raceday +5

So the race was this past sunday, and while i meant to be on here both the night before (but didn't want to pop the hotel's $15 for wifi just to do so) and sooner after, here i finally am. ok. the good news is that indeed i finished. not like some i saw limping their way through, certainly not suffering to any extent. that alone is cause for major jump for joy. i set out to do a thing, and got it done.

• training
• shoes
• resting when i didn't feel well rather than overtraining (ok, i did some of that early, but learned my lesson)
• doing the longs
• living in a hilly neighborhood
• saying loud and often enough that i was doing it, so to back down would have been equally public
• not setting overly ambitious goals
• managing the race itself (sleep, fuel, pace)

all of these had a role to play.

i think the biggest disappointment was in not breaking 5 hrs. well, not that i didn't break 5 hrs, but that i could have and didn't. the first half of the race went great. pace was steady and manageable and even better than i wanted -- but not too much so.

a couple of twinges here and there in the middle section, but sucked it up to keep going. i probably needn't have been but did fear that beat the bridge/bus deadline.

but i kept looking at my garmin which was telling me that i was ahead of pace for the 5hr, and since i was in the midst of a bunch of folks who were taking longer and longer walk breaks (in the first half, i only walked at the drink stops. heck, that was plenty) so was i. it was unnecessary and undisciplined and bad, because in the end it cost me the 5hr.

could i have done the same second half pace as the first? unlikely. truth be told i'm probably not in good enough shape. but could i have done the second half a steady 45sec slower than the first, say? probably.

either i need to learn how to use the garmin better, or go get something else.

back to work. more later

almost there

so we're actually getting close, just a couple of weeks to go. part of me is feeling really good about the progress i've made. part worried that i'm not close to ready. this week i didn't feel very well, and so had one very comfortable 5 miler, but only the one. today i did 14, and felt really good doing it. probably went out too fast for my present level of conditioning. certainly the last few miles were slower than the first 10. splits were right around an hour for the first 10k, 90 minutes for the first 9 miles, less than 2:20 for the half. on the other hand, my knees were feeling kind of dicey near the end, and i just don't know how any of this translates to doing the full. guess i'll find out. at least this was a lot hillier than the race will be, so i'll probably be able to coast more, mentally at least, for the big middle section, which will help.

i did bring gels and eat a couple of bags about halfway through, which probably was a good thing, and my fanny pack so i had water when i needed. good things. no music again, thinking more and more i'm preferring that, tho i'll probably bring an ipod on the big day. if nothing else, i want to try and take some pictures.

feeling that after-run cold again, don't know what's the deal with that, but it's manageable.

anyway, nobody's seeing this but me, but one day i may want to look back on this, so i'm keeping it up.

progress

so i haven't written anything here in a while. i was making good progress with my running, getting to where 5 miles or so in an evening was fine, and weekend run was manageable at 12-15-more. then i had a couple of setbacks, just like they say everywhere from not being disciplined. not taking my rest days, and then i think the last time from needing new shoes.

anyway, i rested a couple of weeks, bought a new pair of shoes, took my days off, and have been taking it easy, and feeling fine. so last weekend i ran my first ever half marathon. ok, it was no record setter, but i was running strong at the end, and not injured, so i'm not complaining.

it was a really hilly course. i started ok, did the first half or so pretty steady at my 10 min pace. the second half, though, the hills kicked my butt. not to where i was walking extended times, but not making it up without a pause. someplace there's a chart that shows how my time fell off, but bottom line, 2:21. not last in my age group, about 20% of the whole field behind me, not bad for a rookie, i figure.

so there we are. i'm planning on 20 this weekend, just to see if i can do it, and then three easy careful weeks till the MCM......

after the latest long

so it's been a few weeks now that i've managed to run with the pacemakers. very interesting it's been. i'm certainly among the slowest, if not THE slowest, so i don't really hang out with them very much. mostly i follow their route, and at the end there are one or two who might talk to me. but still, having a defined route to follow, knowing that at the end there'll be others who've done the same, not bad.

so this week's was 15+ and i have to say, i felt far better at the end than the first two. the first one i remember being pretty dead most of the second half, actually, doing lots of walking. part of that was lack of fuel, but not only, i'm sure. the second week i ran with them, i was so frustrated at the convoluted route...i guess if i was running with the group it wouldn't have mattered, but being all by myself, i kept having to stop to look at where i was, where i was supposed to be, so it didn't feel right at all. this week, it was through familiar territory, i had the new water pack, a couple of granola bars, and all in all did a million times better, running pretty much the whole way. ok, up northern from falls to cold spring beat me, but c'mon!

i have to pull myself back to reality on days like that. i did the half-marathon distance in less than 2:30 this time (2:26). i know, some will finish the entire marathon in that time, but for me, who came into this thinking ok, i just want to finish, 7 hrs is plenty but maybe i can try for 6ish, now i'm thinking 5, or to be honest, remembering lw and that 446...hmm... if i do that i'll probably kill myself so need to ground back to thinking just finish.

i don't know what to do about time. i seem to jog at 10 minute miles. the reason i'm slower in aggregate is that i have to stop periodically. all those years on the couch, the thyroid, and yes, all that smoking, i do have to remember are dragging. but i'd rather be doing 8's and resting than 10's. oh well, maybe the goal for this year is to finish, for next year is to finish and not walk so much, and for year three is to run a bit faster. do i have the patience for that? who knows. feels like a decent plan tho. (nyc in 2010, chi in 2011?). don't get too far ahead. let's just get to this one without any more injuries, get thru it, and then see what happens. yeah, good plan. ok, another day.

btw, bmsamson on garmin connect, mapmyfitness. if anyone does stumble by and wants to check out my progress, there it is...

been a while

ok, so it's been a while since i added anything here. not that anyone is looking, but still the exercise is interesting and i may want to read this front to back when it's all done.

1. i hit the actual 50 a couple of weeks ago. the earth didn't move, my hair didn't suddenly fall out or turn white (it's mostly white already, truth be told). i didn't suddenly turn into an ancient decrepit. i just got another day older. no biggie.

2. on the other hand, when one of my neighbors the week prior mentioned that he was selling his motorcycle, told me what it was and for how much, i snapped it up. some say, aha, there's that midlife crisis again, me, i just saw a bargain and jumped at an excellent investment opportunity. that it's fun, well, that's just gravy :)

3. the running. the original purpose of this. so, i managed to recover from the foot injury. did mostly as the doctor ordered -- that is, took my anti-inflammatories, threw out my shoes and bought another pair, rested a week or so, and started back relatively easy. it's been all good since. no injuries at all. on the other hand, this heat is a bear, especially now as my mileage is climbing.

actually, i hit something of a plateau after coming back from the injury. that is, kind of 4 or so mile days several a week, and then 5-6 or so on the weekend. couldn't do those 8, 10++ long saturdays. well, we went on vacation, other things got in the way, but really, i just didn't think i could.

so i found a group online of folks in the neighborhood, seemed open, so i figured i'd try them to kind of push myself for the long run. calendars finally worked out this past saturday.

well, that was my longest run ever, i think. 13+ miles. ok, so i didn't run the whole thing, especially nearer the end when i ran out of what to drink and the heat got worse. but the 10k split time was better than my race a month or so ago, which is a good sign, and even the whole thing paced out to a decent for me time. and no, i didn't finish last of the group, though only a couple behind me. not to worry, it's no competition, except with myself and survival

what else. so i went this weekend and bought a garmin forerunner 305. did my first run with it tonight. love all the data, and how much better it tracks than the iphone, and of course, easier to carry/wear. will take some time i think to get it programmed for what i want, actually to figure what i want, but for now, just gathering and looking at data is worth it. observations -- the steady 9-10min/mi pace at which i tend to run, i've got it pretty consistent. wish it was in the 8's, but maybe next year. how when i was getting like i wanted to walk a bit, invariably the garmin said i was at 85+% max heart rate, and once i got it below 80, i was ready to run again. but how to keep it in the sub 85% zone so i can keep it up and not want to stop, that's the challenge. run even slower? i'll have to tinker with the alerts and see if i can get there. everything i read says training at 85% just doesn't work, certainly for prolonged periods, so i have to get to where i can keep it below that so i can go longer. like this weekend, when i think i did pace myself pretty well (though no garmin, indeed no iphone, so hard to tell).

ok, i'm getting off. the good news is that after that 2 1/2 hr, 13+ mile excursion on saturday, i felt ok, and running tonite, no lingering aches to speak of. will i run with them again this saturday? hope so. i need to keep building the miles to make it thru the end of this, plus i want to see the data a long run will provide, tech curious data geek that i am.

ouch! an update

so after feeling so good and so cocky after that 10k, a couple of runs later i was in real pain in one foot. not like the day of my first 5mi long run where i felt good old shin splints after running the first 2 or so miles downhill (dumb in hindsight) but rather real ouch in many places, across the top of the foot, around the achilles, in the calf....to where i could barely walk much less run. after a couple of days of that i went to a podiatrist, who did some xrays and found nothing, and just said give it a week or two of no running, get some more neutral and cushioned shoes, and stay more on flats for a while. so now it's a week after that and i can finally walk everywhere without pain, but haven't yet got the new shoes (brooks glycerin 7 will be the ones, i think -- tried on all the neutral shoes i could find and these felt best, but when my foot was still hurting so before plunking down another $100+ on shoes i thought i'd wait till its better and try on again) nor tried to run. i'm holding off on that till the weekend. hopefully that'll be enough time.

but it serves me right. stick to the training program, not only don't do less but be careful about doing more; stretch more (not emphasized nearly enough in the training programs, but i have to figure was a contributor); we'll see.

is it wrong to think of more than survival

so yesterday i ran - and completed - my first 10k in i believe 7 years. probably stupid, more miles than the higdon plan says i should be doing at this point, and injury from overtraining is a growing concern (my ankle seems to hurt after most every run). but i saw it on the calendar, it was a flat course, i was up early anyway, so i did it. i started well, locked into a slow steady pace of around 10:30-10:45, stopping only at the water stands, even enough breath to talk to another guy who was in about my boat -- hadn't run for years, was just about a month back into it, just aiming to finish not for time etc -- and keeping an eye on and trying to stay together with others around me, hoping for pacing that way. (note to self, one of those watches will be a good birthday present to get myself. the ipod thing is too awkward.) i admit, after the halfway mark i did walk a couple of times besides water stops. very briefly though, and i thin in my head for conservation purposes more than necessity. i didn't want to be walking through the finish line. but as a result my times did slip a little in the last couple of miles. still, i was feeling fine throughout. finish time was something like 69 minutes.

when i was younger, running these more often, even 60:00 would have been a sign of illness or injury. of course, those were the days before chips so i don't have recorded times, but i was generally in the 50 minute range i think. no speed demon, but certainly there's a big difference between 8 and 11 minute miles.

speaking of chips, in a way i'm really sorry this one had them. i mean, thinking of what it was like for me just a month ago to run a mile, the fact that i started and finished in decent shape is a huge accomplishment. but i just had to go online and check my time, just had to check my standings etc. so the time, i can live with. shorter runs i'm aiming to do more like 10 min/mile these days, but realistic enough to know that for the long run i have to slow down, and this was a stretch so i was being convervative. nothing wrong with that. seeing that i finished ahead of more than 10% of the field was good. i just naturally don't want to be last. seeing that some of those were younger than i was nice. but seeing that i was dead last among my peers (40's men) wasn't happy, nor was the fact that so many 50's men were way ahead.

what i don't know is whether it is realistic to have both pace and endurance goals at this point. given the end goal, marathon survival, i think the endurance part is far more important. that i'm doing the number of weekly miles i'm doing, that i am on pace in terms of how long my long runs are vs the training plan, that's all good. but i'm still troubled by the thought that i'm just so slow. as i look at my logs vs the training plan i see i'm doing more miles, and maybe that's the thing/solution. i think i'll try a couple of weeks following his distances more closely. maybe if i do so, and see what i can do about those times, then as i get longer i'll be able to handle a slightly better pace. worth a shot, anyway. i mean, the pace i ran this 10k, if i could hold it thru a marathon, would still be a hair under 5 hrs which isn't terrible, i think, for a 50 yr old first timer. geez, listen to me, worrying about time, when i need to be worrying about survival. i need to step back, celebrate the achievement of running 6 miles yesterday when two months ago i was smoking a pack of unfiltereds a day and couldn't run 1, and leave it at that.

moving right along

So just a quickie, as i'm in the office, but did want to record that i went out this weekend trying to stick to the idea of lengthening my long run most weeks, and so i mapped out what i thought would take me around 6 miles, and set out. whether because i lost gps signal or what i don't know, but from around 1.75 mi i was going blind, and kept plodding along figuring that after an hour or so i'd have hit my goal distance (and i pretty much remembered that 6 mi route, and followed it, so i thought i was fine). i was surprised at how good i was feeling the whole way, though it was hot and i really do need to address silly things like sweat in the eyes and hydration if i'm going to keep this up through a baltimore summer. but anyway, there i was certainly pausing/walking more the second half than the first, but only briefly and maintaining what i thought was a pretty good for me pace to the end. sadness when i got home and on my computer found i'd only gone 5.4 and not the 6+ miles that i thought my route covered, but still, given how poorly i was feeling after 5.25 last weekend, this is a step in the right direction.

unfortunately, i intended to run last night, at least put in 3 miles or so, but fell asleep before i could lace on my shoes, and when i woke back up it was around midnight and i thought that too late even for me to head out. so i'll call that my day off, blame it on the need for extra recovery time after my weekly long, and hope i can get back on schedule for 4-5 good days this week. at least it's cooled off, which means i'll be more likely to do my additional walking instead of bus going to/from work, which seems to help. but shin pain this morning walking means i've really got to think about what shoes i wear i guess.

Never too late to start

A bit of background, perhaps, in order here. I was always more of a nerd than an athlete, but did manage to play soccer and thus run a lot when I was younger, which I continued (running, that is) off an on for many years. This despite the fact that I have been as much as a 3-pack a day but more generally about a pack-a-day unfiltered Camel smoker since college (with a couple of breaks, but probably no more than 5 of those 30 years off in total). I never really thought anything of finishing a run or even a race -- i did a number of 10k's over the years -- with a cigarette.

But then i developed a thyroid issue that caused my doc's to tell me to stop running, and it took a real long time to resolve, so i haven't really run at all in something like 7 years.

Well last year they got that thyroid thing under control, and I've had this nagging sense that i need to get off the couch and start running again. of course, from there to actually doing it is something else altogether. Late last year I had this inspiration that I would sign up for a marathon (which I've never even attempted but always wanted to) which would serve the multiple purpose of giving me a reason to train consistently and even to quit smoking (though I told myself first I'd start running, and when/if it felt like the smoking was interfering, then I'd tackle the smoking thing).

A huge blessing in this process has, by the way, been the mapmyrun app for the iphone. I love the way it logs my runs -- keeping me honest -- and even keeps me on pace while i'm running. just a plug here; it's probably no better than any of the suunto or garmin running watches with gps capability, but free or close to it.

anyway, i dipped my toe, so to speak, late last year when i went out to the local running store and bought myself a good pair of shoes (one thing i learned the hard way years ago was that cheap shoes are a surefire ticket to injury). then i was on vacation and had access to a gum with treadmills for a week and got myself in (almost) every day. i wanted to -- needed to -- start slow, so it was just for around 20 minutes a day, alternating between walking and jogging pace (with a whole lot of walking, to be perfectly honest) but felt good. by the end of the week i was at least able to handle a 5 or 6 minute stretch of running at around 8 minute mile pace.

then i got home from that vacation, and it was cold out, and i couldn't figure out a schedule when to run, and frankly i discovered the hills in my neighborhood were a lot harder to handle than a treadmill, so i was pretty erratic in my efforts. i'd go out for a couple of days, then nothing for a week or more. never covering more than 2 miles, and even then doing a lot of walking, even a quarter mile at a decent pace was a struggle.

so, i thought, maybe these old lungs aren't handling the smoking/running thing as well as they did when i was younger. so on the day that i registered for the marine corps marathon, i also bought a box of patches instead of a pack of camels. that was around six weeks ago.

since then, i've discovered that i can run consistently when i don't try to force myself to wake up at 5 to squeeze in a run before work, but instead run around 10 or later at night. that breakthrough has done wonders for my sticking to a regular routine and not skipping days. i've been following a hybrid of training plans (in the 'couch potato to marathon in 6 months or less' genre) trying to get out several days a week at least, alternating with weight training to strengthen my quads so i don't develop knee troubles again, slowly adding miles, walking instead of riding the bus to work (around 1.75 mi each way) when the weather's nice. these past few weeks i think i've run 4 days a week, and the progess is both noticeable and frankly, making me more willing to keep it up.

last weekend i pushed too hard and tried a long run of nearly 5 1/2 miles; it started with a very long (2mi?) seemingly gentle downhill that killed my shins that hurt on the way home (i can do a gentle uphill no problem, it seems, but down is much harder) and i still can't do the big hills on my loop without walking at least partway, though i'm getting much closer to the top these days. a mile, mile and a half before pausing for a walking bit to catch my breath is pretty common too, which is a far sight better than when i started. last night i went out for what i told myself would be just a quick one, it started to pour just a few minutes in but instead of heading home i pressed on, did a really good 3 miles with just a couple of walking pauses, feeling great at the end. at this point that 3 mile length is a good barometer of how i'm feeling, it seems. i'm amazed at how easy that is compared to just a month or two ago. i've forced myself to slow down which is helping my endurance (if not my ego) substantially...i'd been running around 7 1/2 - 8 mph pace which forced me to walk a lot, now i'm running at more like a 9-10 minute pace and so walk far less. the plan is to continue building both how long i can run without walking, how long i can stay out, and my pace, but leaving the pace for last.

anyway, i thought i'd start putting occasional notes to myself here to supplement the data logs that the phone is collecting, we'll see how long that lasts....