Still Sore? Run it Out...

As you might know, I played my first soccer game in ages on Wednesday night. I thought I would be sore... but I had no idea I would the THIS sore. Thursday and Friday I was so sore it was comical. I was literally walking around like an 80 year old. I took a line drive off my right quad in the game. It didn't hurt that much at the time, but man did it make me gimpy. Not only that, all the muscles that I don't use running were sore (mostly my groin from the constant change of direction).

So... I've been running through it hoping it would just go away. And progressively (though not as fast as I'd like) it has. I ran 6 miles yesterday with Nate, Justin, Bill and Mark and it pretty much bothered me the entire time. I'd say 4.5 miles in it loosened up to the point that it wasn't that bad. But, it wasn't great either. I can live through it though. My real fear is that this happens every week. If I have to recover from my soccer game every week for 3-4 days, that's gonna suck. I hope that it was just a byproduct of not playing in such a long time. We'll see...

In regards to the 6 miler... It was good despite the soreness. We ran at an alright clip. We got faster as we went along and finished in just over 9 minute miles. I need these runs every once in a while because I haven't really been pushing the pace on my own lately. So, running with others has become very important to help me do that.

So.... if you are sore and you want to get rid of the soreness... Just keep running. That's what I'm doing.

Pushup Contest, Day Two

Well... I said that I had to catch up 3 pushups... and I didn't do that. I actually lost another pushup. Here are the totals... It doesn't look promising. I'm gonna have to catch up 4 pushups on Friday just to pull off a tie.

Me- 46
Adam- 47
Justin- 37

Swimming Maniac

I'm really getting better at this swimming thing. I've swam a little bit each of the last three days. I swam a shortened (wanted 500 yds) 325 yds on Saturday. Then, before I went on a 6 mile run in Harrisburg on Sunday, I did 500 yds to make up for it. And, since I was still pretty spent from my six miler (I haven't been doing long runs lately), I decided to take a light day today and not run.

So, what did I do? I went swimming! And, boy did I... I swam a total of 700 yds for the first time ever. I did 250 then 100 to bring my heart rate down, 250 again and then 100 to finish. I'm officially at half of the 500 yd sprint tri distance. And, I think I'm really not that far off from doing the full 500. I'm gonna continue to inch towards it. Then, as soon as I can actually do it, I will start working on times (I have no idea how slow I am at this point).

The six miler on Sunday went well too. I ran with a whole host of people... A guy I just met (Mark Rebuck), Justin (my work running buddy), Nate (my old work running buddy and good friend) and Bill (running buddy who I met through Nate). Then, everyone but Justin went and grabbed Indian food afterwards. Nate and Bill call it their Run4Naan. I dig it.

The run itself was really icy and not that pleasant. At times, it wasn't that bad, but here's a picture of the trail that we were running on...

A Quick Lunch Run With "The Guys"

No offense to the girls that I run with at work. But, I've been feeling kinda left out among the running guys at work. Well... one thing is that most everyone is faster than me. I don't consider myself to be slow. But, even my running buddy (Justin) has made big strides in getting faster. Part of me is like... awesome, great job. The other part is... man, I better get faster.

All that said, I got the chance to run with Marcus and Justin today. They actually weren't running that fast (for them) at 8:35 pace. But, it was still encouraging to not get dragged along by them. In fact, 8:35 didn't feel that bad over 3 miles for me either. However, if we had tried to do their tempo 7:00 pace, I would have absolutely died.

Eh... I'm sure I'll get faster. But, it's not exactly like I'm putting all my ducks in running right now. With having just started triathlon training, there's definitely enough mental energy going into that. So, the speed work will probably have to wait a bit. But, I really think all this cross-training is gonna add fitness without the wear and tear (ok, I stole that thought from Marcus, but I was already thinking it). So, maybe I'll gain with the weight loss and cross-training. Here's to hoping...

6 Miles and 100 Pushups... Again.

I went on a really aggressive 6 miler after a pretty tough effort in my 5k yesterday. Justin and I covered 6 miles in just under 52 minutes (8:38 pace). Not too shabby. I don't know... the baby is sleeping at normal stretches... I'm feeling like I need to lose a little weight... the stars might finally be aligned.

Also, I started the Hundred Pushups program up again today. A buddy of mine, Adam, at work asked me about it today. He found it on Life Hacker. That's a weird coincidence. I told him how Steve actually reads my blog and he thought it was pretty funny. Anyway, I'm humbly starting at Week One, Day One. But, here we go again.

Pushup Plan- 10, 12, 7, 7, min 9
Pushup Done- 10, 12, 7, 7, 15

Day One complete...

Running Has Been Going Better...

So, I recently wrote a post how I was going to back off it a bit over the winter and not worry too much about how much running I got in. That much is still true. But, the last couple weeks of running has been really good to me and I'd like to keep it up. I ran a long one on Saturday with Justin and he's coming down to my house this coming Saturday for another long one (maybe 10?). Anyhow, just when I was thinking about putting on the breaks, I got my second wind.

As for today, I'm gonna take Ivey (my lab) out for a 3 miler to prep for eating way too much food. I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the time with your family!

8 on the Conewago...

I'm so bad at remembering names of trails and where they are. So, when Justin asked if I wanted to run on the Conewago this past weekend, I said yes... The question was, "Where is that again"? I've been on a lot of trails, but mostly because someone else suggested it. So... keeping with my tradition, I still don't really know where the Conewago is, despite running on it Saturday.

The run was great. Justin really pushes me to run harder when I get the opportunity to run with him on my long runs. We ran sub 9 minute miles over 8 miles and it was pretty darn chilly. So much so that I was having a little trouble breathing at times (admittedly, that could have had something to do with the pace as well). But, a good time was had by all.

Timed Mile... Again

Justin, Lisa and I went over to the F&M track and ran a timed mile again. We ran a 1.5 mile warmup over to the track and then walked one lap to "mentally prepare". Then... we were off. I was pretty sure that I hadn't pushed it to the limits with my 6:26 mile a couple weeks ago and I knew that having Justin running with me would push me to run faster... And, I was right.

We came through the first quarter in 1:27 (we were shooting for flat 1:35 splits), woops. But, that really evened out in the second lap (just like last time) where I ran a 1:41. The third lap was similar to last time (1:39 v 1:37) and the final lap came in at 1:29 (super fast). Total time... 6:18!!!

So... what did I learn?

1. I ran 8 seconds faster when I had a "rabbit"(Justin) to chase. That's significant.
2. The first and last quarter were REALLY fast. I'm wondering if I should be shooting for more even splits.
3. I'm getting faster... This time last year I ran a 6:49 mile and this year I cut it all the way down to 6:18. 31 seconds on the mile time is a big deal.

I'm Fast and This is Easy...

I went on a six miler over lunch today with Lisa and Justin... As is ritual (since I have the Garmin), I email out the stats for the run to both of them. Also... as is pretty normal, Lisa skipped out on the second three miles and went back to work. So, Justin and I continued on.

Justin and I have also been toying with a sub 9 minute mile month. I've never done that before and I'm fairly deep into the month and still keeping up. After the first three miles of our run, we were a little behind pace.

9:32
9:12
8:52

But, with the sub 9 minute goal in mind... Justin and I really cranked it up for the last 3 miles. And boy did we.... here are the splits for the last three miles.

8:30
7:48
7:32

I'd say that's considerably less than sub 9. In fact, even though it was a slow first 3, we still averaged 8:30's over 6 miles. Not too shabby...

Now for the explanation of the title of this post... Vanilla over at Half-Fast wrote a hilarious post a while back that I now consider classic ("That Wasn't Me You Saw Running") where he talks about how everything comes back to, "I'm fast and this is easy". Read the post, seriously... it's great. Anyhow, that's what I told Lisa when we got done with the final 3 miles. And, I kinda believe it at this point...

One Mile Test...

A bunch of people at work did a timed one mile for the Office Olympics while I was out for the birth of Juliana. I did that last year and it got me to thinking how fast I can run it now. I ran it in 6:49 last year.

So, I think a realistic goal would be about 6:30 or so. I'm going to shoot for 1:36 quarters (6:24 pace) and see where that takes me. If I can come in under 6:30, I'd be stoked. The first time I ever ran a sub 7 minute mile was last year for the timed mile. So, if I could run under 6:30, that would be quite the accomplishment.

I got a nice 6 miler in over lunch yesterday with Justin. Now that I know he is quicker than me, it somehow seems like I'm always chasing him. It's funny how that works :) Anyhow, we really pushed the last mile and it felt really great.

Run recap- 6 miles, 53:43, 8:57 pace,

Hands On House Half Report

Although I didn't really train for this race specifically. It was definitely at a convenient point in my training... so I decided to run it. And... boy am I glad that I did. I had planned to meet up with a couple people that I will be running the Harrisburg relay with (Nate, his wife Abbie and Beth) and my training partner (Justin).

So... I spent the better part of an hour trying to do the good thing and coach Nate and Justin through what to expect for their first half. "Here's what you should do"... "Don't go out too fast"... "Run how you feel"... "Turn it on late if you have anything left"... I kind of felt that I owed it to them since I've run multiple halves and this would be their first.

Well... jokes on me... :) Both Nate and Justin outran me today. I'm so darn impressed (read: jealous). In their first half marathon, Nate ran a 1:37 something and Justin ran a low 1:48. Really though.... super impressed with their run today.

But, enough about them... I had a hell of a run too. I ran the first 5-6 miles with Justin. We were clipping off 8:20 miles in anticipation of the hill to come. We had trained the hill pretty recently, so we both knew what to expect. That's not to say that a pretty steep, .8 mile hill is any better just because we had run it recently. But, we knew what to expect.

Right about here, Justin started to separate himself and I gave him my blessing to take off. It was pretty clear he had a bit more in him than I did. For a lot of the rest of the race, I could see him out in front of me. In fact, there was a point pretty far in (9 or 10 miles?) that I had him in my sights. I actually felt like I was reeling him in. But, he picked it up again and that was the last I saw of him.

I started to struggle with about 4 miles left (maybe from trying to reel Justin in?). But, with about 1.25 miles left, Beth (who ran the 5k) came out to run the last bit with me. Man, what a lift. That really helped a lot. I went from an 8:40 pace to an 8:20 pace in almost no time. It was a nice shot in the arm.

She kept giving me a hard time about catching up to the pack in front of me. I kept telling her, "not yet, not yet". So... with about a quarter mile left, I started to kick a bit. Then, with about .15 left, I really turned it on. I must have passed 4-5 people on the way to the finish and I turned in a 7:50 final mile. That was awesome!!!

But, here's the kicker... I turned the corner and could see the clock and a sub 1:50 was just out of my reach. Despite my best efforts, I came in at 1:50:02 on the clock. And, although this is a PR by almost 2 minutes and a almost 5 minute improvement on the same race last year, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth.....

If you've read my previous post about chip finished races, you may have already guessed what my beef is. But, if not, I'll indulge you. I start in the middle of the pack so as not to get in the way of the faster runners. When running a chipped race, the expectation is that it really doesn't matter where you start because the mats time you accurately and your chip time will reflect your "real" time. Anyhow, when the event only has a mat at the finish, you lose all the time it takes to get to the start line from when the gun goes off... Apparently, for this race, that was about 10 seconds. I know that because I hit my start button when I crossed the start line (makes sense right?) and stopped it just after I finished.

Big deal right??? Well folks... that's the difference between an official 1:50:02 and a watch timed 1:49:52. I'm gonna go ahead and throw caution to the wind and count my 1:49:52. Because, after all, I run and keep track of my times for myself. So... the race can have my official 1:50:02. I'm taking the 1:49:52. Sub 1:50!! Sweet. And, I don't feel bad about it at all (since it IS my real time).

Turning it on, not far now...

Finish Line

Justin, Nate, Me, and Abbie

No plan...

I don't really have a plan right now and it's kind of interesting. Since my wife could go at any time now (have the baby that is), it's kind of hard to construct a plan. So, I'm just going to try and get as many running days in before "it happens". That said, I got a nice paced 6 miler in over lunch today. Justin, Lisa and I ran the first 3 at a pretty nice pace. And then Justin and I really turned it up for the back 3.

I probably owe some of the pace over the last couple workouts to Justin. It's really nice to have a training partner again. We are VERY similarly paced. That's pretty hard to find. Not only that, we tolerate each other (just kidding, we get along great). But... that's helped me a lot and I really appreciate it.

So... Justin and I are going to head over to "the hill" on the Hands on House Half course to check it out. Nate and I did that last year and it really minimized the anxiety for that hill. We're gonna run a basic three miler just to see what its like. I've obviously run it before, but it will be a nice reminder. I'm stoked to see how Justin does... I think he's gonna kick butt.

Run recap- 6.0 miles, 54:32, 9:06 pace

Hands on House Half? Maybe...

Justin swung by my house early this morning to go on an 11 mile run. I rarely get to do my long run with someone else and I rarely get to show someone else my running routes around my house. So, this morning's run was a special treat. Not to mention... I had forgotten how fun it is to run longer distances with a friend.

Justin is training for his first half marathon, the Hands on House Half. Coincidentally, this one was my first as well. It's in Lancaster and it is super hilly. But, a nice course for sure. So... we went out for our 11 miler and it quickly turned into a pace test. It was a cool morning, the kind that you wish appears on race day. And, we really took advantage.

After a few miles, it was clear that neither of us planned on slowing down and we were really going to put in a quick time. But, neither of us expected the time that we ended up putting in. We finished our 11 miler in just under 9 minute pace @ 1:38:24 (8:57 pace to be exact). And... maybe even more interesting, we got stronger as we went. Our last two splits were 8:40 and 7:59.

So... it got me to thinking. Maybe I'll run Hands on House as well. It is on October 4th. So, the baby should be here by then. And... it will be something good to do with all this fitness that I had built in the marathon training. It appears as if I'm more than ready for a half in terms of distance/fitness.

My first 100 mile month of the year....

After today's lunch time run, I will have my first 100 mile month of the year in. I was supposed to put in 106 and I should be there by now. But, life happens and I'm gonna have to close out 100 miles on the last possible day.

Two things I've learned this month (my first of my second marathon training)...

1. It's never as bad as it seems. Just keep running. Don't worry about missing here or missing there.
2. Year 2 is easier and harder all at the same time. It's easier because I can handle 5 days a week now (where I was only doing 4 days last year). It's harder because I feel like the expectations are higher for this marathon. I wanted to run sub 4 hours last year. But, it was just a "want". This year, I REALLY want to run sub 4 and might have a chance at it. So, I'm definitely putting more pressure on myself.

I also was able to get two good runs in on Tuesday and Wednesday. I ran on Tuesday night after I got home from DC and really put the pedal to the medal.

Run recap Tuesday- 3.07 miles, 26:30, 8:38 pace

Then, Justin and I went for a 6 miler yesterday in the heat and humidity over lunch. Yikes. I wanted to quit at 3, but Justin convinced me to push on. I'm glad for that because now I don't have to run 6 today. Sweet.

Run recap Wednesday- 6 miles, 1:01:00, 10:10 pace

Graduation and Birthday on the Way...

My 5 years of going to school for an MBA are coming to a close this coming Wednesday. I have a lot to do in this last week, but it will all be over soon. That leads me to think about all the stress, worrying, energy and time spent working on this degree. Has it been worth it? Sure. Am I ready to be done? ABSOLUTELY! I started on the degree when I was young and didn't have much responsibility at work. Now I travel and have a lot of responsibility. It's much more difficult to get things done for school and I am totally distracted when it comes to class anymore. So... it's probably good that it is coming to a close.

With that, I get the opportunity to graduate next Saturday at Millersville University. That, coincidentally, is also my birthday. We're throwing a big party after the ceremony with friends and family. It should be a good time. I'm looking forward to it. But... before then, I've got a couple papers to procrastinate and one more class to attend.... Deep breaths, I'm almost there.

In running news... I ran a 5 miler with Justin at work. I'm not totally convinced that my distance log is right (we got a little lost). But, it's pretty close.

Run recap- 4.98 miles, 47:02, 9:27