Why is this cold hanging on for so long? It's really just a cough that won't go away, all other symptoms have cleared. Sometimes I have a little coughing fit that's followed by a moment of dizziness - which I don't like.
Monday was a day off to rest. But today I was supposed to run and I've blown it off. Tomorrow I may bail on the tempo hard effort in favor of something like LSD at an easy to mod effort. Just don't want to push too much effort until this cold is totally gone.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
RaceReport: Radnor 5 miler
My running was in the crapper last week due to being sick. I skipped Wed-Thurs-Fri-Saturday and had already signed up for the Radnor 5 mile race. So Sunday morning, feeling less than 100% I headed up there to run.
The carpool was the most interesting part. I was driving up with Carole - and another club member, a new guy named Epi. A mutual friend put us together for the carpool, so it's a chance to meet another club member and runner. I was really hoping the Epi spoke english (which he did) and was glad that he was going to race because I've seen his name in the race results and he's fast. Our club needs more fast runners if we've gonna hang onto 2nd place inthe club challenge.
The race itself: I tried to go out easy. This course has several big hills. I was really hoping that I wouldn't go into one of my wheezing/coughing fits like the ones plagueing me the past few days. The first hill is from like .5 to 1.0 and my one mile split was 7:18. So mission accomplished on slow first mile.
Mile 2 is downhill; done in 6:32. Total 13:50 at 2mm, so avg 6:55 which I was happy with. Mile 3 has the nastiest hill. Steep near the bottom and then a long steady grind. 7:55 for that one. I wasn't feeling too good at this point. Note on course: this is right where you are passing some serious kick ass mansions. They've got some real wealthy types in Radnor, PA. I swear a few of the homes look like castles with huge acreage and personal tennis courts, Bentley's in the driveway, etc.
Anyway, mile 4 is flatish, with some small ups & downs. 7:18. Total time 29:03 which i realize is about 7:15 pace and the effects of my cold are obvious. Most of miles 4 & 5 I run along side a woman who is looking very strong. In the end she pulls away to beat me by about 5 or 10 seconds. She gets 1st a.g. 35-39. I struggle to finish. Basically I don't try to kick at all. It's more of a maintain pace while coasting on in. Mile 5- 6:48 so the final clock is 35:50 @ 7:10 pace. I don't care, given the situation.
Next weekend is the Bridge 10k - hopefully I can get a fast tempo effort mid week and then be in good health for Sunday's race.
The carpool was the most interesting part. I was driving up with Carole - and another club member, a new guy named Epi. A mutual friend put us together for the carpool, so it's a chance to meet another club member and runner. I was really hoping the Epi spoke english (which he did) and was glad that he was going to race because I've seen his name in the race results and he's fast. Our club needs more fast runners if we've gonna hang onto 2nd place inthe club challenge.
The race itself: I tried to go out easy. This course has several big hills. I was really hoping that I wouldn't go into one of my wheezing/coughing fits like the ones plagueing me the past few days. The first hill is from like .5 to 1.0 and my one mile split was 7:18. So mission accomplished on slow first mile.
Mile 2 is downhill; done in 6:32. Total 13:50 at 2mm, so avg 6:55 which I was happy with. Mile 3 has the nastiest hill. Steep near the bottom and then a long steady grind. 7:55 for that one. I wasn't feeling too good at this point. Note on course: this is right where you are passing some serious kick ass mansions. They've got some real wealthy types in Radnor, PA. I swear a few of the homes look like castles with huge acreage and personal tennis courts, Bentley's in the driveway, etc.
Anyway, mile 4 is flatish, with some small ups & downs. 7:18. Total time 29:03 which i realize is about 7:15 pace and the effects of my cold are obvious. Most of miles 4 & 5 I run along side a woman who is looking very strong. In the end she pulls away to beat me by about 5 or 10 seconds. She gets 1st a.g. 35-39. I struggle to finish. Basically I don't try to kick at all. It's more of a maintain pace while coasting on in. Mile 5- 6:48 so the final clock is 35:50 @ 7:10 pace. I don't care, given the situation.
Next weekend is the Bridge 10k - hopefully I can get a fast tempo effort mid week and then be in good health for Sunday's race.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Sick Day
I felt this coming on, but couldn't do anything to avoid it. I'm home sick today. Fever, nasty cough. I'm signed up for a race on Sunday so I guess we'll just call this lack of running my taper.
Who takes a one week taper for a 5 miler?
Beat L.A.
Manny sux.
He's right up there with this cast of characters:
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Del Distance Classic 15k RaceReport
A bit overdue, but here we go:
Weather was ideal. Cold fall morning, not a cloud in the sky. I think the start temp was around 45. Some runners had gloves or arm panties. I like to run in the cold so I was as bare as possible.
Since I know the course and this race is very close to my house I had volunteered to help with set up. I put up a few banners for our club (race sponsor) and the RRCA. But there really wasn't much else to do. Being a local race, plus the good club turnout, I saw lots of folks that I know. I pretty much said I would go out at a PR pace and just hope to hold it. This was based on PDR Half marathon 3 weeks earlier, and I felt rested/hadn't pushed too much in the week leading up to this race.
I did very minimal warm up - which for me is typical of 'longer' races. My outlook is "the first mile is the warm up for anything over 10k." Actually I farted around long enuf that I barely got my Gu on time & then changed into my race shoes before it was time to line up. I tried to be about 5 or 6 rows deep figuring that 50 or 60 guys in front of me is about right for the finishing order with a race of this size (300 entries). As it turned out I crossed the line 45th so that's just about right.
It's cool how during the first mile some of the runners along side will end up being far ahead, and others will be way behind. Only a few match my pace all the way. I enjoy noticing stuff like that. A few young kids were on the front line. I passed them within the first half mile. I fell in behind Greg Vitale (who I was introduced to after the race, but I already recognized from the circuit) who was obviously running together with a woman (maybe they are in the same club?). Anyway, as we approached the 1 mm he accelerated away never to be seen again, and I was left running alongside his partner. As things worked out, she & I spent the entire race trading the pacing efforts, spoke just a bit over the course, and met after the finish. Matching up with somebody about the same speed as myself is a huge advantage during a race. Keeping up with Mary, and trading the pace making with her, definitely helped me PR this race. The early splits:
1 - 6:45 PERFECT PACE FOR NEW PR!
2 - 6:58 small uphill
3 - 6:41 the downhill
4 - 6:41
It was during that forth mile that I really decided I would try to stay with Mary's pace. The water station at ~3.25 slowed me a bit (hydration is key for me when going longer than about 5 miles). I fought hard to catch back up with her along the Riverwalk boards section. I remember seeing my 4 mile time, 27:05, and thinking 1 minute under a 7:00 min mile pace ... 7x4=28 ... math is so difficult when giving 100% effort . . . wait for it . . . ah ha, 6:45 pace thru 4 miles. I knew this was right on track for a PR. But could i hold this pace? The middle splits:
5 - 6:48
6 - 6:59
7 - 6:56
There's a water stop just after the 5 mm - I really wanted to slow down and drink a full glass. It wasn't the water so much as I just wanted to slow down. Do you ever get that feeling during a race? It used to happen to me alot, but not often the past few years. Anyway, I knew I'd lose 5 or more seconds to Mary and so I just got a small splash to gulp down. She moved ahead on the small hill at 5.5 and I tried to make it back on the downhill side. I was pushing hard here and after the turnaround point we approached the same hill again. I forced myself to catch up with her before the hill. I felt like I was working very hard. I was actually weezing a bit at the top of the little hill, and then on the way down, past the 7 mm, I saw several runners going up from the opposite direction (they were at 5.5) and I got a boost of energy from exchanging greetings. Later at the finish line when Mary & I introduced ourselves she said "well I know your name's Dean from so many people calling out to you on the course." Mental math game #2: at 7mm my time was 47:48 which I figured was close to 48 mins. 7x7=49 so now I was still about one minute faster than 7 min.pace. Not good since i was slipping away from PR pace. I told myself I still had a shot if I could accelerate ever so slightly over the last miles. We were side by side thru the water station at 7.25 ... I didn't even think about any more water breaks. This race was oN!
Through the 8th mile Mary & I traded position several times and I tried to push the pace. The split was 6:52 Ugh, not fast enough to guarantee a PR. This was going to be very close. Starting at about 7.75 mm I decided to play the game where you try to pick off a runner (or 2) in front. We had been gaining on the solo runner in front of us, and so I put in a push to close the gap. We caught & passed at around 8.25. Turns out he was a runner I know thru some other folks (Chuck from Y). He didn't seem to be working too hard because he was able to give me a few words of encouragement to which I could only reply "garble gurgle". I tried to say something (what?) but I swear it came out all mish-moshed and I'm sure it was completely un-intelligent. Whatever. I'm working hard over here. He's striking up a conversation like this is an easy effort or something!
At this point I was no longer aware of Mary's location. She was behind me but I don't know how far. I focused onthe guy in front of me. But he began his own finishing burst and really took off away from me. As I approached the 9 mm there was no one in front of me within striking distance. That other dude had moved up to a small group and was passing all of them, but they were too far ahead for me to even think about it. I really focused on my own thing at this point. Strong finish, don't let anyone catch & pass me, run for the PR now. Mile 9 split was 6:44. Yes. I'm doing it. Total time now 1:01:24 with a third of a mile to go. Mental math #3: if the final stretch takes 2:30 I'll still get a PR by a few seconds. And if it's more like 2 mins flat then I'm totally rockin' this PR!
I cover the last .3 in a 2:09 and PR with 1:03:33 which is about 30 seconds better than last year's race. Chuck was only a few seconds behind me, and Mary another 5 seconds back. Wow, good thing I didn't let up because they both would've passed me.
I worked so hard during this race. This was an evenly measured out effort with the pain spread across the entire distance. I've certainly had races where I felt more pain, but those were all bad situations when I had gone out too fast and couldn't hold pace. I really worked my ass off for this race. This has got to be one of the best executed races I've ever done. Honestly, I don't know how i could ever get another 15k PR without somehow getting my fitness level lifted up one whole step to a new plateau. Because for the level of fitness I have now, this race was run to the max for the full 15k's. Very satisfying. But I'm not sure where to go from here and how on earth to get there? One observation of this race: I was focused 100% on the race effort for the entire distance. Usually that happens for me during a 5k or 5 mile, but longer races are always marked with a 'zone-out' during the middle somewhere. Usually I catch myself checking out the scenery, or spectators, or architecture, etc. This is the first time I remember almost nothing except the race effort itself.
Weather was ideal. Cold fall morning, not a cloud in the sky. I think the start temp was around 45. Some runners had gloves or arm panties. I like to run in the cold so I was as bare as possible.
Since I know the course and this race is very close to my house I had volunteered to help with set up. I put up a few banners for our club (race sponsor) and the RRCA. But there really wasn't much else to do. Being a local race, plus the good club turnout, I saw lots of folks that I know. I pretty much said I would go out at a PR pace and just hope to hold it. This was based on PDR Half marathon 3 weeks earlier, and I felt rested/hadn't pushed too much in the week leading up to this race.
I did very minimal warm up - which for me is typical of 'longer' races. My outlook is "the first mile is the warm up for anything over 10k." Actually I farted around long enuf that I barely got my Gu on time & then changed into my race shoes before it was time to line up. I tried to be about 5 or 6 rows deep figuring that 50 or 60 guys in front of me is about right for the finishing order with a race of this size (300 entries). As it turned out I crossed the line 45th so that's just about right.
It's cool how during the first mile some of the runners along side will end up being far ahead, and others will be way behind. Only a few match my pace all the way. I enjoy noticing stuff like that. A few young kids were on the front line. I passed them within the first half mile. I fell in behind Greg Vitale (who I was introduced to after the race, but I already recognized from the circuit) who was obviously running together with a woman (maybe they are in the same club?). Anyway, as we approached the 1 mm he accelerated away never to be seen again, and I was left running alongside his partner. As things worked out, she & I spent the entire race trading the pacing efforts, spoke just a bit over the course, and met after the finish. Matching up with somebody about the same speed as myself is a huge advantage during a race. Keeping up with Mary, and trading the pace making with her, definitely helped me PR this race. The early splits:
1 - 6:45 PERFECT PACE FOR NEW PR!
2 - 6:58 small uphill
3 - 6:41 the downhill
4 - 6:41
It was during that forth mile that I really decided I would try to stay with Mary's pace. The water station at ~3.25 slowed me a bit (hydration is key for me when going longer than about 5 miles). I fought hard to catch back up with her along the Riverwalk boards section. I remember seeing my 4 mile time, 27:05, and thinking 1 minute under a 7:00 min mile pace ... 7x4=28 ... math is so difficult when giving 100% effort . . . wait for it . . . ah ha, 6:45 pace thru 4 miles. I knew this was right on track for a PR. But could i hold this pace? The middle splits:
5 - 6:48
6 - 6:59
7 - 6:56
There's a water stop just after the 5 mm - I really wanted to slow down and drink a full glass. It wasn't the water so much as I just wanted to slow down. Do you ever get that feeling during a race? It used to happen to me alot, but not often the past few years. Anyway, I knew I'd lose 5 or more seconds to Mary and so I just got a small splash to gulp down. She moved ahead on the small hill at 5.5 and I tried to make it back on the downhill side. I was pushing hard here and after the turnaround point we approached the same hill again. I forced myself to catch up with her before the hill. I felt like I was working very hard. I was actually weezing a bit at the top of the little hill, and then on the way down, past the 7 mm, I saw several runners going up from the opposite direction (they were at 5.5) and I got a boost of energy from exchanging greetings. Later at the finish line when Mary & I introduced ourselves she said "well I know your name's Dean from so many people calling out to you on the course." Mental math game #2: at 7mm my time was 47:48 which I figured was close to 48 mins. 7x7=49 so now I was still about one minute faster than 7 min.pace. Not good since i was slipping away from PR pace. I told myself I still had a shot if I could accelerate ever so slightly over the last miles. We were side by side thru the water station at 7.25 ... I didn't even think about any more water breaks. This race was oN!
Through the 8th mile Mary & I traded position several times and I tried to push the pace. The split was 6:52 Ugh, not fast enough to guarantee a PR. This was going to be very close. Starting at about 7.75 mm I decided to play the game where you try to pick off a runner (or 2) in front. We had been gaining on the solo runner in front of us, and so I put in a push to close the gap. We caught & passed at around 8.25. Turns out he was a runner I know thru some other folks (Chuck from Y). He didn't seem to be working too hard because he was able to give me a few words of encouragement to which I could only reply "garble gurgle". I tried to say something (what?) but I swear it came out all mish-moshed and I'm sure it was completely un-intelligent. Whatever. I'm working hard over here. He's striking up a conversation like this is an easy effort or something!
At this point I was no longer aware of Mary's location. She was behind me but I don't know how far. I focused onthe guy in front of me. But he began his own finishing burst and really took off away from me. As I approached the 9 mm there was no one in front of me within striking distance. That other dude had moved up to a small group and was passing all of them, but they were too far ahead for me to even think about it. I really focused on my own thing at this point. Strong finish, don't let anyone catch & pass me, run for the PR now. Mile 9 split was 6:44. Yes. I'm doing it. Total time now 1:01:24 with a third of a mile to go. Mental math #3: if the final stretch takes 2:30 I'll still get a PR by a few seconds. And if it's more like 2 mins flat then I'm totally rockin' this PR!
I cover the last .3 in a 2:09 and PR with 1:03:33 which is about 30 seconds better than last year's race. Chuck was only a few seconds behind me, and Mary another 5 seconds back. Wow, good thing I didn't let up because they both would've passed me.
I worked so hard during this race. This was an evenly measured out effort with the pain spread across the entire distance. I've certainly had races where I felt more pain, but those were all bad situations when I had gone out too fast and couldn't hold pace. I really worked my ass off for this race. This has got to be one of the best executed races I've ever done. Honestly, I don't know how i could ever get another 15k PR without somehow getting my fitness level lifted up one whole step to a new plateau. Because for the level of fitness I have now, this race was run to the max for the full 15k's. Very satisfying. But I'm not sure where to go from here and how on earth to get there? One observation of this race: I was focused 100% on the race effort for the entire distance. Usually that happens for me during a 5k or 5 mile, but longer races are always marked with a 'zone-out' during the middle somewhere. Usually I catch myself checking out the scenery, or spectators, or architecture, etc. This is the first time I remember almost nothing except the race effort itself.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Hiatus
Ugh,
I haven't run in days.
Just got back today from a Cub Scout camping trip. Don't tell me boys I said this . . . but these trips are BRUTAL. Sleeping on the hard, albeit rain soaked, ground on the top of a bluff overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. Sounds like it would have potential, but then factor in the cold rain for the last 24 hours, gusty winds. Then there's the crappy food - which was only lukewarm (WTF?). Standing around waiting 'our' turn for archery, BB guns, etc. Paying $65 for the privilege of all this fun...
Crap, lack of sleep has got me just complaining. I know my scout had fun so that's the point of it. Warning to younger readers: once you have kids then you have to do all kinds of shit that is not fun and you never saw it coming. Don't say I didn't warn you! Oh, and they cost tons of $$ also.
Maybe tomorrow I will get out for a run. Wednesday was the last day I ran. Thursday was a scheduled day off.
Skipped F-S-S.
Ugh.
I haven't run in days.
Just got back today from a Cub Scout camping trip. Don't tell me boys I said this . . . but these trips are BRUTAL. Sleeping on the hard, albeit rain soaked, ground on the top of a bluff overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. Sounds like it would have potential, but then factor in the cold rain for the last 24 hours, gusty winds. Then there's the crappy food - which was only lukewarm (WTF?). Standing around waiting 'our' turn for archery, BB guns, etc. Paying $65 for the privilege of all this fun...
Crap, lack of sleep has got me just complaining. I know my scout had fun so that's the point of it. Warning to younger readers: once you have kids then you have to do all kinds of shit that is not fun and you never saw it coming. Don't say I didn't warn you! Oh, and they cost tons of $$ also.
Maybe tomorrow I will get out for a run. Wednesday was the last day I ran. Thursday was a scheduled day off.
Skipped F-S-S.
Ugh.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
thursday turd's day
I am officially in a funk as of today. I don't know why, but this seems to happen for a week or two after a good race. Perhaps the body is really tired and trying to recover? Usually the first few days I'm up on a buzz from good race, and then BAM! No motivation. I feel just 'blah'. Today the weather isn't helping as the mid day temp is 45 and there's been a steady rain all day.
I planned to have today off and then a scheduled 10 or 15 miler tomorrow. But my knee has been huring me for the last few days. It's a new pain... not one of the aches that I know so well that they are like an old friend when they re-appear. I don't need any new pains at this point. But I'll give it a few days and then hopefully it's adios to my new pain.
Supposed to have a Cub Scout camping trip this weekend but rain forecast to keep going for several days. I'm already secretly hoping that trip is cancelled. Lame, i know. But I'm a fair weather camper for the most part.
Here's two photo's from last weekend's DDC 15k. I'm psyched these 'freebees' look so good. In the first I'm running side by side with Mary B (fast woman!). We ran most of the race together which really helped me to hold the pace when I was beginning to fatigue. In the end I kicked to the finish and was about 10 seconds in front of her.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
15k PR . . . and having fun!
Of course, by now you have figured out that life has become very busy for me, and blogging is taking a back seat to my other stuff. But the good news is that I've been insisting that running should not slip off my priority list.
Since my PDR half marathon PR i raced an amazing trail race, the Conestoga 10 Miler. http://www.lrrclub.org/Conestoga.html the course is approximately 3,000 feet of climbing in just ten miles. Think "steep ass hills" and then don't forget the downhills which were really kind-of dangerous in places. I had fun. My legs were completely shredded for a full week. Photo above is about half a mile till finish line.
But I managed to recover in time for this past weekend's Delaware Distance Classic 15k race. It's like the only 15k in Delaware and the whole Phila,PA region that I'm aware of so I try to do it every year. Result: a new PR @ 1:03:33 (6:50 pace). Also very interesting that in these last 3 races I've run side by side with fast women. And that seemed to motivate me greatly. All 3 cases I met these competitors during the race; the situation makes me think that maybe I should spend time with fast women more often! {PDR was Urszula, Conestoga = Marsha, and DDC I paced together with Mary. That's one amazing trio of hot chicks}
More later, I'm running late again...
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