Either my blog flat lined or it was just on life support? In any event, I'm back after a long, long absence. What have I been doing for a whole month? If I could sum it all up in one sentence, I'd say -- "I've been doing lots of things I enjoy." I've celebrated Christmas with my family, held my niece and changed her stinky diapers, schooled my niece in Guitar Hero, rung in the New Year with friends, worked at the physical therapy clinic, volunteered at a children's hospital in DFW, visited my best friend and his wife in the Hill Country, started a new semester at school, received a brand new computer, celebrated my cousin's birthday, had lunch with one of my old YoungLife kids, and ran a marathon.
It was a great Christmas break, but I'm glad to be getting back into a routine. I just finished a planning session which I'm sure will continue for the remainder of the week as I attempt to get organized for the semester.
Ohh....and since I mentioned it first on this blog, I thought I might give you an update on the marathon. It was an absolute blast! I had four very special people supporting me, cheering for me, and even running with me last weekend. Thank you - Mike and Karee and Justin and Jennifer!! I finished the race in 3 hours and 30 minutes. The time was not good enough for Boston, but my time was 15 minutes faster than my previous best in the marathon. I'm planning a special post on my experience for later this week. Check back for full coverage and some pictures.
Looking forward to the year -- and have some great conversations on this blog!!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Monday, December 15, 2008
Back Among the Living: Finals, Windy Race, and Chin Hair
What does finals, a windy race, and chin hair have in common? They were all life experiences that I've had over the past 15 days that I've failed to keep my blog updated. At the first of December, I went into a perpetual state of hibernation until finals were complete on December 10. I was sighted a couple times in public by friends, but other than that I had my head in the books. The verdict is still out as to how I did since grades are not released until this Thursday, but I felt very good. I prepared as well as I could and put the maximum amount of effort into all of my tests.
Since studying took precendent for a week and half, I didn't get too many training runs in. I did manage to go out for a couple "stress relieving" runs which were great and helped me start getting acclimated to running in colder temperatures. The week "off" ended being very beneficial as I ran a 1:36 in my tune race yesterday at the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon. Now, if you double that time, I would miss Boston by two minutes. But with all things considered (i.e. 10-15 head winds), I thought I ran a very good race. I took it out slow and was able to run negative splits coming in. In fact, I passed 20 people over the last 3 miles of the race and was only passed by 4 people. Looking at my run as a whole, I was very pleased but realize there is still a LOT of work yet to be done.
Who's ready for the ride?
(Ohhh...I almost forgot. You may want to know what chin hair has to do with anything. Well, I went to Dallas last week to have lunch with a couple friends. After lunch, I boarded the train back to Fort Worth when I looked over (to my horror) to find a woman plucking the her friend's chin hair. Gross!! Seriously, did that really have to be done on public transportation?)
Since studying took precendent for a week and half, I didn't get too many training runs in. I did manage to go out for a couple "stress relieving" runs which were great and helped me start getting acclimated to running in colder temperatures. The week "off" ended being very beneficial as I ran a 1:36 in my tune race yesterday at the Dallas White Rock Half Marathon. Now, if you double that time, I would miss Boston by two minutes. But with all things considered (i.e. 10-15 head winds), I thought I ran a very good race. I took it out slow and was able to run negative splits coming in. In fact, I passed 20 people over the last 3 miles of the race and was only passed by 4 people. Looking at my run as a whole, I was very pleased but realize there is still a LOT of work yet to be done.
Who's ready for the ride?
(Ohhh...I almost forgot. You may want to know what chin hair has to do with anything. Well, I went to Dallas last week to have lunch with a couple friends. After lunch, I boarded the train back to Fort Worth when I looked over (to my horror) to find a woman plucking the her friend's chin hair. Gross!! Seriously, did that really have to be done on public transportation?)
Monday, December 1, 2008
On the Road Again....
TRAINING UPDATE:
Aside from last week's victorious Turkey Trot, I took the week off and rested my bum right ankle. Thankfully my training plan calls for two week builds and then one week recovery so I took full advantage of my "recovery" week.
Today begins week four of my 10 week journey to qualify for the Boston Marathon. It's already been an interesting ride with several highs and one really low low. But I'm going to persevere to the end and continue running the race. In two weeks, I will have my first test here in Dallas with the White Rock Half Marathon. It will be my first true race environment since I completed the Kansas Half Ironman in June. I'm excited about getting out there and competing but I have to keep reminding myself that it is only "dress rehearsal" for the real deal in January.
Tonight I was scheduled for a light run of less than 30 minutes. With the temps in the 40s it was a great opportunity to start acclimating to and running in colder weather. It was also a blast too. Call my crazy, but I absolutely feel like I can conquer the world when I go out on a run. I got a chance to talk myself through all of my upcoming finals, see Venus and Jupiter line up alongside the moon, and take a stroll through the neighborhood and see everyone's Christmas lights.
Aside from last week's victorious Turkey Trot, I took the week off and rested my bum right ankle. Thankfully my training plan calls for two week builds and then one week recovery so I took full advantage of my "recovery" week.
Today begins week four of my 10 week journey to qualify for the Boston Marathon. It's already been an interesting ride with several highs and one really low low. But I'm going to persevere to the end and continue running the race. In two weeks, I will have my first test here in Dallas with the White Rock Half Marathon. It will be my first true race environment since I completed the Kansas Half Ironman in June. I'm excited about getting out there and competing but I have to keep reminding myself that it is only "dress rehearsal" for the real deal in January.
Tonight I was scheduled for a light run of less than 30 minutes. With the temps in the 40s it was a great opportunity to start acclimating to and running in colder weather. It was also a blast too. Call my crazy, but I absolutely feel like I can conquer the world when I go out on a run. I got a chance to talk myself through all of my upcoming finals, see Venus and Jupiter line up alongside the moon, and take a stroll through the neighborhood and see everyone's Christmas lights.
As I like to say, "it was pure goodness."
It was good to be "back in the ballgame" tonight. I'm looking forward to sharing the next 6 weeks with you as I get ready for Houston.
It Happened!
I told you that it would happen and today, it did. Embarrassing beyond belief. I realized today that at 27 years of age, I still cannot get myself dressed. To my horror, I looked down this afternoon to find that I have been wearing my sweater backwards all day long. This includes trips to school and work and out in public in the DFW area. I've interacted with my teachers, co-workers, and bosses and no one was nice enough to point this out. I can only sit back and laugh really hard and now you can too.
I'm not sure if this is a redeeming event or not, but I hit the jackpot searching for my tacky Christmas sweater. I scored three sweaters in total -- all at 50% off. Who needs Black Friday?
More to come on the sweater purchases....I might even get brave and post some pictures.
I'm not sure if this is a redeeming event or not, but I hit the jackpot searching for my tacky Christmas sweater. I scored three sweaters in total -- all at 50% off. Who needs Black Friday?
More to come on the sweater purchases....I might even get brave and post some pictures.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Black Friday: By the Numbers
This past Friday I took my life in my hands and took three women (mom, aunt, and cousin) shopping on Black Friday. There was no serious shopping done by this guy just some good ole' bag carrying and people watching. All of the men reading my blog can relate to the scenario I'm describing, but I will tell you that the bar is raised on Black Friday. So much for economic struggles, people were buying things left and right (probably on credit...which is much of our problem).
I thought I would give you a glimpse into the Black Friday shopping bonanza by the numbers.
I thought I would give you a glimpse into the Black Friday shopping bonanza by the numbers.
- 20 -- Number of couples (man and woman) walking together where the man was carrying all of the bags and the woman was carrying only her purse.
- 5 -- Number of men receiving chair massages in the middle of the mall (note: there were only 5 chairs and several other men were waiting in line)
- 1 -- Kid attached to a leash with a stuffed monkey on his back. This is inhumane in my opinion. Poor little guy was being dragged around by grandma and he had a stuffed monkey on his back.
- 10 -- Number of times I was offered a chance to test the latest and greatest middle of the mall kiosk invention. I tried to explain on several occasions why I didn't need to try the new soap made with Dead Sea salt which makes your hands softer.
- 0 -- Number of times I sat on Santa's lap to tell him what I wanted for Christmas. Simply tragic.
- 1 -- Friend who rescued me and came to the mall to hang out for a bit. I was very grateful for his generosity.
- 25 -- Number of store alarms that went off while I was in the store browsing around. I think all but one store's alarm went off while I was present.
- 1 -- Long lasting memorable experience with my mom, aunt, and cousin that I will not forget for a long time.
Here's to the start of the Christmas season!!
Friday, November 28, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope every "Running the Race" blog reader had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day with family and friends. This year, I have so much to be thankful for including my new career path, stronger relationships with family and friends, a healthy family, new friendships, a new church, and the list goes on and on. This year, I spent the holidays back in my hometown in Texas. I got up early in the morning to go run the Golden Triangle Turkey Trot, came home and got ready for our traditional Turkey Day feast with family and then football. My Ags ran out of time once again this season against the 'Horns, but that didn't ruin my day.
Now, it's time to break out the Christmas trees (which my mom has already done) and Christmas music -- December 25 will be here soon.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
TRAINING UPDATE:
Last week, I strained a tendon in my left foot during a run. I heard a little bit of a pop when it happened and decided to get it checked out. So this week, I've been reduced to light running and a lot of rest. I'm thankful this is my down week in my training schedule and I hope to be back to 100% or as close to it soon. The Turkey Trot was my first hard run all week and I could tell I was lacking a little bit of conditioning. I'm thankful it was my conditioning that was bad and not my foot during the race. I can work on my conditioning.
EDITOR'S NOTE: But on the other hand, you can't really complain when you finish 8th overall and first in your age group.
Now, it's time to break out the Christmas trees (which my mom has already done) and Christmas music -- December 25 will be here soon.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
TRAINING UPDATE:
Last week, I strained a tendon in my left foot during a run. I heard a little bit of a pop when it happened and decided to get it checked out. So this week, I've been reduced to light running and a lot of rest. I'm thankful this is my down week in my training schedule and I hope to be back to 100% or as close to it soon. The Turkey Trot was my first hard run all week and I could tell I was lacking a little bit of conditioning. I'm thankful it was my conditioning that was bad and not my foot during the race. I can work on my conditioning.
EDITOR'S NOTE: But on the other hand, you can't really complain when you finish 8th overall and first in your age group.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Road to Boston - Training Update #1
I'm two weeks into my "journey" that I mentioned on this blog. I originally planned to post my training updates every week so that you at home could follow me and share in my journey. Well....that didn't really happen after week #1. So today, I'm going to bring you up to speed on my first two weeks. Look for my weekly updates every Sunday if you are interested in tracking my progress. I will also continue to post throughout the week -- but it might not be all about my training.
Plan: 10-week marathon training plan, implements cross training elements (cycling and swimming), from Triathlete magazine. The plan is based solely on heart rate zones calculated from my VO2 max and time on my feet. You will not see me talk a lot about mileage although I'm covering quite a bit of mileage in each of my runs.
Last week update:
Monday -- Rest
Tuesday -- Yasso 800s (4) -- 3:09, 3:14, 3:12, and 3:12
(I'm planning to build to 12 Yassos by the end of my training)
Wednesday -- Strength training, recovery run in Zone 1 <156 bpm for 30 minutes c 5 minute cooldown
Thursday -- Rest
Friday -- 5 minute warm up Zone 1, 10 minutes in Zone 2 with 6/ :20 pickups, 20 minutes in Zone 3, 5 minute cooldown
Saturday (in Waco) -- 15 minute warm up Zone 1, 20 minutes in Zone 3, 10 minutes in Zone 4, and 15 minutes in Zone 1
Sunday -- Long run -- 30 minutes in Zone 2 and 60 minutes in Zone 3
This week:
Monday -- Rest
Tuesday -- Took another day off due to extremely sore legs
Wednesday -- 5 minute warm up, 30 minute run building to the top of Zone 2
Thursday -- 30 minute tempo on bike (<90 rpm) top of Zone 2; 30 minutes of cardio strength training
**My knee started bothering me about three months ago. I've taken several precautions to make sure that it remains uninjured as I build my mileage. Thankfully this program is set up in a way that you build for two weeks in a row followed by a maintenance week. It also mixes in some great cross training on the bike and in the pool especially during the maintenance weeks. Just something to keep an eye on throughout my training.
Running the Race,
pbw
Plan: 10-week marathon training plan, implements cross training elements (cycling and swimming), from Triathlete magazine. The plan is based solely on heart rate zones calculated from my VO2 max and time on my feet. You will not see me talk a lot about mileage although I'm covering quite a bit of mileage in each of my runs.
Last week update:
Monday -- Rest
Tuesday -- Yasso 800s (4) -- 3:09, 3:14, 3:12, and 3:12
(I'm planning to build to 12 Yassos by the end of my training)
Wednesday -- Strength training, recovery run in Zone 1 <156 bpm for 30 minutes c 5 minute cooldown
Thursday -- Rest
Friday -- 5 minute warm up Zone 1, 10 minutes in Zone 2 with 6/ :20 pickups, 20 minutes in Zone 3, 5 minute cooldown
Saturday (in Waco) -- 15 minute warm up Zone 1, 20 minutes in Zone 3, 10 minutes in Zone 4, and 15 minutes in Zone 1
Sunday -- Long run -- 30 minutes in Zone 2 and 60 minutes in Zone 3
This week:
Monday -- Rest
Tuesday -- Took another day off due to extremely sore legs
Wednesday -- 5 minute warm up, 30 minute run building to the top of Zone 2
Thursday -- 30 minute tempo on bike (<90 rpm) top of Zone 2; 30 minutes of cardio strength training
**My knee started bothering me about three months ago. I've taken several precautions to make sure that it remains uninjured as I build my mileage. Thankfully this program is set up in a way that you build for two weeks in a row followed by a maintenance week. It also mixes in some great cross training on the bike and in the pool especially during the maintenance weeks. Just something to keep an eye on throughout my training.
Running the Race,
pbw
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