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