Sunday, February 08, 2009
Sunday Six
Today's Run: 6.0 miles
Run Time: 1 hr 9 minutes
Total Miles to Date: 945.3
Thoughts on the Run:
Whew! We're getting closer to the first 1,000 miles. Exciting!
Today was a great run. I didn't dread it one bit. I was looking forward to it. I knew it might be a challenge because of my tough leg day yesterday, but I was eager to try it out and see how it felt.
I slept in and caught up on some much-needed rest, then cooked a delicious breakfast (if I do say so myself): two whole eggs and two eggs whites scrambled with chipotle-flavored Tabasco sauce, organic hashed browns with red pepper and olive oil, and chicken sausage. It was delicious!
I waited two hours and then set out on my jog. I decided to try something different for hydration this time. As you may know from reading my blogs from last year, hydration has been my biggest challenge. Most of the time I would fall way short and end up getting nauseous or dizzy. I figure as a bigger guy than most runners, my needs are a bit higher. However, when I'd bring lots of fluid and drink it down constantly, I'd end up with major stomach discomfort.
This year because it's been cool, I've avoided the hydration (during the run) issue for the most part. Now it's starting to warm up and I'm running longer distances. I almost talked myself out of bringing fluids today, but then realized how ridiculous that would be ... I'd be on my feet for well over an hour in the hottest part of the day.
So I tried something new. I brought two 16-oz bottles, but instead of filling them both with just water or just Gatorade, I did one water and one Gatorade. The water alone doesn't do well for me because I sweat a lot and therefore lose plenty of sodium. I need the electrolyte replacement. On the other hand, I get sick of drinking Gatorade because after awhile it is just too sweet tasting to me.
So, I brought both and alternated between the two.
The second thing that I did was instead of sipping constantly, which seems to cause me to have the stomach discomfort, I swigged every mile. Each mile I would grab one or the other bottle and then take three big swigs.
This strategy seemed to work out. I never felt like I was running low on fluids and I did not have any stomach discomfort.
I have to say this run was one of the first times I can truly say I tapped into what I would call a true "runner's high" or second wind. I was about 4 1/2 miles into the run when I came upon my old nemesis, "Hamburger Hill" and began the long (1/2 mile) ascent to the top. By this time, my legs were on fire and I was getting a little tired from the run. I instantly felt drained as I began to climb the hill and for a second my mind was saying, "Maybe we'll walk it."
My iPod Shuffle, upon hearing these thoughts, decided it was time to kick into action and obediently switched to a high-energy, upbeat song. The driving rhythm was too much to allow me to slow down and I had to clench my feet and start pumping my arms and begin to pace myself up the hill.
Suddenly a strange thing happened. It was like my vision narrowed for a brief second and I had tunnel vision. I was afraid I was starting to get dizzy and would have to stop, but then I realized my eyes were just intently focused on the ground in front of me. I was aware in my peripheral vision of the trees going by on my left and the cars in the street on the right, but I was tuned out of the distance I had to go and focused solely on the rhythm on my pace as I ran up the hill. My breathing settled into a cadence and I no longer felt like I was gasping for air. The pain left my legs and my whole body just felt nice and light.
In this state I pushed easily to the top and continued on. It lasted the remainder of the run and felt great. In fact, when I finished, I was still a good 1/2 mile from the house, so I went ahead and ran most of that as well.
It was a great run that I enjoyed and I'm happy to have made it through this week with all of my schedule workouts. I'm looking forward to another abundant and successful week to come!
Warmly,
Run Time: 1 hr 9 minutes
Total Miles to Date: 945.3
Thoughts on the Run:
Whew! We're getting closer to the first 1,000 miles. Exciting!
Today was a great run. I didn't dread it one bit. I was looking forward to it. I knew it might be a challenge because of my tough leg day yesterday, but I was eager to try it out and see how it felt.
I slept in and caught up on some much-needed rest, then cooked a delicious breakfast (if I do say so myself): two whole eggs and two eggs whites scrambled with chipotle-flavored Tabasco sauce, organic hashed browns with red pepper and olive oil, and chicken sausage. It was delicious!
I waited two hours and then set out on my jog. I decided to try something different for hydration this time. As you may know from reading my blogs from last year, hydration has been my biggest challenge. Most of the time I would fall way short and end up getting nauseous or dizzy. I figure as a bigger guy than most runners, my needs are a bit higher. However, when I'd bring lots of fluid and drink it down constantly, I'd end up with major stomach discomfort.
This year because it's been cool, I've avoided the hydration (during the run) issue for the most part. Now it's starting to warm up and I'm running longer distances. I almost talked myself out of bringing fluids today, but then realized how ridiculous that would be ... I'd be on my feet for well over an hour in the hottest part of the day.
So I tried something new. I brought two 16-oz bottles, but instead of filling them both with just water or just Gatorade, I did one water and one Gatorade. The water alone doesn't do well for me because I sweat a lot and therefore lose plenty of sodium. I need the electrolyte replacement. On the other hand, I get sick of drinking Gatorade because after awhile it is just too sweet tasting to me.
So, I brought both and alternated between the two.
The second thing that I did was instead of sipping constantly, which seems to cause me to have the stomach discomfort, I swigged every mile. Each mile I would grab one or the other bottle and then take three big swigs.
This strategy seemed to work out. I never felt like I was running low on fluids and I did not have any stomach discomfort.
I have to say this run was one of the first times I can truly say I tapped into what I would call a true "runner's high" or second wind. I was about 4 1/2 miles into the run when I came upon my old nemesis, "Hamburger Hill" and began the long (1/2 mile) ascent to the top. By this time, my legs were on fire and I was getting a little tired from the run. I instantly felt drained as I began to climb the hill and for a second my mind was saying, "Maybe we'll walk it."
My iPod Shuffle, upon hearing these thoughts, decided it was time to kick into action and obediently switched to a high-energy, upbeat song. The driving rhythm was too much to allow me to slow down and I had to clench my feet and start pumping my arms and begin to pace myself up the hill.
Suddenly a strange thing happened. It was like my vision narrowed for a brief second and I had tunnel vision. I was afraid I was starting to get dizzy and would have to stop, but then I realized my eyes were just intently focused on the ground in front of me. I was aware in my peripheral vision of the trees going by on my left and the cars in the street on the right, but I was tuned out of the distance I had to go and focused solely on the rhythm on my pace as I ran up the hill. My breathing settled into a cadence and I no longer felt like I was gasping for air. The pain left my legs and my whole body just felt nice and light.
In this state I pushed easily to the top and continued on. It lasted the remainder of the run and felt great. In fact, when I finished, I was still a good 1/2 mile from the house, so I went ahead and ran most of that as well.
It was a great run that I enjoyed and I'm happy to have made it through this week with all of my schedule workouts. I'm looking forward to another abundant and successful week to come!
Warmly,
Labels: long run
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Past the Stable, Down to the Country Store ...
Today's Run: 5.0 miles
Run Time: 56:00 minutes
Total Miles to Date: 861.3 miles
Thoughts on the Run:
Today I wasn't sure if I would fit in the run or not. As we're on vacation, I plan on training but also am not going to change my family's schedule just for the runs. We woke up (slept in) and had a nice breakfast, then headed down to the club house to shoot some pool, play some ping pong and swim in the pool. The girls decided to go horseback riding, so I had a light lunch and set out on my jog while the ladies went on their trail ride.
There is a loop that starts by the stables for the horses, goes by the country store, then up and around down towards the entrance to the resort, then winds back up to the cabin. I wasn't sure how long it would be, but my guess was between 0.5 - 0.75 miles.
There is a very steep hill leading to the cabin, so I went down this to the stables and clocked 0.2 miles. Then I started on the loop. I had already decided which direction I would go ... one option is a very long uphill grade, followed by a sharp downhill. The opposite would be, you guessed it, one very, very steep grade followed by a longer downhill. I opted for the first.
Thank goodness for my Garmin Forerunner. I had clear skies and good satellite, so I was able to determine the loop was about 0.82 miles. A little longer than I thought! I made a few loops, then saw my wife and daughter waiting for the horse ride. Third to last loop, they were getting lined up to pick their horses. Second to last loop? They were mounting the horses, and on my final loop they were riding out. I waved and then finished my run right at 56:00. This surprised me as I assumed with the grades I would be doing about 12 minute miles ... this was closer to 11. I had a steep hike up the hill back to the cabin and now it's time to relax until the ladies get back .. then it's on to the corn maze!
Run Time: 56:00 minutes
Total Miles to Date: 861.3 miles
Thoughts on the Run:
Today I wasn't sure if I would fit in the run or not. As we're on vacation, I plan on training but also am not going to change my family's schedule just for the runs. We woke up (slept in) and had a nice breakfast, then headed down to the club house to shoot some pool, play some ping pong and swim in the pool. The girls decided to go horseback riding, so I had a light lunch and set out on my jog while the ladies went on their trail ride.
There is a loop that starts by the stables for the horses, goes by the country store, then up and around down towards the entrance to the resort, then winds back up to the cabin. I wasn't sure how long it would be, but my guess was between 0.5 - 0.75 miles.
There is a very steep hill leading to the cabin, so I went down this to the stables and clocked 0.2 miles. Then I started on the loop. I had already decided which direction I would go ... one option is a very long uphill grade, followed by a sharp downhill. The opposite would be, you guessed it, one very, very steep grade followed by a longer downhill. I opted for the first.
Thank goodness for my Garmin Forerunner. I had clear skies and good satellite, so I was able to determine the loop was about 0.82 miles. A little longer than I thought! I made a few loops, then saw my wife and daughter waiting for the horse ride. Third to last loop, they were getting lined up to pick their horses. Second to last loop? They were mounting the horses, and on my final loop they were riding out. I waved and then finished my run right at 56:00. This surprised me as I assumed with the grades I would be doing about 12 minute miles ... this was closer to 11. I had a steep hike up the hill back to the cabin and now it's time to relax until the ladies get back .. then it's on to the corn maze!
Labels: garmin forerunner, long run
Sunday, April 22, 2007
The Lonely Mountain
Today's Run: 11.3m
Run Time: 2:21:13 (12:41 minutes per mile on average)
Total Miles to Date: 533.8
Thoughts on the Run:
I'd like to think the mountain was lonely and missed me. But perhaps that's going a little far. Does it really care if I'm there to brave the 800 foot bluff? I'm confident there was a great showing today ... the weather was fantastic and there probably were dozens, if not hundreds, of tourists and locales enjoying the weather and hiking up and down the various trails of Kennesaw. But me? I didn't make it.
This week wasn't the best week. After a great hill workout, I missed my other two workouts. And it wasn't due to injury, although perhaps the fact I missed them was not all bad, and gave me some extra room to heal. Just a lot going on, busy schedule, etc, so the excuses crept in and the runs crept out.
Don't get me wrong ... I'm still hungry, but obviously I need to kick it up a notch and make it "willing to run 8 miles in the middle of the night" hungry instead of just writing it off. But, next week is a new week and new opportunity.
I DID run today. The reason I didn't go to the mountain was because my daughter had a great ceremony at church today that I wouldn't miss, and she wanted to spend some time at the park. So, I needed to cut out the commute time, run something that I could pace myself faster than a 15-minute mile and actually have some energy to play. I wasn't able to hit the run until afternoon which is why Kennesaw was out of the question ... it would be 45 minutes of drive time plus 5 hours on the mountain to reach my goal of 20.
Instead, I did something like this:
Just click it for the full-sized version.
As you can tell, it was only half of the promised distance. So what gives?
Well, first, a few NICE things about the run. I got to run my neighborhood which is notoriously hilly. It's no 800-foot climb in the first mile, but has it's share. The other thing was that it was hot. The race report shows 77 but I know it was in the mid 80s on parts. That was good because I need the experience for the run running up as it is smack in the middle of May when it will be HOT.
I loaded up my pack with 4 gels, 4 sodium pills, then filled the hydration pack with 60 ounces of fluid, naively thinking this would last me the full run. I had my wife and daughter drive me out to Canton Highway (5) and drop me off. Then I was on my way.
The first 5 miles went surprisingly well. I felt great. Despite the heat, I was taking plenty of fluid every 15 minutes or so and just nailed the miles as if they were nothing but an easy warm-up. 20 miles didn't seem so bad after all. The second 5 miles were more hilly and the sun was hotter, so it slowed me down. Didn't take me out, however. I did start to swell quite a bit and had some stomach pains. I was taking an S-cap and gel shot every hour and drinking lots of fluid so now I'm still confused whether I was drinking TOO much or NOT enough and if the salt was too little or overkill. I'll figure it out ... just when I had it right for the cold, I have to switch it for the heat. I suspect it was "not enough" due to the large salt stains on my pack and shirt.
I hammered out 10 miles and felt like, yes, this is a little more slow but I can definitely do 20. The plan was to make a huge loop, then come back onto Towne Lake Parkway that runs past our park, and call my ladies when I reached the park.
As I came out to start the big (final) loop, however, my friend from last week hit. It was on almost the same section of road so now I suspect the combination of running with shoes that have 500 miles under their belt and the camber of the road are what the problem is ... anyway, I got the same pain in my ankle and foot.
I didn't even think twice about trying to push it. I just stopped right there, started walking, and called my wife. "Surprise! Let's do the park sooner." She showed up with a fresh shirt and shoes. We went to the park and had a blast ... I know I had it in me to do another 10 because I had plenty of energy, just couldn't walk well on my foot. So, more ice tonight!
Afterwards we came home and I emptied out my pack. Guess what? I was down to only about 6 ounces of fluid left. So it would have been a tough 10 miles with no fluids ... next time I'll be prepared. I think I was drinking the right amount because a post-run weigh-in had me right the same weight as when I started (210 ... seems I've hit a plateau and maintained for two weeks ... that's the fun of the "tens" ... seems like most people, myself included, erect a psychological barrier over 200, 210, 220, etc ... 200 is a big one too but I intend to be there soon).
So ... great run considering, now my foot hurts so I'm glad I didn't push it.
I've had a blast this week creating and posting up extra videos to the site (there is a new category in the articles section). I think I'll start recording a few new audios or perhaps even videos to pair with some articles, etc.
Now it's time for a nice dinner, bath, and some more family time!
Warmly,
Jeremy Likness
Run Time: 2:21:13 (12:41 minutes per mile on average)
Total Miles to Date: 533.8
Thoughts on the Run:
I'd like to think the mountain was lonely and missed me. But perhaps that's going a little far. Does it really care if I'm there to brave the 800 foot bluff? I'm confident there was a great showing today ... the weather was fantastic and there probably were dozens, if not hundreds, of tourists and locales enjoying the weather and hiking up and down the various trails of Kennesaw. But me? I didn't make it.
This week wasn't the best week. After a great hill workout, I missed my other two workouts. And it wasn't due to injury, although perhaps the fact I missed them was not all bad, and gave me some extra room to heal. Just a lot going on, busy schedule, etc, so the excuses crept in and the runs crept out.
Don't get me wrong ... I'm still hungry, but obviously I need to kick it up a notch and make it "willing to run 8 miles in the middle of the night" hungry instead of just writing it off. But, next week is a new week and new opportunity.
I DID run today. The reason I didn't go to the mountain was because my daughter had a great ceremony at church today that I wouldn't miss, and she wanted to spend some time at the park. So, I needed to cut out the commute time, run something that I could pace myself faster than a 15-minute mile and actually have some energy to play. I wasn't able to hit the run until afternoon which is why Kennesaw was out of the question ... it would be 45 minutes of drive time plus 5 hours on the mountain to reach my goal of 20.
Instead, I did something like this:
Just click it for the full-sized version.
As you can tell, it was only half of the promised distance. So what gives?
Well, first, a few NICE things about the run. I got to run my neighborhood which is notoriously hilly. It's no 800-foot climb in the first mile, but has it's share. The other thing was that it was hot. The race report shows 77 but I know it was in the mid 80s on parts. That was good because I need the experience for the run running up as it is smack in the middle of May when it will be HOT.
I loaded up my pack with 4 gels, 4 sodium pills, then filled the hydration pack with 60 ounces of fluid, naively thinking this would last me the full run. I had my wife and daughter drive me out to Canton Highway (5) and drop me off. Then I was on my way.
The first 5 miles went surprisingly well. I felt great. Despite the heat, I was taking plenty of fluid every 15 minutes or so and just nailed the miles as if they were nothing but an easy warm-up. 20 miles didn't seem so bad after all. The second 5 miles were more hilly and the sun was hotter, so it slowed me down. Didn't take me out, however. I did start to swell quite a bit and had some stomach pains. I was taking an S-cap and gel shot every hour and drinking lots of fluid so now I'm still confused whether I was drinking TOO much or NOT enough and if the salt was too little or overkill. I'll figure it out ... just when I had it right for the cold, I have to switch it for the heat. I suspect it was "not enough" due to the large salt stains on my pack and shirt.
I hammered out 10 miles and felt like, yes, this is a little more slow but I can definitely do 20. The plan was to make a huge loop, then come back onto Towne Lake Parkway that runs past our park, and call my ladies when I reached the park.
As I came out to start the big (final) loop, however, my friend from last week hit. It was on almost the same section of road so now I suspect the combination of running with shoes that have 500 miles under their belt and the camber of the road are what the problem is ... anyway, I got the same pain in my ankle and foot.
I didn't even think twice about trying to push it. I just stopped right there, started walking, and called my wife. "Surprise! Let's do the park sooner." She showed up with a fresh shirt and shoes. We went to the park and had a blast ... I know I had it in me to do another 10 because I had plenty of energy, just couldn't walk well on my foot. So, more ice tonight!
Afterwards we came home and I emptied out my pack. Guess what? I was down to only about 6 ounces of fluid left. So it would have been a tough 10 miles with no fluids ... next time I'll be prepared. I think I was drinking the right amount because a post-run weigh-in had me right the same weight as when I started (210 ... seems I've hit a plateau and maintained for two weeks ... that's the fun of the "tens" ... seems like most people, myself included, erect a psychological barrier over 200, 210, 220, etc ... 200 is a big one too but I intend to be there soon).
So ... great run considering, now my foot hurts so I'm glad I didn't push it.
I've had a blast this week creating and posting up extra videos to the site (there is a new category in the articles section). I think I'll start recording a few new audios or perhaps even videos to pair with some articles, etc.
Now it's time for a nice dinner, bath, and some more family time!
Warmly,
Jeremy Likness
Labels: long run
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Kennesaw Mountain in Under 4 Hours
Today's Run: 16.41m
Run Time: 3:52:47 (14:12 minutes per mile)
Total Miles to Date: 493.4
Thoughts on the Run:
First, Happy Easter everyone!
On July 13th, 2003 I accomplished a personal goal. From my blog posting on that date:
The goal had been to hike the entire trail system at Kennesaw Mountain, and I did it in 5 1/2 hours.
Today, four years later, I returned to tackle the same feat. Only this time, I did it running.
My goal was to average a 15-minute pace and finish in just over four hours.
I came to the mountain well prepared. I'd already tackled the main, steep climb last week in 18:22 so had a definite time to beat.
A company called Enervit had contacted me prior to the ING Georgia Marathon and promised to send a "race pack" for me to try out. It arrived two days. Too late for the marathon, but perfect for my run this weekend.
The race pack included pretty much everything I'd need on the run:
A powder to mix for electrolytes and calories during the run,
Several "shots" (like Clif Shots) for added calories and energy,
A "cheerpack" (hey, cool name, huh?) which is supposed to provide a burst of energy without caffine,
And a post-workout mix to replaced branch-chain amino acids.
I mixed the drinks in my hydration pack, loaded up the shots (added a PowerShot I had left over) and added some CLIP2 because I knew that the 1 liter of drink wasn't going to last me the entire run.
To be quite honest, I was trying to talk myself out of the run this morning. I woke up just feeling tired and run down. When I went to take the dogs out, my right knee was throbbing in pain, forcing me to limp. It just didn't seem like it would happen.
A few hours later, however, I felt fine. And no, just because a few weeks have gone by, I haven't lost my desire or drive. I'm still hungry. So I packed it all up. I wore a CoolMax type long sleeved shirt with a thin pull-over over that, long running shorts, wore my New Balance cross country shoes, threw on my bandana and was set to go.
When I arrived at just after noon, it was terrific. It was freezing cold but the sun was shining and the skies were clear. I didn't waste much time ... just a quick trip to the restroom to relieve myself and then I hit the trail.
Here is my mile-by-mile breakdown of the run:
Mile 1: 16:52
This mile is part of the infamous climb up Kennesaw. I've included the profile view for you below (just click on it to see the bigger picture).
As you can see, it's easily 600 feet the first mile.
I felt like I was struggling but I pushed farther than yesterday.
Mile 2: 15:37
I reached the summit during this mile. It took me 17:40 total, or a full 40 seconds faster than last week. REAL PROGRESS! I had already taken a few swigs of my liquid. I've settled into a pattern of 3 - 4 swallows every 15 minutes, but that strategy will have to change - I'll explain later. At the top of the mountain, I had my first shot of the Enervit product. I must say, I enjoyed it better than any shot I've had ... the reason is it is not as thick as Clif or Power shots, so it went down a lot easier. This one was Cola flavored. Yum!
This climb mostly went down the back of Kennesaw. It is very technical with lots of boulders. I LOVE TECHNICAL. I had forgotten how much I enjoy running extremely rocky trails with lots of roots. I think it has to do with the mind always looking ahead and anticipating. I bound here and there. Most people are afraid and pick their way through these sections (and for good reason, they can be dangerous) but I've always felt sure-footed and bound down.
Mile 3: 13:51
This mile climbed up Little Kennesaw (much smaller) and then down a series of highly technical switchbacks. I just kept thinking to myself how much fun this type of terrain is, then my knee started getting tender and reminded me it doesn't enjoy it quite as much as I do. At the end, I descended rocky Pidgeon Hill and crossed Burnt Hickory Road.
Mile 4: 12:27
Mile 4 was over the rolling hills of Burnt Hickory loop. There is a nice, wide path and not too many steep hills. I veered off a side trail that is more technical but still fairly easily and packed with pine and leaves so the ground was soft.
Mile 5: 13:54
This mile is a fun one. You follow a creek for a bit, cross over on the "bouncy bridge" and then follow the creek again to finish the technical side of the loop.
Mile 6: 12:52
Mile 6 crossed over to Cheetham Hill. This is a long out-and-back path that follows the road to the Illinois monument. Nice, easy run.
Mile 7: 12:53
Kolb's farm is another splendid run if you don't like steep hills. It follows a fairly rolling terrain. The scenery gets interesting because part of the trail is over a marsh on a boardwalk. I crossed over Dallas Highway.
Mile 8: 12:01
I was picking up speed on the easy terrain. More of Kolb's farm loop.
Mile 9: 13:45
Mile 9 was a great mile. I knew I was halfway done, and at the furthest point from my car in the run. This loops past a copse of native bamboo. There was a nice drinking fountain and I followed Power Springs Road in direct sunlight and warmed up a bit.
It was here that I began to realize I had a chance of beating my goal. While my pace had been over 16 minutes the first part of the run due to the steep climb, the pace kept creeping down and was faster than a 14-minute mile at this point.
Mile 10: 13:25
In mile 10 I began looping back. I had another shot but began feeling a little tired. My spirits were lifted, however, knowing I was heading back. I had to walk a few hills but always picked up the pace and ran strong on the flats and downhills. At one point I slammed into a root. I stubbed my toe but felt like I also rubbed the bottom of my toe and worried that I might have gotten a blood blister (I didn't).
Mile 11: 13:54
I began looping back. Quite a few hills so more walking led to a slower mile.
Mile 12: 14:26
Mile 12 brought me back to the main road leading to Cheetham Hill. I was getting tired and slowing down but also knew I had one more segment behind me. I pushed on and crossed over back to the Burnt Hickory Loop.
Mile 13: 12:27
A good bit of downhill helped on this route. This time I didn't take the side trails that were more technical, but headed straight down the main fire path. This is very wide and covered with gravel. It was an easy, pleasant run and I was able to pick up some speed.
Mile 14: 22:46
There were several reasons why this was my slowest mile. The wheels did not come off, but I did face a technical challenge. I had run out of fluid, so I went to mix my CLIP2.
Challenge one: the wind was blowing and my hydration pack was wet so the sides were sticking together. I had trouble getting the powder into the pack and ended up covered in it. People were staring, wondering why I was standing in a cloud of pink dust.
Challenge two: I then went to pour water into it. The drinking fountain shoots a high stream. The wind turned this into an ineffective spray, so again it took some time to actually get liquid back.
I finally got it. The next challenge was that the climb across the street is very vertical up Pidgeon Hill (about 300 feet over 1/2 mile) and my legs were burning.
This is when I decided to take advantage of the "cheer pack." It tasted like cough syrup, but I must say, I did feel like I had a boost of energy. Placebo? Anyway, no ill side effects and 100 extra calories in my system.
Mile 15: 12:55
I began picking up the pace because I knew I was on my return loop. This was challenging with lots of rolling hills so I did a bit of walking but kept going strong. I was conscious of the time I lost at mile 14 and was set on finishing in under 4 hours, so I stubbornly pushed hard to trim off the time and get some solid speed in. I was elated to get 12:55 after already running 14 miles.
Mile 16: 14:23
This mile was frustrating because I was getting so close but there was a long uphill. I walked part of it, then realized I was losing time so I jogged it (albeit slowly).
Mile 16.4: 4:20
Then I could see the parking lot and kicked it into high gear. I cannot tell you how happy I was to come in at 3:52 - almost 8 minutes under 4 hours and almost 15 minutes ahead of my goal. My overall pace was a 14:11 minute mile when my goal had been 15-minutes.
The Aftermath:
How does one feel after climbing 2,374 vertical feet over the course of 4 hours, and burning more than 2,000 calories? Pretty good. My legs were jelly but not dead and I knew I could have gone further if needed. I brought a dry shirt, socks, and new pair of shoes. I inspected the damage to my feet. Just a small blister on the side of the ball of my foot, and some rubbing on the tops of my toes, but nothing major.
So far (knock on wood) no black toenails!
With all my electrolytes, shots, etc, I had consumed nearly 1,200 calories on the run and ingested about 64 ounces (4 pounds) of fluids. I then drove to Starbucks and rewarded myself with an Espresso Brownie and a Caramel Macchiato.
After arriving home, even after all of that, I was still down 2.5 pounds (207.5 from 210) or over 1 percent of my total weight. That means I need to step up the fluid ingestion ... probably 6 swigs per 15 minutes, and in the heat that may go up to 8.
I'm doing a 12 mile run next week to "rest" and then after that will tackle the mountain for 20 miles (doing the Kolb's farm loop TWICE .. right now I don't even want to try to conceptualize that).
Here is a satellite scan of my run (again, click for the larger picture):
The main mountain is on the right, and Kolb's farm is on the left.
After finishing this run, I've also logged my highest volume week to date at 31.6 miles. It's substantial for me but a far cry from the 60 - 80 miles many ultrarunners and even marathon runners do on a regular basis.
Here is the progression of my weekly mileage since September 2006 when I first started tracking this:
The only other thing to mention is a little hobby of mine. I have been having a blast using Google Gadgets so I decided to try my hand at making a few. The result is a new calculators section at my website. I'll add more but the fun part is that you can syndicate them easily onto your own web page.
Okay, now it's time for a massive dinner and some relaxation to start the recovery process. Take care and again, Happy Easter!
Warmly,
Jeremy Likness
Run Time: 3:52:47 (14:12 minutes per mile)
Total Miles to Date: 493.4
Thoughts on the Run:
First, Happy Easter everyone!
On July 13th, 2003 I accomplished a personal goal. From my blog posting on that date:
The hike was incredible. I was very nervous, I have no clue why, probably just coz I was leaving the house for so long, but when I got there, I knew I was ready to do it. I had toyed with a lot of ideas throughout the week ... So Friday night I just decided ... yes, I will do the hike .. and the rest was history.
The goal had been to hike the entire trail system at Kennesaw Mountain, and I did it in 5 1/2 hours.
Today, four years later, I returned to tackle the same feat. Only this time, I did it running.
My goal was to average a 15-minute pace and finish in just over four hours.
I came to the mountain well prepared. I'd already tackled the main, steep climb last week in 18:22 so had a definite time to beat.
A company called Enervit had contacted me prior to the ING Georgia Marathon and promised to send a "race pack" for me to try out. It arrived two days. Too late for the marathon, but perfect for my run this weekend.
The race pack included pretty much everything I'd need on the run:
A powder to mix for electrolytes and calories during the run,
Several "shots" (like Clif Shots) for added calories and energy,
A "cheerpack" (hey, cool name, huh?) which is supposed to provide a burst of energy without caffine,
And a post-workout mix to replaced branch-chain amino acids.
I mixed the drinks in my hydration pack, loaded up the shots (added a PowerShot I had left over) and added some CLIP2 because I knew that the 1 liter of drink wasn't going to last me the entire run.
To be quite honest, I was trying to talk myself out of the run this morning. I woke up just feeling tired and run down. When I went to take the dogs out, my right knee was throbbing in pain, forcing me to limp. It just didn't seem like it would happen.
A few hours later, however, I felt fine. And no, just because a few weeks have gone by, I haven't lost my desire or drive. I'm still hungry. So I packed it all up. I wore a CoolMax type long sleeved shirt with a thin pull-over over that, long running shorts, wore my New Balance cross country shoes, threw on my bandana and was set to go.
When I arrived at just after noon, it was terrific. It was freezing cold but the sun was shining and the skies were clear. I didn't waste much time ... just a quick trip to the restroom to relieve myself and then I hit the trail.
Here is my mile-by-mile breakdown of the run:
Mile 1: 16:52
This mile is part of the infamous climb up Kennesaw. I've included the profile view for you below (just click on it to see the bigger picture).
As you can see, it's easily 600 feet the first mile.
I felt like I was struggling but I pushed farther than yesterday.
Mile 2: 15:37
I reached the summit during this mile. It took me 17:40 total, or a full 40 seconds faster than last week. REAL PROGRESS! I had already taken a few swigs of my liquid. I've settled into a pattern of 3 - 4 swallows every 15 minutes, but that strategy will have to change - I'll explain later. At the top of the mountain, I had my first shot of the Enervit product. I must say, I enjoyed it better than any shot I've had ... the reason is it is not as thick as Clif or Power shots, so it went down a lot easier. This one was Cola flavored. Yum!
This climb mostly went down the back of Kennesaw. It is very technical with lots of boulders. I LOVE TECHNICAL. I had forgotten how much I enjoy running extremely rocky trails with lots of roots. I think it has to do with the mind always looking ahead and anticipating. I bound here and there. Most people are afraid and pick their way through these sections (and for good reason, they can be dangerous) but I've always felt sure-footed and bound down.
Mile 3: 13:51
This mile climbed up Little Kennesaw (much smaller) and then down a series of highly technical switchbacks. I just kept thinking to myself how much fun this type of terrain is, then my knee started getting tender and reminded me it doesn't enjoy it quite as much as I do. At the end, I descended rocky Pidgeon Hill and crossed Burnt Hickory Road.
Mile 4: 12:27
Mile 4 was over the rolling hills of Burnt Hickory loop. There is a nice, wide path and not too many steep hills. I veered off a side trail that is more technical but still fairly easily and packed with pine and leaves so the ground was soft.
Mile 5: 13:54
This mile is a fun one. You follow a creek for a bit, cross over on the "bouncy bridge" and then follow the creek again to finish the technical side of the loop.
Mile 6: 12:52
Mile 6 crossed over to Cheetham Hill. This is a long out-and-back path that follows the road to the Illinois monument. Nice, easy run.
Mile 7: 12:53
Kolb's farm is another splendid run if you don't like steep hills. It follows a fairly rolling terrain. The scenery gets interesting because part of the trail is over a marsh on a boardwalk. I crossed over Dallas Highway.
Mile 8: 12:01
I was picking up speed on the easy terrain. More of Kolb's farm loop.
Mile 9: 13:45
Mile 9 was a great mile. I knew I was halfway done, and at the furthest point from my car in the run. This loops past a copse of native bamboo. There was a nice drinking fountain and I followed Power Springs Road in direct sunlight and warmed up a bit.
It was here that I began to realize I had a chance of beating my goal. While my pace had been over 16 minutes the first part of the run due to the steep climb, the pace kept creeping down and was faster than a 14-minute mile at this point.
Mile 10: 13:25
In mile 10 I began looping back. I had another shot but began feeling a little tired. My spirits were lifted, however, knowing I was heading back. I had to walk a few hills but always picked up the pace and ran strong on the flats and downhills. At one point I slammed into a root. I stubbed my toe but felt like I also rubbed the bottom of my toe and worried that I might have gotten a blood blister (I didn't).
Mile 11: 13:54
I began looping back. Quite a few hills so more walking led to a slower mile.
Mile 12: 14:26
Mile 12 brought me back to the main road leading to Cheetham Hill. I was getting tired and slowing down but also knew I had one more segment behind me. I pushed on and crossed over back to the Burnt Hickory Loop.
Mile 13: 12:27
A good bit of downhill helped on this route. This time I didn't take the side trails that were more technical, but headed straight down the main fire path. This is very wide and covered with gravel. It was an easy, pleasant run and I was able to pick up some speed.
Mile 14: 22:46
There were several reasons why this was my slowest mile. The wheels did not come off, but I did face a technical challenge. I had run out of fluid, so I went to mix my CLIP2.
Challenge one: the wind was blowing and my hydration pack was wet so the sides were sticking together. I had trouble getting the powder into the pack and ended up covered in it. People were staring, wondering why I was standing in a cloud of pink dust.
Challenge two: I then went to pour water into it. The drinking fountain shoots a high stream. The wind turned this into an ineffective spray, so again it took some time to actually get liquid back.
I finally got it. The next challenge was that the climb across the street is very vertical up Pidgeon Hill (about 300 feet over 1/2 mile) and my legs were burning.
This is when I decided to take advantage of the "cheer pack." It tasted like cough syrup, but I must say, I did feel like I had a boost of energy. Placebo? Anyway, no ill side effects and 100 extra calories in my system.
Mile 15: 12:55
I began picking up the pace because I knew I was on my return loop. This was challenging with lots of rolling hills so I did a bit of walking but kept going strong. I was conscious of the time I lost at mile 14 and was set on finishing in under 4 hours, so I stubbornly pushed hard to trim off the time and get some solid speed in. I was elated to get 12:55 after already running 14 miles.
Mile 16: 14:23
This mile was frustrating because I was getting so close but there was a long uphill. I walked part of it, then realized I was losing time so I jogged it (albeit slowly).
Mile 16.4: 4:20
Then I could see the parking lot and kicked it into high gear. I cannot tell you how happy I was to come in at 3:52 - almost 8 minutes under 4 hours and almost 15 minutes ahead of my goal. My overall pace was a 14:11 minute mile when my goal had been 15-minutes.
The Aftermath:
How does one feel after climbing 2,374 vertical feet over the course of 4 hours, and burning more than 2,000 calories? Pretty good. My legs were jelly but not dead and I knew I could have gone further if needed. I brought a dry shirt, socks, and new pair of shoes. I inspected the damage to my feet. Just a small blister on the side of the ball of my foot, and some rubbing on the tops of my toes, but nothing major.
So far (knock on wood) no black toenails!
With all my electrolytes, shots, etc, I had consumed nearly 1,200 calories on the run and ingested about 64 ounces (4 pounds) of fluids. I then drove to Starbucks and rewarded myself with an Espresso Brownie and a Caramel Macchiato.
After arriving home, even after all of that, I was still down 2.5 pounds (207.5 from 210) or over 1 percent of my total weight. That means I need to step up the fluid ingestion ... probably 6 swigs per 15 minutes, and in the heat that may go up to 8.
I'm doing a 12 mile run next week to "rest" and then after that will tackle the mountain for 20 miles (doing the Kolb's farm loop TWICE .. right now I don't even want to try to conceptualize that).
Here is a satellite scan of my run (again, click for the larger picture):
The main mountain is on the right, and Kolb's farm is on the left.
After finishing this run, I've also logged my highest volume week to date at 31.6 miles. It's substantial for me but a far cry from the 60 - 80 miles many ultrarunners and even marathon runners do on a regular basis.
Here is the progression of my weekly mileage since September 2006 when I first started tracking this:
The only other thing to mention is a little hobby of mine. I have been having a blast using Google Gadgets so I decided to try my hand at making a few. The result is a new calculators section at my website. I'll add more but the fun part is that you can syndicate them easily onto your own web page.
Okay, now it's time for a massive dinner and some relaxation to start the recovery process. Take care and again, Happy Easter!
Warmly,
Jeremy Likness
Labels: google gadgets, kennesaw mountain, long run, marathon training
Sunday, March 11, 2007
15 Miles of Hills and Heat
Today's Run: 15.02
Run Time: 3:18:37
Total Miles to Date: 429.5
Thoughts on the Run:
I wasn't really feeling up for the run today, but I decided to do it anyway.
I had originally planned to run the Silver Comet Trail once again. It's a great out and back and I've run it several times. The best part? It's flat.
However, my daughter had an event she really wanted me to attend. I knew I would not have time to drive down, run, and come home and get ready before her event. So, I decided to do something a little different and run through the neighborhood.
This was a new strategy for me. First, I've not done really long runs on hills. So, I wasn't going to be upset if I didn't pull the full 20, but I was focused on "time on my feet", in other words, I had a goal of running for 4 hours. You see that I fell short ... I'll get to that in a minute.
Second, I knew I couldn't possibly lug all of my fluids along so I needed to make some stops along the way to rehydrate. That wasn't a problem because there are a ton of convenience stores on the route.
So, I set out. Breakfast was multigrain waffles. I had some granola bars and my liquids as well as sodium caps in my pack. I knew I'd be taking quite a few sodium caps because it was "hot" - not blazing, summer hot, but 70s hot compared to the freezing cold I'd been running in before.
I also had some sense about me ... I knew the sun would be beating down, so I wore my bandana (helps with the sweat, too) and applied an extra coat of my daytime skin cream that is SPF 15. I thought that was smart. It was, sort of.
I started running and felt great. This would be an adventure - an entirely new route. I wasn't even sure how long the route would take, but I knew it was in the ballpark of 20 miles. I looped down and under the interstate, then up a little winding road that parallels interstate I-575 heading North. There was no sidewalk (not much of anything, really, just a nice alternate route for locals) so I was on the grass most of the time. I hit the end which was a juncture I'd take east to Canton road.
Here is where the reality started to sink in. First, a long stretch of that access road was uphill - I had more elevation changes than my last 10-mile run that I posted. Second, the sun was merciless. It's been ages (okay, so 9 months) since I'd run in the heat, and that was when we lived on the beach in St. Pete Beach, Florida. There I would spray on a ton of sunblock and time my runs to be early or late. When I'd run with my mom who for some reason likes to do it in the hottest part of the day, I'd be sucking wind 2 miles into the run.
I wasn't exactly sucking wind, but I wasn't exactly sprinting, either. My pace started to slow, I was getting a little light-headed, and suddenly I realized I'd need to drink more than what I was drinking on my runs in the 40-degree weather (doh!). So, I took it easy and held on.
Heading north on Highway 5 was a little tough ... there was barely any shoulder to speak of, and off the shoulder was, well, ditch. Between the steep hills, the hot sun, and no place to safely run without getting mowed by cars, I ended up walking quite a bit.
My fluids ran out so I stopped at a gas station. There, I bought a few bottles of water and remixed some drinks. I had some more granola, took another salt cap, and splashed my face to "freshen up." It was actually nice to drink some pure, clean water after drinking the sports drink for so long.
I set back out. The sun was beating on the pavement now and I believe it hit the low 80s. I could feel the salt caked on my face and then had a rather odd thought. My face felt like it was being pounded by the heat yet I knew it was safe. But what about my arms and legs? I hadn't even thought of those. Oh well, too late, nothing to do but keep going.
Again, stretches of hills and hot sun. I made it to the end, but was drinking a lot faster than I had rationed. When I hit the road that would head back towards our house on the other side of Lake Allatoona (I was basically doing a long loop around the lake, but never really ON the lake) I realized I was walking more than running. I also was aware that I was running out of time. I called my wife and told her to start driving my direction in about a half hour so that no matter where I was, I could get back, clean up, and still be at my daughter's event.
That gave me some hope and I pushed forward. After a dismal 16:01 mile, I actually raised the bar to a 13:12 mile followed by a 14:11 mile. I was out of fluid again and stopped to get some water. I was 13 miles into the run. Surely I could push through and do 7 more? Less than that because my wife would be on her way.
I stepped out of the store and was immediately on another long hill. My legs were aching, I felt dizzy, and had to stop to catch my breath. When I started running again, it was like I was wading through mud. After a few ridiculous minutes of this I realized that the run was pretty much over. I forced myself to shuffle along and wrap it up at 15 miles, then called home for a ride back.
I'm not disappointed that I only ran 15 miles, as I knew with the heat and hills it would be more challenging. The marathon may give me the heat to contend with (but it is a lot earlier in the day) but won't give me the hills. There are hills on it (see the elevation chart here) but only a 100 foot variation, as opposed to the 300 - 400 foot steep grades I contend with in my neighborhood (and still a far cry from the thousands of feet of elevation change in some of the main ultras).
What I am disappointed about was not staying on my feet for four hours. I'm thinking of changing my pacing time to 5 hours instead of 4:30 just so I can have more fun with the run and not push it too hard. I did fall short today but that's fan, it's part of the process and I'll do better next time.
After finishing the run, I did make it in time to go to the event with my daughter. At the end, we stepped into some bright light and my fears were confirmed - major sunburn. My face, of course, was fine, but there was a tiny line at the edge of my bandana, the back of my head (I had the sense to hit my neck, but missed part of my head), my arms, and the backs of my legs all got fried. FUN!
So, that's another long run under my belt but unfortunately leaves me a little short on my training ... I should have had 3 20-mile runs in, now I've got a 17, 20, and 15 ... so it's going to be a lot of heart to reach the finish line. I will do it ... but the real question is, what next? Will November be enough time to prepare for 50 miles? My heart says, "Yes."
Warmly,
Jeremy Likness
Run Time: 3:18:37
Total Miles to Date: 429.5
Thoughts on the Run:
I wasn't really feeling up for the run today, but I decided to do it anyway.
I had originally planned to run the Silver Comet Trail once again. It's a great out and back and I've run it several times. The best part? It's flat.
However, my daughter had an event she really wanted me to attend. I knew I would not have time to drive down, run, and come home and get ready before her event. So, I decided to do something a little different and run through the neighborhood.
This was a new strategy for me. First, I've not done really long runs on hills. So, I wasn't going to be upset if I didn't pull the full 20, but I was focused on "time on my feet", in other words, I had a goal of running for 4 hours. You see that I fell short ... I'll get to that in a minute.
Second, I knew I couldn't possibly lug all of my fluids along so I needed to make some stops along the way to rehydrate. That wasn't a problem because there are a ton of convenience stores on the route.
So, I set out. Breakfast was multigrain waffles. I had some granola bars and my liquids as well as sodium caps in my pack. I knew I'd be taking quite a few sodium caps because it was "hot" - not blazing, summer hot, but 70s hot compared to the freezing cold I'd been running in before.
I also had some sense about me ... I knew the sun would be beating down, so I wore my bandana (helps with the sweat, too) and applied an extra coat of my daytime skin cream that is SPF 15. I thought that was smart. It was, sort of.
I started running and felt great. This would be an adventure - an entirely new route. I wasn't even sure how long the route would take, but I knew it was in the ballpark of 20 miles. I looped down and under the interstate, then up a little winding road that parallels interstate I-575 heading North. There was no sidewalk (not much of anything, really, just a nice alternate route for locals) so I was on the grass most of the time. I hit the end which was a juncture I'd take east to Canton road.
Here is where the reality started to sink in. First, a long stretch of that access road was uphill - I had more elevation changes than my last 10-mile run that I posted. Second, the sun was merciless. It's been ages (okay, so 9 months) since I'd run in the heat, and that was when we lived on the beach in St. Pete Beach, Florida. There I would spray on a ton of sunblock and time my runs to be early or late. When I'd run with my mom who for some reason likes to do it in the hottest part of the day, I'd be sucking wind 2 miles into the run.
I wasn't exactly sucking wind, but I wasn't exactly sprinting, either. My pace started to slow, I was getting a little light-headed, and suddenly I realized I'd need to drink more than what I was drinking on my runs in the 40-degree weather (doh!). So, I took it easy and held on.
Heading north on Highway 5 was a little tough ... there was barely any shoulder to speak of, and off the shoulder was, well, ditch. Between the steep hills, the hot sun, and no place to safely run without getting mowed by cars, I ended up walking quite a bit.
My fluids ran out so I stopped at a gas station. There, I bought a few bottles of water and remixed some drinks. I had some more granola, took another salt cap, and splashed my face to "freshen up." It was actually nice to drink some pure, clean water after drinking the sports drink for so long.
I set back out. The sun was beating on the pavement now and I believe it hit the low 80s. I could feel the salt caked on my face and then had a rather odd thought. My face felt like it was being pounded by the heat yet I knew it was safe. But what about my arms and legs? I hadn't even thought of those. Oh well, too late, nothing to do but keep going.
Again, stretches of hills and hot sun. I made it to the end, but was drinking a lot faster than I had rationed. When I hit the road that would head back towards our house on the other side of Lake Allatoona (I was basically doing a long loop around the lake, but never really ON the lake) I realized I was walking more than running. I also was aware that I was running out of time. I called my wife and told her to start driving my direction in about a half hour so that no matter where I was, I could get back, clean up, and still be at my daughter's event.
That gave me some hope and I pushed forward. After a dismal 16:01 mile, I actually raised the bar to a 13:12 mile followed by a 14:11 mile. I was out of fluid again and stopped to get some water. I was 13 miles into the run. Surely I could push through and do 7 more? Less than that because my wife would be on her way.
I stepped out of the store and was immediately on another long hill. My legs were aching, I felt dizzy, and had to stop to catch my breath. When I started running again, it was like I was wading through mud. After a few ridiculous minutes of this I realized that the run was pretty much over. I forced myself to shuffle along and wrap it up at 15 miles, then called home for a ride back.
I'm not disappointed that I only ran 15 miles, as I knew with the heat and hills it would be more challenging. The marathon may give me the heat to contend with (but it is a lot earlier in the day) but won't give me the hills. There are hills on it (see the elevation chart here) but only a 100 foot variation, as opposed to the 300 - 400 foot steep grades I contend with in my neighborhood (and still a far cry from the thousands of feet of elevation change in some of the main ultras).
What I am disappointed about was not staying on my feet for four hours. I'm thinking of changing my pacing time to 5 hours instead of 4:30 just so I can have more fun with the run and not push it too hard. I did fall short today but that's fan, it's part of the process and I'll do better next time.
After finishing the run, I did make it in time to go to the event with my daughter. At the end, we stepped into some bright light and my fears were confirmed - major sunburn. My face, of course, was fine, but there was a tiny line at the edge of my bandana, the back of my head (I had the sense to hit my neck, but missed part of my head), my arms, and the backs of my legs all got fried. FUN!
So, that's another long run under my belt but unfortunately leaves me a little short on my training ... I should have had 3 20-mile runs in, now I've got a 17, 20, and 15 ... so it's going to be a lot of heart to reach the finish line. I will do it ... but the real question is, what next? Will November be enough time to prepare for 50 miles? My heart says, "Yes."
Warmly,
Jeremy Likness
Labels: ING Georgia Marathon, long run
Friday, March 09, 2007
ING Georgia Marathon Pace Team and 10 Miles of Training
Today's Run: 10.02
Run Time: 1:49:31 (10:56/mile)
Total Miles to Date: 414.5
Thoughts on the Run:
15,000 people will be running the marathon. Wow! That's quite a number. After a bit of debate, I decided to join a pace team. I completely understand the mindset that this is my first marathon and to go into it with the goal of finishing and having fun doing it. However, I would like to have that fun with a group of people who may run it about my speed. How's that?
So, I decided the 5 hour team was a bit slow for what I'd be running it ... I consistently top 12-minute miles in my training so it stands to reason that with the adrenaline rush of the race, etc, I will run more aggressively than that. The pace team I joined is the 4:30 team. It is a 10:30 pace (roughly) so a bit on the aggressive side but I like to aim high. They will not be shackling me to the other runners so if I do decide the pace is too much, I can always slow down and look for the 5-hour pacer!
Last night I had perhaps one of the best 10 mile runs ever. The weather was perfect. I've complained a bit about running in the cold. This was my opportunity to get out there in nice, cool, evening weather. It was in the 70s F (21.1 C) when I started and then cooled down as the sun set to around 60 F (15.5 C). I had the pleasure of watching the sun sink low, the sky turn pink, and then a beautiful sunset before feeling the cool twilight engulf me.
The run started out with a nice, steady pace. It's amazing how much lighter I feel when I'm not wrapped in winter gear. I made sure I didn't push it too much as this is just my midweek run and I have 20 miles to do this weekend ... but I had fun. I also got into a rhythm with my drinks ... I not longer stop every 2 miles but instead take about 3 swallows every mile while still running. This may be the first 10 miles I did without stopping except to unscrew one of the bottles to drink the very last bit about halfway through.
I maintained steady paces around 11 minutes throughout. My goal was an 11-minute mile. While the hills did slow me down, they didn't stop me. At the various points where I'm used to hitting a wall, I didn't. I ran up to a park, did a loop to tack on some miles, then headed back to the house. The big, long hill I call Goliath couldn't stop me. It did slow me to a 12:45 pace.
With one mile left, I knew I had plenty of energy so I finished strong. It felt great to push hard and run the last mile in 9:19. When I was done, I finally realized I am growing in speed, confidence, and the ability to handle longer distances.
Looking back at my logs from September, it is fun to see the volume and distance change over time. Very exciting! I feel very ready for the marathon, when just one or two months ago the distance was still intimidating.
And what a beautiful Friday morning this is! I love it - the weather is perfect. It's going to be a great weekend.
Warmly,
Jeremy Likness
Run Time: 1:49:31 (10:56/mile)
Total Miles to Date: 414.5
Thoughts on the Run:
15,000 people will be running the marathon. Wow! That's quite a number. After a bit of debate, I decided to join a pace team. I completely understand the mindset that this is my first marathon and to go into it with the goal of finishing and having fun doing it. However, I would like to have that fun with a group of people who may run it about my speed. How's that?
So, I decided the 5 hour team was a bit slow for what I'd be running it ... I consistently top 12-minute miles in my training so it stands to reason that with the adrenaline rush of the race, etc, I will run more aggressively than that. The pace team I joined is the 4:30 team. It is a 10:30 pace (roughly) so a bit on the aggressive side but I like to aim high. They will not be shackling me to the other runners so if I do decide the pace is too much, I can always slow down and look for the 5-hour pacer!
Last night I had perhaps one of the best 10 mile runs ever. The weather was perfect. I've complained a bit about running in the cold. This was my opportunity to get out there in nice, cool, evening weather. It was in the 70s F (21.1 C) when I started and then cooled down as the sun set to around 60 F (15.5 C). I had the pleasure of watching the sun sink low, the sky turn pink, and then a beautiful sunset before feeling the cool twilight engulf me.
The run started out with a nice, steady pace. It's amazing how much lighter I feel when I'm not wrapped in winter gear. I made sure I didn't push it too much as this is just my midweek run and I have 20 miles to do this weekend ... but I had fun. I also got into a rhythm with my drinks ... I not longer stop every 2 miles but instead take about 3 swallows every mile while still running. This may be the first 10 miles I did without stopping except to unscrew one of the bottles to drink the very last bit about halfway through.
I maintained steady paces around 11 minutes throughout. My goal was an 11-minute mile. While the hills did slow me down, they didn't stop me. At the various points where I'm used to hitting a wall, I didn't. I ran up to a park, did a loop to tack on some miles, then headed back to the house. The big, long hill I call Goliath couldn't stop me. It did slow me to a 12:45 pace.
With one mile left, I knew I had plenty of energy so I finished strong. It felt great to push hard and run the last mile in 9:19. When I was done, I finally realized I am growing in speed, confidence, and the ability to handle longer distances.
Looking back at my logs from September, it is fun to see the volume and distance change over time. Very exciting! I feel very ready for the marathon, when just one or two months ago the distance was still intimidating.
And what a beautiful Friday morning this is! I love it - the weather is perfect. It's going to be a great weekend.
Warmly,
Jeremy Likness
Labels: long run, marathon training
Sunday, March 04, 2007
The Practical Way to Lose Fat
Today's Run: 12.05
Run Time: 2:17:59
Total Miles to Date: 399.5
Thoughts on the Run:
First, I wonder if I should have run an extra 1/2 mile today ... just to hit the 400 mark since I started logging these?
Anyway, the title, The Practical Way to Lose Fat, isn't referring to my run, but an article of mine. I occassionally hit the search engines to see which sites are well-positioned for various keywords. I was excited to see "Lose Fat" on Google landed on this article (not on my website, but published on a great site for triathlon runners, called Beginner Triathlete. That was exciting.
It was disappointing, however, to move over to Google Books. There, I had finally gotten my book listed after months of them reporting technical difficulties. It was actually listed as the first item under the search "lose fat" but now I see it's disappeared. Logging into my account, for some reason it want to "in processing" status so I'll have to wait and see what's going on there.
I was fortunate to have a running partner for today's run. He is training for the half marathon at the same event I'll run the full marathon at. He was just running seven miles. I met him at the entrance to our neighborhood and did and out-and-back with him. He runs fast.
One of the ways I've been cheating myself by only doing long runs on the weekend is by not experiencing hills. Our neighborhood is full of them. My long runs on the flat trail have been going well, but it has been a shock to get back into running my neighborhood and going up and down.
Don't get me wrong - it's not like running mountain trails. However, it has it's share of ups and downs. Here is the elevation chart for the run that I did today:
Needless to say, some of this up and down took the wind out of my sails. I ended up walking a few hills. I was even toying with the idea of cutting the run short because it felt like I was struggling so hard. Then I remembered something ... the struggle is part of it, isn't it? Yes! This is about the willpower it takes to get to the finish line. Quitting the marathon won't be an option, so why would I even consider quitting my training run? So, I gritted my teeth and pressed on.
I did not bring enough fluids so my other issue was getting dehydrated in the end. The weather was playing tricks. It would be hot in the sun but then the shade and wind would drop it to freezing. I kept my pullover on because I'd rather get hot and sweat than to freeze, but this meant I lost a bit of fluid. Nothing I couldn't easily restore at the end of the run!
So, I pressed on and finished it. My goal was a 11-minute mile pace, I finished with a 11:30 mile pace. Not too bad, still faster than 12 which is what I would like to average at the marathon. We'll see! One more week of volume with a 20-mile run at the end of the week, then I'm tapering for the big event.
Warmly,
Jeremy Likness
Run Time: 2:17:59
Total Miles to Date: 399.5
Thoughts on the Run:
First, I wonder if I should have run an extra 1/2 mile today ... just to hit the 400 mark since I started logging these?
Anyway, the title, The Practical Way to Lose Fat, isn't referring to my run, but an article of mine. I occassionally hit the search engines to see which sites are well-positioned for various keywords. I was excited to see "Lose Fat" on Google landed on this article (not on my website, but published on a great site for triathlon runners, called Beginner Triathlete. That was exciting.
It was disappointing, however, to move over to Google Books. There, I had finally gotten my book listed after months of them reporting technical difficulties. It was actually listed as the first item under the search "lose fat" but now I see it's disappeared. Logging into my account, for some reason it want to "in processing" status so I'll have to wait and see what's going on there.
I was fortunate to have a running partner for today's run. He is training for the half marathon at the same event I'll run the full marathon at. He was just running seven miles. I met him at the entrance to our neighborhood and did and out-and-back with him. He runs fast.
One of the ways I've been cheating myself by only doing long runs on the weekend is by not experiencing hills. Our neighborhood is full of them. My long runs on the flat trail have been going well, but it has been a shock to get back into running my neighborhood and going up and down.
Don't get me wrong - it's not like running mountain trails. However, it has it's share of ups and downs. Here is the elevation chart for the run that I did today:
Needless to say, some of this up and down took the wind out of my sails. I ended up walking a few hills. I was even toying with the idea of cutting the run short because it felt like I was struggling so hard. Then I remembered something ... the struggle is part of it, isn't it? Yes! This is about the willpower it takes to get to the finish line. Quitting the marathon won't be an option, so why would I even consider quitting my training run? So, I gritted my teeth and pressed on.
I did not bring enough fluids so my other issue was getting dehydrated in the end. The weather was playing tricks. It would be hot in the sun but then the shade and wind would drop it to freezing. I kept my pullover on because I'd rather get hot and sweat than to freeze, but this meant I lost a bit of fluid. Nothing I couldn't easily restore at the end of the run!
So, I pressed on and finished it. My goal was a 11-minute mile pace, I finished with a 11:30 mile pace. Not too bad, still faster than 12 which is what I would like to average at the marathon. We'll see! One more week of volume with a 20-mile run at the end of the week, then I'm tapering for the big event.
Warmly,
Jeremy Likness
Labels: long run
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