Modesto (half) Marathon race report

This was a race that almost wasn't.  Despite driving 5 hours to get to Modesto (with my dog Scooter on my lap the whole way) I woke up Saturday feeling terrible.  My chest hurt worse than any day the last week.  It hurt so bad that as I got to the race expo I asked if I could defer my entry until next year.  I already told myself if they said no that I would at least wake up the next morning, get ready and see how my body felt.  Well, they said no, so that meant that I was at least going to attempt to run.

Well lo and behold I woke up race morning feeling great.  All the prayers people said for me really paid off.  I ate some breakfast, made some coffee, took the dog on a walk, and then it was time to get ready and head out the door.

As I was driving to the race I felt no nerves at all, which is unusual for me.  Maybe because I knew I had a good excuse if I sucked it up.  Maybe it was because I did a lot of CrossFit and knew that was so different to any other training I have done in the past.

Thanks to Dan Ross for giving me some encouragement on the blog the night before and some advice on how to warm up.  (I guess I know of 4 people now who read this blog... my wife, my mother in

mile one

law, Dan and Jen.  Thanks guys!)  Anyway, I was nice and loose as the race started.  I shed a sweatshirt I bought at Goodwill right before the start and I felt great wearing a tank top.  I could not believe how many people were all layered up.  It was in the 40s at the start but I think they paid for it in the end.  I would say it was sunny and in the 50s when I finished.

The race was pretty uneventful itself.  The course is totally flat except for the overpass you cross out and back.  My goal was to hit 7:30 minute/miles throughout the race.  After the first mile I ended up running about 10 yards behind the 3:15 marathon pace group until mile 8 where they diverged.  I did some mental math and knew following them would put me near a 1hr37 finish.  

Around mile 8 I was running next to a high school kid and he said it was his first time racing.  I asked him if he had a goal and he said to finish in an hour and 10 minutes.  I didn't have the heart to tell him he needed to be running 5 minute miles.

my dad and Susie

In the last 3 miles I started picking off runners, which never happens to me.  My most humbling moment racing was actually being passed by a fat middle aged woman around mile 23 of a marathon.  Well this time I was the fat middle aged woman!  Wait... you know what I mean.

I did a good job of not focusing too much on my watch throughout the race and I only looked at the elapsed time 2 times until I was about to make the turn at mile 13.  I was surprised when it, and the big clock, registered in the low 1hr37ish realm.  I knew if I booked it I could break 1hr38.  I did just that and i could hear my step mom cheering for me, which was great.  Officially my time was 1 hr 37 min and 50 seconds.

After I crossed the finish line I felt better than I have in any other race at any other distance.  I never hit the wall, wasn't hunched over, could talk in big boy sentences and didn't look like a mess.

Below are my splits...

the ole Garmin

1-7:29
2-7:17
3-7:22
4 -7:25
5-7:25
6-7:29
7-7:26
8-7:27
9-7:31
10-7:33
11-7:39
12-7:28
13.1-8:17


Overall it was a great day, a great race and also fun to randomly see some old friends along the way racing also!

elephant on my chest

Wouldn't I know it a week before my race I get some mysterious injury. 

I rarely every play basketball anymore even though it is probably my favorite sport to play.  I had a small class of students in my PE class last Friday so I took them into the gym to shoot some hoops.  Of course I love for my students to know I am better than they are at basketball so I decided to play a game of one on three against some boys.  I proceeded to destroy them and their pride over the course of a 10 minute game.  The next morning I woke up and it literally felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest.  It hurt to sit up, bend over, and take a deep breath.  I didn't know what was wrong but at that point I was just glad it was not a heart attack.  I figured it was something from playing basketball and it would go away.

Almost a week later and I am still experiencing the same things, some days to a lesser extent, some days more.  I have gone on some easy runs and I have noticed it.  Since I could not get into the doctor until next week today I had the nurse at my school looked check me out.  She seems to think I strained the muscle on my sternum on my left side. 

My goal all along was to run a smart race, not go out too fast and run consistent 7:30 minute/miles.  While I still want to do all the above, running a smart race is the hardest simply because I do not know what by body is willing to let me do.  I need to not let pride get in the way if I am not feeling it at all. 

If you are reading this (basically I think just my wife and mother in law read this blog) say a prayer that I feel great Sunday morning and whatever this injury is miraculously goes away, or at the least does not hinder me too much.  

back in the saddle

Despite not posting to this blog in about 7 or 8 months my running has been pretty consistent.  It is daily a challenge to figure out how to get out the door and take a run though with a 13 month old little girl that needs constant attention.  Thankfully she takes naps.  When she naps, I run. 
Probably the biggest bonus to my running and training for another half marathon in March is that I moved to Solvang in September.  Goodbye 45 mile commute to work and hello 6.2 mile commute to work.  I work with my wife so 2 days a week I run home instead of drive.  It is great to walk in the door at 4:30ish and just finish a run as opposed to walking in the door at that same time but just have sat in the car for the last 50 minutes.
In getting ready for the Modesto half marathon I felt like I needed to try and get an edge.  I am not the fastest, but in training I definitely put in the miles, do speedwork and all that jazz.  I felt like I more or less I have plateaued.  What I haven't ever done much of is cross train.  I can't seem to sit on a bike saddle for any amount of time where my man parts don't start to hurt.  Another cross training that I could do but haven't is swimming.  Of course I know how to swim but I am intimidated to go to the pool with all the real swimmers.  I don't want to be all over the lane looking like I a newbie.  There is a fellow teacher at my school who is also a runner and she has raved about a cross fit class she takes 2 days a week.  I first heard about it when my friend Andy was training for a 50 miler and he said it was indispensable to his regiment.  I decided to give it a try.
Let's just say the first class sucked.  I thought going in, "Hey I am in shape! I should be able to handle this."  I left that class feeling like I could puke.  I have a new respect for all those fatties on the Biggest Loser doing all those crazy exercises you always see them doing.  I am just thankful I don't have some crazy lady like Jillian cussing at me while I am trying to do the same things.  We do tire flips.  We fling big ass ropes all over the place.  We do lunges and ab exercises like nobody's business.  It's only been a month of that but I do feel stronger.
Back to my running.  I run 4x a week and do that class 2x a week.  I feel like I am getting faster.  Even before I started that class on one of my runs home from work I wanted to go at a pretty fast pace to see where my fitness was at.  I ended up running my first 2 miles at 7:30/mile pace and then the last 4.2 around 6:55/mile pace.  I was happy to see that I was around 44 minutes for a 10k.
My PR last April was a 1:39:42 which equates to a 7:35/mile.  My hope is to run at a 7:30/mile pace this March.  A big part of that is running a smart race and not going out too fast.  As for now, I am just continuing to do the things that I hope will get me there in 6 weeks. 

How to impload during a half marathon - Fontana Days race report

This was a race I have been targeting for a while.  I was very happy with an unexpected PR in April and thought I could pretty easily better that mark to around 1:35 with such a fast course.  I knew the hardest part of this race would be dealing with the heat, something that was non-existent during the SLO half. Another thing I was unsure about was setting my pace.  The first 6 miles were a steady decline before leveling off the last 7.  I figured it would be best to put some time in the bank for the last 7.
My first few miles seemed effortless and I was running 6:30ish/mile.  Pretty fast.  I dialed it in a bit but didn't feel like I was putting out too much effort.  At the 10k mark I clocked around 42:30, a good 25 seconds faster than my best 10k race.  That was right around 6:50ish pace.  I had to pace 7:14/mile over the whole course so I thought I was good to go. 
After the first 6 miles we left the shade of the mountains and I was left with the heat of the road with no shade.  This is where I start to fall apart.  It's hotter than balls.  I am dumping water over my head every station but isn't helping much.  I slowly begin to wither.  To make a long story short because it's painful to think about, I start running about 15 seconds slower each mile until miles 12 and 13.  I told myself to just run 8 minute miles at the end and I would still PR.  By the time those last miles came though I was in the clear cut "I don't give an eff" mode.  I just wanted to be done.  Mile 12 is 9:10 and mile 13 is 9:55.  I limp across the line at 1:40:46 over a minute off my PR.   
This is one of those races I put in the category of a learning experience.  Putting "time in the bank" just doesn't work for me.  When I hit the wall I hit it hard (and often).  Running smart is just better than running hard.
Also when it comes down to it, doing all my training at 5AM in the morning when the weather is an overcast 50 degrees might be perfect during training, but it doesn't help when the race conditions are not the same.  If I want to do better in races I need to find some warmer conditions to train. 
Right now I really don't have a desire to do another race until the fall.  I put in a lot of time and effort into these races this spring I just look forward to taking it easy.  I told my wife I will run with her in the City to Sea half marathon in October and that will be a perfect opportunity to spend time with her while she trains and enjoy that race instead of going all out.

SLO 1/2 marathon race report

I need a tan

I decided to sign up for this race in preparation for another 1/2 marathon in June.  I didn't have high expectations after slogging through part of the course last weekend, I just didn't want to do terrible.  The elevation profile showed this race to be hilly, but it really does not do all the hills justice.  After running the whole course I didn't think it was accurate at all, but that is neither here nor there.  My plan was to run the flat and downhill parts around around 7:30/mile pace and the hills at 8:30/mile pace.  That would bring me in around 1:43:30.

Mile 1: 7:22
Mile 2: 7:25
Mile 3: 7:37

These were all flat, except for the end of last part of mile 3.  It winded through downtown SLO and was pretty uneventful.  The best part was the weather was overcast and in the low 50s, perfect.

Mile 4: 7:55

This mile was rolling hills on Johnson Ave.  I ended up running faster than my 8:30 pace, but I just ran how my body felt, which was pretty good. 

Mile 5: 7:02

The bonus of going up hills is being able to fly back down them.  I was running around 6:45ish/mile but I reigned it in because I didn't want to pay for it later.  The toughest part of the race was yet to come.

Mile 6: 7:45
Mile 7: 7:55

These hills were never ending.  I didn't run this part of the course prior but expected them to not be as tedious as they were.  Again the weather was ideal.  It has been super hot around here lately and I don't do well running in the heat.  After I made the turnaround, not only was it still overcast and in the 50s but I was also running into a slight breeze.

Mile 8: 7:16

This was the mile where I figured I could not only set a PR, previously 1:41:42, but go under 1:40.  I was going strong downhill, but I soon had to run up the hill I ran down on mile 5.

Mile 9: 7:42
Mile 10: 7:39
Mile 11: 7:36

I was starting to hurt near the end of mile 11.  On top of that we had to cross a bridge to get over the rail road tracks.  It had one of those ramps with 3 switchbacks to get to the top of the bridge.  WTF?

Mile 12: 7:58

At this point I wasn't hitting the wall like I have done in marathons, but my body was really hurting.  In the back of my mind there is always this voice that says "shut it down and walk."  I hate that.  I just had to press on.

Mile 13: 7:29

The end was near, all I had to do was run up the steep incline to get to the bike path where the race ended.  I REALLY wanted to walk, but I am glad I didn't because I would have lost the seconds I needed at the end.  When I was running up the hill I had to put my hands behind my head and interlock my fingers to try and get a little bit more air in my system.  Does that work, probably not, but at the moment it felt like it did.

The last stretch I was pushing hard and ran a 6:00/mile pace for the last .15 miles.  I ended up running 1:39:42, 2 minutes faster than my previous PR.  I was also 62nd out of 1810 runners.  For such a hilly course and not expecting to do anything close to this, I am very happy. 

And this was without a doubt the best post race experience ever!  They had all the normal goodies plus unlimited Jamba Juice!  And I had Shelly and Emme waiting for me at the finish line.  If that isn't a reason to run fast to get there I don't know what is. 

registered for SLO 1/2 Marathon

I feel pretty good so I just signed up for the SLO 1/2 Marathon on April 22nd instead of the 5k.  That gives me two weekends to get in two 2 hour runs.  I think I'll be ready. 

Modesto 5k race report

Training has been going really well in the weeks leading up to my 1st race of the Spring.  I have been pretty consistent in doing one set of 8x400 intervals at 5k race pace, one 40-45 min tempo run, one longer run of 80-90 minutes and two other easy days of 3-4 miles each week.  Besides my weight creeping back up near 170 pounds, opposed to the 160 when I ran NYC and that other 5k in November, I feel like things are going really well.
The morning of the race I had an unwelcome visitor... one that is usually only reserved after trips to Wienerschniztel, Woodstock's Pizza or a night of too much drinking.  In about a 45 minute period I had 5 separate trips to the bathroom.  I was really starting to wonder if I was going to be able to run this race.  I know that running while having to go #2 is probably one of the most miserable things in the world and I have never run when experiencing the d-train.  All I knew was that if things got bad during my run, it would be really bad.  With all that in mind I decided to drive to the race and see how I felt.
I was happy to see a ton of port-a-potties once I arrived but thankfully I never felt like I had to use one.  I drank as much water as I could to rehydrate, but not enough so it would be sloshing around in my stomach.
I was right at the start line when the gun went off and by looking at the times from this race in the previous years I thought I had a good shot at winning my age group.  I think all the really fast runners my age were in the marathon and half marathon, which was fine with me.  Right from the get go I started to feel pretty beat.  I clocked 6:16 the first mile and I knew that was probably a tad bit too fast for how I was feeling earlier.  After the first mile I was running behind a group of 3 or 4 other runners and I stayed with them for the rest of the race.  The 2nd mile I clocked 6:23 and I actually moved to the front of my little pack. 
Side note:  I just got a text that Peyton Manning is signing with the Denver Broncos.  As a die hard Broncos fan I am pumped!  I feel terrible for Tim Tebow though.  OK, now back to my race.
The 3rd mile was tough and I fell behind two others in my little pack.  In this being my 2nd 5k race I've learned that the finish line is never too far away.  I've been in marathons and half marathons where I have totally hit the wall and still a good ways away from the finish line.  Nothing is more demoralizing.  The 5k is great because I can look at my watch and tell myself, hold on for 4 more minutes, hold on for 2 more minutes, hold on for 30 more seconds.  Before I knew it the race was just about over.  My 3rd mile clocked in at 6:29.
When I made the final turn the clock was around 19:10 and I was very glad I knew I would run another 5k in under 20 minutes.  My last race was in 19:37 and this time I clocked in at 19:42.
Overall I got 2nd in my age group and 12th place overall.  I also got in the Modesto Bee here as finishing in the top 20 for the race.   I feel really good with where I am at and am hoping I can peak in June when I run my half marathon.

getting in the swing of things

It's been a busy couple of months since my last post.  Most importantly my wife gave birth to our beautiful daughter Emme Grace on January 5th.  This has been the best distraction from me running than I ever could have hoped for.  Its funny that I really enjoy running, but if I set my alarm to sneak in a run at 5AM before work it seems impossible to get out of bed for those first couple of minutes.  If I have to get up at the same time to change a diaper or do anything for Emme I really don't mind at all.  Of course that doesn't mean that I don't put in earplugs every now and again so I can get a full night of sleep.  I'm grateful that when I do want to sleep the whole night through my wife never gives me a guilt trip.
I started running pretty regularly as of about 3 weeks  ago to try and get ready for a 1/2 marathon in April in San Luis Obispo.  There are also a handful of local races within a month of the 1/2 marathon  so I figured I would run some of them as well.  Before today what I was planning on running...

March 18 - Modesto, 5k
April 22 - SLO, 1/2 marathon
May 12 - Miracle Miles for Kids, Morro Bay, 10k
May 27 - Strawberry Stampede, Arroyo Grande 5k

I really have been on the fence about running the 1/2 marathon in April because I just don't feel my fitness level is where I want it to be at right now and it is a hilly course.  Also it is really hard for me to run a half marathon and not try and PR because it takes so much more time to train for than a 5k or 10k.  With all of that in mind I started looking for other half marathons in June that would be close by.  I found a race in Ventura that has a gradual decline for the first 7 miles before it levels off for the last 6.  This seems race fits the bill for when I want to try and run a half marathon and also the type of course.  With that in mind this is what my next couple months will look like...

March 18 - Modesto 5k
April 21-  SLO 5k
May 12 - Miracle Miles for Kids, Morro Bay 10k
June 3 - Ojai 2 Ocean half marathon

The first race will be in my hometown of Modesto.  It fits perfectly into my schedule since we were already headed there so everybody in my family can meet Emme.  It will be a good gauge as to where my fitness is.  I hope I'm still around the 20 minute mark and can work up towards the half marathon in June. 

Modesto Turkey Trot 5k

With such a rough end to my marathon I knew there had to be better running days ahead, just not sure when.  After my previous 2 marathons I took a nice long hiatus from running, and in return ended right back at my starting point when I finally decided to hit the road again.  I was determined for this time to be different.
I have always wanted to run a 5k and a Turkey Trot in my hometown just 2.5 weeks after my marathon worked out perfectly.  I still had some down time after my marathon for my legs to recover but still enough time to get out there and really go fast for a couple workouts.
Despite eating WAY too much Mexican food from El Rosal the night before I felt really good the morning of the race.  I was really hoping to go sub 20 minutes which works itself out to a 6:26/mile but I've never really run 3.1 miles balls out so I wasn't sure how I would do.

My college roomate Chad who I haven't seen for years until the Turkey Trot

The first mile started across grass in a park it was way crowded.  Runners were in the same proximity to me there as the NYC marathon and I did not like it.  For it being Modesto, there were a lot of runners.  I would say close to a 1000.  After dodging in and out of people I finally made it to the concrete path and found my groove.  Miles one and two both clocked in at 6:22/mile.  Things got a lot harder the 3rd mile (duh) but before I knew it the race was already near the end.  Around mile 2.8 I was back on the grass running past a playground where kids were playing and I did hear a girl say, "Mommy, look how red his face is."  I inwardly smiled but I was huffing and puffing too much for anything to show on my face.  As I neared the finish line I was going as fast as I could so never bothered to look at my watch.   Once I finally got a full view of the timer it said 19:33 and at that point I was just near the finish line.  I could not believe how fast I had run that last 1.1 miles and that I was easily going to go under 20 minutes.
Right after the race my wife came up to me and asked why I had spit going across my face.  I asked her what she was talking about and apparently I had a spit/drool thingy coming from the corner of my mouth making its way towards my ear.  I just laughed because I had no idea.  It was really nice to have her there at the end of the race, even if she was pointing out something like that. 
Officially my time was a 19:36:9 seconds which works out to a 6:18/mile.   I was 5th place in my age group of 30-39 year old males and I was only 13 seconds away from placing 3rd.   

NYC Marathon Race Report 2011

In getting ready to run in this marathon I have read so many other "race reports" from random people about their own experiences so I could better prepare myself for what lay ahead.  In short however, reading blogs could not fully make me comprehend the magnitude of this race and the enormity of people running next to you and also cheering you on.  At some points I felt like it was "sea of humanity" all joining together as one.  Other times I felt this is such a clusterf*ck of people and I wish they would all go home. 
There were really no problems with the logistics of getting to the race.  I hopped on the subway no problem.  Then it was time for the Staten Island Ferry.  After that it was a bus to the staging area to wait around before the race.  The one thing that I thought was so amazing was how many international runners there were.  On the subway I sat down next to a runner from Italy.  Another Italian woman later sat down across from us and they talked to each other in their native tongue the rest of the ride.  As I was waiting for my wave start I laid out my garbage bag next to a fence where I would sit for an hour or so waiting for my wave start.  I sat in between one guy from Denmark and another from Vancouver.  Maybe it was because most international runner indicated they were international by either a flag on their shirt or a flag painted on their face, but it made me wish I had an American flag because I did not see any of those throughout the day.  Both of the guys I was sitting down next to ran in wave one so they gave me their sleeping bags and foam pads they were sitting on.  I kind of felt like I was the king of the bums with all my stuff I had to keep me warm and comfortable while sitting on the ground waiting around.      
I was in the very start of wave 2 right in the front.  The race started promptly at 10:10 and there was maybe only 20 feet in between me and the start line with the horn blew.  I thought I was going to run relatively hassle free for the first 8 miles or so before all the other runners joined together.  Within about 1 minute of starting the race an older runner next to me was trampled by a woman.  I don't know how it started but I felt really bad for the guy.  Over the Verrazano Bridge was smooth sailing.  The weather was sunny and not cold so I shed my jacket somewhere in the first mile.  My plan was to run slow the first mile, around 10 minutes, then average out around 8:50 miles much of the rest of the way until mile 21 or so.  I also had a plan to take a gel starting at mile 4 and every 4th mile then on with water and Gatorade the other miles with along with salt tablets (so I don't cramp) every 4th mile starting at mile 6.   This plan quickly got lost as it was difficult to think straight among so many people.  I always felt boxed in while running and felt like I literally had to push my way through people at every mile in order to get fluids.  I would figure I was losing 10 seconds every stop.  A some point early on in the race I also lost my salt tablets that were in my pouch.  This I think was a big reason why I started to cramp around mile 22. 
Aside from all the issues surrounding getting fluids, going through Brooklyn was amazing!  This was by far my favorite part of the race.  The crowds were so lively and I loved the random people who set up their bands on the side of the roads, the DJ who was playing Vanilla Ice underneath an overpass and the church choir that was out there singing away. 
Early on I adjusted my time for both how long it was taking to get the fluids and also for the fact that each mile on the course was really 1.02 miles on my Garmin and I was hitting all of my splits.  I hit the 13.1 mile mark at 1:57:19 which was right where I was when I PR'd 4 years ago in the Rock n Roll Marathon in San Diego with 3:57:14.  I really wanted to beat that mark and at that point in felt 100% in my grasp.
A few miles later was the (supposedly) dreaded Queensborough Bridge.  I read all kinds of horror stories about this on people's blogs, but I did not find in that difficult at all.  The only hard part was the fact that so many people were walking at this point.  I cruised up and down and entered into Manhattan which was unreal with the amount of energy.  My dad was supposed to be waiting to cheer me on at the Starbucks on the corner of 75th Street.  Sadly there was about a million other people there too.  That did not stop me from running by yelling his name "Rod Taylor, Rod Taylor" trying to see if we could connect, even if it was for us to only exchange smiles.  I didn't see him so I kept moving along.
As we left Manhattan we crossed what the Willis Ave Bridge. This is around mile 19-20 and I start to cramp.  It feels like my hamstrings are knotted up the size of softballs.  I stop and quickly stretch, not wanting to lose too much time.  Here my splits go from under 9 minute miles to 9:16 and 9:35.  This was also the point where I hit the wall.  I put in so much time into my training I really did not want this to come as it had in my previous 2 marathons, but it as back.  In my mind I went from knowing I would not PR, to hoping to go sub 4 hours all the way to telling myself "just don't walk."
Around mile 22, Asics had a huge monitor where friends and family of runners could record messages and they would play on huge 40 foot screen over the course.  It was time activated by the chip runners were wearing as the crossed a certain point.  As I was running I looked up and Shelly is on the screen with Scooter cheering me on.  It was almost enough to make me cry... that or the chaffing, but I really don't want to get into that. 
Getting back into Manhattan was not as thrilling as I hoped it would be, mainly because I wanted to die.  I was running 11-12 minute miles at this point barely moving faster than the walkers.  As I hit one mile marker I accidentally stopped my a watch instead of hitting the split.  Everything at this point sucked. 
Despite the fact that I was creeping along, everything seems to be a blur now.  At mile 25 I did hear my dad call my name which was great.  I gave him a thumbs down sign with a smile to let him know that I was hurting but still in good spirits.  He had a big smile on his face which did make me feel great.  As I got closer to the finish line I thought, "I feel like crap, but I want to have a good finishing photo."  I made sure nobody was in front of me as I crossed the line and gave a good ole fist pump that was sure to catch the cameraman's attention.  I was not sure of my official time at that point, but my watch said I ran 26.1 miles in the time of 4:06:40.  My official time was 4:11:05.  I figure the course was more like 26.5 miles with all the turns and maneuvering around people. 
When the race was over I still had to walk about a mile to pick up my checked bag.  At the time this was the worst thing ever because I did not want to move at all. I honestly thought to myself "I would pay somebody $1000 to go pick up my bag and give it to me right now."  In the long run however it was great because if it wasn't for that long trudge I would have sat down and then my muscles probably would not have let me move again for a long time.
Despite the fact that I totally fell apart of the last 6 miles, this was quite an experience that I will never forget.   

it's finally here...

Today I leave to San Jose and I fly out to NYC in the morning! I can't believe after 18 weeks of training the race is finally about to arrive. Here are some brief thoughts...

1. The weather should be great. The high is 56 degrees and the low is 52, partly cloudy. No rain in the forecast. I did buy some old snow pants at Goodwill to wear prior to the race starting and just shed them right before the start buy I don't even know if I will need them.

2. I am still worried about my right foot. I tried to go for an 8 mile run last Sunday buy shut it down at 7 because it was starting to ache. Besides a planned 2 mile run either on Friday or Saturday I won't run at all this week. Just trying to give my foot as much time to heal as possible.

3. I started at 170 pounds hoping to get down to 160 by raceday. The first 2 months there was no weight loss, but right now I hover around 161-2 which I am really happy with.

4. I found a great website called mymarathonpace.com which has pace charts for all major marathons. Based on the elevation charts from the course the guy who owns the website has created an xcel spreadsheet where you can input your own information and plan out your pace mile by mile based on how much effort you want to put forth during the race. You can also account for how fast/slow you want to be going at the beginning and the end of the race. I am setting it for a slow start and a medium fade at the end. I am pacing myself for a 3:55 marathon which I feel is right about where I should be. For instance my first mile is all up over the Verrazano Bridge and is meant to be slow so it is roughly a 10 minute pace. The next mile which is going back down the bridge is much faster around 8:50ish. The overall pace for my marathon per mile I want to keep is an 8:58 mile. I printed it out and made my own pace band to wear around my wrist.

5. A tough part about being in NYC prior to running a race is my eating habits. I usually never shy away from eating a lot, especially when it's good food. I've told myself no fatty meals and no pigging out no matter how good something is. I don't want to feel lethargic prior to my race and I don't want to have to take an unplanned dump during it. I have made reservations for a nice steakhouse for after my race. The meals are pricey, but what isn't pricey in NYC? It will be something nice to look forward to.

That's about it! Make sure to look back sometime next week as I post a race report. Thanks for reading and thanks for your support in this endeavor!

homestretch

its almost like a second ankle

After my last 20 miler a few weeks ago I didn't write about my foot hurting because I didn't think it was that big of a deal.  I was wrong on that assessment.  I had to take about 5 days off of running during what should have been week 16 of my 18 week training plan.  Not the end of the world, but not ideal either.  I figured whatever it was would go away with some rest.  After it not seeming to get better I went to a podiatrist and he said that it is a specific muscle that in inflamed.  The muscles wraps over the top of my foot down to my toes.  When it really starts to get bothered my whole foot hurts.  The only remedy at this point is ice and ibuprofen since rest is not an option.  Honestly I don't feel it on my runs now, but the longest run I have done since my 20 miler has only been 4.66 miles.  When it first occurred it was mile 18.5.  At that point it felt like stabbing pains shooting up my leg.  I'm hoping this is not a problem on my marathon as I really want to run unhindered.  At least if it does hurt I know what it is and hopefully I can man up under the pain.  I really really want to beat my time from 4.5 years ago and I don't want this to be an excuse if I don't.      

last hard week of training

This is thankfully my last hard week of training before I begin my taper.  Following my training schedule is just proving to be more and more difficult as life keeps trying to get in the way.
A great example was this last weekend Shelly and I went to my hometown for a baby shower and also for my grandpa's 89th birthday.  On Sunday morning we planned to meet my mother, mother-in-law and grandmother for breakfast around 9:00.  The only problem is that I had to pack up the car with all of the baby stuff that we had received the day before, along with Scooter's crate and all of our luggage.  Of course that was after I had showered and gone my on 12 mile run.  I set my alarm for 5:30 and thought I had given myself enough time to squeeze it all in.  At around mile 8 I realized that there was no way I was going to be able to get in all of my 12 miles.  I am kind of sick of my long slow runs anyway so I wasn't heartbroken even though I want to stick as close to my plan as possible.  I was able to get in 10.4, but that extra 15 minutes I saved was the difference in us not being late.
The rest of the week has not been any easier.  Fall on the central coast of California is one of the most beautiful times of the year, especially because the fog seems to lift and we get really clear warm days.  I was expected to do some training in some warmer weather this time of year but this week it has been in the 90s!
Because of this I pushed my 10 mile run to 7 oclock on Tuesday night once the sun had gone down.  The bad part of this was that I was starving when I got home and ate bbq chicken and salad for dinner.  It's not that I pigged out, but just eating anything like that 2 hours before a run is going to make me feel sluggish.  That coupled with the weather and just being really stressed out over a lot of things led to one of my worst runs in a long time.  I "finished" it, which was a victory of some sorts, but I was just plodding along very listless.  Thankfully my wife decided to stay up (staying up for her these days is anything past 8PM) and make me a chocolate milk because she knew how stressed out I've been lately.  It's amazing how something like a glass of chocolate milk and my wife staying up until 8:45 can put me in such a better mood.

holy crap I'm sweaty

I knew the weather today would be no better than the previous days so I got up at 5AM to do my interval runs of 8x800 meters.  Besides having to stop halfway through to poop (this is my greatest fear in this marathon, seriously) it was a really good run.  Again the bad part is how hot it was outside, even for it being 5:30 by the time I stepped out the door.  As you can tell from my picture, if I look this sweaty after a run that early in the morning, it must be freaking hot out.  Overall it was quite different in terms of my pace and energy compared to the Tuesday run.  
Depending on weather my last 20 miler will either be on Saturday or Sunday morning.  Then hopefully it is easy street for a few weeks before the actual race itself. 

5 more weeks until race day

Another week is in the books and I have only 5 more until race day!  I don't feel like writing tons so I am going to write it in the style that my students love the most, bullet points.

• I found out I am in the very front of the 2nd wave of the marathon in corral 22.  I am on the blue track which means only the pro's are on the blue track ahead of me.  Long story short, when I start I won't have tens of thousands of people in front of me, only the few hundred that might be in front of me in my wave since the pros will be way ahead of me.
• The IT band is a nuisance, but manageable.  It hurts the most to walk up and down stairs.  
• I got a new pair of Zoot compression calf sleeves that I really like.  They are basically the same at my Zoot compression socks, but I can wear my toe socks with them.  
• I ran a 45 minute tempo run on Wednesday and peaked running at 7:08/mile for 1.25 miles.  I felt great and could have gone faster and longer if I needed to be.  This got me thinking about running a 5k and going for sub 20 minutes(which I've always wanted to do).  I've never ran a 5k competitively and if my body is up for it I want to run the Turket Trot in my hometown Thanksgiving morning. 
• What a difference it makes in my pacing while running by turning my Garmin watch from "pace" to "lap pace."  I would always feel like I was speeding up or slowing down trying to get my right pace.  Now after about a quarter mile I tend to be right about the pace I should be running and it does not make me feel like I always have to fluctuate my speed so much.
• I have now lost a total of about 6 pounds in all of my marathon training and weigh 164.  As I started my training I wanted to be around 160 for my race, which I might get to, but I am happy with where I am at and will be happy even if I don't lose anymore. 
• Since my race is a Sunday morning, I've been think about how I can check to see the injury report for my fantasy football players so I can change my lineup if need be.  I've come up with two solutions.  The first being, run an hour and a half faster than I originally planned and get back to my iPhone before the games start.  The problem with this plan is, well, it's impossible.  My second solution is to give my password to a friend and have him do it for me.  Probably the most feasible.  Maybe I'll tweet Matthew Berry for ESPN and see if he'll help me out.  

Thanks for reading!  

feeling better and my first 20 miler done!

After my last post I was about as discouraged as I could have been.  What a difference a week and a half makes.  The greatest pluses in terms of making my ITBS manageable I believe have been well timed rest, Motrin, ice... a lot of ice, and my big blue foam roller.
I am definitely a creature of habit and the foam roller is now a part of my daily routine.  I wake up, brush my teeth, start coffee, then I start rolling my butt and IT bands on the foam roller.  The first couple time I used the roller I could tell how much I needed it because of how bad it hurt.  Now I can roll my legs for a few minutes and there is little soreness.  To me that is a sign that things are getting better.  After I roll my legs in the morning I put it in my backpack to take it to work to do the same thing on my lunch break.  I always have to make sure the door to my classroom is locked during lunch because I can only imagine what my students would think if they walked in and I was using the roller on either one of my buttcheeks. Finally one more time before I get in bed and I am good to go.  On the days I go on runs I also roll my legs before and after. 
I took off 5 consecutive days from running last week and also helped a ton.  Since then here was how my week looked...

Sunday - 8 miles
Monday - 4 miles
Tuesday - 6 miles
Wednesday - 5 miles
Thursday - 7x800 meters intervals (Yasso repeats) w/ .25 miles rest in between.  Totaled 5 miles
Friday - off
Satuday(today) - 20 miles

After each run I put ice packs on my hips where it is an IT hotspot and I also rubdown my legs with ice that I freeze in a cup. 
Today my run was great, despite it raining/drizzling for the first 18 miles.  I ran at a pretty slow pace, which is actually what I am supposed to do on my long runs.   What I was happiest about the most was that I ran this route over some bigger hills and I felt great running my last mile at my race pace of 8:52/mile.  At mile 20 to have something left in my tank, no matter what the pace, I must be doing something right. 
Now I am just hoping that my body responds well in the time after, because usually it gets most sore about 24 hours after a run. 
Thanks to those of you who wrote me encouraging emails after my last post, I really appreciate it.  

IT Band issues

Last week I only ran 3 of the 6 days my schedule due to the tightness from my IT band.  After taking those days off I felt pretty good and was able to do my long run of 19 miles on Sunday morning.  I averaged a 9:45 mile which is 50 seconds slower than the 8:55/mile pace I hope to keep during the marathon.  I was pretty pooped at the end and I thought, "How in the world can I run 7 more miles at a much faster pace than what I just ran?"  I hate when self-doubt creeps in because it can really mess with my head.  I was done with that run though, and in my mind that is all that counted.  Post run was nice as I took an ice bath while eating fried eggs and a Coke that my wife brought me.  Yes, it sounds as odd as it probably looked.
The bad news is how my body, more specifically my legs, reacted afterwards.  I took the day off after the run and then tried to get out there again yesterday.  My plan called for 10 miles but all I could muster was 8.5.  The only way to describe the pain that I have in my upper quads and knees is debilitating.  After this last run I could hardly walk.  At night I could hardly sleep as my legs and knees ached.  As I moved my legs from a bent to an outstretched position it hurt like all hell.  When I walk down stairs my knees scream at me to stop. 
It seems that at this point all I can do is not run for a while.  This is hard because I have my first 20 mile run this weekend and I really don't want to miss it.  I need to balance the need to try and get better with the need to keep up my fitness.  I am stubborn and that doesn't help.  It does help that my wife is more than encouraging but also practical in the advice she gives me.  After work we are off to go find a foam roller to do some stretching.  Hopefully that, along with other stretches I have found on the internet combined with some time off things can get better.  If not I feel like all bets are off for my even running in the NYC Marathon, and that is the biggest blow in terms of self-doubt after 11 good and hard weeks of training.   

the good, the bad and the ugly

While my blogging hasn't been very consistent, keeping up on my training has...  for the most part.  The latter has proved to be more and more difficult in the last few weeks.  Let me break it down for you.

The Good:

1.  I am more than halfway done with marathon training.
2.  I have finally lost a few pounds... 3.5 to be exact.  Anything at this point is welcomed.
3.  I have had some awesome runs where I really kept a consistent "race pace" and felt good afterwards.

The Bad:

1.  Knee pain, especially in the last week or so.  This Friday I ran 9 miles at race pace and I could hardly move my left leg later that night.  The pain has persisted all weekend.  I think it is an IT problem because the pain goes up the outer upper thigh.  I am pretty concerned about this being a lingering problem at this point.  I don't know how to balance taking time of to heal (hopefully) while keeping up my training/fitness.
2.  Over the next 7 weekends I have one 19 mile run and three 20 mile runs.  If I felt healthy I wouldn't be as weary about this.  I felt great after a 17 mile run a week and a half ago, but that was before my knee problems.

The Ugly:

1.  My top of middle toe on my left foot.  No matter what shoes I wear or what I do I get a nasty blister.  You can thank me for no picture. 
2.  Me running in "hot" weather.  I have stated this before,  I don't do well in heat.  And since I live next to the coast where it is perpetually overcast this time of year, I classify anytime the sun is shining on a clear day as hot.  A few weeks ago it was one of those clear days and I was miserable.  As I was running my wife drove by on her way to the dentist.  Since she knows my disdain for running while its sunny out and the fact that I looked like crap, she made a point to look at the temperature gauge on the car.  It read 65 degrees.  Seriously, 65 degrees.  Most people would give anything to run in weather sunny and 65 but not me.  Am I the biggest wimp or what?
3.  I forgot band aids over my nips for an 8 mile run.  I had scabs the next day.  Enough said.

Hopefully it won't be another month until I update this blog again :-)

I hate hills

One of the things I like about this training plan that I am doing is that despite running 6 days a week, I always seem to feel fresh.  I had a hard run last week where I ran hill repeats of .23 miles x 4.  Even though this workout only lasted 19 minutes it was by far the hardest yet.  I just plain and simple don't like running up or down hills.  It is disappointing because I think trail races like the ones on www.pctrailruns.com by far look the coolest but once I look at the elevation gains and losses it makes me cringe.  I actually did one of these races in Montano de Oro a few years ago and here is the elevation chart...

Basically this race killed me and my quads.  I couldn't even walk down stairs for about 3 days without holding onto the rails.  Nevertheless, days after my hill repeats last week I could still feel the effects.  My butt and all the surrounding muscles (the ones I don't realize I have until they start to hurt) were really sore.  Once I got going on my subsequent runs I felt better and I knew at that point I needed to start adding more hilly routes to my regular running routines so I am ready for the Verrazano and Queensborough Bridges.
Today was the first of those hilly days and thanks to my new running watch I can upload the run like magic...

I think at the 3.5 mile mark I was all the way down to about 12:00/mile pace which was the top of the biggest hill.  I should have just walked at that point because I would not have been going any slower but it was more of a mental thing and wanting to push through.  I know in my first marathon I told myself "no walking" and I was glad I did because it really made me keep going.  In my second marathon I forgot how tough the marathon really was and I didn't tell myself "no walking" so of course I did.  That made for a long day and a lot of walking, because once you start it's really hard to start running again.  I'm hoping to be well enough prepared come November that walking doesn't even enter my mind. 

my shoes thanks to the Running Warehouse

Everybody has vices.  For my wife it is jeans.  After going in our closet to count she has a total of 21 pairs!  It is not like these are the $30 variety either.  I won’t write too much about this because I don’t want to get in trouble. 

This is normal, right?

My vice?  I like me some good running shoes.  Unfortunately I do not rival my wife in the overall number (compared to her jeans) nor time put forth shopping for them.  For her I believe it is all about the process of going shopping.  More often than not she goes shopping, buys something (which I call getting her fix), then decides she doesn’t like what she bought and returns it two weeks later.  I would say only one of two articles of clothing she ever buys makes the cut and is not returned.  Case and point, today she returned two pair of shorts to Motherhood Maternity.  Last week she returned a bra from the same purchase.  Only one tank top made the overall cut!

What costs more, these jeans or both of my pairs of running shoes?

We just found out we are having a little girl!

I, like most guys, are all about the hunt for the good bargain.  Normally this comes through purchases at the Running Warehouse.  Normally their prices are about 20% less than retail, but with their constant sales, it can be more than 50% off of retail.  Honestly I don’t know how they stay in business with this model, but they do.    

For the past 3 years or so my main pair of trainers has been the Mizuno Nirvana.  I guess I would have to equate this pair of shoes as driving in a nice Cadillac.  Because I am not rich and old I have never actually driven in a Cadillac.  Nevertheless, I know how they are supposed to drive.  They are big, fast and comfortable.  Hence the shoes are pretty big, 12.2 ounces, feel fast (even though I am not), and are just about as comfortable for a long run as I could hope for.  This is Mizuno’s top of the line shoe for support, which I can tell as I moderately pronate on my right foot.  When I run in these shoes I do not get “dead leg” which has happened when I have put a lot of miles on their next model down for support, the Inspire. 

Mizuno Nirvana 7

Without getting a deal these shoes are really expensive.  $140 bucks expensive.  Even a guy like me who loves to buy running shoes can’t justify that.  Right now the Running Warehouse has last years model on sale for $69.88.   If you are a Facebook fan of their store you can get an additional 15% off of all their sale merchandise by clicking on their promotion tab.  This lowers the cost of the shoes to $59.40 pretax to go along with free 2 day shipping.  This is a grand total of 58% off retail!  Best thing is you don’t have to go shopping at Ross to get brand names for less.  

Because Running Warehouse also price matches I found the current model for $99.99 on another website.  All I did was print it out and take it down to their store (their business is mostly online but I live in the same city as the retail store) and voilà, $99.99 plus tax!  Their customer service is the best.  Even without this deal the shoes still sell for $120, which is $20 cheaper than the retail price.  Not too shabby. 

The second pair of shoes that I am training in are the Saucony Kinvara.  This is almost the lightest shoe that I have ever worn at 7.7 ounces and feels like I am wearing socks instead of shoes.  They are a tad bit narrow for my feet but I was shown a new way to lace them up which makes them feel wider than they actually are.   They are quite different than my Nirvana because of such a small stature and them being closer to the ground which give me more of a feel for the road.   I have only put around 30 miles on this shoe so far but I am looking forward to taking them out on some longer runs to see how my legs and feet hold up.  This is the first truly neutral shoe I have run in for a really long time but so far so good. 

Saucony Kinvara

As for the deal part…  both last years and the current model retails for $90.  Since there is relatively no difference between models and last years was on sale, I went for that.  I can’t remember the numbers exactly, but I believe they were on sale for around $60.  With a monthly email I got an additional 20% off of the sale price.  I believe I paid around $55 total for these shoes.  That makes for 39% off of the retail price. 

All in all I love these both of these shoes right now and I love the Running Warehouse for making me not feel guilty for having the both of them.  If only they sold women’s jeans.      

finding my pace, bonking and Will Ferrell

One of the things I am unsure about as I prepare for my marathon is what pace I want to try and run during the race.  There are so many factors that go into this decision and I know I won’t have an accurate answer until much closer to race day.  However different runs throughout the week have me running different paces depending on how fast I predict to run the marathon on race day.   It is in my best interest to have a general idea of how fast I want to run.  My biggest problem now is how fast I think I should be able to run opposed to how fast I actually can run over the course of 26.2 miles.

One of the common “formulas” for calculating your potential marathon time is to double your ½ marathon time and add 10 minutes.  On the New York Road Runners website they said that since the course is not fast and conditions can vary it is safer to estimate 15 minutes using the same calculation. 

Using that method and taking my time from my last race, roughly 1 hour 42 minutes x 2 + 15 minutes = 3:39. That would be at an 8:21/mile and I would shave off a cool 18 minutes off of my PR.  A PR is an accomplishment all its own, but by 18 minutes in the greatest marathon on earth would be unreal.   

The thing I don’t really like about this calculation is, even though I should be able to run that fast, for that long, I don’t think I can.  After I ran both of my marathons with my buddy Dan I told him, “I’m never doing that again.”   My body ached and the last 9 miles of each race was torture. 

Some factors that lead to me being so miserable was that I never ran any 20 mile runs in training and I didn’t really have any hydration/nutrition plan.  This go around both of those issues will be addressed, and that makes me wonder just how I’ll do if I don’t bonk.  For those non-runner types who are unfamiliar with the term "bonk", click here, but not here.  The latter will just confuse you when you think about doing that during a marathon.  I guess it would be cooler to justify a poor marathon time using the that definition though.  "Yeah, I bonked around mile 18 and it just took longer than I expected." 

"I can run the marathon faster than Matt"

Another plus in running a sub 3:50 would be that I would beat Will Ferrell’s marathon best of 3:56:12.  I’m not going to lie, I was a little upset when I found out the guy who famously jiggled down the street streaking in Old School has a faster marathon time than I do.  And it’s not like he did it when he was 20.  He was training for the marathon when he was filming that movie in 2003.  Keeping all this in mind if I had to list my marathon goals as of right would now they would have to be…

1. Beat my previous PR of 3:57:14
2. Beat Will Ferrell’s PR of 3:56:12 (no streaking involved)
3. Run sub 3:50

And even if I don't end up beating Will Ferrell's time, I guess I can always come back to this picture down here, because at least he looks like a runner.