Well, today was the last day in May. It seemed appropriate to do a 10K. --That's right, the "Last Day of May 10K." It wasn't an organized race or anything official, just me and my Garmin.
I had some errands to run in Chico, and figured as long as I was heading down there, I might as well get a run in the fantastic flat land, a welcome break from the the hills. It was also a cold rainy day and somehow a run seemed more appetizing down where it's a few degrees warmer.
I had a tempo run scheduled, but it just seemed right to go for a fast little jaunt. Since I haven't run an organized 10K since high school, I thought it might be fun to do a time trial. I managed to come in just over 50 minutes, 50:06 to be exact.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
500!
It happened on Sunday afternoon. Somewhere out on the old railroad bed near Paradise Lake. It might have been right after I passed the horse and rider. It was about the same time that I took my GU gel. I still had 5 more miles to go in my run that day.
Somewhere along the line, I passed an invisible line of great importance and also of no importance. The line was the 500th mile that I've run this year.
Now I know there are many of you that say "big woop, I passed 500 two months ago." I fully understand and that is why for for just about everyone else on the planet, Sunday's landmark was a non-event.
However, there is one guy on the planet that thought it was a pretty big deal--me! It's a big deal because I don't think I've ever ran 500 in a year (well, maybe in high school when I was on the long distance team). And I certainly have never hit 500 in under 5 months' time. So I'm pretty excited.
I think I'll ice my knee to celebrate!
Somewhere along the line, I passed an invisible line of great importance and also of no importance. The line was the 500th mile that I've run this year.
Now I know there are many of you that say "big woop, I passed 500 two months ago." I fully understand and that is why for for just about everyone else on the planet, Sunday's landmark was a non-event.
However, there is one guy on the planet that thought it was a pretty big deal--me! It's a big deal because I don't think I've ever ran 500 in a year (well, maybe in high school when I was on the long distance team). And I certainly have never hit 500 in under 5 months' time. So I'm pretty excited.
I think I'll ice my knee to celebrate!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The Creature from the Black Lagoon
Tempo run today. The "Dreaded Eight Mile Tempo" or DEMT to be exact. This is the nickname for this workout given by the followers of the F.I.R.S.T. training plan. The DEMT is meant to be run at a pace that is slightly slower than your 10K pace. For me, the goal tempo was about 8:30 min/mile.
Normally, you want to run a warm up mile before hitting your tempo pace, but today was an exception for me. Even though the calendar says mid-May, we are having a little reoccurence of winter. It was pouring rain and cold! So I thought I might warm up faster by running faster. I had chosen the dirt trail around part of Paradise Lake as my route today. For the first couple of miles I managed to dodge the worst of the puddles, but by the time I hit mid-way it was a lost cause. My shoes and socks were soaked, and I was spraying myself with mud with every step.
By the time I was done, I looked like the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Normally, you want to run a warm up mile before hitting your tempo pace, but today was an exception for me. Even though the calendar says mid-May, we are having a little reoccurence of winter. It was pouring rain and cold! So I thought I might warm up faster by running faster. I had chosen the dirt trail around part of Paradise Lake as my route today. For the first couple of miles I managed to dodge the worst of the puddles, but by the time I hit mid-way it was a lost cause. My shoes and socks were soaked, and I was spraying myself with mud with every step.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Ridge Run 5K Race Report
Yesterday was the second annual Ridge Run 5K, benefiting Pine Ridge School in Magalia, CA.
I got there at 8:30AM to register for the 9:00AM race. I hadn't preregistered because I wasn't sure if my schedule would allow me to run the race. There was also a hike to a local waterfall that some folks from church were planning.
After registering, I said hi to to some acquaintances and then decided to go for a warm-up jog. At this point, I realize that I have no clue what the race course is going to look like. It was not published with the race info. I had assumed that it would just follow the local roads for some sort of out and back. As I began my warm-up I pass one of the school's P.E. teachers who offered to show me some of the course. It turns out that there is a whole network of trails behind the school--touring through some really pretty pine forest. I did about a mile of warm up and decided I had better get to the starting line.
The other thing I found out from the P.E. guy was that there was no water provided on the course. No biggie, it's just a 5K. I'm a water kind of guy on runs, so I decided to bring water along, even though I would only take a few drinks.
At 9:00AM, they walk us down to the start line, briefly explained the course (I sort of quit listening here, because I wasn't familiar with the street names anyway and I figured only the first place runner really needed to know). They did a quick head count and there were 64 runners toed up. Away we went.
I usually check out the runners near me and look for someone that I might aim to pick off during the run. There was an gentleman about 20 years my senior who looked really ready to go. He was wearing a bright red shirt and I thought he'd be easy to keep track of. The course started with a loop around the parking lot and then a left turn on the road. Red shirt guy took off like a rocket up the steep incline--I guess I'll pace off of someone else.
The course followed the road for roughly the first mile and then turned onto the forest trail. While the turn was marked with chalk and a cone, a runner two guys ahead missed it and went about 50 feet out of his way. I hollered after him as I made the turn. He caught up and passed me pretty quick. The trail portion of the run was a pretty, but technical. Lots of hills and some pretty sharp turns. I almost rolled my ankle, but saved it just in time.
The trail portion lasted for a little more than the next mile. I think my poor GPS was getting poor signal in the dense forest, because the distance seemed to be off. The course turned back out on the road and somehow meandered back to the same parking lot we started in. It went through the parking lot and into a back school field and then briefly onto some more trails. Since my GPS distance wasn't correct, I had no idea we were as close to the end as we were. A final sprint to the finish!
My official time: 22:42, a new PR by 17 seconds. I managed to come in 6th out of 64 and grabbed 2nd in my age group. The guy in fifth place had been at the CareNet race two weeks ago and had been determined to beat me. He ran a great race.
After the 5K, they put on a 1/4 mile kids' race. My son Ben lined up with about 20 kids under 10 years old. He was about midway through the pack at the start. When he came into view at the finish, he was in second. So we ended the day with matching 2nd place medals. Nice!
I got there at 8:30AM to register for the 9:00AM race. I hadn't preregistered because I wasn't sure if my schedule would allow me to run the race. There was also a hike to a local waterfall that some folks from church were planning.
After registering, I said hi to to some acquaintances and then decided to go for a warm-up jog. At this point, I realize that I have no clue what the race course is going to look like. It was not published with the race info. I had assumed that it would just follow the local roads for some sort of out and back. As I began my warm-up I pass one of the school's P.E. teachers who offered to show me some of the course. It turns out that there is a whole network of trails behind the school--touring through some really pretty pine forest. I did about a mile of warm up and decided I had better get to the starting line.
The other thing I found out from the P.E. guy was that there was no water provided on the course. No biggie, it's just a 5K. I'm a water kind of guy on runs, so I decided to bring water along, even though I would only take a few drinks.
At 9:00AM, they walk us down to the start line, briefly explained the course (I sort of quit listening here, because I wasn't familiar with the street names anyway and I figured only the first place runner really needed to know). They did a quick head count and there were 64 runners toed up. Away we went.
I usually check out the runners near me and look for someone that I might aim to pick off during the run. There was an gentleman about 20 years my senior who looked really ready to go. He was wearing a bright red shirt and I thought he'd be easy to keep track of. The course started with a loop around the parking lot and then a left turn on the road. Red shirt guy took off like a rocket up the steep incline--I guess I'll pace off of someone else.
The course followed the road for roughly the first mile and then turned onto the forest trail. While the turn was marked with chalk and a cone, a runner two guys ahead missed it and went about 50 feet out of his way. I hollered after him as I made the turn. He caught up and passed me pretty quick. The trail portion of the run was a pretty, but technical. Lots of hills and some pretty sharp turns. I almost rolled my ankle, but saved it just in time.
The trail portion lasted for a little more than the next mile. I think my poor GPS was getting poor signal in the dense forest, because the distance seemed to be off. The course turned back out on the road and somehow meandered back to the same parking lot we started in. It went through the parking lot and into a back school field and then briefly onto some more trails. Since my GPS distance wasn't correct, I had no idea we were as close to the end as we were. A final sprint to the finish!
My official time: 22:42, a new PR by 17 seconds. I managed to come in 6th out of 64 and grabbed 2nd in my age group. The guy in fifth place had been at the CareNet race two weeks ago and had been determined to beat me. He ran a great race.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Rotate Your Shoes!
Apparently you're supposed to rotate your running shoes. Who knew?
Problem #1 here is that running shoes are spendy. Back in January, I went and got fitted for a pair of running shoes that would handle my unique feet. I have a pronounced over-pronating stride, which means I roll from the outside of my heel to the inside on toes. But to make matters worse, I have my robo-ankle. I broke my right ankle in three places back in 2004 and had surgery. I am now sporting a titanium plate and nine screws. (So if I run screwy, that's why!)
After a thorough fitting I went with the Mizuno Wave Alchemy plus the Superfeet inserts. After about 350 miles, that pair of shoes has started to feel a little flat. So, I ordered two more pairs. Yup, two pairs of identical shoes (well one has a red logo and the other and orange logo).
The plan here is to rotate the shoes. It is supposed to give the shoes greater life by giving them a chance to fluff back up in between runs. Sounds good to me.
I track my running on RunningAhead.com by uplaoding my GPS data, but the site also allows me to track mileage on my shoes. Ok--I know that's a little geeky, but I've long ago come to grips with that.
Problem #1 here is that running shoes are spendy. Back in January, I went and got fitted for a pair of running shoes that would handle my unique feet. I have a pronounced over-pronating stride, which means I roll from the outside of my heel to the inside on toes. But to make matters worse, I have my robo-ankle. I broke my right ankle in three places back in 2004 and had surgery. I am now sporting a titanium plate and nine screws. (So if I run screwy, that's why!)
After a thorough fitting I went with the Mizuno Wave Alchemy plus the Superfeet inserts. After about 350 miles, that pair of shoes has started to feel a little flat. So, I ordered two more pairs. Yup, two pairs of identical shoes (well one has a red logo and the other and orange logo).
The plan here is to rotate the shoes. It is supposed to give the shoes greater life by giving them a chance to fluff back up in between runs. Sounds good to me.
I track my running on RunningAhead.com by uplaoding my GPS data, but the site also allows me to track mileage on my shoes. Ok--I know that's a little geeky, but I've long ago come to grips with that.
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