A bit of progress

The past couple weeks have been interesting and educational. I ran 17 miles on August 9th and was extremely disappointed in the results. I was able to get more rest the night before and start my run earlier in the morning when it wasn't so hot but after mile 12, I was spent. I struggled to complete the final 5 miles and my average pace for the run was 9:43! I was feeling very discouraged and yet determined to figure out what I was doing wrong.

I started searching online and reading blogs of other runners and I had a serious Eureka! moment. During my long runs, I have only been drinking water and I never eat before or during the run. I don't know why I didn't consider this sooner but I realized that I need to be taking in the proper food and fluid in order to maintain my energy levels during the race.

So this past week my running schedule was as follows:

Monday - 5 miles
Tuesday - 8 miles
Wednesday - 5 miles
Thursday - rest
Friday - 8 miles
Saturday - 18 miles
Sunday - rest

I purchased some food and drink items for my long run on Saturday. I replaced the water that I normally drink during my run with Gatorade. I also set out a Cliff bar to eat at about the halfway point in my run. The run went much better with my average pace coming down to 9:04 and I felt much better after the run (usually my long runs leave me pretty exhausted for a couple hours). I am continuing to gain new knowledge regarding marathon nutrition and I hope to have it pretty well figured out come race day.

My mileage drops down this week but the following week, I will be running my first of two 20 milers before the actual race. This process of getting accustomed to long distance runs has been enlightening and there are many analogies to life. I have been able to gain some perspective of the dedication and time commitment required to become an elite distance runner and I have a great deal of respect for the men and women who participate in this sport. In watching the women's marathon in the Olympics, they showed the background and training of one of the Chinese women. They mentioned that during her intense training, she runs approximately 750 miles per month which equates to about a marathon per day. Wow!! Looks like I still have some work to do.

Treading water!!!

I was just starting to think that my body had finally surrendered and agreed to put up with this whole running thing. However, my 11 mile run this past Saturday has me convinced otherwise. I had anticipated a fairly easy run on Saturday since I had run 15 miles the week before without too much trouble. But it was more difficult than I had imagined and I think there were lots of factors that played into the final result.

First, I was up late on Friday night due to our softball game being scheduled at 10 pm. So I didn't get home until around 11:30 and didn't fall asleep until after midnight. Second, I wanted to get up around 4:30 am to begin my run in an effort to avoid the heat but I didn't get on the road until closer to 5:30. It had been a really hot week so the temperature even at 5:30 am is still very warm and not conducive to running at all. And finally, I think my initial pace was too quick. I keep telling myself to take it easy the first 4-5 miles but it's difficult because I really feel strong during those miles. I ended up pacing 8:49 for the entire run because my last few miles were very slow and laborious.

My run this Saturday is 17 miles and I'm really hoping I can show better than I did last week. I am contemplating running on the treadmill where I can better control my pace especially during the first half of the run. In addition, the gym doesn't open until 6 am on Saturday so I can sleep in a little bit and not have to worry about the heat. The disadvantage of this method though is that it doesn't prepare me for race conditions especially properly pacing myself. Plus it can get a little boring running on a treadmill for 2 1/2 hours. I'll see how the week goes and make a decision on Friday.

Race day is coming up fast - less than 9 weeks left to prepare!

Right on Track

My training program has picked up the past couple weeks. My long runs are getting longer and my total mileage each week is increasing. I am both excited by this and a bit apprehensive since this type of training is completely foreign to me.

Recap of this past week:

Monday - 4 mile run
Tuesday - 7 mile run
Wednesday - 4 mile run
Thursday - rest
Friday - 7 mile run
Saturday - 15 mile run
Sunday - rest

My Saturday run was made more interesting because our family decided to go camping on Friday night. We didn't get back into town until after 6 pm and the temperature was still above 100 degrees. After unloading gear and getting things settled at home, I headed to the gym to try and log as many miles on the treadmill as I could before they closed at 9 pm. I was able to complete 12 miles and then I headed home where I grabbed my GPS and completed the last 3 miles on the road.

I am a bit concerned about a slight injury I suffered this week when I was working out with my son Jordan on Tuesday evening. We were running suicides or ladders at the local junior high school and I strained a ligament behind my right knee. So far it hasn't been too much of a hinderance but I do feel it from time to time on my runs, primarily during the first half-mile. I'm hoping that it will heal while still allowing me to continue my training runs. This getting old thing is for the birds!! I get injuries that I've never experience before and they seem to take forever to heal. C'est la vie!

Why Dad??!!

Last night, my son Tanner asked if he could go running with me in the mornings. I told him that it probably wasn't a good idea because I run a lot of miles each day and it might be too much for him right now. Tanner then asked why I was running so much. I said, "Don't you remember? I'm training to run in the St. George Marathon in October. It's a race that's 26.2 miles long and so I have to practise running longer and longer distances." Trevor, my six year old, then asked, "WHY Dad???!!!" (Imagine him using a total "What are you. . . crazy or something?" voice.) Very funny!!

I tried to explain the history of the marathon race thinking that might help explain why someone would train to run a race of this distance. After I concluded my story, one of the kids asked, "So WHY are you running in this race? The race that some guy died in?" I have to admit, there have been moments that I have asked the exact same question!

Pat's Run

On Saturday, April 19th, I was able to participate in the 4th annual Pat's Run held in Tempe, Arizona. This race is held in honor of Pat Tillman who was killed while serving our country as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan. Pat spent his college years at Arizona State University and later played for the Arizona Cardinals. He turned down a contract extension with the Cardinals, choosing instead to serve in the military with his brother. Because Pat wore #42 when he played for the Sun Devils, the race is 4.2 miles (participants were separated by those who wanted to have a timed run and those who wanted to have an untimed walk/run) and the finish line is on the 42 yard line of Sun Devil Stadium.

The event was well-attended; I think they had over 15,000 people who participated in the run and walk portions of the race. My brother Shad also participated in the race - he works for State Farm and they sponsored a team so he was able to run for free. (In the above picture, you can see both of us crossing the Start line. We are both wearing dark shirts and red shorts.)
As you can imagine, the start of the race was really packed - I don't think we moved for the first couple minutes after the gun sounded. I ran a pretty good race although most of the time was spent navigating around slower runners (next year I'll try to get closer to the front). I finished in 32:48 which was 733 place out of 7,448 runners. Shad finished a little behind me and we met up with Camille, Tanner and Trevor who came out to cheer us on to the finish.

Half-Marathon

March 8th - today was the day!! Several of my family members, at the invitation of my brother Boyce, decided to run the Canyonlands Half-Marathon in Moab, UT. I had wanted to participate in this event but our family had some scheduling conflicts which prevented me from registering. So I decided that I would train and run a half-marathon at home while they ran in Utah. The one advantage was that I had some nice weather for the run. I set off on my run after Camille had taken Tanner and Trevor to Primary Activity Day. Camille decided that she wanted some photographic evidence of me running so I told her my route and she drove off and took some pictures of me.

At about the 9 mile mark, Camille again drove by after picking up Tanner and Trevor. They waved and shouted encouragement so it was almost like being at a race with some fans cheering you along. Mile 11 was probably the toughest stretch but I wasn't about to quit then. I struggled through to the end and completed all 13.1 miles in 1 hour and 53 minutes. My goal was 1 hour and 50 minutes so I was fairly pleased with my results considering it was my first half-marathon.

About a month ago, Camille purchased for me a Garmin Forerunner which allows me to run outdoors and keep track of my time, distance, heartrate, etc. Prior to that, I had primarily trained indoors using a treadmill so I could gage my pace and distance better. The picture here shows the Garmin with my results from the run.

The more I run, the more I am contemplating running a full marathon in the near future. Training takes up a lot of time but I enjoy the athletic nature of it and the fact that you are competing against yourself as well as others. You aren't relying on other team members who may be more or less committed than you are. There are many times that require you to dig deep and only you know whether you have given your all. I love the quote by Steve Prefontaine - "A lot of people run a race to see who's the fastest. I run to see who has the most guts." I look forward to the next running event - not sure yet what it will be but I'm sure it will be fun!!

London's Run

Yesterday, February 2, 2008, I was able to participate in my first 10k road race. This was a test of sorts to see how my training was progressing for my next goal of running a half-marathon. My brother Shad told me about London's Run http://www.londonsrun.org/ a couple months back so I decided to enter. I almost didn't make it due to coming down with a sinus cold on Thursday but I figured I would try to tough it out.

Saturday morning was cold and it was even colder at Schnepf Farms where the race was held. My car thermostat said that it was 37 degrees at race time (around 8:30 am)! I know that isn't all that cold if you're in Utah but my blood has thinned out living in the Arizona desert. I was also a bit intimidated by all the serious-looking runners that I encountered Saturday morning. Most of the runners looked the part and I only hoped to not embarrass myself.

Due to various conflicts, my family was not able to attend this event and cheer me. So at least I could make up a good story if something weird did happen. I ended up finishing 49 out of 410 runners who competed in the 10k race running the course in 51:02. My goal was to finish in the top 50 and to be under 55 minutes so I was pretty happy with where I finished considering I had been sick and I hadn't run any races before. You can see a picture of me running at the following web page. http://sportshots.exposuremanager.com/p/10k_lr_2008/10k_0917am_20080202091742_168656

So now to the next goal: the half-marathon. Some of my family members are running in the Canyonlands race in Moab, UT next month. I would have liked to join them but we had a schedule conflict so my plan is to find a local race to run in or to at least run the distance in the gym. I have really begun to enjoy running. I especially like being able to set goals and then see how I match up to those goals. It is very rewarding and motivating so I plan to continue.