Blowing Up in Humid Town

I have experienced some pretty nasty weather ever since I started running, but none of that compared to the horrid humidity I hurried through last Thursday evening. What made the run even more excruciating was that it was my first "tempo" run. "Tempo" runs are where you pick up your pace for a certain amount of time. My goal was to run at 8:16 pace for ten minutes at some point during my six mile run.

My philosophy in tackling tough tasks is usually to try and get through the hardest part first. This way, the remainder of the exercise is fairly easy. That philosophy usually works out pretty good, but I would not recommend it for "tempo" running. I started the run with a half mile warm up and then picked it up to 8:16 pace to start the "tempo" run. Right off the bat I noticed that I was sweating way more than usual and breathing was very hard to do. Half way into the run the left side of my brain was coming up with all the excuses in the world it could muster to get me to quit. I pushed on and finished the ten minute "tempo" run and immediately slowed to a pathetic jog to try and "rest on the run".

The attempt was a complete, catastrophic calamity and I soon found myself walking to regain my breath. "Stop walking you pansy", screamed the right side of my brain. "Turn right here and your car will only be a mile away" begged the left side of my brain. I soon started doing math in my head to try and take my mind off trying to breath and the heat. This worked for a good while. I finished the run (with a couple more walk breaks and even more math problems) and felt pretty discouraged until I ran into my coach who told me that he cut his run short due to the humidity and had a hell of time finishing as well. So there . . . I was not the only woose running last Thursday...kidding.

The rest of the week was pretty tame as far as my ridiculous running routing goes. On Friday I decided to run a new course from the YMCA over to the Windsor entrance of Lake Forest and back. It was a great area to run in except for the lack of sidewalks over half of it. On Saturday I ran on a treadmill to give my legs some recovery and get ready for Sunday's long run.

Sunday's run was the best breezy bay run I have had since I started running. I ran fourteen miles again, but this time we ran over on Dauphin Island Parkway over the Dog River Bridge...yes ran over the Dog River Bridge. If Thursday's run was the most humid of the season, then Sunday's was the coolest. We started at 6:00 am and I actually caught my teeth chattering on a few occasions. The run was great and I hope it is the same this weekend.

Monday I had another torturous, timed track workout. This week I had to complete 5x1000 meters with each 1000 meters completed in 5:00 minutes and a 200 meter recovery. I then had to do 2x1000 meters in 4:45 with a 3:00 minute recovery. We finished the workout with 2x200 meters in 45 seconds.

Tuesday's run was completed with my beautiful, boootylicious babe over in Daphne. She ran 3.5 and I did 6. I am off today and am scheduled for another 16 miles on Sunday. I also received September's schedule and will be running 20 miles by the end of that month...I cannot wait!!!!

Sorry for the delay and the short post this week but work has been killer.

On Sunday, August 9th, I ran fourteen miles over in Mobile. What makes the accomplishment better in my eyes is that I did it on the hilliest course I have ran on to date. Hillcrest is named the way it is for a reason.

I ran forty six miles combined last week including Sundays sixteen mile run. Yes, I can now run sixteen miles. I was scheduled for fourteen but decided to run sixteen because my buddy did not want to run it on his own.

Yesterday's track workout was murderous. It was a ladder workout of 4x200 meters with a 200 meter recovery, 2x400 meters with a 400 meter recovery, 1x800 with a 400 meter recovery, and then we had to go back down the ladder by doing 2x400 with a 400 meter recovery, and 4x200 with a 200 meter recovery. Including warm ups we ran over six miles with a third of the runs being at sprint pace...UGHHH.

This weeks long run is fourteen miles again. The Mobile group wants to run over the Dauphin Island bridge so I have some high humidity and traffic to look forward to. I just hope they do not have speed traps set up because I will likely get a speeding ticket if they clock my extreme running speeds...DURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

Setting a PR at the Crime Prevention 5k.

There has not been much to report this week. I ran my ten mile long run over in Mobile with a friend of mine and his running group. We ran out in the Birdville area in Downtown Mobile, and needless to say, I had no trouble being motivated to run fast.

The reason for the off-week is because I participated in the Crime Prevention 5k hosted by the Port City Pacers. I had the pleasure of joining approximately 400 other participants in what many label as the first race of the 2009-2010 season.

I had plenty of motivation to participate in this race as I really wanted to erase my dismal 30:04 time in my previous attempt at a 5k and was anxious to see if all of my training was paying off. Early on I did not think I would do very well because everyone at the event looked to be in tremendous shape and or looked like runners. Complicating things further was the fact that it was very hot and humid as hell, not an ideal combination for trying to set a personal record.

Prior to the race my coach told me to start out slow and try and pick up my pace at the end so that I could start picking people off. He did not want me blowing myself up in the beginning of the race. He also pointed out three people for me to pace off of and wished me luck. When we all lined up to start the race I found the three people coach wanted me to pace off of and sneaked in behind them. "Ha ha" I thought, "I will use you until the end when I will kick it into high gear and pass you".

Without any warning the officials shot the starting pistol and we were off. I tried my best at first to stay right behind my pace group but people behind me started surging forward and passing me. "Uh oh" I fretted, "Looks like I am going to be in last place at this bitch". As we made our way to the half mile mark the herd had pretty much thinned out and I was able to get into a pretty good rhythm. I also passed two of the people Jon wanted me to pace off of. That was probably my first warning sign that I was going too fast. As we approached the first mile marker, I also realized that I should have drank some water in the hour and a half we spent waiting for the race to start. This leads me to my first point of advice, always pre-register because registering on the day of requires you to get to the race way too early and they may not be serving pre-race refreshments. My thirst and the heat made it neccesary for me to take water at every aid station.

I looked at the clock when I arrived at the first mile station and saw that I was running at an 8:00 minute pace. "Sh*&" I thought, "I am running way too fast". It was at this point that I decided to back off of the gas a bit and slow my stride down so that I could make it all the way to the end strong. When I did so, the two people I was supposed to be pacing off of that I had passed earlier came back by me and I stayed right behind them as I was supposed to in the begining.

It was right at this time that an older gentleman also passed me. The thing that stood out about this guy was that he was wearing mountain boots, cargo shorts, a cap, and he ran like he was falling forward and trying to keep himself from slamming to the ground. Aside from his cattywompus running style, he also made loud grunting noises (I could hear him even with my Ipod going) and ran with jazz hands the whole time. Swear to Jebus. You can imagine what my dignity and pride were saying to me as this odd fellow passed me. "Oh hell no. Run and pass that guy you fat bitch!!!!"

I formulated a new plan to simply stay with the two people who passed me and pick up the pace at the end to pass them and Crazy Clause. I maintained a pretty good rhythm through the second mile and I started noticing many of the people who had pushed me out of the way earlier were now jogging at a much slower pace. Going into the third mile and the finish I think I passed around thirty people, including your grandfather. We made the turn back onto Dauphin Street and I discovered that the people I was pacing off of had managed to pass a pretty big group of runners to where I could not see them anymore. I tried to keep them in site to see when they would start their kick at the end because that is when I planned on passing them up. Turns out I saw them kicking a little to late due to the group they had passed and I ended up finishing around three seconds behind them for a total time of 25:13.

The time was good enough for 138th place out of 400 people and set my new personal record for a 5k by approximately five minutes. I also ran an average pace of 8:06 per mile. Yay me.

Wednesday is my normal rest day so I did not have to run the day after the race. I ran seven miles on Thursday, am running five miles on Friday, eight on Saturday and a whopping fourteen miles on Sunday...YIKES. I will post the results of that run but I am planning on running this one with the same running group I did on Sunday. Group runs make the long ones go so much better and faster. The only problem is getting up at 4:30 am. No more partying for this guy on the weekends. Shucks!!!

Beaches, Blisters and Boy are my legs tired.

The reason for the long lay off is that I was on vacation last week. My wife and I, along with a couple of friends, went to the beach for a week. We had a great time and I even managed to get all but three miles of running in (I ran five to six miles every other day and bumped up some runs when we got back to make up the difference).

Contrary to the guys attitude in the above picture and what other people have said, running on the beach stinks. Thankfully, the weather was nice enough to where I was able to get most of my runs completed on asphalt without suffering from heat stroke or being forced to run on the beach where the wind made it much cooler.

Running on the beach probably could have been better if I would have been smarter and better prepared. While my wife and friends were laying out and drinking cold beverages, I decided to run my six miler on the beach that day. I put on my running shorts, running shirt and ipod and took off. If you look back over the items I took with me, you will notice I did not put on my running shoes. Nope. The genius that I am thought, "you can run barefoot, your a MAN, it will be tougher and it will be awesome."

I started the run at a pretty good pace, and even though it was twelve in the afternoon, the wind on the beach made for a mild temperature while running. I ran about a mile when I started to notice a slight burning sensation in my foot. I stopped for a second and washed it off with water and thought it was only a small cut. "Oh well", I thought and kept running. By the time I made it through the first three miles my other foot had started hurting as well. I completed the run and went over to my friends and wife to rest for a bit. It was then I noticed two huge bumps on both of my feet, under my big toes. I walked out into the Gulf and washed the sand completely off of my feet and noticed there were two huge, blood red blisters on my feet. "Great", I thought, "Looks like I screwed up the rest of my running for the week.

We went back to the condo and I treated the blisters and got them to go down in size. I took the next day of running off to heal them further. My next run went surprisingly well, and I was not even able to tell that I had two big blisters under my toes.

The other bad thing about running on the beach was dealing with all of the people getting in your way, or little kids who just start sprinting out in front of you without looking to see if the coast is clear. I almost dropped three toddlers, two tweens and a couple of old fat people during the course of my fifty minute run.

We came back home on Friday and I worked out then ran six miles (my schedule said four) that day in an effort to get my assigned miles in for the week. I ran an additional six (my schedule had four) on Saturday and my assigned twelve miles on Sunday along with another workout.

Yes, I can now run twelve miles without stopping, and I completed the run in under two hours.

Monday's track workout was the worst by far. When I arrived at the track the coach told us to complete 2 sets of 200 meters with a 200 meter recovery run, then 2 sets of 200 meters with a 400 meter recovery run. The final exercise was an 800 meter run with a lap recovery. He told me to hit my 200's in 49 seconds and to complete the 800 in 3:24. Even though my legs were blowing up from the extra running and twelve miles I did on the weekend before, I was able to complete everyone of the runs on time or earlier. The hardest part of the exercise by far was the sprinting for 800 meters....why would anyone ever want to do that?

When I finished the 800 meter run I went to the coach and said, "Alright. I am done. What do I do next, two cool down laps?" The coach smiled at me and said, "You're done? You still have to do three more sets of the exercise you just completed."

"Sh*&", I thought. "Are you fu$%ing kidding me" I said. "Nope. Get to it, you have a one lap recovery then start all over again" replied coach.

I turned around and started doing my recovery lap cussing the whole time. In fact, I did not stop cussing until I made it to the second set of 200's of the excercise I was completing. I found it became too difficult to think of other phrases involving the coach doing something to inanimate objects while at the same time trying to sprint my big ass off. By the time I finished the second 800 in 3:35 my legs were gone. I stopped to get some water and asked the coach whether he would be the one carrying my dead body off of the track when my heart and thighs exploded. "I was only kidding" responded coach, "everyone only has to do three sets, welcome back from vacation."

I would have been happier but the news meant that I still had to complete the exercise one last time. I sucked it up, completed the drills, and did the last 800 meter run in 3:28. Not bad for a fat boy with dead legs from running twelve miles the day before.

Tuesday's run was six miles and I worked out on my off day yesterday. I have to run seven miles today, four tomorrow, seven on Saturday and ten on Sunday. I will also be competing in the crime prevention five k next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., August 4, 2009, over in Mobile. The coach told me to do it so that he could get an accurate pace for me and some tempo runs (running at a fast pace for a prolonged period of time) he is going to assign. Yippeee.

I also received my new schedule for August and I will be attempting sixteen miles by the last weekend in the month. Wish me luck, I will freaking need it.

Crop dusting at the track...

Well, it has officially happened. I have eaten the fart of another person. Nope, it was not done intentionally I assure you.

Yes, Monday night's track run was eventful for more than just running results. The coach had us do some new exercises this week. The first exercise was called 500's and consisted of doing a lap around the track plus another 100 meters at a fast pace. You then jog the remaining 300 meters as a recovery and do it all over again when you reach the 400 meter starting point. The Coach told me to finish my lap in 2.17. He told some other people who were with us to finish theirs in a slightly faster time. The Coach also cautioned us to not do the laps any faster than the assigned time (I think he was referring to me with his comment due to my tendency to start out to quick and blow up).

I have not yet learned how to pace myself by just running. So I decided to trail behind the aforementioned people and hit the finish line just after them to get my pacing down right. WOOOOFFFFFFFF, bad idea. The first 500 went great. We hit the time a little quick but we got the first one out of the way and started our recovery lap. I kept jogging and got ahead of the people I was pacing. Our positioning stayed the same until we came up to the starting point for the second lap. I decided to run behind them again, so I slowed down, changed lanes, and waited for them to pass me. As soon as they went by me I moved back over and got a big ole' mouthful of ass air. "Did one of those bastards just sh$# on me", I thought. "Either that or a bird just crapped in your mouth" my taste buds and nose responded back.

I choked through the next lap, hit my time, and decided to get away from the bad air. I ended up being one of the first ones done with the exercise and moved on to the second drill which consisted of doing six 200's like we did the prior week.

I busted those out pretty quick and ended the workout with a nice cool down of two laps. Including my warm up laps, I ran a total of five and half miles with roughly half of that being completed by sprints. Not too shabby.

I completed Tuesday night's run at the YMCA since I had a friend join me in my workout that night. I also tweaked a thigh muscle on Monday so I took it easy and just did a nice slow recovery run.

Wednesday was an off day, so nothing to report there. Tonight's run is six miles, Friday's is Four miles, Saturday's is six miles and Sunday's is ten miles. Hopefully I can get them completed and have me a bit of a recovery week while on vacation next week.

Nine miles down and american flag running shorts

I can officially run nine miles. That was the long run of the week and it went off with only a few hitches. I originally planned on running at 5:00am Sunday morning but my lack of sleep this weekend prevented me from being an early riser. Instead, I ran at 5:00pm in the evening and thanks to some storm clouds, did not suffer heat stroke.

The delay in running also allowed me to go to Foley and get some new running shoes. My original shoes have been wearing thin and I decided it was high time to get some shoes that were fitted for my foot. I went to Sports 'n More in Foley and was diagnosed with have pronation of the foot. Due to that condition, the shoe guy recommended a pair of Asics that were very comfortable. The bad news was they only came in two colors, white or black. Being the cool guy that I am I chose the black so that it would not be 100% obvious I was running in brand new bright ass white running shoes.

The shoes ran great and I completed my run in one hour and twenty four minutes. I had to finish the run without the assistance of my Nike Ipod Plus because I forgot to transfer the sensor over to my new shoes. That was kind of a pain because my original plan was to just get out of my car and start running. When I exited my car and started setting up my run on the Ipod, my female friend in my ear buds repeatedly stated "searching for sensor". Luckily I only made it about a tenth of a mile away before I realized my screw up. I jumped back into the car and mapped out a course that looped through Daphne, along the Bay, into some nice neighborhoods and back to my car for a total of nine miles.

I also purchased some new running shorts and under shorts at Walmart to deal with some of the problems my fat legs have been causing. They were on sale and I am glad I spent the time to look for some new gear. My runs on Saturday and Sunday were much more comfortable due to the purchase.

Saturday's run and workout were completed at the YMCA and I nailed my three mile run in twenty five minutes out at the "bowl" on Friday.

I completed Thursday's run at Centennial Park in Daphne with another one of the coach's clients. He is one of the regulars out at the trail who routinely kicked my ass in running. I have to say, running with a partner makes the run go by quick as hell. I was scheduled for six and his wife had a different workout planned so he asked coach to ask me if I wanted to join him. The problem was I did not remember his name and thought I was going to be running with a total stranger. When I pulled up in the parking lot I saw a shirtless guy standing there with some of the shortest American flag running shorts I have ever seen. "Fu*& me", I thought, "there is no way in hell I am running with that guy". Lucky for me I saw the guy I ended up running with and new him immediately from the trails.

Thursday's run started out in Main St. Daphne and meandered through some of the neighborhoods and parks that feed off the street. The guy showed me where some water fountains and bathrooms were along the route in case an emergency ever arose and the run went pretty fast. We ran at a slower pace than what I am used to but that is probably because we kept talking the whole time. I am not sure if I committed a running foul by doing so, but continuously talking was easier than listening to me grunting the whole way (I am accustomed to listening to music and drowning out my loud efforts at breathing). The experience was good and I will probably start completing other group runs on Thursday nights. I will not, however, run with the guy in the short, short American flag "panties".

The long run for this week is ten miles, and I will try my best to get it in even though I will be on vacation starting Friday. I am not going anywhere special, but running while on vacation sounds communist. Tonight I am at the track, Tuesday is six miles and Wednesday is a break.

Hopefully, the heat will not be bad this week.

The track, losing and other runs...

"Now you wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I c[an] run like the wind blows." Forrest Gump suckers.

Monday's run at the track was a breeze compared to trail running. Coach had us complete running exercises known as 200's which basically consists of sprinting around the track for 200 meters and then jogging the rest of the way for a recovery. We did a total of twelve laps with the goal of repeating your speed each time you sprinted the 200 meters. After including warm up and cool down laps I ran a total of eighteen laps, which is roughly four and a half miles.

My speed stayed consistent between 40 seconds and 44 seconds to complete 200 meters. I thought I did pretty well and even lapped three of the people who regularly kicked my butt at the trails. I can really feel my running strength getting better.

The only downside to the exercises was that we were sharing the track with the Bayside football team. Nothing will make you fill sillier than exercising and wheezing in front of a bunch of in shape, testosterone breathing teenagers. Those guys motors did not stop and they thankfully moved their practice to the inside of the track soon after we got started.

There was also some competition on the track that motivated me to race harder. A group of kids (who looked between the ages of eight and twelve) were using the track to practice relay races. I was fortunate to start at the same time or right at the same time as some of the kids on different occasions. What did I do? Did I go about my own way and ignore the little guys? Heck no, I sprinted my ass off to show those little bastards up of course. On one of the occasions, I actually came right up behind the little kid and jumped into the second lane right as I was passing him. I bet I scared the crap out of the little guy but at least he did not beat me. Hey, he has to learn to lose at some point, and I am the perfect person to teach him.

On Tuesday I had to run four miles and after warming up for the first mile, I ran the final three in about twenty six minutes. My five k time is really coming down from where it was in March. I wish I could redo the Seeds five k tomorrow to erase that shameful time from my name. Remember kids, race results are forever.

Wednesday was a rest day so I hit the gym. Tonight is a six miler, Friday is a four miler, Saturday is a five miler and Sunday is the longest run of my life, nine miles. Hopefully I can get up early enough to not get heat stroke.

Learning to run like a penguin...

I made all of my runs this week and once again opted to bust out my long run on the treadmill due to the horrible heat and humidity that characterized this weekend's weather. To make up for it, I completed two of my runs this week out at a hilly area I have affectionately named the "bowl". The nickname was given because the area is a one mile stretch of side walk that starts downhill on one end and goes uphill on the other end. The hills are roughly a quarter mile in length, tough and never provide an easy workout.

For Saturday's five miler, I decided to run at the "bowl" and extend the run all the way down to Highway 98. What a bad idea. That run was one of the hardest I have ever had to complete due to the combination of heat and the fact that the uphills heading towards 98 are so long and steep. At one point it felt like I was running up a 45 degree incline for twenty minutes.

I also ran at the "bowl" for Friday's three miler, and ran my regular course out in downtown Daphne for Thursday's six miler. Nothing really eventful occurred during the runs, except for a further progression of a little injury I picked up during last Sunday's 8 miler.

I never ran 8 miles before that Sunday. I also did not realize that running on a treadmill required me to run with a narrower leg spacing than I normally do while running outside. After I finished last Sunday's run I noticed that I had chaffed a tiny bit. This tiny bit turned to a lot after yesterday's run. I guess this occurred because of the distance and because I foolishly decided to wear regular workout clothes, not running shorts, to the YMCA yesterday to work out and then complete my run. Bad mistake, cotton underwear makes chaffing worse, not better...oops. The latter half of my run was spent with me doing my best impersonation of a penguin for four miles.

I have also discovered that none of the stores in Baldwin County sell Runner's glide. For a laugh, go up and ask someone at a grocery store where body lube is located without having them laugh at you for being a pervert. "No, I swear, all I am looking for is some lube to help me run"....them, "okay, try the warming sensation lube over by the condoms...its great". A quick google search yielded me with a possible solution in the form of Vaseline. Now all I have to do is explain to the wife why I left an opened bottle of Vaseline on the counter after I came out of the locked bathroom.

This week breaks down pretty nice with no trails and a long run of 9 miles. Today I head out to meet the coach at the track, and am hoping that the workout is nothing like the trails. Fingers are crossed.

New schedule and owning the last trail run...

I received my new schedule on Tuesday and was surprised to see that I will be running twelve miles by the end of July. I am glad that my mileage is increasing but my coach obviously forgot that I told him I would be on vacation beginning the 18th of July. Instead of slacking off of the mileage as he said he would, he made my hardest week of running take place during that period of time. Hopefully I will be able to complete a lot of the runs.

The trails this week went great. The rain on Monday really helped pack in the loose sand that we had been running on. It also helped lower the temperatures and humidity and I had my best trail run yet. I am still thankful that we are leaving the trails and going to the track though. I am not sure I could handle anymore of the trail running.

I finished my Thursday 5 miler this morning and I have to admit the temperatures are starting to get really hot for 5:30 in the a.m.. I hope that little trend does not continue or else I will be getting up at 4:00 am and trying to get some sleep in after the run.

I have to run 4 miles on Friday and Saturday and I have to do a long run of 8 miles on Sunday. Happy Fourth of July to me. I wonder if ribs make a good running food?

Eight miles of boredom...

I can officially run eight miles....yippee.

I finished all of my runs last week except for Saturday's three miler. I know, I know, but I had company in town and a golf tournament on Saturday that basically drained any and all energy I would have had to complete that run. Playing golf during the hottest part of the day is really a dumb idea. Our team did not win, and I all I got to show for my efforts was a freaking sun burn.

I ended up running in the mornings on Thursday and Friday to get the runs completed in tolerable weather. I also did my workout at the Y on Friday morning to get all my weightlifting in for the week.

The long run of the week, eight miles, was pretty boring. Due to my company, and due to the fact that we had to go to Mobile that evening I decided to go ahead and complete my run at the Y. Eight miles on a treadmill is dreadful. The only good thing about the run was me watching the U.S. vs. Brazil soccer game.

According to the treadmill I completed the run in an hour and ten minutes, and I burned 1500 calories. I tried to hone in my Nike Plus but it did not correctly calibrate the distance I was running, again (unless of course I sprint at a 12:00 minute mile pace). I guess I need to map out an exact one mile course and try to calibrate it on land.

I do not know what the long run of the week is yet, but I will post it when I get my new calendar tonight.

BTW...tonight is the last night of trail running, hells yeah.

Failure, heat stroke and trail running blues...

Well,

For the first time I failed to completely finish a long run. I started running too late on Sunday morning and chose a horrible, unshaded area to run in. I slept in on Sunday and since we had to celebrate father's day at two locations in Mobile I figured I would not be able to run that night. I did not realize how dang hot it would be at 8:30 in the morning. The run even started out alright. I ran over by the YMCA and decided to try out a new long running path. The problem is the area I chose to run in had no shade at all. By the time I reached three miles my skin was burning, I was almost out of water, and my clothes and body were drenched in sweat. By mile five I saw my car in view and decided that I had to get out of the sun and not complete the final two miles in the heat. It sucks, but being alive is better than suffering from heat stroke due to my persistence in running an additional two miles.

The heat also screwed up my trail run on Tuesday. The whole time we were running it felt like I was in a sauna full of ticks. I ran my required six miles but it was completed in a longer time than I wanted. Some good news though, trail running will be coming to an end as coach has decided we need to do track work from now on...YAHOO!!!

The long run for the week is eight miles on Sunday. I will either get up at five and complete it, run it at the Y or run after 6:00pm in the evening.

I will not run during the hottest parts of the day, I will not run in the hottest parts of the day..........

Trails etc...

Well, I made it through another trail run this week. My assignment was five miles of trail running and I did much better than last week. I met my target goal and was not even close to being the last one back this time. I also managed to talk to some of the other runners in the group and found out some interesting things about the training.



First, all of them stated that trail running was better than track workouts...crap. They said running at the track was torture and they loved running in the woods. In my mind, these people have to be sadists because I cannot imagine anything worse than running in soft sand, all uphill, for over two miles with a timer ticking down in my head (the way I run 5 miles of trails is a 1.5 warm up lap, a 2.25 mile timed lap (my time is 20:00 minutes), and a 1.5 mile cool down lap).



Secondly, they all stated that they are running six times a week and that in the beginning, they were running five times a week like me. This is bad news for my knees and my sleep. Right now I have Mondays and Wednesdays off. Monday is an obvious rest day because of the long run on Sunday. I also told coach I needed Wednesdays off because I have night court on those days. If he takes away Wednesday, that means I will be getting up at 5:00a.m. to run on Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Sun. Piss. Anyone who knows ole Rob knows that I love sleep and that this scenario will suck.



Anyways, I finished the dastardly trail run and rested on Wednesday. As noted above, I woke up at 5:00 am on Thursday to complete my six mile run and I woke up at 6:00 am on Friday to complete my three mile run. Wow what a difference one hour makes as far as temperature goes. Thursday's run sucked because of the distance, and today's only sucked because of the temp. I wish Nike would make a knife-like device for a shirt to cut the air in front of me when I am running in that humid mess. It seemed like it was just as hot this morning as it was during this past Sunday's death march. By the time I finished the first mile of my run my clothes were sopping wet.



Oh well, I got the runs done and am dreading the seven miler I have planned for Sunday. I am going to try my best and get up at 5:00am to get the run over with during a cool part of the day...running in 90 plus degree weather is nuttier that squirrel .... it's just crazy. The four miler for Saturday should be no problem as I will more than likely complete it at the Y after I lift weights again. Hooray for spending two hours at the Y on a beautiful Saturday again. I will post results on Monday during lunch.

Weekend runs...

I completed all of my runs this weekend. I had to run on the treadmill, after lifting weights, again on Saturday because of my sister's wedding. Running on the treadmill sure is boring. I also hate being locked in the gym for two hours. When I finished I had to rush home and luckily for me my wife had cooked breakfast.

On Sunday I ran seven miles outside. This was the longest and toughest run I have ever completed. I started at 5:00pm and man was that a mistake. It was way to hot outside to be running that distance. I also still had five pounds of fried rice and wedding cake from the day's lunch in my stomach and the run was almost unbearable.

During the middle of it a tiny red car pulled up by me and started driving slowly. I looked over and realized it was my running coach. He asked me "MAN, do you always run in the hottest part of the day". I fessed up and responded, "only when I drink the night before and sleep in". I thought I would never finish the run. By the time I plodded out the seven miles an hour and five minutes had passed and my clothes looked like I had just jumped into a swimming pool.

Well, I got it done and today is a rest day, which means I will go to the YMCA and pump iron.

Peace

Thursday and Friday runs...

I woke up at 5:30 am to get both of the runs in because I was and am busy on both of those nights. I ran five miles on Thursday and three miles on Friday. With the exception of having to get up so damn early it sure is hard to beat running at 5:45 in the morning. The weather is cooler, there is hardly anyone out, and depending on where you are running at the time, you get to see a pretty decent sunrise.

I have to run four miles on Saturday and 7 on Sunday. I am probably going to run on a treadmill on Saturday, and do my normal, outside, early run on Sunday. I will also pump iron on Saturday.

Five miles of misery...

I had to run five miles of trails yesterday and boy did it suck. Some good news though, I was the first one out and second to last one back. I noticed that I picked up my pace a pretty good bit and was only passed at the very end of the run.

Running that far on those trails stinks though. Today is a rest day, which means I will hit the gym. The rest of the week after that is 5m, 3m, 4m, and a long run of 7m. My sister's wedding is on Saturday so I will probably forgo drinking on Friday and get my fat ass up early on Saturday to go to the Y and workout and run 4 miles on the dread mill....drum sound.

I have also started to notice how the increased mileage has taken a toll on my belly. I guess burning over 1000 calories a day is the true weight loss secret.

Runs last week...

Did all of them again. I did, however, only run 2 miles on Thursday instead of the 4 I was assigned. I had to work late every night last week and was at work until 7:30 on Thursday. By the time I started running it was getting dark, and I do not like running in the dark.

The long run of the week was 6 miles on Sunday. According to my Nike Plus I ended up actually running 6.7 miles. My pace was 9:30 a mile. I know, I know, that is pretty slow, but it used to be around 10:00. The long run this week is 7 and I have to run 5 miles of trails tonight. GD.

Trails...

Sucked again. I swear the whole thing is uphill. I once again finished last, even though I started before everyone else. Oh well, no more side stitches occurred and I finished the last part of the run faster than the front.

I have not been able to weight lift this week due to work, but hopefully I will get back on track tomorrow night.

Rest of the runs....

Got them all in again. Finished the week with a five miler in Daphne. I really think trail running is making me stronger because the run was a breeze. Trail running still sucks crap though.

I have also been having some slight knee pain again but hopefully it will go away after Monday's rest day. The long run for this week is 6 miles, and I have trails again today. Furrrrrrkkkkkkkk.

Rest of week training...

Well, this post is going to be short. I got all of my runs in last week and was able to work out on Thursday and Saturday. We had to cancel running in the trail run 5k due to the weather, I didn't feel like running in mud and ruining my shoes. Sunday was the hardest run due to the heat. I also found out I have been running 4.5 miles instead of 4...yay me.

Today is trail runs again so I am sure my next post will be a lot longer.

Monday trail run...

Sucked crap through a tube.

I cannot believe I am paying someone to make me sprint through woods for four miles and almost cause me to have a heart attack.

The training session was the absolute worst so far. I arrived early, met and chatted with some of his other clients. He told me that we were going to do a warm-up lap and then a timed lap. I thought two laps sounded short so I proudly exclaimed "but you had me down for four miles today". The coach replied back, "ohhh, don't worry, each lap is over two miles".

"Great", I thought. I ran my first four mile run two days earlier and he was now going to have me running over four miles through trails.

Trail running is much harder than regular sidewalk, asphalt or track running. While hitting the trails, you are running on soft dirt, avoiding sticks, ducking under branches, avoiding puddles, slipping in mud...etc. None of that crap is present on sidewalks.

Also, before we started running, a bunch of guys came running out of the woods and said "hi" to the coach. All of these guys looked like runners, tall, skinny, nothing but legs and lungs, and I knew that at some point their running was going to effect me in some way.

So, down the trails we ran and I immediately went to the back of the pack. Everyone there had been running longer than me, and, it was a warm up lap. "So", I thought, "I will just take this lap at an easy pace and not worry about it". Man did my intention not hold up. "Come on Robbie" said the coach, "lets go to the front of the pack and have everyone follow us...I am going to show them a new trail today." "F*&k me" I thought. We darted off and sure enough, after taking a turn that the professional runners missed, we were in front. The lungers ultimately caught up to us, and it was just me and the coach with his other four clients jogging behind us.

We kept moving at a pretty brisk pace and then the coach fell back to run with his other clients. It was at this time that I backed off my pace a bit because 1. I suck and wanted a break, and 2. the trails we were running on were all uphill.

How is this possible you ask? I have no f*^king clue but I swear to god, every trail was uphill. We did not go back downhill one time. It was like this coach plotted out the worst possible run ever with no down hill stretches. "Say, how can I make the worst possible run ever and make people who pay me money subjected to it once a week....no downhills in a trail run muwahahahahaa".

The last half mile stretch of the run included a steep incline of about forty five degrees. No shit, forty five degrees. The incline went for about a quarter mile and I ran up it at what I thought was a pretty decent pace. I was on my own, so I was keeping my eyes set on the professional runners up ahead of me to let me know where I was going. I was actually keeping up with them pretty well until we hit that incline. At that point, those guys just sprinted right on up the hill and left my fat ass behind. I did see where they turned though, or so I thought, and when I made it up the hill I took a left on the next trail I saw. "Wrong turn Robbie, Hold up", said coach. I went back to the hill and saw the coach and one of his other clients jogging up towards me.

When they reached me the coach said, "alright [client], go tell the others we are going to run the lap again at twenty minutes...see if y'all can catch us". Now, at this point, there were only three of "us" standing there. Thus, if he told one person to go tell the others to catch "us", his definition of "us" was obviously me and him. "F&(k me".

"Come on Robbie", said coach, and we were off. The coach started running, not jogging, and, much to my chagrin, I followed him. We went over the same uphill, bastard course that I had just ran, but we were going about fifty percent faster than the previous lap. Within the first five minutes I was already out of breath and feeling like I was going to have a heart attack. "Come on Robbie, don't let them catch us" yelled coach. The definition of them, at this point, included those professional runners made up on nothing but legs and lungs. "F*&k them" I thought, "I am going to die".

We kept speeding through the jungle of Spanish Fort and the coach kept sprinting away saying things like "we are almost there", "don't let them catch us" and "we are about to be on a down-hill". That last part made me huff back "there are no freaking downhills", but all John could probably hear was "there wheeze cheese grater grits" due to the effect the pace was having on my ability to breath and live. We kept sprinting until we came around a curve that had been burned into my memory from the previous lap, "fat man's death curve" as I like to call it. Yes, the ominous curve before the "hill of doom".

The coach started up the hill, bounding away with no worries in the world, "come on Robbie, attack the hill" he said cheerfully. "Bologna sand dingus" is all I could muster out while sprinting up Mount death. I put my head down, looked at my feet and started running as fast as I could up the hill. "There you go Robbie, now we are running" said the coach. "Burp blimpie corn bread" I coughed and just knew the end of the torturous journey was up ahead.

NOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!. It turns out we had another half mile to run to get back to where we had parked. "Come on Robbie, almost there" yelled coach. By this point, all the talking and running had caused me to develop a pretty bad stitch in my side and all I could do was wheeze and die slowly. I kept running with him until I saw that beautiful, dirty, old mustang of mine and knew the end of the death march was coming up. I sprinted to the end and felt like Cory Haim at the end of Lucas when I reached that car of mine.

"Good run Robbie" exclaimed the coach. "We beat them and made our time of twenty minutes on the dot".

Roughly a minute later the rest of the people came out and I did not stick around to chat. I needed water, and fast. I hopped in my car and sped home.

Well, the good news is that I made the run and am on track to complete all of my runs this week. The bad news is two-fold, 1. I have been in court a lot so lifting weights has been pushed off, 2. I have to run trails again next week. Shit!!!!!

Weekend Training...

I completed both of my runs this weekend. That means week one of marathon training was a total success. I ran all of the required miles and was able to get in my upper body workouts (I am doubtful this trend will hold as my mileage increases).

I was able to work out upper body twice this weekend since Friday was a running "rest" day. I went to the gym straight after work and then celebrated my brother's and future brother in law's birthday with some gross Pizza Hut pizza. How anyone could call that crap their favorite pizza amazes me. I use to like Domino's until the video of the two idiot employees spraying bodily fluids all over their customer's pizza surfaced. I do not care if they gave me twenty dollars for every pizza I ordered, I doubt I am going to ever frequent the Noid's favorite pizza place again.

I woke up abnormally early on Saturday, 7:00am, and went running with my wife over on Main St. in Daphne. I decided to switch up locations because I was tired of dealing with two huge hills on every run (my main course has big hills going each way), and I wanted to try something new. I am glad I did because running on Main St. was peaceful, beautiful and FLAT. I ran the three miles slightly faster than the "Easy" run I had on Thursday. I also managed to get some new ear buds for my ipod so this run was far more enjoyable. I started the run keeping pace with my wife to keep the pace easy, but ultimately decided I wanted to "run" when the faster music in my ipod started playing. We finished the run pretty easily and timely.

Later that day we went and saw Angels and Demons. I really enjoyed the movie and am glad I was not able to finish reading the book in law school. I thought the Da Vinci Code movie stunk and I attribute those feelings directly to having read the book prior to seeing the movie. I was unable to finish reading Angels because I had law school finals to prepare for and did not have the time or the ocular ability to read for pleasure while also reading for school.

I woke up pretty early on Sunday, 7:30, and went straight to tackle my long run of the week (a scant four miles). My wife decided to join me and we ran on Main St. again. I mapped a four mile course out on mapmyrun.com. I knew Sunday was going to stink because I was running four miles for the first time, and because I was going to work out upper body that afternoon so that I could get all of my workouts for the week in. I told BW to just run where we did the day before and that I was going to go a half mile ahead and turn back around to meet her at the finish. I was even so bold as to tell her that "I will give you some water if you need it when I turn back around and meet you at mile 1.5".

This run started at the bottom of a hill so I was a little winded heading into the first mile. I ran at my normal pace, not easy, and managed to get to 1.5 without any major issues. I did, however, decide to slow it down for the next mile so that I would be able to run back to the car without having to stop (pride dictates that a male runner can never get so exhausted that he has to walk during a run...that would simply be too embarrassing). By the time I made it back to the 1.5 mile marker, BW was nowhere in site. I knew then that I had run that mile pretty slow and that I had overestimated my running prowess compared to BW's (next time I will let her carry the keys so that she can have some water without waiting on Turtle Waller). The rest of the run was pretty uneventful and I finished it up in forty four minutes. I was pretty pissed about the time but assured myself that I ran one of the miles at a slow pace.

We then went home, ate breakfast and chilled until 12:30. I then went to the YMCA, did my upper body workout and came home.

My schedule for this week is:

Monday Off

Tuesday 4 miles at the trails with coach (and hopefully upper)

Wednesday off for Court

Thursday 3 miles easy (upper body definitely)

Friday Off

Saturday 3 miles easy (upper body definitely)

Sunday 4 miles easy

Tuesday is going to be a bad day because trail running stinks and I am training with coach. I am sure he will not let me run that one "Easy". Hopefully I will not blow my wad doing something stupid like last Monday.

Day three of training...

Stunk. Running easy is boring. It felt like it took an hour to run three miles. I do not know how long it took me though because I had to put my ipod back in my car in the middle of my run. Running without music also added to the boredom of the run.

Why did I put my ipod up you ask? Well, I have been told I have a pretty big head. So naturally, I assumed, I would have pretty big ears. Not the case at all. I bought some new earphones with replaceable ear buds for the ipod. The only ones that fit in my ear are the bitch-like smallest ones. While working out the other day, one of the ear buds popped off the end of my headphones and I could not find it. Since I have not been able to get to best buy to purchase a replacement, I had to use the bigger ear buds so that I can enjoy some music while working out.

That strategy is fine for lifting weights, but for running, they kept popping out of my ears every thirty seconds. It also was not helping that I bought some of those running shorts that are not made of very heavy material. I used to be able to run with my ipod in pocket, but with the new shorts on it feels like I am John Holmes running when the ipod is in my pocket. So I now have to hold it in my hand when running and that adds more pressure to the over sized ear buds.

Oh well, another rest day today, which means another upper body workout. Three miles on Saturday and Four miles on Sunday. Hopefully I can get some new earphones so that I do not have to endure another thirty minutes of hell again.

Second Day of Training

Well, nothing really eventful occurred for the second day of training. I was scheduled to run 3 miles at an "easy" pace. I remembered my coaches advice and ran this one easy. I was able to complete it in approximately 28 minutes. My new running times really make me embarrassed about my first 5K time.

I finished that race drooling, out of breath with snot all over my clothing and clocked in at 30.04. I hope the lower times and easier time running will only get better as my training goes further.

I was late in getting to run though. A partner of mine needed to me to stay late at work at start a meeting for him. So I had to go to the gym at 7:00pm at night. Including my upper body workout, I was home by 8:15. I was not able to get to bed until around midnight.

Let us hope I can do my next run at an earlier time and better pace.

First days of training...

Monday was my first day of training and wow is I stupid. I met with my trainer at a local track at 6:00pm. I had to rush home from work to change and meet with him, and take care of some other business, so I was frustrated and stressed out when I got there. Additionally, I have become obsessed with drinking water, and have to now pee once every thirty minutes to an hour. I made sure to urinate when I got home and changed, but guess what...yep, when I arrived at the track ol' small bladder came calling again.

I arrived at the same time as the coach and did no stretching before hand, big mistake.

The first thing we did was go over my running schedule. He has me running five days a week with a rest day on Monday and Wednesday. My shortest run so far is going to be three miles, and my longest will be two four milers on Thursday and Sunday.

The coach notified me that we would not be doing anything big today, just quarters. Now I am not the dumbest guy in the world, (some misspellings and grammar errors on this blog may prove otherwise) so I figured "quarters" meant I would run a couple of times around the track. Boy was I wrong.

He started me out by jogging two laps to warm up. When I finished that exercise he told me what he meant by "quarters". Sure enough it was running laps around the track. But, he wanted me to run one fast lap, one jogging and repeat until I had run six laps fast and six laps jogging.

Now I have to remind you, I have never run track before, but I do know what run fast means. So when he told me to run the first lap fast, I thought he meant Michael Johnson move your gold Nike covered feet fast.

And I was off. I went into the first turn thinking "man, I am really moving". I came out of the first turn and into the first straightaway with a big ol' grin thinking "I should really become a sprinter; I may be the fastest white guy on the planet". By the time I made it to the second turn my mind had finally quit dreaming and all I could think was "there is no f=&*ing way I am going to able to do this five more times. By the time I reached the coach and completed my first lap I could barely talk. He told me "I think you ran that one to fast, 1.20", next time run it at your 5K pace". Gee, thanks for that information Thomas Timely. I could have used that prior to me coming out of the blocks like Seabiscuit. I was not able to say much to him because all I could think about at the time was me suffocating and my desire to drink a gallon of water. But he was having none of that, "Okay, jog one easy and take your time before running the next one fast". "F*&k you" I thought.

I did all of the remaining laps, each at a progressively slower time. I averaged a 1:50 time for the faster laps and could barely finish the sixth one. There is truth to the saying "blowing your wad" and I am not referring to the dirty use of the phrase. I also had to pee the entire time I was running and there is absolutely nothing fun, funny or rewarding about suffocating, suffering a mild heart attack and having to pee all at the same time.

When we were through my coach reminded me to run all of the "easy" runs at an "easy" pace. Now, I am a firm believer in not being fooled twice so I asked "what is an 'easy' pace to you, because we obviously have different definitions of the word 'fast' and to me, it does not get any easier than walking". "Run to where you can still hold a conversation", he said.

So I left the track, day one was complete, and my legs were tightening up again. I learned two things from this session: One, "fast" is a relative term that can screw up your day and cause a world of hurt; and two, always carry a Gatorade or similar big mouth bottle in your car in case you have to pee prior to being tortured with running drills.

Training for my first marathon

Dumb, a glutton or what?


I guess my decision to start training for a marathon puts me into one of the aforementioned categories. I am a thirty year old, previous smoker who, until two months ago, never ran over two miles in one sitting in his life. My new "quest" came about when I came to the realization that I no longer wanted to be viewed as an overweight smoker.


I quit smoking on January 30, 2009. Shortly thereafter, a buddy of mine asked me what I thought about running in a community 5K event. I eagerly took him up on his offer and set out to run my first 5Kwithin one month. I went from running 0 miles a week to 15 miles a week and completed my first 5Kin 30:04.


What did I learn from this modest endeavor? Running pain and overuse injuries are very real and hurt like hell. I went from hardly being able to run two miles to being able to run over 3 within a month and all I did was hurt my knee enough to where I had to take a week and a half off from running.


If anything, the aforementioned experience taught me that I needed to follow some sort of training program if I was ever going to be able to finish a 26 miler. So where did I turn? Did I call around to schools or look in the phone book for coaches or running instructors? Heck no, son. I googled that sumdabitch and found Ol' Hal Higdon and a myriad of other marathon training programs. Many of these online sources consisted of four month training programs. All of them had the familiar warning that you should already have a running foundation of a year prior to prepping for a marathon. Did or am I going to take their advice . . . NOPE?

However, I am cautious. Instead of diving right into the marathon program, I decided to do the responsible thing and follow Hidon's base establishment program. In this regard, I have run the following since starting on his base build up in March:

Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat/Sun
3/23 up le/1.75m upper le/1.5 up/1 0/2miles
3/30 Up 2 m+ le Rest 1.5m/up le up/2m
4/6 Full 2.6m up Rest up/1.5 0/2.2 m
4/13 Up/1 2.5m Rest Up/1.2m Rest up2m/3m
4/20 Up/1.5 3m Up 2m Rest up 2.9m/3m
4/27 Up 3.1m Up 2m Upper 2m/softball
5/4 Up 3.1 Rest Upper Rest Upper/Rest


You will notice that the forgoing schedule has up, upper or le in the columns. That represents the weight lifting I have been doing while training to run. So logically, up or upper stands for upper body and le stood for legs. I refer to legs in the past tense sense I am no longer weight training that particular body part. Why you ask? Because working out legs, including running six days a week was causing joint and knee pains. Getting old sure is a bitch!!!

The upper body workout concentrates on the following muscles: Chest, biceps, triceps, back, shoulders and abs. The workout is completed with one exercise for each body part consisting of four sets. The reps for each set goes in the following order 12, 10, 8 and 6. On the Saturday or Friday workout I add in a burnout exercise for the fifth set which consists of doing an additional 12 reps with your 8 rep weight and then doing a different exercise another 12 reps (bench pressing your 8 rep weight 12 times and then doing butterflies with 30lbs dumbbells for 12 reps) or doing a pyramid of 6 reps with lighter weight each new set all the way down (6 reps of curls at 60lbs, 6 reps of curls at 50lbs all the way down to 10lbs).

I have continued weight training because none of the running sites I have read state any type of definite weight training program and none of them affirmatively state that you should not lift weights. I intend to keep lifting the weights so that I can be lean and have muscle (we will see how staunch I am in this position when my mileage goes up substantially more) without just being legs, bones and lungs.

You will also notice that on the May 4th week I took some time off from running. This is for two reasons. The first reason started around the Sunday where softball is mentioned. My fraternity had its first annual (can it be annual if a second has not occurred yet?) softball game of actives vs. alumni. I had only played one game of softball in the eight years prior to this game. I had no hesitation in my physical ability to play in the game because in my mind, I had been lifting weights and running regularly for well over a month (I was running prior to the above referenced journal). BOY WAS I WRONG. Between base hits and fielding I did a lot of sprinting in the game. The next morning I woke up and my upper thighs felt like someone had filled them up with concrete. That was my first determination that my running program probably was not preparing my legs enough for the pounding they would take in a marathon. I did not realize different muscles were used for running sprints versus running for a sustained period of time.

The concrete upper leg syndrome was not the only benefit (because of my realization) that I received out of going to the game. An old friend of mine was there as well. He was always a heavier built fellow (like myself), but when I first saw him he looked like he had lost around thirty pounds. After the game my wife gleefully exclaimed "Robbie, guess what so and so is training for"? "A MARATHON!!!". I then discussed my desire to train and run in a marathon with my friend and he let me in on the secret as to why he was already running 12 milers and had already shed around 30 lbs *within five months of starting to run from scratch)....he had a running coach. My friend told me all about the program he was on and the assistance he was receiving and it really sounded like a great tool to have. Thus leading me to my second reason for taking some miles off.

I called the coach and discussed the possibility of him working with me. He quoted me his price (which was more than what my friend was paying...either bad luck or my bartering skills suck) and told me what all would be involved in the training. He would help me with speed, endurance and strengthening my legs. We would meet once a week and he would prepare monthly training regimens for me to follow. He also told me that lifting weights should be fine, but not to do really low reps because bulking up was not ideal for running. We scheduled our first meeting, Monday, May 11 and left to go on our merry way. Now, my second reason for taking a running break may not be readily apparent. But I assure you, the reasoning has already been laid out. It is for two interrelated facts. One: I knew the coach was going to bust my ass on the first meeting so I figured I would heal up my ever worsening joints prior to being properly trained how to run. Two: Weight training can cause you to pull muscles that will effectively keep you from running, hence why (I believe) many sites do not make a recommendation on whether you should weight train or not. Long story short, I pulled my groin muscle while working out my chest muscles... not working out legs...chest. Man, getting old really is a bitch.

So, I guess my real training is going to begin this afternoon. I am going to blog about the experience and hopefully, keep this journal going until the day of the marathon, early December. I really am looking forward to completing this challenge. Every site I have read recommends you focus on the reasoning that you are attempting to run in a marathon. For me, I would like to be able to complete a marathon within one year of quitting smoking. My second reason is also to improve my health so that I can hopefully, live longer than my dad and granddad did who died at the ages of 41 and 43 respectively.

Let's hope those are strong enough reasons to keep me going.