I'm waiting for a Swedish butter cake to come out of the oven at 2:28 a.m. (which clearly says something about me) and thought I would post something to kill the time. That's not the only reason I'm writing after a long absence. If it took butter and a whole lot of sugar baking in the oven to make me post every time, I would be in a world of trouble. The other inspiration for writing was my short run today in the neighborhood, which ended my long dry spell in running. And, as an afterthought, I realized that I hadn't yet posted about the Marine Corps Marathon, which I ran at the end of October.
I finished my 5th MCM in 4:53!!! I took 32 minutes off of my previous PR, which was 5:25. It was the hardest marathon I've ever run. I nixed my lax and relaxed marathon running style of old and really pushed myself. On a funny note, my running buddy and I worried that we "went out too fast" at a blistering 10-minute mile pace. At mile 23, I hit the wall like I had never hit it before. I felt shaky and leaden. At the end of the race, I had nothing left. For those of you who aren't familiar with the MCM course, it's pretty easy as far as marathon courses go -- not too hilly. It lulls you into a false sense of security and then BAM! A hill comes up out of nowhere right before the finish. Normally, no matter how badly I'm hurting, I can muster the strength to sprint up the hill and across the finish line. Not this year. The only thing that carried me up that hill running was my pride; I refuse to walk so close to or across the finish line. Absent a real injury, I feel like there are no excuses not to run across the finish line even at a shuffle run.
Now that I've broken the 5 hour mark, my next goal will be to beat Oprah's time of 4:29. I suppose it's ambitious to take another half-hour off. And lest you think that I'm weird for gunning for Oprah, there's a whole website devoted to it: Beat Oprah's Marathon Time for A Cure. Do you think I can do it?
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
I've Come A Long Way
Yup, I'm bragging. I have been running faithfully since spring (and not writing about it much), and it's paid off! I would oftentimes run and then wonder whether I would ever break the 10-minute mile barrier, especially since a 10-minute mile for me was particularly speedy. Suffice it to say, I am finally beginning to see results in my running! I've been averaging about 20 to 30 miles a week and have been running in the heat of summer, in many cases, during the hottest part of the day, since I generally run during my lunch break.
Here is the abbreviated re-cap of my summer races. You're lucky I'm feeling lazy and therefore decided not to regale you with a detailed description of my painstaking training. Back in early June, I ran the Lawyers Have Heart 10K. Since I was running regularly at the time, I was hoping to come in under an hour. It didn't happen, and I ran it at a little over a 10-minute mile. I didn't achieve my goal; but hey! There were free snowcones after the race so it wasn't a total loss.
I stepped up the training in preparation for the upcoming Marine Corp Marathon, and at the end of August, ran that Annapolis 10-Miler. It was fun to run the hometown. Despite the heat and the hills, I, with the help of my running buddy, came in at 1:39 and some change. Our pace was one second under a 10-minute mile. As an aside, I got a kick out of the St. Anne's "holy" water station.
Which brings me to today. I finished the Army 10-miler in 1:35, a 9:30 pace, which is the fastest I've ever run over a longer distance. It was hard, and I'm not sure that I could have done it without my running buddy. I challenged myself to push and keep up with him, and was able to for the most part. I have concluded that all of my training hasn't necessarily made me speedier, but stronger. I can now muscle through runs better than I could before.
Who knows what the future holds?
Here is the abbreviated re-cap of my summer races. You're lucky I'm feeling lazy and therefore decided not to regale you with a detailed description of my painstaking training. Back in early June, I ran the Lawyers Have Heart 10K. Since I was running regularly at the time, I was hoping to come in under an hour. It didn't happen, and I ran it at a little over a 10-minute mile. I didn't achieve my goal; but hey! There were free snowcones after the race so it wasn't a total loss.
I stepped up the training in preparation for the upcoming Marine Corp Marathon, and at the end of August, ran that Annapolis 10-Miler. It was fun to run the hometown. Despite the heat and the hills, I, with the help of my running buddy, came in at 1:39 and some change. Our pace was one second under a 10-minute mile. As an aside, I got a kick out of the St. Anne's "holy" water station.
Which brings me to today. I finished the Army 10-miler in 1:35, a 9:30 pace, which is the fastest I've ever run over a longer distance. It was hard, and I'm not sure that I could have done it without my running buddy. I challenged myself to push and keep up with him, and was able to for the most part. I have concluded that all of my training hasn't necessarily made me speedier, but stronger. I can now muscle through runs better than I could before.
Who knows what the future holds?
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Don't Let Them Sock It To You
Who is "them?" Running stores. I went to buy new shoes at a running store in Annapolis that shall remain nameless, mainly because the owner seems like a really nice guy and I wouldn't want to say anything critical of his store. I was also thinking about buying new running socks.
My shoes ended up costing about $130, and the store wanted $9 for one pair of the lowest-end running sock. I bought the shoes because I feel guilty about going to a running store and getting fitted and then not buying the shoes. How about a poll: Do the rest of you runners out there feel similarly guilty? When I got home, I experienced a sinking moment when Eugene looked my shoes up on a military exchange website. They were going for about $70 to $80 (can't remember). It's always a suckerpunch when you realize that you paid almost 50% too much for something. The upshot? For anyone who has access to a military exchange, get your shoes there, especially if you just buy the latest model of the same pair of shoes and don't feel a need to get re-fitted.
Happily, the whole night wasn't lost. I passed the socks up and went to Target instead. I got six pair of 100% synthetic material Champion brand athletic socks for the same price that the running store wanted for one paid. The socks work fine, so another piece of advice; buy your running socks at Target. Something to note, though; Target doesn't seem to carry 100% synthetic athletic socks for men.
My shoes ended up costing about $130, and the store wanted $9 for one pair of the lowest-end running sock. I bought the shoes because I feel guilty about going to a running store and getting fitted and then not buying the shoes. How about a poll: Do the rest of you runners out there feel similarly guilty? When I got home, I experienced a sinking moment when Eugene looked my shoes up on a military exchange website. They were going for about $70 to $80 (can't remember). It's always a suckerpunch when you realize that you paid almost 50% too much for something. The upshot? For anyone who has access to a military exchange, get your shoes there, especially if you just buy the latest model of the same pair of shoes and don't feel a need to get re-fitted.
Happily, the whole night wasn't lost. I passed the socks up and went to Target instead. I got six pair of 100% synthetic material Champion brand athletic socks for the same price that the running store wanted for one paid. The socks work fine, so another piece of advice; buy your running socks at Target. Something to note, though; Target doesn't seem to carry 100% synthetic athletic socks for men.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
But I run marathons!
I'm going way back, all the way to late April or early May. The sordid events that I am about to explain happened so long ago (at least in blog time) that I can't remember when they occurred, other than the generic "awhile ago."
Eugene and I are very busy people. We work long hours and are always running off to one activity or another. As a result, we aren't as proactive as we could be about yard work, proactive being a kind euphemism for lazy. I'm far more guilty of this than Eugene. At any rate, we decided to have a big Memorial Day barbeque because we figured that it would motivate us to really get things done.
And it did. I attacked the garden patches with unprecendented fervor. I spent over five hours on my hands and knees one Saturday relentlessly weeding. Note to self: don't let weeds go for two years; it's not pretty. At the end of the day, I was in pain like I had never been in pain before. My wrists were screaming, and I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I was sore for days. I felt worse than I usually do after marathons that I run without really training. I was shocked to be in so much pain because as a person who has run a few marathons in a state of woeful unpreparedness, I figured that I had a really really high tolerance for pain. I never would have imagined that a measly five hours in a garden could cause me that much pain.
Ironically enough, I was reading Better Homes and Gardens and saw an article on pre-gardening stretches. Ordinarily, I would have scoffed at such a wussy idea like stretching before gardening. Now, I am a true believer and will definitely do my pre-gardening warmup stretches.
Eugene and I are very busy people. We work long hours and are always running off to one activity or another. As a result, we aren't as proactive as we could be about yard work, proactive being a kind euphemism for lazy. I'm far more guilty of this than Eugene. At any rate, we decided to have a big Memorial Day barbeque because we figured that it would motivate us to really get things done.
And it did. I attacked the garden patches with unprecendented fervor. I spent over five hours on my hands and knees one Saturday relentlessly weeding. Note to self: don't let weeds go for two years; it's not pretty. At the end of the day, I was in pain like I had never been in pain before. My wrists were screaming, and I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I was sore for days. I felt worse than I usually do after marathons that I run without really training. I was shocked to be in so much pain because as a person who has run a few marathons in a state of woeful unpreparedness, I figured that I had a really really high tolerance for pain. I never would have imagined that a measly five hours in a garden could cause me that much pain.
Ironically enough, I was reading Better Homes and Gardens and saw an article on pre-gardening stretches. Ordinarily, I would have scoffed at such a wussy idea like stretching before gardening. Now, I am a true believer and will definitely do my pre-gardening warmup stretches.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
We finished!
I was so wiped out last night, I forgot to tell people we finished! Matt finished a strong last 2 legs and brought us into DC. Compared to our experience at Ragnar, this finish was much better organized. They had the runners come off the C&O trail, through Georgetown, and finally into the park adjacent to the FDR Memorial.
The Washington Post had an article about the relay today - and our team got mentioned!
And no, we didn't see Mayor Fenty - although I did run with him for a few miles during the Marine Corps Marathon 2 years ago.
More to follow - today is yard work - I will go back and fill in posts, as well as add more photos.
The Washington Post had an article about the relay today - and our team got mentioned!
And no, we didn't see Mayor Fenty - although I did run with him for a few miles during the Marine Corps Marathon 2 years ago.
More to follow - today is yard work - I will go back and fill in posts, as well as add more photos.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Final 2 legs
So despite the heat we are now standing by for the final 2 legs. After a beautiful 14 mile run last night, I had one of the toughest 13 mile stretches of my life. Hot and humid, and don't forget that I slept about an hour and have already run 24 miles....
Kevin is now finishing up his last 2 legs, and Matt is getting ready to take us into DC. Our revised ETA at FDR is now between 6 and 6:30. See you there!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
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