Sunday, August 14, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Wall papering my workspace
Unless it’s already on the bib I will write the race name, date, time & distance. Then I hang it on my wall at work, eventually when I run out of room I will take the older ones down and store them somewhere.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Evergreen Town Race (10K)
My goal for today’s race was to run 41:59 so 6:46 pace. The race is at 7,500’
elevation but almost all downhill it was a really fast course. The biggest
downhill was in the first mile and most everyone went out too fast. I ran the
first mile a little faster than I wanted and I spent most of the second mile
recovering. In the early miles I had already tossed my goal and traded it in for
a faster pace. I came through the first 5K at 20:40 which felt great and way
under my goal. But things were just getting started and I was going to pick up
the pace. I had been running alone for a while with the same pack of runners
about 100 meters down the road. I decided it was time to chase them down which
took about a mile to cover the distance. I caught them near the 5 mile mark and
went straight though the pack. It felt really good zipping past this pack of
10-15 runners. I really turned on the gas in the last mile, it hurt a lot but at
this time I was running on a runner’s high. At the 6 mile marker I could see the
finish line and I nearly went into a full sprint from there. My Garmin says I
ran the last .2 @ 5:22 pace. I passed another few people in the sprint into the
finish line. I ran my second 5K in 20:04 almost as fast as my best 5K this year.
Garmin Stats
Mile 1 – 6:34 (Avg HR 165)
Mile 2 – 6:43 (Avg HR 171)
Mile 3 – 6:34 (Avg HR 174)
Mile 4 – 6:39 (Avg HR 178 )
Mile 5 – 6:28 (Avg HR 182)
Mile 6 – 6:19 (Avg HR 185)
Last .27 – 1:27 (5:22 pace) (Avg HR 191)
This was an extremely competitive race. I finish 68th overall and 16th in my age group. Lot of fast people showed up to this race today.
Garmin Stats
Mile 1 – 6:34 (Avg HR 165)
Mile 2 – 6:43 (Avg HR 171)
Mile 3 – 6:34 (Avg HR 174)
Mile 4 – 6:39 (Avg HR 178 )
Mile 5 – 6:28 (Avg HR 182)
Mile 6 – 6:19 (Avg HR 185)
Last .27 – 1:27 (5:22 pace) (Avg HR 191)
This was an extremely competitive race. I finish 68th overall and 16th in my age group. Lot of fast people showed up to this race today.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Scavenger Dash
This adventure through the streets of Denver was part scavenger hunt part
running race. Each team had 2 runners plus an optional pit crew to help solve
clues. There weren’t any teams without a pit crew in the top 3, I am glad we had
are ours.
All together there was 12 items.
3 – Challenges. Cryptic clue would lead you to a location where you had to complete a task.
5 - Pictures of statues. Cryptic clue would lead you to a unique statue that you needed to take a picture of
3 - Find one of these and take a picture next to it. Find an Elevator, Cigar smoking Indian & a Mannequin with a head.
1 - Crayon rubbing. The clue sent us to get a crayon rubbing of the seal that’s on the 13th step of the capital
The race started at noon and it was 80+ degrees out and I was sweating buckets the whole time. While getting lost or not running the direct route we ran 9.25 miles in about 1:52, we finished 2nd place overall. The best route we could have taken to find everything would have only been 5.9 miles.
Here are a few of the better pictures and some comments (not the actual clues):
My teammate and I prior to the race, I passed on the pre race beer
Take a picture inside this sculpture
Take a picture with a mannequin that has a head (Terrible picture of me by the way)
Find the dancing ballerinas sculpture and imitate their pose for the picture
Find the fat lady and take a picture with her, she was at the opera house
All together there was 12 items.
3 – Challenges. Cryptic clue would lead you to a location where you had to complete a task.
5 - Pictures of statues. Cryptic clue would lead you to a unique statue that you needed to take a picture of
3 - Find one of these and take a picture next to it. Find an Elevator, Cigar smoking Indian & a Mannequin with a head.
1 - Crayon rubbing. The clue sent us to get a crayon rubbing of the seal that’s on the 13th step of the capital
The race started at noon and it was 80+ degrees out and I was sweating buckets the whole time. While getting lost or not running the direct route we ran 9.25 miles in about 1:52, we finished 2nd place overall. The best route we could have taken to find everything would have only been 5.9 miles.
Here are a few of the better pictures and some comments (not the actual clues):
My teammate and I prior to the race, I passed on the pre race beer
Take a picture inside this sculpture
Take a picture with a mannequin that has a head (Terrible picture of me by the way)
Find the dancing ballerinas sculpture and imitate their pose for the picture
Find the fat lady and take a picture with her, she was at the opera house
Sunday, June 12, 2011
2011 Estes Park Marathon Race Report
Start and the first big accent
(miles 0-10)
It was a really beautiful course but I think scenic = tough at least in Colorado. Around mile 2 we started a steady climb all the way to mile 6. Once at the top my muscles felt dead already. Also at the top of this climb I ate my first gel and it made my stomach queasy. Then it was long decent back to Estes Park. The downhill felt almost as bad as the uphill, I am not sure why downhills tear my quads apart. I ate half an orange at mile 9 which made my stomach feel even worse.
Around the lake (miles 11-16)
We got back into town where it’s actually flat and I ate my 2nd gel at mile 11. I almost puked, I didn’t although I wish I had. My legs were in terrible shape, my stomach hurt and I was getting hot. I came really close to giving up here, my car wasn’t far and I could have easily hopped in and drove away. I have given up on a marathon once before and that was way worse than any pain I was feeling. During this time I kept drinking liquids but I had given up on solid food.
Second loop out of town (miles 17-22)
The second loop started with 2.5 miles of steady climbing. The nice thing was as soon as we climbed a bit there was a light breeze and I felt cool again. My altitude had changed to “I will finish” and I was cooling down so things were looking good. The climb peaked at mile 20, here I looked at my total time for first time in the race. I wasn’t happy with my current pace and I was thinking the 5hr goal was gone. Running down the other side of this loop I picked up the pace a bit but my stomach seemed to be the limiting factor. I still hadn’t eaten anything since mile 11.
Back into town and the finish (miles 23-26.2)
At mile 23 I decide to eat a banana at a water station. This time it went down fine and a mile later I starting to feel a lot better. I looked at my watch for the second time in the race and saw that I there was still hope for finishing under 5hrs. I ran nonstop the last 2.2 miles at a 9:23 pace and a bpm 170-185.
Results and the big picture
I finished in 4:52:23 just under my medium goal of 5hrs. Which is not a great time, I am pretty sure that I could run it a lot faster if I was fresh. I showed up to this race pretty beat up and mentally exhausted having run 2 marathons in the previous 9 weeks. The real goal behind this was to join the marathon maniacs club. The entry requirement is 3 marathons in 90 days. Now that I have met this goal it’s time to take a break from marathoning and see some shorter distances.
It was a really beautiful course but I think scenic = tough at least in Colorado. Around mile 2 we started a steady climb all the way to mile 6. Once at the top my muscles felt dead already. Also at the top of this climb I ate my first gel and it made my stomach queasy. Then it was long decent back to Estes Park. The downhill felt almost as bad as the uphill, I am not sure why downhills tear my quads apart. I ate half an orange at mile 9 which made my stomach feel even worse.
Around the lake (miles 11-16)
We got back into town where it’s actually flat and I ate my 2nd gel at mile 11. I almost puked, I didn’t although I wish I had. My legs were in terrible shape, my stomach hurt and I was getting hot. I came really close to giving up here, my car wasn’t far and I could have easily hopped in and drove away. I have given up on a marathon once before and that was way worse than any pain I was feeling. During this time I kept drinking liquids but I had given up on solid food.
Second loop out of town (miles 17-22)
The second loop started with 2.5 miles of steady climbing. The nice thing was as soon as we climbed a bit there was a light breeze and I felt cool again. My altitude had changed to “I will finish” and I was cooling down so things were looking good. The climb peaked at mile 20, here I looked at my total time for first time in the race. I wasn’t happy with my current pace and I was thinking the 5hr goal was gone. Running down the other side of this loop I picked up the pace a bit but my stomach seemed to be the limiting factor. I still hadn’t eaten anything since mile 11.
Back into town and the finish (miles 23-26.2)
At mile 23 I decide to eat a banana at a water station. This time it went down fine and a mile later I starting to feel a lot better. I looked at my watch for the second time in the race and saw that I there was still hope for finishing under 5hrs. I ran nonstop the last 2.2 miles at a 9:23 pace and a bpm 170-185.
Results and the big picture
I finished in 4:52:23 just under my medium goal of 5hrs. Which is not a great time, I am pretty sure that I could run it a lot faster if I was fresh. I showed up to this race pretty beat up and mentally exhausted having run 2 marathons in the previous 9 weeks. The real goal behind this was to join the marathon maniacs club. The entry requirement is 3 marathons in 90 days. Now that I have met this goal it’s time to take a break from marathoning and see some shorter distances.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
2011 Colfax Marathon
Pre Race:
At the starting line it was 37F and had just stopped raining. I wore my regular running shorts, tech-t, running hat, cotton hoddie and cotton socks. I received lots of great advice on clothing but in the end I couldn’t violate the most important rule in marathoning “don’t change anything on race day”. But I am going to buy some rain gear, so next time I will be prepared for anything.
Miles 0 - 6 “Relax we got a few miles ahead of us” (6mi @ 10:06 pace)
The first 6 miles were mostly dry with some light drizzle here and there. I started off slow and was boxed in by all the runners. I wasn’t about to go crazy like other people I saw weaving in and out of the traffic. Hey, we got 25 more miles I think you can make up for 1 mile of slow running. I was getting really warm debating on when I should toss the sweatshirt on the side of the road. Running in Denver is weird became its hilly but not big hills just short quick ones. Going up and down these little hills my quads didn’t feel right. Actually they didn’t feel right the last couple of days but I wrote it off as pre race jitters. My quads always get messed up as I cut back on the mileage. When I used to do the traditional taper (20 days) my quads would be useless at the start of the race. This year I have done a short taper (13 days) and that has helped a lot but not fixed the problem.
Miles 7 - 19 “Wet soggy and flirting with a DNF” (13 @ 9:53 pace)
By now the drizzle had become light rain but I was still feeling a little too warm. I ditched my sweat shirt at the Broncos stadium (9.5 miles). I didn’t realize at the moment but this was a huge mistake. At first running without the sweat shirt felt refreshing and my pace increased for the next few miles. I ran down a big hill around 14 and my quads felt terrible. Miles 15, 16 & 17 people keep saying just a little farther and then some downhill. I was like “please no more downhill”. Also during these miles my condition was deteriorating, I was getting really really cold. I remember at mile 18 I checked to see if my phone was still transmitting to run keeper and switching on the external battery, this was really hard because my fingers just didn’t want to move. At mile 19 I couldn’t open power gel with my hands, I had to use my teeth. I was seriously afraid that I going to have to duck out of the race just to warm up.
Miles 20 - 22 “Warming up, feels like I might be able to kick it in” (3 @ 10:11 pace)
I couldn’t remember if the course went back by the stadium. I figured that either way I was going to have to go find my sweatshirt. Luckily at mile 20 the course came pretty close and I only had to go off course (in the wrong direction) a few hundred feet to retrieve my sweatshirt. Around mile 20 it also stopped raining and was clear to the finish. I warmed up pretty quickly and my mood and pace improved. I finished mile 22 in 9:46, it had been 5 miles since my last one under 10:00. It felt like I had gotten my second wind and could finish the last few miles at a good pace. I was thinking that I could still get my medium goal of 4:22:00. But these feelings were short lived.
Miles 23 - Finish “The train has come of the tracks” (4.2 @ 11:31 pace)
After a 1 min walk break I was ready to start mile 23 with that same awesome feelings. But the first few steps into the run and my calf muscles nearly cramped up. I hate that feeling your muscles send out the second before they lock. Anyways I had some painful cramps last year and I wasn’t about to get one now. I changed my strategy to “forget about time, let’s just finish”. I think that when my quads are gone I must have changed my running form to one that is easier on them but really hard on my calf muscles. Nearly every step of the last 3 miles felt like it could have been the last before a huge cramp. The course went back through downtown Denver but this time I walked up every little hill. I ditched the sweatshirt again at mile 24(I was plenty warm for the last 2 miles). Even in this shape I was still passing a lot of people that must have been feeling worse. I was so happy to see the mile 25 marker, I wanted to sprint home but my legs would only allow 12 min pace. Crossing the finish line was a really good feeling and made it worth all the pain.
Post Race:
My official time was 4:28:03 my medium goal was 10 min pace (4:22:00). When I came through mile 22 at 3:39:39, I was 21 seconds under 10 min pace but after that I lost big chunks of time. This marathon was about 2 and half minutes slower than my last marathon. But I am really happy to have another marathon finished under 4:30:00.
I didn’t have any chaffing problems and only had got a 1 blister on one foot. The only thing sore today is my quads, everything else seems good. I am walking around normal today even on the stairs which is a day after first for me. I can remember the day after my first marathon every muscle seemed sore and my feet, ankles and knees were in bad shape too.
As every marathon I learned a lot and now I will adjust my training. 1 major problem I want to address is my quads, they didn’t feel right from the start. After 18 miles and a few small hills they were toast. In training I never have problems with my quads. I have successfully run many 18 & 20 mile runs without any quad problems and that’s usually just days after a tempo run. I am thinking that maybe over tapering is the issue not duration of the taper.
Here I am finishing, I am the one it the white shirt.
It’s amazing how quick your mood changes once you cross the finish line.
Finally some warmth, it only made it up to about 40F by the finish.
At the starting line it was 37F and had just stopped raining. I wore my regular running shorts, tech-t, running hat, cotton hoddie and cotton socks. I received lots of great advice on clothing but in the end I couldn’t violate the most important rule in marathoning “don’t change anything on race day”. But I am going to buy some rain gear, so next time I will be prepared for anything.
Miles 0 - 6 “Relax we got a few miles ahead of us” (6mi @ 10:06 pace)
The first 6 miles were mostly dry with some light drizzle here and there. I started off slow and was boxed in by all the runners. I wasn’t about to go crazy like other people I saw weaving in and out of the traffic. Hey, we got 25 more miles I think you can make up for 1 mile of slow running. I was getting really warm debating on when I should toss the sweatshirt on the side of the road. Running in Denver is weird became its hilly but not big hills just short quick ones. Going up and down these little hills my quads didn’t feel right. Actually they didn’t feel right the last couple of days but I wrote it off as pre race jitters. My quads always get messed up as I cut back on the mileage. When I used to do the traditional taper (20 days) my quads would be useless at the start of the race. This year I have done a short taper (13 days) and that has helped a lot but not fixed the problem.
Miles 7 - 19 “Wet soggy and flirting with a DNF” (13 @ 9:53 pace)
By now the drizzle had become light rain but I was still feeling a little too warm. I ditched my sweat shirt at the Broncos stadium (9.5 miles). I didn’t realize at the moment but this was a huge mistake. At first running without the sweat shirt felt refreshing and my pace increased for the next few miles. I ran down a big hill around 14 and my quads felt terrible. Miles 15, 16 & 17 people keep saying just a little farther and then some downhill. I was like “please no more downhill”. Also during these miles my condition was deteriorating, I was getting really really cold. I remember at mile 18 I checked to see if my phone was still transmitting to run keeper and switching on the external battery, this was really hard because my fingers just didn’t want to move. At mile 19 I couldn’t open power gel with my hands, I had to use my teeth. I was seriously afraid that I going to have to duck out of the race just to warm up.
Miles 20 - 22 “Warming up, feels like I might be able to kick it in” (3 @ 10:11 pace)
I couldn’t remember if the course went back by the stadium. I figured that either way I was going to have to go find my sweatshirt. Luckily at mile 20 the course came pretty close and I only had to go off course (in the wrong direction) a few hundred feet to retrieve my sweatshirt. Around mile 20 it also stopped raining and was clear to the finish. I warmed up pretty quickly and my mood and pace improved. I finished mile 22 in 9:46, it had been 5 miles since my last one under 10:00. It felt like I had gotten my second wind and could finish the last few miles at a good pace. I was thinking that I could still get my medium goal of 4:22:00. But these feelings were short lived.
Miles 23 - Finish “The train has come of the tracks” (4.2 @ 11:31 pace)
After a 1 min walk break I was ready to start mile 23 with that same awesome feelings. But the first few steps into the run and my calf muscles nearly cramped up. I hate that feeling your muscles send out the second before they lock. Anyways I had some painful cramps last year and I wasn’t about to get one now. I changed my strategy to “forget about time, let’s just finish”. I think that when my quads are gone I must have changed my running form to one that is easier on them but really hard on my calf muscles. Nearly every step of the last 3 miles felt like it could have been the last before a huge cramp. The course went back through downtown Denver but this time I walked up every little hill. I ditched the sweatshirt again at mile 24(I was plenty warm for the last 2 miles). Even in this shape I was still passing a lot of people that must have been feeling worse. I was so happy to see the mile 25 marker, I wanted to sprint home but my legs would only allow 12 min pace. Crossing the finish line was a really good feeling and made it worth all the pain.
Post Race:
My official time was 4:28:03 my medium goal was 10 min pace (4:22:00). When I came through mile 22 at 3:39:39, I was 21 seconds under 10 min pace but after that I lost big chunks of time. This marathon was about 2 and half minutes slower than my last marathon. But I am really happy to have another marathon finished under 4:30:00.
I didn’t have any chaffing problems and only had got a 1 blister on one foot. The only thing sore today is my quads, everything else seems good. I am walking around normal today even on the stairs which is a day after first for me. I can remember the day after my first marathon every muscle seemed sore and my feet, ankles and knees were in bad shape too.
As every marathon I learned a lot and now I will adjust my training. 1 major problem I want to address is my quads, they didn’t feel right from the start. After 18 miles and a few small hills they were toast. In training I never have problems with my quads. I have successfully run many 18 & 20 mile runs without any quad problems and that’s usually just days after a tempo run. I am thinking that maybe over tapering is the issue not duration of the taper.
Here I am finishing, I am the one it the white shirt.
It’s amazing how quick your mood changes once you cross the finish line.
Finally some warmth, it only made it up to about 40F by the finish.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Cherry Creek Sneak 5K
- 19:56!
My wife’s boss signed me up to run with him only a few days before the race. I told him ok but I couldn’t cancel my long run because this was my last weekend to train for my May 15th marathon. My goal was to go out at about 7 min pace and then see how I felt after a mile. But I wasn’t feeling to good about this race, I wasn’t sure how my body would feel the day after 17 and I was still feeling sick.
I ran the first mile in 6:47 (163 AHR) near where I said I would. I really felt great the scratchy throat was gone my legs didn’t feel like they should have from yesterdays run. So I said to my self “lets go”. I ran the 2nd mile in 6:15 (176 AHR). Everything still felt great and I was passing people like crazy which was a great confidence boost. I kept speeding up the entire race and the 3 mile I was really pushing my HR to the max. I ran the 3rd mile in 6:08 (AHR 183) but again I was still on top of the world, can you say runners high. My watch said I ran the last 0.16 (I guess I went over by 0.06) at a pace of 5:08 (AHR 190).
I was a great weekend of running but now I am paying for it (ran 17 on saturday the day before the race). I really feel like crap, my throat is worse then it was yesterday so I am going to go take a nap now.
My wife’s boss signed me up to run with him only a few days before the race. I told him ok but I couldn’t cancel my long run because this was my last weekend to train for my May 15th marathon. My goal was to go out at about 7 min pace and then see how I felt after a mile. But I wasn’t feeling to good about this race, I wasn’t sure how my body would feel the day after 17 and I was still feeling sick.
I ran the first mile in 6:47 (163 AHR) near where I said I would. I really felt great the scratchy throat was gone my legs didn’t feel like they should have from yesterdays run. So I said to my self “lets go”. I ran the 2nd mile in 6:15 (176 AHR). Everything still felt great and I was passing people like crazy which was a great confidence boost. I kept speeding up the entire race and the 3 mile I was really pushing my HR to the max. I ran the 3rd mile in 6:08 (AHR 183) but again I was still on top of the world, can you say runners high. My watch said I ran the last 0.16 (I guess I went over by 0.06) at a pace of 5:08 (AHR 190).
I was a great weekend of running but now I am paying for it (ran 17 on saturday the day before the race). I really feel like crap, my throat is worse then it was yesterday so I am going to go take a nap now.
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