Thursday Spring Run

Lost my head to Mike DeGhelder's enthusiasm and signed up for the Hospital Hill half marathon in June. I now have 5 weeks to get from 4 mile runs to half marathon distance -- rock n roll! Got in a nice 4 miler yesterday in that beautiful spring sunshine. Still slow, but steady at 11:02, 11:02, 10:42 and 11:22. That pity party I threw myself on the trail slowed me down for that last mile. I'll have to work some more to get going on Mike's speed up at the end strategy! -- Bill

Running while traveling

Last weekend I had the opportunity to run in Central Park (New York city) and this coming weekend, along Lake Michigan (Chicago). I enjoy taking advantage of these opportunities to run in old, familiar locations. Believe it or not, this weekend I attend my 25th reunion for Kellogg business school. Last weekend I got to meet the cake baker (Ron Ben-Israel) whose cake is on the cover of O Magazine's 10th Anniversary issue (May 2010) with our Creative Candles' Celebration Candles on top! I guess I need to keep running so that I can enjoy more of Mr. Ben-Israel's delicious cakes.

Earlier this week the FedEx driver spotted me running near Childrens' Mercy Hospital - he knew I looked familiar but out of context (we typically meet at the Creative Candles' loading dock).

Rest helps

It's amazing how much good a single day off can do. I had run eight days in a row, which is unusual for me, but in doing so I had taken it easy many of the sessions. Even the day after the Trolley Run I felt good enough to go 6.2 miles, which I did because I knew I had to take Tuesday off anyway. The granddaughter was singing in a concert, after all.
Anyway, I felt fine after that Monday run, but on Tuesday I was sore in some unusual places - particularly my hips. My hip are never sore. As much as I like getting out, I was glad to have the time off.
By this evening after work, though, the soreness was all gone and I was anxious to take advantage of the nice weather. I picked a hilly route, set an easy early pace, and ended up averaging 8:51 for 6.6 miles. That day off really refreshed me. -- Rob

I'm Back!

Boys,

Please excuse my total absence from our blogs -- I have been busy and self absorbed with business travel. Your blog entries are amazing! Mike, losing 15 pounds and building up to all those 8 mile runs is fabulous. I can't believe how many times you end up with 9:00's and 8:00's in your closing miles! You execute the strategy of starting slow and ending fast very very well. Also love your use of walks and bike rides on your rest days. Rob -- I was not at all surprised with you 7:24 average on the Trolley Run. Great job! The consistency of your 9:00's pacing in your daily runs is amazing!

My deal is that I can finally see my baseline improving. I'm still running mostly 3-4 mile runs, 3-5 times per week, but I'm completing them now without walking and my times are slowly improving. I've been including 1-2 runs weekly out at our farm, which is hilly, and these runs average in the high 11:00s. Yesterday's flat run on the Indian Creek trails was 11:17 outbound for 2 miles and 11:06 return. I'm not up to Mike's step up the pace at the end yet, I'm still at the "glad to not be walking" level. But I'm psyched to be out running! Ain't spring grand? -- Bill

Mandatory Rest.

My intention was to run a ten miler today but the chiropractor worked me over pretty good and stated that it wouldn't be a good idea to run today. He suggested I rest my hips and run the ten on Thursday. Walked 3 miles with Chris yesterday instead of running. Really starting to feel confident and looking forward to my runs each day now. Two months ago, I knew I had to run, due to the weight gain, but just had trouble finding the motivation. Losing ten to fifteen pounds allowed me to increase my mileage. Looks like my lifestyle is back. It's just comfortable to finally find some kind of a routine. It also really, really helps to have great buds for support and running partners!

Working weekends really plays havoc on any kind of training schedule. I'm feeling my way to try and find the best day for a long run. I'm forced to pretty much take two days off (Saturday and Sunday) due to my work obligations, so that's the problem. Non-the-less, it's just great to have any kind of a running schedule at all.

The reality of it all, is that I no longer worry too much about speed or distance. I've pretty much accomplished all the goals I set when I started with The Runners' Edge program 12 years ago. My goals now are to just stay in some kind of running shape and enter a race once in awhile just for the fun of it. I'm reminded of this quote I read in Runner's World: "If you stay in shape, you don't have to get in shape!" Perhaps I should pay more attention to that! ..............Mike

Positive Mistake?

Well, all I can say is that sometimes accidents, or mistakes, can have a positive result! My intention was to walk a half mile then run 3.5 miles easy. I forgot to start my watch but knew where the half mile point was. I decided to go ahead just run two miles out and return to complete the four miler. I would then just walk the half mile home. Well, due to circumstances and construction I ended up running six miles and walking a quarter mile home. I didn't feel the need to walk during any part of the run although I really didn't push it at any time. Averaged 10:33 for the six miles and it was pretty hilly. I'll rest tomorrow, or ride the bike, and then go for the ten miler on Wednesday. I'm almost ready to call myself a runner again!

Trolley Run

It was really hard to get up at 5:10 this morning. I got to bed a little later than I wanted, and had to get up with the grand kids just long enough in the middle of the night to make going back to sleep less than instantaneous. Plus, it was dark, cool and rainy as I rolled out - not particularly energy-inducing.

But after enduring the Rock the Parkway half marathon in a 45 degree rain, I wasn't going to let this relatively warm wetness bother me all that much. I made myself a little garbage bag rain coat and headed to the Plaza, where I caught the bus to the starting line. A big crowd of more than 10,000 other runners joined me.

Once we got to the starting area I went through my warm-up plan - a mile at a 10 min. pace, a little stretching, and another mile at 10 min., followed by more easy stretching. I particularly wanted my groin and hamstrings to be warm and loose, since this would be pretty much a 4-mile downhill sprint. I didn't want to come out hobbling. God must be a runner, because he brought the light rain to a complete stop about 25 min. before the start.

I can't say I felt all that springy in the legs as we took off, or really anytime during the race. That was probably partly due to not taking any full days off leading up to the race (although I drastically cut back both mileage and intensity), and partly because I started the race at a fast pace.

How fast? I don't really know; I never got my GPS started. I thought it was started, but I didn't check it until about the 3.5 mile mark. My only pace clue came at about 2 miles, when I heard two other runners nearby talking about their time being in the 14s. So, regrettably, I have no splits.

I felt pretty strong and reasonably fast almost all the way. I could feel myself flagging just a bit in the final half mile, but I'm sure that mile was still under my overall pace.

Despite my GPS problems, I didn't have to wait long to get my results. 50 feet from the finish line I walked up to a computer, typed in my bib number, and got my chip time and pace (29:36 and 7:24). I'd beaten my expectation by almost a full minute per mile. And I'm not hobbling. -- Rob

Getting Closer!

After missing the last two days it was nice to get the running shoes back on. Wasn't sure what I should be doing so I played it safe and settled on a four miler. I didn't plan this but my only walking, this time, was the first half mile to warm up and stretch the hips. This approach is working very well for me and my runs are improving. Let me rephrase that! My running is progressing, yeah, that sounds much better.

After the half mile warm up, my plan was to run a mile and walk a minute like last Wednesday. I felt so good after the first mile that I decided to just truck it on home without walking even if it was going to be slow. First mile was 14:42 (includes the walk), mile two was 11:22, mile three 9:27, and mile four was 8:26. I looked down at my watch and I was cruising the last half mile at around a 7:45 pace. I kept looking at the watch every ten seconds or so and it fluctuated between 7:40 and 7:47.

I sincerely hope that I can complete a marathon this fall. I may even settle for KC since it's becoming more expensive to have a target race anywhere else.......Mike

Not my best, but not bad

I didn't have my best run of the year, but it still wasn't too bad. I stayed in the neighborhood intending to log an "easy" run. I started slow and thought I'd keep it that way, but I loosened up nicely and just kind of naturally sped up. I did 6.85 miles in 1:03, so I averaged 9:12. Felt real good all the way. -- Rob

Best Run of 2010!!

Wasn't sure what I should do today. I used to have a training schedule for all seven days but now that I'm just barely into a re-training situation, I'm just not sure what exactly I should be doing. I suppose it would help if I had a target race as a goal, but right now I'm just trying to get back into some kind of reasonable shape.

Since Mondays five miler with Ken and Rob was a confidence builder I decided to tackle an 8 miler again. Although, this week, instead of running three minutes and walking two minutes, I decided to walk the first half mile to loosen up and stretch the hips then walk one minute at the beginning of each mile.

I began at home and ran through Misty Woods to 9 highway and back. Rob, you know how hilly that course is! I was extremely happy with the run! I was into the third mile when I just felt really great. However, since I've been down this road before, I knew not to put much stock into that. At the 4 mile turn around I headed back home. I kept looking at my watch and it showed that I was running in the mid 8:00 range. For a second or two I thought abut backing off for fear of not being able to finish my run. My second thought was, "So what!" I can always walk and still get a decent workout and burn some calories.

Well, I didn't have to walk other than the one minute at the beginning of each mile. With all the walking, and up hill challenges, I averaged 11:04 per mile. I know that doesn't sound very fast but the course was tough and I'm still overweight and not getting any younger! ......Mike

Back to the river

I guess I've got river running on the brain, because I went right back to the Missouri, this time at English Landing, for today's workout. After a short run Saturday, full rest on Sunday, and an easy run on Monday, my legs were fresh, so I was ready for a fast tempo run. I started with a standard 9:30 mile and then was sub-9 the rest of the way, averaging 8:52 for 7 miles. I'll run a couple more times before resting for the Trolley Run on Sunday. -- Rob

Riverfront Redo!

This morning I told Chris about our good time and good run last night and she stated that she would like to take a walk there someday. I said, "Why not today?" She said, "okay!" So, off we went! We walked three miles, out 1.5 and back. This time we had lunch at Winslows and then shopped for veggies, pita bread and humus in the River Market. Really nice time. The three mile walk was just what I needed to loosen up the legs and still burn some calories....Mike

Hard to beat

I was in South Dakota over the weekend and had already run all my weekly miles, so I was prepared to forgo my usual Saturday session. When Saturday came around and it was too cool to golf in the morning, the next best choice was a short run. Naturally, I had some just-in-case running gear along. My usual route is one of my favorites. It's a gently rolling, lightly-traveled blacktop county road that's all blue sky and 20-mile prairie vistas. Just stupendous.

Then tonight we had our MRC run, which started in the City Market, went through Berkeley Riverfront Park and all the way into the casino parking lot and then back again. The route is along the Missouri River, providing stupendous views all the way. Again, the weather was perfect. Afterward, we immediately replace the calories we'd just burned with a pizza to go from Minsky's, which we ate at an outdoor table next door at Winslow's, which was closed. -- Rob

Great Run, Great Pizza!

Ran five miles with Ken and Rob at Riverfront Park. Was concerned that I wouldn't be able to keep up and decided that I could always turn around early if I ran into a problem. Legs a little heavy at first but seemed to get better as time passed. Running with my buddies certainly didn't hurt either. They allowed me to set the pace and even let me believe I was ahead during parts of the run. Weather just could not have been better!!! After our run we ordered pizza at Minsky's and ate it outdoors at Winslow's BBQ next door. Had a great run (for me anyway) and a great time with my buds!

Bill, since you weren't able to make it, we took the opportunity to say the things about you that we aren't comfortable with when you're around. We had some good laughs at your expense! Thanks for not being there so we could get these things off our chest! You big lovable bear, I'm just teasing you. You were really missed and it wasn't the same without you. It was better!! Ha!......Mike

Saturday was great - Tonight should be even better

Saturday morning we enjoyed cool temperature when Runner's Edge group run began. I was thrilled to complete 14 miles with no aches or pains. I really feel prepared for Hospital Hill.

Tonight should be even better the the MRC gang. I am looking forward to our run by the river. Ken

Running again and feeling good!

Got in a really nice five miler. Weather was moderately cool after a morning rain. Walked for the first 6 minutes and stretched out the hips to keep them from tightening. This is something I read in Runner's World recently and it has worked great.

Walked only twice, for a minute each, after the initial warm up walk. Still averaged 10:59 per mile including the walks. A feel good run for me due to being able to pick up the pace if I had the desire to do so. I just didn't desire to do so! I'm still in the early stages of getting retrained and hoping I can get to the point of running another marathon in the fall. I would really like to go back to Bar Harbor Maine and run the Mount Dessert Island Marathon in October. Acadia National Park is in full autumn colors at that time of year. It's not just beautiful, it's spectacular! If I can't run MDI I'll pick another race that I haven't ran before, mayble the Outer Banks Marathon in North Carolina.

A good run on the treadmill

I planned to run outside, but it was raining, so I grabbed by Walkman (Team of Rivals) and headed to the treadmill. The story made the run go by quickly, and kept me from getting impatient with the slow pace and speeding it up. When it was all done, I had to rate this effortless 7-mile run a 10. -- Rob

Climbing the hills

Didn't have any trouble keeping this one slow. My legs felt like telephone poles most of the way, only loosening up a bit in the last couple miles. I would have felt better on a flatter course, but I opted to run in the neighborhood, which means hills, hills, hills and quite a bit of extra effort. That's OK. I really didn't want to exert, since I plan to run up to 7 miles Friday morning before getting on the road for 6-7 hours. Today's run was 6.55 miles in 1:02:28. -- Rob

Well, it WAS slower

I intended to run slower today than Tuesday, when I kind of pushed it, and I did ... by 4 seconds per mile. It was a much easier run, though, because it was all on flat terrain. I even ran three miles on the college track. In the end, I covered 6.6 miles in 60 min. (yesterday it was 6.65 miles in 60 min.)

Sore but pleased!

Decided to tackle a bike ride with a buddy today. We started at Nelson Island on the Kansas City and rode 22 miles. I'm not in bike shape yet, but I've decided to cross train with the running/biking method. I really like riding the bike! Today the weather was perfect! A nice litte breeze and lots of shade......Mike

A little fun

Decided to run for 60 min. tonight and see how far I could get in that time. Just a simple little game I have played hundreds of times on the treadmill to keep my mind occupied and stay motivated. At times it's all the motivation I've needed to keep going, or go faster, to get that extra bit of mileage in.

After a mile warmup (9:37) I ran the rest of the way at between 8:44 and 8:55, so my overall average was 9:02. I covered 6.65 miles, which is a ways off my PR for 60 min., but fast enough. -- Rob

Not an elite 8, but an 8 non-the-less!

Well, I just got tired of running three or four miles and only twice have I upped it to a six miler consisting of 2-3 minutes of running and a minute or two of walking. Today, I impulsively decided to run an 8 miler. I walked the first half mile then stretched my hips to keep them from tightning up. I then committed to running five minutes and walking two minutes. I kept this approach for about 6 miles and then just took a one two minutes walk in the last two miles. Not going to bore you with splits but I averaged in the high 11's for the eight miles. Who's reading this besides Rob and I? Helloooooo, are you there?................Mike

Easy day.

Just an easy three miler to stay loose. Weather perfect, great to be outside!

Walked almost half a mile before starting to run. Splits were 14:22, 11:18, and 8:47. Just happy to be able to run and enjoy one of God's spring days....Mike

I ran my 8.35 miles faster than I planned, but I felt fresh and the weather was perfect, so I just decided to let whatever was going to happen, happen. My opening mile was 9:35, and everything else under 9.
Hope you all get outside for something today - it's perfect out there. -- Rob

High quality run

I didn't have a good idea what kind of run this would be until I got into it. My first mile was an easy 9:40, and it felt good, so I just let my body dictate the pace. Frequently, I don't even check my mile splits as I run, but just run at whatever pace is comfortable, and this was on of those times. I find that runs that I do that way usually turn out better because I don't burn too much energy early.
By the time this run was finished, I'd averaged 9:08 per mile for 5.75 miles, and I felt like I could go at that pace another 6 miles. Good run.

Finally, a decent entry to this blog!

Since I cut the grass before I ran, I figured that would count for the walk I've been doing before starting a slow run. Decided a nice four miler would be a good workout and started my watch. I was expecting to walk after a mile but felt that I would just see what would happen if I just kept going. First mile: 12:02, second mile: 10:42, third mile: 9:11, fourth mile: 8:21 (40:16). I know it's slow but I'm still pretty heavy and not getting any younger! This was probably the most encouraging workout I've had in weeks.....Mike

Even when I want to!

I was pretty determined to get a short run in yesterday (Wednesday) after I finished all my errands. However, on the way home I was hit with a severe hail storm. I was going to wait it out but the rains kept coming and coming. It was going to be a short easy 3 miler anyway, but I sure would have liked to have got it in. It's really going to be difficult for me to maintain any consistency with my work schedule beginng next weekend. Headed out the door now to get in a four miler.....Mike

Make or Break! Runner or not!

Well, after making all kinds of excuses not to get some kind of a run in on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday due to Easter weekend and a bunch of family stuff, I decided today was the day I either called myself a runner or not. I wasn't content with a 2-4 mile run walk! I was going to get in some kind of mileage if it took me all day. I settled on committing to a six miler and decided to run/walk the entire six miles just to get the calorie loss and a degree of cardio- vascular benefit. I pretty much walked the entire first mile and then set my goal of running (slow) for three minutes and walking two minutes. Sometime I ran two minutes and walked one minute. I didn't keep track of how many times I ran/walked, I just wasn't concerned with it. I just wanted to complete the six miler. I suppose averaging a little over 12:00 per mile is pretty slow for me, but I'm still heavy and I really don't want to over do it and have to deal with another injury. Injuries really suck!!

I'm really setting my sights on a fall marathon but something inside tells me my marathon days are over and to be content with shorter races. We'll see! I think if I can get my weight back down in the 170s I can set that marathon goal. Have to be pretty determined and motivated to pull this off. We'll see just how much dicipline Mikie has now.

Where'd spring go?

I can't believe we blew right through the moderate weather of spring and directly into something much more like the middle of summer. It was real windy for last night's run, but even windier today, and humid. I ran 5.6 easy miles Monday night, then, since I work the night shift tonight, ran 8.1 miles this morning. The two runs were less than 12 hours apart, and I could tell I wasn't fully recovered, because the 8 miler was more of a struggle than it should have been. I eventually resorted to walking for 30 seconds between miles and made it through. -- Rob

Happy Easter!

Our very own Mike was the Easter Bunny Saturday. The kids loved him. --Rob

The psychology of running

Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of joke? Who's in charge here? How can something like this happen?

I had a perfect high-mileage, low-effort week going, all calculated to end at 35 miles for the week. Going into today's run, I just needed 9.5 miles to reach my goal, and I actually planned to run 10 for good measure. I had a perfect day to run: sunny, low humidity, 63 degrees. I felt good, too, real good, for about 7 miles. But about 8 miles out I kind of thought I'd be satisfied with 33-plus miles, and I would have happily stopped except I was still more than a mile from the car. I had to go there anyway, so I might as well run.

When I got to the car, I was still about two-tenths of a mile short, so I fought through them, imagining I was wrapping up a 100-mile ultra in the desert. No way was I going to run 9-something and not get my 35 for the week.

At 9.5 I broke the tape, so to speak, and came to a halt, satisfied I'd reached my goal. I really didn't need that extra half mile to 10 anyway. I walked back to the car, reset my GPS to lock in the run, and drove home.

A couple hours later I plugged the mileage into my log. I could not believe; could not for a minute comprehend, the result. 34.9 miles. I hadn't double checked my totals before going out and was wrong about my exact mileage. It was as if I'd run the best marathon of my life, but stopped 100 yards short for a root beer and fries. It was a DNF. A whole week of running wasted.

Being a mature individual and a veteran runner, though, I quickly realized that .1 mile carried no real significance. I snapped - no, exploded - out of it with a bacon cheeseburger and onion rings for dinner. That may not be training table fare, but I figured I'd earned it.

After all, I'd just finished the week with 34.9 miles.

I'll get that .1 back next week. --Rob

Sticking to the plan

So far this week I've managed to stick to my plan of several lower-mileage runs, rather than longer runs. I had planned to be out of town this weekend, so with several runs of between 4 and 6 miles, I'd have most of my weekly mileage in before I left town.
As it turns out, I won't be out of town after all. So that leaves Saturday's run completely open-ended. I could run 5 and have all my "required" miles for the week, or I could run 10, and chart some bonus miles. Right now, with Saturday looking to be a mild 71, I'm leaning toward 10 miles.
Yesterday I got in 4.3 easy miles. -- Rob

Oh, well, at least I did something!

After that sorry run on Wednesday I decided to just walk on Thursday. Chris kept me company, and we walked a little over three miles. Time wasn't important, just getting in some kind of excercise. Plan to do nothing today and attempt a six mile run/walk in the morning.

Running is tough!

I thought after running with Rob on Tuesday, and having so much trouble, that Wednesday would be better by just taking it easy and getting in a slow four. I wasn't ready for just how slow it was going to be! I warmed up by walking for 7 minutes and then began a slow run. I ended up walking quite a bit due to very heavy legs. Not sure why, but I just ran out of gas at the end of mile three. I walked pretty much the last half of mile four. Sometimes you just have those days. I plan on biking today and giving my legs a rest. A nice easy bike ride in terrific weather may be just what the doctor ordered! Not planning on doing anything Friday and will attack the roads again Saturday morning before donning my Easter Bunny outfit for the kids at church..........Mike