It's been a while since I posted. I'll catch everybody up later, but here's my training totals for the last couple of months.
August
184.92 Miles
September
181.88 Miles
I had a recovery week at the end of September so that was the reason for having less mileage.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
This Should Explain It
I've been having people tell me I'm crazy again so I'm bringing this video back out to help explain it. If you run, you'll get it. If not, you'll still probably be confused as to why we punish ourselves everyday.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
One Month Down
Well, I have completed the first month of my marathon training. I am really loving this new training program. I am a data person so it is perfect for me. I'll elaborate more on that part later. It is quite a bit more challenging than the program we used in Pearland Fit last year, but I think I'll hold up just fine.
Like I said last time, all of the runs are done based on heart rate zones. This is a much more accurate way of training than using speed or pace. My coach loads all my workouts into the eNewLeaf program so I can look at them and download them into my Garmin.
Like I said last time, all of the runs are done based on heart rate zones. This is a much more accurate way of training than using speed or pace. My coach loads all my workouts into the eNewLeaf program so I can look at them and download them into my Garmin.
Here is one of my interval workouts. All the workouts start with a ten minute warmup and end with a ten minute cooldown. This workout was 1:00 in Zone 1, 1:00 in Zone 2, 1:00 in Zone 3, 1:00 in Zone 4, and another 2:00 in Zone 1. This sequence was repeated 7 times in 40 minutes. My Garmin will beep for five seconds before each time you switch heart rate zones. It will also let you know when you are not in the correct zone. There's no way to cheat without your coach finding out because it records everything.
After the workout, I upload the results from my Garmin back into to eNewLeaf and leave feedback on my run. On eNewLeaf, you can look at all your data from the run. Do you remember when I said I liked data? Well, I'm about to blow your mind with all the data you can see from your run. It provides you with a workout summary, including time, distance, speed, and heart rate. It also has speed and heart rate plotted against time layed over color blocks representing the correct training zones. The workout log shows calories, time in zones, heart rate, and a compliance screen where it grades you against how often you were in the correct zones.
Summary
Calories
Time in Zone
Heart Rate
Compliance
Since we have gone over the ins and outs of how the program works, I guess I'll let you know how it has been working for me. I can actually tell that I am getting faster because I can see that each week my workouts cover a little more distance in the same time periods, one of the benefits of all the data. I'm feeling stronger on my "hard" days than I did when I started four weeks ago. The most miles I ran with Pearland Fit in a week last year was 32. I ran 36 in my first week this year, and I felt great. We never have two hard days together. A hard day is always followed by a easy, or recovery, day on the schedule.
Overall, I think it's shaping up to be a great fall race season, and I'm looking forward to setting some new PR's. Until then, I'm just going to try not to burn up in this heat.
July Mileage = 160.64
Total Program Mileage = 160.64 (Since July 1)
Monday, July 4, 2011
And So It Begins...
I officially kicked off my training for the 2012 Chevron Houston Marathon on July 1. I'm doing heart rate based training this year with Team Elite here in Pearland, TX.
Before I could begin training, I had to head over to see Johnny Shelby at Third Coast Training to get my testing done for VO2 Max, Lactate Threshold, and Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). The purpose of these tests were to find out what my heart rate zones and metabolic profile were before we got started. I learned a lot throughout the whole process, and Johnny is kind of like an endurance sport mad scientist. He's constantly running calculations on his laptop or iPhone the whole time the tests are going on. I learned my aerobic base is not quite up to par, and that I have not been taking in nearly enough calories to fuel my workouts. It's ridiculous how much I eat now. It's really going to get out of hand in a few months when we start doing longer runs. I may as well take up residence at the kitchen table on those Saturdays.
The workouts look pretty cool. I'm going to be spending three days a week just running in Zone 1 to improve my meager aerobic base. The other two days will be spent doing interval workouts to improve my speed. Johnny said the tests showed I had a lot of untapped speed.
I think it's going to be an exciting fall race season, and I'm looking forward to see what April and Kat have in store for me leading up to the big day on January 15, 2012.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
It's Official...
I have officially been deemed crazy by almost everybody I know. The only people I know that still consider me sane are other runners, triathletes, or endurance athletes. Can you believe the other day my wife actually told me I might need to be committed? She is about as opposite of a morning person as there is so she doesn't understand why I would get up at 5:15 AM on a Saturday morning. She's supportive of me. She just doesn't understand the early mornings. I don't really like them either, but it is REALLY, REALLY hot in southeast Texas right now. I've even started getting up at 5:00 AM and running before work since it has been so hot lately. We've already had temps over 100 degrees the past week. That kind of suffering is usually reserved for August. While my wife lives with this everyday, and she is starting to either understand it, or tolerate it. I haven't figured out which one yet. Other people still think I'm nuts, and I might be starting to agree with them. More on that later.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
I'm Coming Back for 2012
Well, I've signed up for the 2012 Chevron Houston Marathon. I got a guaranteed entry this year with the new qualifying time system they implemented so I didn't have to go through the lottery. Registration opened at 8:00am on May 10, 2011. I was done with registration at 8:04am. Can you tell I was a little excited? Finally, after nine days of waiting, I got my registration confirmation saying my qualifying time had been verified, and I was officially in the race.
I've got about one more month of light running, and then, training officially starts on July 1. It's going to be a long hot summer. I have no clue what my goal for this year's marathon will be. It would be easier to come up with a goal had I not bombed this year's race. Hopefully, I'll do much better this year.
I've got about one more month of light running, and then, training officially starts on July 1. It's going to be a long hot summer. I have no clue what my goal for this year's marathon will be. It would be easier to come up with a goal had I not bombed this year's race. Hopefully, I'll do much better this year.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Run for the Rose 5K
Every year, the Dr. Marnie Rose foundation host the the Run for the Rose 5K to benefit brain cancer research. It has grown every year, and it is now hosted at Reliant Center. They had over 4,000 participants this year. Since Reliant is only a short 15 minute drive from my house, I decided to sign up.
I ran as part of Team Brandi's Memory Rocks On! in memory of my good friend Brandi Ward. Brandi and I were friends from the time we were in elementary school, up through high school, and onto Texas A&M. She was diagnosed with glioblastoma (a very aggressive form of brain cancer) on Christmas Eve 2003. Over the next two years, Brandi would fight the disease with many ups and downs. She would inspire us all with her courage and faith. She even had gone back to her dream job, teaching kindergarten, but in early 2006, God called Brandi home. It was the same weekend she made her national TV debut on Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Now, her mom and sister organize a team in her memory every year to help find a cure for this horrible disease. I believe this year the team was 60 members strong.
I did not have high expectations for the race. I had been taking it easy for the past month, and I had only been running for the two weeks up to the race. I set my goal for the race at 21:00. I kept questioning it though and thought it might be kind of fast. Friday morning, I woke up with what I thought were bad allergies. These continued throughout the weekend. Sunday morning when I woke up, I had a slight headache, and I was pretty stuffed up. I took some Claritin, and I was happy to readjust my race goal to 22:00. I thought 21:00 was kind of fast anyway.
The race started at 8:00AM. I went out at a comfortable pace, but I thought it might be a little fast. I looked at my Garmin around the 1/2 mile mark, and I was running at a 6:30 pace. HOLY COW!! I had to ease off, or so I thought. I slowed down, but my speed must have crept back up. I went past mile 1 in 6:35. I panicked. I've got to slow down. Mile 2 was 6:37. By this point, I decided to try to hang on and see what happened. There was only 1.1 miles left, and I could still finish with a respectable time even if I ran out of gas. With a half mile to go, I continued to feel good. I looked at my watch and saw I would have no problem hitting my original 21:00 goal so I put it on cruise control. I wish I would have looked a little harder. Mile 3 was 6:33. I finished with an official time of 20:01. I could have easily finished under 20:00 if I hadn't packed it in. Total shocker. I had never dreamed I was capable of running under 20:00 in a 5K this weekend, especially, with the way I was feeling. I hadn't done that since high schoool. Let's just say I was more than pleased with my performance.
I went home, and slept on the couch for pretty much all of Sunday afternoon. I also stayed home from work on Monday and a half day on Tuesday. What I thought was allergies, turned out to be a sinus infection that I'm still trying to kill the last of.
I ran as part of Team Brandi's Memory Rocks On! in memory of my good friend Brandi Ward. Brandi and I were friends from the time we were in elementary school, up through high school, and onto Texas A&M. She was diagnosed with glioblastoma (a very aggressive form of brain cancer) on Christmas Eve 2003. Over the next two years, Brandi would fight the disease with many ups and downs. She would inspire us all with her courage and faith. She even had gone back to her dream job, teaching kindergarten, but in early 2006, God called Brandi home. It was the same weekend she made her national TV debut on Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Now, her mom and sister organize a team in her memory every year to help find a cure for this horrible disease. I believe this year the team was 60 members strong.
I did not have high expectations for the race. I had been taking it easy for the past month, and I had only been running for the two weeks up to the race. I set my goal for the race at 21:00. I kept questioning it though and thought it might be kind of fast. Friday morning, I woke up with what I thought were bad allergies. These continued throughout the weekend. Sunday morning when I woke up, I had a slight headache, and I was pretty stuffed up. I took some Claritin, and I was happy to readjust my race goal to 22:00. I thought 21:00 was kind of fast anyway.
The race started at 8:00AM. I went out at a comfortable pace, but I thought it might be a little fast. I looked at my Garmin around the 1/2 mile mark, and I was running at a 6:30 pace. HOLY COW!! I had to ease off, or so I thought. I slowed down, but my speed must have crept back up. I went past mile 1 in 6:35. I panicked. I've got to slow down. Mile 2 was 6:37. By this point, I decided to try to hang on and see what happened. There was only 1.1 miles left, and I could still finish with a respectable time even if I ran out of gas. With a half mile to go, I continued to feel good. I looked at my watch and saw I would have no problem hitting my original 21:00 goal so I put it on cruise control. I wish I would have looked a little harder. Mile 3 was 6:33. I finished with an official time of 20:01. I could have easily finished under 20:00 if I hadn't packed it in. Total shocker. I had never dreamed I was capable of running under 20:00 in a 5K this weekend, especially, with the way I was feeling. I hadn't done that since high schoool. Let's just say I was more than pleased with my performance.
I went home, and slept on the couch for pretty much all of Sunday afternoon. I also stayed home from work on Monday and a half day on Tuesday. What I thought was allergies, turned out to be a sinus infection that I'm still trying to kill the last of.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Texas Independence Relay
The first weekend in March, I did the craziest race I have ever done. Texas Independence Relay is a 203 mile relay race from Gonzales, TX, to the San Jacinto Monument on the Houston Ship Channel. Teams can have anywhere from 8-12 runners, and the 40 legs were anywhere from 2.3 miles to 8.78 miles. Most legs were between four and six miles.
I had not been expecting to run this race. I knew several people that had run it in previous years, but never thought I would be doing it. I got recruited by my friend Carlos to run about two weeks before the race. The team he was running on had some spots open up, and they need a couple of runners. Carlos was the only person I knew on the team, and I met two of the other runners two weeks before the race at a Pearland Area Runners Club happy hour. That's how I became a member of the Professional Pavement Pounders.
Our team of ten runners started in Gonzales at 11:12AM on March 5. Over the next day and night, we ran the roads of Texas throughout the light and dark hours. It took us 26 hours, 39 minutes, and 24 seconds to cover the 203 miles. We arrived at the Monument in the early afternoon on March 6, dirty, sweaty, tired, hungry, and not smelling so great, but we all had a blast. I was nervous going into the race because I didn't know what to expect, but I hope there's a spot open on the team for me next year.
I had not been expecting to run this race. I knew several people that had run it in previous years, but never thought I would be doing it. I got recruited by my friend Carlos to run about two weeks before the race. The team he was running on had some spots open up, and they need a couple of runners. Carlos was the only person I knew on the team, and I met two of the other runners two weeks before the race at a Pearland Area Runners Club happy hour. That's how I became a member of the Professional Pavement Pounders.
Our team of ten runners started in Gonzales at 11:12AM on March 5. Over the next day and night, we ran the roads of Texas throughout the light and dark hours. It took us 26 hours, 39 minutes, and 24 seconds to cover the 203 miles. We arrived at the Monument in the early afternoon on March 6, dirty, sweaty, tired, hungry, and not smelling so great, but we all had a blast. I was nervous going into the race because I didn't know what to expect, but I hope there's a spot open on the team for me next year.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Surfside Beach Half Marathon
After my rough outing at the Chevron Houston Marathon, I decided I needed a little bit of redemption. The Surfside Beach Half Marathon was four weeks after the big race in Houston so it provided the perfect opportunity. The only thing that had me a little concerned about this race was that it is run completely on the beach. Over the next four weeks, I took two weeks of easy runs to recover. Then, the next two weeks I stepped it up and did a little bit tougher runs, but still pretty easy compared to what I had been doing the past couple of months. I knew I could finish, but I didn't really know what to expect since I had concentrated more on the recovery aspect the past four weeks.
Saturday morning, I woke up early to head down to the beach to pick up my packet and race. I got there plenty early, and it was a good thing. The later you arrived, the farther you had to park from the start line. I made the ten minute walk to pick up my packet, and the walk to put my stuff in my car and back. I felt like I was warm and ready to race just from all of that.
The race started right on time. I had planned to run a nice easy 8:00/mile pace since I didn't know what it would be like running on the sand. It turned out the sand was packed except right at around 2.4 miles. After that, I began to pick up the pace a little bit. My goal for the race was 1:45:00. It began to be obvious that I would have no problem hitting this mark. With about 3 miles left, I did the math, and I would be a lot closer to 1:40:00 than 1:45:00. However, there was no way I could get under 1:40:00 so I let off the gas a little to conserve some energy for Texas Independence Relay the next weekend.
Saturday morning, I woke up early to head down to the beach to pick up my packet and race. I got there plenty early, and it was a good thing. The later you arrived, the farther you had to park from the start line. I made the ten minute walk to pick up my packet, and the walk to put my stuff in my car and back. I felt like I was warm and ready to race just from all of that.
The race started right on time. I had planned to run a nice easy 8:00/mile pace since I didn't know what it would be like running on the sand. It turned out the sand was packed except right at around 2.4 miles. After that, I began to pick up the pace a little bit. My goal for the race was 1:45:00. It began to be obvious that I would have no problem hitting this mark. With about 3 miles left, I did the math, and I would be a lot closer to 1:40:00 than 1:45:00. However, there was no way I could get under 1:40:00 so I let off the gas a little to conserve some energy for Texas Independence Relay the next weekend.
I finished with a new personal best time of 1:42:39. This wasn't too hard considering my resume only includes one other half marathon, and conditions that day were horrible. These were nearly perfect conditions. I had a great time running on the beach, and I will definitely plan to do this race again. I've even considered going back down to Surfside for a weekend run sometime. Hopefully, next year, I can stick around for the post race meal. It looked and smelled delicious.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Race Pictures
Yesterday, I realized that I never posted any pictures from the big race. Here's a few pictures from along the course.
Tanner and I at Mile 7.
In the rain by the Galleria.
The final home stretch.
Crossing the finish line.
Tanner, Uncle Stephen, Uncle Danny, and me in the GRB after the race.
Tanner, me, and Andrew in the GRB.
Tanner and I at Mile 7.
In the rain by the Galleria.
The final home stretch.
Crossing the finish line.
Tanner, Uncle Stephen, Uncle Danny, and me in the GRB after the race.
Tanner, me, and Andrew in the GRB.
Sarah with Tanner and Jennie's baby Lyla all dressed up in her marathon clothes after the race.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Chevron Houston Marathon: Full Race Report
Well, I've had five days to analyze my race. I've thought about what went wrong, where I made mistakes, and what actually went right. It was a tough day for a marathon. The warm, humid weather just magnified the mistakes that you made. Race officials said the medical people had to help more than double the people they did last year.
Race morning started out smoothly. I woke up, ate breakfast, got dressed, and picked up Tanner without incident. We went downtown to the George R. Brown and went inside to meet up with Andrew. We used the port-a-potties, grabbed some water, and went to check my bag. The bag check line was really long so we decided just to go put it back in the car. From the parking garage, we made our way over to the starting line. While we were waiting for the start of the race, it started to mist/drizzle, and I could tell the temperature was kind of warm. My stomach was also feeling a little weird, but I just figured it was nerves.
We found the 3:30:00 pace group a few minutes before the start. This was mistake #1 for the day. With the warm conditions and high humidity, I should have adjusted my goal and fallen back to the 3:40 group. You'll find out later, why that wouldn't have really mattered. Finally, we were off. We hit the first mile at about 8:35. A little slower than our pace, but I figured it would actually be slower with the massive amount of people. We ran the next four miles at a 7:50-7:55 pace, and we were back on schedule by mile 5. I just settled into cruise control with the pace group, and I took in all the sights and people along the course. We passed my parents, sister, and brother-in-law at the corner of Memorial and Studemont. Then, disaster #1 hit. My stomach started feeling pretty rough, and I had to hit the port-a-potties at mile 7.
Now, I was back on the course, and I could actually still see my pace group. However, they were quite a way in front of me. I was feeling better, and I had put so much emphasis on trying to run a 3:30 marathon. This lead to the worst decision I made all day. Of all the things that went wrong, this is the one I created all by myself. I decided to catch my pace group so I ran the next 5-1/2 miles at a 7:25-7:30 pace. I caught the group at Rice Village, only to have my stomach act up again. Stop #2.
After my second stop, I was feeling pretty drained. It was probably a combination of my stomach problems and running harder than I should have. I saw my wife, Sarah, and Jennifer at the village, and I felt energized for a half mile, or so. I hit the half way point in West U at 1:47:49. I was almost 3 minutes behind my goal pace. I decided to reevaluate at this point. I calculated in my head what pace I needed to keep to finish in 3:40, and I continued on. From West U, we hit what felt like the hardest 1/4 mile of the course that day, the Westpark Hill. It's not really a hill. It's actually an overpass, but we live in Houston. We don't naturally have hills on the Texas Gulf Coast. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this is where it quit misting/drizzling and started to rain. Awesome, just what I needed. Not really, I know sarcasm doesn't come through type.
Next, we hit the Galleria. I was feeling incredibly drained at this point. My stomach problems lead to a major nutrition failure, and my stomach was growling. I was starving. I took my first walk break at mile 16. Post Oak Boulevard is where I officially started to unravel. I stepped in a huge puddle that I didn't see so now I had completely soaked feet. In Tanglewood, the 3:40 pace group caught up to me, and I decided to jump in with them. I ran with them for a whole 1/2 mile. Then, the leader ran off to the side, threw his balloons and visor on the ground, and started walking. The group immediately fell apart. This did not help my mental state any, but I continued on.
The two mile stretch from the 18th mile marker to mile 20 was the roughest stretch for me. I felt weak and hungry. I took orange slices from every person handing them out, and I took my extra Hammer Gel I had packed. At mile 20, I felt a little better and decided I was going to run for 10 minutes. Then, I would let myself walk for a minute. My pace was pretty slow (9:30), and I felt good so I decided to make it 20 minutes. I felt better, but not good. I saw Sarah, Jennifer, and my cousin, Christopher, on Memorial at mile 22. I waived to them. I decided to take another walk break on the bridge from Memorial to Allen Parkway. I ate some more orange slices from spectators, and started running again about 100 yards after the bridge. I saw my parents, sister, and brother-in-law again at Allen Parkway and Studemont.
At mile 24, I found myself running beside a guy I met at the 30K in December. He's a much better runner than me, and he finished last year in 3:16 so I realized I wasn't the only one struggling today. We ran the last 2-1/2 miles together, and we picked my friend, Tanner, up with 3/4 mile left to go. It really helped running with other people. We could see the GRB. We passed the sign saying 1/4 mile left, and we picked it up as much as we could. I crossed the line with an official time of 4:00:35, and I never felt so good about missing a goal time by so much. I fought through some demons and finished.
Over the next couple days, I talked to more people, and I began to realize everybody struggled with the weather. Overall, I feel I'm capable of running a faster marathon, but I think I did pretty well considering my stomach problems, nutrition issues, and the weather. I was not happy with my time, at all, but it is a new PR for the marathon. I bested my previous marathon time of 4:07:13 by almost 7 minutes. One good thing for the race is that I think taking electrolytes helped. I didn't catch cramps. I just didn't have any energy to make my legs move.
The next four weeks are dedicated to recovery. Then, I'm going to start working on getting better for next year.
Race morning started out smoothly. I woke up, ate breakfast, got dressed, and picked up Tanner without incident. We went downtown to the George R. Brown and went inside to meet up with Andrew. We used the port-a-potties, grabbed some water, and went to check my bag. The bag check line was really long so we decided just to go put it back in the car. From the parking garage, we made our way over to the starting line. While we were waiting for the start of the race, it started to mist/drizzle, and I could tell the temperature was kind of warm. My stomach was also feeling a little weird, but I just figured it was nerves.
We found the 3:30:00 pace group a few minutes before the start. This was mistake #1 for the day. With the warm conditions and high humidity, I should have adjusted my goal and fallen back to the 3:40 group. You'll find out later, why that wouldn't have really mattered. Finally, we were off. We hit the first mile at about 8:35. A little slower than our pace, but I figured it would actually be slower with the massive amount of people. We ran the next four miles at a 7:50-7:55 pace, and we were back on schedule by mile 5. I just settled into cruise control with the pace group, and I took in all the sights and people along the course. We passed my parents, sister, and brother-in-law at the corner of Memorial and Studemont. Then, disaster #1 hit. My stomach started feeling pretty rough, and I had to hit the port-a-potties at mile 7.
Now, I was back on the course, and I could actually still see my pace group. However, they were quite a way in front of me. I was feeling better, and I had put so much emphasis on trying to run a 3:30 marathon. This lead to the worst decision I made all day. Of all the things that went wrong, this is the one I created all by myself. I decided to catch my pace group so I ran the next 5-1/2 miles at a 7:25-7:30 pace. I caught the group at Rice Village, only to have my stomach act up again. Stop #2.
After my second stop, I was feeling pretty drained. It was probably a combination of my stomach problems and running harder than I should have. I saw my wife, Sarah, and Jennifer at the village, and I felt energized for a half mile, or so. I hit the half way point in West U at 1:47:49. I was almost 3 minutes behind my goal pace. I decided to reevaluate at this point. I calculated in my head what pace I needed to keep to finish in 3:40, and I continued on. From West U, we hit what felt like the hardest 1/4 mile of the course that day, the Westpark Hill. It's not really a hill. It's actually an overpass, but we live in Houston. We don't naturally have hills on the Texas Gulf Coast. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this is where it quit misting/drizzling and started to rain. Awesome, just what I needed. Not really, I know sarcasm doesn't come through type.
Next, we hit the Galleria. I was feeling incredibly drained at this point. My stomach problems lead to a major nutrition failure, and my stomach was growling. I was starving. I took my first walk break at mile 16. Post Oak Boulevard is where I officially started to unravel. I stepped in a huge puddle that I didn't see so now I had completely soaked feet. In Tanglewood, the 3:40 pace group caught up to me, and I decided to jump in with them. I ran with them for a whole 1/2 mile. Then, the leader ran off to the side, threw his balloons and visor on the ground, and started walking. The group immediately fell apart. This did not help my mental state any, but I continued on.
The two mile stretch from the 18th mile marker to mile 20 was the roughest stretch for me. I felt weak and hungry. I took orange slices from every person handing them out, and I took my extra Hammer Gel I had packed. At mile 20, I felt a little better and decided I was going to run for 10 minutes. Then, I would let myself walk for a minute. My pace was pretty slow (9:30), and I felt good so I decided to make it 20 minutes. I felt better, but not good. I saw Sarah, Jennifer, and my cousin, Christopher, on Memorial at mile 22. I waived to them. I decided to take another walk break on the bridge from Memorial to Allen Parkway. I ate some more orange slices from spectators, and started running again about 100 yards after the bridge. I saw my parents, sister, and brother-in-law again at Allen Parkway and Studemont.
At mile 24, I found myself running beside a guy I met at the 30K in December. He's a much better runner than me, and he finished last year in 3:16 so I realized I wasn't the only one struggling today. We ran the last 2-1/2 miles together, and we picked my friend, Tanner, up with 3/4 mile left to go. It really helped running with other people. We could see the GRB. We passed the sign saying 1/4 mile left, and we picked it up as much as we could. I crossed the line with an official time of 4:00:35, and I never felt so good about missing a goal time by so much. I fought through some demons and finished.
Over the next couple days, I talked to more people, and I began to realize everybody struggled with the weather. Overall, I feel I'm capable of running a faster marathon, but I think I did pretty well considering my stomach problems, nutrition issues, and the weather. I was not happy with my time, at all, but it is a new PR for the marathon. I bested my previous marathon time of 4:07:13 by almost 7 minutes. One good thing for the race is that I think taking electrolytes helped. I didn't catch cramps. I just didn't have any energy to make my legs move.
The next four weeks are dedicated to recovery. Then, I'm going to start working on getting better for next year.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Chevron Houston Marathon: Quick Summary
One word describes everything today, BRUTAL. I'll type up a full race report and explain later.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The Countdown has Started
Well, we are a little over 3-1/2 days away from the start of the marathon. I'm feeling pretty excited. It's been one of the few things I've been able to focus on all week. I'm also feeling kind of nervous, but I've decided there isn't anything I can do about it now so I'll just take whatever happens.
I can't believe how far I have come in the past since months. I'll be happy with the journey no matter what happens on Sunday. I've lost 25 pounds since I started training, I've met some new people, and I just feel better when I wake up in the morning. I've managed to stay injury free, except for a freak deal the week of New Year's. Missing the last hard week of training with a foot injury is the only reason I'm feeling any nerves.
I'll spend the next couple of days making sure I get plenty of protein and carbohydrates. I'll also be staying hydrated so I don't have any nutrition issues. Saturday, I'll go get my race packet at the expo and get all my clothes ready. Then, Sunday is race day. I'll be sure to give a race report next week on how everything goes.
I can't believe how far I have come in the past since months. I'll be happy with the journey no matter what happens on Sunday. I've lost 25 pounds since I started training, I've met some new people, and I just feel better when I wake up in the morning. I've managed to stay injury free, except for a freak deal the week of New Year's. Missing the last hard week of training with a foot injury is the only reason I'm feeling any nerves.
I'll spend the next couple of days making sure I get plenty of protein and carbohydrates. I'll also be staying hydrated so I don't have any nutrition issues. Saturday, I'll go get my race packet at the expo and get all my clothes ready. Then, Sunday is race day. I'll be sure to give a race report next week on how everything goes.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Taper Time
Well, all of the hard work is done. I started my three week taper before the marathon today. Over the next three weeks, I will decrease my mileage until the marathon on January 30. Hopefully, my muscles will recover, and I will become stronger. That is the theory behid the taper. Muscle glycogen, enzymes, antioxidants, and hormones are depleted during high mileage training. They will return to normal during this time. Also, muscle damage that occurs during sustained training is also repaired.
I'm going to struggle during the coming weeks with wanting to put in more miles, but I know they will do more harm than good at this point. This evening, I did my 40 minute easy run, and I couldn't believe that was it. Oh well, it's part of the plan.
I'm going to struggle during the coming weeks with wanting to put in more miles, but I know they will do more harm than good at this point. This evening, I did my 40 minute easy run, and I couldn't believe that was it. Oh well, it's part of the plan.
Monday, January 3, 2011
24-4-A-Cure
This weekend, I got to participate in one of the most inspirational things I have ever been a part of. Kevin Kline, one of the morning radio personalities on the 93Q Country here in Houston undertook an amazing journey. Kevin is the founder and president of the Snowdrop Foundation. The Snowdrop Foundations mission is raise money to benefit pediatric cancer research at Texas Children's Hospital. You can read more about it on Snowdrop's website.
This year, Kevin decided to run on a treadmill for 24 hours starting at 12 noon on December 31, and he would finish at 12 noon on January 1. If this wasn't enough, he then would run the final 13.1 miles (half-marathon) into Texas Children's Hospital. Kevin has undertaken a large challenge as a fundraiser the last two years on New Year's. Last year, he did Strides Across Texas.
Kevin is a friend of my youth director from when I was in MYF in high school. Roland and I still stay in contact, and he told me about this before it was even officially announced. Roland recruited me to help set-up on Friday morning, and I pledged to run on a treadmill for two hours Saturday morning. After I finished running, Roland also convinced me to run to Texas Children's with the group. Now, Roland had never run farther than five miles before in his life, and he does not like running. So after some convincing and assuring him that he could do it, he left with the group. I told him I would meet them further into the run since I had already run 13.5 miles on a treadmill (Nothing compared to Kevin's 77 miles on the treadmill). I met back up with the group, and I ran the final 9.5 miles with them.
It was an inspirational weekend that cannot really be described. Kevin is to be commended for the lengths he is willing to go to so that kids won't have to suffer with cancer, and you can tell he has made it a priority in his life. If there were more people as passionate about putting a stop to pediatric cancer as Kevin is, cancer would not stand a chance.
Here's a few pictures from the weekend.
Kevin taking the last few steps up to the door.
This year, Kevin decided to run on a treadmill for 24 hours starting at 12 noon on December 31, and he would finish at 12 noon on January 1. If this wasn't enough, he then would run the final 13.1 miles (half-marathon) into Texas Children's Hospital. Kevin has undertaken a large challenge as a fundraiser the last two years on New Year's. Last year, he did Strides Across Texas.
Kevin is a friend of my youth director from when I was in MYF in high school. Roland and I still stay in contact, and he told me about this before it was even officially announced. Roland recruited me to help set-up on Friday morning, and I pledged to run on a treadmill for two hours Saturday morning. After I finished running, Roland also convinced me to run to Texas Children's with the group. Now, Roland had never run farther than five miles before in his life, and he does not like running. So after some convincing and assuring him that he could do it, he left with the group. I told him I would meet them further into the run since I had already run 13.5 miles on a treadmill (Nothing compared to Kevin's 77 miles on the treadmill). I met back up with the group, and I ran the final 9.5 miles with them.
It was an inspirational weekend that cannot really be described. Kevin is to be commended for the lengths he is willing to go to so that kids won't have to suffer with cancer, and you can tell he has made it a priority in his life. If there were more people as passionate about putting a stop to pediatric cancer as Kevin is, cancer would not stand a chance.
Here's a few pictures from the weekend.
The East Bernard Crew at Set-Up Friday Morning with Kevin.
Kevin getting started on the treadmill.
Five hours in.
The group making the final turn into TCH.
Kevin taking the last few steps up to the door.
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