Freezing But Runnable

Inside, outside, where will I run next? Last night it snowed, and this morning when we left for the Pinewood Derby there was light coating on the ground. By the time we left the races the snow had completely melted and the sun was shining brightly. It was also one of those days where the wind wasn't howling, so a run outside seemed to be in order. I ran 8 miles, and it was nice to be out. The temperature was right at 32, but hey, I've run in worse weather. I stayed at a pretty even 9:30 pace and that worked fine for me. All in all a good day.

Still More Treadmill

I briefly considered running outside today, but the temperature was just bone-numbing cold. I went 5 miles on the treadmill instead. If I was training for a race I would have gone out, but really, there's no need for that right now.

Unexpected Run Outside

The forecast for this week was horrible, and I ran into snow flurries on my way to work this morning. So I was a bit surprised when I left work, the sun was shining, and the wind wasn't blowing very hard. I rushed home, changed quickly, and hit the streets. The temperature was in the mid-30's and a very light breeze. What an unexpected blessing! I ran 6 miles. The nice day must have pumped me up since I ran at a sub-9 minute pace and finished the run in under 53 minutes. What an awesome finish to a tumultuous day at work. Time to relax...

Back Inside

Another nasty cold, windy and cloudy day, so back to the treadmill I went. I was only going to go for 9 miles, but I cranked up the speed and ended up going 10 in the time limit I'd set. The pace was 8 minutes/mile. I don't really like our treadmill's display and how you set your speed, but I've learned to cope. I suppose I should just be glad I have one, especially on days like today.

Outside!

Didn't run on Tuesday since I actually brought work home with me - trust me, there was no other way to get it done. But today I was pumped because the temperature was in the upper 30's and even though there was a breeze from the northwest I decided that wasn't going to stop me. After not running outdoors since January 3rd, which I insisted on doing because I knew it might be awhile before I had the chance again, today was the day. I ran 6 miles along the old familiar route - up to Flintlock and then back down 96th to Shoal Creek Parkway. 99% of the snow was gone from the sidewalks, but there were a couple of places I had to tread gingerly. Work has been a beast since I got back from vacation, and I certainly needed a day like today.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

I was hoping to run outside yesterday, but fog shrouded us until after noon. It had cleared by mid-afternoon, but the lack of sunlight meant the sidewalks were still covered in snow. I went ahead and ran 8 miles inside on the treadmill. It was foggy again this morning, but the sun is out and the temperature is well above freezing, so I'm hoping this is the light at the end of the tunnel. The forecast for this week isn't that great, but I'm not giving up hope yet.

Treadmill Intervals

Ran another 5 miles on the treadmill today. I mixed it up this time with three half-mile intervals at 8 mph broken up by quarter-mile respites at 6 mph, and then a final interval at 9 mph, which was a nice clip. I eyeballed the sidewalks on the drive home, but still too much snow out there for me to get outdoors. Maybe by Saturday.

Still Cold

And still running on the treadmill. Today I upped it to 5 miles, and ran half of it at a 7:30/mile pace. After a couple of weeks of easing back into it, I decided it was time to mix it up a bit and put in some time on speedwork. I felt pretty good, and since we've moved the treadmill downstairs where the temperature is naturally colder, I don't sweat as much. I suppose that's a good thing.

I Ran So Far Away

Not really, just thought a token Flock of Seagulls reference was in order for running 6 miles on the treadmill. Can't remember if I've said this already, but no idea when I'll be able to run outside again. Spent over two hours cleaning snow off the driveway and the weather will have to be a lot warmer to melt the big piles of snow all over the neighborhood and throughout the city.

4 Mo' on the Treadmill

More snow yesterday and today. Temperatures below freezing at least until next week. It's going to be a long time before I get to run outside again.

Snow and Cold

A LOT of snow left over from the holidays, and temps in the low teens, which combine to mean it was a treadmill day. Ran 4 miles on the black belt.

It's weird not having anything specific to train for at the moment. After over a year and a half of marathon training, this is the first time since early 2008 that I'm just running to maintain and exercise. I'm thinking about running a 5k Groundhog Day race at some of the caves here in KC. Other than that if my first longer race is in May I have a big long gap before the next distance run.

New Year, New Start

After four weeks off of running, I finally got back in the game the past two days. 4 miles each day here in Frisco, TX, with Alan. Today was a little cooler than yesterday, but I can't complain seeing as how the temperature in Kansas City is struggling to get into double digits. I meant to run with my brother while we were together in Longview but our laziness and finally the weather conspired against us. These two runs were nice and easy and that's the way it's going to be for a little bit as I decide what race to run next and then develop a training plan.

I also wanted to get a new pair of shoes before starting to run again since my last two pairs are pretty much spent after running a couple of marathons and all the requisite training for them. Went to Academy Sports in Longview earlier in the week and bought a pair of Asics Gel Nimbus 11. Spent more than I wanted to but I didn't want to wait for something to come by mail. They're silver and feel good, which is the best part. We'll see where these shoes carry me in the next few months.

Saving the Best for Last

This was marathon #4 in 2009 for me, and it was definitely the best in every way. I drove to Memphis on Friday and arrived about 2:30 p.m., within a minute of Alan and Brad, who came along as our support person. We couldn't have planned our arrival better if we'd tried. Packet pickup was quick and easy, and the best thing we got for free was an apple. Really, it was a good apple.

My goal before the race was to run it in 3:50 or better; my secondary goal was to finish in less than four hours, and the "salvage something from the race" goal was 4:10 and just finishing.

Saturday morning the race started at 8 o'clock, so we didn't have to get up especially early. That was a nice change. The temperature was just under freezing, but the wind was nonexistent. I'll trade temperature for no wind any day, especially on a race day. About 11,000 people lined up for the races. The organizers had us in "corrals," segregating us by expected finish times. Alan and I started in Corral #7, him since that was his target time and me because I'm a slow starter. Our group started at about 8:11. With that many people it was great to start in groups; although it was crowded it wasn't too bad and we weren't trying to elbow people out of the way.

The first couple of miles thundered south of the downtown area and then west to Riverside Drive. The view of the Mississippi close to the second mile was picture-perfect with the sun shining and the I-40 bridge in the distance. Then we turned onto Beale Street and ran by all the famous music and food joints before heading north toward the St. Jude Hospital campus. Alan, of course, had to stop and pee at mile 4, which added another thirty seconds to my time, dang it. When we got to the hospital campus a lot of the kids were out cheering us on and calling us heroes for running. That was nice of them, but they're definitely the heroes. An older gentleman had tripped and done a face plant right before we got to him. He was dazed and had a big raspberry on his forehead as he was being helped off the course by several people, poor guy.

The course was very flat with only a slight rise as we headed to Overton Park. The course wound through the park and the trees, which was really nice. At about mile 6 or so I felt good and started increasing the pace slightly to try and be at about 9 minutes/mile. As we got through the park and headed back toward downtown you could feel the group energy level pick up as the half-marathoners neared their finish. The good thing about that is you can feed off the energy a little bit, but once the course divides and you realize you're only half done it's a bit of a letdown.

We reached Beale Street again and passed through it going the opposite direction, at which point Alan stopped and doffed his pants and gave them to Brad. I continued on and aimed for an 8-minute/mile pace so I could meet my goal. I consumed my gel packs during the race at 7, 12, 17, and 22 miles. They definitely helped; tangerine and raspberry cream were the tasty flavors. There were aid stations with water and Powerade about every mile or so. Miles 13-18 went by quickly, and it wasn't until about mile 20 that I really started to feel the exhaustion. At mile 23 my calves started to cramp something fierce. They each felt like a lead ball but I was determined to not stop since I knew if I did it once I'd be doing it multiple times. It hurt like crazy but I ran through it and was fine the rest of the way. Around mile 15 I'd been passed by a couple of guys running about the same pace I was aiming for, so I kept them in sight until mile 25 and that seemed to help a little.

I always say the last mile of the race is the longest, and that proved true once again. The race finished in Autozone Park, home of the Cardinals' Triple-A affiliate the Memphis Redbirds. I knew the stadium was up there somewhere but it remained elusively out of sight. At that point I was on autopilot. I kept looking down at my Garmin, expecting to see my pace had slowed, but I was still going at 8 minutes/mile. Guess all that speed training actually pays off since your body will keep doing what it's been trained to do.

Once to the ballpark the course entered the stadium behind the center field wall, where I emerged and took a left on the warning track and then down the first base line to the finish. Got my silver cape and medal and then wandered to center field so I could watch for Alan. My unofficial time according to my timer was 3:49:53 and I was exhaustedly happy. Alan came in at about 4:07.

This is the part where I compliment the organizers: we departed the field and walked up to the concourse level where the after-race food and drinks were set up for the participants. You had to have a tag from your race number to get in, and wow, did they have food. After the race in Dallas in April, the 5k and half-marathoners had descended like locusts on the refreshments and there was nothing left for the marathoners. Not the case here. There was pizza, bagels, bananas, oranges, donuts, water, etc. A great big THANK YOU to the organizers, and I'll also say that from registration to packet pick-up to the start all the way to after the race, this was the best organized race I've ever seen. I had a couple of bottles of water, half a banana, and a Krispy Kreme donut.

The hotel had a nice hot shower waiting, and after resting for a bit we went to The Rendevous for some ribs. Talk about hitting the spot. After heading to another spot and watching Alabama demolish Florida for the SEC championship, we went and found some more ribs. The rest of the evening we spent listening to some good music. What a great experience.

My official race time was 3:49:51, and I finished 69th of 234 in my age bracket. Overall I was 556th out of approximately 2,450 people. I was the 432nd male and my overall average pace was 8:47/mile. Here are my splits:

Mile 6.2 - 59:26, 9:37 pace, Rank 155 in my age group
Mile 13.1 - 2:01:29, 9:17 pace, Rank 140
Mile 20 - 2:58:21, 8:56 pace, Rank 93
Finish - 3:49:51, 8:47 pace, Rank 69

If I was someone studying those results, I'd look at that and figure out what kind of freak gets faster as the race goes on. I look at some of the other results and am amazed at how some people run the same consistent pace the whole time. Guess that's something to shoot for next time.

Speaking of next time, I think next year I'll concentrate on half-marathons and run a full one late in the year. That way I can concentrate on speed and getting faster. Even though I enjoy being in such good shape, running four races in one year takes a lot of time and there are a few other things I'd like to do. Memphis turned out to be the perfect experience and perfect day for racing, at least for me. It was a great time and I definitely plan on doing it again, although maybe not next year. I don't recommend an 8-hour car ride the day after the race, but what could I do? All in all it was an awesome experience and I think I definitely saved the best for last in 2009.

And Now It's Showtime!

Ran 3 miles tonight at dusk, with the temperature at 37 degrees and a wind chill at 28. The weather page says the wind is from the NNW at 11 mph (Yahoo!'s page says 15 mph), but I think both are selling it a little short. I ran mostly east to west, but when I turned the corner back into the neighborhood I had flashbacks to the Big D Marathon in April. If I had to run a race in this weather it would be just as brutal as that day was. Like I was thinking, the wind was blowing harder than what the web reported.

Three more days to the race, and then I'm done for the year. The only other running I might do in December would be with my bro in Texas after Christmas. And trust me, that will be for fun and not real intense. In the words of John Hiatt, let's go to Memphis in the meantime...

Final Speedwork

Today was the last day for speedwork, and it went very well. I ran 6 miles which included a 15 minute tempo run. The average pace for the speedwork was 7:40/minute and it felt pretty good. The full moon was out and that was nice, especially since a good portion of street lights on Shoal Creek Parkway are not working. Even though the temperature today was higher than yesterdays, it seemed cooler tonight. This time I was smart enough to wear a stocking cap. One more run of three miles tomorrow and then it's race time!

Only Five Days Left

Wow, the race is coming up quickly. Today was a 6-mile easy run, and I kept it about 10-minutes/mile. The weather was a little chillier than I thought. I took my mittens, fortunately, and I could have used some ear protection but it wasn't horribly cold. Some minor frostbite that'll require the removal of at least one lobe, but other than that...

I keep looking for a cheap last-minute flight to Memphis, hoping I can avoid a 9-hour car trip each way. It looks to me as if Memphis suffers from not having a discount airline like Southwest renting a few gates at its terminal since all of the flights are vastly expensive. I found one the other day for $508 on a certain travel site that uses a former starship captain as its spokesman. The trip lasted over thirteen hours and went from KC to Detroit to Indianapolis to Charlotte to Memphis. Seriously? Who does that? Some people may gripe about them, but Southwest is my favorite airline and they would never pull that kind of crap. They're affordable, the stewardesses (yes, I said stewardesses, not the modern 'flight attendant' PC term) are a hoot, and they're always on time. Sigh. Barring a last-minute discount it looks like I'll be driving. That's okay, because at that price all the airlines that keep charging an arm and a leg and don't realize you can actually fill up your planes with cheaper fares and become profitable can all go to hell. I'm sure they'll get bailouts soon anyway.

Turkey Trot + Long Run

Thursday the older three kids and I ran the Parkville Turkey Trail Trot again. This was the first time for The Boy (tm) and he ran the whole way. I was proud of all the kids. The weather was cool with a very stiff breeze out of the west. That made standing at the starting line a lesson in enduring a little cold. The sun was shining and we had a great time. Next year all four kids want to run, as well as the wife, so we'll spend a nice little bundle in registration fees. I don't mind, though, since it's fun and a good tradition.

This morning I ran my final long run and definitely felt the effects of the holidays. The food and drink, and the latter more than the former, caused me to feel sluggish. The weather today was awesome, probably in the fifties by late morning when I started and climbing to over sixty degrees this afternoon. Only one week to go until the race. I have a few more easy runs and one mild speed session planned. I'd like to find a cheap airfare to Memphis, but when I looked today the lowest price was $504 for a trip that would take me to Detroit, Indianapolis, and somewhere in North Carolina before arriving in Memphis thirteen hours later. Yeah, I'm still planning on driving at this point.

More Treadmill

'Twas a dark and misty night, so I stayed in and ran mile intervals on the treadmill. Listened to Pastor Barry's sermon from last Sunday since I was at work, and then some Bear McCreary. I ran 7 miles total and am hoping that the weather will be passable for the Turkey Trot in a couple of days. Three of the kids are running with me, and I think back to the days when I thought running 5k seemed like permission to come home and pig out on Thanksgiving dinner. Amazing how things change in just a few years. It'll be fun to get out with the kids, and this will be The Boy's first 5k. After ten straight days of work, I'm looking forward to relaxing with the family. And who would have thought running three miles would qualify as relaxing?

Work and Run

Arrived at work at 6 this morning, and still managed to get a long run in before darkness fell. The weather for my 15-miler wasn't too bad, a little on the cool side but not bad enough to have to bundle up in ear warmers and gloves. The run was okay, but I keep having this feeling that all the running this year has piled up and my legs never feel real fresh. I don't have any problem completing the runs, but it seems like I haven't had any "great" long runs for a while. Seems that four marathons in a year might be over my limit, which is okay because next year I plan on doing one, maybe two, and concentrating instead on half marathons. I'm thankful for good weather, though, and hopefully it continues a little longer, say another week and a half?

I Love the Whirling of the Dervishes

How many middle-aged American males do you know who run 6 miles with Kate Bush playing on the iPod? Well, now you know one. Listened to the last few songs of Hounds of Love and then all of The Kick Inside. Not your typical running music, but certainly enjoyable.

I hustled out the door to catch a little sunlight, especially since I didn't run on Tuesday with the cold rain falling. This was another 2x800 session, and I found the toughest part is to keep running after the second interval. Especially since the second one ends at the bottom of a hill and the next part is up to the summit and then somewhat downhill for a mile. Even though it was clear the weather was cold and I wore a stocking cap and the mittens, although I probably could have worn another layer and still been fine. This weekend I'll be working, so I have to find time to fit in a long run.