a pastor. I can preach and disciple all I want but in the end I can't make anyone surrender more and more to Christ- that has to come from the Holy Spirit and ,for fear of being labeled a heretic, from within them.

But back to my mental image. I imagined Heather over me laying in bed with a bull horn yelling at me "Nick, get up and go run." She would never do that but I just started laughing. There I am running down the street, sweating and laughing at Heather with a bull horn.

11.42 miles in 1:53:30 for a 9:57 m/mile pace.

April Recap

I also missed my April and 2008 recap last week.

My April recap is as follows:
75 miles in 11:45:51
If my math is right (and it's probably not) that's a 9:25 m/mile pace

2008:
280.7 miles in 46:09:36
9:50 m/mile pace

Week Review

Wow I just realized I hadn't put up a running post all week. This week was a cut back week which means 3 even runs of 5 miles each rather than a long day, easy day and speed day. Of course I hate standing still with my running so I modify the plan a little to incorporate some progress in the runs even though my mileage is taper just a tad.

Monday was 5.21 miles in 49:21 for 9:33 m/mile pace. Just pushing the tempo just a little as to what is comfortable.

Wednesday was 5 miles in 42:17 for 8:28 m/mile. I felt fresh the weather was nice so I just ran as hard as I could knowing I had to finish 5 miles. I was pretty spent at the end, I think I could have gone another mile but I was dragging.

Friday 5.27 miles in 51:00 for 9:41 m/mile pace. My legs were sore from working legs in the weight room on Wednesday but they loosed up about half way through and it was a nice run in my new shoes.

I love getting new shoes.

The countdown to the 10k has begun. My 48 minute goal is ambitious and slightly out of reach but those are the best goals so I'm going for it. I might be smoking crack because I will have to run 7:40 m/miles at the race and I don't think I've ever run an under 8 mile... in my life.